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SZILARD THE JIGSAW 29-11-05
Now that he has finally signed his new contract, there are mixed views about Steve McClaren flying around. Some say it's a good thing, he's the most successful manager we have ever had. Others say it's a bad thing, he is too negative in his tactics and some of our performances have been truly woeful.
I can see where both sets of fans find the fuel for their argument. It's true. McClaren is the most successful manager we have ever had. With him in charge, we have qualified for Europe twice, won our first cup in the clubs history and have recorded our highest ever Premier league finish.
On the other hand, we have been awful at times this season. The substitutions are hopeless, we lose at home too frequently and McClaren himself has declared his interest in the England job. It's no surprise some are unhappy that he has signed a new deal.
For me McClaren is still the man for the job, simply because I don't see there being a better alternative available at the moment. Having said that, even if there was a better manager who would be a genuine contender for McClaren's job, I still wouldn't want him.
McClaren has surely earned his contract for what he has done for this club since he arrived, and if he thinks he can take the club even further forward, then hats off to him. I'd rather have a manager with the drive to succeed than one who is simply here to collect his wage.
Whether he can take the club forward is another matter. I don't think he can. But I don't think any manager could. Realistically, this is as good as we are ever going to get at Middlesbrough Football Club.
I don't believe I'm being negative in saying that either, just realistic and honest. We are never going to break into the top three sides in the country and finish regularly in a Champions League place.
If you look at the 'big' clubs in the country, they are all situated around the big cities with big populations such as London, Liverpool and Manchester. Although our support is good, we don't fill the stadium and we will never attract the kind of player to Teesside who can take us into the Champions League.
Bryan Robson got to a stage where he could take us no further. With him, Europe was out of the question and despite three Wembley trips, he couldn't win us a cup. When he left, we all knew that Boro could be in Europe, but he wasn't the one to take us there, McClaren was.
If McClaren walks away at the end of the season, who would we get? And where do the fans who want McClaren out expect the new manager to take the club?
Whether you want McClaren out or not, he has signed. He has his faults, as I will demonstrate later, but in the long term I think he is the man for the job.
For the sake of the club, fans need to get behind him from this point on. I know Sunday was hardly the best way to prove that the next four years will be as successful as the last four, but nevertheless, we need to support the decision of Steve Gibson. What's good enough for Gibson should be good enough for the fans.
And so onto Sunday's game. The game was disappointing and frustrating, but given our form this season, it was almost expected.
WBA were out for revenge having been battered 4-0 last season, and having won 4-0 themselves at home to Everton the week before, their confidence was bound to be sky high. We had played in Holland on Thursday night and our record after playing on a Thursday is abysmal. What was unexpected was that we took the lead.
But Franck Queudrue's error allowed Nathan Ellington to lash home an equaliser after Mark Viduka had opened the scoring with a wonderful right foot curler. It was what happened at half time that I can't quite understand.
At half-time, Queudrue, who had picked up a knock half way through the first half, was replaced by Szilard "nearly" Nemeth. This meant a complete change in formation from 3-5-2, which seemed to be working well, to what I believe was a 4-4-2 formation, although it could have been 4-3-3.
If Queudrue was in fact injured, why not bring on Bates and leave the system how it was? If it was tactical, why not take Pogatetz off and leave Queudrue and left back? And could anybody tell where Nemeth was meant to be playing?
It's amazing that despite the number of players that have come and gone over the years since Robson brought him to the Riverside as his last ever signing, Nemeth is still the player we turn to when in need. I wouldn't mind, it's just he's not actually very good. He should be nicknamed "The Jigsaw", because he falls to pieces in the box.
He had some glorious chances to score on Sunday, none more so than in the very last minute when he dragged a feebly volley wide. He never looked like scoring, and the crowd already seemed to be groaning with disappointment before he even got his shot away. Ok, so he won the penalty that allowed Yakubu to equalise but even that was slightly fortunate.
Furthermore, the introduction of Hasselbaink and Doriva spoilt any rhythm the team had built up since the change in formation. At least McClaren has got four more years to brush up on the art of substituting.
A draw against WBA really isn't enough. But the eight points we have taken from the last twelve available is a marked improvement on the four we took from the first twelve available. This season has still got a long way to go.
After the Sunderland game I said we needed to go unbeaten in our next seven league games, which we didn't manage, but three wins, two draws and two defeats have put the season back on track.
Palace in the Carling Cup will be a tough game on Wednesday, but it should be a stroll in the park compared with the trip to Chelsea the following Saturday. Let's hope for a miracle.
Same time next week. UP THE BORO!
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