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THE NORTH-EAST SUMMIT - BORO OUT OF BOTTOM THREE 13-12-07
Stuart Young
Middlesbrough climbed out of the bottom three after a colossal performance against Arsenal at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday.
Newcastle also won, which eased the pressure on boss Sam Allardyce once again. Sunderland lost on their travels to an in-form Chelsea team and slipped into the relegation zone.
Middlesbrough
What a weekend for all Boro fans. An awesome display by the players on Sunday gave them a well deserved win and more importantly three invaluable points. The players were fired up for this one and did not disappoint the home crowd all afternoon. It was a show of determination and will to beat the best in the league.
From the start it was clear to see the players putting themselves about and chasing every ball and Arsenal player down. Wenger's men were totally dominated in the first half.
Downing struck the first blow inside five minutes as Aliadiere was brought down inside the area by Toure and the referee had no option but to award Boro a penalty. Downing's penalty wasn't brilliant but it still made the scoreline 1-0 to Boro.
The second-half performance was better than the first in my opinion because in recent years, Boro teams have gone ahead and then sat back and tried to weather the storm through to the end.
But it was the total opposite on this occasion. The Boro players had the self-belief that they could go on and score another without reply. And this they did through Turkish heart-throb Tuncay.
His work rate was out of this world on Sunday and he deserved to score. His passion was evident when he celebrated with his team mates and the Boro crowd. There is a new hero on Teesside.
It was also great to see Arca back and fit again. His late cameo appearance was welcomed by every Boro fan and he looked very sharp for someone who has been sidelined for two months. The Argentine will boost the creativity of the team and hopefully will create more chances for our strikers.
I would say that the pressure is now firmly off Southgate for another few games and he will be looking forward to the trip to Derby on Saturday. He will be hoping for a dominating performance like the one he witnessed on Sunday against Arsenal.
The transfer window is nearly upon us which means Southgate will be busy scouring Europe for a goal scorer. This week's news sees former Premier League player Milan Baros as a potential target for Middlesbrough. He has had a troubled spell at Lyon and the Czech international will seek another club if he fails to claim a place in the French Ligue 1 side.
Newcastle
Big Sam seems to have turned his fortunes around after a good performance against Arsenal and a slightly fortuitous result against Birmingham. Previous to this, the Newcastle manager had seen his side turned over by both Portsmouth and Liverpool at home. This had led to his name being chanted for the exit by some of the Toon faithful.
Ten days on and four points in the bag, the troubles at Newcastle seem to have gone and Big Sam has won back some confidence from the Newcastle fans.
The Arsenal draw last Wednesday night carried belief over to the Birmingham game on Saturday and Newcastle started to create chances. The impressive Milner was Newcastle's main threat and he created chances for Smith and Martins all game.
It was Birmingham though who took the lead through Cameron Jerome in the ninth minute but Newcastle responded and started carving out chances throughout the first-half. The equaliser came eight minutes before half-time through a Martins penalty, his spot-kick creeping past Taylor to make it level.
Both sides had chances in the second-half to win it but it was Newcastle who stole the points late on. Beye headed in a ninetieth minute Emre corner to score his first goal for Newcastle and earn his side all three points.
Newcastle go on their travels this weekend with a visit to Craven Cottage. Fulham are struggling at the moment and Allardyce could see his team go three games unbeaten in the League after this encounter.
There is lots of transfer news for Newcastle fans this week ahead of the January window.
Luis Garcia, the Espanyol striker, is a target for the Magpies but will need to be persuaded to leave Barcelona's second team. This means he's going to hold out for loads of money before jetting to the North-East.
Soon Allardyce will have a squad of defenders to play with as he has also been linked with moves for FC Copenhagen's Brede Hangeland and Steaua Bucharest's Dorian Goian.
Sunderland
Sunderland fans should just forget about away trips to Chelsea and Arsenal this season. Even Newcastle and Boro fans will agree that it's very unlikely that points will be won at these grounds.
Keane's men put in a gritty performance but were outclassed when it came to finishing and creating chances. Andrei Shevchenko scored a header from a Salomon Kalou cross form the left which gave the Sunderland keeper no chance.
Chelsea dominated possession throughout the game and barely hit second gear as the Sunderland players looked tired and had no spark to their play.
If Keane is to buy important players in January it would be imperative to acquire a skillful central midfielder who can dictate play and unlock defences. Sunderland will struggle to score goals for the remainder of the season and creative players are scarce at the club so Keane will need to buy some quality to do the job.
Chelsea were awarded a penalty in the second-half as Higginbotham was adjudged to have pulled back Alex in the area. Lampard converted from the spot. Game over. There was still time though for "happy-slapper" Miller to be sent off for his face shove on Chelsea's Pizarro.
Keane was understandably disappointed with the performance but he will be slightly more relieved with the news that his new Chief Caribbean scout has been unveiled as none other than England legend John Barnes. Happy times await Sunderland fans as a flock of talented Caribbean players will soon arrive at The Stadium of Light.
After the appointment of JB as a scout for the Caribbean, a host of new business interests have come in and a new kit sponsor is being lined up for next season. Malibu will sponsor the shirts for the 2008/09 season: "Seriously easy going...down".
Off the pitch, it looks like manager Roy Keane will have plenty of funding as they enter the transfer window. Chairman Niall Quinn has given the Sunderland boss full backing and funding ahead of January's window.
Aston Villa visit the Stadium of Light on Saturday. I think Roy and his men could pull off a win here as Villa looked a bit shaky against Pompey in their last game.
A very pleasing week for Boro fans as they climb out of the bottom three and more importantly go above Sunderland. Newcastle are still out in front but Southgate's boys are hot on their heels.
See You At The Top
RETURN TO NORTH-EAST SUMMIT INDEX PAGE HERE
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £41.20 ON PORTSMOUTH v FULHAM
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