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THE BEAR RANT 21-3-05
Well well well, the smogs managed to get an away victory... at last.
Make no mistake about it though, The Bear recognises the re-appearance of Boateng as being a significant factor in the smogs ability to keep a clean sheet, and after a 2 month lay off, he didn't even look like he had been away.
That gets The Bear started on Viduka then. The Bear had heard on the grapevine that Viduka was only going to last 20 minutes...
Obviously The Duke made a valiant effort to reach that land mark, but ultimately had to retire after 12 battling minutes. Ahem.
The Bear must question the physios at MFC. Either Viduka should never have been signed, or he should never have started the match.
Either way, The Bear is unhappy about the situation. Incidentally, wasn't Bob Ward sacked by MFC after Juninho's recovery time allegedly stopped players from being rushed back? I stress allegedly but lessons to be learnt perhaps.
Onto the match though. The Bear wasn't in attendance and so has to base his views of the game on the wisdom of Ali and Bernie, along with the viewing delights of Football First.
However, The Bear saw enough to suggest that the smogs were for once organised defensively, and certainly a danger on the break.
Palace huffed and puffed but with a rejuvenated George, The Bear is happy enough at the back. Attacking wise, we need some work mind.
The Bear is still not convinced by either Graham or Nemeth and with Viduka injured again and Job out for the season, options are limited.
All in all though, McClaren got the tactics right. A 1-0 victory in relatively comfortable circumstances against a Palace team which look difficult opposition at Selhurst Park, and the return to action of George Boateng, means this is was nothing short of impressive.
*** The Bear still does not forsee anything but a mid table finish for the smogs. Sure, this was a decent performance, but the run in looks hard, and the smogs lack the consistency or power up front to really cement a position in Europe... it'll be Intertoto time for the smogs in pre season.
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