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WINTER OF DISCONTENT 17-1-06
Everybody appears to have had their say on the goings on at Middlesbrough Football Club in the last few weeks, particularly since the Cup draw at Nuneaton and then the debacle at Highbury. Everybody appears to have a different theory, reason or explanation and, ultimately, everybody appears to have a different solution. For all connected with the club, this has certainly been our own "Winter of Discontent".
With everyone else having had a say, it's finally my turn. There are bound to be hints of negativity in what you are about to read, but that's because there are not too many positive things happening at MFC at the moment. What you are about to read is an elegant cocktail of positivity, negativity, unanswered questions, and the truth. Enjoy.
I'll start at Highbury. We were hammered. It's one of the few statements a Boro fan can make without drawing opposition at the moment. There is no scientific explanation as to why we lost 7-0. Three simple words should sum it up nicely. Men against boys.
Our record at Arsenal is, as we all know, abysmal. On Saturday afternoon, eleven world-class players arrived to put on the blackcurrant Arsenal shirt seeking revenge for the 2-1 defeat at the Riverside, and intent on taking the piss out of a visiting team low on confidence, low on numbers and low in the table.
Let's make no mistake, Arsenal were out of this world. When players with the ability of Henry, Pires, Reyes and Ljunberg (to name but four) hit top gear, nobody can stand in their way. Especially not six teenagers from Teesside. It was an education alright, but it was a lesson they could have done without.
Now, I'm not Steve McClaren's biggest fan. But I'm also a long way off being head of the 'McClaren out' committee, a committee whose voice seems to becoming increasingly recognisable. As soon the game had ended, McClaren was being blamed for the defeat. And why not, he is responsible, he is in charge and he gets judged on results.
But, on this occasion, I see the criticism as being unfair and unjust. What the hell did anyone expect to happen on Saturday afternoon? Last year we let five in at Arsenal, and the year before it was four, on two separate occasions, and each time is was the 'first team' who took to the field. Saturday's line-up was as far from the first choice XI as anyone could reasonably expect to get.
Cast your minds back, if you will, to Sunday 3rd October 2004. Old Trafford was the venue for what I can only describe as the greatest Boro match I have had the fortune of attending. Hearing the names Parnaby, McMahon, Morrison, Downing, Graham and Taylor as part of a squad that would take on United, was frightening. I, like the other Boro fans around me, felt that we would be lucky to lose by four.
McClaren said after the game that his policy with the youngsters was that he would play them on the big occasions, and that they would either sink or swim. On that rainy day in October, they swam.
Adam Johnson started out of the blue against Arsenal earlier this season, and he didn't quite swim well enough, whereas Lee Cattermole, who started against Newcastle two weeks ago, would appear to be swimming comfortably. Against Arsenal though, we as a team sank right to the very bottom. Well, fourth bottom.
Many fans have been calling for the youngsters to be in the team more often, but on the day, they were outclassed. How can McClaren be criticised in this situation and how can anyone expect him to come out and say we were shite - what would that have done to the young players who he needs to be ready to play a game the following Tuesday? What were the other options available to him given the injuries we've got?
How those young players react now will shape their entire careers. They cannot afford to allow their heads to drop and to start feeling sorry for themselves. They have a chance to put it right against Nuneaton tonight, and to prove that they aren't bad footballers after all.
This doesn't come down to me being pro or anti McClaren - far from it. His policy on youngsters is fair. When he has to play them he will, but he won't throw them in when he has other options because heavy defeats do nothing for anyone. I think those who are blaming McClaren for the 7-0 defeat are looking for a scapegoat to hide the fact that some of those youngsters might not actually be good enough to make it at this level. There was not a lot more McClaren could do.
What McClaren can be criticised for is the dire situation the club finds itself in. We were claiming to be top six contenders at the start of the season, and yet we now find ourselves just one place above the relegation zone?
This is where my negativity comes into play. The league table doesn't lie at this stage of the season. Seventeenth is where we deserve to be. Everton, who lost 8-1 at Arsenal last season, and Newcastle are both sides who have had so called 'nightmare seasons' up to this point and are both four points ahead of us. Charlton who have been in free fall of late, are a further two points clear.
The news that players must leave before new ones can arrive is the first indicator that we won't be buying anyone this January. McClaren has said that there will be no major signings, only short term loan deals.
He has also said that he doesn't feel any pressure regarding the club's position in the league at the moment. If I were him, I would be. The vultures are beginning to circle, and only six points from six will do from the games against Wigan, and Sunderland.
Are we genuine contenders for the drop? Yes. History has proved that no team is too good to go down, and the sooner we admit we are involved in this battle the better. Pretending and hoping that it'll be all right isn't enough. I'm just not sure that we have enough fighters amongst our squad to keep us up if it came down to the very wire.
I'll end this as positively as possible.
When Beckham, Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Butt and Giggs all played together for the first time at senior level they lost 1-5 at Aston Villa. A certain football expert declared boldly, "You win nothing with kids".
Maybe in four years time we will be looking at our 7-0 drubbing at Highbury on January 14th 2006 as the beginning of something great. If our youngsters achieve half of that achieved by the Manchester United youth, the future is bright.
Same time next week. UP THE BORO!!!
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