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Join us for Wednesday's Middlesbrough news and views.

Today, we hear from Tony Pulis, who has challenged Martin Braithwaite to rediscover top form.

We also hear from a Nottingham Forest player who says Karanka's side have the top teams in their sights.

We check in with an ex-Boro striker who's flying high in the Championship and hear from Ben Gibson. And there's the latest helping in our ultimate Boro squad search.

Keep up to date with breaking news and opinion on our Boro live blog which brings you breaking transfer news, as well as views, opinion and a whole lot more about Middlesbrough FC .

Our daily weekday coverage includes photos, nostalgia, interviews, surveys and the best of Boro social media.

Give us your thoughts by tweeting via our #BoroLive hashtag, at @GazetteBoro or find us on Facebook .

Join Dominic Shaw for Boro updates throughout the day.

A farewell - and a new podcast

Before we wrap up the blog for the day, here’s the recap:

  • Braithwaite excites Pulis in training but now needs to find that form on a matchday HERE.
  • Championship pacesetters ‘should be wary of Nottingham Forest’ HERE.
  • The ‘what if’ moments of Boro’s 2008/09 relegation and how a decade could have been different HERE.
  • Vic’s on to the midfield in the ultimate squad search. That’s HERE.
  • How Lukas Jutkiewicz added goals to his wholehearted approach with help from an ex-Rockliffe coach HERE.

And finally, we’ve just this second published our latest podcast. We’re talking January.

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Boro talk on Tees tonight

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Thoughts on this?

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The ultimate squad - on to the midfield

Today we move on to the midfield as Vic continues his series looking to name Boro’s best 25 man squad over the past 25 years.

You need to trim a top class list down to just eight.

Or Juninho plus seven others, as one reader suggested.

Have a look HERE.

Juninho in action against West Ham
Juninho in action against West Ham (Image: Trinity Mirror)
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Pacesetters 'should be wary of Forest'

They’re outside the top six and are six points shy of top spot.

But Nottingham Forest are still not “firing on all cylinders”, and for that reason the Championship pacesetters should be wary of Aitor Karanka’s side, says Jack Colback.

There’s more HERE.

Nottingham Forest players celebrate
Nottingham Forest players celebrate
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Connor Roberts: 'Since I came back from Boro, things have gone much better'

It’s easy to forget Connor Roberts was a Boro player at the start of last season.

The full-back was signed on loan from Swansea by Garry Monk and looked useful on the rare occasions he played.

With Cyrus Christie nailing down the right-back spot in the first half of the season, though, Roberts was on the fringes. And it was no surprise to see him head back to Swansea when Tony Pulis arrived.

Since returning to Wales, though, Roberts has thrived. He’s now a regular for the Swans and a fixture in the Wales senior set-up.

He says:

“Things have changed, for club and for country. It’s brilliant, from my point of view, and from my friends, family and people who know me know that I worked so hard in my early days to be where I am today.”

“Before that, a lot of people don’t know, I was at Bristol Rovers; didn’t get a game, didn’t get a look in. I questioned whether I was good enough if I would have a career in League Two, just plodding along.

“Since I came back from Middlesbrough, things have gone much better very quickly.

“There’s been a lot of turnarounds, not just in my life but at Swansea, at Wales as well. There’s been a lot of transitions all over my life.”

Connor Roberts
Connor Roberts (Image: PA)
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The 'what if' moments of Boro's 2008/09 relegation season

Ten years ago this week Boro went eighth in the Premier League - six months later they were relegated.

How? What went wrong? How did it all unravel so quickly?

Anthony Vickers takes a look here.

Be prepared to shudder at the thought of Shawky at Newcastle.

Here’s a snippet:

Until very late - too late - Boro were in denial about the depth of their crisis.

It wasn’t until about March that eternal optimist David Wheater stopped talking about Europe.

And when the Gazette launched a ‘keep the faith’ campaign and talked about 10 cup finals the manager and the club were having none of such negativity and thought if wouldn’t come to that. Whoops.

That complacency may have cost them dear. Had they embraced the tooth-and-claw scrap for every single point they may have escaped.

Read the piece in full HERE.

Boro celebrate at Goodison Park on the day they went eighth in the 2008-09 relegation season
Boro celebrate at Goodison Park on the day they went eighth in the 2008-09 relegation season (Image: Trinity Mirror)
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Drop-in event at the Riverside on Thursday

Boro have teamed up with Ageing Better Middlesbrough and will be hosting a free drop-in event for supporters aged 50 and over at the Riverside tomorrow.

As part of the recent national Get Online Week, Boro are giving fans the chance to speak face-to-face with club staff about using their many online services.

That includes buying tickets, doing Boro shopping online, reading club news and choosing which emails you want to receive.

Guests can also enjoy a mini behind-the-scenes tour and enter a prize draw for a signed Boro ball.

Plus, there’s chance to find out more about Ageing Better Middlesbrough and what they can offer including a free membership.

The event takes place between noon and 3pm at the Riverside. Entry is via the main reception in the West Stand.

If you would like to attend but require assistance with transport, please call 01642 061019.

More information about Ageing Better Middlesbrough, including its free membership, can be found on the Ageing Better Middlesbrough website.

Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium
Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium
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A Boro catch-up

Reminiscing on Boro tales of the past?

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Gibson's Burnley frustrations

Ben Gibson has endured a “frustrating” start to life at Burnley but is looking forward to showing Clarets fans what he’s capable of.

The former Boro defender has twice gone under the knife to fix a hernia problem and is closing in on a first team return.

Burnley really could do him up to full speed, only Fulham have conceded more goals so far in the Premier League.

“I’m getting there,” Gibson told the club website.

“Obviously, it’s been a really frustrating start, not the start you’d ever want, coming to a new football club.

“You want to come, make your mark and show everyone; show the players, the fans, the manager and the coaching staff what I can do.

“I haven’t really been able to do that, so I’m really looking forward to getting back out there and fighting for my place and helping the club achieve what we want to achieve.”

Ben Gibson in Europa League action for Burnley
Ben Gibson in Europa League action for Burnley (Image: Getty Images Europe)
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Braithwaite wows Pulis in training....

But now the boss wants the forward to do the same on a Saturday afternoon.

Day in day out Pulis sees what Braithwaite is capable of on the Rockliffe training pitches, which makes it all the more frustrating when he struggles to find the same form on a matchday.

Pulis talks about that HERE.

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Today's back page: Braithwaite's commitment

In case you missed it yesterday, Martin Braithwaite posted a social media response to a supporter questioning his Boro commitment.

That’s HERE.

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Some managerial news this morning

Up in the Premier League rather than the Championship.

Slavisa Jokanovic is the first manager to lose his job this season in the top flight, and has been immediately replaced by this fella.

Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri (Image: PA)
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Good morning

Hello and good morning.

Hope you’re keeping well.

Day three of the break, day two at RAF Leeming for the Boro lads.

Coming up on the blog today, we’ll hear from Tony Pulis on Martin Braithwaite and there’s a warning to the teams at the top from one of Nottingham Forest’s players.

We’ll also hear from a couple of former Boro defenders. And we’ll take a closer look at Lukas Jutkiewicz, who is absolutely flying at Birmingham this season.

There’s the latest in our ultimate squad search as well - Vic is onto the midfield today.

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