Middlesbrough v Ipswich Town 
Saturday 9th December 2017 – 15:00
Riverside Stadium
Pre Match Thoughts - Mike
One of the big talking points for a fair few months now has been the dwindling crowds at Portman Road, lack of entertainment value has been cited on Hundreds of occasions as the main reason diehard Town fans are staying away, many had the feeling it would not change and they in turn would not budge until Mick McCarthy left the club, the question I ask is how much of a turnaround needs to take place before we see some of the missing fans start to return. From my point of view I have felt for the large majority of this season that we have, without question been much more easier on the eye, yes there has been times when we have been a bit under the cosh that the long ball tactics have returned but I am of the firm opinion that it is the exception now rather than the rule. Last saturday's 4-2 win over a very able Nottingham Forest side was a very entertaining affair from start to finish, goals aplenty, great saves, near misses, end to end football, and from a Town perspective some very good quality attacking play, Two of the goals resulted from lovely free flowing moves which would not look out of place at any game, this is far from the first time this season that I have come away from a game thinking how much better the fayre on offer has been, Sheffield Wednesday 2-2, Sunderland 5-2, Leeds Utd 2-3, Millwall 4-3 to name but Four, ok we have had the odd drab affair too but we are a work in progress where a change of style is concerned, it doesn't happen overnight, add to that a lack of a settled starting Eleven due to injuries which have also had a detrimental effect but all in all I think we are definitley heading in the right direction so when do the stay aways accept that maybe just maybe the value for money entertainment is returning ?
The victory over Forest capped a fine week for the super Blues with Six points accrued against Two very decent football teams, to have lost would have nullified the great result at Derby and would still have had us looking very inconsistent but the league table shows we are in fact sitting in a very good position and consistency is the key, our current form is quite good actually with only Two defeats in the last Eight games so we are building a bit of momentum, every time we look at a batch of tough fixtures we ahve a discussion along the lines of "where are the points coming from" and again we defied the odds. The next Six really do look awkward to say the least but as I said before if you can win at Derby you can win anywhere and I really do believe that we can beat anyone at Portman Road when we are on our game so for a change teams may be starting to worry a bit about what we can do instead of the other way around when all too often Mick has been rightly criticised for changing our style to suit the opposition, we can score goals for fun and credit to Mick most of the time in recent weeks he has packed out the team with attack minded players which is what most fans crave, even our newest Defensive Midfielder is scoring goals and proving to be a danger in the oppositions box !! Long may it continue.
This week saw the FA Cup Third round draw take place and we were handed what quite frankly is a disappointing draw against fellow Championship side Sheffield Utd. It has already been decided in most quarters that we will bow out of the competition after fielding a weakened side, I really must get one of these crystal balls, it could just be that the Blades feel they have bigger fish to fry and they too may well make shome changes to their line up so nothing is certain at all, being at home could well tip the balance but it would be good to see a big crowd turn up irrespective of what team we put out, personally if it meant we stayed in touch with the play off I would have no problem at all seeing a team comprising of Gerken, Sears, Bru, Downes, Nydam, mixed in with a few regulars take to the field, they are still all in and around the first team scene and good enough, it would represent a much stronger team than the one we fielded at Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup and that night we were far from outplayed and could well have sprung a shock against a strong Palace side, of course a Cup run would make a nice change but for me it really isn't the be all and end all, those days have long gone right across the country where the FA Cup is concerned.
Next up we make the trip to Middlesbrough to take on a side in a bit of poor form right now, Boro have lost Three of their last Four games to fall below Town in the table, the pre season favourites are not living up to the tag at all, they ahve shown flashes but nowhere near what many, myself included, expected. Bristol City, Derby & Leeds have all plundered the points in recnet weeks so this is definitely not a game that Town need fear, only One team in the top Fifteen in the Championship have scored less goals so if our strikers are doing what they do best by hitting the net we have a real chance, the key as always is how we defend, a error free performance like the one at Derby could well tip the balance in our favour, I have read somewhere that Gary Monk is coming under pressure following the poor run and may be looking to change tactics etc, another sign maybe that we are now being shown some respect from fellow managers ? Perhaps at last teams are starting to worry about us instead of vice versa, taking everything into account I can see this being a low scoring affair with an odd possibly deciding it but I for one would not bet against a share of the spoils which again would keep the run going very nicely indeed. Unfortunately this is the only game this season that I am unable to attend so I too will be relying on someone for the after match write ups....(effing Cole Skuse, blah blah blah.....LMAO). COYB'S
The Opposition - Middlesbrough
The club turned professional in 1889, but reverted to amateur status in 1892. They turned professional permanently in 1899 and after three seasons, they won promotion to the First Division, where they would remain for the next 22 years.
In 1903, the club moved to Ayresome Park, their home for the next 92 years.
Over the next few years, their form fluctuated greatly, rising to sixth in 1907–08 before dropping to seventeenth two seasons later. The club rose to their highest league finish to date, third, in 1913–14. The First World War soon intervened and football was suspended. Before league football resumed, Middlesbrough won the Northern Victory League, but the team were unable to maintain their previous form and finished the 1919–20 season in mid-table. They remained in the First Division for the next few seasons, but were relegated in 1923–24 after finishing bottom, ten points adrift of their nearest rivals.
Three seasons later, they won the Division Two title. Their tenure back in the top flight lasted only one season, and the club were relegated. They were promoted at the first attempt in 1928–29, winning another Second Division title. The club remained in the First Division until 1954.
Middlesbrough climbed to fourth in the last full season before the Second World War and were expected to challenge for the title next season, but the war intervened. After the war, the club was unable to recover the form of the previous seasons and hovered around mid-table and exited in the early rounds of the FA Cup. Soon afterwards the team began to falter, eventually suffering relegation in 1953–54. This was the start of a 20-year spell outside the top division.
Over that period, Middlesbrough maintained reasonable progress in the Second Division but were never serious contenders for promotion. After a fourth place finish in 1962–63, the club endured a steady decline and were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history in 1966.
New manager Stan Anderson returned the club to the second flight at the first attempt. Middlesbrough would not finish below ninth during the next eight seasons. By 1974, Jack Charlton had taken over as manager and guided the team back to the top flight.
The club experienced severe financial difficulties during the mid-1980s. In the 1984–85 season. In April 1986 the club had to borrow £30,000 from the PFA to pay wages. The final game of the season saw Middlesbrough relegated to the Third Division once more. That summer, the club called in the Provisional Liquidator and shortly afterwards, the club was wound up and the gates to Ayresome Park were padlocked. Without the £350,000 capital required for Football League registration, a new rule, it seemed inevitable that the club would fold permanently. However, Steve Gibson, a member of the board at the time, brought together a consortium and with ten minutes to spare before the deadline, they completed their registration with the Football League for the 1986–87 season. Following the registration came both a change of club crest and a change of the official company name to Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Club (1986) Ltd.
Over the next two seasons, Middlesbrough gained successive promotions into Division Two and then into Division One. The next season though, they came straight back down to Division Two. Despite constant promotion and relegation, Middlesbrough were founding members of the FA Premier League for the 1992–93 season.
The 1996–97 season was compounded by a deduction of three points imposed just after Christmas, as punishment for the club's failure to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn, which ultimately resulted in relegation. At the same time, the club managed to reach both the League and FA Cup finals for the first time, but lost out in both. Despite being in the second tier they were again runners up in the League Cup final the next year.
Middlesbrough were promoted back to the Premiership at the first attempt in 1998. They continued to stay secure in mid-table the following season.
Bryan Robson left the club before the start of 2001–02 season, having served as manager for 7 years, and was replaced by Manchester United assistant coach Steve McClaren. The following seasons saw Premiership security maintained as Middlesbrough slowly improved and were seen as a tough side to beat when playing at the Riverside Stadium. During McClaren's reign, Middlesbrough achieved their highest Premier league placing of 7th in the 2004–05 season.
The 2003–04 season was the most successful in the club's history as they finally won a major trophy after beating Bolton in the League Cup final.
Middlesbrough reached the 2006 UEFA Cup Final in Eindhoven, following two comebacks in the rounds preceding it, but lost to Sevilla. Following the cup final, McClaren left to head up the England team, and captain Gareth Southgate took over, despite not having the coaching qualifications, but he was allowed to continue after receiving special dispensation. Southgate's first two seasons saw the club finish in 12th and 13th places. He oversaw the club reaching the quarter finals of the FA Cup for three seasons, but the club was relegated to the Football League Championship on the last day of the 2008–09 season.
Despite starting the 2010–11 campaign as promotion favourites, the club endured a disappointing start to the season securing only 1-point in 5 away games. Having slipped to 20th in the Championship following a home defeat to rivals Leeds, Gordon Strachan resigned on 18 October. A week later, Tony Mowbray was confirmed as the new manager. Having staved off the threat of relegation, Mowbray successfully transformed Boro's fortunes, eventually guiding them to a top-half finish.
Following a poor run of form of 2 wins in 12 games in the 2013–14 campaign, on 21 October 2013, nearly 3 years after his arrival, Tony Mowbray left the club with immediate effect. Aitor Karanka, a former Spanish defender and assistant coach at Real Madrid became the new Middlesbrough manager on 13 November 2013, signing a two-year contract. He became the first non-British manager at the club.
Boro had a good 2014/15 season finishing in 4th place. After beating Brentford in the playoff semi-finals they meet Norwich in the Championship promotion final …. Sadly the budgies coming out on top on the day.
The next season, Middlesbrough were promoted back to the Premier League after finishing second in the Championship in 2015–16, drawing 1–1 with Brighton & Hove Albion on the final day of the season.
Last season Boro struggled in the EPL, only managing 5 wins which ultimately saw them relegated back to the Championship after only one season.
The Manager – Gary Monk
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Media Watch - K L Blue
November championship team
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/ ... -the-month
Town Ladies
http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-town ... -1-5307345
Northstander on MM
http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-town ... -1-5305587
Town's remaining pies.............
https://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/32748
Jack Reeve's view on Norwich
http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwich-ci ... -1-5307267
Form Guide
Middlesbrough Last 5 Matches currently in 9th place with 29 points
5 Nov Middlesbrough 1 - 0 Sunderland
19 Nov Leeds Utd 2 - 1 Middlesbrough
22 Nov Middlesbrough 2 - 0 Birmingham City
25 Nov Middlesbrough 0 - 3 Derby County
2 Dec Bristol City 2 - 1 Middlesbrough
Ipswich Last 5 Matches currently in 7th place with 32 points
18 Nov Hull City 2 - 2 Ipswich Town
22 Nov Ipswich Town 2 - 2 Sheffield Wed
25 Nov Aston Villa 2 - 0 Ipswich Town
28 Nov Derby County 0 - 1 Ipswich Town
2 Dec Ipswich Town 4 - 2 Nottm Forest
Fixtures of Interest
Q.P.R. VS LEEDS UTD
BURTON ALBION VS PRESTON N.E.
Match Referee – Robert Jones
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1
