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REVENGE IS SWEET 1-2-06
"Cheer up Mick McCarthy, oh, what can it mean, to a sad Mackem bastard and a, SHITE football team?"
Last nights hammering of basement boys Sunderland was, most probably, the most important result in the epic tale that is "Steve McClaren - Middlesbrough manager". Indeed, it was more important than the Carling Cup win, or the draw at Manchester City at the end of last season, or any result you care to recall. Last night, we finally put some demons to bed.
The view that our season turned sour on the 25th September 2005 is one held passionately by this writer. To be more precise, it was when Julio Arca's free kicks nestled in the top left hand corner of Brad Jones' goal that our season transformed into the debacle it has fast become. And ever since that moment, every Boro fan has had the same thought implanted on their minds, revenge.
But it never crossed the minds of the Boro faithful that from that moment on, we would even have to consider becoming embroiled in a relegation battle. Fans wandered the streets in a zombie like state, their mouths ajar, in shock at what they had just seen. Beaten convincingly at home by Blunderland? No chance.
The result was brushed under the carpet as a blip, an anomaly, a fluke. Most fans expected that by the time we went to the Stadium of Light, we would be flying high in the league, still in every Cup competition going and playing the greatest football Teesside had ever seen. It was also to be expected that Sunderland wouldn't have recorded another win in the meantime. How wrong we were.
Sunderland very nearly lived up to their side of the bargain, as they only recorded their second win of the season the week before we were due to play them. If only Boro had performed half as well as we had predicted.
Lying at the wrong end of the table, with an injury list as long as my.(ahem) and the some of the worst form in the League, it was hardly the perfect moment to be dishing out bowlful's of revenge to our local rivals. The defeat at home hadn't been a blip, it had been a warning of things to come. Inconsistency and discontent have plagued our season since the game at the Riverside, and it didn't look like changing any time soon.
We had already thrown away one chance to turn out season around when Lee Clark was allowed to net an equaliser for our other neighbours Newcastle at the very start of January. Having gone 2-1 up at St. James Park with just seconds remaining, we looked to have turned the proverbial corner. It wasn't to be. Steve McClaren describes January as being an unsettled one, "a nightmare of a month". It appeared hard to disagree when January starts with a trip to Newcastle and ends with one to Sunderland.
But last night, unlike at St. James Park thirty days earlier, we made no mistake. Sunderland were put to the sword. 3-0 might have been a flattering score line, and maybe one that doesn't reflect fairly upon Sunderland. But frankly, who gives a shit?
If I have one character flaw, it's probably that I hate Sunderland just a little bit too much. In fact, as the old saying goes - I hate Sun' land, I love parmos.
The performance and the match itself simply fall away into insignificance when you consider that this is only the second time since we beat Manchester United that we have collected maximum points from a league encounter. The result was everything.
What a difference a win makes. From looking perilously over our shoulders at teams like West Brom and Portsmouth, a small, albeit significant gap has opened up between us and them. There is no point relying on other teams losing to keep us up, we have got to take responsibility for ourselves, and carry the momentum into the upcoming games, starting with the Villa on Saturday.
In our next four league games, we face three of the teams directly around us. Aston Villa, West Brom and Birmingham, all from the midlands, and all in the same desperate state we are. The fourth game is at home to Chelsea. Cliché or not, each of those games is now a cup final for us. Seven points or more from the twelve available would be a fantastic, relegation avoiding achievement.
We're not battling at the top end of the league, but to do it the easy way isn't doing it the Boro way. The hard work starts here, and a win against Villa would be a massive step towards securing our top flight future.
Attendance at the Riverside on Saturday is compulsory, let's get behind the team and the players and make sure that our club is still a Premiership one next season.
See you in two weeks. UP THE BORO!!
NOW HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE NEW HOLGATE FORUM
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