GARETH SOUTHGATE answers your questions about subjects including transfers, change in his coaching staff, his plans for the future - and even whether he plans to bring Juninho back as a coach!

Just a simple point that is talked about by all the fans around me. Why do we not leave at least one player upfield when defending corners?  Surely this would mean the opposition having to leave more players back to defend?
L Underwood (Similar questions from Stuart Blakelock, Andy Johnson, Peter Griffiths, John Dick, Phillip Wardle and Geoff)

GS: We had the worst record in the league for conceding goals from corners last year. We felt we needed to mark in a different way at corners. Statistically, we now have one of the best records in the league for defending corners and although I understand the point with regard to leaving a player up the field, the priority when defending corners is to stop the ball going into our net.

I have been a season ticket holder for 12 years now and I have never seen such boring football as I am seeing every time I go to the Riverside. Something needs to be done, what do you have planned?
Robert March (Similar questions from Michael Yates, Paul in Thornaby, Mike Dunn, Graeme McIvor and Dave Dodsworth)

GS: I can only say that my intention is to try to play an attacking style of football. It takes time to change things to the way you want and the style you want. Hopefully the two games over Christmas here and also against Wigan have been exciting in an attacking sense. Obviously having Mark Viduka and Yakubu fit makes a big difference to us as an attacking threat.

Given the funds, which player would you purchase in the window?
Robert Keen (Similar questions from Mark in Exeter, Micky Wannop, Stuart Donnelly, Tom Bullock, Matthew, James Fleming and Mike)

GS: It's a difficult question to answer. We're always looking to improve the quality of the squad and the team but we don't want to alert other clubs to the players we might be chasing and the best way to do business is to have the player sitting alongside you at the press conference when you talk about the transfer. The deals to bring Julio and Jonathan here were done over 24 hours but sometimes negotiations are prolonged. We always want to keep our fans informed of what we're doing but we have to do a balancing act. Also, the fact is the squad of players I've got are great lads to work with and I don't want them unsettled by speculation which may not come true. I would expect there to be some movement but transfers in and out are very complex affairs with so many different parties being involved.

I'd like to know, for how long Robert Huth can't play after his injury? Thanks for a hopefully relieving answer!
Marlene Jann, 15, Germany

GS: We can't put a definite time on how long he will be out for but he's progressing well with our medical team and we're hoping that in the next few weeks he will be back in with the squad.

Why do the MFC coaches not seem to get Fabio Rochembach to play for Boro as devastatingly as he played against Boro? Personally I believe he is a good player and has bucket loads of potential if only we could tap into it.
Dominic Walsh (Similar questions from Jo Steel and Luke Cosh)

GS: Fabio is part of the squad but he's not been fit and available for the last three matches so, of course, that always brings speculation about him moving. But as far as I'm concerned he's our player and he's got a challenge now to get back into the team.

I'm a great fan of Colin Cooper's but I was surprised you decided to replace Steve Round with Coops as I felt it was an opportunity to appoint a more experienced coach to work alongside you. Did you consider appointing an external coach? Do you plan appointing a new Reserve coach now Colin is working with the first team?
Pete Gregory, Stockton

GS: I'm very comfortable with the decision to appoint Colin Cooper alongside me. I think he has the respect of all the players and everybody knows his commitment to Middlesbrough FC. It does leave us a bit light at junior level and that is a position with the Academy and Reserves that we will be looking to fill when we can get the right person to fill that role.

Do you think you would work a little better with someone by your side who has a proven track record in management?
Andy, Ashby de la Zouch

GS: When you look around the leagues, all the coaching teams have a balance between younger and experienced coaches. In Malcolm Crosby and Steve Harrison I've got two guys who have managed and who have a wealth of coaching experience so I certainly feel I have enough experience in the coaching team to guide and help me.

When the FA announced that Steve McClaren was going to be the England manager did you have any clue at that point that you would become our manager?
Mark Anderson

GS: No, not at all. I did have conversations with the chairman at that time when he discussed the fact that he was going to approach Terry Venables but there was certainly no indication that I would become the manager.

Who was the hardest player you faced and who in the league do you rate as a friend?
Mohammed Ibrar



GS: I felt Thierry Henry was the best I faced in the last couple of years. I'm friendly with guys I played with in the past, people like Teddy Sheringham. Quite a few of my friends are managers now, the like of Chris Coleman, Stuart Pearce and Alan Pardew. But there aren't too many of my close friends who are still playing.

You've been a top servant to the club and are a great professional. There's no doubt in my mind that one day you'll become a great manager. However your post-match comments that you're 'still learning' infuriate the fans as there is no time to learn at the very top level, the stakes are too high.
Simon Dodsworth, York

GS: I take that on board.

Wouldn't it be better if we found a stable formation based on solidity at the back and real attacking threat, and then stuck to it for all games, with perhaps the exception of away fixtures at Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal?
Ken Dunn, Ingleby Barwick

GS: Yes, I completely agree, Ken!

I know this is a difficult job but I do feel life would be easier and games more productive if round pegs in round holes are chosen. How would you have felt, when you were a player to play on the right wing? I feel players are happier and more effective if they are playing in their natural position.
John Smith

GS: As much as possible we want to play players in their ideal positions. But players should also be flexible. I played in every position on the field bar goalkeeper and centre-forward during my career - including the right wing! I learned from the experience of playing in all those positions. Sometimes you ask players to do a job for the team. Julio Arca had never played in the centre of midfield before but sometimes you see something in a player and think, 'He could do a job for the team'. It's the same thing with Catts playing on the right. When you do this, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But particularly when you don't have much cover in certain positions, you have to ask people to perform a different role.

The amount of possession ball lost cheaply by Middlesbrough is appalling. Throw-ins, goal-kicks and even passing out of defence all too often results in us being put under pressure straight away by the opposition. Why do other teams in the Premiership manage to retain possession for longer periods than we do and can you please fix this problem?
Andrew Sayer, Birmingham

GS: We're conscious that it's important we keep possession of the ball a lot better as a team. It's just a case of working on the training ground and over a period of time we hope to improve on it.

It sometimes baffles me, why you continue to play players that are clearly not on form?
Natasha Bentley

GS: All players suffer from loss of form at some stage during the season. Sometimes the best thing is to keep them in the side and play through it. Sometimes you feel the need to make changes. Every case is individual and I have to do what I feel is right for the team.

Would you ever consider bringing Juninho in as a coach?
Keith Richards, Ormesby (Similar question from Kyle Smithies, Redcar)

GS: I don't know if Juninho wants to coach. At the moment I don't think he would want to leave everything and come back. I wouldn't rule anything out but at the moment Juninho is still playing.

The first half of the season didn't go as Boro fans had hoped. What is your message to us as we head into 2007?
Karl Matthews

GS: I understand our league position is not where any of us want to be but I do feel we're improving as the season goes on. It's a fact that we have a young team and with young players it's a process of riding with the highs and lows. They will all be better players for the experience of getting regular first team football but the one thing that happens with young players is you sometimes don't get the same consistency as you get with senior experienced professionals. That's not opinion, that's fact. There's lots of work to be done but I'm committed to giving absolutely everything to changing this club for the better and continuing to take it forward. Unfortunately that won't happen overnight. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't look forward to the second half of the season being better than the first half was.