Boro Fans To Have Say On Community Projects

npower and The Football League have announced the 'Home Town Heroes' programme, a new £2m community initiative.

npower and The Football League have announced the launch of 'Home Town Heroes', a new community initiative that aims to put the power into the hands of the fans.

The £2m Home Team Heroes initiative - which will be run over the course of the three year sponsorship - will ask communities around the UK's 72 Football League grounds to vote on how this money should be spent, in order to make the most impact in their local area.

Communities can choose from one of three projects for children:
- A 'respect' training workshop for ten year-olds run in schools with a focus on team work and citizenship
- Football skills training for 4 - 6 year-olds run by the club's community coaches
- Improvement/clean up of a local park into a more football friendly space

The public will have until the end of December to decide and then each Football League club will work with npower to implement the project their fans have selected, before the end of the season. The 72 clubs will be supported in this initiative by The Football League Trust which oversees the League's community and youth development programmes

Fans can cast their votes by clicking onto the npower website, texting; filling in postcards at their local Football League club or one of npower’s touring event stands in the local area; or by logging onto their club’s official website.

Volker Beckers, RWE npower's CEO, said:"This scheme is all about giving power to the fans. As a new sponsor, we didn’t want to come in with a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Instead, we’re asking the communities around each club to vote and tell us which option suits them best."

Greg Clarke, Chairman of The Football League, said: "Football League clubs are an integral part of their local communities, demonstrating that football has the power to make a difference to peoples’ lives. Whichever project each community votes for - be it respect workshops, football training or the improvement of local playgrounds - our clubs will be actively engaging with local children to encourage them to get involved in football."


WeShallOvercomeBlog - "This is a great opportunity for Boro fans to have a real say on what projects are undertaken in the Teesside area. We encourage all Boro fans to vote on this great initiative from npower"

Deja vu?

Selling our proven Premier League players in a bid to gain promotion - this sounds familiar...

When others have kept the majority of their squads and gained promotion, at Boro we seem to like to buck the trend and sell. Huth and Tuncay were two players that were moved on as Boro cut the cloth to adjust for Championship life, players that we could ill afford to lose and for some reason it seems to be happening again as the January transfer window looms.

I'm sure most fans would be looking for Boro to strengthen the squad in the window, but paper reports this morning indicate that two of our most experienced players, David Wheater and Gary O'Neil, will be sold if a suitable offer comes in. I'm fully aware that if a sizeable offer for any of our players came in we would consider them, but for it to be all over the media surely can't be a good thing when Tony Mowbray is trying to turn our fortunes around.

I just hope these reports are false, as in the past we have sold and not replaced. If that was to happen this time round and the money just banked I fear all hope of promotion, either this season or next, will be gone. The Championship will be our home and our youth team making up the majority of the side. To be honest, I wouldn't mind that in itself, but with the lack of ambition shown in the past few months would it end there?

What do you think? Sell our Captain and the Redcar Rock or not?

Mogga Returns Home

Middlesbrough Football Club have today announced former Boro captain
Tony Mowbray will be replacing Gordan Strachan as manager.

A press conference is scheduled today at 3:30pm to introduce Tony as
the new boss to the media.

Hopefully this will be a great boost to the Boro team, and who knows,
with a good win on Saturday we could really turn our season around.

More to follow...

One Man For The Job?

There is only one man for the job, not that I think its the best man for the job, but Tony Mowbray is the only man who can galvanise the town, club and fans in this time of crisis. The club need a boost, and this could be it, but the problem is that it is taking a while to appoint him.

Surely as soon as Gordon Strachan handed in his resignation the call to find out if Tony Mowbray was interested in the job should have been made. If this was the case why was it only Monday (according to the local press) that his interview was carried out? I can understand leaving the appointment until after the Norwich City away game, especially with our away form, but I really thought that an announcement would have been made on Monday. But alas no, all that has been revealed is that Mowbray is on a good contract for the next six months at Celtic, even getting win bonuses, and he is reluctant to lose this cash.

So what for now for Boro? Well it seems that whilst the negotiations are ongoing with Mowbray and Celtic we are in limbo, apart from lining up Paul Ince as the number two choice in case Mowbray turns the job down due to his Celtic deal. This surely can not be good for Boro, and I don't know how Gibson has let this situation arise. Basically how I read it is that if Boro don't pay Mogga something near his current deal, or Celtic can't be reasoned with to pay some of the money we are going to go with Ince. Ince will know that he always was second choice, and so will the fans. Having come so close to signing Mogga, getting Ince would be a blow for the majority of Boro fans, and I don't think it will help with the needed recovery on the pitch, after all no one like playing in empty stadiums.

I just hope that something can be sorted out asap. The players need time with the manager and new staff, and vice versa. We have a must win home game against Bristol City on Saturday, and all this unrest surely can't help with Agnew's preparations. Come on Steve Gibson, lets get this sorted for the sake of the club!

Win tickets to Boro v Portsmouth with npower

http://www.npower.com/football

Win Tickets To Boro v Pompey With npower

We Shall Overcome Blog has teamed up with npower to give Boro fans the chance to win two pairs of tickets in the home end at the Riverside Stadium for the game against Portsmouth on Saturday 2nd October (ko 3:00pm)

All you have to do to enter is email us weshallovercomeblog@googlemail.com with the answer to the following question along with your name, email address and phone number (daytime contact as you will be contacted about collecting the tickets):

Who is Boro's all time leading goal scorer?

Winners will be picked by random and no entries will be accepted after 3:00pm on Wednesday 29th September 2010. Multiple entries will not be accepted. Winners will be notified by email that they have won by 6pm on Wednesday 29th September 2010 and posted on this page prior to the game.

If you are not lucky enough to win this competition you can always enter npower's own Big Ticket Giveaway which will see a pair of tickets up for grabs for every single npower football league game and fan club members will also have the opportunity to win club player and manager appearances. All details can be found at http://www.npower.com/football-league website.

Please note you will have to collect the tickets from the Middlesbrough Football Club ticket office at the Riverside Stadium prior to the game.

All we ask the winners in return is that you take plenty of photos of your matchday experience so npower can display them on their football league Facebook page and their flickr site. We might even post one of you on here!

As npower have been kind enough to offer the tickets to us please can you visit their website using the above links after you have entered, and it would be great if you follow this blog as well!! If you are thinking about changing your gas and electricity supply npower are currently offering a football saver tariff, with discounted gas and electricity until the start of the 2011/12 football season. You will also receive £45 worth of vouchers to spend at your football league club shop. For more details go to http://www.npower.com/football.

Many thanks and good luck!!

We shall overcome

[R Wells from York was the eventual winner, and enjoyed two tickets for the game, thanks for entering]

Brought to you by weshallovercomeblog & big mouth media on behalf of npower.

How Do Boro Fix It Then?

As I have already said in past blog posts, we do have quite a few moaners at the Riverside. Judging by recent performances they have every right to be venting off - but how can Boro sort out the form on the field?

It's fine posting on the internet 'Strachan Out!!!' but is that really the answer? Martin O'Neil is a name mentioned, even Tony Mowbray, but really is a quick managerial switch going to propel us up the league? Here is my thoughts on the current situation.

Sacking Strachan

I don't think this is the answer at all. The current team are Strachan's players and if he was to be sacked they wouldn't take too kindly to it. Remember they all said he was the reason they came to Middlesbrough. Sack Strachan and we would have to rebuild another squad again starting in January. Not good for a promotion attempt. I wonder also if we have the money for yet another squad rebuild?

Martin O'Neil

Really? Come on. Why would Martin O'Neil want to come and manage us? Talk about poisoned chalice. He'd have no money, a half full stadium and a Chairman who is getting into the habit of sacking managers after not even a full season trying to get promotion. I think he's give that one a miss.

Tony Mowbray

Brilliant captain for Boro... we have heard this story somewhere else before... Mogga will always have fond memories on Teesside, so why would he ruin his relationship with the fans by subjecting himself to the managers job? He has hardly proved himself in the managerial stakes either. There are Boro fans saying Strachan is a poor manager despite the fact he succeeded in the SPL (and also saying their mothers could manage Celtic in the SPL), but Mogga tried, and failed badly.

Keeping Strachan

Is five games a fair crack of the whip for an injury ravished side before the manager is sacked? I think not. But something has to happen, and fast. We need six points in the next two games to get a serious promotion push back on track. If we can do this we are not really that far behind - with Boyd and McDonald up front banging goals in I'm sure we could make up nine points. There are a lot of games left.

So The Sensible Choice Is..?

What do you do as a Chairman? Sit back and hope things change, or make a snap decision and hope that it works, at a financial cost to the club? As I don't have Steve Gibson's mobile phone number I couldn't ask him but I did get the views of Paul Fraser (Northern Echo) and Robbie Mustoe on what we should do with regards to out recent form via Twitter:

@paulfraserecho What's your thoughts on Strachan and Boro? Surely we gotta stick with him??
@MFCFacebook that's my opinion at the moment. I think, given the turnover in personnel, I don't see the point in axing Strachan now.

@robbiemustoe What's your thoughts on Strachan and our dismal start?
@MFCFacebook I'm saddened like everyone else, he must be given time, the fans must try & be patient. It's still early this season.

So Paul and Robbie think we need to keep the faith, and to be honest so do I. Boro fans if you do one thing please do this - if you shout for Strachan to be fired have a decent argument about why its best for the club... not only football wise, but financially as well. Getting rid of this squad and starting again could put us in more trouble than we are already in.

Feel free to put your ideas to save the club in the comments section - you never know, Gibbo might have a read :-)

Give Strachan a chance!!

So we are three league games in and the typical moaning element of Middlesbrough fans are coming out in force as they have finally got a slight reason to start venting about Gordon Strachan as Middlesbrough were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Millwall last night. These 'fans' as they like to call themselves, are the staunch Southgate supporters who for the entire second half of last season criticised Steve Gibson and Gordon Strachan for every decision made at the club after their messiah was dismissed after ruining a team only the season prior his appointment featured in an UEFA Cup final.

You just have to look at the legacy of Southgate's Boro to see that these people are clueless. Only a week ago we still had Mido, Digard and Emnes still taking Premier League wages from us and no club wanted them. Mido, now on his 11th club has finally departed to Ajax and Boro haven't recouped any of the £6m Southgate paid for him. Project Emnes (£3.2m), Digard (£4.0), Mido (£6m) and Alves (£12m) are just four massive failures that come to mind, for a total of £25.2m, not to mention others than have come in and failed. How is this conducive to Southgate being considered better than Strachan? Southgate also managed a relegation in his three years at the club, and managed to shift out young talent such as Lee Cattermole and failed to play Adam Johnson preferring the other flop, Jeremie Aliadiere on the right wing (£2.5m).

Gordon Strachan on the other hand has come into the club and has had to totally rebuild the team and staff. He initially brought loanees into the side, some dubious, but was honest with the fans advising that they were the best on the market available at the time. In the January transfer window he brought in Scott McDonald, Stephen McManus, Willo Flood, Barry Robson and Chris Killen who improved the Boro squad dramatically (McDonald currently this season scoring 3 goals in 4 games). Summer additions have included Kris Boyd, Kevin Thomson and Matthew Kilgallon amongst others. All of these players, nowhere near £25.2m, and more importantly they all have the right attitude. There has been the odd failure, Lee Miller has failed to impress and Nicky Bailey has had a shaky few games but you can afford the odd one not working when you are not paying much for them.

Promotion

So Strachan's objective for the 2010/11 Championship season is simple - promotion. This is what he will be judged on, and if he fails it may well be the end of his time at Middlesbrough. Steve Gibson will be patient with him, and in January will probably make more funds available if our squad is in need of even further strengthening, so why are the fans getting on his back after three league games? It is farcical. I accept that the opening game against Ipswich was not good enough, he knows that, Gibson knows that, but we followed it up with a solid draw away from home, then a win on Sunday against Sheffield United. Anyone calling for Strachan's head at this stage in the season are fools.

Did these same fans not see that sacking a manager in the opening part of the season last year didn't work? So why would it be a good idea now? Do they not understand that a majority of the players are Strachan's? So do they give another manager a few million to rebuild the squad again? The problem is that there is a hardcore bunch of Boro fans who just like to moan. They will moan to anyone and everyone about anything. I thought being a fan was about getting behind the team, not relishing the fact that the team has struggled and that means they can slag the club of again... Yep, these fans have paid their money so they can have their say... fair enough... but if a monkey bought a car would you let it drive it on the roads? No. These fans have little football knowledge and are still obsessed with the Southgate era.

You may say we also lost in the Carling Cup. Good is what I say... There are enough games to contend with in the Championship without playing in the Carling Cup. We need to plough all our resources and efforts into the league. We, as Boro fans, need to unite, get behind the club, team and manager and stop this constant moaning. It is killing the club. If its not people of Fly Me To The Moon slagging of the good work of the Red Faction it's fans moaning that the ground is empty and then not going themselves. Lets get behind the team, get to the ground and support the lads on to promotion!!

Come on Boro!!