BEST&WORSTSTEVENAGE
Lifelong Boro fanatic Pete Hayman looks back at long-overdue promotions, Teddy turmoil and Wembley glory
AROUND THE GROUNDS
XI
BEST: Des Gallagher, Lee Harvey, Mark Roberts, Efetobore Sodje, Scott Laird, Graham Cox, Michael Bostwick, George Boyd, Carl Alford, Barry Hayles, Steve Morison.
WORST: Clark Masters, Warren Kelly, Ashley Westwood, Jamie McCombe, Tyler Denton, Junior Lewis, Ian King, Jack Jebb, Paul Taylor, Liam George, Jermaine Hunter.
PLAYER
B: The best I’ve seen at Boro is George Boyd [below right]. His career path after leaving shows just how brilliant he was. It feels better knowing he was doing it for us at such a young age against seasoned professionals.
W: Of the many duds we’ve had, the first – and worst – I saw with my own eyes was Ian King; a symbol of the drudgery and mediocrity we collapsed into under Richard Hill in late 1999.
MOMENT
B: It’s unlikely to get much better than our 2-0 win at Kidderminster in April 2010 – finally we were on our way up to the Football League. It had been a long 14-year wait since last topping the Conference in 1995-96, only to be denied promotion because our ground didn’t meet EFL requirements.
W: It’s depressing enough travelling to Kettering at Christmas, but to go there on Boxing Day 2002, concede after two minutes, plummet to the bottom of the Conference and know that boss Wayne Turner’s tenure was over? A very Merry Christmas indeed!
GAME
B: For the lunacy of it, our 4-4 draw at Forest Green in April 2007 – from 3-0 down inside 20 minutes to 4-3 up with nine remaining, and still going home disappointed after a last-gasp leveller.
W: The 5-0 drubbing at Wrexham on the opening day of the 2008-09 campaign. Graham Westley’s return as manager wasn’t universally welcomed at the time. This didn’t help.
SEASON
B: 2006-07 started slowly under Mark Stimson, winning two and losing six of our first 10 games, but featured some of the best football we’ve ever played. It culminated in us recovering from 2-0 down at half-time in the FA Trophy final to win 3-2 and become the first team to lift a trophy at the rebuilt Wembley.
W: 2019-20 was a total calamity, with more managers than league victories.
CULT HERO
B: Giuliano Grazioli [above] scored eight goals for us on loan from Peterborough, but no one will remember any of them bar that equaliser against Newcastle in the 1997-98 FA Cup fourth round.
