Middlesbrough vs Bristol City 30/1/10

Boro 0 - Bristol City 0

By Steven Byrne

After the midweek 4-1 demolition of Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat things were starting to look up for Boro and there was a feeling around the Riverside that we had finally turned the corner, maybe. Bristol City took at 6-0 beating at home to Cardiff City in the week and a win for Boro today would mean back to back wins for the first time since early September.

Barry Robson made his home debut in centre midfield in place of Julio Arca and Leroy Lita started up top in place of Jonathon Franks. Jonathon Grounds kept his place at centre back after an impressive display against Doncaster. With the end of the transfer window looming it could also be, as many feared, Adam Johnson’s last game in a Boro shirt. New loan signing Stephen McManus from feeder club Celtic took his place on the bench.

Boro started the game brightly with Gary O’Neil and Chris Killen both coming close early on. Leroy Lita was frustrating the home fans again as he spurned a series of half chances. Willo Flood was again putting in a busy industrious performance but Adam Johnson was finding it difficult to get into the game after being closely watched by City’s Bradley Orr. This resulted in Justin Hoyte constantly finding himself in loads of room down the left, but due to the fact he left his left foot at Arsenal nothing ever came off for him. Tony ‘one ball’ McMahon on the other side seemed as reluctant as ever to pass the half way line and tried his trademark ‘over the top’ a few too many times again with no end result.

Half time ensued and you got the feeling that one goal would win it. City were well organised and had virtually taken Johnson out of the game, leaving Boro short of ideas. The second half got underway and Boro again started brightly but on 56 minutes the until then impressive Robson was sent off after a second booking for a foul on Nicky Maynard, only moments after a final warning from the ref. The three points now seemed to be slipping away, but if anything this seemed to spur Boro on.

Julio Arca came on for Hoyte at left back, which seemed a strange decision considering Joe Bennett and Andrew Taylor were both on the bench, but Boro continued to press. Chris Killen headed over when it seemed easier to score and Adam Johnson came close with right footed shot which whistled past the post. Jonathan Franks replaced the disappointing Lita but his energy couldn’t help create that vital opening.

Late on Killen again found himself in space after a clever pass by Gary O’Neil but fired over. David Wheater had a great chance to win it in injury time but he seemed surprised by the amount of room he had and his diving header from Gary O’Neil’s corner flew over the bar.

Boro, despite being down to ten men for most of the second half, had the better of the possession and will feel that the three points were there for the taking, but once again due to a lack of quality in the final third the home fans are left waiting for what will be only our second home win since mid October.

Player Ratings

Coyne - 6

McMahon - 5

Hoyte - 5

Grounds - 7

Wheater - 7

Flood - 7

O'Neil - 7

Robson - 5

Johnson - 5

Lita - 4

Killen - 6

Subs:

Arca - 5

Franks - 5

Boro Man of the Match - David Wheater

Attendance - 17,865

Game Highlight - Promising performances from Flood and Wheater

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Boro Transfer Window Round Up

Well 5pm has been and gone, and we have a far different Boro to the one that played in 2009. Lets have a look at the players that have gone in and out:

Ins:

Barry Robson (13 January 2010)

SPL winner Robson joined Boro from Celtic for an undisclosed fee. The 31 year old Scotland international is a firm favourite with Gordon Strachan, and was arguably Celtic's best player this season.

A great buy from Strachan, Robson is a solid midfielder with a hard working attitude.

Willo Flood (13 January 2010)

Flood found himself out of favour at Celtic Park and was keen to rejoin his old manager when the opportunity arrived on a free transfer.

The midfielder appears hard working and has already got his name on the score sheet in his second game for Boro with a miss hit 35 yard cross.


Chris Killen (13 January 2010)

Another Celtic free transfer, Killen found himself our of favour at Celtic Park and has a point to prove at Boro.

Killen has shown already that he can hold the ball up well, and may be the target man we have been lacking since Viduka departed.


Stephen McManus (29 January 2010) (Loan)

Celtic's current captain joined on loan, a proven defender in the SPL, and I'm sure Celtic will miss him.

A rumoured £500,000 loan fee was paid by Boro to secure his services, but I hope we can tempt him with a permanent deal in the summer.


Kyle Naughton (1 February 2010) (Loan)

Ex Blades and current Spurs player Naughton has struggled to break into the Tottenham first team having been arguably the Championships best player last season.

The young right-back is keen to make a good impression in his spell on Teesside.

Scott MacDonald (1 February 2010)

MacDonald leaves Celtic as their joint top scorer on 9 goals & 2 assists from 18 appearances, and joins for an undisclosed fee.

The Aussy striker may just be what we need in front of goal as since the departure of Viduka, Hasslebaink and Yakubu we have severely lacked a proven hit man.

Lee Miller (1 February 2010)

Miller joins Boro from Aberdeen for another undisclosed fee, and is another striker from across the border.

Miller isn't as prolific as MacDonald having only bagged 4 times this season in 18 games, but in the last two seasons he has contributed double figures to the campaign.


Outs:

Didier Digard (8 January 2010) (Loan to Nice)

Digard always had potential, but his injuries got in the way. Never featured enough to be any sort of loss to Boro.

Mohammed Shawky (13 January 2010)

Never got a run in the team despite still featuring on the international scene for Egypt. Like Digard, never played enough to be a loss.

Mark Yeates (19 January 2010) (Sheff Utd - Undisclosed Fee)

It was a surprise that Yeates having spent less than 6 months on Teesside was sold in quite an abrupt fashion, but since Strachan's arrival his involvement has been sporadic. Rumours on Teesside indicated other reasons for his departure, but he is now happily at Sheffield United for the next 2 seasons.

Adam Johnson (1 February 2010) (Man City - £7,000,000 estimated fee)

This is the big one, will he... won't he... Well he did, and with minutes to spare he made the switch just before 5pm for a rumoured £7,000,000 fee that bankrolled the signings of MacDonald and Miller. As you may have read in this blog, Adam Johnson was the most influential player at the Riverside this season, so it will be interesting to see how we fair now he has gone.


Well, time will tell, and now Strachan will be judged with his team at the end of the season. Its certainly been a busy January with no less than 7 players joining Boro. You never know, now there is a gaping hole on the left wing a loan deal may still be on the cards for Shunsuke Nakamura to join until the end of the season...