These are marvellous times to be a Boro fan in the second tier, inarguably the greatest in more than a decade and a half.
The buzz that Aitor Karanka and his men have restored to the area, culminating in the late, late table-topping win on Blackpool's Displeasurable Beach, have sent the Parmo Army into a state of ecstasy.
The late goals in that game were proof, if proof were needed, how success from the least likely and most unexpected of sources can define a promotion campaign – a Jonathan Woodgate goal, a Kike header. It's as much about unpredictability as efficiency.
And a certain Emerson was full of the former.
In January, The Gazette's own Eric Paylor named the famous curly-haired star as one of the contenders for Boro's Greatest Ever Player. The third of Boro's three famous “Samba Kings” (although Branco was king in size only), Emerson was described as the kind who would (take) to the pitch like a powerhouse, dominate games from start to finish and leave us all gobsmacked.
At the time, I concurred, commenting that he was the perfect midfielder, an anchorman, playmaker, destroyer and match-winner rolled into one... on his day.
Emerson celebrates his goal
Therein lay the problem. Building the team around him during a season when his off-days were more likely than his on-days was never going to be healthy. It's documented that his move to Tenerife came about because of his off-field activities, but it's also been said that the best of Emerson's league form for Boro deserted him after his troublesome trip home to Brazil. This is simply not the case.
Eyebrows were raised when, for whatever reason, Emerson chose to commit himself to Boro when we were relegated in 1997, even though Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli would soon depart. Yet it would appear that Ravanelli's move away enabled both Paul Merson and Emerson to find both form and an understanding. With the moody, broody White Feather gone, back came the defence splitting passes, thunderous blockbusters and the kind of energy we had only seen in fits and starts from the trip to Rio onwards.
Still etched in the memory are his superb through ball for Merson away to Ipswich, his deadlock-breaking drive in Boro's first ever match at the Stadium Of Light from a Merson pull-back, and a full-hearted farewell display at home to Reading that prompted a flood of Christmas cards from Boro fans wanting him to stay.
He had that knack of popping up at the right place at the right time to give Boro the extra element of magic they needed to truly look a class above their opponents. Essentially, he did in half a season what Fabio Rochemback did in one match – delivering the goods at the very moment we were resigned to him hopping off.
And when he got ready to hop off, in December 1997, Boro initially found it hard to adjust, losing 2-0 at then-struggling Manchester City before entering one of their more laboured phases of 1997-98. The loss of a maverick unreliable had robbed us of a creative edge and made the season more problematic. But had it really?
With Emerson in the squad, Boro's record was: 13 wins, 6 draws and 3 defeats, with 39 goals scored and 17 conceded.
Without him, Boro's record was: 14 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats, with 38 goals scored and 24 conceded.
The difference is minute: 45 points vs. 46 points with one extra game played. That also includes a relatively bad period for Boro in March and early April 1998, which saw the team take just seven points from seven games and suffer four league defeats in five away matches.
Among those defeats was a truly bizarre nine-goal leakage in the first week of March which saw 4-0 and 5-0 losses to Nottingham Forest and QPR respectively.
The presence of Andy Dibble in goal for those two games was symptomatic of one of Boro's real failings during the Bryan Robson years: poor decisions at the wrong times. Dibble played like the temporary stop gap he ultimately was; he looked unreliable despite making a number of fine saves.
18/10/1996 Boro v Port Vale reserve match Emerson cousin Fabinho in action photo by Terry Reed. 26/10/07
Talent and squad depth are all very well, but where a club finishes also has much to do with attitude, organisation and choices.
That seemed especially true back then, where rotation and over-complication were less a trend and more a rarity. Essentially, if you had a strong spine, the right amount of match-winners and a dependable, classy strike force, you were all but guaranteed the right result.
Nottingham Forest had just that with Pierre Van Hooijdonk and Kevin Campbell, ditto Sunderland, with Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips. Boro had... well... Merson, and whatever forward was in form enough to play with him. Nowadays, of course, Boro rotate their forwards regularly, but the mid-to-late 1990s were a different decade.
And at times, unfortunately, egotism and misguided tactics would trump sense and sensibility during the second half of 1997-98.
What was the true purpose of Robbo signing a fading Paul Gascoigne so close to both the League Cup final and the crucial end of the season, apart from to try and maintain a big club image by signing a big name player?
It had a slightly destabilising effect, and dependable midfield heroes like Neil Maddison and Craig Hignett had proven more than capable of magic moments themselves. Particularly Hignett, who was dropped from the cup final squad and was soon to leave Boro altogether.
The possibility that Robbo was dealt an unlucky hand with Emerson leaving and Mikkel Beck's loss of form doesn't wash with the money he spent and the match-winning skills of Madhouse, Higgy, Merse, Marco Branca and Alun Armstrong.
One suspects Robbo was exceptionally grateful – as we were – when future Irish international hero Matt Holland inspired Ipswich to the 2-0 win over Sunderland that handed promotion to Boro.
Of course Emerson's departure made a difference, but it was hardly a serious one. Saying it was so would be unjust on the men who bravely saw Boro over the finish line, albeit a little later and less comfortably than we hoped. No, it wasn't easy, but whatever is with Boro?
Fleet House
