MSS Blog

MSS May Newsletter

2010-05-22T13:12:00.000+01:00

Fellow exiled Boro fans,
Welcome to the May Edition of the MSS newsletter!

Latest Boro News

Upcoming Event: AGM

The AGM will be held on Wednesday June 2nd at 6.30pm for 7.00pm at The Spectator, 6 Little Britain - nearest tube St Paul's on Central Line and Barbican on the Circle.

http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/clubs_bars/venue-map-3126.php

All members and their guests are very welcome to attend and we will put a buffet on free of charge. The meeting will be held in the lower ground function room.

This is our most important meeting of the year and decides the future direction of the supporters club. We have some new ideas which we hope will change MSS for the better and we want as many of you as possible to come along and discuss and debate them.

Friday Fun

Check out the hilarious new Nike advert staring Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba and Ronaldo

Refer a friend
Do you know any Boro fans that are based in the South? Put them in touch with MSS by clicking here. There will be a prize to the member who refers the most friends!

Contact Us

Join our facebook group and follow us on twitter
Have a great weekend - up the Boro!
MSS

VIDEO: Carling Cup - The Road to Cardiff 2004

2010-04-22T12:13:00.003+01:00

VIDEO: Robbo's Dream - Highlights from Boro's start to 94/95

2010-04-20T12:38:00.003+01:00

WBA vs Boro - 17th April 2010 - Stage Door

2010-04-12T18:18:00.003+01:00

MSS invites London-based fans to back the Boro to the play-offs at our London home - The Stage Door, Waterloo.

The Stage Door will be showing the WBA game and this will be your chance to watch the game with fellow Boro fans.

As a special treat, the first 25 fans arriving at the bar wearing a Boro shirt will receive a free drink!

Come on Boro! Map

27/02/2010 Middlesbrough vs QPR

2010-03-02T16:31:00.002Z

Watch Middlesbrough vs QPR 27/2/10 in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

13/02/2010 Middlesbrough vs Peterborough

2010-03-02T16:29:00.002Z

Watch Middlesbrough vs Peterborough Utd 13/2/10 in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

09/02/2010 Middlesbrough vs Barnsley

2010-02-11T23:46:00.001Z

Watch Middlesbrough vs Barnsley 09/02/10 in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

06/02/2010 Ipswich Town vs Middlesbrough

2010-02-09T13:30:00.003Z

Watch Ipswich Town vs Middlesbrough 6/2/10 in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

30/01/2010 Middlesbrough vs Bristol City

2010-02-06T18:27:00.003Z

Watch Middlesbrough vs Bristol City 30/01/10 in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

05/12/2009 QPR vs Middlesbrough

2010-02-06T13:08:00.006Z

Watch QPR vs Middlesbrough 5/12/09 in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

28/11/2009 Peterborough United vs Middlesbrough

2010-02-06T13:05:00.004Z

Watch Peterborough vs Middlesbrough 28/11/09 in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

21/11/2009 Middlesbrough vs Nottingham Forest

2010-02-06T13:04:00.004Z

Watch Middlesbrough vs Nottingham Forest 21/11/09 in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

07/11/2009 Crystal Palace vs Middlesbrough

2010-02-06T13:02:00.002Z

Watch Crystal Palace vs Middlesbrough 7/11/09 in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Transfer Gossip - Alan Stubbs spotted at Scunny

2009-08-19T17:18:00.005+01:00

What a fantastic result last night. 3 games, 3 clean sheets and back-to-back away victories for the first time in 4 years. Last night's trip to Scunthorpe was a hark back to our pulsating promotion campaigns of the 90s - a tightly packed ground, illuminated by midweek floodlights and full of Boro.

A great result enjoyed by fans and team a like, including the 5 academy products in the Starting XI.

One neutral spectator was Alan Stubbs - the former Bolton stalwart, now on the coaching staff at Everton. With Joleon Lescott nearing the Everton exit door, Everton are obviously in the market for a centre-back and, with all due respect to Scunthorpe, I doubt Cliff Byrme and Marcus Williams are high on their shopping list.

Wheater and Huth have been the cornerstone of our solid defensive displays and are valuable members of our squad. However, centre-back is a position in which we have great strength in depth with Riggott, Pogatetz, Hines, Williams and Grounds all more than capable of succeeding in this division.

Given our financial constraints, I can see us cashing in if the money is right - and it will be as clubs become more desperate to buy and we become more desperate to sell. Of the two, Huth is the better player but Wheater's local ties make him the more likely to stay.

Losing the big German will be a dent in our promotion campaign - but one that can be polished out with relative ease.

Scunthorpe Preview - Southgate vs "Typical Boro"

2009-08-18T16:00:00.004+01:00

Oh what fun it is to see the Boro win a way! Boro’s three-goal victory in Wales, was a long-overdue boost to the team and fans alike. We will face stronger tests than Swansea over the coming months but a 3-0 away victory, regardless of the opposition, is a very good day at the office. Up next – Scunthorpe and a chance to add more momentum to our promotion charge.

Suddenly the ridiculous booing that greeted the final whistle against Sheffield United has been forgotten and optimism is creeping back on Teesside. Good – it’s been a long time coming. Bold predictions are being made that a run of 3 games against supposed lesser sides (Swansea, Scunthorpe and Doncaster) will see 3 wins on the bounce and the team sitting top of the table come September.

We’ve been here before. And it always ends in tears. 4 points from two tricky away ties at Everton and Villa saw Boro sitting pretty in the table last year before Bolton rolled into town to start a slide that never stopped. Prior to that game, Southgate had spoken about the need to throw off the “typical boro” motif, typified by Premiership Boro humbled by Championship Cardiff when everyone, including the players it seemed, had booked their train tickets for a winnable FA-Cup Semi Final.

Southgate’s battle against “typical boro” will be a long one but there have been promising rumbles from the camp throughout pre-season. Trouble causers are being frozen out, recruitment has shifted focus from fancy-dans and prima-donnas to honest grafters and solid pros, and the need to “fight for the shirt” is being drummed into the players.

Where Tuncay fits into this is unsure. Widely expected to leave in the coming weeks, our talismanic Turk has pledged to give his all for the club in his final days. Whilst this both commendable and professional (an unusual quality for Boro forwards), we should resist the temptation to play Tuncay from the start. A substitute appearance when chasing a goal or struggling to break down a stubborn defence should see the introduction of the Turk but we really need a partnership between Emnes / Lita / New Number 9 to incubate and blossom.

The optimism levels of Boro fans often occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. We’re either world beaters or garbage - when the truth is probably somewhere in the middle (except last year when WERE dreadful). Forget about the possibility of 3 wins on the bounce - we have more than enough quality to succeed in this division but we need to take one game at a time, control the expectations of the crowd (and the frustrations when we don’t live up to them) and not assume victories against the lesser sides.

Having said that, I’m going for a 2-1 victory tonight. Don't forget to follow our twitter feed for team news and score updates.

Come on Boro!

MATCH REPORT: Boro vs Sheff Utd.

2009-08-10T11:06:00.009+01:00

Boro kicked off their Championship challenge with the visit of Sheffield United to the Riverside. With the sun setting on a warm August day, the pitch immaculate and the kits shiny and new it was a perfect opportunity to wipe away the memories of last year’s horror show.

My major concern ahead of this season was our ability to stand-up to the physical bombardment that proved our undoing last year. All too often last year, our pretty football would dominate possession only to be undone by a long-throw or set-piece. Sheffield United are of the Stoke / Bolton / Everton mould and would be a stern examination for day 1.

A fast, frenetic first half showed encouraging signs that lessons had been learnt. Our workrate was high and we were more than prepared to "mix it" when required. Digard and Williams looked to be an excellent pairing with the Frenchman's grit mirrored by Williams' grace and athleticism. A promising debut from the confident Aussie.

Another debutant Danny Coyne will have busier games but more than adequately dealt with everything that came his way - including a couple of smart first-half saves. Wheater and Huth were given a physical test from Darius Henderson (Sheff Utd's solitary outlet) but stood tall and coped well.

For all our solid play in defence and midfield, we continuously struggled to make any serious in-roads behind the Sheffield United defence. For all the buzzing and neat interplay from Johnson and Yeates, possession would be lost as soon as we tried to hit the front men. Long balls from deep were met by a Morgan head and balls into the channels to chase saw our front men muscled-out and the danger mopped up.

I still struggle to see what Aliadiere offers us. He's not a striker, he's not a winger - he's a generic "forward" who doesn't score or make goals. Baffling to me is his continuous inability to judge the flight of long balls and jump too early for flick on headers. A waste of time and possession. "Jezza" also lacks the killer instinct to get in the box and test the keeper - his first instinct is to pass rather than shoot. All very pretty but not very effective.

Lita cannot be accused of lacking that killer instinct and could prove to be the sniffer we need but he's not whole answer. Our need for a physical presence has been widely reported but the need for an old-school number 9 cannot be understated. We need someone to offer us an outlet, we need someone to get hold of the ball and bring the likes of Johnson, Yeates and Lita into play. We need a player whose sole aim is to get in the box and get on the end of things.

We need Mark Viduka back.

Welcome to You Are My Boro!

2009-08-10T10:53:00.003+01:00

Hello and welcome to You Are My Boro - a new blog dedicated to Middlesbrough Football Club. As keen Boro fans, we are hoping that this site will serve up the latest news, match reports and gossip connected with MFC. We're in no way associated with the club so all that you read here is written by the fans, for the fans.

We hope that you enjoy reading our articles over the coming months and years as we (hopefully) journal our return the Premiership and beyond!

Come on Boro!