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"I LOVE THE BORO, ME" 8-12-04
It was such a lovely piece of ball wizardry that set Mark Viduka up for his left footed piledriving net stretcher on Monday night and the excellent one-two with Jimmy Floyd plus two other scorching strikes have put us right back in the frame. Images of all three of Boro's Monday night goals will stay with me for a while yet.
At least until the next piece of striking expertise which will probably come at St Mary's on Saturday against luckless Southampton. The floodgates were well and truly opened on Monday and it will take repeated epic defensive performances to stop Jimmy and Big Mark storming up the goalscoring charts now.
Jimmy's twenty five yard free kick and Mark's ninth minute opener were both worthy of entry into a 'Goal of the Month' competititon. Witness both the initial control with the inside right foot and the calmly executed finish of Viduka's opener. The vast majority of Premiership strikers would have probably blasted the opportunity straight into the body of David James. Instead, Mark was ice cold and clinical in his execution.
 
Faster, sharper and harder
It's been coming for a while now. He received a lot of praise for his Man of the Match performance on Monday night but little was said about his efforts at White Hart Lane last Sunday when for my money, he was the best player on the pitch.
During that particular game, he chased every loose ball, fought for every lost cause and was a constant menace to the Spurs defence. So I see Monday night's double as a belated reward for unheralded efforts from twenty first century Boro's version of John Hickton himself.
This newer updated Big John is fitter, faster, sharper, more skilful and harder and that is said without taking anything away from one of my favourite all time Boro players. For those who did not witness Big John at first hand this is possibly the greatest compliment that I could pay to Big Mark. Those who were lucky enough to have seen the old master may well agree that you can't help but be reminded of JH when you watch MV in action.
As Mark is not yet twenty nine, we could be in for another four or five years of what we saw on Monday and that will do very nicely indeed. By then, Mark should have a nice collection of medals and trophies, we will have some outstanding memories and the Boro Hall of Fame will have a new member, proudly standing alongside Big John and Cloughie and several other noteables in Boro history.
Steve McClaren got it dead right with his prediction that both strikers would get their names back on the scoresheet against Manchester City and it was thrilling watching his prediction come true and satisfying to know that we would no longer have to endure any more misguided talk of 'goal droughts'.
Whilst our front two endured their recent run of bad luck, it should not be forgotten that both made solid contributions to the team effort and in Jimmy's case, he may easily have had his tally upped by two as both recent own goals, at Charlton and West Bromwich, were actually Jimmy Floyd shots that just happened to strike a defender before entering the net.
 
In the right place at the right time
Some are saying that Jimmy is lazy and often appears disinterested. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those who level both or either of those accusations must realise that Jimmy is not going to get stuck into the thick of the action when he thinks that a possible scoring opportunity may arise from the situation. He needs to be available for loose balls, so that he can create a striking chance. Being in the right place is what makes the difference between a good striker and an exceptional one and Jimmy is without a shadow of doubt the latter.
It will be interesting to see what personnel moves the Boss makes when the transfer window opens in just less than four weeks. No doubt, Steve Mc has already decided who he wants to bring in and who will be offered for sale and it may be that some negotiations have already begun.
Although we are currently flying high, it is true that certain additions to the squad are required if we are to seriously sustain our three pronged challenge for honours.
My priority would be bring in an experienced midfield utility man. Our flexibilty in that particular area is insufficient and we need a solid cover man.
 
He could do an awful lot worse
Apparently and according to a rumour that I heard today, moves are afoot to bring Luis Figo to The Riverside, on loan for the rest of the season. I repeat, that is merely an unsubstantiated rumour that I heard today. But how nice it would be if it were indeed true.
It is nice to have the feeling that such a rumour is actually believable. It would have been, at best ridiculous mere months ago and that is a measure of the progress that Steve McClaren and his team have made in a short space of time. The quality of the January signings will indicate just how much more progress we are going to make during the next.
Hats off to Anthony Vickers of The Evening Gazette for publicising the police violence that occurred at Villareal the week before last. Here's this week's Anthony Vickers' Column in full.
Until next week.
Steve
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