George Friend opens up on Birmingham City move, contract talks with Neil Warnock and Middlesbrough highlights

That was because Friend’s last game at the Riverside was played out in an empty stadium. Boro were beaten 3-1 by Cardiff City as the 2019/20 season concluded behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite an injury-hit campaign, the 33-year-old started all nine games after football resumed following the first lockdown in June, and was a key player as the Teessiders stayed up under new manager Neil Warnock.

Friend, a popular figure with the Boro fans, was out of contract at the end of the season and was offered a one-year extension to stay in the North East.

Ultimately, though, a number of circumstances caused the player to move on, with an offer from Birmingham to work with former Boro boss Aitor Karanka an appealing proposition.

This weekend Friend will return to the Riverside with the Blues and is disappointed that a crowd will still be absent from the fixture.

“It was hard leaving Middlesbrough and was a tough thing to go,” said Friend during a Zoom call with the media on Thursday. “I’m just disappointed there aren’t any fans there because it was the first fixture I looked for Middlesbrough away.

“I thought at the start there may be a couple of thousand in there under those old rules but there’s going to be no one. But there are a lot worse things going on so I’ll just have to take that and they’ll be another opportunity I’m sure.”

When asked about his conversations with Warnock over a new deal at the end of last season, Friend replied: "He said they wanted me to stay and offered me a year. Neil was brilliant with me from day one when he came in and obviously we managed to stay up which was the aim.

“He was excellent all the time, I think he mentioned something about potentially being a squad player and at the time personally I felt I could offer more than that.

“It’s not that it was getting to a stage where I was unhappy or anything like that, it was probably the right time to move on and there were a few other family reasons and things like that for moving down South. The opportunity to work with Aitor again was something I wanted to do.

“It wasn’t one reason or one incedent, it was a lot of different things but I really remember my time there fondly.”

Following that game against Cardiff at the Riverside in July, a picture emerged on social media of Friend sitting inside an empty stadium and taking in his surroundings.

“I didn’t know at that point I was leaving, it was obviously the last home game of the season,” admitted Friend when asked about the photo.

“To be honest I used to go out and sit inside an empty stadium at the Riverside quite a lot but I think at that point it was all the emotion of it being the last game of the season there. I’d hoped I’d stay on and wasn’t sure, it was all up in the air a little bit.

“I wouldn’t normally sit there like that so quickly after a game, that was certainly a one off.

“I did see the picture, I’m not on social media but I did get shown the picture in the end and I hope the picture shows I did give everything to the club, loved the club and could sit there at the Riverside because I enjoyed every minute of playing there."

Friend would play one more match for Boro, away at Sheffield Wednesday, before bringing to an end his eight-year association with the club.

In that time the defender was part of the Teessiders’ 2015/16 promotion-winning side, a season which culminated with a 1-1 home draw against Brighton which sealed a return to the Premier League.

Friend also captained the side in the top-flight and went on to become Boro’s permanent skipper a few years later.

When asked about his Boro highlights, Friend replied: “Obviously the Brighton game. I was also fortunate to captain the side in the first game back to the Premier League against Stoke at home so that was a big moment.

“I have to say more recently just to avoid relegation. For me personally I had a long injury all that season and really worked hard to make sure I got back and played the games. I played those games after lockdown which enabled us to stay up.

“I’m not saying I did it single-handedly but I felt I was a big part of that and made sure I gave everything I had to make sure the club didn’t get relegated. It was tight at one point and credit to everyone involved we managed to do it.”

So what does Friend make of this current Boro team which are competing for a play-off place under Warnock, and how does it compare to the successful side he was part of under Karanka?

The defender didn’t want to make too many comparisons and insisted he’s focused on achieving a result with Birmingham this weekend.

Still, he’s been impressed with what Warnock is building.

“I can see there are some young, hungry players there which is important, I think you need that in a promotion team,” said Friend when asked about Boro.

“I don’t think any two teams are that similar but I do see a team with drive that could be successful so they are looking strong.

“Obviously I hope on Saturday that Birmingham can come out victors because we are good on the road as well.”

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