Boro Win the Cup
128 years. One hundred and twenty eight years. Try thinking Grosse Point Blank, the bit where Martin Blank's best friend Paul is driving him around in the beemer and suddenly shouts 'TEN YEARS!', only multiply that by 12.8 times. 128 years Middlesbrough FC have existed - bar the small break in the mid-80s - and they have just won their first ever major trophy. I've only been a supporter for a relatively short period in comparison - about the last 20 years, give or take - and yet already I know the pain of the long wait, and now the sweet relief that follows that barren time, like the first joyous rains on the Serengeti after a long, hot, dry summer. During the mid-90s we had a spate of cup final appearances, in both the league and FA cups, and yet came away utterly empty-handed. Not this time, however. Not this time. I won't bore you with the details - after all, you're a web user, you know how to find these things - and nor will I regale you with tired arguments over this controversy and that controversy. Bolton did fight well, and perhaps might have been luckier, but even the Bolton manager Sam Allardyce admitted that his team were outplayed in the second half. Middlesbrough won the match, and deservedly so. Middlesbrough won the cup. And deservedly so...