iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Your Boys Took a Hell of a Beating @ybtahoab.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

What's this? T-Rex in the charts, Revie's dossiers, #Arsenal's Alan Ball-sing it up, the Queen abandoning her car willy-nilly. It must be the 1972 FA Cup Final. Over to @scraggy74.bsky.social & @themagicofthecup.bsky.social #LUFC #LeedsUtd yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com/p/just-look-...

yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

Just Look At His Face: 1972 FA Cup final

100 up!

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Your Boys Took a Hell of a Beating @ybtahoab.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

ACTION REPLAY: The first in a new weekly series takes us back to July 1977. We talk Kevin Keegan, Donna Summer, Star Wars, Chrysler Sunbeams...but mainly Kevin Keegan. @robfletcher.bsky.social takes his turn on the YBTAHOAB typewriter yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com/p/action-rep...

yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

Action Replay - July 27 1977

Hamburger Hill

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These Football Times @thesefootballtimes.shop · 18/03/2025

🇫🇷 Icons: Zinedine Zidane. @robfletcher.bsky.social @themagicofthecup.bsky.social discuss the je ne sais quoi of Zizou. Listen and download ⬇️ Apple bit.ly/3oyPu89 Spotify bit.ly/3BVb3Tm Online bit.ly/3DHNfHc

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These Football Times @thesefootballtimes.shop · 20/12/2024

Decades: 1998/99. The Treble, weird transfers and weirder kits, with @robfletcher.bsky.social and Alex Ireland. Football. Bloody hell. Listen and download ⬇️ Apple bit.ly/3oyPu89 Spotify bit.ly/3BVb3Tm Online bit.ly/3P6gHZG

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80s90sFootball @80s90sfootball.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Nii Lamptey 50 today Remember him? Championship Manager legend & a teenage sensation dubbed the new 'Pele' Played for a number of clubs, most notably Anderlecht, PSV, Aston Villa & Coventry City Injuries, pressure & family reasons stopped Lamptey fulfilling his potential

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These Football Times @thesefootballtimes.shop · 09/12/2024

Young managers, sky-high ticket prices and the end of the 3pm blackout. Are we entering the second era of 21st-century football? With @robfletcher.bsky.social, @themagicofthecup.bsky.social and @allbluedaze.bsky.social Apple bit.ly/3oyPu89 Spotify bit.ly/3BVb3Tm Online bit.ly/4g4CTPN

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Typical Boro Podcast @typicalboro.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social joins us this week to discuss a Hull of a week for Boro… Listen to the latest podcast episode from 6am tomorrow! ☀️

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Steve Welsh @miniboro.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Here we go then... the first keeper in my #BoroTeamSheetProject and it simply had to be Stephen Pears. Still need to do a few tweaks here and there but he's just about done. Absolute legend for the #Boro and all round nice guy too #Teesside #UtB

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Dom Shaw @domshawecho.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Rarely is a manager able to leave out a striker just seven days after scoring a hat-trick. It's benefiting #Boro and keeping opposition guessing. Latte Lath & Conway have 15 goals between them. Conway has the best mins per goal ratio in Champ ✍️ Analysis www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/247631...

thenorthernecho.co.uk

Carrick is in unique Middlesbrough position - which leaves Burnley & Leeds guessing

Analysis of Middlesbrough's 3-1 win over Hull City at the Riverside

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

The one we’ve all been waiting for! It’s the #Boro season. Juninho Ravanelli Emerson Relegation Two lost cup finals Man U in the rain …and 3 POINTS!! Have a listen. #UTB

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Thoughts: - we need a creator in the 10 every game - the big switch worked when we used it - Conway and LL don’t link up - Borges needs to peeper the box with crosses (hello Ryan Giles in January) - Howson should be used for late game cameos only - Hamilton is worse than Silvera

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

So if the rumours are true it looks like there’s a few missing tonight and I’ve heard the #Boro XI is: Dibble Varga Kinder Whelan St Ledger Yeates Debeve Michael Thomas Marinelli King Freestone Going to take a lot to keep the run going but we can do it! #UTB

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These Football Times @thesefootballtimes.shop · 25/11/2024

What do the next five years look like for Manchester United? What constitutes success? And might it be more of the same? With @robfletcher.bsky.social and Alex Ireland. Listen and download ⬇️ Apple bit.ly/3oyPu89 Spotify bit.ly/3BVb3Tm Online bit.ly/3Z2eYt0

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Inrictus “Ry” @inrictus.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

DO. NOT. MISS. THIS. HIGHLIGHT. PACKAGE!! Link below to watch the full highlights from Yesterday's @mfc.co.uk watch along. Things got wet... #UTB #WTN youtu.be/lt2anRkaS0Q

youtu.be

HIT EM FOR 6! | Oxford United 2 - Middlesbrough 6 | Highlights and Reaction

YouTube video by Inrictus

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Some what ifs for January: Scenario 1: stay as we are and don’t sign or sell. Scenario 2: one big sale and reinvest in 2/3 quality players Scenario 3: take the biggest offers for anyone and reinvest up to £10m What do you reckon #Boro fans? And who do you want to buy? #UTB

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Rob Fielder @robfielder.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

The 50 Best Club Teams of the Last 100 Years Before I get into my list of the best 50 club teams of the last 100 years, I wanted to lay out some of the criteria behind it.

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Azeez scoring for Millwall against the Mackems to equalise in the dying minutes after an Azaz masterclass for #Boro is poetic. #UTB

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Before they hosted the Boro. Oxford had conceded 5 goals at home all season. You just got Carricked. #Boro #UTB

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

All about these two. About £6m total spent on them. Now fully firing. Let’s have a Latte Lath hat trick second half.

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Ok, after more thought, here’s my line up prediction: Brynn Ayling Borges Edmundson Clarke Howson Barlaser Doak Azaz Burgzorg Latte Lath

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

With those Rav rumours about him going to Crystal Palace I think we should cash in. Take a good fee - £15m (minimum) with some add ons and invest in a couple of defenders and Poku (long term Doak replacement) from Peterborough.

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80s90sFootball @80s90sfootball.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

#OnThisDay in 1994 George Weah scored this fantastic goal as PSG beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the Champions League

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Predicting a tough game today for Boro. Line up thoughts: - Hope Dieng is well enough to play - I think Doak and McGree will be on the bench - Latte Lath to start up front - Howson and Barlaser CMs - Forss to play 20+ minutes - Narrow Boro win by the odd goal #Boro #UTB

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These Football Times @thesefootballtimes.shop · 22/11/2024

Decades: 1995/96. Keegan's Entertainers, winning with kids, Juninho and Gullit, with @robfletcher.bsky.social, @aidanwilliams74.bsky.social and Alex Ireland. Listen and download ⬇️ Apple bit.ly/3oyPu89 Spotify bit.ly/3BVb3Tm Online bit.ly/4hZ7ZJM

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Boro Shirt Museum @boroshirtmuseum.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

🚨 | Now that our hugely popular exhibition has ended, we want to take the project to the next level. We’re looking for a permanent location, somewhere to showcase more of our huge collection of match worn shirts and other memorabilia. We have so many wonderful stories to tell. Can you help us?

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Untypicalboro @untypicalboro.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Stuart Ripley #559 - the Rippers' section in the new Middlesbrough Legacy Numbers book, a comprehensive compendium of the first 1,000 #Boro players. Facts, figures, backstory, colour. Essential history at your fingertips. OUT NOW! £22. Club shop & mfc online. You know you want to.

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Stu’s Football Flashbacks @stusfootyflash.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

UEFA Champions League nights: Mid-90s style.

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Retro Football Network @retrofootballnw.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

A brief intro. I post random clips & photos from football's past. I love to interact on different football topics. I'm also working with Elton Welsby on his autobiography, which will be out VERY SOON! If you like retro football, you're in the right place!

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These Football Times @thesefootballtimes.shop · 18/11/2024

Is football becoming too data-driven? And is the fascination with numbers turning football from an art form into a science? With @robfletcher.bsky.social. Apple bit.ly/3oyPu89 Spotify bit.ly/3BVb3Tm Online bit.ly/3CtDFGW

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90s Football @90sfootball.com · 17/11/2024

These boots 😍

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Stu’s Football Flashbacks @stusfootyflash.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

“It’s not done and dusted yet.” Sensational from Roy Keane, this. 😂

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Mark Savage @mrdiscopop.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

In case you can’t access Instagram, here’s the full text of Robbie Williams’ response to former Take That manager Nigel Martin Smith’s appearance on the BBC’s “Boybands Forever” documentary. Powerful, revealing and emotional. (1/3)

Screenshot of Robbie Williams’ post to Instagram, which reads: “Hey Nige,
Hope all is good in your world and life is being kind to you.

“Just thought I'd jot down a few thoughts about our appearance together as talking heads on the boyband doc "Boybands Forever"

“I was equal parts terrified and excited to be sharing a screen with you again. Excited to see where we both are on this journey and terrified in case old emotions would be triggered and l'd still be in a place of anger, hurt or fear.

As it happens it would appear that time has done its thing, and I guess the wisdom it brings has taken its mop to a few nooks and crannies here and there. I guess not every nook has been bleached though.”

Second page of Robbie Williams’ statement:

"He's smart, is Robbie and it's quite clever, you know,
'I did drugs because I was in this band where I couldn't have girlfriends or I couldn't go out. That evil twat, Nigel, it's his fault that I'm behaving like a wanker' Nigel Martin Smith.

“Allow me to respond to your assertion.
My drug taking was never your fault. My response to the warped world that surrounded me is solely my own. How I chose to self-medicate is and was something that I will be monitoring and dealing with for the whole of my life. It's part of my makeup and I would have the same malady had I been a taxi driver.

“I just got there quicker due to having the finances whilst trying in vain to counteract the turbulence of pop stardom's matrix-bending washing machine.

“If you are following the story closely you can't help but notice a pattern emerge.

“Boys join a boy band. The band become huge. Boys get sick. Some are fortunate through a series of self-examinations and…”

Part three of Robbie’s statement:

“…help to overcome their experience. Some never quite manage to untangle the mess of the wreckage of the past.

“I'm not breaking anyone's anonymity by sharing the side effects of boyband dysphoria that relate to just us lads.

“Everyone has publicly put this on record:
Howard - Contemplated suicide when the band ended.
Mark - Addiction, alcoholism, rehab.
Gaz - Bulimia.
Me - I think that one is well-documented.
Jason - Whatever effect Take That had on him is so painful he can't even be part of it.

“I will also remind you that the person acting like a 'wanker' was 16 when he joined the band and 21 when he left. That was the last time I saw you. I hope I have more grace and understanding when and if any of my own 4 children at such a vulnerable age behave in the same manner.”

Part four of Robbie’s statement:

"You get to a certain age and you just think, 'Fuck it, I'm not going to me grave as some big, nasty, evil bastard'." Nigel Martin Smith.

“Allow me to help here. Nige, you continue to not come across as a relatable character and could do with a glow-up where redeemable features are concerned.

“Therefore you play into the narrative you don't want for yourself. Here's what you should say:

"The level of success was new to us all. I wish I knew then what I know now - I could have been there for them on a level that in hindsight maybe I wasn't"

“Everyone will understand and appreciate that level of self-reflection. It's okay to admit your shortcomings.

“No one is going to sue you for not knowing or understanding the psychological effects everything was having on everyone. We were outliers. Just concede a few points here and there cos no-one's gonna buy the version of perfection and upright behaviour that is your current M.O.”

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Stu’s Football Flashbacks @stusfootyflash.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

A Sunday long read for you. It’s the anniversary of Graham Taylor’s last match in charge of England, and his failure to qualify for USA ‘94. But which players would have made the squad had they qualified? Here I look at the runners and riders. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 stusfootballflashbacks.com/2020/04/02/w...

stusfootballflashbacks.com

Which Players Would Have Made England’s 1994 World Cup Squad?

Picture the scene. Wednesday 13th October, 1993; Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam. England’s crunch World Cup qualifier against the Dutch. Following a tight first half, Ronald Koeman is quite rig…

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Rhys W Richards @rhyswrichards.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/blood-c... We're approaching injury time for Christmas shopping. If you want to save Christmas at the last-gasp, then give the gift of The Dictatorship, The Disappeared and the World Cup. #BloodOnTheCrossbar

pitchpublishing.co.uk

Blood on the Crossbar: The Dictatorship's World Cup

Blood on the Crossbar: The Dictatorship's World Cup is the story of football's most controversial tournament: Argentina's 1978 World Cup. It was a tournament that took place during a brutal military d...

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Retro Football Network @retrofootballnw.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

OK let's see how this goes. The 1-10 game Day one Name one player who played in a FA Cup final in the 90s. Play along and tag a friend! I'll start...

media.tenor.com

a man in a white shirt is making a funny face while standing in a room .

ALT: a man in a white shirt is making a funny face while standing in a room .

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80s90sFootball @80s90sfootball.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Happy Saturday everyone, Gazzetta Football Italia style Those were the days

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80s90sFootball @80s90sfootball.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Soviet Union : A Team Frozen in Time #Spain82 through to #USA94 on & off the pitch, but how things unravelled on the football front after the collapse of the Soviet Union 👇 80s90sfootball.wordpress.com/2021/09/08/s...

80s90sfootball.wordpress.com

Soviet Union: A Team Frozen in Time

If you’re of a certain age you would remember a mystical team from the East in a red or white shirt with the letters ‘CCCP’ emblazoned upon it. That team like the country itself was for many …

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Outside Write (Chris Lee) ⚽️ @outsidewrite.co.uk · 16/11/2024

Football historians starter pack for your enjoyment #skystorians go.bsky.app/2p6oELV

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90s Football @90sfootball.com · 16/11/2024

I've set up a Starter Pack of accounts that specialise in retro football content and have joined up to Bluesky. Hopefully, this is of use to some of you! Have I missed anyone? go.bsky.app/65vthe9

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Seminal album. Before starting uni this was in my lime green Sony Walkman on the bus to college. Other albums included: Ash - Free All Angels Daft Punk - Discovery The Ramones - Anthology The Clash - London Calling Manics - The Holy Bible The Beatles - Revolver I was 17 - trying to be cool.

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Rob Fletcher @robfletcher.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Blue Sky is like Facebook when you had to have a uni email address to join.

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