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Sean can be a ledge at the Boro! - Date: 17 Sep 2009

What a terrific Tuesday it was in South Yorkshire watching Boro’s second half demolition job on Sheffield Wednesday to add another three points and goals to the tally and keep us flying high.

Those points moved Middlesbrough FC up to 2nd in the league, in the early stages of what will be a long Championship football campaign.

However the promising news did not end there for Boro after highly-rated defender Sean St Ledger was snapped up on a loan deal with a view to a permanent transfer in the January transfer window.

With Robert Huth gone, Chris Riggott’s injury problems dragging on and Emanuel Pogatetz on the road to a return but not guaranteed to stick around beyond next summer, Gareth Southgate might well have pulled a rabbit out of the hat with this deal.

St Ledger is only 24 and already a five-capped Republic of Ireland international. He is a proven quality Championship player and grabs the odd goal with eight from 128 appearances for the Lilywhites.

Indeed North End chief Alan Irvine rates St Ledger highly and has backed him to be a top performer at Premier League level so hopefully we will get to find out in just under 12 months’ time at Boro!

On St Ledger, Irvine was quoted as saying, “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with him and Middlesbrough have got a really good player. I think he'll continue to improve and go on to be a top player."

The onus is now on St Ledger to force his way into the starting XI and try to forge a good partnership with David Wheater in his favoured central defensive role. And that will be no easy task as Seb Hines has stood in reasonably well in the past two victories.

However, after the summer transfer frustration, it looks like Boro are finally getting it right off the field with their dealings as they are doing well on it at the moment.

The already bubbling strike force is also set to be bolstered by the arrival of Hull’s Caleb Folan in the coming days, while Everton’s James Vaughan could also turn up for a loan stint which is all good news!

So 16 points from seven games has seen us rise to second spot at the time of typing and a big game against West Brom at the Riverside on Saturday coming up. The hangover from relegation is starting to clear so let’s hope we can carry on the momentum and, like our football betting odds of promotion, keep going onwards and upwards!

Written by Craig Smithson, a Middlesbrough season-ticket holder and a sports writer who blogs about football betting.

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