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REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL 17-8-06
Steve Goldby
18-wheeler Scammels, Domenecker camels
All other mammals plus equal votes
Seeing Piccadilly, Fanny Smith and Willy
Being rather silly, and porridge oats
Ian Dury,
12th May 1942 - 27th March 2000
How nice to be able to say for the third season running that 'this is the best time ever to be a Boro fan'. And from the outside looking in, it appears that our golden age is set to continue for quite some time yet.
Anybody who is concerned about Gareth Southgate's lack of management experience need not worry. He's a natural leader who has already stamped his own mark on the team, as was evident at the Chievo match last Saturday. If Boro can reproduce some of those sweeping multi-pass attacking moves when the games are played at full Premiership pace, then we will score sackfuls this season.
The bottom line about Gareth Southgate's appointment is that if he is Steve Gibson's choice, then he has to be ours as well. Our great leader has never got it wrong before and I doubt if he's about to start now. We know that Southgate was not necessarily first choice for the hotseat but how many clubs do actually get their first choice manager? Maybe Martin O'Neill turning us down will turn out to be the biggest blessing in disguise ever?
Never mind about the pre-season match results as these are absolutely unimportant, unless you are the new England manager and it's your very first game in charge but more on that later.
The object of pre-season matches are to get the players match fit, experiment with different and possibly new formations and to avoid injuries to key players. But more than all of these factors, to discover the areas that most need working on. As far as I can see, all of these objectives were achieved and as I am sure we will find out on Saturday, that makes it a successful pre-season.
We only fielded anything like a full strength lineup once in pre-season and that was on Saturday. Anyone who saw that performance will without a doubt be encouraged about what lays ahead this season.
There have been concerns aired about our defence from various quarters but I'm not buying these comments as we are probably just one player away from having an extremely solid backline. Perhaps Sylvain Distin is that one player and perhaps he will have signed by the time this goes to press.
Gareth Southgate spent all of his playing career marshalling a defence and with considerable success. As manager, I would back Southgate to get this area right above all others and although all of the pieces may not yet be in place, I would wager that it won't be very long before they are.
Neither should we be concerned about the perceived lack of pre-season signings. Most deals these days are done in the final couple of days of the window and there is no reason to think that this year will be any different. It's a deflated market right now and besides, how many clubs have made more than two or three signings this summer?
Do we actually need to make several new signings? The squad that made it to the UEFA Cup final is still basically intact minus one or two noteables and there is an astonishing array of talent from the academy available. Just look at how many young 'homegrown' players made their debuts last season. Nearly every single one of them shone and there is no reason why this cannot be the case again this season.
Apparently the atmosphere within the club is currently at an all time high. There is a smile on the faces of the players again and they are enjoying their jobs again. That is probably the biggest factor in producing a successful team and it is no secret that our most successful manager of all time will not be missed as outside observers would expect him to be.
Popular opinion dictates that because Steve McClaren was sometimes over cautious defensively when he was Boro boss that that is exactly how he will be as England manager. I personally think that nothing could be further from fact.
Steve McClaren has quality in every department at his disposal and he is the best man to get the most out of this squad. Wednesday night's demolition of European champions greece was no fluke. It was a sign of things to come.
He had already made two master strokes before a ball had been kicked. The appointment of Terry Venables, England's best manager of the modern era, was a statement in itself and whether the removal of David Beckham was politically motivated or not, it was brilliant in the way that it completely asserted McClaren's authority.
Eriksson wasted England's 'golden generation' but I don't hold him 100% responsible. The blame has to lie with the clowns who had the bright idea to appoint a non-English manager in the first place and this mistake must never be allowed to be made again. Quite simply, it is absolutely wrong and it made us the laughing stock of world football and if that is nationalistic, well so is international football.
Now that the Swedish nightmare is well and truly behind us, I can see McClaren and Venables taking us on to great things and the way that Steve has tackled the job up to now and the way that he has come over in the media only serves to reaffirm this.
McClaren replaced an unpopular manager and ironically, so did Gareth Southgate. I am tipping both to go on and achieve big things in their new roles.
In a nutshell, we've never had it so good.
Until next week.
Steve
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