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LOOKING AHEAD TO THE JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW 22-12-06
Udayan Mukherjee
Now that the enormity of the Fulham result has sunk in, I have finally accepted that we MIGHT get relegated this season. Now, to most of you, that last statement was the footballing equivalent of me stating that scotch eggs have eggs in them.
I like a grumble now and again, and despite the fact that I'm 20 years old, I've taken to saying the phrase "Bloody Kids these days" with alarming regularity. Despite these Chicken run-ian qualities, when it comes to the Boro, I am generally as optimistic as a man in a fist fight with the Dalai Lama.
Since my last article, when the Boro were the rough equivalent of Joe Pasquale, that is to say very, very, very, very annoying and boring as dogshit, we seemed to have picked it up on the entertainment side of things, but seemed to have completely forgotten that gaining points is not accomplished by penalty box crazyness and wasteful finishing. Points win prizes and whatnot.
Unfortunately, when you are down at the bottom, the factor of luck is so often missing. The number of points we would have garnered in the last few weeks, without those penalties would probably see us comfortably in mid table: after all had we won against Fulham, we would have been thirteenth.
If we had basically had the rub of the green against United, Fulham, Villa and Wigan, that is to say we hadn't lost out to penalties that were very soft due to blatant cheating, refereeing errors or defensive lunacy, the table would read thus : Middlesbrough in eleventh place and only seven points off a champions league spot.
Many of you will have read the above paragraph in absolute bemusement, and no doubt many of you will have thought I have lost my marbles. I have, but that my dear readers (ie., me Mam and Dad) is not the point. The point is that we may well be in as much trouble as any number of teams near us. This tightness in the league can surely only work in our favour for a little while; there will inevitably be a growing gap...
We have a run of games in which we pick up a few points could lead to us reaching a position slightly higher in the league, and crucially put a little but of distance between us and that bottom three. It does now seem inevitable that Middlesbrough will be there or there abouts points wise, but it just so happens that we do have a run of games coming up in which we can get points on the board, and failing to do so cannot be contemplated.
The departure of Steve Round and the impending transfer window will now surely give Gareth Southgate a chance to stamp his impression on the club. By all accounts, Round, although a talented coach, was a McClaren 'yes' man, and was an embodiment of all that was wrong with Middlesbrough's play in the past few years.
By getting rid of Round, Southgate can surely implement his stated preferred style of attack.
The removal of another highly qualified coach, McClarenist or not, leaves a huge hole in the total experience of our coaching staff. However, for years now, with the exception of Paul Barron( and undoubtedly Steve McClaren) our coaching staff has been poor. Although on the surface they seemed, indeed still seem well qualified, the evidence for their ineptitude is clear.
Players came with good reputations and played like world beaters for a while before the piss poor nature of the coaching caused them to regress into playing like they had never seen a ball before in their lives.
Crucially, very few of our younger signings ever seem to get better at Boro, and Ive heard on many occasions that the Boro has become known as a 'strikers graveyard'.
Massimo Maccarone, at 8.15 million, looked like a world beater after six games, whereas later on that season he became an empty shell of a player - something that he has never really got over.
When young talents like Maccarone, Rochemback, Yakubu etc, seem to start brilliantly and fade away, there is surely a case that at the very best, Middlesbrough's coaching staff are not improving the players.
This is the same coaching staff the club's hierarchy has put so much faith in, going so far as to publicly claim that such footballing luminaries as Martin o Neill were unacceptable to take Middlesbrough forward. Now it is more than possible that this was the official line trotted out by Messer's Gibson and Lamb because they had to say something, but more than likely, they did want some degree of continuity.
In the event, the reason that they wanted continuity was the brilliance of the academy. Now it is true that the academy has produced some very good players, but it is also true that they are not quite good enough at this stage for first team football. Essentially therefore, our team is full of deadwood and players not yet ready to perform.
Unfortunately, due to the departures from the field of play of Gareth Southgate, JFH and Franck Queudrue, the same people that produced the off the field mutiny that lead from us looking like relegation fodder to us getting to the UEFA cup final, we lack leadership. With George Boateng looking hopelessly out of depth as captain, on field encouragement and impetus is needed desperately.
The upcoming January transfer window is desperately important, in that without the right additions to the squad, and barring some sort of miraculous footballing transformation in player abilities, we are royally fucked.
The problem in this is that due to our precarious position which may or may not improve before the end of the month, 'famous' players will simply not want to join us. This means that we are going to have to go for players that see us as a step up.
I'm sure many Boro fans actually want this - young blood that will play their hearts out - but the prospect of watching Olaf Nowthenson from FC Herringtickler or Carlos Smoganegra will be a turn off and a lack of ambition in many people's eyes. See the apathetic reaction to Jason Euell.
The chances of us even getting a decent player who would see us as a step forward do unfortunately seem slim to none due to the apparent shiteness of our scouting system.
Was anyone actually surprised when the name Geremi came up? It would be a lovely change if we were linked with someone who hasn't played against us before. There-in lies a double edged sword: are the coaches good enough to actually make these potential signings into good players, or will they turn them into another Massimo Maccarone?
Maybe, even before our potential new signings, we can show some sort of improvement beginning with Charlton on Saturday. The performances have been hugely improved of late, with the fluidity of the attack refreshing to say the least.
Downing and Morrison on either flank seem to be creating regularly now, and with an improved input from centre midfield, we may have the opportunity to get a few goals and move up the table.
Unfortunately the other side of the situation is that if we do not get a few wins on the belt, starting with Charlton on Saturday, it may be time to start planning trips to Bellend road, rather than the Anfields and Old Traffords of this world. Eindhoven seems a million miles away now.
Oh, and to all my readers have a Merry Christmas. So essentially just Merry Christmas to my Mum and Dad then.
Up the Boro.
That's all folks
Udayan Mukherjee
NOW HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE NEW HOLGATE FORUM
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