The Strange Case Of Scott McDonald
THE LOAN window opens on Saturday. A week later Boro resume Championship combat at home to Ipswich. At some point between those two markers, Tony Mowbray must resolve the strange case of Scott McDonald.
He must either be moved on by some creative number-crunching that makes him a more attractive proposition to prospective employers or some compromise deal must be brokered that offers peace with honour and a return to the first team fold.
The current state of internal exile can not continue. We are not in a financial position to play games of brinkmanship with the top paid player.
We are not in a footballing position to overlook the services of a player who has proved he can score in the Championship.
And when a fledgling side is taking its first awkward steps amid some nervous muttering about shape and quality we can not afford the diversion of a political row backstage.
McDonald was never the most popular with the fans. He dropped far too deep, he missed too many easy chances and he was a feisty figure who liked a moan. It was suggested that he was finding it far harder to flourish in the Championship than against the like sof Dunfirmline. Far from being our striking saviour at times he took some terrace vitriol his goal-stats and relentless running did not warrant and the summer consensus among fans seemed to be that he had to be shipped out, and not just for economic reasons .
But he is about to get a major boost in standing with the internal opposition - including many who last term were denouncing him with relish - because as long as the sticky situation is allowed to fester, McDonald will be a handy stick to beat the manager and the club with after every shot-shy display and defeat.
The Aussie is the most prolific striker on Boro's books, the best paid player in the squad and, barring injury, has been a first team fixture since Mowbray arrived.
And for all his weaknesses he has delivered: 27 goals in 82 starts and seven substitute outings over three seasons: that's one goal every three, not bad in a team in transition, and one that have struggled to score for long spells .
In context, Marvin Emnes has scored 26 in 84 starts and 23 games from the bench while he has been at Boro (although in fairness, many of those have been from the wing). Ishmael Miller has got 26 in 67 starts and 71 as sub over five years. And Lukas Jutkiewicz has 21 in 80 games and 10 sub appearances in his Championship career.
McDonald has scored more in fewer games than anyone else on the books and is arguably the best - or at least most efficient - striker at the club since the halycon days of the Premier League. You have to go back to Viduka and Yakubu to find a striker with a one in three strike rate over the course of a season.
Yet, after playing and scoring in pre-season he has been left fully fit and brooding on the Rockcliffe naughty step since the campaign started in earnest.
Tony Mowbray insists there is "no Scott McDonald situation" and that it is down to the player to earn his place in the team. He says he is not being selected because others have earned a chance ahead of him. Publicly at least, the door remains open... "yes, the exit door" you may be tempted to add. Certainly, that is the perception.
But the door must remain open slightly. There has be a chink of light. Anything can happen in football and rarely does any manager or player burn their bridges publicly. Whatever the coded exchange of fire there is always a way back. It may take a massive injury crisis or, who knows, a complete change in direction, but football is primarily about expediency and results. There is always the possibility or reconciliation.
But unless it happens quickly Scott McDonald remains sat in the departure lounge. And to be fair, he's getting quite comfortable there. Boro have tried and failed to move him on during the summer, a tough task given his prohibitive top flight wages and stubbornly second shelf performances and pedigree.
There were some suggestions of lucrative interest from Qatar but even if the tales were more than agent prompted media space-fillers he is not ready for the semi-retirement of the sandpit. And the stories have the advantage of allowing McDonald to shot down any notion that he is purely motivated by money.
There were recurring whispers of a beat-the-deadline return to Celtic that never materialised. He got a big wage rise to come here and no longer fits in their pay-scale even if there had been some substance to it.
Now, whatever the public line is, he has been banished into internal exile. He has yet to feature on a team-sheet this term despite the team's still stuttering strike-force.
He never even made the 18 at Barnsley when there were no strikers on the bench, as strong a signal as the gaffer could possibly send. He was out of the reckoning. And with new signings coming in most fans were happy with that.
That position was fine so long as there was still a possibility of selling him - we didn't want him injured - but with the sales window slammed shut and blunt Boro drawing a blank at Millwall the problem has been thrown into sharp focus.
Boro are currently still without Jutkiewicz (although he is back in full training) while Ishmael Miller is lacking sharpness after a fallow year at Nottingham Forest, Curtis Main is being eased in with cameos from the bench and Emmanuel Ledesma has at times struggled with the big step up from League One.
And for all the tweaking, Boro still lack a cutting edge. The manager and the players said as much after Millwall. In fact, Boro have yet to score in open play from inside the box this term. While the top scorer has been airbrushed out of the squad
And as long as McDonald remains in internal exile and as long as the team struggle to make the new attacking outlook count, he will be a festering political sore.
So why has Scott McDonald been left out in the cold?
The reasons could be footballing, financial or personal.
In footballing terms it may well just be a bold statement of intent from Mowbray. He has brought in his own players and has set out a new style and McDonald simply doesn't fit.
Boro are trying to establish an template based on ball retention, slick passing and patient probing allied with quick breaks forward at pace down the flanks to cut open defences. As an adjunct to that they want to utilise a powerful, physical presence in and around the penalty box to hold up the ball while a speedy midfield buzz around looking to exploit the spaces created. That's the plan.
And in truth, McDonald doesn't fit either of those roles. He drops very deep - for long spells last term he was a de facto midfielder - and does not have the pace to break into the box from such withdrawn positions and often attacks would shift down a gear when he got the ball to carry it forward. Nor doe he have the physique to mix it with Land of the Giants defences that are the norm every other week in the Championship.
In that context McDonald wasn't a shoo-in for the team not matter what the political impasse. In footballing terms he really doesn't fit the new mould. Mowbray has long pencilled in Emnes and Jutkiewicz as his front pairing if he starts two up front with Ledesma and Miller their under-studies and Main as an alternative while if he switches to a three pronged Plan B, Carayol and Reach or Park have the right skill set to get a start either side of either Emnes or a targetman.
And if he has made a decision on footballing grounds, why would the boss change it so soon? Managers do not share the fans' emotional kneejerk response to performances. Four wins out of six playing the new way, long spells that suggest a new style is emerging and plenty of goals shared around the team are emphatic reasons to stay the course.
In that context then, Mconald is well down the pecking order. And if it wasn't for his wages it wouldn't even be an issue. But for those shackles he would have slipped off the radar to reappear at Kilmarnock or Motherwell to general apathy. File under Aliadiere. Flood.
Ah yes, his wages. That thorny subject. While being the top earner - when in the team he is believed to be earning the thick end of £30k a week - could be a compelling argument that he must play no matter what, finances could equally be a reason why he should not.
Football wages are complex structures with layers of bonuses piled on top of the basic package. It may be that with appearance fees, win bonuses, goal bonuses and top ups triggered by Boro being in a certain position in the league, putting McDonald on the team sheet could cost more than the wages of several of the summer signings combined.
That's not his fault of course. You can't blame him for accepting the crazy wages handed out by the former management and endorsed by the club's top brass, then convinced the Strachanovite project was a sure-fire short cut to the Premiership where such largesse could easily be offset. Boro thought the odds were stacked in their favour in the gamble.
Yet neither can you blame the club for trying to change tack and repair the damage. After the unsuccessful Strachan splurge applying rigorous cost control and cutting down bonus payments to a minimum makes sense, especially when they are being paid to player the manager has decided does not have a future in the squad.
It has happened before: Gaizka Mendieta was side-lined and frozen out and wasn't even given a squad number in his final year. He dug his heels in as the club trying to flog him off behind the scenes and - even though the evidence of the previous season was that 'his legs had gone' - he became an icon in his absence, a political prisoner poster boy for the anti-Southgate, anti-Lamb opposition. Ray Parlour, Massimo Maccarone, Chris Riggott, were all ghostly presences at Hurworth, still clocking in diligently after slipping out of favour until their generous contracts ran down. And, as they say on the compilation albums, many many more.
And of course, there could also be personal reasons why McDonald has been edged out. That is seen as the key ingredient in the complex cocktail by the rumour mill, not least because Mowbray flogged McDonald at Celtic without too much hand-wringing.
Scott McDonald is a spiky character and would be the first to admit he likes a bit of a moan. He's good at it. Alongside seething Scot Barry Robson the abrasive Aussie formed a powerful axis of aural angst on the pitch, often berating team-mates, himself and the bench at the slightest prompting and several times he stomped off in frustration shouting and pointing angrily at being substituted.
You can see him maybe feeling isolated at the exit of his Old Firm oppo, certainly voicing dissent at being told he wasn't going to be a regular starter, probably being antagonistic over attempts to sell him. You can certainly see him making his feelings public, both to the manager, and perhaps in a more damaging and toxic way, to team-mates.
Again, that's not his fault. That short-fuse is part and parcel of the snarling critical character we were told is key to his will to win and if he is to be part of the team then that needs to be managed carefully and channelled.
We've had plenty of stroppy strikers before and if they are in the team and scoring you can live with it: if they are not, and if their simmering threatens to disrupt an embryonic team spirit, or if a personality clash with the boss becomes a distraction you can see why they are put in semi-detached seclusion. Ask Bernie Slaven. He's been there.
Whatever the reasons, they must be addressed swiftly. We can't afford this to spill over into the next game and poison the potential of the season.
If McDonald is still here then and still not in the squad the club must come clean and explain exactly why. If they leave a vacuum on this, it will swiftly be filled with dark whispers, rumour, speculation and mischief making - and that has the potential to poison a season of potential.
**THIS is a Gulag vs In-da-Stiffz remix of this week's Big Picture column
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Anthony Vickers
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I fear the very same naughty step once again beckons for you AV.
If you are not careful TM you are going to make a fool of yourself over this McDonald saga.
If there is something more that has not been said, then it needs to be aired. I appreciate that warts and all is not always helpful. But when you continue to pick Miller, Ledesma, and others ahead of him, and continue to back the non playing, highly paid Thomson, then you are in danger of losing quite alot of the fans regard for you. Get it sorted TM.
Pedro -
My view is slightly different from yours. Certain things should stay behind closed doors. We can do without both parties dishing the dirt on each other. I would rather nothing be said than come out with some statement that doesnt seem logical.
I think the whole McDonald saga (as it's now known) is just a red herring.
Is he the player to fire us into a promotion push? I doubt it. Which brings me back to Billy Sharp - although you suggested his wages were probably not affordable - I think as a one year loan deal he was perfectly affordable.
We have money from the Bennett deal but couldn't find players to spends it on; we buy non-prolific forwards like Jutkiewicz for a fee of £1.3m, which equates to paying £25K a week in wages for one season (plus there's the wages we are currently paying him and Miller). So I would suggest a one year loan deal for Billy Sharp would have been good value and affordable and could have made the difference.
Plus if it hadn't worked out then he won't be stuck on our books like McDonald, Thomson and McManus who we can't even give away. Let's face it ,recognised goal scorers don't come cheap so if Boro are serious about promotion they need to be prepared to pay for a decent one rather than pay the wages for two or three from the second-rate bargain bin.
**AV writes: Maybe if Boro could get one of theri big earners off the books they could a quality loanee... oh.
Missing persons enquiry.
Juke scores on his comeback behind closed doors, Luke gets the full 90 minutes. Curtis Who? Missing, presumed to be in some Gulag up on the moors with Shergar, Lord Lucan, Elvis and Scottie.
"How do you slove a problem like Scott"?
I don't know but i wish that someone could be honest with the fans and tell us what's going on.
To be honest theer's nothing here we don't know. I would like to see us all back TM and his squad and let him get on with his job.
If we let it this 'situation' will upset the promotion plans. The big picture is promotion and nothing else. If TM feels McDonald can't help us so be it.
Trust in TM. If it goes belly up then call for his head, but not yet. But what do I know? If McDonald is so keen to go, he should drop his demands and play for the love of the game If not, keep warm with all that cash.
At the end of day TM job is to win promotion ... if not he will be sacked plain and simple. He loves the club like us and won't
let sentiment get in the way or really take too much notice of what the fans say/want.
In Mogga We Trust.
Last season Man City faced a similar situation with Carlos Tevez. He went from "never playing for this club again" to arguably giving them the needed push to secure the title. He has now gone from scurrying forward to slimmed down super striker.
Of course McDonald is no Tevez, but this is not the Premier League. Methinks Steve Gibson should get down there and knock a few heads together!
Ian -
Two more to add to your missing persons list. As JP pointed out in his Boro Banter piece, has anybody seen Parnaby?
And then there's mystery missing midfield maestro Kevin ('Give me 10 games and I'll show the fans') Thomson. Just how long does it take to get over a 'tight calf'? Or has it somehow grown into a bit of a cow? Strikes me he's just full of bullsh. How much longer is he going to be out? Time to grasp the bull by the horns, Mogga.
As for McDonald, I agree with everything you said, AV. But that said, I'd rather see him back in the fold and competing for his place, probably from the bench as needs be. He could offer a different option with say 25 minutes to go. It could be that having had a kick up the behind he comes back fired up (even more fired up!) and bangs in a few chances. Worth a punt, I think, especially if we continue to miss the chances we have done so far.
And besides, if the midfield is now creating more, as I think it is, won't he benefit from that too? Won't they lay on more for him rather than him having to go back deep to collect the ball?
My view is that he absolutely deserves another chance for his work-rate alone; and he is, as you say, our most successful striker, even if that doesn't mean much in the context of the bunch we have. If he still falls flat, then so be it.
AV -
A good read. I like the idea of Main cameos but he didnt even go to Barnsley!
Paul Harrison -
To a large extent I agree, we all know something needs sorting, I only stuck my head above the parapet when Mogga made the comments about his goal scoring record. The problem is Scottie is the elephant in the room. Something needs to be sorted, just dont want any tosh.
Brendan Rodgers is looking for a striker at Liverpool, maybe we can do a swap and bring in a left back.
I think Mogga gave the fundimental reason in a recent interview when he admitted when he arrived there was a faction within the club, who basically (what i got from it) created a toxic atmosphere.
I'm more concerned about all the signings hes made both permanent and loaned, since taking over. Has any one of them been a real success yet? No more of this "hands tied" rubbish, I think this years squad is the weakest for many, many years and dont mention Strachan. Mogga used all his players last season to finish seventh
Terrific analysis, AV, as we have come to expect.
I think Mogga is in a difficult position, because, like politicians, football managers cannot always tell the whole truth. I do not know what lies behind the McDonald situation, but I doubt if anyone could better describe the possible factors involved than you have done here.
But let us suppose, purely hypothetically (I have no access to any inside information) that Mogga believes Mac's influence within the dressing room to be highly toxic and disruptive. And let us further assume that things have now come to such a pass that there is no longer any mutual respect between the two men. In this kind of situation, what could Mogga do? Spill the beans? Hardly. This would make a bad situation worse, and almost certainly make Scott impossible to move on. Pick him for the team or put him on the bench? Not likely. If there is a stand off between manager and player, there can be only one winner. Otherwise the boss would lose all credibility.
I agree with Ian Gill on this one. " Coming clean" as you recommend, or "being honest with the fans" as John Donovan suggests would almost certainly result in an unseemly public spat which would be very damaging to the club.
Mogga is an intelligent and thoughtful manager. His tactic of saying what is necessary, without full disclosure and expecting Boro fans to read between the lines may well be the only viable alternative open to him.
Clive -
I was thinking more about the ones who are available not serial sicknote offenders.
And there is an odd thing. Thommo was brought in by Strachan but was with Mogga at Hibs. Mogga's attitude is a bit like the Sergeant Major Williams on 'It aint half hot mum' to his suspected love child, Gunner Parkinson, 'a fine pair of shoulders'.
Poor Scottie gets the role of Lofty, "Is it a mushroom? No. Is it a footballer? No. It's Scott McDonald."
gt's comments have some truth in them, it is Mogga's squad now.
If we carry on rueing missed opoortunities along with points and miss out on a £60m windfall from being back in the Prem because someone (or one's) want to make a point over £1.5m of wages then its a very brave and expensive gamble.
The reality is that Scott offers more playing off Miller than Zemmama for instance and can only benefit from his physical presence. (Toshack and Keegan, Quinn and Phillips etc.). If he plays and starts banging them in then offloading becomes easier and financially more beneficial as he may do enough to more than recoup his salary come January.
As it stands the impasse is starting to divide the fans and whilst most of us trust in Mogga there are a few starting to question that trust, all the more when he brings in another striker with a low scoring rate while pushing Main and Wiliams further down the pecking order and completely isolating Scott.
A lot of us believe that Main and Williams would score as many and probably more than the existing incumbents. For a club thats skint it seems a strange and luxurious policy.
And then there's Jayson Leutwiler - bought so Connor Ripley could go out on loan to get some first team experience & to avoid getting some cover for Steele that might actually mean some pressure on for the place....
Many more and they could invest in a red & white bobble hat & play games of 'Where's [substitute any name you want from 4 or 5 for Wally]'!
Certainly believe it is a mixture of all three of the points made but believe freezing him out is not the answer. Any hostility between TM and SM will fester and can only lead to bigger issues later on.
But more than a little concerned on the here and now ~ whatever message TM and the management are trying to send by freezing him out is damaging to team performance and costing points ~ yes we are only three points off the top, and its only been six games but we have lost against teams who, in all fairness, we should be beating comfortably.
We also seem to have made it a struggle against the teams we did manage to beat. Having no striker on the subs bench? Still playing players out of position rather than use in-form youth? No recogniseable Plan B? Why we conceeding a glut of goals all of a sudden (even in preseason we struggled to keep a clean sheet)? Was it sensible to sell Bennett after a long term injury to Williams?
If McDonald was to be sold then get him playing and scoring. Or at least put him on the bench? He wont attract attention by rotting in reserves. TM should really give him an opportunity to show potential suitors what he can do. I hope to god we dont loan him out on some bizarre deal where we pick up half his salary whilst he scores goals elsewhere...
Also on the subject of strikers ~ less than impressed with the calibre of striker brought in. Nimely (packed off as soon as loan ended), Oggie (ok but nothing special), the less than prolific pairing of (cant shoot wont shoot) Juke & Miller. Main looks promising ~ but apparently age counts more than talent.
Point is if we never bought Juke last January would we have had enough cold hard cash to put a sensible bid in for cox? Or for a sensible contract for any of the half dozen "out of contract" strikers we were linked with who subsequently went elsewhere?
And still trying to put my head around the fact that the money we got for Lita (a proven championship striker who could score a few and who went to a premier club) was used up on a struggling striker from a struggling championship side. We seem to be good at selling our better assets off far too cheaply, and bringing in less than adequate replacements...
Apologies as this has turned into an anti-management rant, and although I do think the style of football has improved under Mowbray (on very limited finances), i am a more than a little frustrated that the long term issues have not been addressed!
Mogga nails it on the head himself when he says that McDonald simply hasn't delivered. He's proved to be an average Championship striker who scores occasionally, misses more often that not, and added to that his form has massive swings, sometimes he looks fantastic, sometimes he barely gets a touch. You simply can't rely on him.
He also has a habit of having a go at his own players, and Mogga has been quick to talk up the team spirit, so he probably doesn't want McDonald unsettling them.
As for the panic that seems to be descending, we are one point off the playoffs. We are two points better off than Wolves, Birmingham and Bolton, who I'd all expect to be up there at the end of the season.
Let's not forget under Southgate we won our first four games, and remember where we finished then. Derby last season, I think won a few on the trot at the start, and they ended up nowhere - and of course we all know about Reading's start.
We have a tough September and October as well, so I wouldn't expect us to be much higher than mid-table after that. Any better than that would be a fantastic start.
Interesting piece again AV. Just what we needed for an international break.
I'm not totally convinced by the first point however (that McDonald is being omitted because he's not the right sort of player for TM's tactics). If that's the case I would question the signing of Ledesma, who to me looks like a less accomplished version of the same type of player. I don't know, maybe Ledesma is seen as more dynamic.
The second two points make a lot of sense. Can you imagine McDonald in the pre-match huddle, taking a few motivational words from his skipper Rhys Williams?
I think that McDonald has somehow become a better player now that he's being left out. He undoubtedly works hard, but he has no long-term future here and he is emphatically not going to be the difference between success or failure regarding promotion. One ever-so-slightly above average player can never have that much influence.
On gt's point - yes this is Mogga's squad now. However, if he'd had Strachan's resources do you think he would have bought the players he has? No chance.
This situation is a bit farcical. We have an attack that can't hit a barn door from 10 paces so to speak and have a guy who scored consistently pre season. What is really going on?
Gibson agreed his signing and salary. It isnt his fault what wages he is on! Just put him in the squad. It reflects very very badly on Mowbray, Gibson et al unless they come out and give us a genuine reason why he is being frozen out. He is our best goalscorer and that doesnt say a lot. My faith in Gibson is very rapidly receding after Euro cup final to this! I think in my job I would have to explain what had happened. How about it Steve?
In short, then, they're all crap. Out of a shot-shy squad, Scotty is the best of a bad bunch. Great, eh? That's the stuff that promotions are made from.
AV this is a masterpiece of football journalism in speculation, innuendo, intrigue, assertion, assumption regarding what has become 'The McDonald situation.' As you have covered all angles of interpretation, skilfully, none of which can be verified, this saga could run and run until he departs the club.
Footballers are expedient, its the downside of a richly rewarding profession. The rise will be followed by a fall or to use a cliche 'out of favour'. We know that certainly is the case with Scott.
Mowbray is intelligent and football wise, he indulges in football double -speak very well. Anyone who has held a senior management position speaks well and diplomatically of 'failing colleagues' who are demoted or shown the door. Bluntness however desirable is rarely used, in other words, Scott is not part of my plans rather than he is not good enough and can't score. So as fans we wait for his exit or fulminate as to why he is not in the team when we cannot score whilst he remains at the club.
One trend I have noticed in recent weeks that this 'McDonald situation' is tangible evidence of is a sharpening of knives towards Mowbray allied to bafflement over team selection and the currying of favourites such as Thomson. Perhaps clarity in all directions will break out over the next two weeks and I thought it was only politics that engaged in chicanery.
**AV writes: I think this is the key point. If the situation is not resolved or defused it will give the knife-sharpeners and axe-grinders a cause.
Nikeboro at 8:55pm - “In short, then, they're all crap.”
Love it... and sadly some sense therein too. Excellent analysis from Andy R and Denis also.
It doesn’t help that we have a two week break now at a time when fans and bloggers are all hyped up and off-field takes priority over on-field occurrences. It does mean that Mogga needs to address this somehow and immediately.
Ultimately if there’s a problem player (for whatever reason) you can prevaricate and argue a point to suit your desired outcome as much as you like, but the likes of Tevez apart, it can only truly be resolved when one party leaves. And that will not, and cannot, be Mogga.
Our big promotions in the past have come allied to a feeling of gusto and excitement and fear even. That mix was a given with Charlton’s men from the start while the breathless realisation, and bonding of team and fans, that we could actually do it under Bruce was the Juninho factor of its day. If you can think back, you’ll remember how exciting it was
Bernie Slaven came from the bottom of the Scottish pile, not McDonald’s top end, but he had that something and we all knew it. The heart just doesn’t beat when McDonald is read out on the team-sheet. Nor Miller (can we just avoid this name in future please) or probably Ledesma or Juke.
But Main and Williams do have it and Mogga will know this but he has to deal with clearly a difficult situation first.
However you paint it, one goal in three for McDonald is not enough. And in a poor league. He was bought to score goals, and stacks of them. He will not improve.
And his international record? No goals in 26 games for a country, Australia, that is not in the habit of playing first rate opposition every outing.
Doesn’t help I know, but says it all.
Given that McDonald's ability has been talked down by Mogga - which may be fair comment - it won't exactly encourage clubs to come in for him as a potential loan signing (especially with whispers of being a disruptive influence).
So we're probably 'stuck' with him - Is he our worst striker? No - so a place on the bench is the minimum he should expect unless he's so unwanted Boro would just agree to cancel his contract - which is probably highly unlikely.
As for a possible quality loanee striker - it seems Fraizer Campbell is available from Sunderland.
Is it all a storm in a teacup? Are the pubs rammed with debating Smoggies?
We discuss all sorts of issues on here but are we a small group that is unrepresentative of Boro fans in general?
One point I would make is that going to Barnsley without a striker on the bench would bring comments whether Robson, Bruce, Southgate, Mogga or John the Baptist were manager.
The water is muddied by the fact Scottie looks like being the past but Main then disappears. We would ask where Main was whatever the McD situation.
We all have instant access to news about Boro and can dissect all statements made. That prompted my post about the bag of goals comment. It isnt helped by microphones being stuck in managers faces and the interviews being posted for relentless analysis.
Lets hope it is sorted quickly
Tony's comments after the Burnley game after the players had gone for the "big huddle" at the end were: "This is the best atmosphere between the players that I've had since I've been at the club"
That kind of gives a clue. No McDonald or Robson and no moaning, getting on your team mates backs during the game etc etc. I would imagine those two in particular wouldn't have created a good dressing room atmosphere. Like "gt" said earlier there was always a hint that something wasn't right in the dressing room.
Don't blame Tony for taking that stance if that's what it is. After all McDonald's omission can't be down to form or ability after playing most of pre season and scoring goals
@Never give up on Boro -
I think that's pretty much spot on. If McDonald was a 30-goal a season striker (or even a 20-goal one), then he might be able to accomodate him within the team, but he isn't, so it just isn't worth the risk of disrupting the team spirit they have developed.
Ultimately, we don't have a clue what's going on inside the dressing room, so if we think Mogga is the man the job (and he's done a fantastic job so far), I think we have to trust his judgement.
It's all very well saying that 'McDdonald isn't a 20 (or 30) goal striker' but how do we know?
Last year's team had no width and no service in to the box so any striker would struggle. What we do know is that, statistically, he's the best we've got. It seems nonsense not to play him.
Managers are paid to sort these problems out. Go to it Mogga.
We all speculate wthout any real knowledge about contracts. Surely, we must have some fans who know about these things or know an agent personally. If so,let's have some insider information please.
I can't believe that a subject like footballers contracts can remain so secretive. Come on somebody, open your trap and let us all know what goes on.
**AV writes: Seriously, sometimes even the players don't know what they are being paid. They may know what their basic is on the day they sign but with all the add-ons, bonuses, built in pay-rises very year and when targets are met and with all the deductions for savings, investments and agents fees they soon lose track.
@John Bowman
Come on, how many chances did McDonald miss last year? Service was not the issue. I lost count of the number of times Hoyte planted a perfect cross on his head only for him to put it wide. Or the number of times he found the keeper one on one. Or hit the woodwork.
Fact is, he's had plenty of chances in the team and misses a lot more than he puts away. He might well hit an extended purple patch and score 20-goals this season if he played, but the evidence so far wouldn't suggest that, and I think Mogga is perfectly within his rights to look at other options first.
In the early 2000s there was a manager in the premiership called the TM no not Tony Mowbray but the Tinker Man who used to over rotate his squad. Does Teesside now have its own TM?
I know stability in a team is not always possible due to injury or lack of form. But continuity and stability is the key to success. So Tony the same eleven if you can week in and week out. The more they play together the more they stay and understand each others strengths and weakness and finally please stop tinkering with Scott McDonald him and Miller would be interesting.
John Dobson at 10.57am -
I just KNEW there must be a perfectly valid and publicly useful function for Wikileaks to perform. No field operatives whose lives might be put at risk by that cheeky little expose. No presidents who might be embarrassed by the publication of those e-mails. I'm sure no-one would mind details of their home security systems being spread all over the interweb so that "interested parties" might check out the details before planning their night's excursions...
If only some intrepid investigator could find out the details we REALLY want to know! A few ideas:
The medical report on the "strained calf" that has kept Player X on the sidelines for 7 weeks. An insight into exactly what the "lifestyle issues" are for Player Y.
Copy medical reports on ALL the players we have signed in the last 3 years so we can work out which ones are fit, which ones are not, and which ones never will be. So why did we buy Player Z then?
Copy contracts of employment (how much per week, how much per match played, how much per goal, the size of the signing on fee and, importantly, what sum was paid to the Agent and by whom).
A print out of the offers made for players ("Look - how about we give you £2M plus our Player A for your Player B?" Next day to the Press: "There have been no offers for our Player B"). And if they revealed who had been behind the deal - manager, someone else on the board?
I won't go anywhere near team tactics or player selection, but even if we limited ourselves to the ones previously mentioned, Wikileaks could make itself a valuable niche and would be essential reading for supporters of ALL football clubs.
It would be a public service. Is it worth starting up a 3-way set of negotiations between Sweden, Ecuador and the UK because I think I could identify someone who might be able to provide the service?
In a meeting with a Derby and a Burnley fan.
The Derby fan's view was that we were under the radar. He didnt know much about us this season, didnt expect us to be in the top six but not in the relegation dogfight.
The Burnley fan knew a bit more about us but chuntererd on about the fact every now and then you get beaten by a wonder goal but he cant remember three in a match before.
BoroPhil -
If my memory serves me right we hit the woodwork more than any other team in the division last year, Scottie was the most succesful.
Sadly no column in the table for hitting woodwork.
Dont think we have had a good front two pairing since Vids and Jimmy.
The only reason that people are looking at the McDonald problem is that may be in the Juke and Miller he has finally got the right type of players to feed off. The service in the past has not been the best which has maybe forced him to come deeper for the ball.
If he is upsetting the dressing room then fair enough but surely if that was the problem he would be training with the youngsters. There has never been any question with regards his work rate.
When the team are not scoring all the players out of the picture come good again (on paper at least).
I agree with others on here... We need to talk about Kevin (Thomson)
A player in a markedly similar situation to Scottie, big wages, Strachan-era signing, similar fee (correct me if I'm wrong), and consistently failed to deliver what we were expecting of him.
The key difference is that Scottie has almost always been available to shank shots high and wide, and to garner a modest, but world-beating by comparison to Mogga's own striker signings, goal total.
Kevin on the other hand has had strain after pull after tweak after break after tear. Whether or not that is because he's so down on his luck he'd injure himself during a physio appointment or because he's got chronic injury problems is besides the point, arguably he more than any other player was the prime target to move on, for free if necessary or by agreeing some kind of contract termination deal.
That Mogga publicly castigates Scottie for his performances and strangely omits to mention our perma-crock is strange.
Because of his new martyr status, McDonald is in danger of becoming the mythical hero of Arthurian legend. People seem to be losing sight of his limited capabilities.
IMHO, McDonald was never very good and was an indication of the paucity of the SPL. Even thought I'm uncomfortable with what seems to be going on, I consider TM is right to try to move him on.
Yes, Scotty's committed and runs his socks off. But often to little avail - too much 'headless chicken' running for the sake of it. It's true the service hasn't been the best but, over the years, he's nevertheless missed countless chances that others would have scored. He's probably more useful as a provider but he has neither the incisive passing nor the pace and dribbling skills to reliably open up defences.
You probably wouldn't categorise him as a bad buy (Alves, anyone?) but he certainly wasn't a good one. In the new financial reality, his wages just don't make sense alongside his performances and contribution.
So let's not view him nostalgically as some kind of tragic hero who should be playing. He's a mediocre forward on better-than-mediocre wages.
**AV writes: That's pretty much my position.
On The Riverfront.
Scottys Agent: Look, kid, I - how much you weigh, son? When you weighed one hundred and sixty-eight pounds you were beautiful. You coulda been another Billy Woof, and that Jock we got you for a manager, he brought you along too fast.
Scotty: It wasn't him, Charley, it was you. Remember that night at Ibrox you came down to the dressing room and you said, "Kid, this ain't your night. We're going for the price on Rangers." You remember that? "This ain't your night"! My night! I coulda taken Rangers apart! So what happens? They get the title shot and what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palooka-ville! You was my brother, Charley, you shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda taken care of me just a little bit so I wouldn't have to take them dives for the short-end money.
Charlie: Oh I had some bets down for you. You saw some money.
Scotty: You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Charley.
McDonald was bought because Strachan knew him and he had a really good season under him at Celtic, the only person to knock Boyd off the scoring charts.
The same goes for several of the Scottish contingent, Strachan knew and trusted them. Largely they didnt work out, once the man who let us have them from Celtic came here shelf life was limited.
Mogga brought in Zemmama and now Miller. One hasnt been a success and we dont know about the other one. Thommo is a player much rated by Mogga from his Hibs days. Managers like players they have enjoyed working with before, same goes for the coaching teams.
If McD is a spiky so and so you can see why he got on with Strachan and not with Mogga.
Mogga is the manager and that is that, it defines what will be. In his words 'it is what it is.'
He might get Scottie out of the door but Thommo out of the treatment room?
Forever Dormo -
As for Wikileaks, unless they get one of those Cray supercomputers that the CIA monitors communications with, there will be fat chance of breaking Mogga's tactics and selection policies, he is a one man Enigma machine.
It may take so long to decipher that it will be too late for the upcoming match, even then the beauty of codes is being able to change so there may never be an answer.
Going back to my meeting with those football fans, they would have a clue about Scottie. It is a great topic for an international break but are we blowing it out of proportion? Only time will tell.
I just hope Curtis has told his mam where he is in case she is worrying. Do they have phones and mobiles in Gulag's?
Started to watch England U21 but no Boro players so switched to England U19 game. I was interested in how Adam Jackson played.
It was hard to judge his abilities really because Germany where so far ahead of England in technical ability, movement and ball retention (not going back and square, they were always looking to play vertical) it wasnt funny.
I've said for a long time British coaches are way behind other nations when it comes to grooming kids. If its not that then they dont know a player from a donkeys backside. Why do they keep selecting players whose dicision making is absolutely awful?
I'm not blaming the kids but its two passes then whack it up the field anywhere, and when the coach is giving you high fives and saying that was great what can you expect?
I will say though the German striker I think his name is Yele has just signed for Liverpool. He is the real deal on this performance, very sharp.
We can only imagine what the atmopshere between the lads is like. Personally I felt that along with some of Strachan's signings came a degree of hostility, on and off the pitch. I agree, when Mogga said it was the best atmosphere he's known at the club after 'the huddle', he said it all. Maybe SM is indeed a threat to this positive atmosphere, but it would be a very bad move for TM to come out and say as much. If this is the case, yes, keep quiet MFC.
However, from a financial point of view, I don't think we can afford NOT to play Scott McDonald. If we want rid, play him, let him showcase his skills, or if not how about we just let him start earning his wages and score a few goals.
I know Mowbray has said SM needs to keep working hard and earn his place, but what I don't understand is why he was good enough for a regular place last season, but suddenly he is no longer up to the job?
That said, I trust in TM, and I trust in Steve Gibson - we are fortunate that we have two Teessiders at the top who genuinely care about our Club and our local area. This was never going to be easy, and I think for the most part our fans are being realistic. This season will be a long battle for the play offs.
Gibson has poured his heart and soul, and an obscene amount of money in to this club on a monthly basis just to keep it running. Mowbray is the man for the job - we can already see an improvement in the way the game is played. He knows what he's doing, and I am sure this 'saga' will be cleared up. Keep the faith.
Well said Jen.
The knives have been unsheathed in some quarters for Mowbray but we shouldn't forget what a shambles he inherited. Strachan left behind an unbalanced, desprited, financially unstable club that was sliding towards the Championship trap door.
No manager's methods are beyond scrutiny, and TM is as subject to that as anyone, but we musn't forget the bigger picture. In two short years we have almost returned to stability (if we had it before) whilst results have still improved overall.
That is far more important than the McDonald side show.
Jen -
I think you are right about Strachan bringing in players with attitude. If I remember right there was a feeling that the whole set up was too soft.
We had gone down with barely a whimper and in those first matches before gate left had only got two points out of 24 from anyone in the top half of the table.
We could run rings around the relegation fodder but hard working teams like Leicester and Watford who had a little bit of quality did for us. Mogga's Baggies gave us a spanking at home, they had a hardness and willpower we didnt have.
The Scottish experiment failed and here we are now trying to rebuild.
The club spent a shed load of cash to get relegated, sold off players to try and keep head above water. Then Strachan got what was stuck down Gibbo's sofa - remember all Strachans buys cost millions less than Alves.
Mogga got the pooper scooper. That is why he will get endless patience from us fans. We may mutter but we know which side the bread is buttered on.
Sometimes, the wisdom of Mogga passeth all understanding. I see in today's Northern Echo (sorry, AV) that he says that the problem at Millwall was the lack of a defensive midfielder (yep, that was one thing - and more than one of us pointed it out before the game) and that with Bails & Thomo missing, Boro don't have one. Yes we do, as more than one also pointed out before the game.
Richie Smallwood did well there in the Credit Card Cup a few days before - not the first time - and when Mogga finally got round to putting the lad on in a holding role at The New Den - way too late in the day; two goals and more than an hour too late, in fact - Boro's shape and play improved, as AV agreed.
Don't get it. It can't be argued that Smallwood's not 'a natural' there - neither's Bails. But both have proved they can do a job there, even if it's not what they prefer.
John -
In my first year at University studying Chemical Engineering we were told about the start of proper enigineering standards. Many steam boilers were blowing up so they set up a Royal Commision. After about 15 years their findings were that the boilers were poorly made or running at too high a pressure.
Mogga's comment about a holding midfield player have the same gravitas, hopefully it wont take 15 years to rectify.
A bit like not having a striker on the bench away to relegation fodder.
Somewhere in the recent past I remember lessons to be learnt. Oddly the Burnley and Derby fans I was with had similat exasperations about their clubs.
But dont forget, no comment that reflects queries about Mogga are allowed. It is chicken running or bedwetting.
Oddly, tosh is tosh whoever spouts it and that includes me.
Great piece A.V.
Oh but for the follies of management were would our Bonny Boro be now. Let’s forgive Mogga for his deficiencies with man management, He generally gets things right and has had such positive affect on many of the players he inherited, he is idolized by the kids and we can but applaud him for his magnificent job.
Instead of inheriting a Premier team of local and international talent poor Mogga inherited the dregs of the dark destroyers follies and worse still the poison dwarf’s nastys.
God knows what Mogga thought when he first came through the door to take over his dream job, the job he had wanted since as young man when he took his first steps into football management. Only to see the place full of his and other rejects and the best of the Boro kids all sold off or worse still given away or allowed to leave on frees by G.S.1 and G.S.2
Now I am the first to say that from the outside looking in, Mogga has made some mistakes, choosing Hoyte over Tony Mc, selling Wheater and young Bennett he has out of fiscal common sense I believe lost the opportunity that Bruce Rioch management should have taught him.
Bruce galvanized the whole of Teesside with the trust he put into the young local kids and built a team around them with Mogga flying us all to the moon. The Boro babes did not let Bruce down and Teesside roared them on.
If only Mogga would trust the local kids his Boro babes would not let him down and Teesside folk would roar them on. Also the fans will forgive the growing pains of Reach, Williams, Smallwood and Gibson more than the average Joe imports we are asked to follow.
Scott McDonald is a good player, probably the best striker on our books. However it’s clear watching him play he's a player who plays for himself, not as Mogga wants a team player.
We have had the same type before Ravanelli, Hasselbaink and even Bernie. However their contribution outweighed their destructive elements and the negative effects they had on their lesser team mates. Scott should and could move on. For his Career sake, For the Boro sake, for decency sake.
Mogga has not handled the situation well, or that of Big Mac and one or two others, However he is dealing with guys with big egos and money grabbing agents, Not an enviable situation for any manager.
Because we care, we have our opinions; I will be the first to put forward my opinion. However because I care I wish Mogga well and hope he comes out of this smelling of roses. God knows he deserves this one
There's some good loanees going at Stoke to pay for Owens move. Wilson Palacios anyone?....or even Kenwynne Jones?
I'm presuming Jason Steele's stomach bug shouldn't be a problem for Boro next weekend - even though it's robbed the lad of at least one U21 cap.
More worrying is Josh McEachran tweeting about a thigh injury that 'shouldn't keep me out long'. Ho hum. And it looks like a little while before we'll see the over-extended knee (and the rest of) Muzzy Carayol.
Still, presuming that Mogga will have his first choice front two - Jukebox and M&S - available to start together for the first time. Good to see Adam Reach given a shot at providing for them.
Ian,
I don't think anyone thinks Mogga is above criticism, I don't agree with everything he does, but it's the blind panic that some seem to be exhibiting after four games that gets some people's back up.
I'm looking forward to next Saturday which will no doubt be classed as 'must-win' by some.
Boro Phil -
I agree with all of that and we Boro fans are no different to anyone else.
It will be a while yet before we can properly judge the current squad and propects for the season.
Strachans squad rebuild had us certainties for promotion amongst fans, bookies and pundits. It didnt work out. That includes AV with his infamous Smithie knocking out a squad made of steel. Turned out to be gash metal.
As I posted earlier I think last season was a wasted opportunity and that we will finish top half with a push for promotion next time around. But that is only a gut feeling, when (and if) Mogga has a relatively settled side and a dozen matches under his belt we could be well on the way to an exciting season.
Meanwhile there is a lot of head scratching to be done.
To be fair, Mogga's trying to do the job that Strachan was employed to do with probably less than a fifth of the budget.
He needs a bit of slack but that shouldn't prevent fans from commenting on his strategy - like everyone he will make mistakes and will need to take a step back every now and then to get a better perspective.
He's building a team, which may mean needing to exclude those who don't support his methods - the problem comes when those players account for a large part of your budget.
Ultimately he will like all other managers be judged on results - so let's hope he gets them!
Just as an aside, Barry Robson has been suspended for one match for "Aggravated Dissent" against the assistant official, during a 0-2 home defeat against FC Dallas
Some things never change I guess.
AV wrote that McDonald has scored more in fewer games than anyone else on the books and is arguably the best - or at least most efficient - striker at the club since the halycon days of the Premier League.
This is the reason I want to see McDonald back in the side. Of course if we are in the top six after ten or 12 or twelve matches then I don't mind who is in the side. So this "issue" puts some pressure on Mogga.
What is the situation with Thomson? I mean as Bailey is injured we need Thommo back in the side. Any news on his progress - I think he is 50:50 to play on Saturday?
Up the Boro!
Jarkko
Thommo is 50:50 to play on Saturday. Which Saturday is that?
Re Thommo:
On MFC site there is a section on injuries. Against each player is a note regarding type of injury and likely time scale. Eg Miller and McEachran "being assessed for Ipswich" , Williams "at least two months". Curiously against Thommo it just says "calf".
Somehow that says it all about him. Not only prone to bring injured but for seemingly indeterminable timescales.
I would say Thommo is at least 50:50 to play. The real issue is whether it will be playing golf, snooker, darts or just plain old football (on the Xbox - obviously!).
Oh, cynicism sometimes gets the better of me.
Forever
Are you being cynical or sardonic?
Ian - I know! Perhaps I should start a Thommo Fan Club. There will be three members - me, Mogga and Thommo. He'll be 50:50 to play on a Saturday - if his contract does not run out before ...
Seriously I think we need him in the team as Bailey is injured. Please ask about Thommo on Fridays's presser, AV. Up the Boro!
Sometimes you have to be honest and do the right thing.
I said I would return to the Riverside when the entertainment appears to have improved. My renewed Boro Pride card and seat for Ipswich are in the post.
I am also willing to take full responsibility for the signing of TAFKAB. Clearly the £32 coming out of my bank account allowed the deal to come to completion.
It takes courage to say sorry twice.
I'll think you'll find it's TAFKAA Ian.....
InLagos -
You may be right but I think it was AV who gave the TAFKAB moniker. Most of google responses have him as Amougou. If I am wrong that is three apologies in a day.
AV, clarification please as the Gazette are now calling him Andre Bikey.
**AV writes: His name is double-barrelled Bikey Amougou. At Reading he registered just as Bikey and became known as such. At Burnley he was registered as Amougou (although with Cameroon it was still the old moniker); maybe the club staff put down his second name and it stuck or maybe he just fancied a change. Here he has told Boro he wants to be known as Bikey... and he's a big lad so who's going to argue.
I first referred to him as TAFKAB when we first encounted him in his rebranded guise away at Burnley. Whether anyone else had used that before, I don't know.
TAFKAB is easier to remember and to pronounce. Let's use that.
And, Ian, I'd be prepared to admit being sardonic.
Back to the football. In AV's article he suggested a solution should be put in place for the Scottie conundrum.
So far it looks unlikely. Unless he appears on the bench tomorrow.
I would settle for Curtis coming out from hiding.
It's now feb 2013 .TM has a losing team and is too stubborn to select Scott McDonald. Very sad the club comes second to the bosses thoughts on the player. Big managers think more about victories than there own views. Looks like another wasted year so sad.
**AV writes: McDonald has been out for three weeks with a back injury. But don't let that get in the way of a good cathartic spleen venting.