Middlesbrough Must be Patient with Gareth Southgate

As a season ticket holder in the West Stand of Riverside Stadium, the atmosphere can be a little quiet during times when other, more noisy areas, such as the Holgate End (North Stand), are buzzing with excitement on a match day.

There's one man in particular who has injected a whole new sense of optimism and excitement into the hearts of many Teessiders, another Brazilian wiz-kid who has an eye for goal—Afonso Alves.

His record breaking £12 million capture represents a massive statement for Middlesbrough Football Club.

A statement of intent—that we will compete in the transfer market with the big boys, and that we do want to move onwards and upwards in the Premier League table. The club may be, as supports famously dubbed it in the UEFA Cup two season's ago, a "small town in Europe" but similarly to the way in which Manchester City has been considered a 'sleeping giant', it has potential to develop into one of the biggest clubs in this country. The academy system there is already showing fantastic signs, with players such as Josh Walker, Jonathan Grounds and David Wheater emerging rapidly and knocking on the first-team door with hugely promising talents.

Of course, stability is key. Rivals Newcastle United are the perfect example of showing how crucial it can be. It has to start at the top of the club and work its way through the lower levels. You simply should not be in charge of a multi-million pound football team if you cannot ensure that you can bring stability to the club, in the fans and in the staff of the club. Take the time to appoint the right manager, ignore the pressure's of the fans and ultimately do what is going to be best for the club. It surprised me a great deal to see Mike Ashley bring down the axe on Sam Allardyce in only his first season in charge and the more I looked at it, the more I could see another Freddy Shephard emerging from the Directors room at Newcastle United.

It is fair to say that Newcaslte United are a massive club with a huge fan-base, not only in the North-East but throughout the country. St. James' park is a huge stadium and they regularly fill it to capacity, despite the team's poor recent form. They are HUGELY

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