It is almost exactly 30 years since goals from Craig Hignett and Jan Åge Fjørtoft secured Middlesbrough a Premier League victory against Chelsea as they played their first game at a brand new Riverside Stadium. Even the presence of Ruud Gullit at sweeper in a visiting side featuring Mark Hughes in attack could not deny Boro a 2-0 win as an exciting decade peopled by, among other luminaries, Juninho, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Nick Barmby, Gareth Southgate, Gaizka Mendieta and Bolo Zenden dawned.
Along the way Boro would reach three League Cup finals, winning one, while also losing FA Cup and, most excitingly, Uefa Cup finals. Not to mention bouncing back from a one-season second-tier sabbatical.
Teesside was firmly on not just the UK but the European map. Or at least it was until the economic profile of football ownership changed and Steve Gibson’s club struggled to compete at the very highest level.
These days the Riverside rarely rocks to capacity crowds and, after eight seasons out of the Premier League, a relatively modest 26,286 congregated to see how their club’s latest manager, Rob Edwards, shaped up.
The good news for Boro fans is that the answer is so far, so good, after Dael Fry’s winning header secured three points. “I’m really pleased,” said Edwards. “It was a tough game but lovely to keep a clean sheet and score from a set piece. Swansea’s strikers had very few touches of the ball and we played some good stuff at times.”
Edwards is big on connectivity and has taken the admirable step of attending a plethora of supporters’ events over the summer, canvassing opinions while attempting to tap into the local psyche.
The former Luton manager has switched formation to 3-4-2-1 while endeavouring to wean his squad off the increasingly slow possession-heavy approach favoured by Michael Carrick.
Edwards wants to see his team in high-tempo, hard-pressing mode but here Boro’s players sometimes seemed to forget Carrick had been sacked and reverted to their old habits.
If they experienced a fortunate defensive reprieve when Ronald’s half-volley flew fractionally wide, Swansea’s Lawrence Vigouroux did extremely well to fingertip Morgan Whittaker’s shot on to the bar
Like Edwards, Alan Sheehan was anxious to endear himself to a newish public in his first competitive match after being promoted from Swansea’s caretaker manager to the real thing. How the Irishman could have done with Luka Modric, a minority investor in Swansea, not being otherwise engaged staffing Milan’s midfield.
Sheehan speaks enthusiastically of the heavily decorated Croat, explaining Modric has passed some invaluable technical tips on to the squad and is apparently looking forward to visiting south Wales soon.
Another celebrity minority investor is the American rap star Snoop Dogg and he and his contacts are apparently already doing wonders to boost Swansea’s commercial revenue streams. Snoop Dogg is also scheduled to visit the Liberty Stadium this season and has been forgiven for an unfortunate incident in 2011 when he performed in south Wales wearing a Cardiff replica shirt.
Fry headed Boro into an early second-half lead with a stooping connection with Whittaker’s corner. It proved the cue for the home side to take control and only a timely headed interception on Cameron Burgess’s part prevented Hayden Hackney shooting Boro further ahead.
Hackney’s eye for a pass dictates that the 23-year-old midfielder does not lack admirers. Indeed Boro recently accepted a £20m bid for Hackney from Ipswich only for a player who has been watched repeatedly by Newcastle, among others, to reject that move. “It’s a win-win situation,” said Edwards. “If Hayden’s here, great; he’s a brilliant player. But, if he’s not, the funds will be available to spend.”
Sheehan, too, is presiding over a stylistic shift as Swansea transition from a possession-monopolising approach to a more direct one. “We didn’t create anywhere enough; they made sure we played down the sides a bit too much,” said Swansea’s manager. “No excuses, just disappointment.”
The suspicion, though, is that Sheehan’s will be far from the only team to stumble in the shadow of the Cleveland Hills as, 30 years after the Riverside’s doors first opened, Edwards aims to return the good times to Teesside.
