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Deep In My
Heart
Middlesbrough vs Xanthi, September 15th 2005, Riverside
Stadium, UEFA Cup
James Keen
As Greek outfit Xanthi pay their first visit to English soil in the
UEFA Cup, there will be one overriding fact that will keep Boro fans
enthralled.... Emerson's return.
Lets face it, none of us really know anything about our guests this
week. They have a sponsorship deal with the mighty Skoda hence their being officially known as FC Skoda Xanthi.
They have a squad member who goes by
the name Jones and play in red like us. We should see Boro's new look
change strip for the first time this season in the return leg.
But other than that the side come to Teesside as an unknown quanitity. They are side with nothing to lose, just like Boro were against Arsenal on Saturday.
And
so, Boro should play the game with a hint of trepidation. But also with
the same determination and fight that they had when turning over the
once mighty Gunners.
Xanthi have started the season brightly. A 1-0 win over PAOK
Salonika and a draw with Crete have seen them hit sixth place in the Greek
league, level on points with Boro's old friends Aegaleo.
They also
finished the 2004/2005 season one place above Aegaleo in the league and
so won't be a team of mugs.
All this said, Middlesbrough should really be looking at games like
this as a good opportunity to pass through to the group stage of the
competition.
All due respect to Emerson's new friends, but with players
like Viduka, Yakubu, Southgate and more, we should really be the hot
favourites to emerge from this game victorious.
Indeed a trip to
Xanthi's very own official website shows a poll stating that over 50%
of site visitors believe Boro will win, whilst another 25%
abstained. Some people just won't admit it will they!?
And so we go into the game with great expectation and look to a new UEFA Cup
campaign with the hope that maybe, just maybe, this time we can go all
the way.
A big performer in Europe last season was Bolo Zenden who is and will
be a massive loss. And so now we look to the rest of the squad, and
with Hasselbaink, Mendieta and Downing all sidelined we may again see
the emergence of Adam Johnson from the Riverside tunnel.
And it's the
type of night that could thrust him into the media spotlight in the same way that Downing was last season. For my money, Adam has as much to his game
as Stewart did and has time to develop. And with the players we have in
our squad he will get the support needed.
And if Johnson plays, and plays well, he will be the perfect platform
to keep our strikers amongst the goals. Yakubu and Maccarone will be
brimming with confidence now that they have opened their scoring accounts this
season. And with Viduka possibly set to be included, Boro should be
firing on all cylinders against the Greeks.
But Boro need Ray Parlour and George Boateng to hit top form and
control the game from start to finish if we are to dominate over
Emerson and chums.
And with Fabio Rochemback cup-tied, Boro will
have at least one quality midfield player fresh for Sunday's trip to the
JJB Stadium, Wigan.
Its likely that Steve McClaren will give a rest to players like Frank
Queudrue and possibly Ray Parlour to give players like Doriva, Morrison
and Pogatetz a run out.
It is important McClaren rests players early
this season as our injury hoodoo is already taking hold. Mendieta,
Hasselbaink, Nemeth, Parnaby, McMahon and Riggott will certainly vouch
for that!
And finally, the choice up front will provide debate, as with Viduka
not playing on Saturday, it's possible he will be recalled, meaning Steve
McClaren has a tough choice in whether to drop Massimo or Yakubu, or
perhaps even play a 4-3-3 and really push for the win, and a few morale
and confidence boosting goals.
McClaren should probably stick with the
confident pair and then rest Massimo against Wigan, giving Viduka a
chance to show his skills in a must win game in Lancashire.
And as
McClaren proved last season by repeatedly choosing Nemeth and Job in
Europe, he isn't afraid to rest the big guns.
Whatever team Boro put out we should expect to be the better side, but
it is important to stamp our authority early and make sure we take a
comfortable lead to Greece in the same way we did against Banik Ostrava
last year.
The most interesting thing to watch out for on Thursday is whether the
lack of TV coverage will lead to a full house at the Riverside. With
Boro suffering from half empty stands this season, largely thanks to extensive home Sky Sports coverage, it'll be interesting to see if the lack of coverage for this game has a
positive effect on the fans.
And one does wonder if when TV rights were being sorted whether Boro chiefs
decided to waver the possible TV money from Channel 5 or ITV2 in favour
of selling seats and raising atmosphere.
If the second leg is shown
live, I think that point will have been proven. After all, surely the Boro
are more interesting to watch than Everton or Bolton??? Long ball
anyone?
Predictions this week... as we are playing a side sponsored by
Skoda I feel that a pun is required, and so head says Xanthi won't get
out of first gear, 2-0 Boro. Heart is telling me Boro will leave
Xanthi's UEFA Cup dream a write off, 3-0.
Probable Teams;
Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Xavier,
Pogatetz, Ehiogu, Southgate, Boateng, Morrison, Johnson, Doriva,
Viduka, Maccarone
FC Skoda Xanthi: Emerson, Emerson, Emerson, Emerson,
Emerson, Emerson, Emerson, Emerson, Emerson, Emerson,
Jones
Form; Middlesbrough: DDLWLW - FC Skoda Xanthi LLWDWD
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