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Sorry, but that's absolute tripe. My dad wasn't into football but my mum supported Man United cos she grew up in Manchester near Old Trafford. I didn't. That wasn't a good enough reason for me to follow them. I was born in Bradford, and aged 7, I watched Valley Parade burn down. Two years later, we moved to a part of Scotland where football was all about sectarianism. Those two things put me off football completely for over a decade, till a group of mates decided to catch a Boro game while we were on holiday in the north east in 1997. I fell in love there and then (it helped that we beat Chelsea) and I've been a fan ever since. Are you telling me that's not a valid reason to support MFC? Should I start supporting Bradford?

man where you lived in scotland must of been bad to go on holiday to Middlesbrough

Scott Parker who has had 2 promotions in 2 seasons with 2 different clubs? And is looking good to make it 3 out of 3? Not a bad bracket to be in.

I said the same on twitter on Saturday, we criticised Carrick for not getting the wins against teams like Derby earlier in the season, so it's only fair he gets credit when he does get those kind of wins. It's promising that he's picked up the two wins but my faith in Carrick isn't high for the long term. In the same way my opinion was formed from his under performance over a longer period, my opinion will only change after a prolonged period of over performance. It would be far too fickle otherwise.

I dunno, I think most of his dodgy moments come from his own doing rather than any lack of support or changes ahead of him. He's still linking up decently with whoever he's playing with, he just lacks concentration and positioning when it comes To defence.

I was born in the Boro, my dad had been going since he was 10 he passed away at 84 years of age & a ST holder, massive fan

Probably looking at NFL - they don't have promotion or relegation there across their "Conferences". But its been that way from the start. Its a very different model. Whereas the boost of promotion and jeopardy of relegation have been a part of football for...probably at least as long as it been a professionally organised sport. Take that away and it becomes a closed shop...a lot like the proposed European Super League. If smaller clubs have no prospect of rising through the ranks, there's little incentive to continue investing in them. Imagine this would kill off lower league women's football and the Championship would become pretty meaningless.

Well...lets wait & see how Burnley back him in PL (assuming they don't try and bring someone else in). Maybe third time will be the charm? Carrick's got a lot less experience, so not really surprising he is some way behind...not that I'm trying to make a case for keeping him at Boro...

Seduced by Juninho's diving header?

I have literally no idea the point you are trying to make here mate? Carrick's foundation provides funding for kids teams and offers free sessions for kids to play football. As far as I'm aware Carrick's foundation has no ties to either of those places you mentioned (although Carrick did visit Kader last year on behalf of MFC Foundation). We win two games on the bounce and people just begin inventing reasons to pick fault at Carrick

Pretty much this. My feeling about Carrick is that he is maturing into an ok Championship manager. I suspect he'll end up in the same bracket as the likes of Lampard and Parker. I'm not convinced that unless he gets a spell where everything goes our way that he's got it in him to get us promoted. I do think he's improved and got gradually more streetwise but I do think the best managers/head coaches tend to be a duo where their strengths cover each others' weaknesses. I *suspect* that Woodgate's weaknesses are the same as Carrick. I say that because when Carrick's teams stop working it feels like they fail in the same way that Woodgate's did. I think they're both football "romantics" wanting to play beautiful, entertaining, attacking football. Nothing wrong with that but I suspect that what Carrick needs as a 2nd in command is a pragmatist. As far as I can tell, most teams that get promoted from this league without parachute payments tend to do it in the first or second year of a manager's contract. I suspect that we are more likely to be promoted next year with a new manager who builds on the best of Carrick's era.

yeah I don't see why you can't still have relegation in there and promote one extra team, its worked before in the mens game when league sizes needed to change by just increasing the promotion or relegation side until the league is where they want it to be.

I'm not sure it would *** him off, chance of promotion, without threat of relegation if he gets into the top 2 tiers before they hit 16 teams in each league. Gives teams something you could invest in, knowing if you get over the line you have a bit of security to build on. would be adding 4 teams to each league it looks like with an extra promotion each season, then likley relegation gets turned back on after that point. some teams could stop investing I supose, but I think they may be some that see it as a reason to invest and try to break that top 2, and if that happens for many teams it will cause any teams thinking they can coast for a few seasons on wages and transfers to rethink at the risk of being left behind

it's only temporary tho isnt it? because they will be adding teams to the top 2 leagues each season. once they are at 16 they will be relegation again if was me tho i'd still have the current promotion and relegation happening as it does presently and just have additional promotion places until it ends up with the number of teams they require

Got a feeling Dijksteel needs some inspiriation/pressure to perform at best. Like when he got back in, he showed real spirit and composure. Sometimes he gets too relaxed / comfortable or his head wanders, and he stands still too close to the centrebacks. When the pass comes he´s too close and leaves himself with almost no time to act, which often ends up with him losing the ball or with a bad pass. I think he needs to go wider and be more switched on. When he´s at it I love his forward runs and handling of the ball.

Might even watch the cup final if Man City go out A great FAC line up, just like the one we should have got to the final in

Helps that the favoured teams are mostly away...hopefully we see something different for once.

Man United out now too. If somebody can beat Man City, it's going to be a massive opportunity for a different winner to the usual suspects.

Fry makes a big difference seems to have a bit more authority and stature. Hopefully rav can find a way to stay injury free. That partnership could make a big difference with travers solid triangle there.

I'm surprised it's taken us so long to knacker him, we're normally much better than that.

All statistical only, he made 5 saves, guessing it's more than the rest in the division. Edit- just checked, it is. The next best after him was 3 saves.

How did the derby keeper get in there 😂

Dijksteel's game sense and positioning has always been ropey. When he's at his best he can compensate for it but if he's carrying an injury or off the boil, he can be a liability. He's been really good for most of this season so perhaps he's having a bit of a dip right now.

Especially as we have only won three on the spin once this season and that does not bode well imo

Don't get me wrong he has a blunder in him without a doubt but the more he is exposed or subjected to pressure the more likely he is to screw up is where I'm coming from.

Not entirely sure but I seem to recall that Brighton, Bournemouth, Brentford changed their manager pretty much yearly until one clicked. It feels virtuous to stick with a manager over the long term (in football years) but I'm not sure that works at this level. I was also struck by how after O'Neill saved Bournemouth from relegation they binned him off instantly. At the time it seemed like a ludicrous step but results have proven them right. Same with Coventry ditching Robins for Lampard. Probably the most important decision in football these days is knowing when to stick and when to twist with a manager. It's really what you need to pay your head of football for but I have the distinct impression this is the one decision that Gibson still insists on taking himself.

"Irritated" is maybe the wrong word for me to use but I often wander into the room to see that Man City as an example are 4-0 down to Arsenal and I'm thinking "wow" and then notice that it's WSL. I'm not suggesting they go down the route of "Belles", "Pixies" or "Marigolds" (flowers not the gloves) but U21's, Cricket and Rugby scores as an example are not intermixed. I do think they should have a high profile but should be separated or readily identifiable as WSL, distinct from the men's side to avoid confusion. Passionate followers of the Ladies game I imagine may feel the same in reverse when seeing score lines. Maybe a banner beneath the banner or confining them to the right hand panel with up to date scores collectively every 5 minutes or so the same way they do the individual game updates.

I don't get irritated but I do get confused sometimes. Its a similar issue when looking at the BBC's sports pages and you have to check the photo used with the match report link, or squint to see the little green "women's football" tag underneath. I think having the womens' teams use the same name as the mens' is part of the drive for equality and to give them the same standing. I know there have been some womens' teams in the past that had names which made it obvious, (Doncaster Belles - if memory serves?) but I'm not sure having Chelsea Jam Makers, Liverpool Quiltmakers or Arsenal Womens' Institute (yes, just taking the *** here) really does the women's game any favours. I think they just need to make the WSL thing more obvious. Like maybe have it fully spelt out...with a pink banner, if necessary. 🤷‍♂️

Get Doak back starting every week, wrap Fry in cotton wool and it’s on

Like i said, it's an idealistic opinion. Circumstances are different for everyone and your case is a good example.

Everyone grows under lights these days 😉

That'll teach me for trusting the headline covered all the info, it's not as bad as I thought then, but 4 years is still a long time in football. Middlesbrough Women narrowly missed out on promotion last season, they'll need Cheadle to drop points or significantly outscore them in the last 5 games to get promoted this season. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/mar/02/womens-super-league-clubs-will-hold-vote-on-radical-plan-to-scrap-relegation#:~:text=Under proposals developed by the,tier Championship to 16 teams. From the last line in the Guardian article it sounds like they might be considering letting Premier League clubs jump the queue and enter their women's teams in to the Women's Super League outside of the normal route. That might still throw a spanner in the works.

Seems to me that Dijksteel's performances have dipped since Doak got injured. Since then wve had a mixture of Whittaker in front of RB, Forrs, Illing and even Burgzorg and if I'm not mistaken one other (Nacho perhaps?). Any more that I've missed? Hardly surprising that he has been caught out and exposed at times.

The American league doesn't have relegation but with their draft system the teams at the bottom get first dibs on new talent to allow them to build up squads of players. You just know we wouldn't implement anything of the sort here and whoever is 20th in the WSL would stay 20th while the big clubs start building super squads. Edit, just seen Rob saying it's temporary so ignore this 😁

I imagine that will *** off Gibson. Only just started investing in the women's team and the ladder is potentially getting pulled up. Boro women are currently 2nd in the 4th division, 3 points off the top with a game in hand.

True, but there were 2 occasions that if derby had absolutely anything up front they would have had a golden chance to score through dijksteels indecision. He's done okay lately, much better than we've seen previously of him but he's the most upgradable position in the team and I can't wait to move on to someone else at rb in summer.

Bit of an overreaction, Ayling was at fault for goals and played poorly over a sustained period. We didn't even concede too many shots on Saturday, the fact Dijksteel struggled on the ball after playing fairly well lately doesn't amount to costing us points and regular poor performances

What a double whammy for Newcastle today. With the FA Cup being blown wide open they lost and have also lost Gordon for their cup final.

Might be just a Dede leg..

Yes me too Is that so we can give the rest of the Championship another six or eight game start to keep us lean, mean and hungry and playing catch up again?

Apparently it was, we got 3 points which shows that it was good enough.

Spot on.. saw Fry and Dijksteel having words with Ayling after the early chance that Travers saved and it became noticeable that if they couldn't draw someone in by standing with the ball and the midfielders were covered, it was hoofed upfield for Forss to chase. Mixing it up doesn't hurt, so happy to see that the option is permitted when required.

No I’ve noticed it aswell, even at 3-1 up we were willing to be more ‘agricultural’ at the back still. Could be confirmation bias but I feel in the past we’ve continued to try and knock it around in that situation and gave it away allowing the other team back into it.

Shame we sold Isaiah... Job's retired so no comfort there either ...can we recall Micah or Joshua? Solomon is out for the season so maybe Samuel or Daniel can save the day before Lamentations start 🙂

Jesus some of our fans are complete and utter fun sponges. DO NOT DRAG ME INTO YOUR MISERY, SATAN!

Apart from hitting the post twice, their keeper making a few good saves but year totally comfortable all game. Also look at Derbys previous results although getting beat a fair amount most teams have only been beating them by a1 goal margin so not like they are getting tonked every week, take the win be happy with the result.

Derby County 1/3/25 Hi Sportsfans welcome to my Notebook once again! Very difficult to rate the Derby players in this one. They were very poor and missing lots first teamers so they were always going to sit behind the ball and play on the break, tactics we have struggled to overcome at the Riverside this season. Credit to John Eustace, they were well organised and nearly got a vital point. Derby fans showed good support in season to forget for them, great turnout.... No.10 Jerry Yates is a previous Notebook entry from 2022/23 season when at Blackpool. He's a proven goalscorer at this level but didn't get any service whatsoever up top on his own. No.18 Marcus Harness playing behind Yates is a player I have followed since he starred for Portsmouth. He is on loan from Ipswich and another who struggled to get into the game, showed some nice touches but that was about it. I think he's better out wide. Was interested to see No.9 Kemar Roofe come on at the end. The ex Leeds and Rangers man has been without a club since leaving Rangers 8 months ago. He's a player I would have liked at Boro at one point, but he's 32 now. Obviously just getting back upto the required fitness levels. I remember No.19 Kayden Jackson scoring a couple of goals for Accrington against Boro in a pre season friendly a few years ago, he looked bright at times playing wide right but gave the ball away for the Boro winner. No.28 Harrison Armstrong making his first start on loan from Everton started well but faded quite quickly. Nobbys choice this week was the Rams captain No.32 Ebou Adams who was one of the only derby players to come out of the game with any credit. He was playing in central midfield and was heavily involved. He was snapping into tackles and getting stuck in, trying to get his side on the front foot, bags of energy and a proper captains performance. Was unlucky to see his long range shot well saved by Travers in the first half. Adams came through the youth ranks at Dartford and made his professional debut in the latter stages of the 2013/14 season in the National League. Adams established himself in the Dartford side during 2015/16 in the National League South at the age of 18 and his impressive displays saw him attract interest from various clubs. Norwich City, then playing in the Premier League, signed Adams for what was a record fee for Dartford in February 2016 and he immediately joined the Canaries’ Under-21s squad. The 2017/18 campaign saw him on the move again with loan spells at Shrewsbury Town in League One and Leyton Orient in the National League. After leaving Norwich in the summer of 2018, Adams sealed a permanent move to Ebbsfleet United. His form resulted in a return to the EFL in the summer of 2019 with League Two Forest Green, with three successive years of regular game time following. Adams impressed in 2021/22 as Forest Green won the League Two title. He was a driving force in the middle of the park and his displays saw him named in the division’s Team of the Season. After 121 appearances and ten goals during three years at The New Lawn, Adams made the step up to the Championship in the summer of 2022 when Cardiff signed him as a free agent. Following his move to the Welsh capital, he made 13 appearances for the Bluebirds. He spent the second half of last season on loan with Derby and played a key role as the Rams earned automatic promotion from League One. He produced several fine performances in the middle of the park and scored the club’s Goal of the Season in a 1-0 home win over Blackpool. Although he was born in England, Adams qualifies for Gambia through his grandparents. He made his international bow in 2017 and has 18 caps in total. 2024/5 Derby County - Ebou Adams Watford - James Abankwah WBA - Tom Fellows Sunderland - Enzo Le Fee 2023/24 Watford - Yaser Asprilla (Now at Girona) Leeds United - Crysencio Summerville (Now at West Ham) Swansea - Josh Key Sheffield Wednesday - James Beadle GK Blackburn Rovers - Sondre Tronstad Norwich City - Josh Sargent Plymouth - Darko Gyabi Bristol City - Max O'Leary Sunderland - Jack Clarke ( Now at Ipswich) Rotherham - Seb Revan ( Now at Wrexham) Coventry City - Tatsuhiro Sakamoto WBA - Jed Wallace Hull City - Jacob Greaves ( now at Ipswich) Ipswich - Jack Taylor Preston - Kian Best Leicester City - Wout Faes Stoke City - Daniel Johnson (Now at Fatih Karagümrük -Turkey) Birmingham City - Emmanuel Longelo (Now at Cambridge) Cardiff - Mark McGuiness (Now at Luton) Southampton - Kyle Walker-Peters QPR - Paul Smyth Huddersfield -Sorba Thomas Millwall - Romain Esse ( Now at Palace) 2022/23 Coventry City - Gustavo Hamer (Now at Sheff Utd) Hull City - Allahyar Sayyadmanesh (Now at Westerlo, Belgium) Norwich City - Josh Sargent Burnley - Anass Zoury (Now at Lens) Preston NE - Tom Cannon (Now at Leicester) Stoke - Will Smallbone (Now at Southampton) Reading - Cesare Casadei (Now at Chelsea) QPR - Illias Chair Blackpool - Jerry Yates ( Now at Derby) Watford - Matty Pollock Millwall - Romain Esse ( Now at Palace) Wigan Athletic - Thelo Aasgaard (Now at Luton) Luton Town - Elijah Adebeyo Bristol City -Max O'Leary GK Huddersfield Town - Sorba Thomas Blackburn Rovers - Adam Wharton (Now at Palace 18 Million Bar) Birmingham City - Tahith Chong ( Now at Luton) Rotherham United - Cohen Bramall (Now at Portsmouth) Cardiff City - Jack Simpson (Now at Orient) Sunderland - Ellis Simms ( Now at Coventry) Swansea - Joel Piroe (Now at Leeds) WBA - Dara O'Shea (Now at Burnley) Sheff United - Anel Ahmedhodzic 2021/22 Bristol City - Alex Scott (Now at B'mouth £25M) QPR - Chris Willock ( Now at Cardiff) Blackburn - Sam Gallagher ( Now at Stoke) Blackpool - Shayne Lavery (Now at Cambridge) Sheff Utd - Morgan Gibbs-White (now at Forest) Peterborough - Siriki Dembele (now at Oxford) Barnsley - Bradley Collins. GK (Now at Coventry) Birmingham - Riley McGree (now at Boro) Millwall - Daniel Ballard (now at Sunderland) Preston - Daniel Johnson (Now at Fatih Karagümrük -Turkey) Swansea - Ryan Manning (now at Southampton) Bournemouth - Mark Travers GK (on loan at Boro) Forest - Brennan Johnson (Now at Spurs) Reading - Andy Rinomata (Now at Cardiff) Coventry - Viktor Gyokeres (Now at Sporting) Derby - Festy Ebosele (Now at Istanbul Basaksehir) West Brom - Grady Diangana Luton Town - Elijah Adebeyo Fulham - Aleksandar Mitrovic (Now at Al Hilal) Hull City - Jacob Greaves ( Now at Ipswich) Huddersfield Town - Lewis O'Brien (now at Forest) (Now at Boro) (Now at Swansea) Cardiff City - Rubin Colwill Stoke City - Nick Powell ( Now at Stockport)

Late to the party but my suggestions for songs have Boro roots. Free. All right now Young Rebel Set. Lions Mouth

That's ***. With the squad he has, he can and should have been doing better this season.