Going Down... Season Ticket Prices.
BORO have trimmed adult season ticket prices by an average 5% in a bid to head off an expected collapse in crowd after a demoralising season and growing mutterings of mutiny. The cuts will apply no matter what division the club are playing in next year.
This follows a four-year price freeze making football at the Riverside next term cheaper than five years ago. The pocket money priced kids concessions remain unchanged.
All this and four extra games free too?
Chief Operating Officer Neil Bausor said: "We are committed to making Middlesbrough Football Club as accessible to as many of our supporters as possible. Our new prices are designed to reflect the difficult economic climate that we know is affecting many of our supporters but also to show our appreciation of the long-term commitment the football club receives from the loyal fans." Which is nice.
Set against what can best be described as a turbulent local political backdrop it will immediately draw fire from angry dissidents - you can write the script now: "too little, too late", "still over the odds for watching that rubbish", "not as big an incentive as a winning team," "the cheeky gets" - and they are a token gesture unlikley to spark a flood from the pubs showing games on dodgyvision. But nevertheless the cuts must be welcomed.
After a decade of hyper inflation football is an overpriced hobby, especially in a low wage economy such as Teesside. A season ticket (especially when it is part of a family sized bundle) is a significant investment in a leisure pursuit which brings with it no guarantee of enjoyment, entertainment or relaxation so every little helps.
The diehards have always made massive sacrifices to back the club and no doubt the hardcore will still be there no matter what - but with the credit crunch biting and a lot of consumer discontent it may be a hard sell to get the waverers and the mutinous to dig deep again, and certainly to fork out before they know exactly what the line-up will be next term - in the pitch and in the dug-out.
We are now at the annual will-we/won't we renewal stand-off as angry loyalists furiously fill out the form then throw it in the bin before retrieving it and leaving it fester on the mantlepeice for two months, occasionally turning an withering incendiary gaze on it as they wrestle with their conscience, their bank-balance and their sanity.
After a season in which crowds have actually been UP, could relegation see Boro slide back towards an Ayresome sized bedrock of below 20,000? Anacdotal evidence suggests so .... but we have been here before.
Boro's long overdue price cuts follow their North-east neighbours and are part of a general trend downwards, at least outside the Champions League elite.
Sunderland rolled in a political hand-grenade of an incentive in February - a minimum of ã30 off for every season ticket holder plus the chance to buy a 'kid a quid' season ticket too. The price axe, against a background of rising economic uncertainty and an on-going relegation dogfight, was described by likeable and switched on Niall Quinn as "moral responsibility" and an investment in the future fan base.
Newcastle followed last month with a range of cuts, freezes and tinkering with junior concessions that worked out at an average discount of 9% - a move that followed an alarming dip in the crowds after a season of struggle and fan discontent at the now endemic boardroom chaos.
And for all the talk of punative pricing and the need for value for money to stem the falling crowds it is worth bearing in mind that the inflationary spiral has been allowed to let rip outside the Premiership money bubble too. The cuts will bring prices in some areas of the Riverside under ã20 ... but it is ã18 to get in at Hartlepool. If we go down don't expect many cheap away days.
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So the club have passed on the 2.5% VAT reduction and trimmed the prices by a further 2.5%. No very impressive really.
I'm gutted. I wanted boro to put the prices up so I could give them more money.
I've got a 3 year season ticket can i get some money back?
Well the price cut, significant or not, won't help me. In a moment of weakness I ticked the Three Year Season Ticket box when I renewed last year.
I decided if I did it in one fell swoop, I wouldn't have the "shall I, shan't I?" dilemma for the next three years. Also I was aware that by the next year finances might have made it impossible for me to renew again next season so I thought by getting the three year ticket it avoided that issue.
As it turns out (and keep fingers crossed here) the possible family financial cataclysm looks to have been avoided. But it might have been different. And it also looks like I will have paid three years in advance AND at a higher price for two of those years than those who waited for each season to come.
Maybe the club will welcome me to next season's Championship games with a complimentary cup of coffee? Hope springs eternal.
This is totally pointless. No one who is teed off with the dismal football and SouthgateâÂÂs crumbling grip on the club is going to be persuaded to sign up again for another season of treading water in the Premier League by the promise of a cut of ã19.50.
If we go down it looks better value with the extra games - but thereâÂÂs the catch. The cut only applies if you renew as an âÂÂearly birdâ (wingus stupidus) and the deadline is May 2nd. We might not know which division we are in by then and if we do it is more likely to be bad news than good and the effect on gates of going down will far out-weight this piddling little cut then.
I know loads of people saying they will not renew. I know we say this every year but we have been losing core support for years. Last year there was a big drop in old school fans disguised by the increase in ã5 kiddie tickets. This year could be the biggie, down to 15-16,000 or so.
To be honest I donâÂÂt think that will be a bad thing if we can get rid of a lot of the plastic prawn sarnie post-Juninho bandwagoners who expect cup finals and sit there moaning all game. If we can clear out 5,000 whingers smaller will be better.
One thing though, I am disappointed that the three day Gibbo charm offensive was just softening up the gullible restless natives to buy tickets
**AV writes: While it is natural to be suspicious about the club's PR that is not the case. The ticket price announcement has alsways been schedule for this week while the exclusive interview with Gibson only came about after several weeks of Uncle Eric coaxing. The timing on that was down to us more than the club.
There is no way the people who have messed up our golden opportunity after Eindhoven will bully me into stumping up before I know what division we are in or more important, who the manager is.
I'd rather pay the ã20 extra safe in the knowledge that they have give Southgate the bullet. If he is still there I probs won't renew but will just pick and choose and save myself much more.
Ever earlier renewal dates: Since Neil Bausor rode into the Boro as the saviour of the souring relationship between fans and club (remember he gave us the 'white stripe') he has cost every season ticket holder both money and pain - the shall I renew question now being weeks earlier and this season before we know which division we will be in.
What can fans do to show that they know this cute little move has been introduced and that they are not happy? The club don't reply (I have had 4 emails ignored). The football club give the impression that they only want the fan's money not their views or comments (unless in blind support).
So a clear message for Mr B: "you are now part of the problem you came to sort." Another high-flyer who will leave when things go bad like Poggy and co, your credibility has gone and you are another nail in the coffin of this club. 2009-10 season ticket price reductions are a joke.
Only Boro fans could knock the club for reducing prices....
Never mind the price cuts. What Mr Southgate needs BADLY is a bloomin' HAIR cut.
I get the feeling that his ever-corkscrewing proto-mullet is the REAL reason the team have been on the slide in such shocking fashion. Too much wind resistance..... maybe if all the squad and coaching staff were bald we might have enjoyed some better runs at the opponents and - hey presto - some better results!
Who agrees? ;-/
Due to my location I'm obviously not a season ticket purchasing fan but if Ste Mac is correct the club are trying to encourage people to renew a discounted season ticket four games before the end of a relegation season.
It sounds like an almighty con trick to me - exploitation of hard up fans - so the fans are expected to pay the same price to watch Championship football played by Championship players on Championship wages.
The prices should reflect the product on offer!
Why is anyone surprised at season ticket holders being asked to commit before the full picture is known?
It's history repeating itself as last year the renewal date was before the club announced we'd have two rookie keepers competing for the gk spot.
Had I known this, I may not have renewed my two tickets.
Further to the club being convinced of the quality of gk in the squad, this position hardly seems secure when the Liverpool reserve gk, Charles Itandje (French U21)went public and said Boro wanted him on a season long loan, but Liverpool refused to let him come here.
Totally agree with Stubbsy
That barnet is shocking. The spiralling mullet with that awful side parting gives him a look of Borat. Even my Mrs has commented on it.
Cut backs on all fronts save the boss's syrup!
I saw the decline 2 years ago, which is why I didn't renew after roughly a decade.
Just in case the club don't already realise this, once you lose the regulars, it's very difficult to get them back into the habit of attending on a regular basis.
I certainly wouldn't waste my time anymore, but I have a good excuse of 165 miles each way!
Yes an extra four games free. If we go down that means 23 matches at home of quality performances such as West Brom, Cardiff, Reading, Suncerland, Derby etc that we have seen over the last couple of seasons. No reason to fret at the thoughts of a 5-0 drubbing from Chelsea or, to be fair, beating Liverpool and Arsenal.
Roll up, roll up. Form an orderly queue.
The club cannot win whatever they do, damned if they do, damned if they dont.
As a non season ticket holder I pick and choose the matches I go to. I also live 140 miles away and have other things to do as well as travel. Dont laugh, but I tend to go to the less attractive matches where the support is really important.
5%? Slashed? I don't think so. "Cut" or "trimmed", even (slightly) "reduced", at best, surely?
I realise it's subjective, but "slashed" in this context is a bit like being "devastated" at losing a football match. There was a time when "devastation" was confined to the likes of the Hiroshima aftermath or what the tsunami did to Banda Aceh.
Now it's how we feel when there's only one can of Carlsberg left in the fridge!
There was a time, before modern mass-marketing values distorted the English language, when "slashed" would have meant a much more significant price reduction than 5%.
25%? 30%? B.O.G.O.F? Now, that's a bit more like a "slashing" of prices.
Of course, let's acknowledge the small reduction as, at best, a welcome directional correction. But, it's not going to be anywhere near enough to offset the damage done by a poor season, a relegation, a deepening recession, rising unemployment, over-paid player exodus noises and all the other disenchantment factors that people have been blogging about on here.
Slashed prices? Yer jokin' aren't yer? Ha'way man! Ah nearly slashed me'sel laughin'!
**AV writes: Good point, well made. I'll switch the hyperbole key off.
Next thing the club will be asking for the money for the 2010/2011 season in September.
I'm a Ra Ra, I love the Boro, I'm renewing.
One thing about this blog, Richard at 3.05pm, is that you get a good laugh, even if the footie is spectacularly unfunny and the news coming out of the club wouldn't raise a titter.
And if AV can switch the hyperbole key off, could he please also send a Reality Pill to the management and the players? They keep failing to heed the "lessons learned", about which we have read so frequently throughout the season - usually after a disappointing defeat against one of the other Premier League strugglers.
It might also help those players who believe that the world's elite amongst football clubs will be beating a path to their door if (once?) we are relegated.
"So you were part of that devastatingly incisive Boro midfield that cut a swathe through the Premier League before, unaccountably and apparently out of the blue, finding yourself relegated - never mind, we at Barcelona think you are the missing link that will make our team into world-beaters".
"I realise that you must have being playing with poorer quality defenders in front of you so we understand why you wouldn't be keen to sign a new contract, and of course we don't lay the lack of clean sheets down to you. Now, would you like to sign a contract to play with us at Chelsea?"
"We are prepared to accept your lack of goals is down to poor service from your team mates, though we note the England left-winger is in the team, and we believe your goals in Scandinavia and in Holland rather than your form in England represents your true abilities. As a result, we would like you to lead the line for us at Inter Milan. Your pay will not be an issue. And of course we would not trouble you to learn Italian."
The sad thing is that you could go on for ages like that!
"So - you managed a major world bank and drove it onto the rocks, requiring billions of pounds in state guarrantees to support the toxic debt you built up. Even though account holders were worried sick about whether their money would be safe, and retired shareholders looking to their holding to fund their old age have seen the value collapse, we don't blame you! Sit down and we will talk about giving you a job as head of the Treasury". (Actually I hope that doesn't come back to bite me!).
Some "top" bankers, many footballers (and some of those in management)- do they live on Earth?
**AV writes: To be fair, we've got form when it comes to delusion about the abilities of a relegated side: I am always being told that the side that went down in 1997 were brilliant, playing a scintillating golden brand of goal peppered total football.
NEWS FOR THREE YEAR TICKET HOLDERS!
The 200 or so adults who bought the three year tickets will be getting 'phone calls from the club in the next few days (like I have) to tell tham what the club will do for them now that the season tickets for next year are reduced.
Basically: "The club realised you would wonder if you would lose out, having paid for your season ticket upfront. However you will get free entry to cup games if we are drawn at home next year. Obviously we might get drawn away each time, but hopefully not and, if we do that, so that you have still lost out, we will look at it again later."
You heard it here first.
I almost didn't renew last year and did so only because I was basking in the warm afterglow of the Citeh game..
Even if we do stay up it won't be worth it for the two or so home games a season I manage to get to - and I don't think getting hold of tickets will be an issue whichever division we're in. And I can't see it being in the Prem.
I almost didn't renew last year and did so only because I was basking in the warm afterglow of the Citeh game..
Even if we do stay up it won't be worth it for the two or so home games a season I manage to get to - and I don't think getting hold of tickets will be an issue whichever division we're in.
And I can't see it being in the Prem.
The Boro should have been radical and cut season tickets in half (yes half) if people bought before say mid May. It might have given us a full stadium and better atmosphere and the loss of revenue would be only ã2-3 million when you take into account extra beer and food sales etc, a small amount these days when youre losing ã6-7 million on a non scoring striker.
The goodwill generated towards the supporters would have been priceless and would have gone a long way to healing all those gunshots in the foot. Pity.
BORO SLASH PRICES
on seeing the above headline i was fully expecting a decent reduction in prices ie ã50 for adults and kids for a quid,so what do we get? ã19.50 if you renew by early May. I personally will still renew but it is very disappointing to see these prices so fully expect to see 12 to 15000 next season in the Championship.
Why is it that so many supporters seem to think they are doing the club a favour by paying for tickets and attending matches?
I enjoyed (as always) Richard's piece regarding the distortion of modern English usage. As I recall, when a young lad, the words;slashed, slashing, slash, referred to having a 'wee'. Sorry, but the blogs are (understandably) so depressing of late, I felt the need to lighten up.
By the way, for those suggesting the Championship won't be so bad, tune into a match from that division on Sky. Absolute dross, without exception.
Assuming we are in the Championship for one moment the match by match cost for an adult in the North stand equates to ã16 per match on a season ticket [23 games].This is the minimum amount required to watch football at both Darlington and Hartlepool for a match day admission. I honestly don't think the club can be expected to go lower than this.
A lot of clubs have settled for a price freeze. Some have cut prices but in all cases this involves renewing before the season end. In Newcastle's case the discount is up to 9% but their prices were higher anyway. Sunderland are offering ã30 off but for that you have to renew by 3rd April a month before us.
Personally I dislike the practice of renewing before the season end but MFC are only following what has happened elsewhere.
Hi AV
I made the decision in April last year to give it one more year. I felt I couldn't lose.....If we were relegated I could walk away knowing that the decision had already been made. If we got into Europe/won a Cup what happy memories I would have of my last season.
I've done my bit, I've shouted encouragement whenever I could - my neighbours will testify to that. I've been an ST for seven or more years this time around, was an ST in the early 70's, and have seen no more than six good games per season with the exception of the UEFA Cup run to Eindhoven year.
The entertainment on offer has been in steady decline over that time. This season I've seen two good games which I've thoroughly enjoyed. The rest has been awful.
I was miffed that the Club didn't offer the 3-year deal earlier as I would have taken their offer up. However it occurred to me that I would have wanted a substantial reduction if relegation happened. Seemingly I would have had to settle for free Home Cup tickets. This is something I think should be an automatic right for ST holders!
So how am I going to fill in the next year before I lose my job? Well I'm going to concentrate on the Scrabble tournaments that I'll be able to attend now I'm not squandering my money/time on a season ticket!
I won't be returning in the future to the Riverside, but will contribute to whichever TV station is offering the occasional match.
Best of luck to the team for the remaining fixtures of this season. I suggest you ignore Gareth S. and go for all out attack. Then I might be able to say I've seen four good matches this season!
Bye AV
Davidt said:
"By the way, for those suggesting the Championship won't be so bad, tune into a match from that division on Sky. Absolute dross, without exception".
Sounds like we'll fit in just nicely then.
As we are clearly in mid-term break mode, I think GS'proliferating cheveu is ok. Do I detect jealousy from some writers?
John Aus
I have just been out celebrating the ticket price reductions and spent ã30. So I am now actually down ã10.50 and seriously depressed.
I have just read wikipedia about the Boro trying to remind myself why I love this club so much, and read the Boro 10 legends list including greats like Brian Clough, Wilf Mannion and of course Hamilton Ricard. Which reminded me, as long as you keep a sense of humour, you will get through anything this club puts you through.
All this talk about season ticket prices clouds the issue why are Boro in such a precarious predicament .
Many say it is because Alfonso Alves has failed to live up to his very expensive transfer fee. Others cite Southgate and some blame Gibson. I put the blame squarely on our Backroom European Scouts who sought out a striker and came up with with a dud.
Who is this faceless man who heads the European scouting network. Is he the same individual who unearthed Macaroni? And Emnes, who also seems to be another failure according to Southgates selection so far this season?
Arsene Wenger seems to get it right every time he signs a continental player. so why are the Boro so inept in this department?Too many times Boro have signed player who are not up to the Premier league , only to let them go at a loss. Mac was a dab hand at signing top salary earners who could not make the grade. So let us place the blame where it deserves with our hopeless scouting system.
I am sick of reading the crap that comes out of MFC, whether it be Southgate, the coaches or the players. We now havw Gibson saying he is shocked that the club are fighting relegation. Well when you sell Schwarzer,Cattermole and Young ,what do you expect? And replacing them with unheard of players?
You cannot compete in the premiership,with bringing players from the academy. But the biggest mistake was to employ Southgate as manager another rookie manager employed by Gibson. After the UEFA final I think many fans thought he would have gone for a much more experienced manager but he went for the cheap option and we are now paying the price.
So I do not agree Gibson is a good chairman, I only wish the club could get some rich oil magnate like Man city as I think Gibson is more like a control freak,and this rubbish about wanting the club to be run by Teessiders and have 11 Teessiders playing for the club is pure small mindedness.
I kid you not Boro can't afford to be relegated. If the club go down it won't be like last time where we paid ã5m for a class player like Merson. It will be all the kids from the academy, then Gibson will have his wish but we will probably finish up playing the likes of DARLINGTON ! It is imperative we retain premiership football.
Premier games should be ã15 or even less in line with the Bundesliga, otherwise its all a joke and remains a tax on stupid people, under 16 or over 65 excluded as its actually good value for them.
The most likely turn of events is that someone claiming to be Paul Bell will disclaim (and disagree with) Paul Bell's post of 11.31am.
It would be nice to think that Things Can Only Get Better......
As we suspected pure old Pogo never said those horrible words attributed to him.
Phew thats a great relief.
Pauline Johnson - that's one of the most moving blogs I've read in a long time. It was from the heart, clearly written with more than a tinge of regret, but absolutely unarguable in terms of the sentiment expressed.
Very sad, but I suspect you are not the only one. All the best with the scrabble, though! let us know how you get on.
PS For all of you who are giving up on watching Porfessional Football you may be interested that you're not alone. Graeme Souness has been watching junior soccer recently here in Stockport - with lively results! Hopefully the link below will work for those of you that are interested....
http://www.stockportexpress.co.uk/news/s/1104510_legend_goes_from_hero_to_zero
AV you may have fallen for the clubs interpretation of their price freezes. I believe that next season will be the fourth season in a row of price freeze not the fifth.
I packed my season ticket in 4 years ago after another inflation busting rise and Keith Lamb quoting: "There may be a limit to how far we can milk the fans". He got his answer almost straight away as quite a few thousand did not renew that year so then came the freezes.
Paul Bell, speaking from a newcastle fans perspective you can thank your lucky stars you have Steve Gibson. What we wouldn`t give for a decent chairman who has the club at heart.
Away until after the Bolton match so I am relying on returning to a total of 30 points. No excuses please.
Polite request to Ian Gill at 9.10am - if we somehow manage to get three points at Bolton whilst you are away, I think we will have identified responsibility for our difficulties, and in those circumstances (for the good of the club, you understand) would you mind staying away until the end of the season?
I realise it must be a sacrifice for you, but if the remedy to our situation is so simple as your going away to guarrantee three points, I'm sure you will see the sense to staying away from the Riverside.
Management has apparently been trying all other options and, so far, they have not been working for several months.
Ian Gill - I tend to choose the 'less attractive' teams to watch also when I travel North, my last punt was a choice between watching Wigan or Liverpool, I chose Wigan! Maybe I need to review my policy!
Richard - You don't really drink Carlsberg do you!!?
And finally just to concur with Ian, what a huge relief to hear that Pogi claims to have been mis-quoted!!!! Will he be a Boro player if we're in the Championship? Not a chance......
And further to my comment at 10.06am I do realise that the Bolton game is an away fixture. It's just that "I don't do Mondays". No comments required about certain football teams "not doing" Saturdays, thank you.
Ian and Dormo
I suspect that that may be many people volunteering to stay away from games in the near future.
How can we determine if it's Mr. Gill who takes the credit/blame?
Forever Dormo
Having a final scan of things Boro to notice your response to my being away.
I would like to remind you that my brother and I analysed the matches we have been together, those we have seen separately, those on TV, those we havent seen. We have been unable to make any link between our attendance (or not) and performance. Most of the time Boro have been rubbish with or without us.
If you wish to start a collection to keep Judith and myself on holiday until the season end we would be only too pleased to do our bit for the Boro. It may not work but we would be willing to make the sacrifice.
It is more likely that Gates mullet is the cause.
John Powls
As an ex engineer I am aware of the requirement, nay necessity, to change only one variable at a time. As such let us see how Boro do if the Gills keep away for the rest of the season. AV can supervise the collection and I will provide bank account details for him.
If it proves succesful it would be a grave risk to see if any other fans had the same effect. Having escaped relegation it may be pruden to leave well alone. The old mantra of never change a winning team must be borne in mind.
AV
I am sure rubbish wasnt the word I used to describe our performances.
**AV writes: To be fair I wouldn't have even noticed it if it hadn't been for the asterisks. Those words are best saved for the immediate aftermath of defeat I think.
AV
How about getting the comment in early to avoid the rush after the Bolton match and the fact I wont be here to use it. Can you put it to one side and use it for me if we lose? Much appreciated.
Off to pack!
**AV writes: If needed, I'll do it on your behalf.
Well for one I won't be staying awake on Sunday morning worrying about the Bolton result because, like the previous nine away games, I think I know exactly what to expect. It's Hull and Fulham at home that for me take on far greater significance.
As is also the prospect - if indeed there is one - that Southgate will have had a trim before this Saturday. Because, if he hasn't, then, strike me down with a rusty ratchet spanner, we have absolutely NO chance of getting any points from the Reebok.
**AV writes: Sounds like another Gazette campaign is gathering pace: The Gaffer's Mop For The Chop!
Speaking as someone who sadly now has only one can of Carlsberg left in his fridge its interesting to note that the topic has now evolved to Gareth's mullet!
AV's original topic being 5% off ticket prices has obviously found its own level. Now there's yet another Boro "lesson learned", timing is eveything as they say. Just how out of touch can the club possibly be with their supporters. Every saving and reduction in todays economic climate is welcome but if anybody seriously thinks that ã20 is going to get me "on side" then things are a lot worse than I thought.
If I could think of three or four games this season when I received VFM for my hard earned cash I would be ecstatic, reality is that it has all too rarely happened. I would be delighted to pay another ã5 per game if I thought I was watching what Gareth had promised at the start of the season. Typical Boro!
Packing finished, an early start to get grasshopper seats on a Boeing 757 and a final chance to post.
As a keen fisherman I can testify to how difficult it is to catch a mullet. Anglers have been known to go gaga trying to get one in the net. You try everything and they just refuse to cooperate, bread flake, worms, mussels. It is just one of those things.
There is an obvious corollary here, Gate has no idea what to do about his mullet or the team.
I suspect you all think I need a holiday. Forward account details to AV but watch out for Powls trying to divert funds.
**AV writes: Have fun. Bring us back a stick of rock.
Ian, Stubbsy, Dormo, JP
You're all wrong lads (and lasses?) Boro's form is to do with my brother. You see, if we pass one or two Bulkhaul trucks on the way up to Boro, we're bound to win, especially if they're going in the opposite direction, but not necessarily so (he tends to hedge his bets).
It might be (and usually is) unlucky to change our walking route to the ground. Then again, if none of these are working come a few minutes into the game, he'll try putting his flat hat on, or taking it off, or putting it in his pocket.
He might change the pocket his programme is in. He wore the same lucky orange underpants for several games after we went to Wolves, and they worked for at least 3 games we went to thereafter, for we saw no defeats in that time, but then they let us down badly at Everton. Not good enough.
I've argued long and hard that it's actually nothing to do with his hat or the trucks or the underpants, but probably much more to do with the team Gate selects, or the tactics, or the fact that the opposition are usually better than us or that we're just crap. It matters not - there must be summat in our pattern of behaviour that is clearly a jinx, he reckons.
The best of all are the "lucky sweets". Woe betide me if I forget the lucky sweets. Bob will give me a lucky sweet a few mins before half-time if we're drawing, or else we have to eat them all up quickly to change the luck - murder on the teeth. I was once stupid enough to give one of the lucky sweets to the bloke in the seat next to mine. Villa promptly scored against us. With masterly timing my neighbour said, slowly and delberately, "That's the last time I have one of your ***** lucky sweets!"
Serves me right. I should have realised that Boro's form depends on this precise arrangement of the fates and the stars and every superstition my brother believes in, and that to mess with it or move the alignment very slightly out of true is asking for trouble. No wonder we've had a bad season.
**AV writes: Eric Paylor got Lennie Lawrence's side relegated by switching his choice of pre-match chocolate bar with two months of the season left and the ensuing indecision and chopping and changing. Fact.
And we have a scientifically sound system of predicting away results based on the interface of rail/road traffic at a specific point on the A1 that stands the test of 20 years of empirical evidence. I'll explain in more detail one day.
There is clearly a lot of research yet to be done on subjective notions of behaviour that can influence outcome.
I have tried every combination of our Boro teddy bears lined up in front of the telly to watch the match. Lucky Boro shirts, wearing my hat or even having my missus wearing her pink Boro Hoody( remember those?)
Nothing has worked this season so we can't blame poor Gareth now can we?
One thing that I've always found a sure fire indicator of success that hasn't been tried recently is that every time Boro score more goals than the opposition they win.
Why don't we try that?
IâÂÂm not a mumbo-jumbo type but seriously the downturn started the day they brought those bloody Ayresome Park gates to the Riverside.
Swear down - before that, glory all the way at the Riverside, top half finishes, Cardiff and Europe. Since that never been out of bottom six, cash problems, awful football and the faint sound of Charlie AmerâÂÂs ghostly laugh on the wind.
Get rid. It is the only way to save the club from the ancient Romany curse on Ayresome.
Surely the downturn started the day Steve McClaren emptied all the rabbits feet, heather, four leafed clover, black cats, gypsy pegs and horse shoes out of his office and made way for Gareth Southgate to walk under a ladder and move in with his broken mirror.
Neil M - I think you maybe onto something. Let's start a "Get rid of the Gate, get rid of the gates" campaign.
I thought it was my fault that we kept losing cup finals and made the ultimate sacrifice of not going in 98. Obviously it didn't help, but I played a major part in winning the Carling Cup.... I delibarately didn't take my camera!!! Pity I didn't leave it at home for Eindhoven...
Just read that Oniel is back in the side to visit the Emirates well if that is the case then we will get what we deserve - NOWT.
The local lads are doing what O'Niel failed to do all season long and that is PUT IN A FULL SHIFT they do it 'cos they care. O'Niel may care but his heart is on the south coast and thats where HE should be. You just cant do it if you're not fully comitted.
At long last we are starting to look like a premier league side so PLEASE no more putting in players just because they are fit again. On the bench maybe but to walk in
again NO NO NO