Former Middlesbrough goal-scorer and Teesside legend Bernie Slaven has always been passionate when it comes to the Boro.
That statement was proven to be accurate when ex-Boro, Newcastle and Leeds forward John Hendrie published his autobiography, ‘Don’t call me happy!’.
An anecdote from Hendrie about a time when the two played together for Boro under Colin Todd, told of the time that Bernie was substituted at half-time during a match against Charlton Athletic.
Speaking of the ‘remarkable incident’ during the 1990/91 season in chapter ten (page 114), Hendrie recalled the situation. “1-0 down with 45 minutes left to change things around, Toddy decided to take off Bernie and replace him with the pacey Stuart Ripley.
“Idolised on Teesside for his goal scoring exploits, Bernie responded to his substitution in a way I have never seen before or since.
“As we prepared to return to the pitch, the door leading from the dressing room to the bathroom was opened. There, floating in the bath, was Bernie’s discarded number seven shirt. So furious was Bernie about being taken off, he had stormed out of the ground.
“Apparently, while the second half proceeded, Bernie was walking his dogs near his home a few miles away.”
Strained relationship
It is not uncommon for players to show their displeasure at being taken off, but to show such disregard for a manager was a real shock. Slaven was famed for his number seven shirt, as that’s what most television cameras saw after a Slaven goal as he scaled the advertising hoardings to celebrate passionately with the Boro fans, his arms rattling the caged fence frantically.
Slaven had an up and down relationship with Colin Todd and once-according to Hendrie-told Todd, in front of the whole dressing room, ‘You’re just Henderson’s puppet’. Henderson of course being the Middlesbrough Chairman at the time.
In spite of all that, Slaven was Boro’s talisman for the most part and the season after the half-time fracas, Boro were promoted, with Bernie being the first Irish player to score a goal in the Premier League, bagging two goals in a 2-0 win against Manchester City in the inaugural 92/93 season.
He scored a total of 223 career goals throughout his career, with 146 of those coming in a Middlesbrough shirt. Slaven endured another rocky relationship with the manager who succeeded Colin Todd; Lenny Lawrence, and he eventually left Boro for Port Vale in 1993. He still remains a popular figure around Teesside and is known for his radio match commentary and punditry covering Boro matches.
The man nicknamed ‘The Wolfman’ has always been fairly outspoken and this short snippet shows that he was always willing to put his head above the parapet on occasions.