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Ahead of Saturday’s Championship opener away at Middlesbrough, I asked Dana from The Boro Breakdown Podcast some questions. Saturday’s referee is Bobby Madley for the 15:00 kick-off. QUIZ: How much do you know about the history of Middlesbrough Football Club? Click HERE to see if you can get 10 out of 10 on our quiz! Pre-match Discussion: Ahead of this match, you can get involved with the pre-match discussion HERE. How long have you supported Middlesbrough? Since I was 7, and I’m 27 now, so whilst Boro are celebrating an anniversary year, it seems like I am as well! I got my first season ticket in 2008/9, and we got relegated, so that was a rather humbling first season following along with the Boro. What are your hopes and expectations for the season ahead? I hope we can go up. We did so well last season to stay second for as long as we did, but falling short at the end means there’s a bit of unfinished business. We’ve been ambitious in the transfer window, spending smartly on players with high ceilings, but I hope they can deliver in the here and now to get Boro promoted to the Premier League. What are your thoughts on your manager? I love Kim Hellberg. I think he’s such a clever coach and one of the best in the Championship. What he did with Rob Edwards’ squad was very impressive considering he was coming in partway through the season, having had no prior coaching experience in England. Some will say he’s not that good because ‘he got Boro from 2nd to 5th’, but truly, the fact that we were even second for as long as we were, with an unbalanced squad full of players that weren’t Hellberg’s, shows his quality. He has my full backing for the season, and I’m very excited to see what Hellball 2.0 looks like. One(s) to watch? Will Lankshear for sure. He’s already off the mark in red and is one of the players we have who are on an upward trajectory. He could be England’s answer to Harry Kane. No pressure, like. As well, Seb Berhalter – another summer addition – has looked good in his first few cameos. Imps fans will know a bit about good set-piece delivery, so watch out for his – and his open-play crosses. I expect a decent few goals scored by Lankshear and created by Berhalter this season. Random fact about your Club? Our new badge incorporates the shape of the River Tees in the tongue of the lion, as well as local landmark Roseberry Topping in the space between the lion’s mane and left arm. Very cool details! Which were your favourite and least favourite matches involving Middlesbrough? Favourites – beating Brentford in the play-off semi-finals in 2015. A great night that couldn’t have gone any better for the Boro. The atmosphere when Lee Tomlin opened the scoring is a noise I will never forget, nor will I ever forget the iconic Daniel Mann screaming ‘KIKEEEEEEE’ when our Spanish cult-hero (still love him), doubled our lead. As well as that, the game against Brighton in 2016 that got us promoted finally; the 2-0 win over Manchester City in the cup in 2015; the two times we beat Manchester United on penalties; beating Chelsea at home in the cup a couple of seasons ago, and dispatching Tottenham Hotspur thanks to a goal from academy graduate Josh Coburn. Least favourite ones… God, there’ll be a few. I remember a game away at Barnsley. It must’ve been 2013, and we lost. Paddy McCourt, at one point, channelled his inner Lionel Messi (because everyone has one) to weave his way through the heart of our team to score. It spelled the end of the Tony Mowbray era. Seeing him pass the Boro end to complete the division, a mix of warm applause that were mostly drowned out by boos and jeers, was really quite uncomfortable. He’s a Middlesbrough hero after all. Which sides do you think will finish in the top eight and the bottom three? West Ham, Wolves; Southampton, Boro, Burnley, Millwall, Norwich, QPR. Blackburn, Lincoln (sorry!), Charlton. What are your thoughts on Lincoln City? A clever club. I appreciate your rise up to this point, as I remember that famous win against Burnley in 2017. My Dad worked in Lincoln for a bit a couple of years ago and couldn’t speak any higher of the people around there. He even came home with a Lincoln scarf! That will not be brought to the Riverside on Saturday, mind, but it’s pretty cool to have – especially with such a unique badge being on it! If you could steal one Lincoln City player for your team, who would it be and why? Boro have a buy smart, sell even smarter kind of model (for the most part), so emerging talent like Andrei Coubis or Ivan Varfolomeev would be on my radar. I’ve heard Varfolomeev is like a terrier in midfield, so I’m keen to see that and how he is in possession. There’s a lot for me to learn about this Lincoln side – and that’s only a good thing! What is your prediction for this match? 2-0 Boro; Lankshear and Whittaker. What were your thoughts when Morgan Rogers signed, and did you think he’d go on to be an £117m England international when he left? I quite liked the signing of Rogers at the time. He fit the way Boro were trying to play, and the approach of recruiting players with untapped potential. The funny thing is, I don’t think that potential was even realised at Boro. He was doing okay before joining Aston Villa, but nothing more than that. You could see he was growing and developing and getting better, but he still had a way to go. To be honest, I thought Villa wouldn’t even use him as much as they did. I thought he’d be a good depth option, but not a starter. How wrong was I! It’s been great to watch his development from afar. He’s a nice lad and a great talent and he deserves his success.