@forever-dormo Even more surprising may be that he had two speeches prepared, one backing membership and one supporting Brexit, before he ultimately took the latter route, believing his path to being PM would be achieved if he got rid of Cameron. The man is a liar and a chancer of the highest order.

I don’t blame any politician for Brexit as it was voted for by the British public (irrespective of the % that voted) now some people want back in. It reminds me of Scotland’s vote for independence and the “poison dwarf” Sturgeon, who when it didn’t get the outcome she wanted, she wanted another referendum, then probably more until she got the outcome she wanted.

I voted to leave and if there is a referendum on going back in I would vote against it, I was fed up with being governed by Europe and abiding by their laws, let alone the financial contributions, this is my personal opinion and therefore do not want to get into a discussion about my views.

More importantly is 3 points on Saturday as this is a Middlesbrough football blog.

Come on BORO.

@exmil I’d ask you to list the benefits but won’t bother. I don’t like your use of the term “poison dwarf” though. This forum (and you) are better than that.

@forever-dormo - What a fantastic opening piece and the quality of this blog continues to excel.

I, like Richard and others no doubt, share the memories of that game against Cardiff in 2008 so the less said the better and here’s hoping for a Boro victory to keep the momentum.

i had forgotten that it was another 1230 KO and since I am still in the sunshine of Fuerteventura with access to Sky, I shall be able to watch my 3rd game in a row which is probably a first for me! Don’t think I can watch tv outside so I will have to forgo the sunbed! It’s a hard life this not working malarkey.

I suspect that Cardiff will present us with a few challenges - looks like they play a 4 2 3 1 formation away from home so it will be interesting to see how KH sets us up - agree that Conway and Cozier Duberry need to be out wide with maybe McGree as the 10 behind Lanky Will. Morris is a given although I remain unsure about Berhalter as I think we need someone to be a bit more defensively minded. Back 4 of Brittain, Phillips Malander and Borges.

I am going to be optimistic and go for 3 0 to Boro to improve our goal difference.

UTB

@martin-bellamy - Lets keep the politics out of the blog - that’s not aimed at you by the way. The one thing that makes  this blog so good is our ability to discuss things in  sensible manner. 

Apparently, there's no buy-back clause in Lanky Will's contract:

https://www.teamtalk.com/tottenham-hotspur/will-lankshear-spurs-return-obstacles-middlesbrough-buy-back

🙂

@boro-beckys-dad     I thought that we had all agreed some time ago to leave politics out of any postings on this blog?

You only need one post, sorry Jarkko, and it can kick off. Fortunately we are still (to a degree) allowed to have our say, however we did agree not to comment on a subject that divides. 

Dormo, that was one heck of a Headliner and an excellent history lesson on the parallel development of Cardiff and Middlesbrough in the early days, of which I knew nothing of our Saturday opposition. A very nice read.

One of Middlesbrough’s problems and we know there are a few, is its size. The small town in Europe is very apt, and as you pointed out Dormo, a very small area and population.

Of course when most on here were born it was North Yorkshire, and that concept should have included everything south of the River Tees in the borough of Middlesbrough. That would have given it a chance to expand and would have included the large developments that are now in Stockton on Tees. 

Just a view, and not a  political one. 

Good points about political comments being made by several posters. I’ll rein it in (although I vowed when I reached 60 not to turn a blind eye to certain points of view) and stick to the Boro. 

On which note, my Boro supporting daughter is on her way down from the Highlands today. A rare opportunity for us both to catch a game on tv together - she deserves another win after such a long journey. 

Cardiff Summer turn over.

Cardiff generally play 4-2-3-1, but did start with 4-1-4-1 against Watford. 

Possibly Hellberg will match them up if they play their normal set up, or have a plan if they play a four and try to swamp our midfield 

For the second season in succession, Middlesbrough find themselves on exactly 21 points after their opening 10 games of a campaign, matching their best start since 1995-96.

Can we do it at Riverside on a mild Autumn midday?

I will go for a OFB score - 3-0 win to keep his mind and heart in peace. Up the Boro!

Thanks for the excellent starter, FD. Especially for helping out one of our own in Jarkko.

it’s excellent to be on 21pts after 10 games and when you look at who those points have come against, six of our opponents to date are in the Chanpionship’s top 10.

With a number of new players still settling in - though it feels like it’s clicked a bit more post-international break - that’s some going.

Now we have a run against teams in mid to lower table ranks, which will likely be a different sort of test, perhaps more akin to Lincoln on the opening day.

So can we now add breaking down stubborn defences to this teams armoury? If so, we’re definitely onto something this term.

However, those sorts of games have been a struggle for us in the past. Perhaps the deeper squad depth with genuine options from the bench, plus of course the red hot Will Lankshear will make for different outcomes this time. Let’s hope so.

I’ll go for Boro 2-0 Cardiff.

As for the other subjects, I’ll keep it brief:

Promotion: still “yes please”’

Brexit: still “no thanks”.

Boro've already sold more than 27,000 tickets for the match, with tickets still on sale.

Also, MFC Principal Partner Midnite will serve 1,000 Teesside parmos to Boro fans in the FanZone at the Riverside this weekend from 10am ahead of the 12.30pm kick-off. Fans just need to show their match ticket to claim a free parmo, while supplies last.

@Dormo, I do not know if the Season Card still includes a free beer, but at least some Parmos are free. I doubt if the parmos at the ground are as good as the ones Karanka and Leo Percovich shared after the Legacy Game recently. But please try,

It is wondeful to see nearly full houses at Riverside nowadays. Up the Boro!

@martin-bellamy - I asked William Hague why politicians never/very rarely admit they made a mistake (presumably only as a matter of last resort in an attempt to save their career). He said that so much is filmed, recorded etc (especially in this digital age) that any admission would be brought out and used repeatedly against the politician at any convenient point thereafter.

Posted by: @martin-bellamy

↑

Good points about political comments being made by several posters. I’ll rein it in (although I vowed when I reached 60 not to turn a blind eye to certain points of view) and stick to the Boro. 

On which note, my Boro supporting daughter is on her way down from the Highlands today. A rare opportunity for us both to catch a game on tv together - she deserves another win after such a long journey. 

More importantly for here, let us hope we turn the style on tomorrow.

CoB

@martin-bellamy - But surely it's Cameron who is REALLY responsible?  And he ran away when he didn't know what to do to resolve it.

@pedro - Very kind of you.  Yes, it does seem odd that Ingleby Barwick and Thornaby are both a part of Stockton on Tees.

@boro-beckys-dad 

Tend to think ultimately you're right as no matter how well intentioned a political discussion starts out they never end well. I think it's maybe a symptom of the times that you can't really have political discussion without opening old wounds or somebody objecting to a point of view, where arguments have become polarised and nobody really shifts position (if indeed the point of political discussion is to shift positions).

Understanding why people take a particular view (and it's often with good reason) shouldn't in theory necessarily be a cause for being intollerant of their view. However, it often ends up with people nailing their colours to the mast of some divisive politician or pubic figure - I've learned to sidestep my mother's love of Boris as there really is no middle ground for us to inhabit - Though at least she's got a German son now 😉 

It seems quite incredible to hear the ridiculous customs fees Jarkko and KP are paying in a post-Brexit world - surely not the plan anybody wanted or one that makes any kind of economic sense.

Still, we probably shouldn't indulge any politician too much since they seem incapable of wielding any perceived power they hold - they're all apparently beholden to the bond markets, financial interests, incapable of regulating big tech, dealing with AI or climate change or pulling any levers that change anything significantly - which is probably a sign that the system is broken and politics is just a distraction to divide us and avoid holding those who should be being held to account, accountable. Or is that just a narrative being fed to us to dismiss anyone who dissents from the political consensus? Conspiracy theories are now very popular too...

At the moment the EU has no ideas on how to solve the problems it faces - neither does an independent UK. I thought we elected governments as representatives who could act on behalf of the people to hold wealthy and powerful to account - the people now are just as likely to vote for the wealthy and powerful (or their actors) in the belief they can rule over them better and cut out the middle man.

Anyway, better stop before I inadvertently stray into a political discussion...

Looking forward to the game tomorrow - I think we can all agree on that!

@werdermouth and FD and Martin 

As the old joke has it - How do you know a politician is lying………..

…….their lips are moving!

I will make only one political point but firstly I think it's harsh to call a former First Minister of Scotland a poisoned dwarf. I think the preferred description these days is "person of restricted growth" or "person of short stature" although dwarfism is still an official description used by the NHS and by charities such as "Little People UK" (I kid you not!). The term "midget" is strictly verboten.  As someone not unused to finding himself in farmers' fields, I can say that Niesmann & Bischoff 5move motorhomes, whether costing, say, £124,550 or thereabouts, would be out of my price range and would look odd on my driveway. 

Amongst the problems with going into politics in any depth are (1) some people may become very annoyed, so is it worth it? (2) It is difficult to analyse political arguments in the space available (3) you are not likely to "convert" anyone to your view and (4) THIS is primarily a football Blog. And there are probably other issues which might arise.  So probably best left alone.

@Jarkko - I won't get to Middlesbrough until maybe 11.55am tomorrow so, by that time, all the Parmos will have been scoffed! Two things: (1) I am currently limiting carbs to reduce weight and blood sugars (I have tasted no alcohol either, for several weeks) so I wouldn't eat one even if offered for free. (2). i am that rarity amongst people who attend the Riverside: I have NEVER eaten a Parmo. I'd like to maintain that as a personal "quirk" (like never having smoked at all and never having played pinball).

@andy-r     plus of course the red hot Will Lankshear will make for different outcomes this time.

It still concerns me, if anything were to happen to our number 7. I am not convinced we would get sufficient goals from other sources.

Surely MFC must be looking to try and off load Strelec in January, and if we are still in a good place, a replacement.

A football game is perhaps one of the few remaining shared experiences that we can enjoy (hopefully) together. Like many, I now mostly watch TV on demand on a platform of our choice - often binge watching a series in a week and no longer have that shared experience to look forward to “next week’s episode” - spoiler alerts is all we look out for - even listen to our musical playlists on our own headphones - don’t even recall listening to the radio except maybe when in the car.

So shared culture is fast disappearing and maybe nostalgia is only where we find comfort and belonging.

The nation state is also something almost nostalgic and in reality most companies these days use technology to escape the geographical boundaries that gave them any meaning to being part of the fabric of society.

For example, I mentioned a few days ago about a technical problem on the Diasboro site - which is hosted by a UK company. Turns out their customer services hub is based in the Philippines with my messages sent being replied to by AI generated nonsense. Not unusual as my booking at an English hotel was dealt with by random agents working from home in Spain, France or the Middle East - who just access a cloud database and tell you the computer says no. Don’t even start me on banks who have become faceless online entities requiring endless impenetrable security hoops to jump through.

Thank goodness I’m not on social media as I can only imagine where that sends people into - an unreal world of influencers and misinformation and doom scrolling away the hours.

So we take our pleasure (and pain) from the joy of following our team - with perhaps one of the last remaining real shared experiences left - we will all see it unfold at the same time and wait eagerly for the next episode - free from AI and misinformation!

@werdermouth    

Tend to think ultimately you're right as no matter how well intentioned a political discussion starts out they never end well. I think it's maybe a

That’s a good post werder.

I don’t think there was ever any intention on my part or Jarkko’s to start a political debate. It was more about our frustrations and the ridiculous cost of acquiring goods from the UK now the UK is no longer part of the EU.

On the broader point, I agree that this forum is not the place for debate on various topics which are liable to cause friction and possible alienation, its here for us to follow our beloved team and debate all things associated with it. 😎

@k-p-in-spain it was me KP, having a mini rant following on from Jarkko's innocent post about the post, after we were subject to delays at immigration coming into France last week. I have made my mea culpa, but will do another Decade of the Rosary in penance before kick off today...

BREXIT

I don’t normally comment on non Boro issues but I must say that the civil servants were against Brexit and they were never going to get the best deal for us. In my experience working with them , they are very intelligent if intelligence is judged by going to University but as for managing anything they are useless. Their biggest clangers usually involve IT  systems - they either don’t work, way over budget or are abandoned part way through.

BORO

Now much more importantly can Boro make my holiday complete with a 3rd  consecutive win as I sit and enjoy the sunshine. I will check the team in due course and view the scores throughout the game. I will settle for any winning score even with a less than good performance compared to the last 2 games.

Fingers crossed,

PHILIP OF HUDDERSFIELD 👍🤔👍

Nothing wrong in dropping in the occasional anecdote about the everyday realities of what is post-Brexit life - decisions always have consequences but the issue is still in my view 50-50 and never going to have any overwhelming majority in either direction - the genie can't be put back in the bottle or the clock can't be turned back until it's a long-forgotten memory or the central actors back then have left the stage and it's framed in a completely different context.

The important thing today is the result - getting three points. A thrilling performance and a few goals to improve the goal difference is just icing on the cake. 

I mean, you can forgive people for being greedy but the Championship season is a long drawn-out race of extreme endurance. That the athlete looked good at 10 miles, looked cool at 15 miles or showed style and confidence at 20 miles is entirely irrelevant unless he wins as he passes through the finish line. 

That Boro frustrates us at times is something we have come to expect. That mistakes will be made and that there will be good possession which isn't converted into clear chances is par for the course.  But if Boro wins today, everything else is a mere detail. It's all about the win and how that places the team in the league table.  Automatic promotion has got to be the target, and to achieve that Boro needs to beat the opposition team wherever it stands in the league table, form table or whatever.

Boro to win, clearly. That will set up the weekend nicely!

#UTB.

So today we will see if we can get goals without Lankshear in the team, he is on the bench. Joseph starts in his place. Tommy Conway and McGree both start. Going to be watching the game from a hotel room in Yokohama Japan.