It's official!!, Afonso Alves has finally signed for Middlesbrough with less than half an hour remaining before the transfer windows closes. The fee for Alves is a club record deal, and is believed to be in the region of €20M (£12M) but has remained undisclosed.

Alves has a goalscoring record of 0.7 goals per game and has scored 11 goals in 7 games this season including 7 in one game :)

Hopefully international clearance will come through in time for him to make his debut against the Geordies this weekend!! 

There was a dream draw for my team Middlesbrough today as they avoided the "Big Four" in the fifth round of the FA Cup. As an added bonus, Man. Utd. have been drawn to play Arsenal :)

A good cup run could really boost the season but wouldn't it be typical if Robbo spoilt the day by putting one over us!

If we beat Sheffield Utd. and get another lucky draw, you never know....... 

UPDATE: Sheffield Utd vs Middlesbrough is to be shown live on Sunday 17 February (1400 GMT) on BBC1

Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren believes his side on Thursday night put themselves on the European map with a "perfect" performance.

Boro dominated Lazio from virtually start to finish to sweep their way back to the top of Uefa Cup Group E and move within touching distance of a place in the last 32 knockout phase with a 2-0 win.

Considering this is Boro's debut continental campaign, they have so far taken Europe in their stride, and with this result will have sent out a clear message they mean business.

McClaren was left beaming after the game as he said: "It was a perfect European night.

"As I have said before, European nights are special and a little bit different, and with Lazio here there was an expectancy I could feel in the town.

"For the team to give them [the fans] a performance like that put the icing on the cake for me.

"It was a great night for them, a great performance, some great goals and the result at the end, with a clean sheet and the two goals, was perfect.

"But the biggest thing was the performance. We got about Lazio, didn't let them settle or play and in possession controlled it and looked threatening every time we went forward.

"You can see for yourself the experience we have in the squad is showing. To win in Europe you need to defend well, and we have done that because we have conceded only one goal in four games.

"We can also score goals, and again that is something you can see from the performances we have had, so we have good balance.

"I think we have really taken to Europe very well."

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Most tickets are in the £32 £42 seats there's also £54 £64 seats all area's have under 16 & over 65 reductions (50%). Max of 2 concessions per adult.
Main West Stand Office for £54 & £64
North Stand Office for £32 & £42

Voucher L Required

Boro's reserve side came from two goals down at half-time to beat Manchester United Reserves in an entertaining game at Altrincham tonight.

Mads Timms and Darren Fletcher had the home side two-up in 44 minutes, but Phil Gulliver struck with a splendidly taken low volley within 90 seconds of the restart, before Brian Close (81) and Craig Dove (87), both scored contenders for goal of the season with brilliantly hit 25 yard shots.

Fixtures are Copyright of the FA and Premier League © 2003

Only At The Boro

Being a Boro fan, one thing you can't complain about is life being dull down by the Riverside. Barely a day goes by without a story about how bad the North East weather is, or how players wives are unsettled. Although these "stories" are usually completely untrue and annoying, occasionally, you can't help but see the funny side.

Here are a selection of funny quotes found on various websites and newspapers.

I will be adding to this list as the season continues. It looks like being another interesting campaign and I wouldn't be suprised if we have more high profile arrivals, departures, court cases, points deducted, cup finals or relegations before the season is out so keep your eyes peeled !!

Boksic in shock "I love it here" revelation

Alen Boksic has revealed he quit international football so that he could concentrate on Boro's bid to stay in the Premiership.

The former Croatia star made the surprise decision to hang up his international boots in November, at the age of just 31. And Boro's big summer signing has broken his silence on the reasons behind that announcement, by declaring he wants to focus on bringing success to his new club.

"I told myself 'Alen, you must listen to your body - you don't need so many matches'," said the former Lazio star, who scored nine times in 33 games for his country. "And so I decided to concentrate on Middlesbrough. I love it here, and I want to play here."

Sander Westerveld's excuse for his boxing day blunder.

Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld has come up with an excuse for his Riverside blunder that handed struggling Middlesbrough a 1-0 Boxing Day win.

"The pitch at the Riverside had a lot of ice on it," said Westerveld. "My feet and gloves were soaking and it was unbelievably cold. You'd see the ball with ice stuck to it."

Hamilton Ricard, after being substituted with only half an hour gone against Ipswich

As he boarded the team coach after Saturday's Portman Road defeat, the Colombian striker told reporters:
"We play, we lose. Hamil come off, Hamil no score. No happy here."

Christian Karembeu, when asked about life at Middlesbrough

"Here, life is nice." said the Frenchman. "We have very beautiful landscapes and beautiful fish. I came from Genes on Ligure coast to Madrid, international megalopolis and then to Middlesbrough. I am like Captain Cook.

Bryan Robson speaks to reporters about Terry Venables

I don't know what is happening. I don't have a clue. All of this is a surprise to me.

Bryan Robsons explains why Alen Boksic's injury took four weeks longer than expected to heal.

"We thought he would be back quicker," said Robson. "But there is a slight misunderstanding about the injury because of language difficulties."