Fan favourite George guest at awards
GEORGE Friend has been announced as a special guest for the upcoming Middlesbrough end-of-season awards - with the recently-retired Boro favourite taking part in a Q&A session on the night.
Boro recently announced a revamped awards evening for this season which will take place at the Town Hall on Thursday, May 2.
As well as awards being handed out such as Men and Women’s Player of the Year, Boro fans have also been promised live interviews with Michael Carrick, Jonny Howson, Women’s head coach Mick Mulhern and Women’s captain Sarah Burn.
Hosted by BBC Radio Tees presenter Gary Philipson, there will also be live music as well as special guest appearances, with the first confirmed attendee being Friend.
The defender, who made 299 appearances for the club and became a fan-favourite in his time at the Riverside, recently announced his retirement from playing, stepping into the director of football role at Bristol Rovers.
Friend has been confirmed as a guest for the awards evening and will be taking part in an on-stage question and answer session with supporters. Fans also get to have their say on who wins the awards, with voting already open on the Men’s Player of the Year on the club website.
The newly-revamped event comes after they were held in the Riverside hospitality areas in previous years in a dinner-style event. The new format is aimed at encouraging more fans to come and be involved in the end-ofseason celebrations, with Carrick recently stating his support.
The Boro head coach said: “It’s always important to appreciate the efforts everyone has gone to. Sometimes when you’re winning games or you’re having success, those efforts are easy to see. But whether you’re having success or having struggles or whatever, it’s never not for the want of trying, sacrifice and effort from everyone.
“I think it’s important we do understand that and recognise that. It has been a season that we’ve had to appreciate that more. It’s had a little bit of everything but hopefully we can finish on a real high and have something to share together.”
n Tickets for the Town Hall event on May 4 are still available on the club website. General tickets are on sale at £30 with 2023-24 Season Card holders able to take advantage of a discounted price of £25. VIP tickets are priced at £1,500 per table of 10 or £150pp. All tickets are subject to a £2.50pp booking fee.