There seems to be a growing number of Boro fans losing patience with Egyptian star Mido, either over his awful fitness record since joining the club or his alleged attempts to engineer a move away from the club prompting many to say they would prefer to see him sold as soon as possible.

My own personal take on this, is that when fit Mido is one of our most potent attacking players, he poses a physical and aerial threat as well as possessing a sweet left foot and lets not forget he is our leading goalscorer this term. When out on the field this season he has shown a great deal of commitment to the cause and a desire to win, so I have no doubts over where his current allegiances lie. Whether or not he would prefer to move to Wigan is up for debate, though the prospect of teaming up with countryman Amr Zaki aside, I can’t really see the appeal of leaving Boro for Wigan.

The only issue I have with Mido is his inability to steer clear of injury. He’ll put in a fantastic performance, grab a goal and have fans demanding he starts the next game and when that game arrives he is missing with a knock.

There has been speculation in the tabloids that Boro may look at selling or loaning Mido to Wigan but I would think that unless we were going to make our money back on the Egyptian we certainly shouldn’t be selling and a loan deal to a rival club is surely out of the question.

I would prefer to see Boro keep Mido as I think he adds an extra dimension to our attacking play and, if he can keep away from injuries, he will get a good number of goals for us this season.

What’s your view? Join in the forum discussion.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Should Boro sell Mido in the January window?

Both Mido and Jeremie Aliadiere missed the trip to Goodison Park, Aliadiere was a late withdrawal from the Everton game through illness whereas Egyptian Mido has been struggling with a hamstring injury and also missed Boro’s successful trip to Villa park amid speculation that he is interested in moving to Wigan when the January window opens.

The news that Aliadiere and Mido may be available for Gareth Southgate will be a welcome boost ahead of a couple of important home games with Bolton and Newcastle. Aliadiere had been in good form and Mido has always looked capable of grabbing a goal when he’s been on the pitch.

Meanwhile Chris Riggott came off with an injured hamstring in the Everton game and is a doubt ahead of the Bolton visit.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Mido and Ali to return for Bolton game?

Boro started the game with just one change from the win at Aston Villa, an enforced change with Jeremie Aliadiere missing out through illness, Julio Arca coming into the team with Gary O’Neil moving on to the right flank.

18 year old Jonathan Franks was rewarded for his recent form and call up to the England Under-19 squad with a place on the bench, a young bench that included Academy graduates Wheater, Johnson, Walker and Grounds as well as young Dutchman Marvin Emnes.

The game got off to a scrappy start, Tuncay letting fly with a 30 yard attempt after some neat passing from Boro was the highlight. Everton were clearly going to be a physical and aerial threat with Yakubu, Saha and Fellaini winning a lot of the ball.

It was Boro though who took the lead as a lightning quick break from an Everton attack involving Downing and Tuncay culminated with Stewart Downing rolling the ball into the path of Gary O’Neil who steadied himself and finished very well in off the near post to stun an already subdued Everton crowd.

Everton had a great chance to level the score moments later as a Saha flick on found former Boro hero Yakubu who out-muscled Pogatetz to go through on goal only to see Ross Turnbull save at his feet with a very strong hand.

Boro went up the other end and Frenchman Didier Digard struck a shot from just outside the area which pulled just wide of the Everton goal. Everton then went extremely close to an equaliser as a fluke cross from Joleon Lescott deceived everybody and beat Ross Turnbull who was relieved to see the ball come back off the post and to see Emanuel Pogatetz block Fellaini’s follow up attempt.

Afonso Alves was given a good opportunity after some good skill form Tuncay, the Turk fond himself in space, brought down a high ball on his chest and played Alves in. The Brazilian had a chance to shoot first time but took too long on the ball and was eventually crowded out.

The home side had half-hearted appeals for a penalty when Yakubu fell when challenging for a ball with Ross Turnbull, these were quickly dismissed by Howard Webb, but Everton were beginning to create problems with their physical approach, winning a succession of corners which Boro didn’t defend that well.

Just before half-time and just after Stewy Downing had shot narrowly wide at the other end, Tim Cahill had a great opportunity to level the score but headed a foot wide from a left-wing corner when completely unmarked in the Boro box.

Half Time and Boro were going in 1-0 to the good, Everton had seen the lion’s share of possesion but Boro continued to look very dangerous on the break.

Everton started the second half much the better side and were applying strong pressure to the Boro backline, a backline that was dealt a blow early in the second half when Chris Riggott injured himself in a clash with Yakubu resulting in him being replaced by David Wheater.

Boro showed they still carried a threat on the break as they broke quickly, Alves fed Tuncay, who sped off down the right wing before sending a crossfield ball to Downing. In turn he set up Arca, who completed the flowing move by stricking a left foot shot over the bar by half a yard.

Everton levelled the scoreline on 65 minutes and it was former Boro boy Yakubu who came back to haunt us. A cross from the left from Mikel Arteta missed a few defenders and struck Yakubu on the back, deflecting the ball past a stranded Ross Turnbull.

It looked from that point that it was going to backs to the wall for Boro as Everton poured on the pressure but it was Boro who went close to going into the lead, a strike from Didier Digard was tipped onto the post by Tim Howard.

Back came Everton, a flick from Saha picking out Yakubu wide on the right, and his low cross-shot fizzed through Boro’s six-yard box without further touch.

Everton threw Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan into the attack and were pushing hard for the 3 points but Boro’s backline held up well and were relieved to hear the final whistle to maintain the unbeaten record and make it 4 points taken from 2 very tricky away games.

Player Ratings

Ross Turnbull - 7 - Made a couple of good saves, particularly from Yakubu. Was caught out by the Lescott cross which struck the upright but otherwise a steady display.

Justin Hoyte - 6 - Settling in well and defended well, not as good going forward as he was against Villa but a decent game.

Andrew Taylor - 6 - Sound defensive game as his form continues to improve.

Emanuel Pogatetz - 7 - Very solid, Everton were a very physical threat and sent a lot of direct balls forward. Though Saha won a lot in the air, Boro dealt well with the second balls.

Chris Riggott - 7 - Was having a good game, unlucky to pick up the injury.

Gary O’Neil - 8 - Took his goal very well and was involved in a lot of Boro’s good play. I prefer to see him on the right and feel he offered a lot more in this position.

Julio Arca - 5 - Poor game for Julio I thought, working his way back to fitness but just wasn’t involved enough and was quite wasteful with the ball.

Didier Digard - 8 - Excellent performance, possibly his best yet in a Boro shirt. Good in the tackle, decent strike at goal and passed the ball well.

Stewart Downing - 7 - Fairly quiet game for Downing but was involved in a number of quick counter attacks, good awareness to play O’Neil in for the goal.

Tuncay - 8 - Worked his socks off, created a couple of opportunities for Alves and looked very sharp. Key player for our season.

Afonso Alves - 6 - Worked hard but looked very low on confidence, seemed to want to many touches on the ball when a confident Alves would’ve had struck it early.

Middlesbrough Substitutes

David Wheater - 6 - Got his opportunity to get back in the team earlier than he may have expected with Riggott’s injury. Did ok and added a bit more aerial ability to the back four.

Adam Johnson - 6 - Didn’t get a lot of time to impose himself on the game, not an ideal time for him to be coming on whe Boro were under pressure.

Marvin Emnes -6 - Give him a 6 but was not really on long enough to rate.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Battling Boro earn a point at Everton to maintain unbeaten run

Not for the first time this season, Tuncay won the Boro Mania poll, running away with the voting ahead of a resurgent Stewart Downing, the ever impressive Ross Turnbull and the rocks at the heart of Boro’s defence Riggott and Pogatetz.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Tuncay wins award for match winning display

Reports in the Czech press have revealed that FC Brno goalkeeper Martin Lejsal is currently in talks with Boro regarding a switch to the Riverside Stadium.

The Brno star would be considered as Ross Turnbull’s backup if he was to move to Boro, as the young keeper is currently in fantastic form. This does, of course, raise the question of what would happen to Brad Jones if Lejsal was to sign, both Turnbull and Jones are coming to the end of their current contracts though Boro are trying to tie them both down to new deals.

This may though be nothing more than press speculation and interestingly Boro were linked with Lejsal back in 2006 and obviously nothing came of it then. The Czech keeper has spent time in Italy with Reggina, Venezia and Padova before returning to his home country and FC Brno.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Southgate looking at bringing in another keeper as we are light in that department, highlighted by the return of David Knight on a month to month contract to cover for Jason Steele’s injury, whether Lejsal is the answer though remains to be seen.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Boro looking at Czech stopper?

Boro fielded a relatively young but strong side that included four players who sat on the bench against Villa Marvin Emnes, Adam Johnson, Josh Walker and Jonathan Grounds. Matthew Bates also started the game as he continues his comeback following knee ligament damage.

Boro started the game well and a lot of the attacking threat was coming down the left hand side as Johnson and Joe Bennett combined well on a couple of occasions, Bennett firing a shot just wide of the Wednesday goal after a mazy run from Johnson.

Boro took the lead in the 14th minute as England Under-19 International Jonathan Franks took a pass 25 yards out and fired a right foot shot into the bottom corner to give Middlesbrough a well deserved lead.

A few minutes later Boro thought they had doubled their lead as Marvin Emnes turned in Nathan Porritt’s volley only to see the linesman’s flag raised for offside. Emnes got his goal a few minutes later though, picking up a loose pass from Wednesday in the midfield he set off on a twisting and weaving run befire unleashing a powerful drive from the edge of the area that was too powerful for O’Donnell to keep out.

Boro went into the half time break leading 2-0 and Emnes was replaced by Gary Martin for the second half.

The second half started quieter than the first though Wednesday rarely threatened David Knight in the Boro goal, Matty Bates and Jon Grounds performing brilliantly at the heart of the defence.

With 15 minutes to go the result was put beyond any doubt as the impressive Gary Martin found Shaun Saiko in the area and the Canadian midfielder buried his low shot into the bottom corner. Minutes later Martin found Jonathan Franks in the box and the winger spun and fired the ball past the helpless Wednesday goalie.

With a few minutes remaining Adam Johnson clipped a ball over the top for the run of Joe Bennett. The impressive left back checked back well onto his left foot and smashed the ball home.

A very good performance from the Boro reserves, their next game in the totesportcasino.com league cup is against Bradford on Tuesday, before completing the group’s final game against Grimsby in January.

Marvin Emnes looked a lot sharper in the first half and took his goal very well, he held the ball up well and linked in with the midfield. The central defensive pairing of Matthew Bates and Jonathan Grounds were outstanding up against some experienced and physical players in Akpo Sodje, Deon Burton and Francis Jeffers. Josh Walker was tidy in the midfield and showed a good range of passing, Jonathan Franks was very lively and bagged a couple of good goals and Porritt threatened at times but drifted in and out of the game.

I was impressed with young Gary Martin when he came on, he held up the ball well and played some very neat one touch passes as well as creating two goals.

There were a number of candidates for man of the match in this game, Franks for his two goals and Bennett for his overall display but i’m going to give it to Jonathan Grounds who I thought was outstanding at the heart of the defence and coped very well with the big, physical Sodje.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Emnes shines as Boro reserves win 5-0

Gal-Andrezly will go into the reserve team in a bid, no doubt, to impress Southgate and the coaching staff enough to warrant a permanant deal.

It is interesting and encouraging to see Boro casting their net further afield in a bid to recruit highly rated young footballers and I look forward to seeing the young Slovakian in a Boro shirt alongside some of our own, home-grown young players.

Interested in Boro and want to discuss this further? Join the BoroMania forum

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Boro confirm Slovak deal

Middlesbrough went into the game with just one change from their previous outing. Justin Hoyte came into the side to replace David Wheater who dropped to the bench. Disappointingly for Boro fans, Mido picked up another knock in training and was unavailable for selection. Hoping to catch the home side with a European hangover, Boro’s spirits were raised as former favourite Luke Young and big centre forward, John Carew were missing through injury.

Boro celebrate Tuncay's opener

This was a cracking game of football in less than ideal conditions and it was the home side who started brightly, Gabriel Agbonlahor broke the Boro offside trap and darted forward. His cross was poor, however, and Ashley Young could not get on the end of it.

In the thirteenth minute Stewart Downing, looking a lot more confident today, cut inside and found himself in space, twenty-five yards out. As the Villa defence closed in on the England International, he smashed a wicked shot at goal, which flashed narrowly wide.

A fairly even first half in which both sides had chances saw the deadlock broken in the thirty fourth minute as Tuncay chased down a ball from Downing, Nick Shorey made a mess of dealing with it and Tuncay made no mistake from six yards out.

The lead, however, was not to last and the home side were level just 3 minutes later. A frenzied attack saw Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor have shots blocked before James Milner stood a cross up to the back post and Steve Sidwell rose above Downing to head home.

Middlesbrough reacted positively to the set back and played some excellent football in an attack involving Downing, Hoyte and Tuncay creating a chance for Afonso Alves, the Brazilian couldn’t convert though.

Going in at half time, the game had been pretty even but Boro were disappointed to have given up a lead that they had worked hard for. Neither manager made changes at half time.

Gabby Agbonlahor had a great chance early in the second half as Villa came out of the traps well, his pace took him clear of Chris Riggott but Ross Turnbull came out and prevened a goal scoring opportunity.

The game had opened up and the play was going from end to end with both sides attacking well. Ross Turnbull was called into action again on 58 minutes, Gareth Barry cut the ball back and Milner should have scored from eight yards out, Turnbull though pulled off an outstanding save to deny him.

The game continued at break neck pace with Boro hitting Villa on the counter attack and it was Boro who had the better chances late on. First Chris Riggott got on the end of a corner but his goal-bound header was cleared off the line by Ashley Young. Then a speculative effort by Didier Digard has parried by Brad Friedel and Afonso Alves, six yards out, completely fluffed his chance to put Boro back in front. Alves was subbed for Julio Arca immediately after missing the chance.

With just minutes remaining the ball was with Steve Sidwell who thought he had more time than he did, his attempt at getting the ball back to Friedel was interceped by Tuncay, and the Turk fired the ball home to steal the points.

Villa threw everything at Boro in an attempt to rescue a point but unlike in previous games there was to be no late goal heartache for Boro. An absolutely fantastic result for the Boro, puts them in 8th place in the Premiership.

Player Ratings

Ross Turnbull - 8 - Any lingering doubts in Turnbull’s ability must surely be gone by now. I feel confident with him in goal that he will bail us out when needed and he made some important saves today.

Justin Hoyte - 8 - Starting to look the part now that he is settled in. Bombed forward down the right and defended very well.

Andrew Taylor - 7 - Solid performance from Taylor and he linked well with Downing.

Emanuel Pogatetz - 8 - Solid performance again at the back, has brought a little grit and leadership back into the team.

Chris Riggott - 8 - I really thought Wheater should have been in the team but credit to Southgate for sticking with Riggs, he was excellent today and made some outstanding blocks and interceptions.

Jeremie Aliadiere - 7 - Worked hard and tested Villa with his pace, not one of his most impressive attacking displays but played his part.

Stewart Downing - 8 - A much improved display from Stewy today, was at the heart of all Boro’s attacking play and had a couple of good efforts on goal.

Gary O’Neil - 6 - Worked hard but was fairly quiet in the heart of the midfield.

Didier Digard - 6 - Worked hard and got involved, has a habit of trying the “hollywood” ball a little too often that needs ironing out.

Afonso Alves - 5 - Alves fluffed his lines when given a golden opportunity.

Tuncay Sanli - 9 - The talismanic Turk grabbed both goals and is fast becoming a legend on Teesside.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Super Tuncay wins the game for Boro at Villa Park

The attacking midfielder is said to have spent a week with Middlesbrough’s reserve team in September and clearly impressed Boro boss Gareth Southgate enough to open up negotiations between the two clubs.

Kosice sporting and technical director Stefan Tarkovic told mfkkosice.sk

Both clubs have agreed on a half-year loan, which is going to start in January,

We are very happy that Peto’s trial has been successful and that he will be allowed to develop his indisputable talent in a high-quality club.

This case also shows that working with young players has a purpose at MFK Kosice and that it is a big motivation for all our young talented players.

We have yet to see any official statements from Boro staff and until we do this is very much still a rumour but it is encouraging to think our scouting network is beginning to look further afield for talented young players.

It is interesting to note that former Boro striker Szilard Nemeth used to ply his trade for MFK Kosice, he along with Vladimir Kinder are the only Slovakians I can recall playing for the Boro.

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Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Boro about to sign promising Slovakian kid?

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