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Let’s be honest, Ali Brownlee was never going to miss Boro’s Premier League return, was he?

Teesside grieved when the “Voice of the Boro” died in February, months before his beloved boys achieved promotion back to the top flight.

But come 3pm today, when the whistle blows to mark Boro’s return to the big league, their biggest fan will make his presence felt at the Riverside once more.

A banner will be flown over the ground. And on it will be one of Ali’s most legendary quips: “Everyone round my house for a parmo”.

Well, a slightly amended version of that gem, famously uttered at the end of that 2006 Steaua Bucharest Uefa Cup clash.

“The original line Ali said was ‘Everybody around my house for a parmo’, but we were limited to 35 characters so we had to shorten it a bit!” said Thornaby’s Mark Squires.

He’s the Boro fan who crowdfunded the £900 needed to make it happen.

It was supposed to be flown over the Riverside as Boro clinched promotion, but low cloud put the brakes on that.

But it means that fans will today will get to once again pay their respects to the Teesside football giant in a game he would have undoubtedly loved to have commentated on.

“I’m sure he would love it,” added Mark.