Firstly, I apologise for my long absence from BoroMania.com.

The last time I wrote for this website was in the aftermath of Gareth Southgate's sacking. That was four months ago - plenty of time for Southgate's successor Gordon Strachan to have imprinted his mark upon the Middlesbrough squad.

There is a tinge of disappointment around Boro fans at losing our leading scorer and most exciting player but Adam Johnson's move to Manchester City was also met with an air of inevitability. It's disappointing to lose him but lets face it, he was going anyway, if not now then at the end of the season and the eventual deal with City was probably best for both parties.

It's no secret that some Middlesbrough fans are already calling for Gordon Strachan's head only three months after the former Celtic Manager took charge at the Riverside. A lack of consistency since his arrival has seen the side slip down the Championship standings to mid-table mediocrity.

Despite the interest surrounding Adam Johnson's future on Teesside at least, if we he does leave, we should be able to bargain for a very good price for the 22-year-old winger.

He scored two stunning goals last night which will only increase the temptation from Chelsea and Manchester City to sign him as they looked on at Doncaster Rovers last night.

After Saturday's goalless draw at home to Bristol City in front of less than 18,000 Boro fans, today's transfer deadline day might be the most important day in Middlesbrough's season if things go the manager's way.

Gordon Strachan again highlighted the need for goalscorers in the team after seeing his side waste very good chances against the Robins.

The arrival of the transfer deadline has led to a whole range of rumours springing up all over the internet, TV and Radio, some with more substance than others.

Shunsuke Nakamura

The major story doing the rounds concerns Adam Johnson and a proposed move to Premier League big spenders Manchester City.

By Ollie Irish

New Man City signing Adam Johnson poses at Eastlands after sealing an £8m move from Middlesbrough. I feel sorry for Boro fans that they have lost their brightest young star, but a Prem club was always likely to call for Johnson, a tricky, two-footed winger in the mould of predecessor Stewart Downing.

Jeremie Aliadiere's return to the first-team has given Gordon Strachan extra options in the final third of the pitch as he hopes to strengthen our resolve in the goal scoring department which has blighted our progression this season in the Championship.

Once again the Frenchman has been hit with injuries this season which have plagued his Boro career since joining us in 2007.

The game against Newcastle on Saturday could be a platform for us to build on which will hopefully start a mini revival in our so far dismal season in the Coca-Cola Championship.

The last time to the two sides met back in December 2009 Newcastle brushed past a lacklustre Middlesbrough team at St James' Park signalling the massive distance in quality and determination between the two sets of players at the time.

After conceding early on in the first-half when Peter Lovenkrands had put the visitors ahead, Barry Robson and Scott McDonald linked up well to level the scoring 20 minutes later. It was a peach of goal from the 31-year-old who lashed the ball home with a 20-yard left-footed strike. Some could say it was a goal made in Celtic as both McDonald and Robson showed the Boro fans what they are capable of in big games.

Leroy Lita's injury-time leveller against Derby County last night might be the break that Middlesbrough need at the business end of the season. After going ahead through Barry Robson in the first-half Nigel Clough's team levelled proceedings midway through the second period and then scored a second on 74 minutes which looked like being the winner, but Leroy Lita rescued Strachan's side to record their second successive 2-2 draw in the space of three days.

The 4-0 defeat to St Mirren last night was the final straw for the Celtic board resulting in Tony Mowvray's departure at Celtic Park this afternoon.

I've been following the Hoops this season ever since Gordon Strachan decided to raid his former club during the January transfer window.

Why are people giving up on Middlesbrough's Play-Off chances? With six games remaining and still in touching distance of teams in fifth and sixth we do have a chance of making an impact on our mediocre season.

I don't understand why fans and pundits are throwing the towel in already.

Gordon Strachan has revealed that striker Scott McDonald will be back in contention for this weekend's Easter games. The Boro boss suggested that two games over the space of three days might be too much for the Australian but has insisted he will be used.

The Boro side looked flat in the final third of the pitch at Vicarage Road last Saturday and will welcome a live-wire to add some energy to our play.

The lyrics from the current top 10 pop song, sung by Ashley Cole's ex, are not a million miles away from baring the truth about what's going on at Middlesbrough at the moment. When you next listen to the catchy little number try to visualise the Boro fans singing to Keith Lamb and Steve Gibson on matchday.

The Bryan Robson era brought a lot of exciting times to the folk of Teesside during his time at Middlesbrough with the signing of Juninho being the highlight of his managerial career.

Robson captured the 'Little Fella' under the noses of Arsenal after seeing him at the Umbro Cup held at Wembley stadium in 1995 where Juninho dazzled on the famous pitch to help Brazil beat England 3-1.

I still can't believe it. It hasn't really sunk in yet, but Stevenage Borough have won the Blue Square Premier and been promoted to the football league. In some ways I'm still waiting for someone to wake me up or for our promotion to be denied because we have a seat missing in the away end or something!

NCEL LEAGUE CUP FINAL.
ARMTHORPE 2 v DINNINGTON TOWN 5.
It could'nt happen to a more deserving goalkeeper, Armthorpe's Jamie Green was beaten 5 times today in the NCEL League cup final match against Dinnington Town.
Green has history with the Boro fans, and I am so chuffed that he was on the receiving end of a 5 goal hammering,
'WELL DONE DINNO'

Scarborough Athletic are having a spot of bad luck at the moment, results are not going our way and realistically we are not going to win any trophies this season, but we are still in 6th position in the league, still pulling in excellent crowds, slightly lower than they would have been had we been on a winning streak, but still respectable and I expect around 400 Boro fans to travel to Pickering on Saturday for the derby clash in the NCEL Premier division.

It's been a long two weeks since the last league game against York, but the FA Trophy Final is finally upon us. Stevenage travel the short distance to Wembley for the third time in four years to face Barrow. The National Stadium has been like Boro's second home since it was re-opened in 2007 and after previous wins there against Kidderminster and York, the Hertfordshire side are aiming to make it 3 out of 3 tomorrow afternoon.

A trio of Middlesbrough players made it into Australia's provisional 31-man squad today for the team's World Cup preparations. Brad Jones, Rhys Williams and Scott McDonald made the squad alongside some regulars including former Boro players Mark Schwarzer and Luke Wilkshire with ex-Leeds and Liverpool winger Harry Kewell also included.

Two lucky Boro fans will be jetting out to La Manga next week to spend a couple of days watching Gordon Strachan and the Middlesbrough players take part in training sessions designed to keep the players ticking over during the close-season.

The official Boro site is running the competition with the winning prize being selected by random from correct answers to a question.

Bet 365 is offering 16/1 on Stevenage to repeat their title success of 2009/2010 in League 2 next season. That makes them 5th favourites, below the likes of Northampton, Rotherham, Bradford and favourites Gillingham. Barnet and Accrington are favourites for relegation at 100/1. I think it's crazy that odds can be offered a full 9 weeks before the season even starts, with the summer's transfers and manager changes yet to really get going.

Steve Bernard

The World Cup is almost upon us and there aren't many genuine football fans left who aren't looking forward to the tournament more and more everyday. The World Cup is the most special of all competitions. We can all remember where we were watching Zinedine Zidane headbutt Marco Materazzi in 2006, or David Beckham's penalty against Argentina in 2002, and of course David Beckham's red card against the same opposition in St Etienne in 1998.

It's been quite a while since we crossed paths with the Robins. Cheltenham spent two years in the Conference in the late 90′s, but didn't wait around long before winning promotion to the Football League in 1999. Under the stewardship of young manager Steve Cotterill, Cheltenham finished 2nd in their first season in the Conference before storming to the title the following year, pipping Brian Talbot's Rushden side.

After weeks of trialists, it seems that Graham Westley has finally found his man. Chris Holroyd is the striker that the Boro boss hopes will be able to fire the Conference champions back up the League 2 table. The Argus reports that Holroyd is set to sign for Stevenage on a 3 month loan deal and that it should be finalised by Thursday evening.

The Boro fans playing keep-ball from the Watford stewards was the highlight of our visit on Saturday as we witnessed a 20-minute spell of the worst defending which handed the Hornets three goals on a plate.

As we walked away from Vicarage Road at the full-time whistle, I couldn't help but smile when one particular home fan thought that his team had completely outplayed Boro and that the only time we had the ball was when the away end kept the match-ball for five minutes.

After 10 games Middlesbrough sit in 18th place in the npower Championship and, going on results and performances in those games, look set to stay there for much of the season unless something drastically changes within the team or management.

A lack of fight and team spirit from a Gordon Strachan managed side is unheard of surely?

Another defeat, this time at home, leaves Middlesbrough sitting agonisingly close to the bottom of the npower Championship this weekend something that Boro fans can't really understand. The 2-1 defeat yesterday, to rivals Leeds United, has placed even more pressure on Gordon Strachan as the chorus of boos at the the final whistle rained down on WGS.

A fantastic game of football tonight by two teams out to please the watching crowd on a cold, wet and windy night in South Yorkshire, it was Boro who opened the scoring with what was a rather fortunate bounce of the ball for Ryan Blott.
Following a Boro corner, the ball landed at the feet of Ryan following an attempted clearance by the Parkgate defence and he swiftly reacted and hit the back of the net from close range.

Carlos Marinelli, one of Middlesbrough FC's many links to South American football. Some of you may remember me posting on the Fly Me to the Moon forum a couple of months ago to publicise one of the first real articles I ever wrote on this website about South American football. The article was about Carlos Marinelli and despite a couple of errors and some cheeky digs at the Boro and Boro fans in

FA Cup 2nd round day today. Boro are in action against AFC Wimbledon looking to make the lucrative 3rd round draw. Updates and views below.

LATEST SCORE: AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Boro (Walker 24)

AFC WIMBLEDON TEAM

Brown, Yakubu, Harris, Bush, Gregory, Hatton, Wallard, Jolley, S Moore, Kedwell, L Moore
SUBS: Turner, Jackson, Franks, Minshull, Yussuff, Main, Nwokeji

BORO TEAM

Day, Henry, Laird, Roberts, Ashton, Bostwick, Mousinho, O'Shea, Walker, Wilson, Beardsley
SUBS: Charles, Bayes, Foster, Long, Bridges, Odubade, Dixon

0 mins: Josh Walker gets a debut.

Only one team was given shorter odds on the Championship title than us at the start of the season, and it was Middlesbrough. So whilst we've endured a somewhat mixed start to the season, spare a thought for the Boro fans who've frankly had to put up with a much less auspicious time of thing [...