FIND out what the fans have been saying about the latest developments at the club in the liveliest Boro letters page anywhere! Email your thoughts to website@mfc.co.uk.
We want to hear your opinions about the club, but please keep your emails brief and to the point. Letters may be edited, please let us know if you would like your letter to be published as submitted or not at all. Criticism of individual players and management will not be published. This page was updated on Wednesday May 9.
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Before last season started my expectations were not high, I thought it would be about team-building and strengthening of the squad, finances permitting. When the season started I was over the moon with our results, but as it progressed I was soon brought down to earth. I know we had more than our fair share of injuries, but that does not account for our poor results, especially at home. Someone else mentioned our style of play, which I agree with. As the season went on teams we played had the measure of us, and we seemed unable to make changes to offset this. If you look at a lot of goals we conceded in last third of the pitch, we had more of our players behind the ball than the opposition. Our random attacks on the opposition goal were poor to say the least, our forwards did not move forward as a force, we did not use the width to full advantage and it was, I feel, left too much to individuals to make solo runs and have a shot at goal because of lack of support. This season the majority of teams we play, we will have played last season, so I hope we can sort out our problems before we play too many games. I believe we have a squad strong enough to get promotion.
George Hilarion, Surrey
Mogga is right, we should get behind the new England manager. He may not be the one most people wanted but that's no excuse for one tabloid to start the unsavoury articles already. Just hope England don't lose their first match under him, because we all know how the press will react. Steve McClaren knows all about that!
Brian Taylor
I am a Southampton supporter, but have family in Middlesbrough. I came to the Boro last weekend with my husband to watch the game and catch up with relatives. We were taken to the Riverside ground on the Friday to check where we were seated. We got into conversation with the staff in your shop, who were extremely friendly and then offered to find someone who would show us around the dressing rooms and pitch. This was such an amazing gesture, knowing we were the "opposition", and I would like to convey my sincere thanks again. I was hoping you would get into the play-offs but it was not meant to be - maybe next year. As you can guess we are all still celebrating - hope it will be your turn next year. The friendliness of your staff will not be forgotten - thanks again.
Maria Davies
Just to give you some feedback from Saturday's match at Watford. I took my seven-year-old son to the game on Saturday early (around 10.30am) to see if we could get some players autographs on his shirt (although we are season ticket holders at the Riverside I am not very organised and he has been pestering me to do this all season). Rhys Williams, Scott McDonald, Marvin Emnes and Lucas J all came over and signed his shirt and were extremely polite when doing so. The best bit for me when the great man himself, Tony Mowbray, came over and signed Harry's shirt and had a little chat with him. Well done to these gentlemen, it may not be a big thing to them, but they made a seven-year-old and his Dad very happy. Although the results didn't go our way, this experience helped to soften the blow.
Dennis and Harry Millington
I would just like to wish Barry Robson and his family all the very best in the new chapter in his career in Canada and thank him for his contribution and hard work at Boro.
George Hilarion, Surrey
Can you thank Merouane Zemmama for the fantastic free-kick against Saints? Thank you also to the whole squad for not giving in and coming back from a goal down, your first goal was special too. It means that my team Reading win the title, which is great after the heartache of losing to Swansea at Wembley last year. I hope you make the play-offs, playing like you did Saturday night I'm sure you'll do it.
Sean Taylor
To the Boro supporters, I have recently moved to this area and have attended the last three Middlesbrough home games, the last being against Doncaster. At a time when Middlesbrough are struggling in their attempts to gain promotion, I am disappointed to see the reactions of some of the Middlesbrough supporters. Hurling abuse at the team when they make a mistake does not in any way help. A lot of the players are relatively young and must find it difficult to perform in such a hostile environment. Even the more experienced players surely are not helped by abusive behaviour from the stands. To those who are guilty of hurling abuse, I would say this. Imagine if, at your place of employment, every time you made a mistake the rest of your workmates screamed abuse at you. How do you think you would perform your job if this happened every time you did something wrong. Football is best played in an atmosphere where the players feel free to try to do their best. What Middlesbrough need is for their creative players to know that if they try something that doesn't come off they will be applauded for trying something special or inventive, not abused because it didn't work out.
Nick O'Neill, Darlington
The reason Lukas Jutkiewicz hasn't scored the goals he was supposed to do is because we don't supply him with enough crosses. The failure to bring in loan signings could be the end of our promotion hopes. Most other clubs in the Championship, including our play-off rivals, were able to find loan players - why weren't we?
Brian Taylor
Me and my son have just renewed, this will be my 18th season and his third! His name is Ben Hodgson, from Ingleby Barwick, a pupil at Whinstone Primary School. He is seven years old and is the main reason I've renewed next season!
David Hodgson
I am just writing to say what a day for my son, Cameron, who is seven and was mascot for the day for the Brighton away match. We travelled a long way, coming all the way from Edinburgh and this was his ninth away game this season, but we would like to thank the staff and everyone at Brighton for making it a special day for my son and would also like to thank Tony Mowbray and the rest of the team for making it so very special and a big, big thanks to Barry Robson for making it even more special. Thank you Boro and Brighton - what a day. Just one final point; we had 2,000 Boro fans rocking Brighton and we made the atmosphere for the match on Saturday and a big thank you must go to the Brighton fans for applauding the Boro fans at the end of the game.
Michael Duffy and Cameron Duffy
There must be something wrong when the team can play quite well up to eight games ago and then they produce only four points out of a possible 21 in the next seven games. This has taken them out of the play-off places and it leaves me with no alternative but to feel that it would be better if they didn't go up into the Premier League at the end of this season. Boro would need a far stronger squad, with more effective strikers to survive at the top level. To have scored only 20 goals at home this season must be one of the poorest home records they have had for some years. I am impressed with the way the club have brought on youngsters from the Academy, but youngsters alone cannot be expected to survive without the presence of experienced players, and especially the encouragement of effective goal scorers/strikers. I wish them well, but they are being left behind by the other leading Championship teams at present, and this is disappointing. The three things that are missing, in my view, are speed, slickness and accuracy. I hope Tony Mowbray reads this and I wish him well as he seeks to do something about it.
John Farrow
Been a lifelong supporter for over 60 years since the Wilf Mannion days. Good luck to you all. Sadly live down south but spirit is Boro, so will hope the cheers carry.
Michael
Message for Tony Mowbray - you're doing a great job mate and long may you be our manager. Being a Teesside lad that managed to get on in life the whole of Teesside are proud of you and what you and Mark V and Mark P are doing for us and the chairman and, of course, Coops and England's No1, Pearsey. You'll win at Wembley Mogga. Even with Bernie we didn't have the best of goal differences, despite a great defence! Blimey, it feels like an age when you scored for Ipswich in the play-offs (cracking header). Come on Boro. Just trying to give some inspiration like the St Valentine's Day Massacre (another great header) against Villa. It's all about the team knowing they really are the best. Erimus!
Lyle Andrews
Not sure what is happening but we need to be picking up more points than we are. Dropping points at home is not a good sign, we have to pick up the baton, guys, and start competing even more, so we can at least make the play-offs and give ourselves a fighting chance to get out of this dreadful league.
Art Hopson, Malaysia
Another disappointing home game against a bottom-of-table team, Bristol City - we should have half-a-dozen goals against such opposition. Finally the manager has given Martin and Obeche a chance, I watched the West Ham game and was very disappointed not to win that, could have had two goals right at the end, but the Man of the Match for me was young Richie Smallwood, he had a great game, then dropped to the bench against Bristol. I can't understand the manager's reasoning for that. No wonder we can't win games at home when lads like that deserve a longer run and don't get it! I think we shall still qualify for the play-offs but that will be tough to come through, whichever four get there.
Dennis Littler, St Thomas, Ontario, Canada
I have kept quiet most of this season, but after watching Boro's recent performances and again against Birmingham, this was the last straw and felt I couldn't keep quiet any longer. In recent games Boro just seem to have hit the self-destruct button. Boro's strength earlier this season was their defence. On recent performances it looks very much as though they have already gone on holiday. Playing like this we can forget about promotion. Both the Reading and the Leeds games they did to us what we are failing to do to other teams, closing players down quickly, getting in their faces and getting tackles in forcing the opposition into making mistakes. When they have the ball all we seem to do is stand off them, run alongside them while looking over our shoulders at them, giving them all the time in the world on the ball to pick out their team-mates. Another bad point of Boro's that I have noticed creep back in since the signing of Jutkiewicz is that of hitting long balls down the pitch at every opportunity and chipping high balls into the box. Boro are so predictable and every team playing us should be able to read us like a book, absolutely no width to the team, week after week trying time and time again to force the ball through the centre past two banks of four opposition players defending. Boro should sit down and watch Match of the Day with the majority of other teams getting down the by-line and drilling low, hard balls across the box. Leeds scored both their goals last week against us using this exact same method. Manchester United, in particular, are experts at this, and they only have small strikers as well, everyone knows these are nightmare balls for the defenders to defend against.
Wayne Laville, Ormesby
Had I switched on TV to watch the Leeds game as a neutral, I would not have believed Boro were the team with a chance of promotion. As it happens I am a supporter and could not believe what I was watching. Our defence caused more problems for themselves than the opposition, we had no attack, we resorted to a few long shots from individuals. Weather-wise it was a nice day, Neil Warnock, the Leeds players and supporters left with a smile on their faces and probably could not believe why they did not score more goals. We were left without a win to celebrate and to call it a lacklustre performance by us is putting it mildly.
George Hilarion, Surrey
Watched the enthralling FA Cup tie against Sunderland and just wanted to applaud the exemplary behaviour of both sets of players. This was a passionate, full-blooded, high-tempo derby game but the referee, Mr Taylor, did not have cause to brandish a single card during the 90 minutes and extra-time. There were plenty of robust challenges of course, but Mr Taylor let the game flow and the players responded magnificently. There was no overreaction or dissent, just honest endeavour and skill. It was a credit to the players, management and backroom staff of both clubs. It's nice to know the spirit of the game is alive and well and living in Tyne and Wear.
Alan Blezard, football fan, Manchester
Website reply: Tees actually, Alan, but the sentiment is the same!
Please pass this on to Tony Mowbray Tony I have been a season ticket holder and SAFC fan for 46 years, I went to school with Dave Parnaby and my dad was a Boro fan Your team was fantastic last night - a pleasure to watch and as a North-Easterner I was so proud of all the local lads (including Colback, of course!). We won the tie but you won the hearts and minds. Well done and see you in the Premier League next year. Great team and great Academy kids. Heartfelt thanks for a great cup tie - well done!
Trevor Cartner
I would like to say, together with 25,000-plus in the ground and the huge TV audience, thanks to the team for a really memorable performance. Okay, we didn't make it over the line but what a great effort. They can walk tall and be proud of themselves as I'm sure every Boro fan was. It was also very significant that at the end of the game we were fielding nine players who had been home grown and that made me think of 1986 when the same spirit took us on a journey with a team of our own. They have laid down the standard and if the desire is there anything is possible. Don't want to dwell on individual performances but sufficient to say there were players who played with heart and guts that we didn't expect. I just hope it inspires the stay away support to return in numbers.
Dan P, Middlesbrough
CLUB FEEDBACK
I just wanted to give a bit of feedback on how our engagement party went in The Legends Lounge, to put it lightly it couldn't have gone better and every single member of staff really left a massive impression on not only me but all the guests too. Many of the people who attended have said to me how excellent the service was, even the security guy on the door went that bit further to make every single guest feel welcome. As soon as we arrived Mark and Victoria came and introduced themselves and explained how they would look after us and our guests and that no request would be too small or too big and they would do their best to ensure it was met. I was really taken back how there was never more than two people waiting to be served at the bar, even though there were over 120 guests, the food was absolutely amazing, staff stood with arms behind their back dotted around the room looking very smart just simply waiting to help people and taking away empty glasses as soon as drinks were finished. An email really doesn't do justice on how happy we are with everything, certainly including Peter Collings, who from the beginning when coming to view the room was very helpful and explained everything thoroughly as well as keeping in contact with us to ensure all our queries were dealt with very efficiently. We had guests from London, Oxford, Leeds, and Newcastle as well as Huddersfield and MFC definitely have left a fantastic impression for these people to take back with them and as a Boro fan I couldn't help but feel quite proud. Nothing short of a five-star service from meeting Peter for the first time to saying bye to the security man after the party had finished. Thank you very much for making our night amazing.
Chris Harper and Charlie Ruddock
