Thomas Howard

Central Defender - Middlesbrough U18
27 Sep 2028
Wednesday
Process

Marked for Thomas Howard

108 Edition

The Middlesbrough Gazette

21 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

The run at home goes on for Middlesbrough

25 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Kepa Arrizabalaga

There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Luke Ayling breaks a bone — 80 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 80 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Alysson Edward is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Evanilson in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Middlesbrough this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

Graduation day at Middlesbrough

5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.

Match

Brentford take the points off Middlesbrough

Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Leny Yoro

At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Market

George Parker steps up from the Middlesbrough academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. George Parker has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

In brief