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TONIGHT WE TURN THE CORNER 17-1-06
Let's make no mistake about this, tonight's FA Cup third round replay against Nuneaton Borough is absolutely massive. What would normally be a formality tie to us is now a must win and in the current climate, there is no guarantee that we will secure victory.
On the very same pitch where Manchester United were annihalated earlier this season, Nuneaton Borough of the Conference second tier have a real big opportunity to pull off THE single greatest FA Cup upset of all time.
Nuneaton will come here with absolutely nothing to lose and will go for it from the off. Don't let their 3-0 defeat at the weekend fool you at all. It's absolutely certain that that happened because in their minds, they had bigger fish to fry.
They will man-mark every one of our players tighter than they did in the match at their place and they will give absolutely nothing away. They will chase every lost cause and battle right to the end. We will need to be at our fighting best tonight to see them off and avoid a potential embarrassment that will take months, if not years to swallow.
This is the biggest game that Nuneaton Borough have ever played and they will do everything that they can to make the most of their night on the big stage. Against a Middlesbrough side that have sunk from being domestic cup winners, potential Uefa cup winners and top seven in the Premiership to an under confident, under performing shadow of their former selves in just a few short weeks.
Boro are in dire straits at the moment and when you weigh up the situation in the cold light of day, Nuneaton Borough have got the advantage over us tonight. Especially with the vociferous support that they will bring.
The potential of a derby with Coventry City in the next round is an extra spur to them and Gez Murphy's award of 'man of the third round' will add extra impetus to a team already on a high.
There is severe unrest at Middlesbrough at the moment and Nuneaton are well aware of that. The calls for Steve McClaren's head are growing louder by the hour and even the greatest chairman in the world is finding himself subject to criticism from certain quarters. Apparently, a section of our support are organising a large demonstration tomorrow to demand the removal of the manager. This is about as bad as it gets.
Now I'm not going to ponder on why we have sunk so low and what can possibly be done about it because the bottom line is that in a situation like we find ourselves in now, it is simply no use dwelling on things that are out of our control. So let's dwell on things that are within our control.
As supporters, we must put aside all angst, bitterness and hatred and get behind the team tonight. We simply have to give it everything we have in terms of support because the reality is that a good win tonight will make a massive difference. It could rejuvenate confidence and send us heading back up the league table again. It could also be the start of a memorable FA Cup run.
I want to point out to the people who are organising tonight's demonstration that you are doing the club a dis-service. You are not helping at all and in fact, you are playing right into the opposition's hands. Our multi-millionaire internationally famous superstars are people, just like me and you and will pick up on any negativity in the crowd tonight. Please - if you must carry out this demonstration, save it until after the final whistle.
To the boo-boys who have constantly berated our players this season. You're not helping and you're not doing anyone any good whatsoever. Everybody is aware that performances have been nowhere near the standard that we expect but harrassing the players will not help one little bit. Yes, as a paying customer, you have every right to express your dissastisfaction but can it not wait until the end of the match?
To those who have endlessly criticised the club this season - and I'm no angel when it comes to that - yes it's true that things could be a lot better and that even some of the basics are not quite right but take a step back and have another look. The club are now listening to the supporters for probably the first time ever and you cannot give the powers that be enough credit for that. And if you think I'm talking rubbish, just take a look at the price on your ticket for tonight's match.
Let's put aside any feelings that we may have for Steve McClaren for two hours tonight and back him to the hilt because if we do anything less as supporters, we are simply not helping the cause.
Personal feelings do not come into this and my opinion about our current plight means nothing because I am not privvy to what is going on behind the scenes. Neither are you, fellow Boro supporter so in other words, it's well out of our control.
But there is no doubt whatsoever that Steve McClaren does not want to be in this situation and is doing all that he can to get us out of it. He may be failing at the moment but rest assured, he is as unhappy about current results as we are and will be searching long and hard for solutions.
Let's get behind him in that quest and give the team nothing less than 100% support tonight because it's all we can do as supporters and it's what we should be doing anyway. We're not in a position to criticise unless we have done our bit faultlessly.
Let's show some real Teesside spirit here. Don't we always come out fighting when our backs are against the wall? Well tonight, we need to do it like we have never done it before and show complete and total unity because by sticking together and doing the only thing that is within our control, i.e. getting right behind the team, we will come through this and come through it with credit.
Let's make this the night that we turn the corner and start to claw our way back to where we should be, which is annihalating teams like Manchester United.
Because if it can go wrong as quickly as it did, it can also start to go right just as quickly. But only if we all do our bit...
Steve
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