Why did Steve McClaren never get the credit he deserved for taking unfashionable Middlesbrough so far?

By Simon Bird

Published 16:04 25/01/10

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When the history of Middlesbrough’s last decade is written, I hope Steve McClaren is remembered with more respect and fondness than he was during his reign.

Remember when an angry fans threw his season ticket in Southgate’s face as a protest, only for the club to go on and reach the UEFA Cup final five months later?

There were grumbles aplenty at the Riverside. The “style of football“ wasn’t exciting. McClaren was only using the club as a stepping stone to greater things. He has a false smile. He was ginger.

On some of those charges he’d plead guilty, including being a man in a hurry and ruthlessly ambitious. He also left an ageing expensive squad behind that Gareth Southgate had to sort out.

But McClaren had plenty of unfair criticism thrown at him at Boro, despite leading the club to their first trophy, the Carling Cup, and to those amazing nights against Basel and Bucharest in the UEFA Cup - which remain the most fantastic two games I’ve ever covered.

Strangely he never got the credit he deserved from the locals for taking an unfashionable club so far.

Now he is recovering from his disastrous England reign by bringing success to FC Twente in Holland. They are challenging for the league on a budget, and he even admits to laughing at himself when confronted with that famous YouTube clip of his Dutch accent.

So I wonder what Boro fans think of McClaren now? Forgetting their previous gripes and wishing those days would return, I’d bet.

No matter how much success you bring to a club, football fans will always demand more. As Southgate pointed out last week, sometimes standing still represents success, especially when you are in the top flight.

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