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AT LEAST DOPEY'S STILL ALIVE 7-10-04
I had this idea earlier today to walk around London and decorate any 'no entry' signs that I found with an 888.com in thick black marker pen right across the white bit. The idea was borne of a frustrating desire to see Boro gain more prominence in the national consciousness. I may still do it.
Late on Wednesday evening, as I prepared for my aborted mission to Ostrava, I flicked on the TV. I sometimes go for weeks without watching any TV at all but this particular night, I needed something to take my mind off things and discovering that a good movie was about to be shown on Channel Five, I settled back and waited for it to start.
An illustration of a child's fairy tale book appeared on the screen and a voice to match the images of elves and beanstalks spoke the lines from the book as one of the oldest football jokes in existence was brought to life on my screen.
'Middlesbrough are good enough to win the UEFA Cup'. Maybe that is not as funny as some people would like to believe because even with a delapidated squad of players and an injury list as long as the list of Jonathan Woodgate's misdemeanours, we not only proved that we were more than up to the task of seeing off the Czech champions but also showed that we can fight on more than one front by gaining a creditable draw at Old Trafford a mere three days later. Now it is time for a well earned rest and hopefully when we return to action, most of our injured players will be back to fight for the cause.
I really don't know what to make of the fact that four out of our five new summer signings are out injured. Perhaps we have just been incredibly unlucky or maybe there is something more to it than that? Whatever the reason, it would be nice to think that all of our bad luck has been used up early, along with the three hardest fixtures in the Premier league and the UEFA Cup first round. But spare a thought for Malcolm Christie who on Tuesday night, suffered a stress fracture of the same leg that was broken and kept him out of action for nearly a year. Let's hope that we see him back again as soon as possible.
Good luck to Malcolm after his latest setback
One of the Alemannia Aachen players was interviewed on German radio on Friday morning and said that there are some very strong teams in this competition, such as Newcastle and Middlesbrough. Why did he mention us and not the tournament favourites Lazio? Because Lazio are not all that they are cracked up to be, that's why. UEFA have seeded them at number one because of their 'huge club' status and not because of an ability to take the major competitions by storm. Lazio are currently in danger of 'doing a Leeds' after years of wanton spending on stars such as Christian Vieri, Pavel Nedved and Hernan Crespo. A whopping £28 million was also splashed out on a Spanish midfielder called Gaizka Mendieta and this attempt to purchase success at any price was necessarily abandoned when benefactor and Fiat magnate Sergio Cragnotti died. I feel that Lazio are on the crest of a slump and it is not them that I fear could harm our chances of getting out of our group alive. It's the unknown Greeks that I fear the most.
 
Here's what we could have won. The Olympic Stadium in Rome, home of Lazio
It would be so easy to be complacent about Egalio when we look at the pedigree of the other teams that we are due to play. Yes, they are the underdogs of our group and yes, they are the ones who you could easily tag as being there just to make up the numbers. But isn't that was said about the Greek national team in Euro 2004? After a win like that, Greek football must be on an all time high and we could get stung if we are not careful. I also don't think that the conditions will be much to our liking either. I was in Athens in July and here's a cue for a joke about smog, the pollution was like nothing I have ever known before. After two days, I had a sore throat and was coughing up all manner of multicoloured unmentionables but within one hour of leaving the city, my respiratory system had returned to normal. On a more positive note, the food is fabulous and the people are really smashing. They have that laid back Mediterrannean thing going on and I cannot even contemplate the idea of trouble breaking out on the terraces at this match. Let's hope that my fears are groundless and that from Boro's viewpoint, trouble doesn't break out on the pitch instead. Or in the streets with Newcastle or Arsenal fans or organised hooligan groups who may travel to Athens to 'meet' three separate groups of English supporters.
And finally, I came across this story in Sunday's Observer called 'The day I met: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and friends'.
Picture the scene, writes OSM reader Adam Greenup of Barnet. Frank Lampard is tucking into a plate of ribs while Ed de Goey sits chewing on a burger. They are both enjoying a 'fish bowl' of Lynchburg Lemonade. At the head of the table sits a brooding Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, moodily attacking a chicken dish.
The trio are joined by the rest of the Chelsea squad as they commandeer the window seats of TGI Friday's in Covent Garden. There are remnants of junk food everywhere and it begins to resemble a children's birthday party. All that's missing are the hats, cake and parents.
Given the level of banter coming from the table awaiting clearance, I decide to congratulate Lampard on his transfer from West Ham, a good move I said. He nods, by way of reply, barely bothering to look up. Unperturbed by this lack of enthusiasm, I decide that perhaps Hasselbaink, who still hasn't smiled, needs a bit of cheering up. I make eye-contact.
'All right Jimmy,' I say. 'Good food?' 'Piss off,' he replies, throwing his napkin on to the table before walking to the gents. Nice meeting you, Jimmy.
Until next week...
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