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WARNOCK WEEKLY - READ IT HERE FIRST - 1-5-08
Tom Warnock
As I sit writing this week's column, I keep gazing past the laptop at the TV screen beyond. On it, Manchester United currently lead Barcelona by one goal to nil.
If I squint ever so slightly, I can just about blur the red shirts of United and I can superimpose the Boro into this dream scenario. This fantasy is frequently shattered by the infinitely annoying ITV commentators' voices referring to that slime ball Ronaldo every seven seconds.
Just watching another game of football reminds me of the numerous shortcomings which plague our football club. If there's one thing Saturday's game hasn't done, it's surprise me.
What better way of being able to say "I told you so" than by writing a column four days beforehand which predicts the exact events of the weekend. It's nice being a psychic and all but as my betting record will testify, it was a one off.
All joking aside, I want to quote from my previous column as the level of accuracy scares me. Not to mention the consequences.
On Saturday we could go to Sunderland and come away pointless. We could play out of our skin but get nothing, with a typical late Sunderland goal winning it for them after another hatful of missed chances from our near £20million strikeforce.
This alone would have been bad enough but to compound our misery, Birmingham narrowed the gap on us. It could have been worse had it not been for Brum throwing away a two goal advantage. Last week, I wrote:
Birmingham could take advantage of Liverpool's demoralising late collapse against Chelsea and sneak a point.
These two results have the most repercussions for Boro although Bolton nicking a point at Spurs and Reading taking a hard-fought point from the Wigan game has not helped. In fact, it is a miracle that we are still above the drop zone.
It's hard to remember the last time we were within relegation's grim reach with just two games remaining. This situation is a grave one, make no mistake about it.
It quite simply astounds me how the plight of our team seems to escape the consciousness of all involved with the club. Both players and management seem oblivious to how precarious our position has become, not to mention unattainable for future seasons.
We are faced with the task of winning at least one game to guarantee our Premiership status. This is an uphill struggle against the worst of sides let alone Portsmouth and Manchester City.
The only miniscule benefit for Boro in all this is the fact that three teams below us must overhaul us in those last two games to condemn us to the Championship. This isn't such a distant prospect considering Birmingham play Fulham and Blackburn, Reading have Spurs and Derby and Bolton face Sunderland at home before Chelsea away.
One other slightly comforting factor is that all but Birmingham have an inferior goal difference to us. It's hard to believe isn't it?
The fact that we may stay in this division with just thirty-six points is quite frankly a joke. We deserve to be relegated on that form and amassing just thirty-six points in arguably the poorest Premier League for years cannot be ignored. If we do manage to stay up, our future will have been secured by nothing more than the ineptitudes of other teams.
If anybody thinks this comes close to acceptable then football isn't the right sport for you.
We are part of a league which says that we're amongst the best twenty teams in England. Yet the best we look for is a manager with no experience and no credentials. If you were to examine the biggest twenty businesses in England, not one would ever appoint a rookie as its boss. There is no difference between a normal day business and a football club, except that football offers little or no value for money.
One thing is for sure, crowds will fade, interests will die out and fans will walk. I wouldn't even go for £95 a game, never mind force my offspring to endure nineteen games of this tosh.
It's time we made a stand and it's time we stopped living on the success of the Carling Cup and a UEFA Cup final. It doesn't mean anything for the future as having our name on a cup won't stop us from going down.
And I'll be the first to say it - if it doesn't happen this season, it will the next.
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