MARK Schwarzer scooped the prize for Boro's first use of the traditional pre-emptive excuse when he told Sky Sports News yesterday: "It's going to be a season of consolidation and for the manager finding his feet."
That won't go down well with many Boro fans who have grown used to the pre-season declarations of intent about shattering football's glass ceiling and breaking into the top six. Having won a trophy, qualified for Europe through the league and then reached the UEFA Cup final in successive seasons it seemed the club was on an unstoppable upward curve, as if there was an historic inevitability about the onward march to Champions League glory.
To suddenly have Gibson's grand vision downgraded to the mundane pursuit of mid-table mediocrity will be a shock to those who have had their expectations raised to fever pitch by the whiff of silver but there is no getting away from the reality of it: it will be a season of consolidation.
Even had Steve McClaren still been in charge there was a pressing need for a major rebuilding. Ugo and Southgate were looking their age, the lack of pace and penetration on the right has been a glaring problem since the departure of Geremi and the sluggish midfield lacks a genuine creative spark. Those problems in the structure of teh team remain for rookie boss Southgate and his transfer targets show he is aware of them and is trying to address them.
But having a new boss with a new perspective creates new problems. Southgate has stated he intends to play a more attacking game and given that the squad has been moulded over the McClaren years to have a safety first ethos that will demand a major cultural change.
It will mean asking players to consciously over-ride what has become instinctive over years of being drilled in cautious defensive possession, play higher up the pitch and get forward quickly. While some may think they are basic skills for footballers, to put them into practice at high tempo and under the pressure of a match situation will not be easy.
And despite the emphasis on continuity off the field it will also demand a change in the way the coaches operate, the way players are prepared technically and tactically and the way the feeder teams from the reserves and academy down set themeselves out.
There will be mistakes. There will be confusion. There will be moments when it clicks and Boro look like worldbeaters only to slip back into uncertainty in the next game. A change of style at the top level of the game is a huge risk because not all the personnel may be best suited to the new tactics or tempo and unless you can make wholesal changes you are a hostage to fortune.
There are risks too that a bumpy transition will not be overly welcomed by the crowd. A sticky start or a run of poor results that leave Boro in the bottom half may see those already harbouring doubts, or still simmering from the McClaren era, or suffering an emotional hangover from Eindhoven making their dissent vocal. That would be a disaster. We have just gone through an era of divisive faction fighting around the dug-out and can ill afford another one.
ItIt should be remembered that the change to attractive attacking football that Southgate is vowing to implement is exactly the style that fans disenchanted by the cautious inching progress under McClaren demanded. It could be a style that reignites a flat Riverside crowd and it could be the style that turns draws into wins and pushes Boro on to the next level.
But in order to take two steps forward Boro may have to take one back. To make the change work it may require experimentation this season, shrewd recruiting next summer and the year after and it may require patience on the part of the fans.
It will be a season of consolidation for the crowd too. After the euphoria of Cardiff, the glamour of Europe and the momentous trip to Eindhoven it will be back to the bread and butter but we can't afford to have too many airs and graces. We need to get back to basics. We can't take the league games for granted this term. They are all that we have.
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