Down to the Riverside

[Helli]

Season Review


New Youth players for Boro
Middlesbrough was able to welcome some nice new youth prospects in their academy.









Burdisso inks 2 Year contract with Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough boss Steven Parker announced that the club has agreed to a two year deal with 29 year old central back Nicolas Burdisso from Argentinia. Burdisso joins Boro from Inter after one year on loan at Roma. "We're thrilled to add a guy like Nicolas to our squad. His experience will help our young squad out a lot and we believe that he can be a big hit.", said Boro boss Steven Parker. Burdisso has played in 30 games for Argentinia so far scoring 2 goals. He's rumored to be be playing again, after just 14 games with Roma last year.


Wheater may leave?
Middlesbrough central back David Wheater could leave his hometown club soon according to several sources. According to several sources Chelsea has shown interested in the talented 23 year old Central back and with just 12 Months left on his current deal Parker might be forced to sell him if he's looking for some big bucks. Wheater is said to be very excited about playing together with John Terry and would be more than willing to leave Boro for Champions League Football.

Middlesbrough has been looking at Michael Dawson from Tottenham has a possible Wheater replacement.

Diarra, Vieira on Parkers list
Mahamadou Diarra could be on his way to the Riverside stadium on a loan deal according to Spanish source Marca. Real is looking to sell the 29 year old defensive midfielder from Mali but Boro will have problems absorbing his full salary of almost 50.000€ p/w. Unless Diarra is willing to take a big paycut a permanent deal looks highly unlikely. Diarra, who joined Real Madrid from Lyon for a fee of 26 Million € is said to be unhappy at the Bernabeu Stadium because of his lack of playing time.

Mahamadou Diarra - could he be Boro's signing of the season?

Parker is said to be also interested in former Arsenal and Inter player Patrick Vieira. It's unknown if Vieira is willing to take a paycut in order to come to Middlesbrough. He's 34 years old and Boro could be very likely his last team in his career.

Could Patrick Vieira be on his way back to England soon?
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[Jake89]

Nathan and Christos look like superb regens! Be sure to raise them up well!

Burdisso will be a good signings, an experienced cool head at the back to guide the youngsters should work well. Also, I think if you can get Diarra on loan that would be amazing as he is only 29 and still has a few years in him yet, whereas Vieira might be a bit more of a gamble at 34.

Looking forward to your transfer update

 

[burkeyoa]

Great transfer should be a rock. You looked at any strikers yet?

 

[Helli]

Nathan and Christos look like superb regens! Be sure to raise them up well!

Burdisso will be a good signings, an experienced cool head at the back to guide the youngsters should work well. Also, I think if you can get Diarra on loan that would be amazing as he is only 29 and still has a few years in him yet, whereas Vieira might be a bit more of a gamble at 34.

Looking forward to your transfer update

Nathan is from Middlesbrough as well and he has me on his favoured personal list :wub:
I'll try anything to get Diarra. He would be the perfect fit for this team. I can't buy him (can offer not enough wages) but i simply hope that there wont be any other bidders. Vieira still looks good but he's injured right now and as you said. He's already 34...

---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:12 PM ----------

Great transfer should be a rock. You looked at any strikers yet?

Burnley and the Wolves got relegated. They got some guys up front there i like. Depends on what i can get for Lita...

 

[burkeyoa]

who was the other relegated team? Doyle and fletcher always to well for me. I have just start a Bristol City game any advice on getting out of the championship?

 

[Helli]

who was the other relegated team? Doyle and fletcher always to well for me. I have just start a Bristol City game any advice on getting out of the championship?

Blackburn but they are asking for ridiculous amounts of cash for their players (8 Million for a 32 year old Ryan Nelsen) and i believe they would look for 15 Million+ for Kalinic
Bristol was great in my game, just look at the league tables, just had some bad luck at the end. Look at my transfers for the first season, if you can get some of these guys you should be good. Especially Marveaux is an amazing sign. Try to loan out Harewood, he really does well in the Championship.

---------- Post added at 05:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:21 PM ----------

Parker still going for Youth
Middlesbrough boss adds 3 more young players, inks Roushias to pro deal

Middlesbrough has signed former Liverpool LB Christopher Buchtmann on a free transfer, Striker Adam Boyes for 160.000€ from Scunthorpe and talented Finnish RB Hampus Jansson for 180.000€. He also was able to sign homegrown Onoforios Roushias to a professional. "We'll always be looking to add young talents to our squad. That's our philosophy and we truely believe that this is the right way to move this team forward.", said Boro boss Steven Parker.









Finnish Right back Hampus Jansson was quickly loaned out to Huddersfield. Parker is also looking for loan deals for Boyes and Buchtmann.


Pogatetz: "I'll leave"
Middlesbrough captain Emanuel Pogatetz has officially claimed that he's going to leave Middlesbrough after 5 years with the club. "I'm looking to make the next step in my career. I was glad that i could help this team back to the Premier League again but now it's time for me to move on. Middlesbrough will always be a special place in my heart but i believe a change of scenery will help me with my career", said Pogatetz.

Will leave Teeside this summer - Emanuel Pogatetz
Roma and Villareal are rumored to be interested in the Austrian international. Middlesbrough is said to be looking for a fee of arround 5 Million €.

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---------- Post added at 08:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:58 PM ----------

Wheater joins Chelsea

Middlesbrough central back David Wheater will leave Middlesbrough and will join Chelsea for a fee of 13 Million €. With just one year remaining on his current deal, it was believed that Parker had to make this move. "I didn't want to give David up. He's a great player, he's a local boy but 13 Million are a lot if you consider this contract situation.", said Parker. Wheater is said to be eager to join and learn from John Terry.

David Wheater will leave Middlesbrough for Chelsea.

Au revoir Sylvain
Marveaux goes back to France
Middlesbrough lost yet another key member of lasts years success. Sylvain Marveaux, who joined for just 85k one year back from Rennes will join French giants Olympique Marseille for 9 Million €. Marveaux is said to be very happy about the chance to go back to France.

Back to France - Sylvain Marveaux

Getting the cash
Middlesbrough manager Steven Parker continued to make some cash in July. Mido joins Reggina for 4 Million € (Boro will pay him 4,5k until his contract is up in 2011), Leroy Lita joins the Hammers for 6 Million, Brad Jones goes to Birmingham for 4 Million € and Emanuel Pogatetz will join Roma for 5,5 Million €. Mark Yeates, who never played a single game for Middlesbrough will also leave the Teesiders. The Irish Winger will join Notts County for 1,1 Million €. Parker was willing to move this players in order to gain further money for transfers. This moves surely should have helped this team to improve the budget.


Diarra picks West Ham
Middlesbrough's number 1 target of the offseason has decided to sign with West Ham United instead of joining Middlesbrough on a permanent deal. Boro had a loan offer accepted, simply because they couldn't afford his 48,5k salary p/w but Diarra decided to join the Hammers instead.

Middlesbrough surprisingly sign Hart
Middlesbrough has signed Goalkeeper Joe Hart for 2,5 Million € from Manchester City. This move may surprise some people as goaltending clearly wasn't the problem last year, but Parker still used a good amount of cash on improving this position. Hart will have to compete with Alex Smithies for the first spot on the team.

Rodriguez,Vokes, Ebanks-Blake on their way to Riverside Stadium
Middlesbrough manager Steven Parker finally found his replacements for Marlon Harewood and Leroy Lita. James Rodriguez joins Boro for a fee of 2,3 Million € from recently relegated Burnley while Vokes and Ebanks-Blake join for a sum of 5,6 Million € from Wolverhampton. Parker only was able to make this moves after selling Leroy Lita and Mido for 10 Million €. All 3 will likely compete for the 3rd spot behind Robert Lewandowski and Chris Wood.

Sam Vokes is joining Middlesbrough together with....

....Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and

Jay Rodriguez (middle)

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---------- Post added at 11:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:04 PM ----------

Vieira set for Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough to sign veteran for 2 years

Former Arsenal and Inter superstar Patrick Vieira is returning to England. The 34 year old veteran signed a two year deal with Middlesbrough that will keep him with the team until June 2012. Vieira is set to be the much needed experienced veteran for the youngest squad in the EPL. When Boro's number 1 transfer target of the summer - Mahamadou Diarra - joined West Ham, Parker quickly made an offer to Vieira that was instantly accepted. Vieira took a big paycut in order to join Middlesbrough.

Patrick Vieira returns to England on a 2 year deal with Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough signs Dawson
Middlesbrough F.C. have signed 26 year old central back Michael Dawson to a 5 year contract. Dawson will join Middlesbrough from Tottenham for 3,2 Million €. Dawson was transfer listed by the Spurs and had drawn interest from several teams like Wigan or St. Etienne before joining Middlesbrough. Dawson is set to replace David Wheater who left for Chelsea earlier.

Middlesbrough add 3 Serbian internationals
Middlesbrough F.C. has signed Serbian internationals Slobodan Raijkovic, Miralem Sulejmani and Gojko Kacar. Raijkovic joins Middlesbrough from Chelsea. The defensive allrounder costs arround 2,3 Million €. He was loaned out the last 3 year to Holland and wasn't in Ancelotti's plans at Stamford Bridge anymore. Raijkovic, 21 will likely compete with Emil Johansson for a regular spot in the lineup.

Miralem Sulejmani is Boro's biggest transfer in the Summer. The 21 year old attacking midfielder costs arround 6,5 Million € and will join Middlesbrough from Dutch giants Ajax. Sulejmani will have a lot to prove as Middlesbrough signed him as replacement for Sylvain Marveaux who signed with Olympique Marseille earler.

Finally the club made a surprising pitch for Hertha BSC defensive midfielder Gojko Kacar. Kacar's signing is considered a coup as there were several other teams interested in him. The transfer fee is rumored to be arround 4,4 Million - a bargain looking at Kacar's future potential.

Beevers, Hiariej final signings
Steven Parker has made another pair of signings to round up the transfer period. Mark Beevers is a highl talented centre back prospect and joins Riverside from former league rivals Sheffield. Beevers is likely going out on loan in order to get playing time. Beevers time will definitely come, in the worst case once Sean St. Ledger or Nicolas Burdisso will leave the club.

Talented right back Tom Hiariej joins Middlesbrough from Groningen out of the Dutch Eredevise. Parker was also chasing Jukka Raitala but the Finnish allrounder decided to sign with Hoffenheim. Hiariej is yet another young gun with just 22 years. He's a hard worker and also is a solid CB.




Transfer overview



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I did way more transfer than i wanted to. I didnt want to move Wheater, i already turned down the first offer but he got upset about this. Same goes for Marveaux (and i also have the problem with Smithies now). At least those transfers helped me to get some more budget together with the guys i wanted to sell (6 Million for Lita, holy ****). I just hope that Sulejmani can replace Marveaux or i'll be ******. Another season where i will need some time before i have a real team on the pitch
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[Irish Scouse]

Some good signings but will take some time to gel together.

 

[Helli]

Pre Season Report
Friendly Game 1: Wigan Athletic vs. Middlesbrough F.C. 4:1 (St.Ledger)
Tried out some new things there and subbed out the whole team at half. Smithies with a fine performance despite 4 goals by Wigan. It's just Pre Season so not too much to worry about.

Friendly Game 2: Club Brugge vs. Middlesbrough F.C. 3:0
Really bad game by the lads. Again worked on some things. Only Rajkovic with a solid performance as LB, rest of the team (minus Smithies) was horrible.

Friendly Game 3: Darlington vs. Middlesbrough F.C. 0:5 (St.Ledger,Nainggolan (3x),Dawson)
Solid game against our affiliated club. Nainggoland with two free kick goals. Not much else to say.

Friendly Game 4: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Middlesbrough F.C. 1:1 (Rodriguez)
We played better for the first 60 minutes but after that Wolverhampton completely dominated us and therefore was able to tie it after 89 minutes. Really disappointing performance, didn't really create chances and they scored on us with 10 players on the pitch.

Friendly Game 5: Tottenham Hotspurs vs. Middlesbrough F.C. 3:2 (Ebanks-Blake (2x))
Another loss. . Again a deserved one. Only 1 really good performance by Ebanks Blake, rest was medicore or bad. Still only pre-season with a lot of tests...

Friendly Game 6: Middlesbrough F.C. vs. Chelsea London 1:3 (St.Ledger)
Still working on some things. We came back from a 1:0 deficit but 2 late goals by Drogba and Lampard sealed the deal. A lot of tired players...

Friendly Game 7: Birmingham City vs. Middlesbrough F.C. 0:2 (Dawson (2x))
Good game. Played well against one of our direct rivals for relegations. Good team performance. If we can perform like that in the EPL i'm sure we can do some damage.

Friendly Game 8: Chippenham F.C. vs. Middlesbrough F.C. 0:8 (Lewandowski (2x),Wood,Dawson,Rodriguez,Vokes (2x),Shepherd (og))
Positive way to end a medicore pre-season against a horrible team.


Player of the Pre-Season

Michael Dawson, 8 GP, 4 Goals, 7.24 Rating


Transfer Update
A few more loan deals and the transfer of Saiko


​

 

[Jake89]

Loads of transfers again! You really are a transfer addict aren't you Hopefully you have a solid enough squad there to compete in the Premier League. My prediciton is 13th, im sure you would be delighted with that.

Good luck for the season ahead, I will be following as always. Keep an eye out for an update on my Arsenal game tonight.

 

[Helli]

Loads of transfers again! You really are a transfer addict aren't you Hopefully you have a solid enough squad there to compete in the Premier League. My prediciton is 13th, im sure you would be delighted with that.

Good luck for the season ahead, I will be following as always. Keep an eye out for an update on my Arsenal game tonight.

thanks pal. Can't wait for your Arsenal update.

Well, after selling Marveaux AND Wheater i kinda had to do. Media Prediciton is 15th but 13th would be great and i believe that's clearly possible

---------- Post added at 03:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:07 AM ----------

August Update
Game 1: Middlesbrough vs. Tottenham 1:0 (Sulejmani)
Fantastic result. Pretty even match but Joe Hart was absolutely fantastic in that game. Sulejmani with the late goal to make the start of the season a perfect one.

Game 2: Middlesbrough vs. Wigan 1:0 (Wood)
Good result not so happy about the performance. Wigan controlled the game but didn't create any chances. MoM award for Dawson. Sulejmani hurt, but just a minor injury.

Game 3: Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough 1:1 (St.Ledger)
Solid performance by the lads. Pretty even game and a well deserved point. Great performance from the defensive with Ratings well over 7.

League Cup Round 2: Carlisle vs. Middlesbrough 1:3 (Burdisso (2x),Johnson)
Solid win, just not too happy about the chance conversion. Burdisso with a very good performance scoring 2 goals and also assisting on Johnson's goal. Let Smithies play this game and he did well. Could we have a rotation so that both are happy?

Game 4: Newcastle vs. Middlesbrough 1:3 (Lewandowski,Dawson,Sulejmani)
Fantastic performance by the lads and a great result. Another good performance by Sulejmani. If he can keep on playing like this he's a fantastic replacement for Marveaux.

Player of the Month:

Miralem Sulejmani had 2 goals in 4 league games with a 7.22 Rating
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[Jake89]

Wow what a start, brilliant results against some good teams like Spurs and United! Updated my story now if you want to check it out

 

[burkeyoa]

You have certainly hit the ground running in the top flight. Some great transfers. Cant believe you got dawson that cheap hes a class act. Keep up the good work really enjoying this story

 

[Helli]

You have certainly hit the ground running in the top flight. Some great transfers. Cant believe you got dawson that cheap hes a class act. Keep up the good work really enjoying this story

thanks buddy
I agree, Dawson is a great buy and especially for that price. Great replacement for Wheater and better than Pogatetz for sure

 

[Spud Ando]

edge of the seat stuff m8!! great buys in the transfer market! Didnt realise rodriguez is good deffo some players for me to look wat when i next play Keep it up m8... really enjoying this.
Nice one Helli!

 

[Helli]

September Update
Game 5: Middlesbrough vs. Fulham 1:1 (Wood)
Solid result against the Cottagers. Down early after a penalty goal by Amanatidis but Wood with his second goal of the season just 10 minutes later. Not a real good match from both sides tbh and an awful performance by Rajkovic (4.9 Rating)

Game 6: Birmingham City vs. Middlesbrough 0:1 (Lewandowski)
Lewandowski with the early goal after just 1 minute, not much after that. Birmingham is looking terrible right now and i'm just happy that we won this. We need the points against those teams as i cant count on another great set of results like against Manchester or Tottenham.


League Cup 3rd Round: Middlesbrough vs. Doncaster 4:2 (Johnson,Rodriguez,Johansson,Vokes)
We finally scored some goals again. Fantastic game and MoM award for Johansson. Overall a pretty solid performance against a Championship team, just not to happy about those 2 goals

Our next opponent will be Blackburn.

Game 7: Middlesbrough vs. Bristol 2:0 (Lewandowski, St.Ledger)
Another solid win earned with two late goals. We we're the better team but took 84 minutes to show this on the scoresheet. Only disappointment was Vokes with a pretty bad game, rest of the team all with Rating of 6,9+

League Table



Really good month. We didn't really play the strong teams but i don't care. Of Course it will be hard to keep this position but still fantastic season so far.
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Player of the Month

Sean St. Ledger with a dominant performance at the back this month. 4 GP, 1 Goal, 7.35 Rating
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edge of the seat stuff m8!! great buys in the transfer market! Didnt realise rodriguez is good deffo some players for me to look wat when i next play Keep it up m8... really enjoying this.
Nice one Helli!

thanks mate. Really enjoying the game right now too.

 

[Jake89]

Mate your doing fantastic! Champions League spots are beckoning

 

[Helli]

October update

Game 8: Portsmouth vs. Middlesbrough 0:2 (Sulejmani,Wood)
Another game, another win. Great game by the whole team and a well deserved victory over Pompey. Can we keep on playing like this??

Game 9: Middlesbrough vs. Manchester City 3:1 (Wood (2x),Rodriguez)
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood. What a game by the 18 year old lad, Lewandowski seems to struggle a bit in front of the net right now but Wood has been a perfect replacement. Great win against one of the top sides of the Premier League. Digard with the late goal for City against his former team.

Game 10: Middlesbrough vs. Everton 2:0 (Wood,Ebanks-Blake)
Woooooooooooooooooooooood. 3rd straight MoM award for the lad with a superb performance against Everton. Great game by the whole team, really happy that they have been playing together as a team instantly.

League Cup 4th Round: Middlesbrough vs. Blackburn 2:1 (Dawson,Vieira)
Win, win, win. I know Blackburn is a Championship team this year but we're rolling.

Middlesbrough is going to play Bolton in the Qtr Finals.

Game 11: Bolton vs. Middlesbrough 0:0
Jääskelainen with a huge game for Bolton but still happy about the draw. We had the chances but i'm not going to complain. 27 Points out of the first 11 Games is fantastic.

League Table:


Absolutely fantastic month. I didn't expect to win against Everton and City and of course i didn't expect to see us sitting in the first place ahead of Chelsea. Relegation already seems out of the mind with 22 Points ahead. Could we aim for Europe??

Player of the Month:

Chris Wood netted 4 goals this month
​

 

[burkeyoa]

unbelieveable!! u are doing great can you keep it up tho?

 

[Helli]

November Update


Game 12: Arsenal vs. Middlesbrough 2:2 (Dawson,Wood)
Great result against Arsenal. Down early after a wonderful goal by Vela but Dawson quickly tied it. Own goal by Alex Smithies (still 8,1 Rating!) but Wood was able to tie it again. Fantastic young lad. Hope he can keep it up.

Game 13: Middlesbrough vs. Sunderland 3:1 (Addison,Sulejmani,Lewandowski)
Again an absolutely fantastic game by Smithies and 2nd straight MoM award with a 8.4 Rating. Lewandowski finally with a goal again. Would be fantastic to actually have both strikers scoring

Game 14: Chelsea vs. Middlesbrough 2:1 (Hart (pen))
Our first defeat after 14 games. Took way longer than I expected . Can't really complain as we played against Chelsea. Joe Hart returned and scored early to give us the lead. Drogba just was too good this game...

Game 15: Middlesbrough vs. Aston Villa 1:1 (Lewandowski)
Good result as Villa was the better team.Can't really complain about the result, without Joe Hart this could have been a Villa win easily.

League Cup Qtr Final: Middlesbrough vs. Bolton 2:1 (Nainggolan,Ebanks-Blake)
Woot. We're going to the Semis. Rotated in goal again and Smithies played really well. Also nice to see getting goals from the Rotation players like Ebanks-Blake.

League Table

What a great month again. Still first even though we lost against Chelsea. Another great set of results against some strong teams like Arsenal or Villa. Surprised about some positions of teams like Pool or City

Player(s) of the Month:

Both goalkeepers deserve that award after some fantastic performances.




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---------- Post added at 03:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:16 AM ----------

December Update

Game 16: Stoke vs. Middlesbrough 2:1 (Hart (pen))
Not a good game by the lads. Possible our worst game of the season so far. Stoke wasn't that good but we just didn't play well. Only Hart with a good performance again. Nice dilemma there. Both Hart and Smithies play like number 1 keepers and i also have Jason Steele (Englands 2nd U21 keeper behind Smithies) loaned out .

Game 17: Liverpool vs. Middlesbrough 2:0
2nd straight defeat in the Premier Leauge against a (so far) disappointing Liverpool team. The Reds deserved this one. Is Middlesbrough's amazing run over?

Game 18: Middlesbrough vs. Hull 2:0 (Sulejmani,Addison)
Very important win to bounce back after 2 loses. Myhill was amazing for the Tigers and was the main reasons that this was just a 2:0 game. Still glad that we won again.

Game 19: West Ham vs. Middlesbrough 2:2 (Lewandowski,Wood)
Good result on Boxing day against the Hammers. Good game by Lewandowski again. He hasn't been dominant like last year but still is my 2nd best striker after Wood.

Game 20: Wigan vs. Middlesbrough 1:1 (Addison)
A bit of a disappointment. I believe Wigan should be one of those teams we absolutely need to beat but we just we're able to ****** a lucky draw from DW Stadium.

FA Cup Round 3: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Middlesbrough 0:1 (Weiss)
Again not really happy the performance in this game. Rotated a bit so that could be the reason for this poor performance. Still nice to advance to the 4th Round.


League Table

Still an amazing 4th spot, never expected that at the start of the season. Some disappointing games this month though, especially against Wigan or Stoke. Still would be first if we won those...

Player of the Month

Michael Dawson was one of the few constant players this month with a 7.38 Rating

January Transfer Window coming up!


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[Spud Ando]

Good and bad results Fella!! think ur squad is pretty gd! dnt think u need to change much