Numbers Stack Up As Boro Win Ugly
BORO were laboured, scrappy and lucky. Passes went astray, they lacked urgency and the fluid movement of late and they needed a huge slice of good fortune to hold on against a rock bottom side who haven't even scored away from home let alone won as the ball landed to Simpson eight yards out in stoppage time and he blasted it straight at Wheater.
But isn't it great to be moaning about winning ugly than moaning about defeat?
There is a lot to criticise about that disjointed display. Gordon Strachan himself wasn't best pleased. He wasn't prepared to say whether he had given the lads a rollicking - "that kind of thing stays in the dressing room," he said... "but I wasn't happy" - but he did point to some possible reasons for such a sluggish and shapeless display.
"Maybe they lacked a bit of football intelligence," he said. "Maybe they didn't show enough respect to the other team. Or maybe some people thought it was going to be easy after going a goal ahead."
Whatever, after the first 20 minutes when Boro threatened to tear a Posh side on their third manager of the season apart and score a shedload, they faded fast. They still had the majority of chances: Flood, Miller and Robson all had good chances in the first half and several times after the break Franks sent good balls into the box that went begging while fit again Alaidiere got into a great position and may have scored with his first touch.
Peterborough though fought back into the game and while they struggled to create real chances they almost levelled in first half stoppage time as Frecklington brought a superb full length save from Coyne, then in injury time in the second half Simpson's goalbound effort was deflected wide off Wheater after a scramble.
It wasn't pretty. In fact it was pug ugly. It was deep in bulldog/wasp territory. Passes were going astray; possession was conceded cheaply; the little flicks and touches around the opposition box weren't coming off; super Willo Flood buzzed about to no avail; Scott McDonald wasn't the galvanising presence he had been against Barnsley....
But Boro won and at the end of the day, that's all that counts.
Strachan wasn't offering any excuses although he did point to the injury crisis that has forced him to reshuffle his squad again.
Against Barnsley in midweek he managed to pretty much field a first choice side but with Gary O'Neil struggling with his groin and Emanuel Pogatetz suffering from a virus, Chris Killen also having a knock and Tony Mcmahon revealed to have been struggling for two months with a stress fracture of a toe it was a case of two steps forward one step back.
Added to that Strachan was forced to play Wheater with a heavily strapped knee, Walker was back from a shoulder injury and hadn't featured all season for Boro and his only action had been on loan at Northampton, Joe Bennett hadn't started under the new boss and McDonald was tired after playing the full 90 in midweek on his firstgame back from a hernia operation. So far from ideal.
The rejig forced Strachan to start with yet another new back line, yet another combination up front, yet another captain and field what could well be the youngest ever left flank in club history.
The game helped clock up enough numbers to give you a start on this week's lottery selections.
18 - With Bennett in at left back Boro started with their 18th different defensive permutation this term.
13 - With Lee Miller making his first Riverside start alongside McDonald it was the 13th front pairing - Killen has played six games and lined up with a different partner in every game.
4 - With O'Neil out Barry Robson was handed the armband to become the fourth captain this season (and possibly the one that Strachan sees as the best long term option).
37 - Josh Walker being rescued from the Hurworth black hole and thrown into the fray meant he became the 37th different player used this season - that equals the previous modern high of the 1997-98 promotion season under Bryan Robson. The only season where more were used was the very first campaign as a professional club back in 1892.
19 - On the left flank there was a brand new rookie pairing - or at least in the senior team - as Bennett and Franks started. Both are still just 19 and they had 13 league starts between them.
6 - Most importantly of all, the unbeaten run now stretches to six game and three of those have been wins and those 12 points from 18 have pushed Boro back into play-off contention.
Boro can still make it through to take their chances in the lottery of the play-offs but a lot will rest on the outcome of the next run of games when they travel to rival contenders Blackpool, Forest and Cardiff and entertain QPR and Newcastle.
Boro will need to play better than they did against Peterborough if they are to come through those fixtures with the numbers still stacking up in their favour.
*********
STEVE Gibson told the Gazette today Boro had "stopped the rot" behind the scenes after 12 months of financial turmoil and the near catastrophic effect of relegation.
THere's not a lot there that we didn't know, or at least, couldn't have read between the lines but it is a step forward that the recent past is now being spoken of in a positive light and maybe we can draw some comfort in that the club appear to be breathing a sigh of relief after some swift financial footwork.
Maybe the summer firesale and debt reshuffle has avoided Boro being bracketed in with basketcases like Portsmouth, West Ham, Cardiff, Crystal Palace and all the others who find their toughest fixtures these days are at the High Court against the taxman.
*******
MEANWHILE, cameras from the Beeb followed Eric Paylor every inch of the way before during and after Saturday's game with Peterborough for a feature on " a day in the life of a local football reporter." It will be shown on tonight's "Late Kick Off" presented by one time "Red Balls On Fire" man Clem and Keith Lamb's best mate Danny Mills (11.30pm).
So it will all come out... the pre-match cottage pie, the gasps of shock that Josh Walker had not only been found down the back of the sette at Hurworth but was in the team, the cynical quips and groans at misplaced passes, the hasty press box conferring over who put the cross in and which donkey missed the easy clearance before the consensus arises that it was "that big bloke running back now", and of course, the post-match presser with GS2.
As I chowed down with Eric and sit next to him in press box (the Gazette have a designated section hived off with silk ropes and a bouncer and woe betide any unsuspecting interloper who makes the mistake of sitting there) no doubt my own ugly mug will make a brief cameo. Although no doubt the best bits will be cut out.
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You said it all AV.
Look at the ages of some of the players. 3 points is 3 points. Learning is a much maligned word around here, but we are talking about young players, every game is a learning curve.
If we are to make the play offs, there will be a few performances like today. The most important thing is confidence, winning breeds it. The winning mentality is everything, how it is achieved is immaterial. We wanted a team that was capable of being succesful, the league table shows we are improving.
I know it is a cliche, but lets take one game at a time.
Yes We Still Can!
The best bit about today was GS2's interview. As much as I liked Gareth, had he been in charge today, he would have stressed how the result was important, not the performance. Not GS2, he wasn't happy, and rightly so. It was a sloppy performance after the first ten, and we were lucky to hang on at the end.
Having said that, our grit and determination to win shone through again. Barry Robson was outstanding, and a central midfield of him and GON must be a daunting thought for opposition teams.
Quite dodgy at times as noted, but we got there in the end. Barry Robson was splendid in his interim captaincy role - should be a natural fit if something happens w/ GON. The discipline needs to be tempered though - a less lenient referee might have sent him off today.
Hard to argue w/ Wheats as MOM per Gary Gill, especially after the late match heroism - Happy Birthday lad! Go hit the tiles tonight, you've earned your lager...
After the way the last few months have panned out we'll take winning ugly, not ideal but keeps the run going and right now it's points on the board which count. It'd be nice to have a settled team once a month though !
Satisfied with the win proberbly too many changes due to injuries.
It would be good to get some consistency going. But as you have correctly added, too many changes the whole season.
I hope some of the players were not risked against the bottom club and are back for the tough run ahead. The team that started against Barnsley is close to whatGS2 sees as his first choice and yes they were good enough to beat anybody in first half.
Other results did not go for us but hey we are two points adrift now i will be happy if we are still two adrift when Leicster and Cardiff have played their games in hand.
Have you given up on the live Blog yet?
**AV writes: No we haven't given up because it was good fun and building quite a lively audience but clearly we will have to look at it. I'm not going to run it if it is not going to work. It is very frustrating.
It was messy, wasn't it, and yet, odd to say, there were several (in my opinion) really good performances in there.
Danny Coyne was good; McManus and Wheater were excellent; Robson began to show (for the first time, I thought) what an authoritative player he could be, exactly what we have needed for some time, a midfield player who can pass incisively forward as well as win the ball back from any careless opposition, a bit Souness-like.
Willo was as energetic as ever (not his best game, but still a good one); and I have heard very few voices saying how well Franks played, not just showing a marked improvement with his left-foot crossing, but causing as many problems as anyone (bar Robson) to the Peterborough defence with his pace, his control, even his tackling back.
McDonald showed some deft touches, without looking as sharp as against Barnsley; Joe Bennett put in some nice, clean tackles and had a few decent wing-back raids; Aliadiere had an awful shot, but looked as if he wants his place back, held the ball up well and offloaded mostly to Boro players.
Miller, Walker, Hoyte and Naughton were distinctly average, but, in view of the fact that this team has never played together, the signs are that Strachan is doing what the best managers do (like Clough, like Wenger, like Fergie) - establishing a coherent playing style and letting each man know what his job is - and informing them loudly from the touchline of exactly when they are falling short of their appointed tasks.
I think we could well take points from Forest and Blackpool!
For Barnsley read Watford and Leicester and Blackpool, for Posh read Plymouth.
For that matter read Sunderland and Reading and West Brom and Bolton.
Games which we have lost this and previous seasons. So there does appear to be a sea change, whether it is enough to get us into the play offs is another matter.
All we can do is try and win the matches we play in, we cant go back and win those matches already gone. We cant go back to Jan 2009 and bring some steel and experience.
We cant play other teams matches for them though I will be exerting all the mental effort I can to impose negative thoughts into the opposition's minds. Maybe Forever can get his mates to send some beer to the opposition!
A good result at Blackpool will set us up for a visit to that place that Smog doesnt like to talk about. There will be 70% of the East Midlands lending their moral support. A week tomorrow I will be hero or villain at work in Derby.
I guess most supporters will have been happy to win ugly as they've put up with several seasons of losing ugly. It has always been a cliche that good teams can win ugly when necessary - though like most cliches it often hides the truth that it was just a bad performance with a bit of luck.
It's interesting that Boro have now used 37 different players - which is over three teams - no wonder consistency is a problem. However, six games undefeated is definitely a sign that some kind of corner has been turned - but I agree that the real test of the recovery is about to begin with the next six games.
OK, given that teams above us still have games in hand then the play-offs are still just about in range - but I wonder if another season in the Championship would be better for all concerned?
The team would get a chance to gel properly before being tested against the punishers of mistakes in the PL - plus the fans might need time to rediscover the enjoyment of winning games before returning once more to the soul destroying runs of games without a victory that surely await us in the PL.
I think most people would prefer to take their chances back in the limelight than risk the consequences of another season in the Championship - which on balance is probably the best option as we may well have to settle on becoming a yoyo club for a while - especially as Boro won't be splashing the cash anymore if they get promoted.
Terrible game to watch. However, two months ago we would either have drawn or lost that game al-a Plymouth.
I thought the front two were awful, and it was a shame we couldn't build on such a positive start. I was a little puzzled why, with the best move of the match to produce the goal, that we didn't try it again. I suppose that goes down to typical Boro.
It is good to see some lady luck coming our way, because we got it in bucket fulls yesterday. Taking into account your commentary above A.V. we have to say that the 3 points gained were probably fortuitous to say the least. We are not too naive to accept that these are the kind of grinded out results that could get us into the playoffs.
Blackpool here we come....
When you read articles like this and look at the injuries the boro have had this season (on top of the players who have left the club) if, and it is still a big if at this stage, we manage to get into the play offs and get promoted then that is a phenomenal achievement.
Yes people at the club have made my mistakes along the way and yes we have taken backward steps in the last few years but we need to start looking forwards and not backwards. I believe that we may have turned a corner under Gordon Strachan, this will be confirmed one way or another in the next few games.
I for one am starting to believe, it is a new era for the boro. As said by WGS in his recent interview, the days where we have world-beaters on massive salaries are over. They were great times but simply not sustainable.
It is time for a new Boro, one where the players play for the shirt and for the fans not for the pay packet. I for one am happy with this new approach and will support the Boro hopefully all the way back to the premiership, where we belong.
UTB
Brandon said: Hard to argue w/ Wheats as MOM per Gary Gill, especially after the late match heroism - Happy Birthday lad! Go hit the tiles tonight, you've earned your lager...
As long as his Mam dosen't have to put him to bed !
**AV writes: As long as it is only one pint. There's a match on Tuesday.
You could tell McDonald wasn't 100%. We did have times when we were fortunate, such as when Wheats deflected what would have been an almost certain equaliser (and loser of 2 points) at the very end of the game. And I accept it was a game "won ugly".
However ugly wins earn the same points as thrilling attacking displays with a clean sheet, and on balance I agree that (to a large extent) you earn your luck. Often it is won with hard work on the training field and it is seems that we might be seeing a "tougher" mindset from the players than before.
We are seeing more fight, but it's still early days and there probably will be a few "downs" along what I hope will be a largely upwards trajectory.
An OK afternoon's work, but I am pleased that GS2 doesn't appear satisfied, and wants more for the future.
What about some songs for the new boys.
Scott Mcdonald scored a goal, ei ei o.
He's only on loan, he's only on loan, Kyle Naughton, he's only on loan.
Struggling with the others at the moment but there must be a tune out there that fits a name like Willo Flood.
Any one else have any ideas?
Gordon has just saves this club from disaster. The january yield of points - if you look at where we would have been if it had went the other way, its that tight.
Just a note, look who we play last game of the season,can I hear Bogey (hope not)
I'm a little confused by all this talk of needing luck/fortune to gain three points on Saturday.
The opposition managed to get TWO chances on target in 90 minutes. We may have gifted them possession a little easily, but they did not manage to do a hell of a lot with it. The blocked shot in the last couple of minutes had nothing to do with luck, it was simply a great piece of defending by our local lad Mr Wheater.
If our players had managed to get a measly two efforts on target in a game, we would not be sympathising with them & talking about them being "unlucky". We would be lambasting them for a terrible performance & pointing out that they got exactly what their efforts deserved, nowt !!
Oh no, keep Wheats off the lager please!
But a great result, not a great performance, but with another new team due to injuries, we did remarkably well. Gritty, determined and ultra professional, this is the kind of team that Strachan promised. Oh don't you wish we had this team from the start of the campaign?
But here we are, still in with a shot at the play-offs, and everything to play for. Come on Boro - I and a few others are starting to believe in the Strachan revolution. But what an important week to come.
Could we be dancing on the north pier on Tuesday night...?
Brandon said: .....go hit the tiles tonight, you've earned your lager...
I wouldn't advocate that! The lad would be severely admonished by the gaffer and he could jeopardise his place in the squad. There are plenty of ways to celebrate without getting plastered. Ask Forever! ;o)
Now we have to wait with fingers crossed for the damage report. Who will limp in on Monday with a broken rib, torn Achilles or man flu?
There is a lot of good things happening but I hope it is put at risk because we run out of bodies. We are not that far away from having Tayls and Hoyte back in midfield
I hope GS2 can quickly get a few more loanees in that fit his mentality because we will need them if we are to make the play-offs.
The change in attitide on Teesside over the last fews weeks has been incredible. All the whinging about the surly Scot and results has died away and suddenly everyone wants Gordon Strachan's ginger babies and everyone is high on foam finger fumes. It;s brilliant.
I think we finally hit rock bottom after the collapse from Eindhoven at some point between Southgate belatedly getting the bullet and Strachan getting to grips with the squad and deciding he needed to rip the whole thing apart. Maybe the Blackpool-cardiff-Newcastle run was the low point.
Since then I think he has put down a solid foundation in training with a new mentality and now he is bombing out the wasters and bringing in his own men and he is starting to build something for the future.
I think we really could be at the start of something here...
AV
I normally donâÂÂt write long messages on here, but I have been really enjoying the banter about memory lane, and team spirit and the need for a new song and I have a few memories I would like to share.
I was born in the Boro in 1964 and then in 1990 moved to Glasgow shortly before Mogga and Andy Payton joined Celtic and Chris Morris and Derek Whyte joined the Boro, so you can guess what happened next, I started following Celtic as my second team !!
Anyhow one of my biggest memories of going to Parkhead, particularly with an old firm game, was listening to 50,000 supporters all singing the Celtic theme song in unison and the passion it brought to the crowd and the inspiration to the players.
You know when I occassionally get to a Boro game, all you get is pigbag at the start, a few half hearted starts at something and âÂÂCome On BoroâÂÂ, but mostly it is quiet and you hear somebody whingeing and booing and saying you're rubbish (insert Boro Players name here) and then turning round to their mates and saying âÂÂSee I told you he was ***&ing uselessâÂÂ
You cannot fail to agree with the sentiments echoed by pthompson on Feb11 at 6.19pm
âÂÂâÂÂOne thing that must be sorted out is the atmosphere at the Riverside, it is our achilles heel. I have travelled to many away grounds and our away fans are brilliant - the home fans need to generate the same atmosphere because believe it or not it is worth a few points a season.(currently to the other side because teams know the fans get on the Boro players back)
Also the Celtic lads will be used to good home voices and not the eerie silence at times. But this is now a cultural change for the fans and I wish I had a solution to the atmosphere at the Riverside because it is pretty dire.(The Holgate still takes some beating) âÂÂâÂÂâÂÂâÂÂâÂÂ
For an example of the Celtic crowd in unison singing the Celtic song that all the Bhoys supporters relate to , check out this video on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7255ftlOmM&feature=related
Moving on, in 1995 I emigrated to Australia and lived in Melbourne where Aussie Rules is extremely passionate and everybody has a team, but more importantly for this note every club has a theme song.
When I first got there my new work mates were all trying to convince me to follow this team or that team, but in the end I started following the Sydney Swans, because the Swans were a team that originally came from the area where I lived, but mostly because their strip was a red shirt with a white banner, and they had never won any trophies in over 60 years.
The big thing about the footy in Australia is that the club theme songs are very short and catchy tunes with normally only one verse that gets repeated, and here is the great part, at every ground once the final whistle blows, the club theme song of the team that won instantly bellows out around the ground on the loudspeakers.
So if your team is in with a chance of winning, a big highlight is that everybody hangs around the ground and spends the next ten minutes celebrating the victory by joining in the mass rendition of the club theme song. If you are interested the Swans theme song can be found below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2tFWD6aMq8
As a suggestion AV, I think you should start a movement through the Gazzette to come up with a new theme song for the club, one that we can all relate to and the crowd can sing in unison. As an example below I have taken the Sydney Swans theme song and added some Teesside flavour to it, but I am sure somebody could come up with some good alternatives.
Cheer, Cheer the red and the white,
Follow the Boro by day and by night
Lift that noble banner high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky
Whether the odds be great or small,
Smoggies will rise up and win over all
StrachanâÂÂs boys are marching onwards to victory!!!!!!!!!!
Finally for those of you who have never seen Aussie Rules below is a link to the last 4 minutes of the 2005 Grand Final at the MCG where the Swans clung on to win one of the most memorable finals in history. You can see and hear that immediately after the final siren goes, the Swans theme starts playing out around the ground. 2004/2005 were good years for supporters of the red and the white
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMwppgtjkwU
Up the Boro, the Boro is going up, the boroâÂÂs going up to stay, hey!!!!
Is Uncle Eric at training this morning? Are there eleven men training or is the 5 star accomodation full?
Hope GON is fit for Blackpool. Any news of a loan midfieilder yet as i fear Robson as good as he is will be suspended when we need him most ie play offs? But on the other side i doubt he would be the same player if he was told to curb it.
But with GON a bit injury prone and Robson suspention prone we definatly need some quality for cover.
Wheaters knee heavily strapped on Saturday.
AV you will have to keep us up to speed on events today.
**AV writes: They are working at it but they want the right people rather than just bring in bodies. GON should be Ok for Blackpool. Maybe Poggi too.
latest from Scotland...
GORDON STRACHAN inherited a car park full of supercars and a squad who thought they were superstars.
A team with a big man's swagger but a tin man's heart.
Which is why he spent January putting together SPL-on-Tees - and putting a soul in the middle of Middlesbrough.
Half-a-dozen players, hardened in Scotland, imported into a side with Premiership pretensions but a League Two libido to get the job done. Earning a fraction of some 35-grand-aweek team-mates - but not caring.
Because they're not driven by what size of rims they can put on their Bentley, they're driven by a set of values instilled in them to be the best they can.
That's why the former Celtic boss has raided the SPL - raised eyebrows or not.
And it's the reason Lee Miller is convinced the mass movement south by himself, Scott McDonald, Chris Killen, Stephen McManus, Barry Robson and Willo Flood CAN work.
You can never tell what is going to happen until the season unfolds. But you know exactly what you will get from every guy the gaffer has brought into the Boro dressing-room.
"The likes of Barry and Mick are bringing out the best in some of the other players here. I started my first game in the draw at Ipswich last weekend and you could see the spirit in the dressing-room at half-time, you could hear it in the gaffer's team talk.
"I know what he means about heart because I hate getting beaten. We all want to win but maybe the Scots lads show it a bit more. It's hard to put your finger on it.
"People will look at the fact the manager has brought in so many players from the SPL but there's no reason why that can't be a success.
"The Championship is a massive league and every game is tough but we have the mentality to push for promotion to the Premiership.
"I've played against big Mick, Willo, Scott and Chris up the road. I also played with Barry at Dundee United then faced up to him after he moved to Celtic. So I know what they all bring to this team.
"It's good to see Barry hasn't changed from his Tannadice days - he's still a doughnut! But he has a willingness to win like all the guys from Celtic. That's what they will bring to Boro.
"They're argumentative and moaners but that's the mentality of winners."
Strachan's heart transplant seems to be working. All five Celtic signings started in their midweek win over Barnsley - with Miller coming off the bench to help stretch Boro's unbeaten run to five games.
That has taken them to within striking distance of the play-offs after a slow start to the Strachan regime.
Wheater will have been off the beer if GS2 had anything to do with it, based on his News of The World interview (I didn't buy it, honest) - might also explain why Yeates was bombed out quickly if the rumours of him liking a drink are to be believed.
The more I hear GS2 speak, the more impressed I am. Even if we don't go up this season, I think the signs are good for next season.
As for a song for Willo Flood, the best tune for him is the one Danny Coyne already has.
Is Dietmar Hamann still on a free? Get him in..!
AV
Any news on the search for a left sided midfielder yet? And is Bryan Hughes at the club for a trial, as was speculated about?
A thought about a possibility struck me after reading the reports of the Preston/Blackpool draw - Preston's Ross Wallace.
Good left foot, great on set pieces, sticks his foot in, got a bit of 'attitude', Preston need the money and he's Scots. The only box he hasn't ticked is scoring against us - but he has the assists from earlier in the season.
Boro in ugly performance shock! No wait thatâÂÂs not right, thatâÂÂs been a far too regular occurrence. Boro in win ugly shock!! There you go, thatâÂÂs better. If you got points for the ugliness of a win then that was a full six pointer.
Yet again it was a bit of a hotch potch XI, but a steely resolve was still there and in truth they didnâÂÂt really threaten. But when itâÂÂs only one goal in the dying minutesâŠâÂÅ .well we have all been there before.
So six points were asked for from the two home games and duly delivered. But what would be a good return from this weeks fixtures? I think 2 points would be OK. It keeps the run going and also stops Blackpool from winning.
The least said about next Saturday the better. As Ian Gill says I donâÂÂt like to talk about the place. So much so, it proved buying a ticket for the match and travel quite difficult. I tried all sorts, home of Robin Hood, Lace, and Gun Capital of the UK. All met with confused silence. Fortunately I remembered the international sign for Nottingham. Problem was I was on the phone.
It is that time of the year when nearly every game has some significance and tomorrow night is a real belter. deciding who you want to win is a real problem.
The easy one is Blackpool v Boro, it is only those amongst Boro fans with unrequited love for Gate or pathological hatred of GS2 who are hoping for a slip up.
Bristol City v Leicester, easy one as we dont played City and they are some way behind us so come on you reds.
Cardiff v Baggies. The brain says you that West Brom are too far in front and that we cant rely on a ten point deduction for the Bluebirds so it is boing boing for me.
Derby v Preston. On the face of it not of huge interest but we play Derby soon and Preston are not too far behind so maybe a draw would suit.
Next up is a match of huge significance. Forest v SheffU. With us going to the City Ground on Saturday we dont want Forest to come out of their mini slump but SheffU winning would be a blow. Is a flukey Forest win the best result for us?
Amongst the rest a win for Plymouth against the Swans wouldnt go amiss nor would draws at the QPR and Scunnie games.
Wednesday has the Toon v Cov game, shouldnt really affect us but Cov just a few points behind. No, I cant bring myself to want Toon to win but as the season goes on maybe even my principles will be strained.
Looking far too far into the future, granted but it looks like the play off teams will now come from the top 9. Denying Blackpool 3 points tomorrow night could make that the top 8 only.
Also with crystal ball in hand I have checked out LeicesterâÂÂs fixtures. They may have two games in hand, but when do they fit them in? Have a look at this.
Sat 27/3 Away to Derby. By far their biggest game of any season. They hate each other
Tues 30/3 Away to Cardiff This is only one of the two rearranged games.
Friday 2/4 Away to West Brom Easter Sat Game moved forward
Mon 5/4 Home to QPR Easter Mon fixture
If they make the play offs fair play to them. Or if they lose two of those games all we have to do is match their results and beat them on the final day of the season to overtake them. Simples.
Like I say looking far too far into the future. But there will be plenty of twists and turns. The sooner we get in the top six the better.
P.s. can we all try and keep mentions of the F word to a minimum on here. Mr Gill I counted at least three in your last post alone.
I agree totally with Keenog Boro need a new theme song. You have to have one that is stirring and passionate and makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
We have plenty of music talent in this area. Lets have a 'borovision song contest'
and let the fans vote for the best one... hey not a bad idea that AV ?
will the live blog be running tomorrow night ?
**AV writes: I don't know yet. Depends on Mosso.
Smog
Ok I will back ofF or est ablish another way of getting Notts County's near neighbours into postings.
Read Gibbo's interview with Uncle Eric and I have my suspicions that in Jan 2009 the club were just hoping for the best in the relegation battle. Largely the same at the start of the current season but when we folded like a pack of cards in the home games the stark truth came home to Gibbo and Lamb.
Let us hope we can move on to better things in the near future, the last match of the season could be very tasty at the Walkers stadium.
Well done GORDON STRACHAN
A good reprimand of players after a poor performance is long overdue.
It grew weary to hear Gareth Southgate saying "I couldn't ask for more from the players"
Just read the rather lame interview with SG.
You know when you read history books of the collective naive mistakes that thankfully cost Hitler the war or Blair any lasting respect or Clive Sinclair any sort of sympathy?
You think, how the hell did that happen? How did it go on for so long? And why didnt anyone have the gonads to say to those in charge "hey, your gonna make a reet blob there sunshine?"
If ever there was a case of reading a websites comments then the Boro's recent fall from grace shows that this was avoidable.
Forgive me for lumping most of you in this category, but we really dont know what we are talking about, me included. Yes we comment, shout, type loudly, but we dont know the facts, we back the management (corporate and on field) safe in the knowledge that they know what they are doing.
But just as the atrocities of Uncle Joe Stalin came to light and Mao's odd take on capitalism starved his nation we find SG comes out after a victory to try a Alistair Campbell move of slipping in the truth just as we are still optimistically looking at the league table.
I am not a woman (steady), multi tasking isnt my forte, but between the games in hand calcs I spotted that most of us were right and that you didnt know what you were doing, and you fed us a line and then insulted us (I am an ex mackem, from 5 mile island) and all along you just got it wrong.
Maybe the corporate side of the organisation will be influenced by the on field staff and grow some?
Respect needs to be earned.
Knock on Flood?
Thanks Mr Gill,
You have just pushed me over the edge. I have had to self-diagnose and Dr Google reckons I suffer from âÂÅ ..yup you guessed it âŠâŠâŠâÂÅ Hylophobia.
Whilst in the internet waiting room I couldnâÂÂt hide my delight at one poor suffer when he was diagnosed as having Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. Try not to laugh when you google it and find out what it is a fear of.
Win or lose, sink or swim
One thing is certain, we'll never give in
Side by side, hand in hand
We all stand together
WE ALL STAND TOGETHER
Apologies for being apparently lazy but this is a copy of what I posted against the SG article on the main board - just wanted to have my say but in a way that carefully tries to avoid references to Stalin, Mao, Blair and C5PO!
These words should have been said some time ago. I think SG has taken a very sensible approach financially, that in the current [and future!] context is going to look very prescient.
However, some straight communication from the Club, at the right time and in the right way, would have been much better. This is something the Club needs to improve on DRASTICALLY to regain the trust that has been lost.
It feels like a parent/child relationship with the fans as the children, and the Club saying "Its not good news, so we'd better not tell them or they'll be upset - lets just tell them everything is ok until they're grown up enough to tell them the truth".
Noone is that stupid, we all could see what was happening and just wanted to know the truth. The bad results and lack of openness from a Club that states over and over that it is 'for the people' simply drove people away.
Lessons, BIG lessons, need to be learned at the Club - from SG down. In the same way that GS2 wants 'men' [not in the gender sense but in the 'adult' sense] in the team - the Club needs to treat the supporters in the same way and encourage 'adult' communication.
On the field - I like the way the team is coming along, I like the steel and determination - with injuries lessening and the team gelling as they get to know each other this is looking promising - the Playoffs are realistic this season, though another season in the Championship while the team matures and the financial storms rage around us might not be a bad idea, much as it grieves me to say it!
It was lovely to see Stewart Downing on TV yesterday.
So many people miss the real beauty of Stewart. His best moment wasn't the crosses it was when Villa were under pressure and 2-1 down.
Palace were bullying Villa and they could not clear the ball without it coming straight back. The ball broke to Stewart quite close to the corner flag .....he brought it under control with a deft touch and despite the pressure he calmly and smoothly feigned to go one way then created an opening to chip an exquisite ball down the line to a team mate. Pressure released and Villa never looked back.
Before that happened no Villa player had the composure to restore order and remove the panic
Stewart Downing - Calm - Skilful - Unselfish and BRAVE !. A truly marvelous footballer - I'm so pleased for him.
Clubs have to move forward by capping players wages and reducing ticket prices football needs too be revamped totally!
Want players to play for the Club and to fight tooth and nail for the Club they play for!
Seen too many players bunking off to another Club when they have been Relegated Especially at The Boro!
Time to ring the changes AND for Managers to be In control and not The Players!
Uxter, i initially shared the same thoughts as you on the Gibson article. However in Gibsons defence i do recall reading an interview with him on 21st December last year which was a centre page spread in a national newspaper (NOTW i think).
He pretty much opened his heart and poured out his reasons for sacking GS and why it was the right thing to do.
What i still find totally unbelievable is that they didnt expect relegation! Do they not see patterns emerging? Every Boro fan could see the relegation coming from the xmas, why couldnt Gibson as a 'Middlesbrough lad' see it?
My honest feeling is that deep deep down Gibbo wasnt too bothered about being relegated. It provided many comfortable excuses to cut costs that the fans wouldnt have stood for had we stayed in the prem.
Lets face it the last time we were faced with relegation El Tel was drafted in as a last desperate bid to stave it off. Where was that kind of action this time around? There wasnt any! which speaks volumes to me.
Still here we are in the midst of our most exciting season for years. Grinding out results which is just as exciting for the fans as thrashing sides 3 or 4 nil.
When did we last win a series of 1-0 games? It must be a long long time ago, seasons ago in fact.
Uxter,
OK Steve Gibson may have made a few mistakes of late but surely his crimes pale in comparison with those of Adolf, Uncle Joe, Mao, Tony Blair (along with his sidekick Alistair Campbell) and not forgetting that world dominating meglamaniac Clive Sinclair (wasn't he head of Spectrum?).
So despite the underlying anger, I think supporters will need to draw a line under what SG said or didn't do if the club is to move forward under Strachan - but that's not to say he doesn't need to regain the supporters trust - though surely the time for the venting of negative energy has passed.
By-the-way AV, apparently you'll have to start a new blog now as Godwin's law has been invoked.
**AV writes: Nah, we'll let it roll until we unleash a blitzkrieg on Blackpool.
Uxter
One wonders if young Gordon has ruffled more than just the feathers on the football side of the club.
Talking of Black Holes, has Jones replaced Walker in solitary confinement.
Good to see the Beeb will have an Uncle Eric special. We look forward to AV, 'one of our own', munching away alongside Uncle, maybe we will catch a fleeting glimpse of Masso.
Will it be on BBC's iplayer? I have to be up very early tomorrow.
re AV's comment at 11.29am today, I suspect that Mosso Cloudfiles shares a physio with Didier Digard. The poor physio's couch will have been getting some hammer!
News headline fromm the Evening Gazette: "Boro physio in shock RSI injury horror through overwork".
I live in Canada and follow all the Boro news as well as the scores. I know the team has a lot of injuries but what concerns me as to why.
I coached gymnastics both in the north east and also here in Canada. It was always impressed on me during coaching seminars that the way to avoid injuries was to work on flexibility.
My grandson who plays football, called soccer here, works very hard on his flexibility with my help and has only had a few minor knocks etc as he seems to ride tackles no matter how rough.
So do the Boro work hard on their flexibilty, if not, why not? I am sure they would be must better able to ride the tackles.
By the way my grandson is a very good player with the right attitude and his coaches have high hopes for him.
Forgive my own lager-soaked post from late Sat re: Wheats suggested celebration...I had the rounds reserved for him, w/ a few more for good measure...
Lime cordials for all players until June - save the hard stuff for our tattered nerves!
Good comment scoredraw.
It's nice to see Stewie doing well, a wonderful footballer, great attitude and hard worker for the team and the stick he got here last season was unwarranted. People complained about his form slipping but let's face it it wasn't just Stewie and he was pretty much carrying the team most of the season.
Fan's also forget the personal issue he had over the legal matters related to his agent, accused of fraud over his finances. I think I'd find it hard to work 100% with that going on in the background.
Villa are a good club and I'm glad he went there and not Spurs. I wish him the best of luck getting into the World Cup squad it's just a shame he isn't doing it all from our club.
I have not had the pleasure or should that be the misfortune to see this new look Boro team perform, It makes me wonder why oh why would we want to get back to the Premiership with Strachans new team and tactics.
By all the reports I have read the Boro are playing very unattractive and scrappy football, that would be a disaster against quality teams in the Premiership. Let us consolidate our second tier position and hope to build a much more solid base of quality performers before venturing back amongst the big boys.
The number of players used so far this season smacks at a manager not knowing what his best eleven are and this continued experimenting is not the secret of a smooth playing successful team.
Stoke City and Birmingham City are good examples of teams lacking great stars but proving week after week that a stable team can out perform their individual skills. Let us have more no changing winning teams as the order of the day, not withstanding injuries, and hope this will achieve a steadier result for the rest of the season.
Reading all the reports on the Peterborough match, McDonald did not feature favourably in the number of references to his play. Was he playing and what was his overall perfornance? When ever he has turned out reprentative matches for Australia in the World or Asian Cup games he has failed to impress to the point that I would be very surprised if he makes the starting line up for the World Cup in South Africa this year.
In response to Boro-russ.
A short while ago Souness stated he would not come back into management because the players had a say about everything. Managers cannot control most of them anymore. I know what managers like CLOUGH CHARLTON SHANKLY would have done with them. I have not mentioned Busby, because he let Best get away with most things, however, when the lad went on the pitch it did not seem to effect him, so maybe that is why Busby was so tolerant.
Also watched Downing the other night two assists and some very good touches but only 6 out of ten. One wonders what he has to do to come out of the shadows.
On to tonight i will take an ugly 1-0 win any time of the day.Will also be watching other results closely. Glad to hear some of the lads will be back for the game.
I didn't see relegation coming. I kept thinking Alves had to go on a goalscoring run at some point, but it just never happened. I think Gareth and Gibson felt the same, it would come right eventually.
They deserve a fair amount of criticism for that, and for putting their faith in one man, but Afonso Alves was the single biggest reason for our downfall.
**AV writes: It will go down in history as a inevitable collapse to unavoidable relegation but it wasn't like that. It was very, very close and even if the club did have eyes shut and their fingers in their ears they still almost got away with their big gamble.
Any number of decisive 'what if' moments cost Boro dearly and they weren't all to do with Alves: a dodgy penalty at Hull ... that isn't given, Hull do down instead of Boro; perfectly good goal at Blackburn for Tuncay... that is awarded and Blackburn go down instead of Boro; Stewie's penalty at Sunderland... that goes in... you get the picture.
Re-the comment above regarding McDonald not being very good on Saturday. Whether he is fit or not he scored his goals in a mickey mouse league. A league very similar to Alves and the dutch league.
One can only hope that he score the goals that we require to maintain the momentum. If not then we are doomed to this division for a while to come. I still hope for three points tonight v blackpool. GO FOR IT BORO because nothing less than wins will do to continue pressure on those above us, and also with the games in hand that they have.
**AV writes: From the little I have seen of McDonald I would say he is a FAR better player than Alves, very busy and intelligent and has the potential to be a fantastic player for us.
Watched Uncle Eric on the football show, a fine upstanding gentleman but the piece was hardly Kate Adie style journalism. What is more no Vic!
AV, I guess you knew about this when I suggested a 'Day in the Life' last week, I am not vain enough to believe my posting on this thread resulted in a camera team being despatched post haste to the Riverside.
Shame I couldnt apply the same foresight to the euromillions numbers last Friday!
**AV writes: No me? I was there tapping away over Eric's shoulder (working while he shouted for makeup and demanded to know what his motivation was before he went for take 17). To be fair I was wrapped up with hat and scarf so well disguised.
Another option for the left sided loaner - in addition to Ross Wallace that I suggested earlier - could be George Boyd from Posh.
Skilful, club captain, can direct the play, gets goals even in a struggling team - including having scored against Boro. Don't know if he's married but he's a good age.
Scottishness may be an issue. Born in England but has played International football for Scotland at lower levels - courtesy of his Granny being Scots - and has scored.
Can't see Posh standing in his way, now that they're effectively doomed.
Benny Brown
We have certainly been at our Crockcliffed best regarding injuries preventing a settled team.
I wouldnt blame the quality of football just on Strachan or the players he has brought in. The fare at home has largely been abysmal all season.
He has certainly made some bizarre selections but I would hope he now knew the best formation if everyone was fit. I guess it would look like
Coyne
Naughton, McManus, Wheater, Pogi
Flood, O'Neill, Robson, AN Other
Killen, McDonald
If we could have had Johnson loaned back that would have been perfect. It appears the best we have for the AN Other position at the moment is Franks.
Since the new players have come in we have played some good football at times, certainly no worse than against West Brom, Leicester and Watford at home. The team looks a bit more purposeful and not just reliant on Johnson, when he was double marked we just folded at home. Not so bad away because we had more time and space.
It appears Strachan wants to play a passing game, it isnt all long ball or kick and run. He certainly isnt happy if we dont pass and keep the ball. He certainly wasnt satisfied after Saturdays performance.
In his interview with Ali Brownlee (can you get it on BBC iplayer down under?) he was quite specific that the players needed to be fitter. Not for the sake of being fit but because the skill levels could be maintained if you were fitter. It is also fair to say that the all managers come to a new club and say the players are not fit enough.
The proof of the pudding is in the results obtained. In the past against anyone with a bit of steel and football skill we lost, we now appear able to get points when we are struggling and win in those similar types of game.
The Championship isnt just Thud and Blunder but if you cant do it yourself you will come mid table at best. As John Powls puts it, craft and graft are the winning formula.
hello,hello
they call us middlesbrough
(repeat)
we are the the smoggy army
and we never miss a match
we will follow the boro
hows that?
Cloudfiles Jets In.
Arriving back in the North East, fresh from clear the air talks with Senora Cloudfiles, Mosso Cloudfiles this morning dodged a waiting press pack at Teesside Airport (proper airport name). He was whisked away by local journo Anthony Vickers in a waiting Boro Taxi.
Speculation is rife on Teesside that he may be thrust into action tonight. Mosso's agent said that his client was very apologetic, and to prove his desire to succeed in the Championship he would play for just a nominal fee.
Anthony There you go with dreaded word: McDonald has the "POTENTIAL"
Digard, emnes were bought with potential and they were flops. McDonald came here with a record of scoring goals (micky mouse league) I did write before we signed him that his record for the national team 15 games NO GOALS says it all. And now Benny Brown above is saying similar.
We depended on Alves to suddenly come good but not to be 4 misses against Man City ughhhhhh. So Anthony we dont need potential we need goals, so come on Mcdonald do what we paid the money for score us some goals hopefully starting tonight
I am starting to get confident about us reaching the play offs. OK we were poor on Saturday but still won, when was the last time you could say that about the Boro?
David Connor, do you ever have anything positive to say about the Boro?
C'Mon Boro!
David Connor
I agree with AV's comments re McDonald but also, Boro are now playing in a Mickey Mouse league too.
Sad - but true. That's the yardstick for judging by now.
Vic
Before you sped away with Mosso did you see who got on the team bus? Did Mosso see Corporal Jones on his travels?
**AV writes: Jones is certainly firming up his travel plans for the near future. Somewhere warm.....
For the first 20 minutes or so on Saturday Boro played well, were in total control and when the goal went in I thought we were in for a shed load more, but it wasn't to be.
Strachan's analysis was spot on and its great to hear the manager telling it how it is, that augers well for the future. I'm sure we'll see a far more positive performance tonight, we'll also have the added benefit of Pogi and O'Neil back in the team.
I think we now have a squad with the right mind set and also good enough to compete in the top six of the Championship. However given that we're effectively starting the season half way through its going to take an almighty effort to finish sixth or above. To do so we are going to need to win difficult matches such as tonights or Saturdays.
My normal optimistic outlook has been restored, so far Strachan has done a great job, lets hope we can maintain the momentum through to May.
The one thing that impressed me most on Saturday was the tackles put in by McManus, tough, uncompromising, that sends out a loud message to the opposition and your own team mates, I like him, just the bloke we needed in defence.
To all the Mcdonald moaners -
he scored some fantastic goals in the Champions League with Celtic. Some of you people on here are beyond comprehension...you slag off McDonald for playing in a Mickey Mouse league ..yet you praise McManus , Flood and Robson
Get real for gods sake !
**AV writes: To be fair, that applies to only a very small minority.
point taken AV !
Hello AV
I enjoyed the piece on the BBC's Late Kick Off show however, following Eric Paylor's post Saturday match comment that he was off to write his article for Monday's Gazette, I was left wondering why his work wasn't published sooner on the Gazette website?
Why not publish on-line on Saturday; would that materially effect sales of Monday's newspaper?
Cheers
**AV writes: Yes, it would have an impact on sales, plus you have to remember that a lot of Gazette readers don't have access to the internet (or choose not to) so it would disenfranchise them if we went web first - or if we repeated the stuff on Monday for them it would leave web readers crying "rip off."
Perhaps more importantly the Gazette have reported on every Boro match since 19-oh-blonk and we have not intention of stopping now,.
Sick as a parrot. I am always positve about what I write but I dont wear rose coloured glasses like many of you. Unfortunately what I wrote came true last night another bad night for Mcdonald (need I say more)
I watched Mcdonald 4 times this season in the European games and he missed enough chances to WIN all four games, but he didnt and Celtic did not qualify for either. So I will continue to have my say wether you like it or not my friend.
Another thing Braveheart.... check your records for this season. Mcdonald scored 2 goals in ten games of Euro football this season. The games I am on about him missing chances were all at home. I am entitled to my opinion and I will stand by it. We can only hope he gets better
To Braveheat and Sick as a parrot.
I am a big boy and can take the comments back from you both, but I suggest that you read all comments on this website and the Evening Gazette pages and you will see I am not alone in my POSITIVE words.
They to do not wear rose coloured glasses they see things for the way that they actually are. So come on guys I gaive credit to when it is due, mind that has not been very often this sesaon, but no doubt you think it has been a great season overall. Anyway my friends are you coming for a pint in a few weeks time when a group of us get together. No hard feeling eh