Time To Press The Panic Button?
THERE'S the panic button; you can reach for it any time you like. If you click on it it sends a painful electric shock up Lambie's spine and activates a sound file screaming "Ow'ee, get yer finger out," in the frenzied tones of stoppage time. It's had more hits than myspace over the past week as an army of itchy-fingered Boro fans come to the boil.
Twitchy Teessiders are alarmed by the doom-laden smoke signals coming out of the club suggesting a downgrading of transfer targets from heroes to zeroes, the sounds of a just a few paltry coins rattling around in the bottom of a once overflowing warchest and ominous quotes from prospective signings who have opted for lesser clubs citing their new employer's ambition. And all that set against the on-going high-risk Viduka brinkmanship, talk of selling before we can buy and the appearance that Portsmouth are buying ever player in sight.
But wait! Don't zap Lambie just yet. Derby haven't even sobered up from the play-offs yet and most of Planet Football is lapping up the sun, sea and San Miguel. There is plenty of time before we move up to Defcon 1.
We may well go into full on panic mode at some point before the deadline - you can't break with tradition - but not just yet. It may be frustrating to see Portsmouth linked with a squad full of players but don't assume that some kind of mad, mad, mad end of season Blue Cross Sale is on and we are missing out. They have signed Sylvian Distin, a player widely castigated as a stroppy over-rated mercenary by Boro fans less than 12 months ago and Herman Hreiderssen, who most probably wouldn't want anyway. The only other real movement of note confirmed is Gareth Bale to Spurs, a deal agreed back in January.
Nothing is happening because the senior figures at the club have been away. Crazy though it may sound these people do take holidays - Lambie has been away playing five-a-side with Gibbo's Jossies' Giant outfit in Singapore and taking a well earned break from hot fax action while Southgate is drinking wicked, watching Neighbours, listening to NME darlings Get Cape! Wear Cape Fly! and downloading passnotes off the net as he does the next stage of his management qualifications at Warwick University. It is no good slagging him off for that and saying his year in the hotseat is better than a cub scout Champ Man badge. It was part of the deal that helped him sneak under the radar and it needs doing.
And of course they have Boro branded mobile phones with them but, despite the media machine clamour to fill the rolling yellow banner on Sky News and the frenzy of fans to see something happen during the yawning vacuum of a Summer without a tournament, there is no imperative to do things NOW! If nothing else, contracts don't run out until the end of June so a big name signing now will mean paying the loafers £150,000k plus to sit around between now and pre-season training starting in early July and calls to do that sit uneasily with the demands to slash season ticket prices and take a more prudent course.
So there is nothing to worry about over inactivity just yet. Boro rarely make early signings anyway. However, what is more worrying is some strange developments that suggest the tone of the transfer activity will change. Since Southgate took over their has been a constant refrain about signings from the lower leagues and from Scotland rather than foreign Fancy Dans not neccessarily in tune with the physicality of the Premiership, a popular refrain in many quarters it must be said and one I've hummed along with myself at times. That seems to now be a concrete policy if a link with Oldham hitman Chris Porter is true. .
That policy is not the worry. The worry is that already it has resulted in what in tabloid speak are "snubs" from targets who have gone elsewhere. In truth you can argue that Scott Brown couldn't turn down Champions League Celtic with the 60,000 crowds and guaranteed silverware for Boro, although one perspective would be that he has bottled a move to a far stronger league.
But the fact that Crewe striker Luke Varney turned down Premiership fixture Boro to join relegated Charlton and cited their obvious ambition should ring faint alarm bells. He said:
"When I spoke to Alan Pardew the ambition of the club was the most important thing. The club wants to bounce straight back to the Premier League - and as soon as I knew the ambition was there, there was no question that I was going to sign.
"My agent also spoke to Middlesbrough and Norwich but when I saw Charlton's ground and heard about how many fans had bought their season tickets for next season already, everything was going in the right direction and it all just appealed to me.
That is alarming. Why choose a Championship side over Boro and talk about ambition? If his agent spoke to Boro it should have been abundently clear that this is a club with giant ambitions, a club still with a whiff of Europe in its nostrils, a club that has the structure and fan-base and momentum to really push on. Shouldn't it? And if not, why not?
Meanwhile, perhaps more worrying is the public declaration that Southgate "may have to sell before he can buy". We've been here before, but not for a long time. That was old Boro with Lennie Lawrence wheeling and dealing and the managers in the 1980s who had to generate what little transfer budget they could by cashing in their chips. That is a dark world we thought we had left behind long ago.
In what could be a seismic shift in Boro transfer policy Gareth Southgate said last week:
"We have not got fortunes by any means and if I have to move people on to raise funds to do what I want, then I'd be prepared to do that. There has got to be an overhaul and we have got to fund it in whatever way is feasible."
"If we can do it without moving players on, great, because I do not really want to sell people. But if we get a few months down the line and we have to raise money, then I have got to be prepared for the fact we may have to balance the books in some way."
Most reasonable supporters would accept the need to balance the books and work within sound financial perameters but Boro have been in the Premiership now for a decade and with the prize money, TV cash and other revenue streams should be financially secure enough to address the gaping problems on the right flank without having to create problems elsewhere by cashing in the few real saleable assets the squad has.
Twelve months after being given an unprecedented platform for a Great Leap Forward by appearing the UEFA Cup final Boro should not be rummaging around the bargain bins for players and should not realistically lose out on them to Charlton.
Now, where's that button?
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Anthony Vickers
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I would like to send electric shocks up all Boro senior management. They complacently expect renewals and new season ticket sales without generating any excitement or interest.
I am a grizzled old T number from Ayresome Park and have polished the same seat in the North Stand since the Riverside opened. The past seasion was a great let down after the high of the UEFA Cup final, it was down hill all the way from then.
We have one striker who seems not to care and another stringing us along for a laugh. Why exactly, apart from the usual blind Boro optimism, should I spend my money on a season ticket for the next season?
I never panic over boro signing and sellings. Its all part of football. Even the big clubs sell when the price is right. It's more dangerous to keep a player for too long then he sits in the reserves for years earning big money when that money could be spent paying a couple of younger lads who have time to develop.
What makes me laugh is when as soon as we are linked to a player in the press, lots of Boro fans say he will be a good signing... how do they know this when they have never seen him play?
Southgate is only jsut starting his Boro managerial career, so at the moment he can spin it that he is after young hungry British players. Its no different when Steve Mac arrived and the club said they were moving away from expensive old foreign players... that didnt last long.
Southgate will do the same when it looks like we aren't making progress and he is under pressure to get us in the top seven.
When we fail to sign a player it is always Keith Lamb's fault, when we sign a player its because of Gibson.
AV, you must know that agents leak things to the press to drum up apparent interest in their player.
Boro only panic at the last minute like when we sign Huth for an over inflated price of £6M when he still has an injury which ends up still causing him a problem 12 months on.
Money is tight at boro despite the extra tv money, and maybe a big chunk of the trasnfer funds has gone into buying woodgate
**AV writes: There can be no real spending until they know if they need to allocate £10m to replace Viduka.
Agents use the press all the time to nudge talks along, push wages up and twist the buyers arms. The Scott Brown think was a classic with his agent letting it be known through the Gazette that Boro "were favourites" to push Celtic into moving quickly.
You must always be wary of agents quotes - but they are too good for a paper not to use.
Vic
I tire of this so I'm not going to reply at length or in detail. See my previous on Groundhog Day. This is not panic or anything like it - it is a legitimate response to a repeat of season after season failure which we have pointed out season after season.
What we are seeing is - as we always see - a lack of any sort of market-savvy strategy for the commercial managing of the squad (and indeed the club as a whole), including transfers in and out which matches what we seek to achieve on the field and vice versa.
If you infer the latter from the former at present it's that ambition died at Eindhoven and we're preparing for the Championship side "that Teesside can afford."
The tactics, as ever, are all about short term-ism, waiting for the dregs on August (and January) 31 and only going for players that have:- played for us before, played against us tolerably well in a UEFA game once or can be got on loan.
That's why we played the whole of last season without a right side to our midfield and with the creative deficit in our midfield being filled by someone we bought as a left back. The same source as we got one of our central defenders from. That's why we repeatedly struggle with players coming to the end of their contracts.
This would have tried the resources of an experienced manager let alone another rooky.
In my view we won't get this strategy without a radical change at the top and the appointment of a Director of Football that can actually do the biz.
Lest anybody say this isn't do-able let me point you to the examples of Bolton and Blackburn over recent years in their different ways. You mention Pompey too, and to an extent they are different because of Gaydamak but not terrifically so. I could lob in a different example with shorter pedigree - Reading.
One thing all 4 of them have in common are regular crowds and catchment areas smaller than ours. Another is the very sort of strategy I am talking about - it is different in each case but equally evident in each.
**AV writes: John, you may not be in a panic and have well reasoned arguments about the restrictive political structure at the club, many of which I agree with.
But there are plenty out there on the verge of hysteria because we have failed to snap up Jlloyd Samuel or make a move for some nailed on Championship Manager legend from Anderlecht. That irrational response is actually clouding the bigger picture.
Yeah, always see playes being linked to a club in the national press when he just happens to be about to negotiate a new contract at his current club.
I always like the quotes from agents when they randomly say something like 3 premier league clubs have shown an interest along with 5 foreign clubs... but they never name them. In viduka's case it was genoa.
Its about time they called Viduka's bluff and gave him a deadline, but make sure that deadline is before the season ticket deadline. we need to plan for next season. its time he made his mind up he has had 6 months to decide!
Whats up with the gazette website, are the gremlins out in force again?
**AV writes: We have had some mega problems with various systems and networks not talking to each other and it has needed some major surgery. Various bits are still under the anaesthetic.
"We have had some mega problems with various systems and networks not talking to each other and it has needed some major surgery. Various bits are still under the anaesthetic. "
Thats sounds more like Steve Mac commenting on his working relationship with terry venables
Back on the serious stuff about Boro. Apart from don Mackay do the club invest enough in a scouting network? Who are our scouts? When will we next discover a rough diamond then turn him into a £10m player
**AV writes: That is a very good question. Scouting wise the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Is it panic or just disappointment that the club we all love was only ten years ago a club with ambition, we signed players who were world class [If we had not been relegated in such appalling circumstances what would the transfer policy be now...buying 23 year old strikers from Oldham doesn't seem likely.
I could understand it if the striker from Oldham was under 20 and had time on his side, but he isn't going to improve much at that age.
With the TV money increasing massively at the end of next season I cannot see why the club cannot gamble a proportion of that on the two key positions we know we need to fill Right back and Right wing. Luke Young wouldn't even make a huge dent in our current wallets.
Right wing should be a priority, there are plenty of excellent British players in that position now and all it needs is the ambition and the drive to go and get the player
Sadly I think next year will be another bottom half finish based on current linked players, even if I am not disappointed at missing out on the 'stars' that have already moved so far this summer
So everybody else has £50million to spend, but we have to 'balance the books'. Makes sense.
Why on earth do we have to wait on Viduka's decision??? We'll save a fortune on wages by adding Mendi to the list of Maccarone, Parnaby Parlour and Christie who are leaving. Don't tell me those lot wouldn't cover Viduka's increase.
All a PATHETIC smokescreen because Southgate doesn't know his proverbial from his elbow when it comes to locating the talent to bring in.
And if we're sticking to British and hungry then why not save on wages and sack that waste of space Don Mackay?
How long will it be before we sack BLOODY KEITH LAMB?
Why wasn't Viduka sorted out in January? I very much doubt that at Man UTD that the guy who's in charge of these matters tells the press that they don't re negotiate contracts with players still in contract as Lamb did.
Did we really have to leave it this late only to now be held to ransom by a guy who's only interest is in deciding which ice cream to buy as he scratches his nuts on a sun kissed beach ?
Yeah, cheers sport.
Southgate also needs a big, big kick up the jacksie, he really does. Why does he need to tell the whole world ( now ) that he has no cash and that he's hamstrung by the Viduka situation ?
What signals does this send out to prospective players about our ambition and the state of our club ?
Rookie mistakes by a bloody Rookie manager.
Where excatly has all the money gone from this years bumber TV deal ? How can we be so skint ?
I really hope that this situation all gets sorted out in the end and that we are panicking over nothing as otherwise we will be left with nothing but a few hard core supporters left watching our team as they head for the Championship.
SACK KEITH LAMB - Oh, sorry, I forgot. We can't. He knows too much.
TB
( NOT BLOODY HAPPY, BUT HOPING VERY MUCH TO BE PROVED WRONG )
**AV writes: I've changed one line. I can't defend what you said in court. If you can, then let me see the evidence.
Tony Black- spot on about Lambie, especially the line "he knows too much." Wink wink.
Anyway, we shouldn't panic yet. We signed one of the best defenders in the world just weeks ago and that should not be forgotten.
If we keep Viduka (currently the victim of Alex Fergusons vendetta against MFC), which I think we will, then all we really need is a quality right winger and a young utility player who can play midfield and right back. Jagielka may do but he looks overpriced at £4m. Lee will do okay upfront, he just needs a goal. Looks great in the air.
Funny Scott Brown signed for Celtic for European football. Yeah, enjoy your two game qualifier before it's yet another year playing Dunferfline and the like. He saw what happened to Barry Ferguson and got scared.
By the way Vic, the section about Distin and Hreidarsson is poorly worded and contains spelling errors. Just a heads up bud.
Middlesbrough could well struggle to bring in decent ambitious players due to the simple fact that some of these players may not want to play in front of 10,000 empty seats each home game....
"Gibson tells of mission to forge ahead"
May 12 2007, Philip Tallentire, Evening Gazette
"Steve Gibson has today revealed his desire to turn Boro into a major force at home and abroad for years to come"
The chairman, who outlined Boro's achievements over the past decade, is more determined than ever to ensure the club repeats the successes of recent years and confirmed that a number of transfer targets have been identified. Gibson goes on to say:
"So yes, we are satisfied and proud of what has been achieved for Middlesbrough but we want to improve on it - and that is what we are looking to do."
"There will be a lot of comings and goings this summer. In fact, they are already under way. We have identified as targets the players that we know will strengthen us."
In an earlier post I nicknamed this piece "Gibbo's Gettysburg Address", or something similar, and at the time I was very suspicious that this was our leaders last attempt at spicing up season ticket renewals as he prepared to take his "works" team to Singapore.
And sure enough, a week later my season ticket renewal application lands on the door mat. Nice try Steve!!
But it's not going to work for me and many others who will not renew this season until we at least see the evidence of what Steve Gibson said. OK, I might have to pay a little extra after the deadline, but I'm prepared to wait and see.
Mr Southgate is actually blowing most of what Gibbo said out of the water by letting us in on what we can and cannot afford in terms of transfers, money available etc, so where does the real truth lie?
**AV writes: The real truth is probably that there isn't a specific transfer "warchest" so the money available is an unknown. The policy is generally to look for "value for money" and maybe get a few more off the wage bill but if the right player becomes available and they think they can get him then the money will be available.
That was the case last year too. Southgate didn't have money to burn but the Huth cash had been ring-fenced and there was cash there for Barton and Lucas Neill had they agreed to come but when they didn't the wallet went away and it was back to rummaging through the bargain bucket for Jason Yuell.
" **AV writes: I've changed one line. I can't defend what you said in court. If you can, then let me see the evidence. "
Absolutely no worries mate, you do what you have to mate. Writing last thing at night after 1 too many straight whiskeys isn't the best thing to do.....
If I can get hold of it for you, you're more than welcome to it!!
TB
I think its a little early to panic, attracting players to the North East has always been a problem and is not going to go away now.
I think Southgate is looking for players that will not require the usual full season to get to the pace of the Premiership like Fabio. It looks like Viduka is off somewhere else (I still hope I am wrong) and we need a player to replace him.
My suggestion for what its worth is Beattie from Everton, if he had a full pre season then he would be just about right. We have not had someone who is really good in the air for a while and with crosses coming from the right as well as the left he could get his career back on track.
I see that Gate isn't interested in Joey Barton but was in Scott Brown. An example of what I was talking about in my earlier posting.
If we'd really wanted Brown and, as I've said before, I wouldn't - too small and too small-minded and parochial - then there were many opportunities last close season and in January when we could have nailed him at a price less than he eventually went for.
Now Gate is balking at a price for Barton which is less than a million more (before negotiation) for a player with proven Prem pedigree (if not without his own problems). How does that make business sense?
Rumours also have it that the club have been talking to Pompey about The Yak with O'Neil thrown in as a makeweight plus cash. That's a good deal and we should take it if we can get it. My guess, on our usual form and up against 'Arry and Peter Storrie, would be that we wouldn't end up with O'Neil but with Sean Davies - not a good deal.
And what about Stephen Davies at Villa - allegedly a target for Fulham. Why aren't we in for him? Fits the bill exactly and seemingly in the £2-3m bracket. Glad to see that the Gazette is steering away from Brown from Fulham - just as big a hooligan as Barton but nearly a decade older and without the technique and drive.
But what about a bit of imagination? ManUre have shown us more of their strategy by securing Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani. It will make competition for places in their midfield even more frantic and some may be wondering how many opportunities they will get in the first team outside the early rounds of the cups.
So what about a bid from us for Darren Fletcher - ticks many of our boxes, we could guarantee him first team football and there may be a deal to be done around loan followed by option to buy.
But don't hold your breath.
What amazes me is the money which was quoted for the Derby, WBA playoff, 50 million pounds and in some cases 60 million pounds.
So if the winner is receiving this and all Premiership clubs are also receiving this amount, plus season ticket sales, merchandise and sponsorship deals; probably in Boro's case would add up to over of 70 million pounds, why are we having trouble offering Viduka a good deal and looking at bargain bucket players... I am confused!!
steve, that money is if we win the league. The problem is that players want a big pay rise if they go up.
The wage bill for a club like boro is close to £30m per year, season ticket sales bring in about £12m. Then there are the costs of maintaining the ground, running the academy, paying agents, trasnfer fees, paying the police, maintaining the training ground, paying for the costs to build a golf course and a hotel..and so on
As the tv money goes up then the players and agents demand more money. If you give viduka what he wants then downing, woodgate, rochembach, arca, schwarzer..etc find out and then want a pay increase too. before you know it our wage bill would be about £50m
"Teesside will get the team it can afford" said Keith Lamb
an old quote but one thats still in the back of my mind!
moving to defcon 3
moving to defcon 3
moving to defcon 3
We all understand the need to balance the books, it is my understanding that the mega money from TV deals comes in at the end of next season, ie increased place money, TV appearance payments etc so isnt there to spend yet. (AV can put us right on that issue)
The area I am going to focus on is a matter we have raised before - the public image of the club. We are not dim but can the club be a little upbeat.
Gate states - hamstrung by Veruka, on the beach making decisions about ice cream!
Many sources state - need to sign good players to keep good players. All the talk of trimming the squad, balancing the books, if we have to sell to buy we will, club we can afford etc etc.
All this is leading to panicking early to avoid the rush in late August. It is painting a negative image of the club, lacking ambition.
I am no wordsmith but lets look at the Veruka issue. Does this sound better that the love sick puppy, Mavis sound bites we have had?
'We have made it clear to Mark we want him to stay and made him a generous offer, we are continuing to look for players to fit in with the squad we have to take us forward and we would like Viduka to be part of that.'
Cutting our cloth to suit our means? How about 'We are looking for good young players to grow with the club as we build on our achievements.'
I just dont know what the club is up to with the way it is portraying itself. It is creating the negativity by its own pronouncements, I dread to think of the effect on season ticket sales. I am sure there activity behind the scenes but in public can we have less Private Lawrie and more Captain Mainwaring.
Oh, and no more Jason Euelll signings please.
AV, I wont mention the technical problems afflicting the Gazette.
Viduka, as is his right is waiting for the biggest offer.
All the crap about the area, the club and his family will go out of the water if a bigger offer than Boro's comes along.
We all need to remember that he has been playing for a contract since January.
Once he has the comfort of a 3 year deal will his hunger be for pies and burgers or for goals?
As I have posted before, I think Billy Sharp could be a good signing. However, would he sign for the Boro?
How much ambition is there at the club?
£50 million in the pot and some how we don't have a pot to p*** in.
Worrying very worrying.
Boro must be quite well off if they can afford to pay agents £3m!
I see the accountants have predicted that the average salary of a premiership player will top £1m per year next year and the first £200,000 per week is only 5 years away.
Obviously the clubs have money to burn if they can pay those sort of wages... but when will they pass the tv money onto the fans? I'd like to see a day of boycotts by the fans to let football know we wont be taking advantage of anymore
**AV writes: Yes, but if the boycott is by people who have already shelled out for season tickets who will it hurt? It is the cultural change to season tickets that has given clubs carte blanche to ignore the supporters.
Any truth in the rumours that viduka is going to sign for newcastle within the next few days?
**AV writes: I would be surprised if they haven't at least approached him. I would be equally surprised if anything happens until July 1st when his contract runs out.
Whatever happened to the "sporting glory" statements of a year or so ago? It seems a long way off now!
The current malaise will not get people to renew as people are realising that giving up one day of their only two days off doesn't appeal as much anymore!
Average players earning a million pounds a season playing to avoid relegation, whilst others prosper, leaves me cold! I am very close to not bothering to renew after being a season ticket holder since 1982!
Not panicking, just very flat. Maybe there's more to life????
Just re read my posting - I would like to confirm that I dont like ra ra messages either, nor false promises, spin and fibs.
Anyway elsewhere on this site it looks like Viduka is off to Toon and we will be left with egg on our faces by our posturing.
Let us hope that behind the scenes we are acting with more zing then our public pronouncements have shown thus far.
I fear that we will be 31st'ing again, it is as predictable as the fact Jools Holland will be on at New Year apart from the fact he gets some class acts.
Cant really disagree with some of Vics comments
but we all know that GS needs to bring in a right back, right midfielder, back up striker now that christie & graham have gone, a replacement for dooks if he goes elsewhere and also will need to replace yak if the rumours of him wanting to move on are correct.
So we need to see some activity 3 players possibly 5 need to be brought in and GS Gibbo & Lambie have got
just over 2 months to do it.
So we will read the Gazette & surf the sites etc in the hope that we are indeed going to have some new names to chant from the new holgate end along with some old faves to abuse when they come back to haunt us
Well if mess'rs Gate, Gibbo and Lamb are going to panic at all (which I doubt) then the news that Viduka may be on his way up the A19 might, just might, sting the club into action.
If nothing else they will know exactly how much they have in the bank and what they can spend once they've sold Yak back to Pompey.
I'm sure that the club will bound forward now that we are clear of the obstacle that was Viduka, and we'll go on to build the team we deserve (or was it afford?)
AV
Can you please confirm when the TV mega bucks arrive?
**AV writes: The new deal starts next season. The dosh arrives in increments throughout the year but with the big money at the end as prize payments linked to league position.
Vic
I see that nice Mr. Paylor has now jumped on the 'can't afford it' bandwagon, surmising that we won't even get Kamara now that Vids has gone to the Barcodes (another Count DracuLamb triumph) and will have to put up with strikers from even lower divisions.
I've heard of realism but isn't this defeatism from the Gazette! Or is the Gazette sports team resigned to the Championship too - the newspaper Teesside can afford? Did Mr. Paylor's ambition die at Eindhoven along with Gibbo and Count DracuLamb (it seems he does know where the bodies are buried!)
Or maybe you're all just succumbing to the miasma of doom, lethargy, inactivity and foot-in-mouth spin emanating from the club because you have to put up with even bigger doses of it than we do.
**AV writes: The belt tightening, cloth cutting and getting the team we can afford started two years ago and accellerated last summer when the order of the day was trimming the wage bill.
Funds are limited and always have been. The Sky money barely covers the existing wage bill so any money for transfers has to be raised elsewhere - ST raise about £8m and that has been falling for the past few years.
Transfer cash is not magically produced from Gibson's wallet. In the past any spare cash sloshing around the Bulkhaul empire has been diverted towards Boro but this year the company have some major capital expenditure elsewhere - a big new plant in Singapore and the golf hotel at Hurworth for instance.
That is part and parcel of the way Boro is structured: in the past the club has been insulated from external financial pressures and the cash has always broadly been there but on the downside it is hostage to Bulkhaul's fortunes.
There would be little point in the Gazette unrealistically calling for the club to spend money that isn't there and that could even exacerbate the illusion of crisis.
I would rather see structural change in scouting, coaching and menatlity and a productive new relationship forged with fans and community than see the club panic and spend over the odds on average players .
AV - don't you think that SG should 'bite the bullett' and try and get some new investors on board?
**AV writes: Can it be done with the current corporate structure? Wouldn't an 'investor' want a return meaning higher prices somewhere down the line?
AV
Thanks for the info about Sky money and the situation at the club in reply to John Powls.
Two years ago it was obvious that the club would need a shakedown with the age of the squad and a number of buys who basically had a book value of zero either through age or an unnerving ability to devalue them.
We all can understand the cash flow issues. Money isnt everything, it isnt just about the ticket prices, it is also about the club looking as if it is moving forward.
They are not telling us what they are going to do, only that they have nothing to spend. Managing expectations is one thing, to be so downbeat is totally different. The message we are getting is that it will be difficult to progress.
The prognosis for season ticket sales will be bleak. If Viduka is going, get the bad news out quick and show some activity. 31st August will be too late. If the mood cannot be lifted, we are stll scratching about, then start the season with Wigan at home we will see a new record low crowd. The problem is that becomes the new benchmark.
Vic
In the Championship or the Premiership - you didn't say. Without some investment in key positions that won't await kids coming through we're out of the Prem after this season.
Not panicking, not wanting players who aren't good enough - just some sign that someone down at the club has even the foggiest idea what is going on and what to do about it.
And if it's all so difficult then how do Bolton, Blackburn and Reading (and the others) do it on crowds less than ours with the same coming through the door from Sky, Prem etc.
And if it's such a big disincentive to get into this market how come investors are round the honey pot like wasps in August.
If the means of investment and the reliance on a single investor, however benevolent a dictator, is no longer 'fit for purpose' - to quote a well known phrase - then the Gazette could call for that to change.
Has the article in the Gazette about Viduka just been plucked out the air? There are no official quotes from the Newcastle in the article and there is no statement on the Geordies' website. Where has this come from?
I'm not hitting the panic button, but there does seem to be a lot of negativity emanating from the club - 'balancing the books' et al. We've moved from being a club with real ambition to being one that is happy to retain its Premiership status season in, season out.
If we lose Viduka, particularly to a club that finished below us in the league last term, things are very bleak indeed. I've not known a time where so many players are rumoured to want away...
Everyone seems to be starting to question where all the tv money is going. Perhaps Mr Gibson is starting to want to see a return on his investment.
He may not take any money out of the club as salary but he maybe investing the money into off field things like a hotel and golf course,so that the overall value of his investment is goign up. He is an astute businessman after all. How much extra would a golf course and flash hotel add to the value of the whole business?
If Man Utd can sign players so soon after the end of the season then why the ruddy hell can't we? Also Lyon have a policy of bringing in players before the end of June [yes I know it isn't June yet]
Viduka should have been given an ultimatum or at the very least the so called targets identified for other position should have been acquired by now.
The fans are confused, no transfer budget, cloth cutting, if Gareth wants a player we will do the best to sign him...what is the truth? Money or not.
Also why do they have to spout about signing a world-class defender, Woodgate played for us most of last season, yes he is world class, but our defensive record was poor last year and we haven't improved the situation by keeping Woody... try and buy some midfielders who don't give away free kicks every two minutes.
So Vidukas going - maybe. Shame, he's a good goalscorer and good for at least 20 games a season.
On the other hand, how many games do we lose that we may have saved if we had forwards capable of closing down defenders for 90 minutes.
Savings of his salary alone will be enough to cover the wages of at least two decent young strikers.
And by the way - dont give us that BS about Charlton being a club with ambition. They're obviously willing to pay the player more than we think he's worth. You could call it ambition but it's more likely desperation.
Looks like the club is managing it's resources wisely in my view. There are a lot of good players looking for clubs and being held to ransom by the first player to come along would be crazy.
I would like to know how Steve Gibson expects the bright future he has of Middlesbrough F.C to materialise.
I've got nothing against the man and admire the good job he has done ever since 1986 when the old club called in the liquidators. Unfortunately, reaching the Uefa Cup final seems to have been a huge turning point for the club and I don't mean for the better.
Last season was difficult after the club decided to employ a rookie manager. Southgate has done his best and nobody can fault him for that, but the facts of the matter is that he has offloaded a number of players and now that it looks like Viduka is going as well, we are short of strikers.
I would like to know what makes Steve Gibson believe that this club has what it takes to automatically qualify for a Uefa Cup place at the end of the coming season?
Even a backup striker from a lower division has turned down Boro in favour of signing for a Championship club, so it doesn't fill the fans with hope that we can attract a genuine striker of the same calibre as Viduka who is tried and tested at the top level and who can score a minimum of 15 goals for us next season.
This would seem to be the minimum requirement just to keep us at the same level that we were last season. To improve on last season and come anywhere near what Steve Gibson's vision of the future, would appear to require a lot more than simply replacing Viduka, and even if Viduka was to stay after all, we'd still need to add at least two quality right-sided players to be in with any chance of qualifying for Europe.
What with club buyouts and silly money being made available for transfers to clubs that finished slightly above or below Boro in the Premiership last season, it looks to me that we are already struggling to keep up with the mediocre premiership clubs before the season even starts.
It's alright people saying don't be so pessimistic, but what is there to be optimistic about ? Maybe they are thinking of Woodgate signing a 4 year contract ? But he played quite a lot of games for us last season so even if he plays as well and as often next season, we still won't have actually improved because of him.
Other people say that the younger players will be another year older and wiser and even better. I hope that they're right about that but from what I've seen, only Downing would be good enough to get a game if he played for a top six side. Taylor, Cattermole and Johnson are improving but they were less than average Premiership quality last season and it would be a huge leap for any of them to become top Premiership players.
I hope that I'm wrong, but I can only see a desperate fight for Premiership survival for Boro next season with Southgate relying even more on his defenders to keep the goals against figure from getting out of control, and who is going to score the goals we need to survive?
Yakubu ended the season with a goal drought and will no doubt be missing for the African Nations Cup for a month, Lee Dong hasn't even scored a goal for the club so far, and nobody scored more than 2 Premiership goals for us last season apart from Viduka and Yakubu.
The reasons that John Powls has given why the club cannot afford to improve the squad for next season are perfectly valid and understandable, but even without blaming anybody within the club for where we are today (1/6/07), I firmly believe that we are among the favourites for relegation next season.
I also believe that Southgate and his staff will do the best job that they possibly can under the circumstances (give or take the odd error of judgement due to Southgate's inexperience).
But at the end of the day, other clubs that finished last season within 6 points of Boro are likely to be in a much better financial position for next season with a strengthened squad, whereas Boro appear likely to be in a much worse financial position and with a weaker squad. It's not rocket science, just common sense.
Andy
Please don't tag me - even in error - with justifying the clubs position. That's Vic in response to me.
Even if we have to glean it from actions rather than from reading between the doom-laden lines, I think the club's position is untenable, if we want to stay in the Prem.
On the subject of Gibbo pronouncements, he said last close season that he was going to to bring in a "top drawer manager". Gate is many things and has many fine qualities and potential but a top drawer manager is most assuredly not what he was then or is now.
So Gibbo was 'economical with the truth' last June, why shouldn't he be doing so again when he talks about support for Gate in the transfer market, particularly when the big feature on the club website is about the hotel and golf course at Hurworth.
What's that got to do with Boro - apart from draining resource available for team building that is.
Things do look bleak and I honestly believe, like many others, that Boro will struggle to compete, or even survive in the Premier League without significant new investment. As much as Gibson's model of a local club run by local people is appealingly British, I fear it is no longer enough.
I am not in favour of what is happening in football these days with dodgy ex-PMs and a variety of foreign 'businessmen' turning the Premier League into a giant washeteria. However, if you want to keep pace you need to climb into the drum even though the underlying worry is that the whole thing will fall into a heap once the cycle is finished and football has been hung out to dry.
As has been written here, how it would be possible to attract investment with the current commercial set-up I don't know. I just know that without it, MFC is very definitely on the slippery slope.
Is anyone listening at HQ? Are we just barking at the moon, p***ing in the wind? Now a slight interlude in our navel gazing, a new Wembley, a revolutionary midifeld of Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard and Cole. I wonder why it hasnt been tried before?
Andy, you are talking rubbish. We won't be favourates to go down at all. The favourates will be fulham, wigan, sunderland,birmingham and derby.
if viduka stays we wont make europe and if he goes we wont get relegated.
Every summer we get the same old opinions of people panicking becuase we havent sign any players within two weeks of the season finishing despite players being on holiday.
Everyone is getting carried away with viduka but prior to 2007 is record at boro was nothing special. It was only since his contract was running out he started playing well consistently.
So maybe no matter what money we offered him he wanted to move on a free. You cant force a player to stay if he doesnt want to and I would rather go out and get young hungry players who want to play for the club.
Now lets go and buy Doyle, Nugent or Bent who have scored similar goals to viduka this season.
I bet when yakubu get his form back next season we will have forgotten about viduka.
Two prime targets - Baird from The Saints for right back and Stephen Davis from Villa for box to box midfield are now front and centre in the frame with deals being lined up by a number of clubs.
Neither should break the bank and we shouldn't be competing with any of the big boys in a bidding war. Neither are dependent on Vids going or not - we need the positions filling anyway.
If Gibbo and Count DracuLamb mean what they say about supporting Gate - get in and secure these two now.
Gera is available but if a price can't be agreed then pull the plug now, move on and nail a wide right player quickly. Again, not Vids related.
If this (or something very like it) is done then we can all be told to shut up. If not, well.........
Fascinating also to see that our lack of pace, power and drive which many of us have pointed out many times has now been publicly accepted by Gate who admits that we haven't had enough of either 'in all his time at the club'. Right, sort it then.
Alf,
In defence of Andy, he said we will be among the favourites not actually the favourite.
But either way I support his view taking into account how we performed for most of last season, the players we have shed or are about to shed, and the fact that we currently don't seem to have any clear cut transfer targets.
My earlier post above includes quotes from Gibbo, one of which points to a "list of targets, some of which the club are pursuing now", that was on May 12th.
Now I don't expect the club to divulge this "list", but where is the evidence that we are actively working towards any new faces?
We are now hearing rumours that point to both of our strikers leaving, and if that comes to pass are you really that optimistic that we will not be fighting for survival next season?
If Boro do not strengthen the squad we will struggle next season.
Sunderland and Birmingham have the cash and ambition to be stronger than other sides that have been promoted from the Championship.
Prices for relegation next season are
Derby 4/7
Birmingham 6/4
Reading 7/2
Man City 4/1
Sunderland 4/1
Boro 5/1
Bolton 6/1
Portsmouth 8/1
West Ham 8/1
This shows that Boro are expected to be in the bottom six by the bookies.
Sunderland have already had 30,000 season ticket applications. How many have Boro had?
I know most Boro fans are pessimists, but now the PR department, board and manager are making Victor Meldrew look like a ray of sunshine.
As said above, worrying, very worrying.
Alf, why would Doyle even contemplate coming to Boro? He's playing of a club that has had a great season and narrowly missed out on Europe. With the current state of play, a move to us is hardly a progression for his career. Reading would neve sell him anyway.
AV highlighted the main crux of the matter in one of his recent blogs - if we keep Viduka, it costs us nothing. Maybe 20k extra a week in wages. If we lose him, we will have to re-invest money for a quality striker, thus taking away money for potential investment in other more pressing areas of the squad.
Nugent and Bent? What are we looking at, between £8m and £10m each? It's a lot of money, especially when we already have a player of proven Premiership quality in the ranks. This is exactly why I hope Viduka stays, and why I hope the club has done absolutely everything in its power to keep him here.
The only difference between us and the teams that got relegated was the ability to score goals !
If Viduka does go,we have a major problem straight away.
Why have the club allowed this to drag on ! we have been through this before with Zenden and Ziege,but we never seem to learn from our mistakes.
Come on SG lets have some ruthless leadership !
"Alf, why would Doyle even contemplate coming to Boro? "
more money?£££££££
neverhappy, you missed off wigan
We have just spent £7m on Woodgate and any more transfer funds wil not appear until the season ticket money is in. This summer i think we wil spend about £12m in total and that includes woodgate. That is quite a bit of money for a club our size.
Why dont people just chill out take a month off from football and come back 1st july then start panicking?
**AV writes: If people take a month off what will I do?
"Why have the club allowed this to drag on ! we have been through this before with Zenden and Ziege,but we never seem to learn from our mistakes."
Ziege was different he had a release cluase in his contract. He would not have signed for boro without that release clause of 4.5M. WE couldnt stop him leaving.
Zenden left to go play for the best team in europe at that time. Boro couldn't be expected to stop him.
In the end these two players didnt want to play for boro because they wanted to move onto better things, So if viduka doesnt want to stay then we cant stop him. I dont want a player staying at boro because we were daft enough to pay him £80-£100k per week for 2 or 3 years.
Fans should be backing the chairman not some money grabbing foreigner
I will try again.
Things move quickly in the betting arena.
Birmingham are now quoted at evens to be relegated.
I missed off
Wigan 6/5
Fulham 6/4
Guess that makes us eighth bottom next season according to the bookies.
AV - if we all take a month off, you can relax in your Ivory Tower sipping cocktails served up by your minnion's.
**AV writes: Sounds good.
why is eevryone wetting their knickers? boro never sign anyone till august 31. you cant meddle with tradition. and when did people start expecting "big" signings anyway?.
the couple of years of robbo splashing out were a blip. the last couple under macbore were mainly frees. last year the wasted all the big money on huth. this year its gone on woody. thats the norm now. were getting the team we can afford. learn to live with it.
"Guess that makes us eighth bottom next season according to the bookies."
lol! so that would put us about 12th in the table if the bookies get things right! What are our odd for qualifying for the uefa cup in the league?
Alf - you've done it again, mate!! Once again I find myself agreeing with you. Have you been on holiday or summat?
You're quite right - there are several other clubs in the Prem next season who look worse than us - to your list I would add Reading, Man City and Portsmouth. Boro should finish higher than all of them on paper. You're right too when you say that without Viduka we won't make Europe. So it's mid-table again,then.
Personally I don't see what all the doom and gloom is about. OK, so we didn't win anything or qualify for Europe, and after the UEFA Cup Final, that was a disappointment. But AV has already written that 12th is about our natural place, given the history of the club.
I feel people are panicking unduly. There's plenty of time to make good signings and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. We do need to strenghten but we already have a core of players that's good enough to see us through. Lighten up, lads and lasses!
Alf - I put up the available prices, as most of us know the bookies don't always gat it right.
Reading were odds on to be relegated according to the bookies at the start of last season.
Not many posters were more optimistic than me last season, but I know from what I watched that Boro need new players. Without them we will struggle.
"Alf - I put up the available prices, as most of us know the bookies don't always gat it right."
So who knows who else might struggle too.
everton and bolton for example. bolton will fall apart without big sam and wigan will go down now that their manager has left. fulham are in a mess and wont spend much. add wigan,bolton and fulham to birmingham, sunderland and derby then there are your teams for relegation. dont forget reading, no sidwell and 2nd season syndrome.they will struggle
Alf - I don't think Boro should have to rely on other teams failings.
Last season Boro failed to build on the UEFA cup run and delivered a season of mediocrity.
If you are happy to settle for that then good luck to you, I want better for Boro and it's supporters.
Suddenly we are starting to see rumours of potential signings. There are several possible reasons.
The club have been working away behind the scenes and kept it quiet. That is fine but they shouldnt have been so negative in their communications.
It is possible the activity has been leaked by the club to boost flagging confidence.
It is possible it has been leaked to deflect forthcoming news.
Season ticket renewals are coming up.
Who knows? What is certain is that if we were not actively pursuing players we would be in trouble next season. The proof of the pudding will be in who comes in to the club to replace those who leave. No more Euells please, the players most be to improve the squad.
We should expect better than mid-table mediocricy, especially since the UEFA Cup Final and the FA Cup semi-final. I fail to understand why our club has managed to regress rather than progress.
Who are we going to attract over the summer? There used to be so much positivity stemming from the club that it was hard not to get excited. Talk of big signings, europe, good cup runs have been replaced by a need to balance the books and retain our Premiership status.
It's only June and there's plenty of time before the start of the season. For what it's worth, I don't believe we will go down next year regardless, but I can't admit to being happy about the current state of play at our club.
the strenth of signings to come, shows only one element for me. the pulling power of the manager is not of the right element.
i dont see this as a man who can pull in the big talent, big players are set to leave the club, and smaller unknown will arrive.
its simple maths for me championship players mean you will soon arive to there previous knocking grounds.
and im sure when lamb made all the big promises to woodgate this wasnt on the agenda. and if like the duke or yak wouldnt you want to jump a sinking ship.
i belive you get what you deserve in life and gareths certinaly getting championship football COMING SOON!!.
I strongly agree with Never Happy. Are we really going to go into next season like the one just past, hoping that there are 3 teams worse than us in the Prem as our only hope - and then only surviving by the skin of our teeth like this time round or more likely worse.
Is all we have to look forward to spending the last 2 months of the season working the BBC predictor to see if the oracle comes up with anything other than relegation?
I have to disagree with all of you who are relaxed over the issue of transfers. What is your evidence for suggesting that waiting until the last minute - as usual - will bring us any more success this time round than it has before?
Yet more fine words from Count DracuLamb on the club website today. Not worth the paper they aren't printed on without concrete action to back them up - and quick!
"Who are we going to attract over the summer? There used to be so much positivity stemming from the club that it was hard not to get excited. Talk of big signings, europe, good cup runs have been replaced by a need to balance the books and retain our Premiership status"
Get real. It simply isn't / wasn't sustainable. If the fans and wider Teesside public doesn't turn up - and it hasn't, for some time - as the man says we get the team we can afford / deserve.
The area has the potential to sustain a biggish prem club - but evidently it doesn't want to. Apathy, negativity and all that wins once again.
The club will have to try a different tack to get the many many cynicial people of Tessside to buy into Gibson's dream but how you do that short of genetic experiments God knows.
" Fans should be backing the chairman not some money grabbing foreigner "
Hey Alf, I'm half Italian and I can tell you that I really don't care for your Johnny Foreigner attitude.
Please explain to me why Woody isn't money grabbing ?
Oh yes, I forgot, he's a, " Home Grown Lad " so he can get away with anything he wants to.
He publicly stated that he wanted to wait to see other offers before signing and he didn't come to his, " Dream Club " on the cheap and he certainly didn't sign for us on somekind of discounted rate because playing for the Boro was his boy hood dream.
I eagerly await your explanation......
TB
I tend to agree with Ian, the club are obviously leaking stories about interest in this player and that player, and our friends at The Gazette are playing their role (sorry VIc but you know its true)
I have always believed that when the fans raise issues like all of this above, that the club are not blind or deaf, they just get struck dumb, until it suits them to come out with the tripe that Lamb came out with yesterday; Gibsons appology for handing Gate poison chalice; his rousing speech about forging ahead etc,.
But you know what, I can't blame them for trying, and in some ways I wish we could pull the wool over 35000 pairs of eyes and see a full stadiium every week, get some of what has been lost from the Robbo era back into the club, but it's never going to happen.
The club and us the fans, have become victims of our own success, yes success. Most of us remember the dark days of 1986, and we don't want to see it again, or see us dispappear after coming so far like the 70's side we had with all that potential back then.
We crave for more of what we only just tasted, and its a natural human reaction that if you see, hear, taste, touch something that gives you pleasure you want more.
But the clubs ambitions have clearly been trimmed to suit the finance available via the Bulkhaul empire, we are now a club who just wants to survive if all of the messages are clear.
That's going to be life for us for a few years yet, particularly if Gibson sticks with his promise never to let anyone into the club, because the priority on any spare cash will always head towards his main line businesses, it has to, it makes commercial sense, and right now I believe that those businesses do not include Boro, because its a loss making entity. In the real world of business the club would be up for sale, but thankfully Gibson is a fan as well as business man so he is still willing to pump cash in.
All we can do is write into sites like this, air our views and hope the club listens. Most of us will be out there next season home and away watching the lads, whoever they are, and that is what will keep this club afloat, and Gibson knows that.
I just hope that we do see an injection of new talent into the team for next year, but don't expect "top drawer" signings, those days have gone, and if Viduka goes too then there is a potential £10m hole in the clubs money pot that quite frankly they will not be able to afford.
**AV writes: "...and our friends at The Gazette are playing their role (sorry VIc but you know its true)"
Sory Neil but that is categorically not true. The club do not leak stuff intending us to put out a smokescreen. Whil eI believe the club can be cynical at times I am not sure they are sophisticated enough to iniate that kind of operation.
Plenty of snippets are leaked over the summer and we will snaffle them up eagerly but they will mainly come from agents trying to drum up interest or from other papers who ring up and say there has been a link at their end.
The trick is to report the rumours but not get caught up chasing them. Very little of the summer tittle-tattle is true.
I agree with much of th erst of what you say.
Coggins
How to get the people of Teesside to buy into Gibbo's dream? Simple.
It's the same as any business - give people a product worth buying and value for money in your market and they'll buy it. A football club has a head start over most businesses because it should have a captive market actively yearning to buy.
But also, for other people to buy in so does Gibbo. People want action - not words. They trust the first not the second, through experience.
What is evident from the actions since Eindhoven (with the exception of getting shot of The Ex and Round) is that Gibbo's ambition - and that of his 'dark side' Count DracuLamb - died there.
If they want people to believe that's not true and the dream is still alive then they have to act differently, support with investment in players not golf clubs and hotels (at least, not as a priority) and give people hope that next season will be better than last season's disaster.
Surprise, surprise - players are people too! They can be attracted by a dream, ambition and a positive attitude. They can just as easily be turned off by the lack of it. Why was it so hard to secure a number of players last close season and why will it be hard this close season? Why could we do it before? Same as why we struggle to convince the punters.
If we followed up on the pitch with the style of play we all want to see and Gate says he wants the ground will be full more often than not.
Craig
Is Jonathan Woodgate not a "big player", then? He's only come from Real Madrid after all. He seemed happy enough to sign for Southgate. There'll be others, too.
But we can't afford mega-bucks. I'd love to go for Shaun Wright-Phillips and Jermaine Defoe, but they won't come because we can't afford them. Others will. They may not be so-called big names, but I trust Southgate to get it right.
OK Vic, I stand corrected, I respect what you said.
But surely you will admit that the press in general will try to spice things up a bit, after all you have to sell newspapers.
I mean describing Aliadiaire as a "hit man" is a stretching it a bit.
**AV writes: We'll stretch it further than that before the Summer is out.
If the reports are true then Alliadiere may well be talking to us. There is potential but he certainly has never been a prolific goalscorer either at Arsenal or at loan clubs.
Maybe he will settle and come on leaps and bounds, if Wenger has kept him so long he must have talent, to let him go means he may not be good enough with Arsenals pool of talented players from around the globe.
That of course presupposes that the stories are true and that if we speak to him he will want to come.
There stories of approaches for other players - Sean Davis and an alleged bid for Mustapha. So we are seeing movement. But I agree with Clive that we wont be getting so called big names.
Just back from my holiday, so I'm not in panic mode just yet! I didn't see Mr. Viduka on the beach, but when I tpld my Greek taxi driver who I supported his response was 'ah yes, Mark Viduka!' which says something.
If Newcastle have made him a 'big' offer then Boro have two alternatives, match the offer or walk away, if they have any sense they will match it, then he has a very simple decision to make.
As for the talk from the club implying little money available to spend, this is hard to believe. Maybe its a way of avoiding other clubs thinking we have shed loads of cash to spend. If its true then its a bit worrying, considering the big earners which have been off loaded in January.
This time of the year is the rumour season because there is no news to report, the rumours cause you to panic if you have no faith.....me I'm off into the garden for a Stella!
Clive
Sorry, mate - but what evidence do you have that causes you to believe Gate will get it right? Or indeed Gibbo and Count DracuLamb who seem to have more say in those matters.
If stories are to be believed - and I know they're not always true, but this one has legs - he is trying to sign Aliadiere.
If paired with Simba - assuming Vids and The Yak go - that would replace a 40 goal a season pairing with 2 'strikers' who don't have a premiership goal between them.
He seems to be more interested in Sean Davis from Pompey rather than either Gary O'Neil or even Stephen Davis from Villa.
If that's the judgement - and you can add Euell and, for different reasons, Huth to that - do we have cause for trust or optimism?
Vids and Yak.
I'd let both go. Vids scored most of his goals towards the end of the season....funny that when his contract is up and he's looking for a move away...he's stalling on a deal with us because he's holding out to see who is going to come in for him, not because he is thinking over our deal.
How hard is it to say yes or no to say £40k a week? As i dont make that in a year i think it would take me all of 1 second to make my mind up!
As with Yak, he plays well from Aug-Dec then stops playing and looses interest, so let him go for between 7-9 mil and lets bring in players who will give their all and perform for a whole season.
I'd like us to sign all 4 forwards we have been linked with, Alialdiere, Kamara, Moore and Porter. All hungry to do well and in some cases to prove that they can play in the prem league and score goals (Ali and Kam).
What i dont understand is Gates comments that transfers dont take place now coz people are on holiday. Really? Has anyone told Harry at Pompey, Sir Alex, Martin Joll etc!
Seems like its just us not doing business. How can you prepare for a season when players you bring in dont get a full pre season with their team mates and go through the tactics, set pieces etc that they will do? Narrow mindedness from us.....again!
Charlton have just gone down, they have a decent right back, England caps and squad selection, will be desperate to keep in the mind of the England manager and will want Prem football, so why aren't we knocking on his door? He isn't brilliant i know but is way better than any right back we have at the club and will certainly do a good job for us.
Right midfield.....Pennant, Wright-Phillips, Routledge, even a cheeky loan request for Walcott, and the one thing they all have in common...young and ENGLISH, all wanting to be the new man on the block to take the RM place in the England side, so have hunger and determination, not an over paid, over rated jonny foreigner.
Lets see some real ambition from the club, its all us fans want and more so, deserve.
Jon Cooke
Ive heard some disturbing stories recently that Gibbo has his eye off the ball recently and has become rapidly disillusioned with the club he loves. He has been trying to bring on board another financial backer to the club I'm told.
Is the boro bubble about to pop..
Hope not.. Come on Gibbo make us a force to be contended with again...Get the cheque book out again...Youve done it before.
We all have times in life where we get distracted by other interests but the club is starting to feel like a club on the way down rather than on the way up..
I havent renewed my season ticket for 2 years now..The games are still too expensive and lacklustre..
The crowds ability to come up with new exciting chants has dissaperaed...The same old" Come on Boro" is nauseating now! Wheres the old Holgate passion gone..
It wont return unless the players produce passionate gritty hard working performances where the opposition are intimidated harrasssed and gebnerally bullied into defeat...
I miss the edginess that Ayresome used to have..Does anyone else agree.
Bring back the Power Game by the way..It makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck !!
Come on Boro!!
The club has said it will not get caught up in a bidding war over Viduka's wages. An offer is on the table and we just have to hope he nods his head and signs on the dotted line. That's when he returns from playing beach volley ball in Benidorm, though.
I might be way off the mark, but I don't think it is entirely about money with him. There is a lot of positive noise coming out of St James' Park at the minute with them set to sign players like Joey Barton. If Newcastle offer a similar deal to us, which looks more attractive considering the current climate?
It's down to the suits to make us an attractive prospect for potential signings. We have to hope they've put over the ambition that makes our club an exciting place to be. They can agree fees with clubs all day long, but if it doesn't look good to a player, they just won't come.
I agree with Jon Cooke, Luke Young is a good prospect and Premiership clubs should be raiding Charlton. It will probably happen over the next few weeks, we just have to bear with it for the time being, it is still only very early days.
Oh dear, do I sound like Keith Lamb?
I saw an article in the sunday times today about clubs wage bill. all but 1 club had their wage bill listed. the one missing was middlesbrough. times was saying boro refused to tell them. Wonder why that is?
is it because its pretty high? i reckon our wage bill is in the upper £30M. Even charlton were paying £35m in wages. Have boro got something to hide? i think a lot of the money is being diverted into the projects to build a hotel and golfcourse.
I see we have agreed a fee with that french striker at arsenal... sadly it is not henry but some 24 year old who has scored 11 goals at the top level. I hope he isnt our big strikers signing!!
Club seems to have lost ambition or direction or both.
JP
Fair comment, mate. Jason Euell was blunder number 1. He rose without trace and is unfortunately still with us. And I wouldn't trust The Lamburger with my budgie.
However, I do trust Southgate. Sure, he was a rookie last year and the season was disappointing, but I think he has great leadership qualities and will only get better. He is trying to turn the club around, trying to get us to play attractive, attacking football, trying to get shot of the deadwood.
I remain optimistic. The signings we get (or don't) over the Summer and the first 2 or 3 games of mext season will be the proof of the pudding.
Because Southgate is a defender by trade he is good at spotting defenders to sign but not good at spotting strikers. Going for that french man at arsenal does worry me. And now that viduka is off to newcastle. Is yakubu next to go?
Looks like Viduka is going to Newcastle, they say its a done deal but I would love it if Viduka turned around and said "Nah, Im stayin' at Boro." How much would it wind Newcastle up.
But we have probably accepted the fact hes going to St James' Park which of course leaves Boro in abit of a mess.
Dong Gook & Yakubu on their own, Jason Euell sat on the bench.... got some great games to look forward to, unless we can pull off a suprising signing.
Hopefully Jeremie Aliadiere will agree to come to Boro, I'm sure Dong Gook wont mind staying on the bench because thats probably how it will pan out.
I'd love Dong Gook to score because thats when I reckon he'll get goals week in week out and we'll be looking good, but things like that we just have to wait and see.
If we cant manage to persuade Aliadiere to come to Boro, where does that leave us, if we cant find a good replacement for Viduka.
But whats this about the 19 year old Brazilian Striker Kerlon? that official that he maybe one of our signings? either way, if not, I reckon Southgate should see how Rochemback does teamed up with Dong Gook .. I'm sure he'd do a grand job, afterall I think Rochemback plays quality when he gets his game, everywhere the ball is, hes there covering it. A player like Rochemback deserves his game every week.
For all we know, next season might shape up to be a good one, look at when we won the Carling Cup 3 years ago, did we have the likes of Viduka & Yakubu ... nope, yes they did help when they came to Boro, we did go along way... so lets just wait and see what next season has for us, if Viduka moves to the Rival Toon officially, then gives us a better reason to beat them badly, thats if we have any players left after the transfer deadline!
New Badge, New Era and what a way to start and we ain't having the white chest band on the kit next season are we? unless I've missed something, our star striker looks set to be going to the Toon, I bet Big Sam doesnt have any intentions of playing Viduka, they just want to snap him up because they are probably still crying that they didnt get Woodgate!
Yeah ok, wasn't that bad spending £7m on Woodgate, least our central defence looks stronger, but its left a nice dent on who we can look to buy, we are ok for central midfielders and left-wingers, yeah, should have just got Mendieta into shape and gave him chance on the right, least he'd get a 1st team game now and again I mean come on, he did score 2 goals against Manchester United last season so he cant be all that bad.
But right now, next season looks bleak. What will january's transfer window hold for us? back to sqaure one or will we benefit from it? looks like we'll just have to wait and see if we survive the drop. If we do, it goes to show we aint a championship side, if we suffer player problems and remain in the premiership goes to show we'll eventually hit Europe sometime once we are 100% on the ball!
We were all suprised last year when we heard Gareth Southgate was our new manager, but for a rookie manager in his first season, it could have been worse.
We finished higher than we did last year, I still believe that he will get us somewhere and I dont mean relegated, I mean I believe that one day we WILL be back in Europe, even if it is just pure luck, we'll be there, and Newcastle wont be. For all we known Dong Gook might be our star hitman next season, its one of those things were we got to wait and see!
How can the boro ever hope that season ticket holders will renew their tickets or that they can attract new season ticket buyers,when all they have done is let a player who's goals near the end of the season kept us in the premiership, move to our rivals newcastle ON A FREE!!
What stopped them from offering viduka a contract in january if they knew there wasn't going to be money to spend? What have the fans got endure next season?
If our Kangaroo keeper has any seeds of doubt, then my advice to Gareth is to show him the exit door, bearing in mind that he once touched its handle and got well burnt.
The club had no chance of keeping Viduka, because he is simply a 31 year old mercenary juggling a financial yoyo.
Two years down the line and Allardyce will no doubt get the repetitive bullet and Viduka will swear that his new Turkish club are going places as he pens a slippery 2 year deal.
It’s just a merry-go –round of pennies that make loyal fans look like complete clowns these days. So, I most certainly hope he also HOPS it or Steve Wonder buys Gateshead FC.
The club must show no loyalty to anyone other than those whose hearts are inside it and I hope other fans read this post and also have a blast.
So what if Viduka has gone, everyone knew by his form that he was playing for a transfer in the end.
Schwarzer now has a seed of doubt coz Viduka has left, all I will say is: See Ya. Sell him, our young keepers are good enough to replace him if not go for that Kula Shaker keeper at Man U (ex wba) or Jaskelinen from Bolton.
Alidiere is not for me, id rather see us go for Dean Ashton or a more realistic option would be Marlon Harewood. Allidiere has pace but thats it, once teams figure that out he is screwed.
From the youtube clip of this brazilian lad Kerlon that was on here, I think we defo need to take a closer look, he looks superb in those clips and id love to see him with a boro shirt on, dribbling the ball on his head around the mackems and gordies and blasting one in the back of the net.
Again i will repaet we stil need a centre mid and i would go for flamini from arsenal, also these links to Geremi, i think he is looking a good option at min, we know what he's about, he has premiership experience and can play rb, rm & cm.