|
|
I PROMISE 22-12-06
Toby Higgins
Dear Rockcliffe Reader,
This is the final Rockcliffe Files article of the year, I promise. It's been five long months since the season began, but the year 2006 is finally almost over, I promise. This will be the last time I'll use the word 'promise' in the opening paragraph, I promise. Ah, bugger.
This week's article isn't about what has gone before. On the contrary, what has happened in the past bares little significance to the here and now. Yes, we've had some amazing European nights, and yes, we've had some talented players wearing our beloved red shirt, but now is not the time to stand on ceremony and admire. Now is the time to roll up one's sleeves, to grab a shovel and start digging in order to try and tunnel our way out of the huge pile of shit we've gotten ourselves into.
The 2-1 reverse at Fulham on Monday night was the signal of confirmation to any who doubted the obviousness of our situation; we are in trouble. You have to admit a problem exists before something can improve, and Teesside will probably admit unanimously that we have a problem.
Avoiding the drop to the Championship becomes more and more crucial every season due to the ever-widening gulf between the two divisions. The English Championship is one of, if not the, hardest divisions to get out of in Europe, and, as sides like Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds and Nottingham Forrest will testify, it can take years to get back into the Premiership.
The statistics underline the problems we have. Be warned, some of them are a little disturbing.
We've recorded one win in our last nine and have managed only four league wins all season, which indicates a problem in either defending, scoring, or both. Let me tell you, it is both. We've only scored two goals or more in a match three times in eighteen games and only West Ham, Sheffield United, Watford and Charlton have managed less than our fifteen league goals so far this season. Add all of this to the fact that we have kept our sheet clean only four times, and the extent of the problem begins to emerge.
The league table at this stage of the season doesn't lie. We are hovering outside the bottom three because that's where we deserve to be. A side note to be aware of at this stage is that of the three teams below us, two, West Ham and Charlton, have sacked their managers.
While at West Ham it's too early to say whether or not Alan Curbishley's arrival will make an impact, at Charlton, Les Reed appears to be making an even worse attempt than Ian Dowie of keeping the Addicks up. The chances of Gibson's knife falling on Southgate's head are remote, of that there is little doubt. After the extraordinary lengths Gibson has gone to in trying to convince everyone, including the football authorities, that Southgate is the right man for the job, it would be a huge surprise to show him the door after twenty or so games at the helm. Plus, it would be completely out of character with the actions Gibson has taken in the past.
The fact is that something needs to change, which is a total contradiction to the claims made by Gibson over the summer that consistency was needed. I suspect that they are words Gibson regrets saying because people like myself are quick to point out that consistency isn't working.
Was what we saw really that good last season? In the cup competitions, yes, superb. But our league form was as erratic as ever, and it certainly wasn't something we'd want to see more of. Nope, I think it's now more safe than ever to say the spiel Gibson gave us about appointing Southgate helping to maintain continuity was simply to hide the fact that nobody else wanted the job.
The continuity 'thing' was destroyed this week when firstly the club parted company with Steve Round due to a "difference in philosophy and ideas", and secondly because Gareth Southgate has reportedly attacked former manager Steve McClaren for the club's current predicament, by saying:
"This isn't something that has just happened. We knew it would be a difficult season - there was no hiding from that because at one stage last year we looked like a team in real trouble and that wasn't going to change overnight. There is a tremendous amount of change that is taking place already and that still needs to take place"
T'would seem that we've been conned by continuity.
Now that the backroom staff have been reshuffled, it's time for Southgate to show that he is the man to take the club forwards with the transactions that take place in the next month or so. The five players almost certainly heading for the exit are Ugo Ehiogu, Ray Parlour, Gaizka Mendieta, Massimo Maccarone and Fabulous Rochemback, though Mark Viduka, Chris Riggott and Jonathon Woodgate have also been linked with moves away.
While Southgate and representatives of the club have been quick to quieten the talk of Viduka, Riggot and Woodgate moving on, replacements for the other five players will need to be found quickly. Assuming that Riggot and Woodgate both stay, the main area that needs strengthening is quite clearly midfield. The fact that we've scored so few goals stems from a lack of creativity in midfield, and equally, a lack of goals from midfield. At the moment, Downing and Morrison, who are both playing superbly, are carrying the only attacking threat, but, as mentioned earlier, we are simply not scoring enough goals.
Geremi has already rejected us though. Juninho, anyone?
Close behind two or three competent midfielders on January's shopping list is a new striker. Yakubu has shown signs of getting back to his best, particularly when he was combined with Viduka during the Wigan came, and looked a handful against Fulham, but we are in desperate need of someone to come in and score the vital goals that will drag us away from relegation. Viduka, however, has admitted his future is "up in the air", and so replacing him might also need some consideration.
The game against Charlton on Saturday is monumental in our season; it can't be stressed enough. The game is a must win; whether it's a 5-0 rout or a flukey 1-0, all that matters is that we get the three points. If we come out attacking from the off, play at a fast tempo and get an early goal, the game is ours for the taking. We cannot afford to go a goal down, like we've done too often this season.
And let's hope that for once, our traditional Christmas collapse has happened before Boxing Day, and that after we take the three points from Charlton, our season will re-ignite.
Finally, thanks for reading this week, and thanks to those who read every week. I hope you've enjoyed the first full year of "The Rockcliffe Files", which will return in 2007. I promise.
To all, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Same time next year.
Up the Boro
BACK TO ROCKLIFFE FILES INDEX
|
|
|
|
