'Everybody round my house for a parmo!’ - New book reveals inside track on the most successful era in Middlesbrough’s proud history

Any Middlesbrough fan will be all too familiar with that iconic phrase – coined by legendary Boro commentator Ali Brownlee – and it is also the name of a new book telling the story of the most successful era in Middlesbrough’s proud history – as told by those who experienced it.

Author Phil Spencer, a full-time football writer, caught the Boro bug at the age of four after moving to the North East and has never looked back.

And he has now combined his two passions with his first book, charting a remarkable period in the club’s history.

Winning the club’s first trophy in their 128-year history in the Carling Cup, securing their best-ever Premier League finish and reaching the UEFA Cup final ensured those three years will forever be remembered in Boro folklore.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing.

Long-term injuries, links with the England manager’s job and Steve McClaren’s strained relationship with the media and supporters threatened to derail such a successful era.

For the book, Phil spoke to former players, coaches and psychologists, club officials, local reporters, high-profile supporters and interviews from the archives.

Phil said: “The book is very much a celebration of the greatest era in Middlesbrough FC’s history, but more than that, it’s a tribute to a Boro legend in Ali Brownlee.

“Like many, I found myself with plenty of spare time during lockdown and writing this book allowed me to walk down memory lane to the years between 2003 and 2006, the first years that I had my Middlesbrough season ticket, to reminisce about a three-year period that present day fans can only dream of.

“On paper it was a flawless era, but the reality is that behind-the-scenes there were more than a few things that had the potential to derail the progress being made under Steve McClaren.

“Speaking to those involved in the journey, this is what really happened during those three years.”

The book is available via the likes of Amazon, WH Smith, Waterstones and also via https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/everybody-round-my-house-parmo

Phil added: “The memories of that era are vivid in my mind, and like so many others, it’s a pleasure to think back to the happiest times of following the club.”