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THE YAK IN THE (ZEN)DEN 6-6-05
So we did it! Just about. And after a season that in March was threatening to slide into mediocrity, wasn't it refreshing that for once it was not us who were disappointed come the final whistle? Never before have I seen a 1-1 draw - against Man City, the very definition of mediocrity - celebrated so much.
Yet it could easily have been so different. French Franck is a vital cog in our defence and his commitment to the cause is unquestionable. Although I do have some misgivings on his temperament and how he conducts himself when playing.
Now I accept that all the following incidents may be due to a passion and commitment to the cause, something which I find very refreshing, or the fact that Queudrue puts himself about so much that they would happen to anyone so involved. But I think there is something more to it and I still believes he needs to be reigned in from time to time.
This is because this isn't the first time he has threatened to blow a big opportunity for us. Two years ago, we were all set to qualify for the UEFA Cup via the much-maligned Fair Play route. Now I accept the arguments from many that this is unfair, and that it results in weaker teams being allowed into the competition at the expense of stronger ones but rules are rules and you have to take any and every opportunity possible to further your interests.
Going into the last game of the 2002/3 season we were heading the Fair Play league in England, with Manchester City just behind us. Yet in that last game, Franck got himself needlessly sent off and bang went our chances of European football. Thankfully, what with our Carling Cup win, we didn't have to wait too long to rectify that.
The following season, to his credit, Franck cleaned up his game and did not get sent off at all. Yet this season, it has started to creep into his game again and has cost us valuable points. This was particularly the case against Spurs in November when again he got needlessly sent off for stamping on Pamerot. I believe this cost us the three points that day as Spurs with their ability to switch play from wing to wing tired our ten men sufficiently to score two. Although the second was a monumental cock-up by Schwarzer.
Queudrue's subsequent suspension also threatened our points total through our inability to field a full-strength team, particularly due to our having to play the aging Cooper who is not a left-back anyway, Zenden, depriving our midfield of significant creativity or Parnaby who is shakier than KY Jelly in the quivering buttocks of a Californian porn star in an earthquake.
And then to Man City. I am not saying the handball was deliberate or even unnecessary as if it hadn't touched him the ball would certainly have ended up at the feet of a lurking David James six yards out. But it was the last minute of an important game where the result was going in our favour and so caution was paramount.
Queudrue didn't show that caution. Now I confess that I can't fully remember the incident. It was three weeks ago and life moves on, but I do believe that more care should have been taken. As it was, the Gods were smiling on us, the penalty was saved and Schwarzer went from incompetent flapper being ousted by debutant keeper to a sturdy pair of safe hands between the sticks and our antipodean hero in an instant.
It's amazing how fickle football is sometimes. But hey, I've never been so glad that McClaren picks his favourites in my life, even if their recall was totally undeserved and harsh on the player they were replacing.
So a finish of seventh in the League, equalling our highest post-war League finish and surpassing by two places our highest Premier League finish. And also accruing more points in a top-flight season we have done for many a year.
Yet the fans still feel a little frustrated and I can't really blame them. After all, the success of our season came down to one penalty save at the end of the final match. Of course I know it's how you play throughout the season but in the pressurised environment of the end of season, when you know what you're playing for and what you need, it probably does concord with perception and is more vital than any other time of the campaign.
That was manifest in the penalty itself. Both players knew what was at stake with one kick and Schwarzer visibly displayed more nerve than Fowler. That may have been because there was less expectation on Schwarzer. After all, the majority of spot-kicks are put away. But fair play to him, he did what he had to do.
And it is important not to lose sight of the fact that it was a team effort and not just due to Schwarzer that we qualified. It was the decisive point of the season but Boro came good at just the right time. We responded well to the end of season pressure and we did what we had to do.
Four points out of six over the last two games, both of which by fate turned out to be crucial six-pointers, meant that we earned it above Spurs and Man City. Furthermore only one defeat throughout April and May, an unlucky 1-0 reverse against Arsenal meant that we clawed ourselves out of our malaise - 3-1 home defeat to Southampton anyone? - and earned our place in Europe.
And that guile was good to see, the team performing well for the fans and for the club. I must admit to feeling a strong sense of pride at Anfield due to the way we competed. And remember, we took four points off the European Champions this season.
It was this spirit that saw us through and it would have been unfair had we not qualified for Europe at the expense of Spurs or Man City as unlike them, we had been in the top half of the table since the beginning of September and never lower than eighth.
The other two meanwhile had dipped towards 13th/14th and had recovered. Added to this is my belief that the Boro could represent England better in Europe than either of the other two teams. Spurs due to a lack of experience that the Boro now have and Man City because they are shite.
Boro's progress this season was encouraging and if we hadn't had our injury glut we could have gone further. After all, there is no reason why we cannot make the last four next season, even with the players we have now. And after that anything can happen.
Indeed we could have qualified for the Champions League had we not had our drought. But then nearly all teams in the top half of the table outside the top three could probably say that too. After all, we didn't really drop that much in the table considering how bad our poor spell was (one win in three months). So we must go into the UEFA Cup this season looking to win it and we must bring in players that will help us do just that.
Defenestration of the Nation- Breaking Through the Transfer Window
So the next question is who should we bring in and who should we jettison? And initially at least, the answers are close to home. Zenden has been such a pivotal player in our midfield all season and his importance has necessarily increased due to the injury of Mendieta. McClaren is right in seeing him as a vital signing and I hope he will endeavour to do all he can to ensure he stays.
After all, he's already integrated into the side, the players and fans love him and by all accounts he is very settled here. Yet, as was said around this time last year, his commitment is questionable through his desire to only sign a one-year contract.
I often get the impression that, although his commitment is strong, he doesn't have his heart set on completely playing for Boro and that he is looking for a bigger move. It is difficult to assess the situation at the moment because it is tabloid silly season and it is hard to separate the truth from the fraud but if the likes of Liverpool are reportedly in for him, then he may go.
And of course it will be on a free which, again, raises questions as to how committed he is to the club. All this brings in a debate which is interesting however. That of players playing for the club or playing to further their careers. Everyone has to accept that the days of the majority of the first team being local lads from the area who are realising their dream of playing for the team they have supported as a lad are long gone.
This is the case even if we accept the handful of local youngsters coming through our ranks at present, along with the UEFA rulings on the acceptance radii for academies and the fixing of a minimum number of home-grown players in a team's squad. Although I accept that the majority of people would prefer a player playing for the good of the team rather than his own career, I wonder how acceptable people would find it if a player openly admitted that he was going elsewhere at the end of the season?
In the few cases that this has been demonstrated, people feel short-changed by this perceived lack of commitment, a view that they pay their hard earned cash to players who don't really give a shit about them as fans who care for the club. I accept this but if a player is playing well and your team is still winning trophies and enjoying a national and international prestige, can this lack of commitment be overlooked?
Or does it make the fans even more bitter because there appears to be less of a reason to leave the club and that the integral player leaving may threaten everything that was good that has been built up?
After all fans crave success, they derive mirth from their team succeeding and depression from their team failing. That's the emotional nature of football and it is something that cannot be cocked about with. It's about local pride, about an attachment that transcends generations, class, status and most of all it's about escapism. Maybe heavily paid players shouldn't fuck about with it? After all, I would be gutted to see Zenden in a Liverpool shirt, just as I was gutted to see Ziege before him.
And my feelings on the top clubs poaching the best players, resulting in a one-dimensional league - we take the piss out of the Scottish League but in reality there is little more variety in England - where the nearly-there clubs are prevented from blossoming, cut down almost at their full potential, have already been made known.
In the end, I just hope Zenden stays but if he does, it will probably only be for another year so that next year he can see whether any bigger clubs want him. If he plays well in the interim then maybe I can forgive him for his ambition. I certainly don't blame him for it. But if it is going to be like this, is there really much point? I accept he's integral but surely he's not irreplaceable. Maybe the scouting just needs to be more creative?
The Yak about the Yak
And here we come to the Yak. A player I have never been completely convinced about. Granted he scored the same number of goals as Hasselbaink this season in a team that is significantly poorer and far less creative. Granted he is assimilated into the Premier League, has the hustle that a striker needs to shrug past defences and he has the pace that we are still currently lacking. He is also less injury prone than both Messrs Viduka and Hasselbaink and certainly strengthens the squad.
But £7 MILLION?! I know that half of this goes to Makbi Haifa or wherever he was playing before and that it wasn't Pompey's fault completely but surely there are strikers in the lower leagues who, for about one tenth of the outlay we could have tried and tested and nurtured with the kids to give us something promising.
We already have good strikers at the club, strikers who can already teach the kids important footballing lessons and we don't need any more for that purpose. I suppose the proof will be in the pudding in a couple of months when, hopefully, he will start scoring and will become our first 20-goal a season player (in the League) for a long time.
We'll see I suppose but I can't help but feel £7m is somewhat steep, particularly when the likes of Forsell, who is a far better and more rounded player than Yakubu was available for half the asking price.
The Skinny (or as Medics call it- Anorexia)
June. The waiting month. It's good to see we have acted quickly in the market in securing the Yak, although a corporate season ticket sales enterprise may not be far behind it, particularly as he is a player we have been interested in for some time.
I think he will make a difference, I just don't know whether it will be £7m of difference or not. Still, he is probably a better buy than Maccarone ever was as at least he is assimilated to the Premiership.
That's the worry over the Italian. He has done well back in Italy and now with the Yak here, I would be tempted to sell. I don't think he will perform in England as he doesn't like the pace or the physical aspect of the game and I don't think his value will become any higher than it is now.
If we can get £3-4m for him I'd be tempted to cut our losses and sell, particularly as the chances of him getting a game are now limited with at least three strikers ahead of him in the pecking order.
Meanwhile, hopefully the nugget of European football will do what it did last close season and encourage more people to come, to enhance our squad, to push for fourth place next season and to maybe win the UEFA Cup. We are still evolving even though we got the luck in Manchester. We need to build on it and become even stronger.
As this season has shown- another good defensive midfielder please. A top four team can't rely on one man.
Until next time...
Packwolf
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