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WARDY'S TACTICS TALK - SHEFFIELD UNITED v BORO 30-9-06
Stuart Ward
After a computer-enforced break last week the tactical analysis is back once again, looking at Boro's trip to bottom club, newly promoted Sheffield United.
As always, we start with Boro's opponents today, Sheffield United.
Key Players
Mikele Leigertwood - A pre-season signing from Crystal Palace, where his contract had expired, Leigertwood is a highly rated and versatile young player. He is capable of playing in either defence or midfield, with the latter seemingly being where Warnock prefers to play him. He is, like most young players nowadays, athletic, and can run for the whole match. He is a good tackler and is also capable with the ball at his feet and he isn't averse to getting forward on occasion. He will be in midfield to add some steel alongside Phil Jagielka, and will provide a tough test for whoever comes across him.
David Sommeil - Another pre-season signing, this time from Manchester City, the French centre half provides a bit of Premiership experience that is otherwise sorely missing from this Blades team. He is a quick, athletic centre half, but isn't particularly big. He stands 5'10", but he has a decent leap on him. He will have to battle hard against Yakubu upfront, especially with the Nigerian desperate to kick start his season with goals.
Rob Hulse - Hulse will be the main goal threat in the Sheffield team today without a doubt. He has already bagged twice this season, and is a decent looking player. Signed from Leeds in the summer for a fee of around £3million, Hulse has previous Premiership experience with West Brom. He is a big powerful lad who will need to be marshalled by Jonathan Woodgate and co very carefully, or he may well link up with the smaller, quicker Kazim Richards to some good effect.
The Manager
Neil Warnock - Warnock is one of my favourite managers, although he is very much the Marmite man - you either love him or you hate him. He is a colourful, passionate manager, who has had numerous run-ins with officials, other managers, other players, the tea lady and the hot-dog sellers, and anyone else who generally breathes in his direction. Very much in the Martin O'Neill "jump around like a loon" mould, Warnock is always entertaining to watch, and isn't a bad manager to boot. He is struggling in the Premiership however, as his side is terribly short on the quality required. His teams are always going to battle to the last second though.
Likely Team And Formation
Bennet
Davis - Sommeil - Armstrong
Geary - Jagielka - Leigertwood - Gillespie - Wright
Hulse - Kazim-Richards
Apparently both Warnock and the United fans were pleased with the effort that their team put in to their 3-0 defeat at Arsenal last weekend, so I would expect him to stick with the same side against Boro.
It would appear they played 3-5-2, with the same wingback system that Boro are trying to play. At wingback is a Boro old boy, Alan Wright, a man who has the physical presence of a six year old, and when he played for Boro, seemingly the same amount of skill as a toddler as well. He came to us from Villa, with a reputation as a seemingly solid fullback. He was crap. James Morrison should have a field day against him as he has no pace and has trouble tackling. Surely we should get some joy down our right?
On the other wing they have someone who is also a midget, in Geary. He stands a towering 5'6" tall, but is apparently a more solid player than his left footed counterpart. The centre of the Blades defence looks a bit more solid, with it being ably marshalled by David Sommeil, however Davis and Armstrong are not really Premiership quality players. Hopefully Boro can exploit this weakness.
In midfield you can expect Jagielka and Leigertwood to be the battlers, with the evergreen Gillespie drifting out to the wings, where he is still fairly decent. This match is between two average sides at the minute, and could well be won or lost in the middle of the park. With George Boateng likely to be recalled to our midst, he will be expected to do most of the fighting in there, although Fabio Rochembach has proven that he isn't averse to getting stuck in (see Arsenal after Boat's red card)
Up front they have the seemingly requisite little and large combination, Hulse being the large and Kazim-Richards being the little. Hulse is a decent striker really and scores goals and it wouldn't surprise me to see him end up in double figures this season. He likes to bully defenders around a bit, although I don't see him having too much joy against the Boro and in particular Jonathan Woodgate, and how that battle goes will have a huge effect on the match and Boro's chances of success. If they are allowed to link up, expect Kazim-Richards to buzz around the bigger man, trying to pick up on the scraps as the ball is played into the Blades' attacking third.
Right, now onto the much troubled Middlesbrough.
Key Players
Jonathan Woodgate - He has quickly proven to all us fans what a great player he really is, and even if we only have him for a season then he will be a great signing. He is a top class player, who hasn't lost out in any personal battle he has chosen to engage in so far this season. He shouldn't be overly tested in this match by the Blades front line, but if he can keep Hulse quiet then Boro should have a good chance of winning provided we can score the goals at the other end.
Jason Euell - I don't know why, but I fancy him for a goal this match. He has shown he can get in the positions so far for us, and I think it is only because he hasn't played much for Charlton in recent times that he is missing. Once one goes in he will get a few I think. He seems to add a little bit of attacking impetus to our side from what I have seen, and if Southgate sticks with one up front, then he will be vital to our chances as we need some support for the big man up front.
James Morrison - As identified earlier by this writer, Morrison is going to come up against a seemingly 75-year-old dwarf. He should have the beating of Wright no problems, and if we are to get anything from this match, then this is an area that we need to concentrate on. Morrison has looked decent so far this season, troubling defences with his running with the ball, and now Downing is fit again, I fully expect to see Morrison restored to his rightful place on the right of our midfield.
The Manager
Gareth Southgate - As most of you will know, I am becoming increasingly vocal in my opinions on our Manager. I know he has only had seven games as a manager, and I LOVE the fact that you can see each defeat is killing him. It is a breath of fresh air after McClaren's carefully planned post-match press appearances. It is good to see the passion, and I like Southgate for that. However, this does not excuse us loosing to teams like Portsmouth, Notts County and Blackburn. It is all well and good him giving it everything, but he is failing to get the best out of his players. He said himself, first half against Blackburn it looked like they didn't care. Hopefully his words will have given some people the slap in the face they needed. I don't know though.
Likely Team And Formation
Schwarzer
Davies - Woodgate - Pogatetz - Taylor
Morrison - Euell - Boateng - Rochembach - Downing
Yakubu
Boro will make a couple of changes, with Downing and Boateng coming in to replace Parnaby and Mendieta respectively, providing they have fully recovered from their injuries.
Boro's defence is now looking the strongest part of the side, and this will only improve further once Huth gets back to full fitness. As it is, Woodgate has been colossal so far for Boro and he really is proving that he is one of the best centre halves certainly in Britain and maybe in Europe. He has been faultless so far this season and with his fitness being closely handled by Boro he is looking a good signing. Davies should retain his place at right back. He was at fault for Blackburn's goal last weekend but he has looked infinitely better than Parnaby at right back, and if the latter gets into the side I will lose faith in humanity. Taylor is till looking solid at left back and has really made it his own. Surely he will keep his place when Arca gets back to fitness?
The midfield is turning out to be the problem area for us this season. Southgate's seeming faith in Mendieta is disturbing, and it weakens the midfield, making it necessary to play an extra man in there to make up for the deficiency. As it is, he will stick with five across the middle, with Downing, Morrison and Euell being the main men asked to get forward and support Yakubu, something that we haven't done at all so far this season. A lot will depend on who bombs forward from midfield to try and get on the end of the crosses that Morrison should be getting in all day long against the rubbish Alan Wright. As mentioned before, Boateng just needs to be asked to sit back and defend. There really is no need for him to touch the ball at all in an attacking capacity. This way I will be able to stop moaning about him being rubbish and he will have a real benefit to the team.
Up front I really feel sorry for the Yak. He is only getting one chance a match, as he is simply getting no support at all from the midfield. He is working his arse off up front, trying to put pressure on the opposition defenders, but that isn't easy to do by yourself. I would like to think that people will get forward to help him today, Euell certainly seems willing to do it, we just need him to find an end product now.
How it will go
I am confused as to what to say here. My heart says that Boro are going to win this match. It is just a feeling I have. However, my head says that there is no reason for us to put in a performance any better than that which we have the last few games. It all really depends on the players and if they get their heads out of their arses and play like they are capable of for a run of games we can push for Europe, however if we continue to play in the same lacklustre manner as we are now, we will get a point out of another turgid game infront of the sky cameras. That's another reason why we might not win now I come to think of it, we never seem to play well infront of a national audience. That is what leads me to say this will be something like 0-0 or 1-0 to the Blades.
Until next week, tara.
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