My love affair with Middlesbrough Football Club began in 1967 when my dad and granddad introduced me to the delights of watching the local football team from the Holgate End at Ayresome Park.

Back in the 1960s, football was still a cheap form of Saturday afternoon entertainment, in fact for my first season the cost of admission was free, as like many other youngsters I was allowed to squeeze in through the turnstile alongside my dad.

The opening season in my football education was great as Boro gained promotion from Division Three playing fast, attacking football.

The manager was Stan Anderson who was the guest of the Middlesbrough former players association for the match with Spurs last Saturday.

I caught up with Stan, who remains the only player to captain Newcastle, Sunderland and Boro, to not only reminisce about 1967 but also for inclusion in the feature I record on every home match for Tyne Tees Television.

There are many similarities between Anderson and the current boss Gareth Southgate, both went straight from captaining Boro to managing Boro and they both believe in football being played with the accent on entertainment.

Speaking to many of the players who were managed by Anderson, a common theme seems to be if he had sacrificed, on occasions, the attacking style to grind out results then he would have guided the team into the top flight and not have suffered the frustrations of season on season narrowly missing out.

Anderson's response to the pleas of his players 40 years ago remains, as I found out, the same today in that the fans deserved to be entertained and he would have rather given up the hot seat than send his team out to defend.

Before the match with Spurs many wondered if Southgate would sacrifice his attacking principles in a bid to move away from the drop zone but by playing two strikers and continuing to include the creative influence of Fabio Rochemback, the accent was still on attack, even though it was a terrific shot from full back Luke Young that rescued a point.

Going back to early days at Ayresome, even my young ears could detect that the home supporters, especially those who congregated in the terracing in front of the south stand, could be just as tough on their own players as the opposition.

Working life on Teesside was, and indeed, remains hard with sacrifices having to be made to support the Boro and the fans have every right to their opinions.

I just wonder if, on occasions, they are a little harder on a local youngster than say some of the footballers purchased for millions of pounds.

A case in point seems to be Stewart Downing, the local lad from Pallister Park, who did not have the best of games against Spurs and was given a tough time by some sections of the crowd.

I have known Stewart since he joined the club as a bright young prospect and remember many exciting displays he has put at the Riverside.

The highlight is probably his performance against Steaua Bucharest in the semi final second leg of the UEFA Cup when his brilliant last minute cross was headed in by Massimo Maccarone and in celebration on Century FM, I invited everyone round my house for a parmo!

Downing can be, on his day, one of the most effective wingers in the Premier League and has a pivotal role to play in getting Boro away from the drop zone.

I recall speaking about Downing to another great Boro winger, Stuart Ripley, who sadly had to leave his hometown club to win a medal, as part of the Premiership-winning side at Blackburn Rovers.

Ripley is a big fan of Downing's but he also remembered how the support of the fans at Ayresome could strike fear into the full back and give him that extra ten per cent.

Perhaps in the next Riverside game with Aston Villa we can try a bit of the Ayresome fear factor and help Downing back to the top of his game.

I have reported on Boro now for over 25 years and have been fortunate enough to commentate on Century fm on some of the greatest matches in the club's history, the Carling Cup final win of 2004 will always be a special memory together with the run to the UEFA Cup final in 2006.

All that is a far cry from my first matches watching Boro play in Division Three when the furthest the team had progressed in any cup competition was the FA Cup quarter-final.

It is also a reminder that although Boro have not had the start to the Premier League season they would have wanted, just how much the club has progressed, particularly during the last ten years.

I have taken a look back over the past quarter of a century in my new book "Voice of the Boro" which also contains a complimentary CD with some of the commentary highlights over the years.

It is priced £12 and available from all good bookshops or through www.linthorpe publishing.co.uk.

Sponsored by Joe Rigatonis, it also contains the recipe for the perfect parmo!