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ComeOnBoro.com WRITER'S AWARDS FOR SEASON 2004/05
Written by James Bassett
The 2004-2005 campaign is in the history books and, however you look at it, the season has been a success. Middlesbrough achieved their best Premiership ever finish, their best Premiership ever points total, were fourth top scorers in the league and, most importantly, qualified for the UEFA Cup. It's therefore fitting that we're capping the season with the most significant award ceremony in cyberspace.
The following accolades have been decided upon by a panel of the finest football writers in the land and are intended to highlight the great - and sometimes not-so-great - work by the players of the greatest football club in the world.
Consider the preamble well and truly over. We're proud to present you with the inaugural ComeOnBoro.com Writer's Awards. Enjoy.
The ComeOnBoro.com Player of the Season Award
FRANCK QUEUDRUE
It's not often that Middlesbrough can boast about having one of the best players in their position in the Premiership. In Frank Queudrue, Boro can do just that. Arsenal fans may champion Ashley Cole as the best left-back in the world, but only Manchester United's Gabriel Heinze can match Queudrue in the commitment, determination and passion stakes. However, his technical ability, his strength and his desire set Queudrue apart from his peers; he is the best left-back the Premiership.
Not only is he one of the most uncompromising tacklers in the league and someone whose positional sense is beyond reproach, he's also devastatingly effective in front of goal. This season he's scored more league goals than John Terry, Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand combined. Impressive enough, but his tally of five goals means he's also the top scoring defender in the league.
While still as committed as ever, Queudrue appears to have lost some of the recklessness that has cost Boro in recent seasons. Admittedly, he has been sent off twice, but the two bookings against Aigaleo and the straight red against Spurs were harsh and much easier to defend that the five sendings-off he received in the 2003/2004 season.
It's weird that someone born in Paris could be a Boro player, but there's something about Franck; he is a Boro player. Not only that, he's the best left-back in the Premiership and a worthy winner of the ComeOnBoro.com Player of the Season Award.
The Harry Haverton "Bloody Rubbish" Award for most disappointing player of the season
Szilard Nemeth
Harsh perhaps, given his end of season form, so permit us an explanation.
Cast your minds back to 12th October 2002. Slovakia played England in the Stadion Tehelne Pole in Bratislava. Szilard Nemeth, who later went on to win Man of the Match, ran England's defence ragged for ninety minutes. His 24th minute goal was just reward for a stunning performance. Granted, one swallow doesn't make a summer, but eighteen goals in thirty-six appearances for Slovakia gives some indication that Nemeth can play football very, very well.
With the exception of this season's 4-0 win against West Brom, Nemeth has never managed to transfer that form to Boro. Only the harshest of critics would place the blame squarely at the feet of the Slovakian, after all, with Viduka and Hasselbaink shoo-ins for the two striking berths, Nemeth has been used as a right-winger several times this season. However, it's far from the most effective position for him. In fact, until his brace against the Baggies, Nemeth had only scored one league goal all season. Even taking into account his deployment as a right-winger, four goals in thirty-one appearances for a player of his undoubted quality is just not good enough. Even factoring in his nine Cup appearances, his two goals - one each against Coventry and Partizan Belgrade - doesn't make for fantastic reading.
On the other hand, three assists and three goals in his last five games are proof that given a run in the team in a position that he's comfortable in, Nemeth can have a positive impact for Middlesbrough.
If, as seems likely, Middlesbrough part company with Nemeth in the summer, the club will be losing a willing runner and a player who, in the right position and the right mood, can cause trouble for any centre-back. Sadly for Boro, it just doesn't happen often enough.
The Up The Boro Man Goal of the Season Award
Mark Viduka's second vs Manchester City, December 6th 2004
After an early flurry of goals, the names Hasselbaink and Viduka disappeared from the scoresheet following Jimmy's hat-trick against Blackburn on 16th October. With no goals from the two premier strikers in eleven games and on the back of losses to Spurs and Villarreal, it appeared that Boro were heading into trouble. Up steps Mark Viduka to deliver his best performance in the red shirt.
A crowd of 20,787 witnessed Boro's best goal of the season and, arguably their most thrilling attacking performance since McClaren took over. The burly Australian had given Boro the lead after only nine minutes as he delicately chipped the ball over David James from a Downing through-ball, but Robbie Fowler had leveled before the break.
Boro continued to press and in the 54th minute, they won a throw deep in City territory. Tony McMahon's throw-in was perfectly re-directed by Viduka to Hasselbaink. Hasselbaink played the ball first time back to Viduka, and the number 36 guided it past David James with the outside of his right boot. The goal immediately silenced those who had labelled Viduka and Hasselbaink as past-it mercenaries. A free-kick from Hasselbaink extended Boro's lead, before Bradley Wright-Phillips pulled one back for City with ten minutes to go. Boro held on to win 3-2.
There were several reasons that Viduka's goal was so special. The season has been characterised by long-range strikes that may appear more spectacular than Viduka's goal, but one must remember that the lightweight Nike ball that is used in the Premiership moves so much in the air that any journeyman clogger can make a goalkeeper look silly from 30 yards. It takes two brilliantly adroit footballers to craft the space in a crowded 18-yard-box and to finish with such panache.
Andy Gray went so far as to name it in a shortlist of the best goals in Premiership history. For once, the Scot got something right.
The Comical Boro Award for worst Boro match
Middlesbrough vs Southampton, 20th March 2005
Boro had ruined Harry Redknapp's induction party at St. Mary's as they scored twice in the last three minutes to steal a 2-2 draw on the 11th December but their form leading up to the return at the Riverside didn't bode well for Steve McClaren's men.
Boro had picked up only three points from their previous ten matches and the match came hot on the heels of Boro's demoralising exit from the UEFA Cup. Even so, Southampton hadn't won away from St. Mary's all season and it seemed unlikely that they would beat a Middlesbrough side that had only lost to Chelsea and Manchester United at home in the league.
It soon became apparent that only one team had bothered to turn up and Andreas Jakobsson opened the scoring in the 14th minute after Henri Camara played the ball across the face of goal for the Swede to tap the ball into the gaping net. Nonetheless, despite being outplayed for most of the half, Boro scored an undeserved equaliser before the break. Antti Niemi spilled Bolo Zenden's shot, Job pulled the ball back for Hasselbaink who fired home his fourteenth goal of the season.
For once, Steve McClaren's half-time teamtalk had no effect on his players and Southampton continued to dominate. Southampton regained the lead after 59 minutes when Peter Crouch escaped the attention of Chris Riggott and placed a perfect header past Mark Schwarzer. The match was put beyond doubt on the 67th minute as another left-wing cross came into the box and this time Crouch was given the space to volley the ball into the net. Given Southampton's poor form all season, it was an embarrassing result for Boro but fortunately one which preceded a return to form, culminating in Boro gaining UEFA Cup qualification this past Sunday.
As well as we played in Europe there is no question that Boro's exploits in the UEFA Cup caused their league results to suffer. Boro only won one game immediately following a UEFA Cup match and generally gave their worst performances where they had played in Europe during the week. This was no exception.
There were defeats that hurt more - Sporting Lisbon - and those where the class gap between Boro and their opponents was greater - Manchester United, Villarreal - but there was no defeat that felt quite like the loss to Southampton.
The ComeOnBoro.com Writer's Award for best Boro match
Middlesbrough vs Lazio, 3rd November 2004
No disrespect to Banik Ostrava, but when Boro qualified for the UEFA Cup, us fans were dreaming of hosting the cream of Europe at the Riverside, not the team who, at the time of writing, lay sixth in the Czech league.
Lazio may not be the powerhouse they once were, but theirs is still a side that contains four Italian Internationals, one Portuguese, one Argentinean and one Croatian. A team who won the Scudetto in 2000 and who have been almost ever-present in Europe since their inception. A team who, in recent years, have won the Cup Winner's Cup, the European Super Cup and are the current holders of the Coppa Italia. More importantly, Lazio represent the European elite that Steve Gibson has sought long and hard to get Boro into.
A crowd of 33,991 watched as the then League Cup Champions outplayed their Roman counterparts in every department for ninety amazing minutes.
Boudewijn Zenden followed his match-winning goal at Charlton by giving Boro the lead after just sixteen minutes. Lazio failed to clear a simple ball and Zenden left Fabrizio Casazza helpless with a brilliant left-foot shot from 20 yards. Middlesbrough could have been 3-0 up before the end of the first half. Stewart Downing and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink both fired narrowly wide with powerful strikes.
The more negative amongst the Boro faithful might have expected the Biancocelesti to punish Boro for these missed chances. It wasn't to be and Boro dominated the second half. Downing fired just over a minute before Zenden doubled his tally. Downing, who was magnificent all night, provided a cross from the right wing and Zenden was perfectly placed to head the ball into the net. Before the game was out, Mark Viduka headed just over the bar.
The ovation that greeted the final whistle was unlike anything heard at The Riverside since. The game was utterly magical and a night that Boro fans won't forget for a long, long time. It was a win that, according to Steve McClaren, "put Middlesbrough on the map."
With another season of European football ahead of us, let's hope for similar next season.
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