For all intents and purposes, August 2025 has been a good month; Boro’ making a fine start to the new Sky Bet League One campaign. It’s unlikely that many would’ve seen us collect 15 points from the possible 18 on offer. But here we are. For some, it’ll no doubt strengthen a belief that we can do something special this year. Others, meanwhile, will be glad of the fact our League One survival will be assured just that bit quicker in 2025-6.
Either way, we hope we’ve started as we mean to go on.
This season, we’ve changed our monthly At This Stage series a bit. Last time out, we did it based on number of games played. That means we’d have previously compared our record this season after six matches against our return from six matches in seasons gone by. This time around, we’re going to do it on the calendar. So, the comparison could well be uneven as we haven’t always played six league games by the end of August.
Still, could be interesting.
League One comparison at this stage
Usually, August is packed with games. We start the season right at the top of the month. But we also have to factor in the League Cup and, sometimes, the Football League Trophy. More often than not, we’ve managed five league outings by the end of August. The six played this season so far is the highest amount we’ve piled into the month. On the flip side, there were only three league fixtures completed by this point in August 2012!
FACT:
This is the best start we’ve ever made to a League One season – and comfortably so. Only once, back in 2023-4, has our points tally strayed into double figures by the end of August. PPG and GPG are also the strongest we’ve returned in August in League One. Mind you, the 2012-3 season is somewhat notable for being our only one in the third tier where we ended the month unbeaten… if three games is a reasonable enough sample?
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 2025-6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 5 |
| 2023-4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
| 2012-3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| 2011-2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024-5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| 2013-4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | -1 |
Are there any lookalike seasons?
There are a handful of seasons in which we had completed six fixtures by the end of August. Two were in recent times and the rest were from our Conference days. One of the things you had about being in the Conference is a lack of any distractions early in the season. And we’d also have the Bank Holiday double header. But the season would start slightly later, which is why there is a handful and not an avalanche.
Two things to flag here.
The 1998-9 and 1999-00 seasons provided us with two of the best Augusts in our history. No season since the latter has come close to its epicness. We were rocketing along at the start of that Conference campaign. Six wins out of six is the headline, but 14 goals for and a mere one against? That’s sensational stuff. Sadly, the following three months were a bit of a turd. There are always lessons from history.
And then we come to the pure shite that was 2019-20. Boro’ ended August without a win and just three draws to lean on. But our Goals Against count was hardly the worst. Strange how a nightmare can manifest itself. You don’t know it’s happening sometimes…
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 1999-00 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 18 | 13 |
| 1998-9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 5 |
| 2022-3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 3 |
| 2003-4 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 3 |
| 2008-9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 5 | -9 |
| 2019-20 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 | -4 |
The best and the worst at the end of August
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 1980-1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 10* | 15 |
| 1993-4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 9 |
It looks like slim pickings in the above table. But some of our best returns from August are covered already – such as this season and the 1999-00 campaign. There are a couple other seasons to flag too. The 1993-4 season is one in which we scored freely and ended the first month of the season unbeaten. Not quite as much as the 1980-1 season, mind you.
It’s only the fact we got two points for a win back then as to why 10 points doesn’t seem all that impressive. Can’t turn your nose up at 18 goals from five outings, though.
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 1986-7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 1982-3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2* | 0 |
| 1983-4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2* | -1 |
| 2006-7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 2 | -3 |
| 1987-8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | -2 |
| 1981-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | -2 |
Worst Augusts? Well, it’s hard to judge some of the 1980s seasons. Some of them only had us get two league fixtures out the door due to various local and national cup commitments. But two defeats from two puts the 1981-2 season up there. Or down there. Two other seasons saw us fail to win in August too, including the 2006-7 campaign – one in which boss Mark Stimson had to wait a while for his first success. Goals weren’t an issue, to be fair.
Main photo: Stevenage FC