Steve Gibson's soulless business is driving Middlesbrough fans away

What did you do on a Saturday before the Premiership came about?

Good article and fair, well-balanced comment. The problem dates back to when the club got promoted under bryan robson and there was a need to relocate season ticket holders from the south stand (cheap) to the west stand corners (expensive) and at the time the club had a waiting list for season-tickets. I will never forget keith lambs statement that if they don't want to pay the price there are thousands more who will - wrong, and desperately short-sighted. Do the Boro need these fans now?? Too right they do but they've got a snowball in hell's chance of getting them back. The club have too many 'accountants' and too few marketing people who understand the need to deliver 'relationship management' - make the fans who love the club feel part of it, feel important and involved. It's not that the club needs to 'talk to the fans' it's more that they have to start listening and responding. Another thing, once somebody has opted out of having a season ticket it's very difficult to entice them back into havin

I endorse Mr Kennedy`s appraisment of the current situation at the Riverside wholeheartedly . I , also believe that part of the problem , is Mr Gibson`s new money spinning " 5 Star Hotel and Leisure Complex " , which may be more lucrative to the "Business Head" side of his empire . If Mr Gibsons interest in MFC is waning , then we need to go Global .Currently we are treading water and need a MASSIVE cash injection into this marvelous club of ours , even though to me it feels like selling the clubs soul ! Perhaps , among this finger pointing , we should not underestimate the part played by Mr K.Lamb . Having just shelled out £500 for my Season Ticket , I am treated to the distainful comments of Mr Lamb that ," I am not worried about the falling numbers of Season Tickets sold , we would prefer ALL tickets were sold on a match-day basis , as this would generate more income for the club " . Well THANK YOU for making me feel wanted . I believe that Mr Gibson has abdicate the policy making at the Riverside , to

Boro is one of only a handful of clubs where the board actually has the clubs best interests at heart. Stop moaning. Nothing is different about the club now to 10 years ago, those who jumped on the bandwagon are now just jumping off again and making up excuses for doing so. I find it amazing that Boro fans spend so much time moaning about trivial things like the badge, the strips etc. I am interested in the football. We have signed some decent players and look to be likely to improve on last year. That's what counts.

were are the big names promised the smaller teams look stronger than boro we needed a boost woodgate was here no one thinks the players gibbo brought in is any thing massave to the club boro must have something big 2 or 3 top players or with the team we have we will struggle to be honest most boro fans are sick of paying out to see the team struggle look at portsmoth

Have to say that was an excellently written article Fella. Well balanced, with some interesting views. Perhaps we can have a chat on this Boro Forum, Smog Chat to see if we can drum up some interest in a takeover! ;-) See you on the other side!

well said, its all true, but mistake if im wrong but the season ticket prices have not remained the same for 3 years in a row because mine went up about £12 last season. Im one of the fans who has not renewed his season ticket, ive had one since we moved to the riverside, and attended the games since i got a paperround when i was 12, so thats 20 years loyal support. I will pick and choose my games but seeing the price for the newcastle game (cheapest ticket £31) i dont think i'll bother. I have been priced out of attending, i have a new home that comes first.

[quote] Nothing is different about the club now to 10 years ago,[/quote] Thats the problem with our club! that mentality is why we didnt sign a top class manager to take advantage of the position we were in. instead we went backwards and have had to start all over again so it will probably take another 10 years to grow back into a european team NB: the title is not mine!

well after spending for another ticket i feel its about time to start to question Mr Gibson and this totally untouchable hero. as like every one else i thank him for pushing my club to these heights , but standing still now is going backwards as this squad now shows .

Good article JK, but I think I have to agree with Alex's assessment of it. A lot of your gripes are niggly things rather than big issues, like the shirt design without the white band which has only been used on Boro kits since 1974 so a heck of a lot of Boro fans remember many many seasons before it appeared so its not that important to them. A lot of fans have an issue with the new badge, but I for one don't mind it at all and although you could say it looks like a mish mash, my opinion is that its the sort of badge that would have been designed in the 19th century when the club was first formed so it gets my vote for being a retrospective design. I do believe that a couple of statements from the club recently have been a bit insensitive, though to be fair to them, the majority of the full statements that these snippets have come from have been very positive, but they've often been overshadowed by one or two lines within them. The bottom line here though is that the club must be successful on the foot

I think as Fans, we can exercise our right to moan and criticise all we want, as we too only have the best interests of Boro at heart. The day I will be gagged by another Fan with divergent views will be the day I'm laying on a slab. By all means have your say Alex, but don't criticise a comrade for differing views. After all, the game is all about opinions and that's what makes it what it is. [quote]Boro is one of only a handful of clubs where the board actually has the clubs best interests at heart. Stop moaning. Nothing is different about the club now to 10 years ago, those who jumped on the bandwagon are now just jumping off again and making up excuses for doing so. I find it amazing that Boro fans spend so much time moaning about trivial things like the badge, the strips etc. I am interested in the football. We have signed some decent players and look to be likely to improve on last year. That's what counts.[/quote]

Interesting calling a local lifelong Boro fan as chairman "soulless" - I'd much rather have a proper fan at the helm than an overseas magnate looking for a quick buck. How long will it be before the current rash of overseas investments with their "trophy clubs" realise there's precious little chance of breaking even let along making money and then scarper leaving the likes of West Ham and Man City with huge squads and even huger salary bills and no sugar daddy. One thing Gibson has proven is he's in it for the long term and not to make money. As for ticket prices the same people moaning that we havent cut the prices are almost certainly the same people complaining that we have been overpowered in the transfer market. Cutting ticket prices will only give us an even worse footing in the transfer market. Finally - the real reason attendances are down is because virtually every game is shown live in local pubs because of the globalisation of TV coverage and the lack of action by the authorities to prevent il

moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan.. you all forget, without our wonderful chairman, no silverware, no major euro final moan moan moan moan moan

moaning and get a life! ;-] [quote]moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan.. you all forget, without our wonderful chairman, no silverware, no major euro final moan moan moan moan moan[/quote]

I believe the original title for this piece was Disillusioned Devotion. Soulless has been used totally inappropriately to get people's backs up. We Boro Fans love each other, I think.

balanced article with some truths that have touched a nerve. I'd be interested to know your opinion on the pies.

of crap i've ever had the misfortune to read in my life

Well written article unlike some of the abusive replies which indicates the level of intellect in the Lamb supporters camp. Before the "hear no evil see no evil hard core 6,000" start their Luddite tirade I have stood on the Ayresome terraces supporting Downing the 1st along with the likes of Whigham, McMordie, Jones and of course Hickton. Which is probably longer than at least 4,000 of them. Regardless of rights or wrongdoings, passion or otherwise the one unavoidable fact is that MFC have behaved in a totally stupid smallminded and inept manner. The customer is always right......especially when they are wrong, its the basic rule of business etiquette and survival. And just to clear up this white band and 1974 nonsense it was Jack Charlton who reintroduced the white feature on the Boro kit. It did not start in 1974. As far back as 1912 at least we had a white yoke which swooped down from the shoulders and across the chest. This evolved into a pronounced white yoke which lasted until just before t

[quote]I'm surprised you stick it out on FMTTM Fella. I'm the original Redcar Red, I've been posting on the BBC Boro board years ago and only post occasionally and selectively now here and there. Less is more as they say! The FMTTM poster is Redcar Reds with an "S". Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery I guess. The FMTTM board is full of very passionate Boro fans but very blinkered in some cases. Boro need as many fans as they can get the same as any business regardless of their beliefs or length of support. The FMTTM site sometimes resembles an elitist group who believe they are the chosen Boro few, a bit sad really not to mention dangerous to the survival of the club. "No man is an Island" and neither are MFC, Boro need to attract a hardcore of 28,000 fans to realise all our dreams. Its the challenge to messr's Gibson and Lamb to unite all of us not to divide and conquer!

"There are none so blind as those who will not see". The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know, I just hope for the sake of the Boro the "Pricks" don't stay away, I remember only too well watching the likes of Mansfield, Swindon and Oxford with less than 3,000 shivering with only a cup of bovril providing hope!

Why would a Geordie have spent 37 years following the Boro? Try answering this simple question. Do you want 35,000 at the Riverside or 3,500 and presuming its the former how do you suggest the club achieves sell outs week after week?

Just shows the intellect of some of our fans when they abuse people who have opinions different to their own, surely thats what lifes all about accepting that we are all different , sounds like some of you should be back packing terrorists . Good article spoken from the heart with valid points.