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MAKE THE RIVERSIDE A PLACE EVERYONE FEARS 20-9-06
Karl Watson and Tom Warnock
Warnock says...
Many a Boro supporter has long been craving some degree of consistency in our results; and it came this weekend just passed, albeit in the form of our third consecutive draw at the Reebok Stadium, and the football was as predictably defensive as the result suggests.
Not for the first occasion we have gone to Bolton with aspirations of no more than matching their rugged style and grinding out a point. Before kick off it might have seemed respectable to aim for a point, but the game itself served to show that Bolton had little or nothing to offer and had we been more ambitious we may have been reflecting on our first victory at the Reebok.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and it's easy to forget pre-game expectations and targets in light of how each match unfolds, which is why I sit wholly satisfied with the point gained, although we have slipped several places after Sunday's results.
Give credit where it's due however, the team got what it aimed for, and a clean sheet to top it off. The clean sheet itself is more than a bonus, a few weeks ago it would have seemed a miracle, but with the addition of Woodgate and his boyhood dream of captaining the Boro being realised, we looked nothing less than solid as a rock.
It took about an hour before we really gained control of the game and its pace, but in truth Bolton only ever looked like getting lucky on the odd set piece, as we worryingly failed to anticipate a quickly taken free kick for the second week running - one for the training ground Gareth.
It's easy to overlook the midweek game against Notts County; however it's a chance for the each player to show how good he really is, and for the team to continue its recent solidity. It's reminiscent of the Nuneaton Borough game last season, to a lesser degree. A high-scoring win will set us up nicely for the visit of Blackburn.
It looks likely that our £6million man Robert Huth will feature midweek, and it would be in the best interest of the team for Gareth to play him alongside our first choice defence.
Woodgate needs games for his fitness and it can only bode well to keep the same personnel, however it seems that the manager may opt to give Woodgate a rest. The happy medium would be to start with him and replace him if and when the game is sewn up.
We can't underestimate this tie, the Carling cup is a trophy we should look to succeed in, and it's a route back into Europe. County are flying high in League Two and an upset is not out of the question, traditionally we have always made it look more difficult than is necessary in the early rounds, this time we must be looking to play with freedom and the confidence of a team brimming with internationals.
As for Blackburn, this is a crucial game. It will be an indication as to how the remainder of the season will unfold. Before Sunday Blackburn was rock bottom and we need to send them back there. If we win, then we can be satisfied with the last two weeks and the away points gained, if we lose then all the hard work goes to waste, to become a top seven side we must win the majority of our home games, without winning your home games, away draws become almost meaningless.
The team needs to disregard the Pompey result as a blip and try to turn the Riverside into a fortress and start bringing crowds back, there's nothing like a packed Riverside with the players feeding off the energy. And the crowds will come back, but only after the team delivers on a regular basis, starting with the County game.
Let's not look at the last two games as just draws, let's use it as the start of an unbeaten run and capitalise on what have been solid displays. Perhaps its time we went back to being hard to beat, when we had the best centre half pairing in the country. After all, keeping a clean sheet is half the job done when it comes to winning games.
So here we stand, unbeaten and yet to concede a goal from open play since the debut of 'Woody', and if he continues to deliver out of this world performances, we might be seeing a 'Buzz' around the Boro before long.
Watson Says...
Well wasn't that a refreshing change. It was a great result against Bolton at the Reebok on Saturday, a point that we thoroughly deserved. The result against Chelsea was followed by the Horror show against Portsmouth so it wasn't a surprise that after a great result in London, many Teessiders were predicting another poor display against mediocre opposition.
Bolton were very different opponents than Arsenal, they appear to use grit and determination and even a few nasty challenges to get the job done, so we all knew that we would have to adapt our style if we were going to take anything away from Lancashire. The performance showed that if needs be, we can battle just as good as anyone else and that the players who pull on the shirt will give their all to get results.
The team was led out by Jonathan Woodgate and wasn't it just great to hear him say that it was the finest day of his career leading out his home team club. Let's not forget this is a player who has appeared for England on several occasions and played in front of over 80,000 screaming Spaniards at the Bernabeu. It was fantastic to hear that a fee has been agreed to keep the former Leeds star at the Riverside for four more years.
Personally, I believe appointing Woodgate as permanent skipper would be a wise choice. Gareth commented in his post match interview that he believes our foundations must be set around keeping clean sheets. I completely agree with him and I feel that if our foundations are to begin with the back four then the captain should be amongst that back line.
Woodgate is already showing us all he has the necessary credentials to become permanent captain and he would be ready to take on the role. For a large spell of his time on Teesside George Boateng has been an unsung hero and suddenly he has been given a great responsibility.
Becoming captain doesn't just mean leading the team out of the tunnel; the responsibilities off the pitch suddenly become a lot greater. For example, George will be the one that will have to organise tickets for friends and families of all the players. I'm not sure this role suits George as it appears he likes his role as unsung hero.
Woodgate constantly gives out orders and directs the players as to where they should be and at what time; he appears a more natural leader than George. I don't feel Boateng is one that can gee up the rest of the squad; he seems quite a quiet figure when playing and being captain may restrict the way he will play. For example because he is now captain the impetus will be for him to play the full ninety minutes and not do anything silly, as without the captain there is no natural leader.
George is a player who is not afraid to put his foot and head in where others don't and he does receive a few bookings. Being captain, he may back out of some challenges because he knows we need him on the pitch and as captain he shouldn't be making rash decisions and receiving red cards.
I was impressed with Gareth's first team eleven on Saturday; it proved he's not afraid to drop the big names in order to get results. Mark Viduka didn't travel to the Reebok, and many rumours have been going around Teesside as to why he didn't but it seems it has nothing to do with his desire to play for the club. Viduka is a great striker who does work hard yet he has been criticised heavily in the past for his 'lack of effort'.
Although I don't like to criticise I do feel Viduka may lack motivation when it comes to certain away games when the opposition have more intent to strike the player and not the ball. I feel Gareth understands this and will not be afraid to drop the big names just because they have a huge price tag slapped on them.
Yakubu has shown that when it comes to playing 4-5-1 we have no one better than him at the club. More and more teams in the Premiership appear to adopt a different style based on hard work and hefty challenges simply because they lack the quality. These are the fixtures where we will have to change our style and where some of our more flair players will have to take a seat on the substitute's bench.
I feel this can only be a good thing as it allows our star players to take a rest if needs be. For example when Cattermole and Viduka came off the bench against Chelsea they turned the game in our favour. Their performance won them a starting place against Portsmouth but they struggled to play in the same manner.
Many teams expect their team to play the same week in week out and many teams decide not to change formation based on opposition. As Middlesbrough fans we all know we never play the same week in week out and we frequently all ask ourselves, 'Which Middlesbrough team will we see today?' It can be argued that we are so inconsistent because many of our players don't get a deserved rest. Perhaps Gareth will change the side frequently and rectify this problem.
So tonight we greet Notts County to the Riverside where Robert Huth could make his debut for Middlesbrough. It would be a good test for him as County have veteran Jason Lee in their side. A player who played many times in the Premiership for Nottingham Forest, he will not make it easy for the German international.
Whenever somebody mentions the Carling Cup, you can't help but feel it is 'our' trophy and this season we should be able to give it a good go. We have a team that is more than capable of going on a seven match unbeaten run and many of the so called 'big' teams do not give it the respect it deserves.
Although everyone would love another visit to Cardiff (because we all know Wembley will never get finished), the Premiership has to be our main priority. The goal has to be to qualify for the UEFA cup via the league. I feel we are just a bit too short to finish high enough so the Carling Cup could prove the best way to get back into Europe.
When it comes to the league, if we are going to try and keep clean sheets in away games then winning games at home is a must. We need to go back a few years to when the Riverside was a fortress and many teams were afraid to travel to Teesside. Hopefully the game against Blackburn will show us that at home we will play a more attacking style while having an organised back line.
After two good results away from home many will be expecting three points on Saturday against a team that has just managed to get themselves off the foot of the Premiership table. Many fans prefer to watch a fantastic game of football but how many times did we do that last year and got beat. Yes we all want to see entertaining football but surely it is the result that counts. I'm sure we'd all prefer to see Boro in the top six winning 1-0 every week, than us in the bottom six losing 4-3.
Everyone is looking forward to watching our team at the Riverside again, and this is the first time Jonathan Woodgate will run onto the hallowed pitch of the Riverside. Rovers' strikers will cause our back line problems but we have more quality than them in all departments and it is a game we should win. So Come on Boro, let's get back into winning ways at the Riverside and make it a place everyone fears.
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