KEVIN THOMSON

I would like to pass on my best wishes to Kevin Thomson after hearing of his injury in Saturday's game against Leicester. I am a Rangers season ticket holder, and the terrible run of bad luck that this guy has had with injury is just incredible. When fit he is a great player and is also a gem of a bloke. Good luck Tommo and I wish you a full and speedy recovery.
Iain Jardine

I would just like to pass my wishes onto Kevin Thompson, I feel gutted for the guy. I hope he has a quick recovery and is back playing in no time at all. I am, however, glad he didn't hurt his knees or hamstring as he has come back from bad injuries in the past. Best of luck Tommo!
Steven Lowery

Could you send my best wishes to Kevin Thomson and that I wish him a speedy recovery?
Andrew Stevenson, Rangers fan

WILLO FLOOD

I just found out about Willo Flood getting a bad injury. Being a Rangers season ticket holder for 14 years I'll admit I could not be bothered writing and posting a wee note, but just wanted to somehow pass my thoughts onto Willo. He was a fantastic player at Dundee United and I was gutted that we couldn't get a player like him when he was free. He was humble and a gentleman during his time in the SPL. I wish him all the best, hope he stays strong through his injury and I look forward to seeing him bossing the midfield in the Premier League shortly.
Iain Gray

START OF THE SEASON

Well the opening game against Ipswich was a disappointing start to the season I must admit, but one which I was not really surprised at, when you consider that Ipswich have kicked off the season with practically the same team they finished with last season. A prime example is looking no further than the England team, where you have the so-called "best" players in the country coming together at the World Cup and looking out of sorts with one another. The reason I think is because they are just not used to playing with one another on a regular basis. The sooner Boro can gel and get to know each other's strengths, I personally think we have the makings of a formidable team. The other thing I picked up watching Boro's opening game of the season was that we seemed to be playing the exact same tactics as last season, absolutely no width every time Boro going through the centre and just pumping high balls over the top at every opportunity and then nearly always losing out to their defenders. We are just far too predictable, the opposition teams seemingly having Boro's tactics sussed.  Our wide men need to keep their shape and we should be trying to get down the bye lines more and whipping low hard balls across the box - everyone knows that defenders hate these balls. Our strikers need feeding.
Wayne Laville, Ormesby

Just want to pass on my congratulations to the Boro for the midweek win against Chesterfield. I'm not in a position to see many of the matches this season, but will be following the club as always via the web. Good luck for the new season and never forget to enjoy the football. To a great season ahead! Ganbare Boro!
Ian Spenceley, Tokyo

TEAM MATTERS

I'm very pleased with what Boro doing right now. Strachan has brought a new era of new Boro, great signings and great coaches, will help Boro to back in EPL next season. I hope we can get in new keeper like Kieren Westwood, Joe Lewis or David Marshall.
We in the Far East always follow the update even we are silent for a year. And now over here very excited with the current situation. I hope we can climb back asap. My Song for McDonald - Oh McDonald had a score, E-I-E-I-O! And on that fields he had some goals, E-I-E-I-O!
Ariff Ahmad, Singapore

We have bought experienced players cheaply. Buy Craig Dawson, invest in the future. I could understand selling Adam Johnson from a business point of view, have seen Dawson play and along with the experienced Scots we have bought he will be an asset. Let's have some real success, I'm fed up living in the shadows of our North East neighbours. We have the stadium, now let's have a team. 
George Hilarion

Like most Boro fans, I am optimistic about the coming season with the new signings that have been made. Without doubt we will be fit, hard working and a team full of potential. The Boro management recently cited that Blackpool's success was based on those attributes. But can we adopt the model exploited by the two teams automatically promoted. They ran away with the league because they had all that in abundance, coupled with flair, creativity, pace and an annoying ability to keep the ball! As player recruitment is on-going, I hope we bring in players with flair and creativity to balance the grafters we clearly already have. I vote for run away promotion rather than a dogfight among the "hard working" teams in the league - there'll be plenty of them!
Phil Stanway, Oxford

As we all know the longer you are in a rut the harder it is to get out of and it is very much the same in football. Expectations are obviously as ever going to be high especially after last season the expectation will be higher still and with it higher pressure to deliver. Obviously football is a results driven business and results aren't guaranteed, nor is success. The way I see it, even though how the team does is commonly put down to the manager, the players should also take an equal amount of responsibility. These days TV and the media play a big role in the game and it appears in some cases clubs are now graded on their size and wealth rather than the performance of the team on the pitch, which is the most important thing. To me how a team does will come down to the individual mentality of all the players and their ability to deal with the pressure as well as their quality. The ambition is obvious, to return to the Premier League. But for any team the target should always be to win their next game no matter the opponent, this is where my point about teams being graded by their material wealth comes in. I believe this is where some teams fall down without realising it. No match should be treated any differently just because of the level or size of the opposing club, the target should always be the same.  Let's hope for a more successful season and that Middlesbrough begin heading in the right direction, but this will not happen unless everybody at the club from top to bottom is prepared to pull in the same direction and overcome the negativity that seems to have developed at the Riverside of late. I'm sure that the manager and players appreciate the expense supporters go to follow the team up and down the country. Hopefully this season we'll see them rewarded for their loyalty and that the team can give the stay-away fans a reason to come back.
Danny Hawkes, Darlington

I'm sure Gordon Strachan will do what it takes to get the team back up to the top. He'll make sure they won't lose many games - especially at home - as that will end their push for promotion to the Premier League a lot sooner than expected!
Robert Thorpe, Pickering

I'm an armchair football fan who watches the highlights only but I must say that while Gordon Strachan's teams don't always hit the top spots in the league, etc. I've noticed that there is usually a good game of football when Gordon's team plays. Thanks, appreciated.
Martin McNeill

GENERAL

I live in Kent but am originally from Middlesbrough, so all my family and I are massive Boro fans. I travelled up 300 miles at the weekend to see the Boro v Ipswich game. Apart from the performance, I must say the weekend was fabulous. We ended up eating at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday lunchtime. The staff, both in reception and serving lunch, were incredibly helpful and polite and the food itself was simply wonderful. So a big thanks to all concerned for making my weekend fab!
Rob Cox, Kent

I'm a Fenerbahce, however I really like Middlesbrough FC and your fans. When Tuncay Sanli played for Middlesbrough I used to try to watch every match. I've even been to some matches that Middlesbrough play in London with the Middlesbrough fans. They are all very friendly and support their club as much as they can. I hope to see Middlesbrough FC back in the Premier League as that is where you lot belong and I'm hoping Tuncay Sanli will come back to Middlesbrough as they respect him. There are big differences between Stoke City fans and Middlesbrough fans, such as Middlesbrough are more caring towards their players. I know most Middlesbrough fans really like Tuncay. However, as we all know, Stoke City fans don't feel the same and I don't think they deserve him. Come on Middlesbrough, you need to be in the Premier League next season, you have amazing and lovely fans.
Ebru Demir

Well done Boro, great news banning the vuvuzelas.
Raymond Earl

My youngest son, James Stanway, season card holder, Seat number Block 17, Row 27, Seat 19, a long-time season ticket holder, has asked me to send to the manager and team, best wishes for the coming campaign in the Championship and is confident that promotion back in to the Premier League is on the cards this season. He is presently serving in the British Army in Helmand province, Afghanistan. However, he is flying the Boro flag on the frontline of action. He will miss the first part of the season, except for the Sheffield United game, which he will watch on TV. He completes his tour of duty at the end of November when he will be able to see the games for the rest of the season.
Geoff Stanway, Redcar