MIDDLESBROUGH have reached the stage where only miracles can save them.

Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Jones will face Fulham tomorrow despite dislocating his finger last week.

Middlesbrough have been fined £6,000 (€6,422) by the Football Association after the club admitted a charge of “failing to control their players” during the Barclays Premier League match against West Brom on January 17.

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate will be without midfielder Didier Digard for tomorrow night’s FA Cup fifth round replay with West Ham.

IT is still too early for frantic supporters to adopt the chewed-fingernail pose so beloved by macabre television companies, but already Middlesbrough is a club racked by fear.

Middlesbrough 0 Wigan 0

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has revealed he has the chance to field an unchanged side for what would be only the second time this season for tomorrow’s Premier League clash with Wigan at the Riverside.

Middlesbrough are without striker Marlon King and defender Chris Riggott for tomorrow’s trip to West Ham in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is boosted by the return of midfielders Didier Digard and Gary O’Neil for tomorrow’s Premier League trip to Manchester City.

IF Gareth Southgate really does possess the most bomb-proof job in the Premier League, the Middlesbrough manager doesn’t know it.

West Brom 3 Middlesbrough 0

Middlesbrough captain Emanuel Pogatetz is struggling to be fit for the Premier League trip to West Brom tomorrow.

OVER half the Premier League has been struck by an identity crisis.

Middlesbrough 1 Sunderland 1

Stewart Downing is expected to be included in the Middlesbrough squad to face derby rivals Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League after having his transfer request refused.

Middlesbrough midfielder Didier Digard is a major doubt for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League trip to Fulham.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger brought back his big guns after his side’s dismal midweek Champions League defeat in Porto for today’s crucial early kick-off against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is facing up to a defensive crisis as he prepares for Arsenal’s visit to the Riverside Stadium tomorrow.

PHIL BROWN may insist he has no interest in taking charge at Sunderland, but nobody would dare accuse English football’s most in-demand young manager of lacking ambition.

German defender Robert Huth returns to the Middlesbrough squad for tomorrow’s trip to Hull in the Barclays Premier League.

IT is always best to expect the unexpected at Newcastle United, so perhaps the notion of the club being hauled onto an even keel by Joe Kinnear — frozen out of football for four years, with question marks over his health and whose methods appeared to belong in football’s stone age — is not so surprising.

Middlesbrough 0 Newcastle 0

Striker Mido is back in contention for Middlesbrough’s Premier League derby against Newcastle at the Riverside Stadium tomorrow.

IT is proof positive of the Premier League’s febrile environment that, a month after Gary Megson was wondering whether he would still have a job in the new year, he is now making bold demands for funds for a January spending spree.

Emanuel Pogatetz and Mido have both been passed fit for Middlesbrough’s Barclays Premier League clash with Bolton at the Riverside tomorrow.

Everton 1 Middlesbrough 1

Everton, aiming for their fourth successive Premier League victory, had Ayegbeni Yakubu back following a heel injury against his old club today.

Manager Gareth Southgate is ready to name an unchanged Middlesbrough side for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League trip to Everton.

GARETH SOUTHGATE has endured some troubled days since plunging into the world of management at the tender age of 36, but this is the kind of result which makes the hurt worthwhile.

Aston Villa missed out on the chance to climb into a Champions League spot as two-goal Tuncay earned Middlesbrough victory at Villa Park.

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate will choose between record signing Afonso Alves and top scorer Mido for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League match at Aston Villa.

GARETH SOUTHGATE might dream of turning Middlesbrough into the Arsenal of the north — all flowing football played by bright-eyed tyros — but not every game lends itself to such fantasy football.

Gareth Southgate is expected to stick with an unchanged starting XI for the third successive match as his Middlesbrough side prepare to host West Ham at the Riverside tomorrow.

AFONSO ALVES proved the scourge of Manchester City once again as his 53rd-minute penalty helped Middlesbrough to victory.

Middlesbrough midfielder Julio Arca will return to the squad for tomorrow night’s Premier League clash with Manchester City after finally shaking off an ankle injury.

PAUL INCE is looking forward to the return of a fully fit and firing Benni McCarthy after the South Africa striker finally showed flashes of his old form.

England skipper John Terry handed Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari a boost when he returned to action for this afternoon’s trip to Middlesbrough.

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate could be without three key players for the Barclays Premier League trip to Wigan.

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate welcomes back Mido into his matchday squad for tomorrow’s home Barclays Premier League clash with West Brom.

Top scorer Mido is expected miss tomorrow night's Carling Cup third round tie at Manchester United after pulling out of Middlesbrough's 2-0 derby defeat at Sunderland with a groin strain.

Middlesbrough’s record signing Afonso Alves was left sitting on the bench as Gareth Southgate went in search of a derby victory at Sunderland.

Midfield trio Mohamed Shawky, Julio Arca and Marvin Emnes all return from injury to join the Middlesbrough squad for tomorrow’s Wear-Tees derby at Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League.

Middlesbrough will be without striker Tuncay and midfielder Mohamed Shawky for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League trip to Portsmouth.

Middlesbrough 2 Stoke 1