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NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO SHEFFIELD 28-9-06
Karl Watson and Tom Warnock
Watson says...
After what was a spectacular defeat to lower league opposition in the second round of the Carling Cup last Wednesday it was hardly surprising to see many fans turn their attention to a spot of retail therapy or even an extra shift at work on a Saturday afternoon. After all, Blackburn do boast a superior record at the Riverside in recent years.
We were all promised attractive, exciting football by former skipper Gareth Southgate but right now the only thing we are enjoying is the half time cup of tea. The game versus Blackburn Rovers was never going to be the most entertaining in the world but what was more worrying was the lack of quality, spirit, and determination. The first half display was woeful and the players were deservedly booed off by what was the lowest crowd of the season.
It is no coincidence that we achieve greater results when the Holgate is booming out another rendition of 'Who's that team we the call the Boro', and the Riverside is packed to the rafters. Low attendances will definitely dent the players' confidence and morale and effect the way they play. When we all look back at the great results achieved in recent years, they have been played in front of well over 30,000 fans; the atmosphere obviously intimidates the opposition and motivates the lions in red a lot more.
I don't want to sit here and bang on about the prices of tickets but what I will say is that something has to be done to get more seats filled. It appears that many fans are attracted by the opposition rather than the home side. Mediocre opposition doesn't appear to turn fans away from Old Trafford or the Emirates so why does it deter fans away from the Riverside?
Yes the top four do brag large catchment areas but we do fill the Riverside around two to three times every year when the so called 'big boys' arrive. It shows we can fill the ground occasionally, however filling it week in week out must be a priority.
However how can you blame our fans for turning their backs when the performances against mediocre opposition are so dreadful? Boro fans are far from silly and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that many fans refuse to pay extortionate amounts to watch a team that fails to entertain.
Southgate's starting eleven against the Lancashire outfit was very bizarre especially when the manager expresses an emphasis on balance and the right blend. Southgate admitted he is still searching for the right combination of system and personnel but it appeared after the trips to London and Lancashire that we were close to achieving this. It can be argued that Gareth needs to introduce continuity within the starting eleven.
One thing that troubles and confuses me is when managers continue to play players out of position. Gaizka Mendieta is a very talented footballer and he struggled to adapt when asked to play on the right hand side rather than the middle. Mendieta is an experienced campaigner and when he failed to adapt, surely it must have told the manager that players must be played within their natural position?
James Morrison has struggled to hold a regular place in the squad so it was a shock to see him start on the left when he struggles to play within his natural position, which is on the right. Adam Johnson, who boasts genuine pace and can deliver quality balls into the box had to endure a painful seventy minutes on the bench wondering why he was not playing. I'm sure I speak for most Boro fans when I wish Stewart Downing a speedy recovery.
What was extremely disappointing was starting one in attack at home against a team that a week previously had just managed to scrape themselves off the foot of the Premier League table. Yakubu is a fantastic forward but asking any striker to play upfront by themselves is a massive task. It was clear he was crying out for a partner on Saturday.
I just don't understand why Viduka was selected on the bench, he is a superb forward who can score many goals and he is someone who draws defenders to him, giving many the chance to get forward whilst creating valuable space.
A lack of goals is once again beginning to haunt the Teessiders. It took Steve McClaren over four years to develop a front two that could score vast amounts and when Southgate took charge he destroyed this combination. Not renewing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's contract looks like a decision Southgate may be living to regret, especially if Jason Euell continues to miss chances such as the one at the closing stages of Saturday's first half.
Whilst Yakubu is not firing on all cylinders and Mark Viduka continues to warm the bench, I struggle to understand where our goals will come from; after all we have never boasted a goal scoring midfield.
Maybe many of our problems stem from midfield? For example we are not seeing the best from what we call our more 'flair' players. I am a big admirer of Fabio Rockemback and I feel he can be a huge hit on Teesside but right now he is making too many small errors which are very costly. Fabio has the ability to swing a seventy yard cross field ball which tears apart back lines. However what he fails to do consistently is make a routine five-ten yard pass. He gives the ball away just too cheaply and then fouls players who are going nowhere and there appears to be no apparent danger. We then face a set piece where the ball will be thrown into the box and big strikers will be competing.
Many of the basics are not being executed correctly right now. Routine passes are frequently being misplaced, we give the ball away too cheaply and we don't appear to do much to get it back. First touches appear to be poor and we make it easier for our opponents to play. When we get the ball we need to keep it. You can't win games if you don't have the ball. Yes that may seem obvious but what people don't understand is many of the top teams carry out the basics correctly week in week out and this is why they are successful.
I have always argued that if your team is lacking quality then hard work comes very close, but against mediocre opposition there is an apparent lack of hard work and motivation. Why do our players lack motivation against lesser opposition? It frustrates every Middlesbrough fan that we can go from beating Champions one week to losing to relegation threatened teams at home the next. If we are to finish in the top half, beating mediocre teams is a must.
Right now, achieving top six is a long way away and it is not on the forefront of our minds. We have three very hard fixtures coming up and it is no surprise that many are predicting we will be in the bottom three after them. I do believe Southgate will get it right, however Gareth did comment that he feels he can get it right eventually. Unfortunately, eventually could mean anytime, and we don't need results when we are sitting near the bottom at Christmas, we need results now.
Away to Sheffield United is a fixture I am not looking forward to. Primarily, because I feel we are a lot stronger than what they are and it can be argued the Blades are destined for relegation. However I can't see us taking anything away from Bramall Lane so it reignites fears of what could be a tough season at the Riverside.
Warnock Says...
Another week has passed, and since the writing of the last column we've witnessed two 1-0 reverses at the Riverside, a trend we seem to be becoming used to.
A nominal attendance for the Carling Cup tie was only increased upon by almost 14,000 for the visit of Blackburn; yet the increase in support clearly didn't serve to inspire the players in any way.
Let's start with the County game. Was anyone really that surprised at the result? Typically we stutter through the early cup rounds by one goal, or at the second time of asking in a replay. It really was a matter of time before we just couldn't score that one goal and the opposition could, and it happened on Wednesday.
Fielding our first eleven would by no means have made it a walkover but it would have, firstly, given the fans value for money and, secondly, almost certainly would have greatly increased our chances of winning. The team had just come off the back of two hard earned away draws and some continuity could only have been a good thing.
The manager had a choice to make, and it backfired. Gareth was quoted as saying it wasn't a case of a need to rest players but merely an opportunity to look at other squad players. But frankly, that's what training sessions are for, not league cup games, which for Middlesbrough and twelve other clubs in the Premiership is the best opportunity to win silverware and qualify for Europe.
The most frustrating thing is the constant changing of the team. Yes it's important to adapt depending on the opposition but we need to breed consistency in everything we do and keep working at it. Tactics rarely work first time in football; it's about being persistent and giving the same eleven players six or seven games together with the same formation and the same sets of ideas.
Against Blackburn we didn't play badly in the second half, however it's very worrying that we couldn't even get a shot on target. And perhaps more worrying is having no goals from any striker since Mark Viduka's winner against Chelsea. Perhaps we missed Downing and Boateng, although in terms of the team, we have players who can do their jobs in Cattermole and Johnson, so we can't blame the result on injuries.
It was a culmination of several factors, from lack of creativity to it just not being our day. It was pointed after the Bolton match that away draws become irrelevant if we can't start winning our home games against teams who will be around us come the end of the season, and Saturday's defeat was a prime example of the games we must start winning.
The crowd was low, just above the number of season ticket holders. It seems the supporters are voting with their feet again. We have endured too many poor starts to the season and we never have the drive to recover to a top half finish. If we took away the last twenty minutes against Chelsea we would be sitting bottom of the league, which is not what the club had in mind.
So it's our second visit to a Premiership newcomer this Saturday and we should expect a tough game. Remember, we're only one win above them and their team will be looking at our last two games thinking they can upset us.
We are a better team than them but we need to show it. It's not Arsenal away so we shouldn't go with such a negative shape and hopefully Gareth will be bolder in his selection and play with two strikers and natural wingers, which means playing Morrison on the right in place on Mendieta.
We've only lost one out of three on our travels this season, and perhaps the players will appreciate a break from the Riverside after two defeats. On paper this is a game we should win but with the Boro we really never know.
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