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WE'RE ALL COUNTING ON YOU... 9-8-05
Congratulations to Scott Stonehouse for taking the crown of 'youngest writer' away from me, just two days after I declared myself the youngest on the ComeOnBoro.com team. I hope that Scott will provide "competition" for me, in very much the same way that Manu Pogatezt will provide "competition" for Franck Queudrue...
Speaking of Pogatezt, is it me, or does nobody have a clue what's going on with him? I can't help but notice that he hasn't featured at all in any of the pre-season games and he isn't (to my knowledge) injured. Therefore, his ban would appear to be in effect, and with each passing day it looks increasingly likely that he is going to miss the first six months of the season. If this indeed the case, I'm entirely disappointed - with both club and player.
Pogatezt should have been honest to the club about his situation when it came to signing him. Had he done so, would the club have looked elsewhere rather than wait six months for a reserve left back?
And should the club have done a little bit more research into the player before agreeing to spend just shy of £2million on a player who can't begin his season until Christmas?
Maybe I'll have egg on my face in a few weeks time, maybe even a few days time, when hopefully there is no ban, and Pogatezt will be able to start his season sooner rather than later. But for the moment, no news is definitely bad news.
Moving on, having been a season ticket holder since the age of 12, I can honestly say I have not been inside a Riverside Stadium with as little atmosphere as there was last season. At home to Chelsea I don't think I remember hearing one song sung during the entire ninety minutes by either set of fans. But I think I can shine some light on why this is the case.
Initially, I thought the most obvious reason for the lack of atmosphere had a lot to do with the time the match was being played at. The number of games played at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon is in rapid decline, and I find it entirely different going to a game at 12.15pm or 5.15pm on a Saturday.
The club's success over the last eighteen months means that the number of games now moved to Sunday has increased dramatically due to European commitments on the Thursday. In fact, next season we only have two home games that kick-off at 3pm on a Saturday before the turn of the year and one of them is on December 31st. But I think that there is another, more subtle answer for the lack of singing down by the Riverside...
Put simply, the problem is expectation. This is the first time in the club's relatively recent history, the media, and not just Boro fans, are tipping us for success. Instead of going into home games against the likes of Fulham, Blackburn, Birmingham and Man City and knowing that, "we could" beat them, it's now a case of, "we should" beat them.
The problem is, we are no longer the underdogs, and we're a good side! This, to me, is creating a nervous tension that is rippling around the Riverside and causing an airy silence. Do we demand too much as Boro fans? Are we expecting where we once hoped? Do we fear minnows such as Norwich City and Portsmouth might prove too much for us? Frankly, who knows?
Chelsea are becoming notorious for having no atmosphere, and the same can be said of Arsenal's Highbury 'Library'. They are, like us, two teams whose fans now demand home wins. And that's my take on why we are quieter now than I can ever remember.
In my last article, I said I hoped this week to talk about the several new faces that had arrived at the club during the past seven days. Unfortunately, we are still stuck on two arrivals for the summer, with McClaren this week admitting, "The list of targets has reduced rapidly and we're running out of names and of time".
Rodolph Douala and Fabio Rochemback are the latest names to be linked, another two players who impressed while plying their trade against us. If we got the two of them, despite having only seen them play a handful of times I would be a lot more confident about the new season. We're still short in midfield and have made no inroads into replacing Zenden. Let's hope that this time next week I can genuinely talk about some new signings, instead of discussing "potential" or "future" signings.
On a positive note, I was delighted to see the return to action of Massimo Maccarone after fifteen months without pulling on the famous red jersey. The last time I saw him, he was walking into the Riverside at 2.30pm for the first game of last season at home to Newcastle. He then walked out with his boots at 2.45pm, jumped into his car and drove away at a fairly rapid speed.
I know Massimo tends to spend a lot of time on the ground, but I do feel for the guy at times. After all, he didn't ask to be the most expensive signing in the club's history, or for the resulting high expectancy level. He's not built to hold the ball up either; it's just not his best asset. Maccarone needs a Viduka type player to do that for him. His strengths are his movement along the front line and his pace. Put simply, he can do Viduka's running for him. Whilst this is a partnership that will probably never see the light of day, it's one I'm sure would have a great amount of success.
The reception Massimo got when he came on against Espanyol shows that the fans here want him to succeed, and I'm convinced that if he's given a fair chance in the first team he can score a few goals.
Speaking of strikers, I can't say I'm too upset to hear that Joseph Job will be on his way out of the club, and that Szilard "Nearly" Nemeth (he nearly got a touch, he nearly beat his man, he nearly scored... etc) will follow him out of the door.
These are two of the five players in the current squad who were signed by Bryan Robson, and I think they have had more than long enough to prove themselves. I've heard so many people say, "this is Nemeth's last chance" that I think I've seen a few cats becoming envious of the number of lives he has had.
Job won't be forgotten for the role he played in Cardiff, but both players are surly now surplus to requirements. The number and the reputation of clubs who have shown an interest illustrates that neither player is good enough to be a twenty goal a season striker in this team.
So, with pre-season done and dusted, it's almost time to begin yet another hectic season of football. Prediction time, me thinks. Unfortunately, my head tells me that this season could well be a backward step, but my heart is screaming, "Europe again!"
At the time of writing this, we have made only two signings and have lost our key playmaker. The younger players are becoming established but the squad is beginning to fill up with over 30's, and I'm not convinced we will be able to sustain the awesome performance of last season. I think that two early cup exits in the League and F.A. Cups will be coupled with another good UEFA cup run. As for the league, definitely top ten. Whether we can make a genuine assault on the top six remains to be seen...
And so with the game against Liverpool just days away, who knows what will happen. Although pre-season hasn't gone too well, it isn't a major worry, but Liverpool come into the game as reigning European Champions and with their competitive season well underway. A draw would certainly be a result worth taking.
I'll end with a message to all at Middlesbrough Football Club for the coming months.
Good luck, we're all counting on you...
Same time next week. UP THE BORO!
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