Afternoon Peeps and Boro fans,

How's it going!

This is a make or break weekend for Middlesbrough FC and, in particular, our oh so friendly manager, Gareth Southgate.

The team could be rock bottom of the Premier League table and without a manager on Monday morning. Tomorrow's game at the Riverside is massive, it is huge, it is big. 

The fans will be there in their numbers to support the team, but I can see them turning on the men in charge quickly if Blackburn get their noses in front.

Nothing less than a win will only do for our passionate fans. We do not care how we win tomorrow just as long as we win. Ugly the better I say.

We are boosted by the news that Southgate will not park the team bus on the edge of our own box tomorrow. He says we need to be more attacking.

"We must have more of an attacking threat and we need to show it against Blackburn. Obviously we have to combine that with a positive overall performance."

Marlon King will, almost certainly, start against Blackburn tomorrow. This leaves a slight confusion as to where Tuncay will play because King's partner will be Alves.

Will we finally see Tuncay in the middle of the park? I'm hoping so. Our Turkish international played there in the EUROS last summer and was excellent in that position. If I hear all three names in the starting line-up tomorrow I will be very pleased.

Bold selection for tomorrow's game:

Turnbull

Hoyte    Wheater   Huth    Pogatetz

   Shawky           

  Johnson         Tuncay       Downing  

  King      Alves 

Southgate's safe selection for tomorrow's game: 

 Turnbull

McMahon   Wheater   Riggott   Pogatetz

Tuncay    Arca   Shawky    Downing

King       Alves

I know which one I would like to see, but Southgate has a habit of bottling the team selection for important games.

Good luck to the lads tomorrow and let's see goals and, more importantly, three points.

Up The Boro!!

Follow the Boro Brick Road... 

Afternoon Peeps and Boro fans,

The sun is shining and the weather is sweet yeah, makes you wanna move your dancing feet now.

Sorry about that, just been listening to some Bob Marley this morning to get me in the mood for our trip to London tomorrow.

Fulham is an odd fixture in our season. It is one of those games that is very unpredictable. I'm not one for being bold with predictions, but this one could really be a win, loss or a draw.

So what are the factors that will determine the result tomorrow? The biggest factor tomorrow, by far, will be how Mark "Skippy" Schwarzer performs. Our old ball stopper will probably have the game of his life against us, it always seems to happen when a former player lines up against us.

Another factor that will determine the outcome of the game will be how we cope in front of goal. I know this is an obvious one, but if Southgate plays the same team that played Arsenal I think we will have to take every chance we get.

Defending will be Gareth's main objective tomorrow and then he will rely on his forward thinkers to get the result in the final third of the pitch. Our big players tomorrow will be Tuncay, Downing and Aliadiere. These three will hold the key to opening the Fulham defence.

Team news for the Cottage trip

Didier Digard is a major doubt ahead of the game. The Frenchman has a thigh injury. This is a big blow for us considering how well he has been playing recently.

David Wheater is back in the squad following his suspension. Andrew Taylor is back from a knee injury, which will give Gareth Southgate a much needed headache ahead of the game. 

Mighty Mido is back in the squad after going AWOL for a couple of weeks. Alves might get the chance to shine once again if GS reverts back to a 4-4-2 formation.

Prediction

Fulham 1 Boro 2 - Fun packed match with plenty to talk about after. Ross will have an awesome game in goal. Downing and Tuncay will be on the score sheet and Mido will get a good reception when he comes on as sub late on.

Let me know what you guys think. Win, loss or a draw?

Enjoy the game girls and boys. 

Follow the Boro Brick Road...

Afternoon Peeps and Boro fans,

Sorry about the lack of posting yesterday.. festivity commitments! Back to the world of Middlesbrough FC today. Ooh my head hurts.

I was thinking about the games we have over the Christmas period and thought - who will be our 'key players' in those games.

We play Fulham away on Saturday and then play Everton at home on boxing day. The Manchester United game is on the following Monday evening so there are three very tough games, but all winnable.

I have come up with five main players to look out for over those three games. If all five players play well in the games I'm sure we will come away from the games with at least five points. My heart is saying seven points, but my head says five.

Our Merry Men At Christmas

1. Ross Turnbull - The lad has performed heroics so far this season and the festive period will be his biggest challenge so far in his first season as Boro's number one. A good solid goalkeeper will keep us in the hunt for points over Christmas.

2. David Wheater - Our Redcar born defender is having another superb season in a Boro shirt. With injuries to the defence, Wheater will be asked to play in either a right back or a central defence role over the next three games. He will be a key player for us if we are to keep clean sheets in December.

3. Didier Digard - He is playing very well at the moment and I think there is much more to come from our French midfielder. Important battles lie ahead for him in the next three games, but I think he will relish the challenge. By the way, he was my man of the match against Arsenal last Saturday. An awesome display in the middle.

4. Stewart Downing - DJ Downing is having an incosistent season so far. I'm backing him to shine over the festive period. His penetrating crosses and passes will be key for us against Everton at home and United away. My bet is he will notch a couple over Christmas.

5. Afonso Alves - Is he the unluckiest striker in the Premier league or is he just plain rubbish. I believe he is an awesome striker who is lacking the luck at the minute. Southgate will play him over Christmas and I think he will get back on the scoring trail.

I've missed a couple of players which you guys will probably be thinking are going to be winners over the next few game. Your right, I've left out the likes of Aliadiere, Tuncay and Adam Johnso purely because I think they will continue their good form.

Let's hope the team can start with a win at Fulham on Saturday.

Follow the Boro Brick Road...

Good afternoon Peeps and Boro fans,

Only a couple of days until Middlesbrough battle Arsenal at the Riverside. The lunch time kick off looks very mouth-watering for a Boro fan. We have done very well against the north London team in the last four league meetings.

Boro took four points off Arsenal last season and will be looking to improve on that points total starting with another win against the top four side.

Can we beat Arsenal?

Of course we can, especially now because Arsene Wneger's side are going through a rough patch, which will give Gareth Southgate even more confidence going into the game.

The only problem Southgate faces before the game is his 'defensive pickings'. With David Wheater suspended after last weekends red card against Hull our manager will be sweating on the fitness of Robert Huth. If the German fails to make the game, then Seb Hines will be in contention to make a rare start.

I think the likes of Tuncay, Alves, Aliadiere and Downing will cause the Arsenal defence all sorts of problems on Saturday. If Tuncay has been reading the latest media reports, then he will be full of confidence knowing that a top team like Chelsea are after him. It can only be a good thing for our Turkish star.

Alves still has a lot to prove to the Boro players and I expect him to thrive against Arsenal. If Tuncay and Alves are on form, then I can see us winning on Saturday. Big if though.

I'll bring you the latest match preview tomorrow. Let's hope Huth is still in contention for a start. Fingers crossed.

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Morning Peeps and Boro fans,

I hope everyone is well and looking forward to the big game on Saturday! I've been rooting through my old Red Roar magazines looking for old match reports for Boro v Newcastle games. I came across a game from the 1995/96 season when the 'little fella' was playing.

The game was back in February 1996 on a mild and dry day. Boro lost the game 2-1, but I'm not too bothered about the result from yesteryear. I wanted to compare the team that played then to the team that are currently playing today.

                                   Boro Team - 1996           Boro Team - 2008

                                          Walsh (7)                         Turnbull (7)

                                            Cox (8)                            Hoyte (7)

                                           Morris (6)                         Taylor (7)

                                          Vickers (7)                       Wheater (8)

                                         Pearson (8)                      Pogatetz (8)

                                         Whelan (6)                       Downing (9)

                                          Stamp (7)                         Digard (7)

                                        Juninho (10)                      Tuncay (9)

                                         Pollock (7)                          O'Neil (8)

                                         Barmby (9)                       Aliadiere (8)

                                       Wilkinson (7)                        Alves (8)

                                            SUBS                                 SUBS

                                         Hignett (8)                            Mido (8)

                                         Fjortoft (8)                          Johnson (8) 

                                          Liddle (6)                              Arca (7)

I've given each player a mark out of ten so you can compare the players from the old team to the current team. The team of 1996 faced Newcastle at home in February of that year and lost 2-1. The team of 2008 opposite will probably start against Newcastle this Saturday.

I think the team has improved over the years. Look at how many youngsters are in the current side, it's amazing. I would definitely say that we have come a long way since the days of the Robson era. It was a great platform to build on 12 years ago and now Southgate has taken the team to the next level.

What do you make of the comparisons? Do you agree with the marks out of ten for each player?

If I had the chance to select a fantasy team out of both sides I think I would put Barmby, Juninho and Hignett in the current team and take out Aliadiere, O'Neil and Digard.

Would you agree?

Answers on a post card or alternatively post a comment below in the aptly named box.

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Hello Peeps and Boro fans,

Another great weekend of football has come and gone. United kicked into gear for the first time this season and Arsenal showed their frailties once again whilst Chelsea are powering on at the top of the league.

Attentions then turned to Boro yesterday afternoon. Southgate made one change to the side that beat Villa seven days prior to the Goodison Park trip. Julio Arca came in for Aliadiere who missed out through illness. Get well soon Ali!

The game started brightly for both teams and soon it was evident that this was going to be end-to-end action.

Gary O'Neil started on the right of midfield and caused problems from the first minute. Lescott was troubled by Boro's movement on the right resulting in O'Neil having the first shot of the match which narrowly missed Howard's upright.

Middlesbrough continued to press in the early stages and got their reward on eight minutes when Downing picked out O'Neil with a cleverly disguised pass, which the midfielder raced onto and calmly slotted past the American goalkeeper at his near post.

I thought to myself 'that was a calm finish'. The finish by O'Neil was top class and I take back what I have said in the past about his lack of goals from midfield. That goal instantly doubled his tally of goals for the season. Let's hope there are more to come now he has the goal scoring bug.

We almost scored at the wrong time in the game though because from then on we were on the back foot. Everton pushed forward at every chance and put the Boro back four under a lot of pressure which resulted in a few near misses and wood-work activity. Lescott's sliced cross clipped the top of the upright and fortunately rebounded to a red shirt and we were able to clear.

I was impressed with our defence because they were comfortably withstanding all of Everton's pressure even though there was a lot of it which must have been pleasing for Southgate.

The second half started the same as the first and Boro came out pushing forward. Downing and Tuncay were linking up well, but with Alves on his own up top we were unable to create any decent goal scoring chances.

Everton then had a spell of pressure which resulted in the leveller. Yakubu was the luckiest person in the ground yesterday as he turned the ball into the back of the net after a fortuitous rebound off his back. There should be a new saying for Yakubu - Yakety-yak turn your back!

We responded very well to the Everton goal and almost immediately went back ahead through our Frenchman, Didier Digard. He curled a low shot from the edge of the box which caught Howard flat footed, but the Everton goalkeeper somehow produced the save of the game and parried the shot onto the post. So close!

Everton applied late pressure, but I wasn't too nervous because big Wheats was on to soak up all the pressure. A good result in the end for Boro. They continue to impress me.

Bolton at the Riverside next. Keep that unbeaten run going.

Follow the Boro Brick Road...

Hi Peeps and Boro fans,

It's definitely Friday today so I'm in a good mood. The weekend is almost here and that means one thing, football!

Lots of big games this weekend. The Arsenal v Manchester United game should be cracker at lunch time tomorrow, whilst the Villa v Boro match on Sunday will also see some fireworks. I know it is late but at least they will be cheap - the fireworks that is.

I've been surfing the net this morning looking for team news ahead of the game on Sunday and have come across some absolute belters. The Daily Mail thinks Wheater will be put on the bench on Sunday. Now that is hilarious! Why would Southgate put one of his best defenders on the bench?!

Another well-known newspaper thinks that Mido, Tuncay and Alves will all start together against Villa. That does sound mouth-watering, but I'm pretty sure that one of the three will be left on the bench.

The midfield will see a change this Sunday. I think South of the Gate will play Julio Arca in there and possibly drop the impressive Digard. Personally he should drop O'Neil. Digard has far more class about him than O'Neil. I'm slowly getting to grips with how Southgate works, he has his favourites and, after O'Neil's goal against Manchester City 9 days ago, the Boro boss will keep his favourite in the side. It's not the best way to conduct thing, but at least we're not booing anyone... yet.

Another player that is doing my head in recently is Stewart Downing. The England international wannabe is going through a bad patch of form and is constantly grinding out mediocre performances.

It is time for Southgate to get the lad on the bench for a few games and teach him that the club does not revolve around him. If Downing is selected for the Villa game, I do hope he proves me and his critics wrong by showing us what he is capable of, but if he is selected and shows us another bad side of his abilities I'm afraid he will be victimised again from the 'boo boys' in the away end.

The game on Sunday should be end to end as both teams love to get forward. I predict a score draw at Villa Park. In fact, I'm going for a Boro win. But just. 3-2.

Enjoy the game guys and girls!

Follow the Boro Brick Road...