I think the current fashionable phrase is “squeaky bum time” for this part of the season, a more usual Teesside phrase is “brown trousers time” or “5p, 50p”. Some time ago I said 37 points would be the safety margin. So it appears to be.

It’s the back end of the season and with two matches to go we find ourselves looking over our shoulders and contemplating the horrible prospect of relegation. 36 points, 2 games to get 1 point from.

Β The situation is simply this, win and we are safe, thats it, job done, we can get on with pointing fingers at various parties, muttering darkly about “never again” “need to push on” and “we need at least 3 new players”, pretty much a typical summer as a Boro fan. Lose, and we could be in the mire. The current situation is that it’s Derby plus two from Wigan, Middlesbrough, Bolton, Reading, Birmingham and Fulham.
Not pleasant reading is it?
The complex maths on this one are best explained here.

We can be sure of only a couple of things
- Following the Boro is never, ever boring
- Everyone has an opinion

Come Saturday you will be able to see the effects of results coming in as ripples round the ground, tranny man leans over to tell his mate two rows in front, Wigan winning, Bolton drawing, they will all cause waves as whispers get passed from one fan to another. People will take their eyes off the game to look at their phones as they get a text message “Brum 1 0″ and try and work out if that means Birmingham have won, won by 1 or on by 10.

It is going to be a very very stressful 90 or so minutes.

My advice, take a change of underwear to the game, you may need it.