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THE ROCKLIFFE FILES - IS THE BOAT SINKING 12-9-06
Toby Higgins
Good day to you dear Rockcliffe Reader and hope you're well. I know I am. I had a fantastic weekend in a place called London, you see.
I went to see a show, the Lion King, on Friday night, and went to bed that evening in a rather good mood. Nice meal, a bit of culture, and a chance to leave behind some of life's little worries, for a while at least. It wasn't until the following morning that my worries would return. Saturday. Match Day. The Arsenal against the Boro.
As my girlfriend and I made my way across to North London, my apprehension intensified. We walked past posters of Thierry Henry promoting Reebok, with the words, "I hate to lose, but I'm not afraid to lose". Memories of last seasons 7-0 drubbing came flashing back, a day Henry ran riot. I, unlike Thierry, was afraid. I was afraid that they could reach that figure again.
The Emirates Stadium, stunning as it is, is no Highbury and maybe that's where our problem against the Arsenal lay. Before kick off, as the nerves really kicked in, this was the one shred of comfort that I clung to desperately, like Moufasa clings to the ledge in the Lion King, as the Gazelle's pound the ground beneath him. I just hoped beyond hope that unlike Scar, who sends Moufasa plunging to his death, Henry and co. would have mercy on us.
As it happens, Arsenal did play the role of Scar in North London on Saturday, though not quite in the same context as previously mentioned. Far from it, largely because Boro adopted the role of Simba, a young adventurous and brave character who returns to Pride Rock in seek of revenge for his fathers murder, in a way not dissimilar to the way that Boro returned to North London in seek of revenge for their own murder, last January.
And who'da thought it, that just twenty-two minutes in, and with Arsenal yet to break the deadlock, the energetic James Morrison would rob Chelsea reject William Gallas, latch onto a return pass from debutant Jason Euell, and bend the ball with the outside of his right foot around the German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann? Surely nobody. Not even James Bassett in his wildest dreams would have seen this coming. Cue the emphatic celebrations.
Those at the game will argue that, while Arsenal went on to dominate the game from then on, we were robbed. An appropriate turn of phrase really, considering our 'robber' was in fact called Rob. Indeed, whether or not Mr. Styles thought he was refereeing at Old Trafford, or he was simply filling in his Lotto numbers for Saturday night's rollover by using the numbers on the back of the Boro players he was booking (seven in all), I'm in no doubt that he was certainly a 'homer'.
However, I don't feel that on this occasion, the refereeing is the main reason we didn't walk away from Arsenal with all three points. Instead, I'll point you in the direction of George Boateng's red card. Label this the games 'turning point', and pose the question, "Is the Boat sinking?"
For those who have watched Boateng regularly over recent seasons, it is easy to see why he has become such a popular figure amongst the club's fans. His all action, high energy, tough tackling approach has won him much acclaim, so much so that, when Gareth Southgate took on the role as manager, Boateng was considered the right candidate to take over the vacated captain's armband for this season.
Since then, his performances have suffered, and while he may be a huge asset to the club as a midfielder, his leadership qualities are beginning to come under some scrutiny. While the previous skipper was seen to rally his players when times were hard, particularly the younger ones, Boateng can be seen verbally criticising them after an error, which simply cannot be good for them, or the team.
Motivation seems to be a problem too, and whether responsibility for this should come from powers above Boateng's head, it's worrying how we managed to lose 3-2 from being 2-0 up at Reading, and lose 4-0 to Portsmouth, when we have been able to get results against Chelsea and now Arsenal. Motivating the players against the 'smaller' teams is an issue which needs addressing urgently.
For me, Saturday demonstrated precisely why Boateng is not the right man to skipper the side. Having whinged for seemingly the entire first half to Rob Styles, he went one moan too far when he complained about Henry taking a quick free kick which stroked the post on the way out for a goal kick. For protesting, both he and Euell were booked, meaning he knew he was on thin ice from then on.
But, as we all know, he charged after Freddie Ljunberg, missed the tackle by an extremely long way and within three minutes of his first yellow, he was on a stretcher being carried down the tunnel having injured himself just before Styles dismissed him.
The very last player who should be sent off is the captain. You can be certain that Southgate wouldn't have done the same had he just been cautioned, and in behaving like he did, Boateng ultimately compromised our position within the game. With the sides even, we had Arsenal held firmly at arms length, but when down to ten men it was an impossible task to keep them out.
The midfield became stretched, meaning Stewey Downing was left exposed as Emanuel Eboue ran at him, and, maybe taking a leaf out of his skipper's book, he lunged in and conceded the penalty which forced the draw. Downing too is coming under increasing pressure because as well as giving away the penalty, he struggled to get involved during the game, and has the national media calling for him to be axed from the England team. The next few weeks are huge in the career of Stewart Downing, but more on that next week.
Whether it was Boateng's fault or not, we went to Arsenal and got a point, which is still a fairly impressive and even amazing feat. Such an article cannot pass with mention of the performance of Jonathon Woodgate. In two words, World Class. Despite not being at 100% fitness, he was the commanding presence that has, until now, been missing from our back line, and long may it continue.
I'm not sure who the club's vice captain is, but with no Boateng or Riggott available next week at Bolton, I hope Southgate is bold enough to hand the armband to Boro's new local hero.
Woodgate's coming home.
Same time next week.
Up the Boro
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