‘I have no doubt that Middlesbrough will be there or thereabouts in the promotion race. I still regard them as promotion rivals for us…’ At a time when promotion pessimism pervades Teesside, there is at least one outsider still confident that Gordon Strachan can correct the current ills and rehabilitate prospects for this campaign. Never [...]

We’ve struggled for days in search of a fresh introduction. Do we wade into the flashpoint socio-political debate gripping the region off the pitch? We’ve not got the bob or temerity of one Steve Gibson to even try emulating. How about ruminations regarding the immediate future of Adam Johnson? Does he limp away, clutching his [...]

09 March 2008. It will forever be imprinted on our minds as the date of a spectacular cock-up. Chelsea and Manchester United had been eliminated from the FA Cup a day earlier, and despite another struggling league campaign Boro had relatively clear passage to Wembley. Sidestep visiting Cardiff at first asking and most likely make [...]

‘So…what do you expect from your lads vs. Blackpool?‘ It was innocuous enough – our Arsenal supporting mate was keen to wring a prediction for the Tangerines visit. We rarely commit to a score, largely due to their disastrous repercussions, but had this to say: replication of the form from the weekend will do nicely… should be [...]

The eloquent and erudite Dave Kitson said it during the week: some club was due to get a ‘right spanking’. His prescience was augmented by the immediacy of it – QPR the victims in a 5-1 mauling Saturday at Loftus Road. The chances lamentably missed over the last 5 plus matches were bagged with class. [...]

Like an incredulous Mark Renton asks upon learning of the dodgy smack deal aspired by Begbie, Sick Boy and Spud, ‘what the fuck are you boys on?’ Boro unveiled a stupefying seasonal ticket scheme that defies all marketing convention – if the club win 4 on the bounce after Christmas, all reduced-price tickets purchased under [...]

If the sanctity of at least your afternoon doesn’t ride on this result then why bother paying attention? That sagacity courtesy of TheProphetBob – chatting on AVs live blog from Selhurst Park – for providing perspective as Boro endure a worryingly woeful slide whilst adjusting to the revised coaching cabal. Gordo, the players, the fans, [...]

Change, not love, is exciting and new. Everyone in the Boro extended network is acclimatising to the new action-oriented approach to personnel dealings. Gone are the days of endless conjecture and pontification – Gordon Strachan operates like a thief in the night, undermining rumour mongers everywhere. Isaiah Osbourne is now in the fold through the [...]

To effectively mould his new side into genuine promotion contenders Gordon Strachan will need time. And patience. And a large sum of cash. All aspects were abundantly – painfully so – clear in another bumbling home under-performance v Plymouth Saturday at the Riverside. Additionally, the new gaffer must decipher the ubiquitous park-the-bus approach adopted by [...]

It’s the promise of fresh ideas – a new voice in the lads’ ears, an improved scouting strategy, more rigid and detailed training – that’s doing wonders to augment the collective mood engulfing the club. Gordon Strachan won’t be the only Boro debutant versus Plymouth; the peripatetic Marcus Bent was drafted in on loan from [...]