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i mean if u look at our form i think we have turned a corner some what. 1 defeat in 5 and it was away to top of the league leeds. weve won 2 games after no win in 10 , were scoring goals and were now 4 points clear of the drop. and to top it off weve done this while half the squad has been out injured or ill. a bare bones boro squad has show the fight and determination thats been lacking all season, for me thats grounds for optimism

Always about the other team... our defending from the front was absolutely fantastic today. It was more about us than them. It's not like it's asking much to be happy with a confident win. It's not about the long term today, it's one game and it was one of the most one-sided 1-0 wins you're gonna see. Sometimes I think you'd be happier if we lost so you got proven right and that's frankly a bit sad.

Hi, Apologies for the intrusion. I covered an U23 match of yours against Newcastle back in November, and planned to do so next time you played down south and I was nearby. I went to the match against Crystal Palace today, which 'Boro absolutely dominated, and put together this match report with photos. https://thegrassrootstourist.com/2019/12/02/crystal-palace-u23/ Hope it's of interest to some. Regards, GRTourist

If we can afford Hughton we can afford Karanka. I don't care about the dangers of nostalgia, just give me that beautiful man back.

It's for mental health awareness - https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/dec/02/fa-cup-third-round-delayed-minute-mental-health-awareness

Morning Spurs fan. Quite pleased with the draw. A team we haven't played for a while and what i think of as a 'proper' side along with good away day. Mourihno will put out a stong team i think as he wants to get the 'no trophy' monkey off our backs early in his tunure. I will make the trip up there dependent on date & time as the trains are messed up and it is a 600 mile round trip for me in the car! We have a soft spot for Woodgate as he scored the winning goal for the only trophy we have won in 20 years. Anyway, good luck for the rest of the season & hope you stay up. See you soon.

They could send up their ladies team and get through

I know the club have the gazette by the balls but oh my god. ‘It’s no use crying over spilled milk’. What a total lack of respect from the Gazette, no journalist can wash their hands with this degree of manipulation. Fans are frustrated with the ineptitude at the top of the club. Yes, the club seems to be trying to right those wrongs, but the same people remain in charge and have given fans little faith they have the knowledge to turn it around. As far as most fans are concerned, the milk continues to spill. This article rebuffs all the subsidiary concerns fans have whilst completely failing to acknowledge the problem that underlies them: the poor decisions made by people at the top of the club who remain in place.

How can being relegated be better than not being relegated? I'll take 'just staying up' right now. Our last two relegations have turned out brilliantly. Warnock has got a team promoted in the last two years and almost kept them up too - harsh in my opinion to compare to Pulis who failed in direct competition with a vastly superior budget. I don't think anyone has ever dreamt of seeing Warnock as their team's manager... but would take him over the pure embarrassing ineptitude getting served up right now. If Woody keeps up it will be through blind luck of there somehow being three poorer teams.

The City ground as never been a very happy hunting ground for us, we miss too many clear cut chances, I'll go 2-0 Forest with Lewis Grabban showing our boys how its done.

I will post negative shi#e before every match if we end up like today 😷 UP THE BORO

It's probably because we can't afford young players that are actually getting gametime and we're left with older has-beens that can't get into the matchday squads in lower prem teams. It'll be more Cranies than Gastons.

By what measure is time rapidly running out for us? There are 27 games left and there are currently 4 teams worse off than us. This panic is unfounded. Its concerning yes but were hardly cut adrift.

Ohhh, now that would be an interesting move!

Could have won @wilsoncgp....... Not anymore........ They're going out in the 3rd Round to the Mighty Boro 😂

Yet we were all happy to play at the Cellnet Riverside Stadium, wearing Cellnet-branded replica shirts. And now we're sponsored by a gambling company - the same firm sponsoring five other clubs in our league alone. I find that far more morally repugnant than the prospect of being owned by an energy drink brand. I haven't bought a Boro replica shirt for a decade, because I'm not willing to advertise gambling firms or pawnbrokers as I walk around. Steve Gibson is very unusual in not using his ownership of the club to promote other businesses he owns. Apart from Rockliffe ads on the trackside boards, I'm struggling to think of anything - there's certainly no Bulkhaul flags flying on the East Stand. Other rich owners take a different approach, which is why Arsenal play at the Emirates and Man City play at the Etihad. Progress comes as a price. Would you rather be a middling Championship club sponsored by pawnbrokers and gambling firms, or an established Premier League club sponsored by a drinks firm?

Can we open a new thread: Worst transfer window of the decade?

Oh yeah, best debuts. I suppose Ravanelli has to be up there with a hat-trick. I also seem to remember Schwarzer in that same season having a good game in the first leg of the League Cup semi final at Stockport. Pretty big game to make your debut in and the conditions were bad.

Marvin can stay until summer at least for me. He has he has become somewhat of a utility player for us which is welcome given our lack of numbers. He can play left wing-back and also either flank. And whilst he not been a world beater, minus his stupidity v Hull, he has performed well when called upon imo.

3 players but we are hoping to also ship on either fry(relucant to leave) Randolph or Britt.

He did, he was bombing forward and beating his man, when he made mistakes and lost the ball he would get back in the tackle quick to win it back. Still got a bit to learn defensively but was refreshing to see some one performing like that. His passing and crossing was very good too.

It’s not about performance and all to do about points which means every game is a game we need to be challenging. We press and early goals are crucial and if the wing backs are forward we are pretty weak in defense and vulnerable. What I’m trying to state is, should we have had early leads and a cushion the opposition would have pushed out leaving gaps and we do have the ability to counter and punish. I believe earlier in the season with better finishing we would be sitting quite comfortably at least mid table. i still believe we will end up mid table.

Glad we won but we haven't turned the corner one bit. Charlton were absolutely terrible. We still can't finish to save our lives and we're not going to keep seeing games out 1-0.

Good win that, even as someone who's negative I'll take that any day of the week should've been much more. Got some tough games now coming up.

AnglianRed.. I think your stream is 2 minutes behind 🤣

Maybe your hero could get a rare one for you Alan? I’d say he would dedicate it to you 😂

Just hope we dont revert to past games with a lead, stick 10 behind the ball and invite pressure.

Well wipe my bottom with a baby wipe, who would have thought that! Fair play to anyone having Saville as fgs in this game

That's very true. But I think when he left, that united, connected status had long since gone with a lot of people and you could tell it in his character. I think we can all pretty much guarantee he won't be given the time he had before by fans because as soon as things go wrong, it won't be the positivity and success that people remember. It will be the dark days of Charlton and the Premier League. This place is a bit of a hunting ground for managers right now, despite the problem not really being the managers. I said it a fair bit earlier this season but if things go wrong this year, people need to point the finger in the direction of Gibson and yet apart from maybe on here, it's all too often that the manager is the main cause of everything. Every time I go on Twitter and see that Woodgate is getting the brunt of everything that's going wrong, it makes me cringe. Managers like Pulis and Karanka won't even get any of the benefit of the doubt in that regard, we know they have the capabilities to get results out of teams and when it goes wrong, everyone will pile on them.

I don't disagree with that, I'm not really pining for him to come back either. It really just seems to be people pining for the success that we not that long ago had. People have even considered how much better this season would be with Pulis in charge so we can all see how quickly people can forget how they once felt.

It's on the 'Up The Boro' album. You can download it from ITunes and get some other Boro classics at the same time. I think you can still get the CD version on Amazon as well 🙂

You have to admit Alf was right about the rebirth of the Boro........just got the year wrong (and just about everything else the last three paragraphs of that Gazette comment shows how much things have changed since then

Don’t worry it says it in really small print at the top...... In white 😉

The future is bright

To be awkward, because, well, I am awkward, I decided not to include the Premier League season. Being honest about it, Negredo is easily the best forward from this decade in terms of quality. Even players like Chambers, Fischer, Espinosa, would probably walk into many of the teams we fielded over the decade. Given that many of those players did bugger all really, I don't want to pick them so it's Championship players only. Randolph Fabio Ayala Gibson Friend Clayton Leadbitter Robson Adomah Ramirez Bamford It was tougher than I thought really. GK was easy enough for me as it was really between Randolph and Given and Randolph has been pretty much our best, most consistent player since he signed for us. Right back was a toughy. I don't think any of them were especially good for any length of time. I almost snuck Rhys Williams in there to get him into the side but he wasn't that good as a right back so I didn't. Hoyte, McMahon, Varga, Fredericks, Kalas, Nsue, Christie, Fabio, Shotton, Howson. In the end I cheated slightly and selected Fabio as I think he was probably the better player out of that lot. Nsue probably should have been chosen though as he played more games. Central defenders speak for themselves. Maybe could have looked at Williams here because when he was fit, healthy and on top of his game, he was a good player or Wheater before he left but they are not in the same class as that partnership was for us. Friend is obvious at left back, great value signing and played for a lot of the decade. In midfield, I was a big fan of Robson and would have liked to see him playing in better sides. I think he'd have done ok for Karanka for example. But you also have to respect the job that Leadbitter and Clayton did as well so I ended up selecting all three. I didn't think that the likes of Arca, Butterfield, Whitehead, Bailey, McEachran or the more recent lot had done enough to get into the side. The attacking players were a bit tricky as well. Adomah I would say is the easiest choice as he did well for us over 3 seasons. Bamford is the best striker I've seen playing for us in the Championship so would have to select him ahead of Lita, McDonald, Emnes, Juke, Nugent, Assombalonga etc. I didn't like selecting Ramirez as he only had a 6 month spell with us in the Championship and I think he's a *** but he did have a big impact in that time and he was a good player. I suppose Tomlin, Traore, and one or two others might have cause to grumble about not being selected but I feel Ramirez had a bigger impact than them. I reckon that team gets promoted fairly comfortably.

Stick Howson at right back then, he's done alright there and it's even more experience. That team isn't gonna win the league but it shouldn't be fighting relegation either.

Nice to see the Lib Dem leaflet format make its way onto OneBoro! 🤭

The late, great Willie Maddren played 340 games, 3 as sub between 1968 - 1977, scoring 21 goals He scored a goal on his full Boro debut on the last home game of the season & to date, an unbeaten home record against relegated Bury, what could go wrong Willie almost doubled his account from the same position he scored his 1st goal, a corner swung across & Willie's powerful header smashed against the crossbar & over, leaving a ball mud stain on the crossbar In his autobiography he wrote, after the summer break when he returned to preseason training the ball stain Mark was still visible on the crossbar His final Boro appearences, 3rd September 1977 way to WBA seen debuts to two players, Boro's Billy Ashcroft & WBA 's Cyril Regis A remarkable player & a true Boro legend

I have nothing but respect for Rob Nichols and all that he has done and achieved on behalf of MFC fans, he was a trend setter and the first person to speak and act on behalf of the fans. Others have only followed with varying success. I know him and he knows me, no doubt many others do as well who are forum members and he is a very decent man. He had agreed to do one of our youtube interviews but due to circumstances it was never followed up and I have no doubt that there are aspects beyond his full control where circumstances have let him down. He can't do everything on his own but being a busy guy I am sure that it irks him as he is not having a forum that is as up to date as many of the FMTTM members would like.

I think we should be looking at some one like Nigel Clough but thats just my opinion. Foreign managers will not touch us firstly because of no money and secondly because most foreign managers would not except the strangle hold that Gibson as on the MFC. Clough still has youth on his side (53) has we all know he also as family history at Boro he tends to lean more to attack although likes a balanced team and he knows the market and who he can loan or get in cheaper than most. A few years down the line I could see Boro once again challenging for the PL .

At least we won't have to suffer the demoralising effects of being knocked out against a lower league team. It's a free game that we will likely lose comfortably and noone will even shrug their shoulders.

But its still irrelevant when it comes to his capability as a football manager. And to be fair not many people are well informed when it comes to Brexit...and worryingly that includes a lot of people in Westminster.

Does it really matter, though? It's his personal opinion, which he shouldn't have espoused but he's still entitled to hold. If Woodgate had declared himself to be an ardent Remainer, it wouldn't change the fact he's been crap as a manager, and I wouldn't have warmed to him any more than I have (which is not at all). Even if Warnock does sound ignorant on matters of freedom of movement, I wouldn't ever call him thick as pig s**t. He's one of the most experienced and savvy managers in the country! I don't like him, but I can't doubt his aptitude or ability.

Have to hope Spurs put out a weakened side or we'll be ripped to shreds.😱 On the plus side, not going out to a lower league side.

Fine yes in this instance I’m supporting short term thinking, I think for once the timing is right for it, warnock until May is win win for all involved imo. I just can’t think of another alternative other than the ones I mentioned which are huge gambles and I’m not sure now is the time for that.

No Phil, you can't turn the clock back. But it would be nice if the local paper had some bloody spine to question why we did that in the first place, why we spent so much on Gestede, Guedioura, Shotton, Flint and Saville just as a few examples. You don't get to complain about FFP and needing to meet the demands by pointing the finger at other clubs who aren't suffering for it.

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying changing manager right now to avoid relegation, changing to Warnock to do that, will go right back into the territory of Pulis for a large number of fans. Whatever your position on Woodgate's ability, changing to a manager who can just help us avoid relegation with very little hope of developing this brand of football people so desire is going to ire and provide distaste to some people. It was bad enough when we were up at the top end of the table, do you really think people are going to welcome 'avoiding relegation' with crap football as a means to prevent their apathy of us? Basically... if we can avoid relegation with Woodgate and show any level of improvement in our game whilst doing it, the kind of stuff that was seen against Hull before the red card, that will go a little bit further to helping rebuild the positive feelings towards the club... instead of accepting our fate right now as being too far-gone and changing back to a more functional brand of play with a manager who doesn't know how else to play just to maintain our position in this division. I'm not against Warnock ever coming in, I'd obviously rather be a Championship team than a League One team, I just think it's too early to throw in the towel on whatever semblance of a plan we have with Woodgate for the sake of getting Warnock.

STAMPEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great piece of music, but if anything it makes me feel chilled and tranquil, rather than tearing up. To get the waterworks going requires something like this...

So he's going to give Woodgate time to turn it around but when is enough, enough? We are floating as is 1 win in 10 or whatever it is, outside the relegation zone (after just exiting it) on goal difference and we've just been stuffed 4-0 without even making a dent. Is Gibson going to wait till after January and it's already a foregone conclusion that we are going down? Personally I'm now subscribed to the theory that Woodgate is bullet proof and no amount of fan unrest will matter whilst Gibbo cuts his cloth after his monumental balls ups. I wasn't alive to see potential liquidation so for me this is the lowest moment in my time as a Boro fan.