WITH the clue that one of the opposing side was playing in the FA Vase two days later, last week’s column invited readers to recall Manchester City’s record Premier League defeat.

It came on the final day of 2007-08 at the Riverside Stadium, City thrashed 8-1 by Middlesbrough before a 27,613 crowd. Julio Arca, now on his way to Wembley with South Shields, was in the Boro team.

“It was just one of those days, every time we had a chance it went in,” recalls the agreeable Argentinian, now 36. “We scored some really good goals, but it wasn’t the same Manchester City, of course.”

City weren’t helped when Richard Dunne was sent off after 15 minutes, Stewart Downing netting the resultant penalty. Downing scored again, the long legged Afonso Alves hit a hat-trick, others came from Jeremie Aliadiere, Adam Johnson and Fabio Rochemback.

“A great performance,” said Boro boss Gareth Southgate.

“Embarrassing, we weren’t even on the pitch,” said City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson for whom it proved to be his final match.

Boro finished mid-table – “after 8-1 I think we spent the summer thinking we could do even better” says Julio – but were relegated the following season, spent seven years at the second tier and struggle again.

Manchester City were sold that September to the Abu Dhabi Group. The clubs’ fortunes, it might be said, have diverged.

THE Daily Mail, meanwhile, has been running a Q&A on the last time that a Premiership club fielded a team wholly made up of English born players.

The answer again appears to be the Boro, and with several of the men who helped maul Man City. It was May 7 2006 and all but Malcolm Christie, Lincolnshire lad, were born within 30 miles of the club.

Steve McLaren’s side was Ross Turnbull, Andrew Taylor, Matthew Bates, David Wheater, Andrew Davies, James Morrison, Jason Kennedy, Lee Cattermole, Adam Johnson, Danny Graham and Malcolm Christie. Subs Colin Cooper, Tom Craddock and Josh Walker were all English, too.

McLaren had rested several senior players ahead of the UEFA Cup final four days later. They lost 1-0 to Fulham.

….AND still with the Boro, Steve Agnew’s appointment as acting head lad stirred happy memories for Alan Oliver.

Now chairman of Ebac Northern League club Newton Aycliffe, Alan was manager of West Auckland when he persuaded the former Sunderland and Barnsley midfielder (“friend of a friend of a friend”) to turn out for them.

“An absolute gentleman. If there’s one person in the game that I really hope makes it, it’s him,” says Alan.

In one match at Billingham Town, Aycliffe down to the bare 11, they trailed 1-0 at half-time when Agnew asked – “very politely” – if he might have a word with the lads. “It transformed them,” Alan recalls, “we won 2-1.”

On another occasion, against Consett, he appeared persistently to be goaded by an opponent insisting he was past it. “We were 2-1 down, got a last minute corner which was cleared to Steve who hit an absolute beauty into the top corner.

“As they ran back I expected him to say something to the other guy about shutting him up, but he didn’t say a thing. Afterwards I asked him why not. ‘I think I shut him up already’, Steve said.”

GOVERNMENT U-turn notwithstanding, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s performance at last week’s Prime Minister’s questions is said to have been particularly underwhelming. It prompted football mad Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP (and Guisborough Town president) Tom Blenkinsop to tweet a well-remembered image of Liverpool’s Ronny Rosenthal missing a sitter in 1992. “Can’t imagine why I recalled this,” he added.

BISHOP Auckland FC, as many will know, were formed in the 1880s as Auckland Church Institute by theology students at Auckland Castle.

Though three of the side became bishops, none at the club could recall a visit by a serving Bishop of Durham until the Rt Rev Paul Butler turned up with his wife Rosemary for last Saturday’s match with North Shields.

The photograph shows him wearing the sort of clerical scarf not usually associated with the Church of England – and sadly for the other Bishops, there was to be no divine intervention. They lost 2-0.

“Good crowd, good fun, wrong result,” reports former club chairman Steve Newcomb – and none of the present team, we’re assured, is likely to be following their forbears into the episcopate.

BACK on March 11, it will be recalled, 16-year-old Ryan Sessignon scored twice for Fulham at Newcastle and might have had a hat-trick had he not been jocked off – as the racers say – by the regular spot man, who missed.

It stirred memories for the Chaytor family. Back in January 1955, Ken Chaytor – then barely 17 – had already hit three for Oldham Athletic against Mansfield when the Latics were also awarded a penalty.

David Chaytor recalls that his dad picked up the ball but was in turn overruled by the regular man, the great George Hardwick. George missed, too.

Now 77 and still in Sedgefield, Ken remained for many years the Football League’s youngest hat-trick scorer until undertaken by Trevor Francis.

His career ended at Ashton United, aka the Robins, whose website recalls him as the Durham Boy Wonder. Presumably because they hadn’t a picture of Ken, the website uses one of Batman’s mate instead.

….AND finally, a question filched from Bedlington Terriers’ programme last Saturday: since 1966, which two England football captains – other than goalkeepers – have never scored for their country?

Aiming to score once again, the column returns next week.