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END OF SEASON AWARDS 2006/07
James Bassett
Goal of the Season
Mark Viduka, Middlesbrough 2-1 Chelsea (23rd August 2006)
A classy player like Mark Viduka will probably be horrified to learn that a scuffed and deflected shot from eight yards has been voted the ComeOnBoro.com goal of the season, but not only did Viduka's 90th minute strike seal a 2-1 victory for Boro - and mark the first time Mourinho's Chelsea had ever let a lead turn into a defeat - it gave us that most horrible of things: hope that a high-flying season lay ahead.
Of course, the following week, Portsmouth came to town and walloped us 4-0, but at the team beating the champions for the second year in a row felt pretty sweet.
Andy Morgan: "For shear balls-out exhilaration I'll go for this - particularly in a season where spectacular Boro goals have been sadly lacking. 90th minute, 1-1, League Champions at home. Need I say any more? Shame we got stuffed 4-0 at home by Portsmouth next game."
Steve Goldby: "Not because it was a particularly brilliant goal... more for what it actually meant. It proved that our win against them last season was no fluke and that we were a match for anyone on our day. It also removed the early season jitters and gave Southgate a much needed confidence booster. Shame it didn't continue for very long though..."
Performance of the Season
Middlesbrough 5-1 Bolton (20th January 2007)
Bolton are in danger of becoming our bunnies - last season Emmanuel Pogatetz had to be restrained from kicking Kevin Davies' arse as Boro ran out 4-3 winners, and this season Stewart Downing made the entire Bolton team his bitches.
Downing, in his best performance for two years, ripped into the hapless Nicky Hunt, setting up a Gary Speed own goal and a Mark Viduka volley. In between, Abel Xavier scored a terrific header, from a Downing cross, and then went absolutely flipping mental. Downing scored a fourth himself - with his right foot - before Viduka added a late fifth after good work from Lee Cattermole.
In the scheme of things it was a meaningless game, but we shone the spotlight on Bolton's limitations more brightly than any other team.
Gordon Dalton: "It would be easy to name one of the Manchester United cup games, but I can't get Hull, Bristol etc out of my head. So I'm going for a bog standard meat and potatoes league game, one against a good side who we absolutely walloped."
Steve Goldby: "Has to be the 5-1 win against Bolton. It was made even better by the fact that despite having home advantage, we were the bookies underdogs going into this game. Bolton were flying high and we were a big dodgy so it was one result that you would never have predicted. We truly annihilated Bolton in the finest style you could imagine."
Worst Performance of the Season
Watford 2-0 Middlesbrough (4th November 2006)
Never has a team proved the difference between the top two leagues better than Watford. Even Sunderland at their 15 points winning worst tried to play the game. Watford spent their time in the Premiership punting the ball, hoofing the ball and punting the ball some more.
And somehow, with their limited game plan, they slaughtered us at Vicarage Road. From first whistle to last, Boro were never in the game, and the match proved once and for all that for all that despite his Uefa Cup heroics, Massimo Maccarone wasn't cut out for the Premiership.
Calum Law: "After Watford, most of us feared the worst and were prepared to believe that Gibson might have made a mistake in fast-tracking Southgate. Many would have panicked after this nadir: credit to Gibson yet again."
Steve Goldby: "Watford away, September. What a sham of a game this was. One of the single worst Boro performances ever. Every player was truly shocking and this was compunded by the sight of Southgate on the touchline beckoning everyone forward. What's wrong with that you may ask? Watford had possession at the time, that's what."
Most Disappointing Player
Fabio Rochemback
Granted, he's picked up in recent games, but does anyone know what Fabio Rochemback actually does? His freekicks trouble only the ball boys and the spectators in the upper tiers. Oh, and Thomas Sorensen, of course.
Rochemback is also a master at giving away needless freekicks by putting his hand in the face of opponents. Anyone who saw him at Sporting Lisbon or Barcelona knows that he has talent, but he's had more than enough time to acclimatise to the English game and it'd be nice to see some evidence of it.
Gordon Dalton: "One player who continues to make me drive hot needles under my fingernails is Fabio Rochemback. Honestly, there are Brazilian pubic off cuts that would do better."
Rob Dixon: "Could have been so much more."
Young Player of the Season
Andrew Taylor
Most fans were sad to see Franck Queudrue go; not only because of the passion, determination and goal threat that he posed, but because we had no other left-back of note. Emmanuel Pogatetz had started intermittently the previous season but never really convinced, and Julio Arca, bought from Sunderland, endured a torrid afternoon on the first day of the season before being withdrawn with a broken foot.
This gave Andrew Taylor his chance and the 20-year-old has never looked back and unlike any other youth player since Stewart Downing, Taylor has not only broken into the team, he's made the position his own.
In fact, only in the final weeks of the season did Taylor show any signs of weakness - an outstanding achievement for a defender so young.
Peter Holmes: "He has matured massively and managed to perform at a very consistent standard throughout the campaign. Especially good against the big boys, I rate young Taylor a cert for full England honours."
Karl Watson: "Has done really well to keep his place in the first eleven, shows signs of promise but needs to improve if he is to keep his place next year."
Player of the Season
Jonathan Woodgate
Injury plagued but brilliantly talented defender with a taste for nightlife returns home to sign for a mid-table club with a reputation for signing crocks. A recipe for disaster, surely?
Well, not really.
First of all, Boro have got Woodgate off the treatment table and onto the field more regularly than Real Madrid, Newcastle and Leeds could ever manage. This consistency has enabled Woodgate to forge a partnership with the hugely improved Emmanuel Pogatetz, which recalls Gareth Southgate and Ugo Ehiogu's colossal pairing.
From a debut where he kept Thierry Henry as quiet as a whisper, Woodgate has shepherded the Boro backline with all the expertise expected of a defender believed by many to be England's finest. With no disrespect to the unfairly maligned George Boateng, Woodgate looks a more natural leader and will surely become the side's captain in the near future.
Rob Dixon: "Woodgate, total surprise we got him on loan, total surprise he signed a four year deal... no surprise about the quality"
Steve Goldby: "I honestly think that without Woodgate, we would have gone down this season, or at least be sueing West Ham... Johnny has been a revelation and every bit as good as we were led to believe he was. I think he should be given the captain's armband and I'm just fingers crossed that he can maintain his current fitness levels. If he can, then we have a genuine world-class talent on our hands who we can build the team around."
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