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THE BORO YOUTH COLUMN 14-1-05
Written by Laurence I'Anson
Hello to all of my new readers. I hope you enjoy this new column. Please fell free to email the site and comment, criticise and say what you want about the article. This new column will give the Boro Youth viewpoint on all things football and especially Boro. This will range from crowds to fans, from managers to players. At the end of every new column I will add a new Boro chant so that all you singers out there can stretch your lungs once more. I hope you'll find it entertaining.
First of all, I would like to say that there has not been a better time to be a Boro fan. However old you are, you will almost certainly agree that this is the best ever period in the history of Middlesbrough Football Club.
The achievement of winning the League Cup last season is hopefully the start of something special. Something that none of us have encountered before. But for me, born just after we had survived bankruptcy, it seems that we have only had one or two bad seasons and in one of those, we went to Wembley twice for two Cup finals!
Since then we have got through the Robson Revolution and now, the "McClaren Master- class" is well underway. I know there may well be people reading this who think I'm talking rubbish when I say we are undergoing McClaren's master class but believe me, we are.
The main reason for this is the fact that he has won us our first major trophy in 128 years, and 128 years is a very, very long time. Also, we are the only Middlesbrough F.C fans ever who are going to cities and towns across Europe to play competitive European football against the likes of Valencia, Ajax, Sporting Lisbon and Feyenoord.
I sincerely hope there are not too many McClaren critics out there but I know there are some. Maybe because they disagree with some of his tactics in certain games. But if you see it from outside the club, then you will see that he has done a tremendous job in such a small space of time.
And to accompany that, there have been top draw signings. These factors have seen us rise to around 4th and 5th place in the league and are now challenging for a Champions League place along with Arsenal, Chelsea and Man.U. There hasn't been a better time to be a Boro fan.
There have been many highlights to this season already. The first Euro away trip to Ostrava, the three successive away wins, a 2-0 win over Liverpool, the brilliant away games at Man. United and Arsenal and the trip to Spain for the Villarreal match. We are only half way through so let's hope the season will continue on this theme.
Whilst on the topic of European games, I would like to mention the desire of some of us younger fans to draw a team like Ajax in the UEFA Cup. The Amsterdam Arena is a top quality stadium with a roof and reminds me of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The allocation would be likely to be large and it is only a short ferry trip away. The thought of about three or four thousand Borofans in a top stadium like that is really exhilarating, and it would be a great experience for any fan. Plus the fact that Amsterdam is let's say, an enjoyable city!
The European run has been excellent, especially at home. With wins over Ostrava, Lazio, and Belgrade, we have proven that we are a force to be reckoned with. But this home form needs to be continued into the games across Europe. It is true that tactics are different and that the starting lineup may be changed but if we are to continue through the competition, then the away form needs to improve.
And the feeling between younger Boro fans is that we can go far in this Cup and an appearance in the May Final is very possible. If we can be on our best form and stay relatively injury-free, then we could definitely beat a number of teams on our day. The next round, if we progress past AK Graz, will prove to be our greatest challenge so far with a tie against either Feyenoord or Sporting.
If the UEFA Cup isn't going to be ours, then there are still hopes of the FA Cup. We like the feeling of winning trophies nowadays. Geordies- you don't get this feeling.
I reckon that the FA Cup draw against Man. Utd or Exeter is an absolute beauty. It will probably be Man. Utd that go through, but even that won't effect our confidence. After going to Old Trafford earlier in the season, I feel that a win is a real possibility. 1-0 up for most of the match with nearly half a team of debutants, shows that we are definitely a match for United. Only at Old Trafford however.
Though the game was a disappointment, everything else about the day out to Notts County in the last round was tremendous. There were around four thousand Boro fans in that stand behind the goal, giving the team maximum vocal support. The songs became a piss take near the end of the game as a rendition of "always look on the bright side of life" became quite loud. It felt like a close-knit community with a small but packed concourse and the only empty seats in each of the four corners.
Even prior to kick off, there were a large number of Boro fans in the Hooters Bar/Restaurant near the ground. The meal was enhanced by the service from the scantily-clad waitresses and the atmosphere was good.
This game turned out to be well timed in terms of the season's fixtures. We are currently in a poor patch with relatively bad performances being produced, arguably since the Partizan Belgrade game back on 15th December. But gladly the points have come against Villa and Norwich.
The FA Cup game being sandwiched between the woeful performance against Man. United and a vital "six-pointer" with Everton provided an essential breather from the stress of the Premiership, especially coming straight after the hectic Christmas period. Although a Cup run is sought after in every season the league is after all, the 'bread and butter'.
During this Christmas and New Year period, the attendances at the Riverside have been surprisingly high. The record attendance against Norwich was a fair shock as well, especially with it being Norwich, who are not the most attractive of teams. They brought up a lot of fans again, something which they have been doing all season at their other away games. Then with the Man. United game being sold out and well publicised, I expected another record attendance. But United couldn't do what Norwich did and sell out the away end.
I have a theory as to why this may have been. They may have been given fewer tickets than the away section holds because of the fact that they, like the barcodes, always stand up throughout the games. And so the people in charge deduct their allocation.
This in my opinion is shit, to put it bluntly. It makes the game and the atmosphere that bit less enjoyable and entertaining. Especially when we play these big teams at home only once a season. And I wouldn't like that to happen to Boro away fans.
As previously mentioned and with the help of fellow fans, I will put a new song at the end of each column. For the first article I thought I would make it short and quick. So here it is:-
"We are the Middlesbrough faithful and we always sing, We've got George Boateng and Stewy Downing."
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