Boro beat Roma on away goals rule!

Well after a scrappy 2-0 victory earlier this evening, attentions turn to next Saturday's clash with in form Middlesbrough at Ewood. Rovers as said go into the game on the back a 2-0 victory against Villa, as conversly Middlesbrough face 3 tough away matches in under a week, starting with Charlton at the Valley on Sunday, then to the Olympic Stadium in Rome on Wednesday, before returning to Ewood on Saturday. I will be honest, I intially agreed to do the preview so I could "interview" a rather good looking girl from university called Amanda who I had spoke to briefly and who had said she was from Middlesbrough, so I saw this preview as a perfect oppertunity to meet up at a bar and maybe ask her a few questions about Middlesbrough and the Rovers, after plucking up the courage to go and speak to her earlier this week she told me that she wasn't a Middlesbrough fan, but followed her Dad's team Sunderland! Ah well! This week's Questions and Answer's come from two completely different sources, firstly "Fly Me To The Moon" (Middlesbrough's fanzine) editor Rob Nicholls, with the second coming from arguably Middlesbrough's most famous fan, Roy "Chubby" Brown. Rob Nicholls Q and A 1. How long have you been a Middlesbrough fan? Since school - got my first season ticket with my dad and brother in the old Bob End of Ayresome Park in 1974/75 to see Jack Charlton's newly promoted Champions play in the top flight. Been hooked since. 2. This season, Jekyll and Hyde, true reflection? Yes definitely - but it's even weirder than that. In that we hit rock bottom with 7-0 pounding at Arsenal and then an worse 0-4 humiliation by fellow strugglers Aston Villa at the Riverside. The manager was finished then - I've never ever heard so many people call for a boss's head. A fan flung his season ticket at him, people were marching out of the ground en masse. Young player Lee Cattermole was in tears. It was an evil atmosphere. The turnaround in the month after this has been quite incredible. Hammering Chelsea, grinding out results v WBA and Brum. Getting through to the Quarter finals of the FA Cup without a single home draw. Beating Stuttgart in Europe and then winning at home against the unbeatable Roma. That is an awesome few weeks. 3. Future Middlesbrough stars? Downing? Morrison? Riggot? Parnaby? How good are these talents? Who is the best? Downing's already made the England team hasn't he? He just needs fitness and the chance to get all his confidence back. Morrison could potentially make it just as far if not even further. He can play anywhere at all across the front line. Chrissy Riggott has been knocking on the door at England for a year or two and been ignored. He will eventually take over from Southgate as the rock in our defence. Stuart Parnaby has to sort out his injury problems but all credit to the fullback for making scoring contributions as an emergency right midfielder. The young player we are most excited about at present is Super Lee Cattermole - at 17 years of age he has fantastic ability and tremendous bottle. He gets stuck in but can also pick a great pass. Even at 17 he has the potential to be a future England player. 4. McClaren the next England boss? Wins against Chelsea, Stuttgart and Roma have suddenly promoted him from no hoper to a real possibility. He has big time European experience at Man U, Boro and of course England. Few of the other candidates can match this not even Martin O'Neil. His tactical ability in European competition could well mark him out above anyone else from the British contenders. 5. Who should Blackburn be wary of? Our strikers Yak and Jimmy. You know all about Hasselbaink from last season's hat trick. But he's right back to that form again. Yakubu is an all round centre forward. Strong, fast and with a great eye for goal. They form a frightening combination at the moment and then there's always Viduka... 6. Who should Boro be wary of? You really rocked us with those two wins over the un-festive season. Kuqi ripped us to sheds at ties in those games. He was so strong and awkward to contain while Dickov just never gives up a constant irritant. You hesitate for just one moment in the 90 the minute and he takes the game away from you. Being an ex Geordie Craig Bellamy is not a popular man on Teesside, he has incredible pace as well. Morten Gamst Pedersen is annoying too seeing as he had a trial with Boro and returned back to Scandinavia unsigned. But you have some really good players, real attacking threats. 7. Fly me to the moon? Where did the name come from? Back to our inception in 1988. Manager Bruce Rioch had taken a bunch of young local lads from the closed gates of liquidation to the top flight in 2 amazing seasons. We were barred from making any signings so hadn't even got even resources for a proper reserve team we had to get a local non league team to help us out. Anyway Rioch was the man in charge and Tony Mogga Mowbray was his inspirational leader on the pitch. Rioch said of his captain's heroics if he had to fly to the moon he would want Mowbray by his side. As yet the Moon Mission has not been launched but the revolution at our club since being an hour away from going out of business in 1986 has been nothing short of astronomical. 8. Any tips for people wanting to start a fanzine? Get as many contributions as possible. Get as many good writers cartoonists and the like. Be open minded. Don't just be anti be positive as well. Keep it fresh but build up a rapport with the fans. Be by the fans and for the fans. And never drift away from that central tenet. 9. Favourite Ground? (Apart from the Riverside) Why? Millennium Stadium Cardiff - field of dreams after 128 years of trying we finally won our first silver ware. That is an awful long time. 10. Prediction for the game? Should be an interesting game. We will be desperate to make amends for the League and Cup defeats at the Riverside. I'm predicting a narrow Boro win 2-1. Jimmy and Yak scoring the goals. Roy "Chubby" Brown Q and A 1. How long have you been a Middlesbrough fan? All my life. 2. This season, Jekyll and Hyde, true reflection? True. 3. Future Middlesbrough stars? Downing? Morrison? How good are these talents? I believe one of them will make the England squad. 4. McLaren the next England boss? No. 5. Who should Blackburn be wary of? Hasslebanks left foot. 6. Who should Boro be wary of? Dickov. 7. How long have you been performing Stand Up Comedy? 37 years. 8. Any tips for young Comedians? Carry a baseball bat. 9. Favourite Gig? Why? London palladium because of its nostalgia. 10. Prediction for the game? 1-1. Memorable Matches vs. Boro (at Ewood) 1903- Rovers 0-4 Middlesbrough (First Ever League Meeting at Ewood) 1910- Rovers 5-1 Middlesbrough (Christmas Eve 1910) 1945- Rovers 3-3 Middlesbrough (Month before the end of the War) 1954- Rovers 9-0 Middlesbrough (Quigley and Mooney hat-tricks for Rovers) 1991- Rovers 2-1 Middlesbrough (Rovers went up via playoffs, Boro as runners up) 1992- Rovers 1-1 Middlesbrough (First Premiership game) 1996- Rovers P-P Middlesbrough (The game that never was, Robson blamed flu, Boro had 3pts deducted, which ultimately cost them) 2004- Rovers 0-4 Middlesbrough (Last Premiership meeting) Foot in Both Camps (Direct Rovers to Boro or vice versa Transfers) Jock MacKay Eddie Murphy Stuart Ripley Jock Sorley Charlie Watts Star Man (In My Opinion) YAKUBU Gifted Nigeria striker who has proved to be one of the hottest properties in the Barclays Premiership. Joined Middlesbrough from Portsmouth for £7.5million after scoring 29 goals in 67 top-flight appearances at Fratton Park. Blessed with power, pace and a fearsome shot, Yakubu has the talent to make Boro a force at home and abroad Record (In Premiership): Played - 2053 mins Goals - 13 Assists - 5 Yellows - 0 Reds - 0 Young Star (In My Opininon) STEWART DOWNING One of Boro's brightest prospects, England Under-18 international Downing was handed his Premiership debut against Ipswich in April 2002. The left-sided midfielder made his home bow against Chelsea three days later. Opened his Boro goalscoring account last season in a League Cup clash at Brentford. Made his England debut in a friendly against Holland in February 2005. Record (In Premiership): Played - 706 Goals - 1 Assists - 4 Yellows - 0 Reds - 0 Match Prediciton I'll leave that to you

My dad made an interesting point today as he feels Spurs are just like us but a year on and that if everything goes to plan we could be a serious threat next year. Back to today proud of the boys, one of the few times I'm not overly disappointed with the score as we played well and it was just one of those days. Champions League or UEFA Cup or No European football still represents an amazing season for the boys and again you have to tip your hat to Hughes/Bowen/Eddie N for the job that they have done. My Ratings: FRIEDEL- 6 NEILL - 7 TODD - 7 NELSEN - 7 GRAY - 6 BENTLEY - 7 SAVAGE - 8 REID - 7 EMERTON - 7 BELLAMY - 9 SINAMA - 7

Agreed Stuart Hall is the best reporter on Radio Five

Dunny will have an outstanding year next year, but it will be for Birmingham in the Championship. Don't look back. Move Forward. Got to trust Hughes' judgement though I suppose, he hasn't let us down yet.

Messi was impressive last night, but he is easy to read, he's all left foot!

Lost 3-2! The only match I have missed! The players can be proud of their efforts though.

Thats a bad away kit!!!

He guys just been reading the BBC website, in particular an article about Freddy Adu, I'm sure some of our american based members will have seen the lad play, is he as good as everybody makes out? the next Pele? or just someone who the US Soccer federation are pinning their hopes on to raise the profile of the game in the country? Will he play in the world cup? Will it be Chelsea, Man Utd, AC Milan, Real, Barca? Adu Story

I think that Sinama will start on the bench instead of Johnson, possibly Olsson instead of Peter. Apart from that the same team that started last night.

Didn't really get chance to see the logo I was mightly Pi$$ed off to see the badge and Lonsdale over the centre of the shirt!!!!!!!!!! MAJORLY PEED

Maybe Rovers have pulled a fast one on us!

YEAH AND IT WAS THAT AWFUL HOME 1 SHIRT!!! SURELY THAT CANNOT HAVE WON THE VOTE!!!!! EVERYONE I KNOW DESPISES THAT KIT DUE TO THE BADGE BEING IN THE MIDDLE!!

WHAT AN AWESOME GAME!! THE BEST MATCH I HAVE EVER BEEN TO IN THE 14 YEARS I HAVE HAD A SEASON TICKET! My Ratings FREIDEL- 8 (Two top saves, couldn't do anything about any of the goals) NEILL- 7 (Cracking penalty, coped well with Ronaldo in the 2nd half, however played Rooney and Ruud onside) TODD- 6 (At fault for United's 2nd goal) NELSEN- 6 (Pretty redundant as Rooney dropped deep) GRAY- 6 (Solid) REID- 7 (A player who is getting better every week! Played a lot better in the second half in the centre!) TUGAY- 6 (Did a job in the first half, caught in possession a few times, but solid) SAVAGE- 8 (Another good game from Sav, who I personally think is playing the best football of his career, plus an assist for the Bentley's 3rd goal) PEDERSEN- 7 (Battled hard in midfield, he can really dig in when the game gets scrappy) KUQI- 7 (Love him or hate him, he must be a real pain to play against, I thought he worked hard again tonight) BENTLEY- 9 (Fox in the box, 3 very different goals, the first was great athleticism, second couldn't really miss and third a fantastic half volley! HATRICK HERO) EMERTON- 7 (Emo did well when he came on, worked hard) JOHNSON- 5 (Ran about late on) MOKOENA- 5 (As above) HUGHES- 10 (I FRICKIN LOVE THIS GUY)

Shoudn't a poll be started?

Home 2 (JUST TEXTED IN! ) and Away 3 for me. 1st Shirt!- AWFUL Yellow Away- JUST AS BAD Silver Away- WORST SHIRT IVE EVER SEEN

Its pretty disappointing to see Kuqi being made the scape goat. Alright he didn't have the best game, but neither did a few players, Neill and Gray come to mind. We must take the positives out of the cup run, because we were effectively out two months ago when 2-0 down at Charlton yet we showed the character to go on and win 3-2! Kuqi inspired dont forget. Middlesbrough was another success as we erased memories of Fulham and dominated against Boro. I believe that the Carling Cup win set us up well for the christmas period from which we took 9pts out of 9! We had the positives of the home leg against Man U, Pedersen's goal and the defensive performance in the second half. Ok tonight is a blip, but its not the end of the world! Were still in the FA cup and even if we go out of that were having a good season in the league. I'm sure if I offered you 8th in the table and a Carling Cup Semi Final by this stage, back in August you would have bit my hand off! I know I would have been more than thrilled! You could see Hughes at the end say to the players "chin up" and as supporters we must also hold our heads high. Lets get behind the team at West Ham on Saturday, get behind every player! And lets beat Man United next Wednesday at Ewood. Cheer up guys n gals! IT COULD BE WORSE!!!!!!!

Its there for the taking boys!!!

Top 25 English Managers (In order of league position) 1. Paul Jewell (Wigan 6th in Premiership) 2. Sam Allardyce (Bolton 7th in Premiership) 3. Alan Pardew (West Ham 9th in Premiership) 4. Stuart Pearce (Man City 10th in Premiership) 5. Alan Curbishley (Charlton 11th in Premiership) 6. Bryan Robson (West Brom 15th in Premierhip) 7. Steve McLaren (Middlesbrough 17th in Premiership) 8. Steve Bruce (Birmingham 18th in Premiership) 9. Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth 19th in Premiership) 10. Mick McCarthy (Sunderland 20th in Premiership) 11. Steve Coppell (Reading 1st in Championship) 12. Neil Warnock (Sheffield United 2nd in Championship) 13. Kevin Blackwell (Leeds 3rd in Championship) 14. Ade Boothroyd (Watford 4th in Championship) 15. Glenn Hoddle (Wolverhampton 8th in Championship) 16. Mike Newell (Luton 9th in Championship) 17. Steve Cotterill (Burnley 10th in Championship) 18. Nigel Worthington (Norwich 11th in Championship) 19. Ian Holloway (QPR 12th in Championship) 20. Joe Royle (Ipswich 14th in Championship) 21. Micky Adams (Coventry 15th in Championship) 22. Peter Taylor (Hull 17th in Championship) 23. Phil Brown (Derby 18th in Championship) 24. Tony Pullis (Plymouth 19th in Championship) 25. David Tuttle (Millwall 23rd in Championship)

Liverpool have by far the best songs for their players. More More More Xabi Alonso, Xabi Alonso Luis Garcia he drinks Sangria, He came from Barca to Liverpool, Hes 5 foot 7, Hes Football Heaven, so please dont take my Luis away Fields of Anfield Rd You'll never walk alone (of course) And many others

Im not too sure about him. I think he may just be the next Jermaine Pennant, not exactly a bad player, but not the great white hope he was made out to be.

Definitely my lowest ebb as a Rovers fan!

mines been ok, If you notice three sides have fans. If you have the console on a hard surface standing it up should be ok, but I have it on carpet so this leads to potential overheating, hence I lie it flat on its side so it shouldn't over heat! Interesting it says nothing of lying it flat on carpet in the manual!

Ive got one! Thanks to Father Christmas! I got two games Kameo and King Kong, Kameo is good, bit kiddish but very enjoyable and I have just finished King Kong, good game but could have made more of the New York levels.

Any team news yet?