The Twe12th Man Website

FLAGS OUT AT MANSFIELD
Friday, January 25th, 2008

Tomorrow, we face the biggest game of our season so far. Look at the so-called top-flight teams that have fallen already. Look at how many more will drop out by the fifth round.

If every Premier League side win their ties over the weekend there will be a maximum of 8 Premier teams in the last 16. Now that creates a great chance for us to get a few cracking draws in on the way to the final (hopefully).

The Boro have been one of the most exciting cup teams of the past 10 years. An FA Cup final, two FA cup semis, three league cup finals and of course the biggest match of our history the UEFA CUP final. Let’s not forget that the league is our “bread and butter” but the cup is something 10 times more exciting and 100 times more winnable than the league.

It might be considered by some to be blind faith to consider us as potential cup winners. But just look at our form in the cup these past few years. Millwall made it all the way to the final a few years ago and with that came a run in Europe. The potential UEFA cup place from even making the final makes getting there even more important. We all miss the two seasons in Europe and I know that we would all love to see them again.

The journey beings tomorrow away to Mansfield. Let’s not underestimate them, they may be rock bottom of the football league and they may be in turmoil with internal problems between fans and the board but none of that matters when the whistle goes. We expect the team to play to their absolute best to ensure that we’re in the bag for the 5th round draw. Subsequently, we as a travelling support need to be at our very best to show the lads how much it means to us.

The surfer is going to Field Mill tomorrow and the Twe12th Man Flags will be out. So dig out your scarf, dig out your banners and flags from Europe and lets make the North Stand at Field Mill the North Stand at the Boro.

Let’s roar our lads all the way to Wembley for the final and not just the semi, but that’s another argument altogether.

Forza Boro


Twe12th Man Projects
Monday, January 21st, 2008

Talk is cheap, and actions obviously speak louder than words. Members of our group have already successfully pulled off some spectacular projects…

The Boro Surfer

Funded entirely by fans, this magnificent surfer appears at most home matches and is firmly a fans favourite. It is one of the biggest surfers in the country, and even made an appearance in Eindhoven before the Uefa Cup Final ‘06.

The ‘Steaua’ Display

Spectacular north stand card display before the Uefa Cup Semi Final 2nd leg against Steaua Bucharest at The Riverside. The powerful image of “Eindhoven 2006? was the highlight of the pre-match build up.

‘Reborn’ Display

The Reborn card display took place at the home match with Chelsea on August 23rd. This was 20years to the day since Boro played Port Vale at Hartlepool after coming back from the brink - the first step towards the rebirth into the club we know and love today.

Twe12th Man Singing Sections

At the Carling Cup 2nd Round game with Notts County, the Twe12th Man - with the full support and backing of Middlesbrough FC - experimented with a singing section. Previously these ties in the early rounds of cup competitions havent been well attended, and the atmosphere has suffered as a result. With this project, we introduced a singing block, aiming to gather the majority of the vocal fans together in a small area to try and create a vocal atmosphere for 90minutes. We successfully achieved this, and will look to carry the idea forward in the future.

The Gibson Banner

The ‘Gibson Banner’ is a long awaited tribute to the Boro chairman, Steve Gibson. A year in the making, it finally made its debut in vs Sheff Utd (01/01/07), and is unfurled across a block of supporters as the teams run out.