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HOME FORM THE KEY FOR SATURDAY 6-3-07
Karl Watson
Although Middlesbrough failed to record a historic double over Newcastle at the weekend, it was a result that was met with open arms. It sees our unbeaten record stretch a game further and strengthens our cause for European football next season.
The result was a good one, despite a lacklustre defensive performance in a game that was far from entertaining. Southgate admitted we went to St James' looking to attack but as the game progressed it was clear we would have to settle for a point at best.
We did not play to our full potential but surely what must be encouraging is picking up points on the road despite playing poorly. We have played far better in many previous games away from the Riverside yet failed to take anything away in terms of points. Against Newcastle we were dogged and gritty and we were determined to take something away from our local neighbours. A point will have pleased many. We have shown when we need to play ugly that we are capable of doing so.
Our away form seems to be progressing, though a little too late for my liking. If we had begun to play in the manner in which we did against Newcastle on Saturday then perhaps we would be firmly cemented in the top half of the table by now? From our last ten outings away from home in all competitions we have only been beaten on three occasions. That shows how far we have progressed and hopefully we can take this form into our remaining four away games and get something from them.
It appeared on Saturday against Newcastle that we relied too heavily on Yakubu and Viduka. Yes, this is the pairing that has scored numerous of goals for us this season and perhaps spared our blushes and dragged us away from relegation, but we can't rely so greatly on the Yak and Big Vid. Every player goes through a spell where they will not play too well and whenever our frontline fails to deliver we have to use our midfield to good effect.
I am not entirely convinced that our midfield does enough for us in away games when Viduka and Yakubu have not been firing on all cylinders. I have not been reassured that our midfield has the ability to play their way out of trouble and create good chances without our strikers helping them out. Whenever we are in trouble in midfield, the ball gets thumped up to Viduka or Yakubu and we instantly expect miracles. Other teams use their midfields to create chances for their strikers, yet it appears we expect Yakubu and Viduka to make and finish their own.
This is not an attack on our midfield. I have been very impressed by Julio Arca in recent games and I feel we are just missing that right sided midfielder. A significant purchase could ease this problem.
Against Newcastle, our left hand side was used greatly yet the right hand side was rarely used. Lee Cattermole is obviously not a right sided midfielder as every time he picked up the ball or committed a foul it was in the centre of the park and 'out of position'.
Glenn Roeder was eating sour grapes after the goalless draw and I pity all the Newcastle fans for having to watch that grumpy face every Saturday. Roeder reportedly came out after the game saying, "We took four points from them last year. We outplayed them at the Riverside earlier this season and lost 1-0. That's football. "I know which club is bigger - and always has been and always will be."
Well Mr. Roeder would you like me to pull out my violin and play you a sad song, or are you simply going to cry into your tissues because you couldn't beat The Boro this year. What a shame Newcastle failed to score a single goal past us this season, I wonder how that makes him feel?
Roeder needs to rub his sad eyes and wake up. Being a big club does not mean you are better than us. Let's do a little comparison.
Cups won by Newcastle in the last 35 years - NONE
Cups won by Middlesbrough in last 35 years - 1
Newcastle remain an over hyped, mediocre side that has won absolutely nothing and I for one hope they never win a thing.
Our next game sees the visit of Manchester United to The Riverside for an FA Cup quarter-final. Manchester United will be clearly euphoric after their victory at Anfield which gives them one hand on the Premiership title. With a game mid-week against Lille perhaps Saturday is an ideal time to play them.
Although they will be taking the FA Cup seriously, they have in previous rounds had a tendency to rest some of their bigger players, and hopefully they will against Middlesbrough. Wayne Rooney picked up a nasty gash against Liverpool and may not play, which can only be a good thing. Paul Scholes could also miss the game due to suspension.
The confidence of our players must be at a high. Results of late have been very good and our players appear to be a lot more confident on the pitch now.
Our home form may just be the determining factor on Saturday. It has been excellent and every time our players step onto the pitch at the Riverside they have a great belief and usually produce a good result. The football we play at home more than matches the opposition and whenever we are faced with good opposition our players seem to rise to the occasion.
What does concern me is the air of expectancy due to the game being played at the Riverside. Many believe that we will have no problems because we are at home, but this will not be the case. Manchester United will cause us problems, but we do have to make home advantage pay. If we need a replay at Old Trafford we will be turned over and out of the competition. Our big chance comes on Saturday and I hope we attack Manchester United in order to create plenty of chances.
If our fans are expecting a win and a startling performance then we may just react a little too harshly if things are not going too well after half an hour. We have to remain patient with the side and not expect too much. With saying this however, I do believe we can turn them over and progress to the next round. It will not be easy but there is belief there and we can beat anyone on our day at home.
In terms of the season, the draw at Newcastle was a good result as we did not lose that much ground to the teams above us. We are now only seven points off seventh place and Europe does seem a possibility.
If we are defeated on Saturday then we all must hope that Manchester United and Chelsea avoid one another and contest the final. This would allow another European slot to be allocated to the league, meaning eighth place would qualify.
We now have just five home games remaining, against either teams below us or those that do not travel well. I do not expect to be beaten at home off any of these teams and four wins from the remaining five will stand us in good stead. I don't believe this is being overly ambitious either. We are good enough to win all five, but then again we all know we are capable of losing games that we appear destined to win.
Our remaining four away games are very tough however, playing two out of the top four sides, and playing two sides who are involved in a relegation scrap. There is a possibility of taking away something from two of these games, and if we have serious ambitions of a top half finish with the possibility of Europe then this is a must.
Our remaining fixtures are not as daunting as first feared and in some ways we should be happy with them. If we are to finish as high as possible we have to take advantage of our fixture list and take as many points as possible. However, first things first and that is to concentrate on the cup game against Manchester United.
Hopefully the ground will be the full and our warriors will be able to record a fantastic victory and send us one step further to another final and another chance of silverware.
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