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WARNOCK WEEKLY - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE - 9-1-08
Tom Warnock
It just had to happen didn't it? We recorded our first back to back victories all season and finally began to show some promise and focus in our endeavours. This was something that Boro fans had been longing for all season and yet it was something that looked like would never arrive.
Unfortunately for everyone, the critical and cautious were proved to be right as we then crashed to two defeats which were, at the time, seen as winnable fixtures. The Birmingham game was a serious Christmas hangover, one of the poorest games we have played this season.
The away trip to Portsmouth looked as if it was going to have an academic outcome, however Portsmouth's woeful home form was our saving grace. That's not to take anything away from what was a very professional Boro performance however.
Gareth Southgate probably wishes the New Year came a day earlier than the Everton game. In reality though, we have already lost any chance of an "unbeaten in 2008" statistic being associated with the Boro.
Having said all that, and having reached 2008, we can use this as a reason to look forward with new signings, the start of a cup run, and a victory over Liverpool. Is this optimism at its highest, or just ambition?
If we are to believe what is written in the tabloid press recently, then we are competing with Manchester City for the signature of the highly rated Alfonso Alves for a fee around £12m. If this is the case then this says to me that certain personnel will be on their way out of Teesside.
Recent rumours would indicate Stewart Downing and George Boateng may be bidding farewell. This would make sense because there is no way Steve Gibson would splash out such money without getting some back.
The bulk of the Yakubu transfer money should still remain but low gates will be a factor in any club losses. Strangely, the majority of fans who don't go frequently, myself included, expect the club to have ample money to splash out. Of course, it doesn't work that way.
The Evening Gazette reports that any other reports about signing Alves can be dismissed and suggests that Boro will opt to try and sign Jermain Defoe, a player who has been told he could leave Spurs. Defoe himself, however, has said he wants to stay at Spurs, which surely means we can dismiss that story.
Defoe would be a good signing for any side but I very much doubt he would choose to leave a team he has loyalty towards to go to Middlesbrough, particularly considering our position.
These are all the difficulties when we have little to sell to any potential signings. A relegation fight? An empty stadium? A novice manager? Most players wouldn't look twice.
The win at Bristol was encouraging but there is still a huge amount of work to be done if we are to avoid relegation, and until we reach at least thirty-five points, that risk will still be prevalent.
The two wins against Arsenal and Derby masked over some problems to an extent. The Arsenal team was almost a reserve one because of injuries, and the Derby team, well, it was Derby. They're already relegated. Good practice for the Championship perhaps?
It's nigh on impossible to predict how the Boro are going to play, or what we're going to do, which is why this threat will go right down to the wire.
Happy New Year and All the Best!
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