Baggies Clash Is Political Dynamite
IT'S quiet out there; too quiet. After the emotional post-derby gnashing and wailing has died down along with the dust from DowningGate there is an eeriie silence. Well, almost silence. You can just faintly hear the metallic scrape as knives are sharpened.
In a superlative-stretching season of high stakes and higher tension when every up-coming emotionally draining crunch clash is routinely becoming "the biggest of the season so far", it is hard to over-state the political importance of the trip to West Brom.
Defeat to the rock bottom Baggies would be totally unacceptable. After nine without a win have left Boro dangling precariously over the trapdoor, the consequences of letting the bookies' favourites for the drop complete a double to move level on points are barely comrehensible. It could spark a revolt among the jittery masses and already wilting morale could disintegrate in front of our eyes. Certainly it would add vigour, volume and urgency to the growing shouts against Gareth Southgate. And it would pile the pressure on Steve Gibson to rethink his financial planning and 'no one leaves' policy in order to inject fresh blood and a new dimension to a tattered and tired looking squad.
Three weeks ago Mogga's men looked dead and buried. They were seven points away from safety but they have dug in and ground out successive home wins over fellow strugglers Spurs and Manchester City to suggest they have a bit of bottle for the battle.
In midweek they beat Peterborough in a cup replay with new loan striker Jay Simpson of Arsenal on target , their first away win since the shock 1-0 victory at the Riverside, a game that exhibited all of Boro's weaknesses as they battered the Baggies relentlessly for 90% of the game but failed to find a way past an inspired keeper then were undone as they failed to deal with a set-piece.
I am deeply worried. Boro should have enough to beat West Brom. The team must realise the enormity of the situation. Victory could buy time and carve out breathing space and give the squad and the crowd time to mentally and emotionally regroup ready for a renewed push towards mid-table safety.
But it is a game they simply can not afford to lose. Even a draw may not be enough to ease the pressure with a trip to Chelsea up next. Defeat won't condemn Boro - there is a lot of football still to be played - but it could change the already bleak pyschological landscape in Gazetteshire for the worse and lead to a collapse in morale at a time when we all need to be united to stave off disaster.
It will lead to widespread calls for the head of Southgate, a backlash against the players and possibly even pointed criticism aimed higher up the chain of command. Most reasonable and informed supporters accept Steve Gibson's arguments for a more prudent club operating on a balanced budget if that model can sustain Boro in the Premiership - but if it appears to be taking Boro to a far lower cost-base environment through relegation to the Championship it will be far harder to sell to the punters.
This could be one of those epoch making matches. Boro must win it.
*****
WOLVES eh? The ghosts of 1981 will not help lighten the mood.
*****
HOW long before Phil Brown implodes under the weight of his own ego? Already we have seen the former call-centre headphone wearing appliance of science acolyte of Fat Sam rebrand himself as a quirky scarf wearing fashion icon who spends as much time on TV studio sofas as in the dug-out. We have watched as he failed to realise that his players were simmering with resentment at his half-time team-talk on the pitch pantomime, staged so the supporters could see he was as angry as them. And we have smirked as he slipped into talking in the third person, always a sign of a media creation who believes their own publicity.
Last night after beating Newcastle - a game in which he was sent to the stands for snarling at Sweary Joe - he despatched assistant Brian Horton to talk to written press while he held court for the cameras. Talking about Phil Brown. Hull are about to plummet down the table. Let's see how he spins that.
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Anthony Vickers
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Typical Boro will lose at the Hawthorns and beat Chelsea at the Bridge!
The majority of fans have been incredibly patient and bit their lips at more games than just the Sunderland match this season. Defeat against Mogga's men would leave the club glad to be playing the next two away to Wolves and Chelsea with those games being a potential watershed.
Whatever happens the next three games will be the biggest of Gareth's managerial career. Win two of them and the club's fortunes take on a whole different aspect, lose 2 of them and the wheels will be well and truly off.
No pressure then!
Think the Baggies will win this one. We are on a roll at home and the incentive to get level on points with Boro will be big. I don't think your away record is good enough to beat us.
You may take a stab a Hull City, however i'd give my right and left arms for Boro to be in their position at the moment.
They're signing new players in the window, whereas we're treading water with the same faces week in and week out and its just not working. Its clear that we need new blood in the team, however none is forthcoming.
This weekend really should be the make or break weekend for GS. There is a real possibility of a loss on the cards here, and if there is Southgate should be packing his bundle and walking away. Whether that will happen if there is a loss remains to be seen. Gibson doesn't really like to sack his managers, however at a time like this the horse is growing ever closer to the door before it bolts and its too late.
We need to act now. A win is a must at the weekend, with a Chelsea team that seem to be getting their act back together looming on the horizon, we need all the points on the board from this weekends fixture.
**AV writes: It is not a stab at Hull. I like them. I once guided them to the FA Cup final on Championship Manager. It is the manager's media monster that bugs me.
A sure sign of the state of planet MFC will be the team Gate sends out. From Arca's words earlier in the week he is tinkering away changing things around.
It is difficult to know whether they are changes for the better. I suspect we need some stability and players in positions that brings out the best in all of them.
Most of all we need to be playing further up the pitch, it is no good attacking players getting past their man into space 25 yards out if that is in their own half.
Most of all we need the team to turn up at 3.00pm and finish at 4.55pm. Lawro's predictions have West Brom, Spurs, Blackburn winning and Stoke and ourselves falling into the bottom three. It wouldnt be a disaster, that is what happens after earthquakes but it would result in a grumpy weekend.
John Powls 7 points needed in January looks a tad difficult at the moment but as I always say............ (fill in the blanks)
Heres hoping
AV, having read your article I wish Gareth had a bit more fight like you do!
I agree with you completly that a loss would be unacceptable. We havnt won a derby at all this season, we have been losing to the teams we should be beating at home and losing in the last minutes of matches too much for my heart to take!
It's got to stop. A win at the weekend would be fantastic! I hope we can do it!!
UP THE BORO!!!
As a Baggie may I suggest that you take Mr Mowbray back to his home asap.
Thank you so much.
We can't lose. That would be disaster. Even a draw is not great because other teams down there play each other (Newcastle/Blackburn, Spurs/Pompey)so some will pick up points and we could easily lose a lot of ground.
If we lose (and I've written off Chelsea) then nothing less than a win over Blackburn will save Southgate. Lose that and he's gone or we've gone. Or both.
Awesome paragraph on Phil Brown AV, I will be smiling for the rest of the day.
Yep another cliche ridden 'must win' game! My gut feeling is that we'll win this one 2-0, Alves is playing with restored confidence and we're bound to keep a clean sheet soon!
I'm considering popping down to The Bridge for the Wednesday night match, I've never been to see Boro play Chelsea at home, a point of principle because of the prices they charge, but its time to pull together now so hang the cost....
If ever there was a must win game then WBA is it - if we lose we could very well be sitting second bottom level with the baggies - however, if we win we could be spending Saturday evening at the dizzy height of 11th.
Should we lose badly then I fear SG must contemplate ending Southgate's tenure otherwise at what point should action be taken to try and save the club from relegation? However, since there doesn't seem to be an obvious replacement on the radar, sacking Southgate would probably leave us with Crosby in charge for February.
I fear Gibson has no Plan B and therefore we can only hope Gareth and the team really do get it together asap.
So there's no point in being timid on Saturday - we must go for it and try and score 2 or 3 goals to avoid any more late mishaps costing us the points.
So Gareth get everybody fired up and playing for 90 minutes!
It's a huge game, I can't wait - that's probably why it's gone quiet, people just want the match to start, it's so massive. We really can not afford to lose, winning would be fantastic, but a defeat would be a disaster.
I have a sneaking feeling we'll go there and win comfortably, that Mogga will play his usual pretty passing, which will suit us down to the ground and our players will enjoy the freedom, especially away from the tense atmosphere of the Riverside.
However, I am an eternal optimist!
Nigel -
I wish we were bound to keep a clean sheet soon, but with a mix of young defenders, irrational defenders and poor defenders; alongside a management team that seems unable to improve those players, then I don't think we will keep a clean sheet.
Our only hope, on saturday and for the rest of the season, is that Tuncay and Alves hit top,top form. That seems to me to be quite a high risk gamble that probably will not come off.
The only other option is to sell Downing and O'Neil and spend that cash on two experienced defenders, a strong midfielder and a potentially good goal poacher. (e.g i reckon £20m would get you Bullard, Hypia, John O'Shea and leave a bit left over for a lower league striker.) May not be feasible, but is possible.
If we lose the manager is sacked, because that’s West Brom 6 points v Boro 0 points.
Gareth Southgate's easy acceptance in defeat has finally caught up with him. So let’s hope Afonso Alves can justify his price tag, because he holds blame up front.
So its Boro to win away 2 -1 and Hull to get beat 5 – 1 by Arsenal at home.
I'm sure Mr Gibson hasn't got where he is without not only a Plan B but Plans C, D, E, F & G too. What he doesn't do is hit the panic button when Plan A (ie the plan in force, the thought through plan, the one that he thinks is best) goes awry, he perseveres and tries to see it through to the appropriate conclusion.
Thus far it seems to have worked, Boro are punching well above their weight, in terms of Cup success and league positions we're probably the 6th or 7th most successful over the past 10 years.
I don't believe that the next 3/4 games are make or break. The Chelsea game is an irrelevance and the Wolves one a hindrance. Plenty of other teams will beat WBA so a draw will be satisfactory, Stoke are doomed and Hull sinking fast.
The bottom ten are separated by just 5 points so quite why fans are panicking just because we're nearer the relegation zone than a few weeks ago when we were 8th (and only a few points ahead), I don't know. Blackburn, Newcastle, Portsmouth, West Ham, Man City (Kaka won't save them), Sunderland and Bolton are in equally in the same mess. It's a lottery.
Come on Boro!!
Well here we go, a trip to the Hawthorns awaits. And if im being totally honest, I expect us to win this 2-1.
I wouldn't say things are exactly looking up, cause personally I am just looking down (towards the bottom 3) and every weekend i seem to have a slightly sickly feeling about everything. I think that Tottenham will beat Portsmouth and that Newcastle will win as well. I guess they aren't the worst result in the world - that's as long as we win.
GS really needs to think hard about his team selection. I have said it time and time again, and will keep saying it, we need Tuncay playing behind Alves. Yes Downing has had 3 assists in the last 2 games, but 2 of them were against a non league team who we should have beaten more than 2-1!
Downing really needs to be playing left wing, he needs to be getting crosses into the box that Tuncay and Alves can get on the end of, and if he isn't doing that, at least the other outlet would be Tuncay feeding the passes through to Alves!
I'm not even going to mention losing this game, as it would be a complete disaster, and could spell the end of not only GS, but also Boro in the premiership.
Come on boys!!!! Tuncay and Alves on the scoresheet!!
Werdermouth:
I agree with the timidity thing. I think you're asking for, at least, 5 minutes too few though! Although, I agree 90 would be an improvement on 80! Whether it's fatigue setting in, nerves or loss of concentration, all of these things are addressable in training and in tactical planning. However it's addressed, we need, at least, those 95 minutes from every one of them.
Somehow, you have to think that they aleady know that and I'm a bit suspicious that the style of play that GS has them playing, gets them fatigued too early in matches and we do run out of steam before the opposition does.
The problem then is compounded by the fact that we haven't scored many goals when we've been burning the calories and so, end up either defending a single goal advantage or a draw position with more weary legs than the opposition. And we haven't done that too successfully! (Understatement of the season?)
We get pushed back further, have no legs left to push up again and are therefore vulnerable to yielding via dead-ball give-aways thrown into our box or ricochets via any number of legs from speculative shots from outside the box.
Apologies if this is a double post of sorts, the gremlins seem to have eaten my 1st effort - must remember to copy what I've written before I post!
Andrew Moreton - a very good post, and one I wholeheartedly agree with. Someone further up said they would swap our position for Hull's at the minute. I wouldn't in a million years - they may have a few more points but they are dropping like a stone and have a distinctly inferior squad.
Buying players isn't necessarily a good thing, and I'm glad Gareth isn't interested in any panic buying as I agree with him that our squad is perfectly good as it is.
We have the squad, we have the team spirit, all we need is a bit confidence and a bit of luck. It's a fantastically exciting season, we could finish anywhere from about 7th to 20th. Let's try and enjoy it!
I don't do score predictions, it's useless to even try and foresee what Typical Boro will do from one game to the next.
Ian Gill talks about stability, and on Saturday that is precisely what we need; our strongest possible starting 11, no square peggism, no Arca if O'Neill and Digard are fit, and Huth in the back 4 in place of Wheater attacking crosses, Alves and Tuncay up front as a strike pair.
This is not a slight on the Redcar Rock, although like the rest of the team his form and positional play have not been up to scratch of late, and he may be needed as a battering ram up front if the game is going against us, particulary if Mido decides he doesn't fancy it.
One things is certain we cannot afford to lose. The Baggies will be confident, and rightly so after recent performances, they were a mite unlucky against Villa last weekend.
Richard's comment was one of the most intelligent I've read about the Boro this season.
Without a doubt this is a watershed moment in the tenure of Gareth Southgate. This season more than others we are genuinely looking like relegation fodder.
To Mr Moreton, who is bemused by the "panicking" of Boro fans, and highlights that the bottom ten are separated by 5 points I would point out the following:
Our last 6 games have yielded 2 points, 3 goals and 0 clean sheets. If this isn't bad form, then what is! Going back 10 games, to include the Aston Villa win, the position is: 7 points (from 30), 7 goals and 1 clean sheet. This is truly awful form. If you take 7 points in every 10 games you will be relegated - simple as that.
Curiously, the GS era of free-flowing, attacking football has yielded a total of 18 goals in 21 games. Simply not good enough. In only 4 out of 21 games have we scored more than 1 goal, and then only a maximum of 2.
Recently the Arsenal-lite attacking football that saw us nearly embarrass Liverpool has been replaced by a pragmatic 1 up front. And not a Chelsea or Arsenal style one up front with 2 advanced wide players.
Instead a forlorn Brazilian wondering why he's standing back to goal watching the ball fly through the air towards him. You wouldn't buy Michael Owen and pump long balls towards him every day, so what makes us think that a Brazilian who is lethal when put through behind the defence will get something from it?
However, the most alarming thing is our defensive record. 3 clean sheets in 21 games is very poor. I'm not 100% convinced by Turnbull, and considering we're managed by a former international-class defender we look incredibly shaky. Compare our record with the team where our former Aussie stopper (who seemingly left because GS didn't show enough love). Fulham have kept 8 clean sheets in 19 games, and never conceded more than 2. Arguably they have a more limited side in terms of talent, but are just very well organised and playing a settled system.
And this is where we come full circle to GS. Tinkering is fine when you have a Liverpool sized (and talented) squad. When you have a collection of untried youngsters, academy players and a handful of genuine talent, it is not acceptable.
GS has got to come up with a formation, a starting 11 when all fit, and stick to it. It's much easier to change just one or two players to suit your opposition than constantly chopping and changing the team. Let's just hope for all of us that he figures it out sooner rather than later.
On Saturday we must win and we must get a good performance. If the players don't play for GS now, then they never will.
Fingers crossed everyone!
Downing for captain? You are joking surely. He's been tried before and failed miserabley. And what if we get another penalty? Whos goingto take it? Him again?
And whats Southgate on about 'we want to get back in the winning habit?' When were we ever in a winning habit? Don't you have to win a few games before you can call it a habit? Can anyone recall the last time we won three in a row? Can anyone recall the last ONE in a row? GET REAL and show us some bite dont keep on telling us we should or could have won..DO IT!!!!
Interesting quote from Gareth."its hard to attract players here " Where does that leave this club? Moving forward or backwards depending n what position we end up in at the end of the season. It gets more depressing by the day
Hi Anthony
If, as Richard says, Boro have more weary legs than the opposition (especially in the last 15 minutes), is that why we're shipping so many late goals? What is our new fitness guru doing? If he got us fitter than them, we could score late goals instead of the other team.
**AV writes: It should be noted that we have scored a lot of late goals too.
I think most of us are in agreement that the squad should be AA, Tuncay, Downing, Johnson,O'Neil ,Digard, McMahon,Riggot, maybe Huth instead of Wheater and Pogg is injured so it now looks like Taylor.
Arca is maybe okay as a sub for the last 20 if our midfield is flagging but not from the start please.
The last thing Downing needs is the captains arm band to hold him back all he needs to think about is going for it! Give it to Riggot.
As far as a loss at Brom is concerned AV, well if we lose we are not down as there are more matches to get points to get us safe BUT a loss will do our heads in and put a lot of questions to Gareth and the team over the true quality and course of this team this season.
I am sure Garteth isnt sleeping much at the mo and many of us are dry mouthed waiting for the match. Any more injuries to our best players in this one will be very costly as we dont have backup.
Come on BORO!!
There is little wonder there is a growing sense that things cannot continue in this vein.
Looking back at the Everton game, they scored and the sense of resignation to another defeat you could nearly touch.
Whilst most fans may reluctantly accept the cloth cutting days are here for me it then becomes imperative to have a manager with Experience, tactical nouse, preparing the team to their optimum level.
This we don't have and it is where I have an issue with Gibbo. Lets be brutally honest we haven't a super-talented squad so we need a super-talented manager.
Gareth is and continues to demonstrate he is out of his depth.One could say our loyalty to him is to be applauded. There again one could say the intransigence and stubborness shown could mean we pay the ultimate price at the season's end.
On recent performances and results I know which viewpoint I believe to be right.
AV,
I agree with your take on Phil Brown.
As you know I live amongst the Tiger community down here in Humberside, and it is well known that he has taken up the mantle of 'Spiv' just like his mate Allerdyce.
The locals amusingly have him down as a cross-breed of Jimmy Nail and Ant and Dec.
I also agree with some of the gang on this forum that Hull are in somewhat of a freefall, despite their cup win against the Skunks. However, it is interesting to note that they have got money to spend; to try and drag themselves out of the impending dogfight.
Alarmingly, Boro have declared paupicy and publicly announced that there is no money to buy new players. A decision which might turn round and bite them severely on the behind as the season unfolds.
It will be interesting to see who comes out on top at the end of the season between the limelight grabbing, charasmatic Brown, or the more quiet, dour but academic Southgate.
One would hope it to be the latter - if he is still here come May !
West Brom have a big problem in scoring goals, even more so than Boro. This weekend West Brom are without Bednar and Morrison and these two appear to be the Baggies two best goalscoring/assist options .
Bednar is hardly a world beater but he is an awkward physical player, the type that we have difficulty containing.
However this not about West Brom. It is about how we approach the game regardless of team selection. If we set out to put them on the back foot, subdue their fans from first whistle and impose ourselves on the game then we have the capability to win comfortably.
The one observation I have yet to read on this blog in recent weeks is the one pertaining to the evident lack of chances created by Boro during the last six games (Barrow game excluded). Against Sunderland we created only half chances (Alves’s goal included), Against Fulham and Everton chances were scarce.
Boro used to create several gilt edge chances in every game earlier in the season. We have to get back to that. I want to see our full backs pushing up to support the attack, the midfielders pushing into the box, the strikers offering movement.
If certain players run themselves ragged in carrying out their duty for the shirt and run out of energy then we have the option of three substitutes. Isn’t that one of the main reason to have substitutes?
Use this game to kick start our season. Go there and win 2-0
Surely there ust be money in the budget for one buy, a spark in the middle, some one to get stuck in AND add a bit going forward and to give the fans renewed hope. We've heard it here before and I am adding it again. JIMMY BULLARD.
Now that Bolton have stopped sniffing and by all indications Fulham were ready to let him go then is it now time to act before he goes and either keeps fulham up or indeed somebody else.
If we do not act now to patch up a woefully thin squad( that does have a little bit of quality in there) then i am afraid we are going to get relegated.
5:15pm Saturday 17th Jan 2009:
"Boro's defeat to West Brom leaves them hovering outside the bottom three on goal difference. One of onyl 5 teams to lose to WBA this season and the ONLY team that West Brom have done the double over so far. They are under threat of dropping into the relegation zone if Spurs defeat Portsmouth tomorrow!!!"
Nightmare scenario, but one that quite possibly may be reported around that time this Saturday. I can't get my head round where those on this blog who are predicting a Boro win are getting there optomism from!!! Current form quite clearly puts West brom and favourites - Boro 1 point out of the last 12, WBA 6 points out of the last 12.
" Defeat to the rock bottom Baggies would be totally unacceptable. After nine without a win have left Boro dangling precariously over the trapdoor "
AV, weren't you the one that famously wrote " we've turned the corner "
Hmmmmmm, what about that other miss placed quote ?
" Judge me this season " - Gareth Southgate.
It IS quiet out there because many people are a bit fed up. I know I am, but that won't come as a surprise to anyone.
I'm just hoping that Gareth is a man of his words and that when he does end up failing miserably this season that he goes because he is quite frankly not up to the job of managing this club at this level.
Next I'm hoping that Gibson goes as I don't agree with his divine right to rule and count the shots or his decision making of late. His time has come... AND GONE.
He should have a statue rightly erected outside the stadium, a stand rightly named after him, and rightly Knighted for his outstanding contribution to football as a whole and to his outstanding contribution to this area.
But his time is over and it's time for someone else to fill his boots and to take us to the next level as he and his team have done all they can.
Let's just pray we show a bit of that famous " Teesside Steel " so that we can win this game and give ourselves a welcome bit of relief.
TB
Chris Coleman to take over at BORO. He is not English which Steve Gibson Likes but close to it. WHY? Because after the next 2 games even Steve Gibson will have had enough of Mr Southgate sitting in the bottom 3 either STEVE or Gareth will do what is now a must to save the club from the drop.
Unlike Gareth Southgate Chris Coleman found the time to get his badges has the experience of managment and did a super job at Fulham. So where did it all go wrong for SOUTHGATE?
Well I would say that going into any job untrained is difficult but not impossible. But as a manager you hold on to your experience and your fighters but not Gareth he started with Frankie Queudrue then gutted the team that had got us to that fantastic euro final.
Not content to get rid of good pro,s he started getting rid of our kids.THE GOLDEN GENERATION that we who had supported through the Amer years were so looking forward to watching. Now I know not all the kids will be good enough but 5 of the kids who left are good enough and left for less than he paid for O'Neil.
And then if you look at the signings Southgate has made. The best 2 left quickly - I wonder why? - and only Sanli has been a real success. STEVE GIBSON has once again backed his manager with big money whilst he must have squirmed at some of Gareths decisions.
I follow BORO through thick and thin but it bothers me to see all what STEVE GIBSON and his back room staff have built go for nothing. UP THE BORO and let me be the first to welcome the new Manager.
Supporters filled with confidence as a result of recent performances, or supporters fearful of every transfer rumour and scared that the next game (and its inevitable result) will come around too soon. Which gives rise to the most frenzied blogging?
Surely a PhD thesis beckons? (I ask this partly because I heard on the radio whilst in the car today an interview from someone who was described, if I remember correctly, as the "World's first Professor of Football Finance". He spoke with a scouse accent, and I don't think it was Rogan Taylor (who used always to be the pundit wheeled out if TV or radio wanted someone who sounded intelligent and objective, to discuss football issues).
Do you think, in light of recent pronouncements from the Riverside, it might be worthwhile our club phoning this chap up for a discussion? No doubt he can be Googled or caught on iPlayer/Radio Player.
With regard to the previous post it might have been Tom Cannon who is variously referred to as the Professor of Strategic Development at the University of Liverpool, and the "football finance expert" from the same establishment. An Everton fan, he seems for some reason to be deeply unpopular with some Liverpool fans (joint stadium etc).
A.V.
I thought the pantomime season was over but aparently not.
I now read that Buttons played by a Mr Southgate feels that everything will be all right now that Baron Hardup played by a Mr Gibson has said that nobody can go to the ball.
Couple of rubs on the Magic Lantern and everything should be fine.
We look forward to the return of Mr. Arca (watch out he's behind you!) and Mr Taylor (wishy - washy)to our "defence." Meanwhile will the golden slipper of captaincy fit the foot of Mr. Downing or Mr. Riggot.
Now for the vist to the Enchanted Isle of the Hawegirns and the palace on the Demon King Mogga
This panto should attract more than the 25,000 that went to the Forum and with such a cast will run and run. Look out for the sequel Robinson Lambsoe and the crew washed up on Championship Island.
C'mon Boro please beat the Baggies 2-0.
No, no, no!! Don't even think about Downing for captain, he needs to be concentrating 100% on what he is doing up front. In fact Southgate should have kept those thoughts to himself, why he had try (badly) to pre-justify a decision he knows he has to make is beyond me. Is the dressing room so unstable that he is frightened of upsetting anyone?
Anyway, I believe that a defender should always be given the nod over a forward where captaincy is involved, so give it to Riggott, or Huth if he plays.
Smogville fans seem to be just as depressed as Jokecastle fans these days and undoubtedly on lot of them is going to be very sad come May. And Ull fans are now only a couple of games away from being equally depressed. If it was not for awful Stoke who surely will go down, I'd be thinking about putting a bet on all three being relegated.
If the slides of these sides continue then Pools and Darlo could be visiting Riverside and Sid James Theatre of Laughs for league games quite soon.
Score for tomorrow will include:
WBA 1-0 Boro
Samburn 3-1 Jokecastle
Ull 0 - 3 Guunners.
Smoggy, good post.
Regarding your suggestion "GS has got to come up with a formation, a starting 11 when all fit, and stick to it" I remain convinced that after all this time GS does not know what his best team and formation is.
He must continually run through these questions: what is the best centre back partnership? Full backs? central midfield? (suddenly Josh Walker became the best option after warming the bench even in times of injuries), who to play right midifeld? one/two striker/s and who?
There are only three positions that are well established: keeper, Digard and Downing (now that seems to have changed).
I recall top managers in previous years saying that a good team is built around a spine throughout the team. Spine? We have only a left leg upon which we build the team around, and that left leg wants to leave!
Anyway, Boro to win 2-0 today. I feel very confident about that. No Bednar, no Morrison. Alves to do the business.
I am very disappointed that Boro have not done anything in the tfr market .
I was listening to the grey man if football Keith Lamb,who does not agree with the tfr window and thinks teams should stick with what they have got. I personally think Boro are lacking a strong leader in the squad.I like the look of McGeady at Celtic,he is passionate and aggressive but can play football and score goals.
I think if Boro lose to Wolves in the cup SG should get rid of GS. Otherwise what use is SG to the club, none as far as i can see.
Alves time is up. We must not persevere with him any longer and get Mido in to the starting line up immediatly.
Four golden chances that he average striker would have scored from in the first sixty minutes, is more that enough reason to dispense with this very expensive flop. Bite the bullet Southgate and admit we made a grave error in paying a record transfer fee for a non performing player.
Not only is he not scoring from great opportunities he is not making any contribution at all, How many times did he fall over this week when in a challenging position? Have the coaches checked his foot wear? There is something wrong with a player or his boots if he can not stay on his feet in close encounters with defenders.
He also fails to chase balls that are fielded by the Goalkeeper. He runs for about five yards then stops and watches the goalkeeper have plenty of time and space to put the ball any where he wants without any pressure from Alves.
Boro still looked good and in control for most of the West Brom match until they lost the second goal. Digard was a little unlucky with his two footed tackle which was no where near as bad as Arca.s recent tackle, but any two footed tackle risks the red card and Dogged knows this.
We are now in the depths of the relegation battle, but we are not alone as we are only one of about nine teams involved of which any three can go down.
The silence is deafening. I hope we are not taking this too seriously, AV.
A disaster of a result today, losing 3-0 to the bottom side suggests that the wheels have well and truely come off the Boro's season.
I'm the eternal optimist where Boro are concerned but I'm mentally prepared for relegation now. We might survive but I can't see out current run of dismal form being reversed sufficiently to do so.
I also believe there is a good chance that if we loose our next two matches in the league that Steve Gibson will do something that he has never done before and sack his manager mid-season.
I have always defended GS and believed that his third season is the one on which to judge him, well judgment day is upon us and there can only be one verdict, he has failed, whether due to his own lack of experience or other factors it matters not as the end result is the same.
I hope my sense of gloom is premature but I doubt it.
there are still 16 games to go people!! we havent even entered the final third yet! stop moaning, get behind the team and keep the faith!
C'mon Boro!!
New blood required!
We've had nobody in the midfield with any skill or style who can control a game since "TLF" left have we, thats a long time to stumble around like we have isn't it? We have 2nd rate front office staff bringing in 2nd rate players and then we wonder why we have a 2nd rate team who will probably be playing in 2nd rate league next season, barring some kind of miraculous turn around(fingers crossed). The line is that we can't afford to bring anyone in during the "window". I would ask, can we afford not to. If anybody offered me 15mill for S.D. he would have to count his fingers after I'd grabbed it.
The Alves Experiment must end immediatly. I have alway backed Alves saying a goal scorer will eventually get goals, his four misses makes me change my mind, any average striker would have had a hat trick inside sixty minutes, but not our Goal Machine, he seems incapable of standing up on his two feet never mind snapping up goal chances. Mido must be given the No 1 spot to allow him to get in to a goal scoring mood that we know he is capable of. Alves fails to pressure the Goal keeper and allows him to take his time picking his spot, when the ball goes through to him. Downing is more effective down the left side of the field rather in the central position. Johnson must be given a more senior roll in this struggling team, he at least takes on defenders and creates openings, more than can be said for some others. We are now id n the relegation stakes big time and we have to start scoring goals, We looked he better team until West Brom got their second goal. Alves out Mido in.
"It's not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand"
That is a quote from the John Cleese movie, Clockwise.
Pretty apt.
I was all in favour of Southgate when he was appointed but now it's time for him to go.
He seems to be of the same mind set as McClaren. Play your best men out of position and hope for the best. Wheater has never regained the form he was in after being shunted to right back. And it seems the manager will play any one on the wing except a winger.. ..Adam Johnson leave now you are not wanted at Middlesbrough Leave before your dream is over'cos when he sits you on the bench in div two you will be a forgotten man.
Alves has had more starts than Red Rum and is an abject failure but will they drop him? no. O'Neil dosent even want to play for us but he is also an automatic choice when he feels like a game. If he wants to go home to Portsmouth I'll pay his fare.
The whole fan base is sick to death of seeing Mr clap hands on the touchline urging on his charges in schoolboy style. Make no mistake he cannot save us from the drop.If by some fluke we do stay up it will be because of the teams around us failing. Not through any class of ours
Southgate has managed a fabulous 4 points from 30 -probably 33 after wednesday. We are not in the bottom 3 by chance but maybe that will change tomorrow.
Ok here's my thoughts: maybe we do not sack managers becouse we cannot afford the severance pay. We remember the Robson era when we were paying two sets of backroom staff? Maybe that is the problem, Gibson cannot sack Southgate because he cannot afford too. So would you give up your job if you knew your boss couldn't afford to sack you? I know i wouldn't!
Another defeat, almost predictable, well 'this is unacceptable' to quote AV.
Where do we go from here? Are we to sit on our hands and do nothing? We are drifting into the championship with a threadbare squad, a nice but luckless guy at the helm and an over loyal chairman who, a bit like Mr Micawber. hopes something will turn up. Something will, relegation, unless the current inertia is confronted.
There are two choices facing Gibson; change the management, or bring in through loans some experienced players. Doing nothing - the current strategy - is not an option.
I have said before we cannot keep clean sheets, we cannot come from behind to win a match ,which Gareth for all his fine words has not dealt with and changed.
I feel bad and depressed because I believed Gareth was going to be be a good manager and good for the club but the truth is he has failed and and that realisation and disappointment hurts.
If he is the decent man we all know him to be he would resign.
TOMORROWS PAPERS.....
Bulkhaul make record loss after 10 years of very progitable gains.....Gibson CEO SAYS.....I never saw it coming he was a good driver and was always pleasant in the canteen!I thought he was the guy who could take us upto the next level!
Please, please, please Gareth..... Do the honourable thing and resign.... This is your team playing your tactics and your motivation..... and we are 1 point off the bottom. We dont look like winning another game this season...... you have been given your chance at management by Gibson and you have got steadily worse.....
Dont let Middlesbrough suffer relegation as we dont have the fighters in the team to get us promoted again..Please give someone else the opportunity at saving us from 'The Championship' . The boro faithfull will admire and respect you more if you walk away and let someone else try to keep us up than if you take us down.
Whether you admit it or not this team is not playing for you.. or themselves.... Some of them want to be away, others just have no heart.... Others have no abilitity or heart. But like i said 'This is your team'... So take responsibility and GO NOW !!
Following a run of poor umpiring decisions against him someone wrote that if it wasnt for bad luck he wouldnt have had any luck at all.
That mirrors the Boro yesterday but as my lad said you make your own luck. Before the match I sent a text to John saying the line looked sensible, he text me back saying as long as they played in the right positions. Sure enough we lined up with Tuncay on the left and Downing in the hole behind Alves.
In the first half we looked disjointed until the last ten minutes when we switched Tuncay Downing and up to half time had The Baggies on the rack. The second deflected goal early in the second half all but put an end to our challenge but the final nail was Alves missed header closely followed by Digards dismissal.
Apart from bad luck stories about offside goals, harsh dismissals and deflections is the harsh facts in this mornings paper show us losing 3-0 against the bottom team in the league. They had more chances than us, more on target, Carson had only one save to make.
When away fans start shouting you're getting sacked in the morning, Southgate out and there is only one Tony Mowbray then the boss is in trouble.
Come to think of it so are we. Finishing on a cricketing theme, there is a saying that a when a player attempts a ridiculous shot and he is given out for playing the shot. Maybe starting with such a silly line up desreved the bad luck. Too much tinkering up front, play people in the right positions. We are bringing pressure on ourselves.
"How we come through this is the important thing."
"We have to stand strong, we have to take the criticism, and we have to respond with what we do on the field. We have to stand firm as a group...Everyone has got to look at themselves first and then the overall picture of what needs to improve."
"...we weren't good enough in certain areas of the field and we have to rectify that. We didn't defend well enough and we didn't take our chances."
The Southgate script, written 2006 and now being repeated on a weekly basis. Wake-up and smell the coffee brewing son, you can't do it!
Gibson, I presume that you are watching the same games that we are? There is no evidence to support your backing of Southgate.
We now have 16 games left in the premiership, go through those fixtures and publicly identify where our next points are going to come from. Penny dropped yet? Southgate is taking this team to the Championship.
Act now and sack Southgate. You then have slim chance of turning this around and retaining some credibility as a Football Club Chairman.
For those who didn't catch my contribution to this blog on Friday I worryingly predicted:
"5:15pm Saturday 17th Jan 2009:
"Boro's defeat to West Brom leaves them hovering outside the bottom three on goal difference. One of only 5 teams to lose to WBA this season and the ONLY team that West Brom have done the double over so far. They are under threat of dropping into the relegation zone if Spurs defeat Portsmouth tomorrow!!!"
Unhappy to say "I told you so" and wish I could predict the lottery numbers so easily!!!
Benny Brown :
"We are now in the depths of the relegation battle, but we are not alone as we are only one of about nine teams involved of which any three can go down."
Benny - Yes - we are one of nine, but unfortunately we are the only one of those nine who can't seem to win any games at the moment. They all look like they can win points somewhere to survive. As for the Boro, can anyone tell me where the next points are coming from??????
Have great respect for Southgate as a player and for Steve Gibson for what he has done for our club, but there comes a time when you simply have to move on!
Two words sum it up.
SOUTHGATE OUT!
Paul Bell wrote "I like the look of McGeady at Celtic, he is passionate and aggressive but can play football and score goals."
Are you sure?
The Cris Coleman idea sounds good. Something has to change quickly as it does look like we are one of the three worst sides in the premiership this year and not improving.
We cant change the team, and to be honest we have good players in most positions. But they are underperforming and we are tactically inept. Oway Gibbo man sort it out.
SORRY to say it but "I told you so."
Alves will never be a premiership centre forward, slow cumbersome and certainly not the goal-scorer we were led to believe he was, scoring in a Micky mouse league.
Southgate is still not qualified and it is showing week after week. look at the teams which were all below us a change of manager to one with a proven record and on the up they go, as we go DOWN DOWN DOWN.
I Agree AV and we will never win matches as long as we fail to score goals, simple but true. Alves is now a man of the past and the sooner we dispense with his services the better.
I question his bottle after he failed to score from five yards with header that was was being challenged by a robust defender, he appeared to pull away from the contact thus missing the chance of a goal. He lacks the commitment to put himself in harms way, and does not seem to be interested in contesting tight situations, preferring to fall over and hope to get the foul against the defender.
Am I being too hard on the man or do others see what I see?.I watch about six or seven Premier League matches every week either direct or replays and my summing up of the Boro is when they are playing well they look a match for most teams in their play, but not in the goal scoring department.
I think O Neil has lost interest in playing for the Boro, so we should look elsewhere to fill the mid field position. I am sure Wheater could develop into a mid field player also Mido. Desperate times call for desperate measures.