A Few Thoughts About Boro’s Season So Far

Taken from my Wordpress blog

Firstly this isn't an attack on Tony Mowbray. What it is hopefully is a little dose of realism to where we actually are compared to last season. Now I appreciate that when Mogga took over we were languishing towards the bottom of the league but the recent spell of results we have had is similar to Strachan's poor start, so I feel it fair to compare them currently.

Comparison

Here's a few stats with regards to our recent form and what is was last season with 4 games to go:

Last season at this stage in the season we had 50 points and were in 18th position.

This season we have 63 points and are in 8th position.

Mowbray won the last 4 games of the season against Hull, Coventry, Cardiff and Doncaster (who all finished 11th, 18th, 4th and 21st respectively) which pushed us up to our final position of 12th.

Our last 6 games form at this point last season was P6 W2 D3 L1 F12 A12 Pts 9

And this season our last 6 games for is P6 W0 D4 L2 F7 A6 Pts 4

In the league at this point last season we had scored 56 goals and conceded 65 (-9) and this season we have scored 48 and conceded 48 (0).

Players who have left under Mowbray:

2010/11
David Wheater
Gary O'Neil

2011/12
Willo Flood
Andrew Taylor
Kris Boyd
Didier Digard
Leroy Lita
Maximilian Haas
Tarmo Kink

Players who arrived under Mowbray:

2010/11
Maximilian Haas
Merouane Zemamma

2011/12
Curtis Main
Malaury Martin
Faris Haroun
Lukas Jutkiewicz
Bart Ogbeche
Adam Hammill

What really can we deduce?

It is obvious that we our defence has got better. Even with the loss of David Wheater and the loan of Stephen McManus we have conceded less goals. Credit to the manager.

Recently our lack of goals has cost us. This is also clear from the comparisons above and it also coincides with the departure of Lita and Boyd. Boyd was not prolific but Lita did chip in with goals. Scott McDonald has been injured this season which will be partly to blame but Jutkiewicz who has been the lead striker of late hasn't really produced the goods (2 goals & 2 assists in the league from 13 starts and 2 sub appearances). It has been a longstanding problem at Middlesbrough since the departure of Viduka, Yakubu and Hasselbaink.

Last season we were very gun ho and I remember not worrying if we conceded as we would usually score our way out of trouble. This season we are very lacklustre going forward. I think part of this is a much more defensive mindset from the midfielders and this frustrating 'split striker' tactic that is employed. Also the manager does not seem to like throwing players forward, maybe putting 3 up front or allowing midfielders to bomb on. My memories from home games this season is sitting a little too deep.

In Summery

We have obviously performed better this season compared to last season. In four games time though this may be very different as we had gained another 12 points last season in those final games which will drag this seasons performance down. Goals have been a problem, mainly due to not finding a natural and consistent goal scorer. The managers tactics have contributed to this, particularly at home. We seem to have had midfielders sat on the bench and not included and a lack of strikers who can score for the majority of the season. This will need to be addressed.

I do think that playing to a half empty stadium has a slight effect on the team but not as much as to make a considerable difference to cause the slumps at home that we have seen this season. I think this has more to do with the fact that Mowbray has played more expansive and attacking formations away from home earlier on this season, in particular utilising wingbacks with 3 centrebacks.

Solutions?

This is the hard part! For the rest of the season we need to put emphasis on scoring goals. More attack minded formations, utilisation of players who may be a threat up front such as Emnes, McDonald and Ogbeche. Ogbeche needs to start some games or be brought on earlier. Jutkiewicz has had his chance and not produced. I would involve Martin rather than him been benched.

We need a quicker response to now the game is panning out with regards to substitutions. If we concede and we need to win get another striker on, maybe for a defender. Take some risks, if we are going to get beat let's have a go. Our goal difference is less than our competitors so it doesn't matter if we get beat 2-1 or 4-1... We need to have a go at teams.

For next season if we fail to get promoted we need desperately to find a striker who will score 15+ goals a season. We also need to get some cover at the back, and bring some creativity into midfield. Maybe we only need a tinker, 3-4 players out and the same in, we certainly don't need a massive makeover to challenge for the playoffs again. It can be done on a budget. Robson will be going, that frees up wages for a start. Bates will be out of contract and injured so a replacement will be needed. We need to keep Rhys Williams at all costs.

It's still possible this season to reach the playoffs. Fingers crossed!! Come on Boro!!

Peterborough v Middlesbrough 24/8/11

Peterborough 0 - 2 Middlesbrough
Robson 4
Hines 27

Boro recorded their fifth consecutive win on a night which saw Barry Robson and Seb Hines propel the team in to the 3rd round of the Carling Cup.

Robson struck on 4 minutes with a low strike from a Joe Bennett through ball and Seb Hines made it 2-0 heading home a McMahon corner.

In the second half Danny Coyne was impressive keeping the home side at bay.

Boro Man of the Match - Danny Coyne
Attendance - 5,012 (782 Boro)
Game Highlight - Another away win!
Boro Team - Coyne, Bennett, McManus, Bates(c), McMahon, Hines, Bailey, Robson, Haroun, Emnes, Martin (subs) Ripley, Kink, R Williams, Arca, Main, Franks, Smallwood

Thanks for reading, and as always comments (good or bad) are always appreciated. Keep a look out on Twitter (@MFCFacebook) and check the links section of this blog for the Facebook MFC Fanpage.

Middlesbrough v Birmingham City 21/8/11

Middlesbrough 3 - 1 Birmingham City
Robson 48
Haroun 69
Martin 72

A strike in the first half from Barry Robson, his second goal in as many games, provided the spark for a memorable comeback at The Riverside Stadium.

Boro went behind in the 36th minute as Carl Ikreme was judged to have brought down Chris Burke with Adam Rooney slotting the visitors resulting penalty past the Boro stopper.

Not disheartened Boro pushed on in the second half with goals from Faris Haroun on debut and Malaury Martin (69 & 72 mins respectively) who Tony Mowbray brought on from the bench midway through the second half.

Overall a brilliant comeback from Boro and a further extension to their unbeaten streak.

Boro Man of the Match - Barry Robson
Attendance - 17,567
League Position - 2 (P 4, W 3, D 1, L 0, GD 5 Pts 10)

Game Highlight - Goal on debut for Faris Haroun
Boro Team - Ikreme, Bennett, McManus, Bates(c), McMahon, Williams, Bailey, Robson, Arca, Emnes, McDonald (subs) Coyne, Haroun, Hines, Martin, Smallwood

Thanks for reading, and as always comments (good or bad) are always appreciated. Keep a look out on Twitter (@MFCFacebook) and check the links section of this blog for the Facebook MFC Fanpage.

Barnsley v Middlesbrough 15/8/11

Barnsley 1 - 3 Middlesbrough
McDonald 11
Robson 13
Emnes 44

Written By Steven Byrne

Just Like Watching Brazil…

Boro travelled to Oakwell full of confidence following their 1-0 victory over Leeds on Saturday. An expectant 1879 Boro fans made the trip to South Yorkshire knowing that a win could see them top the table. Boro lined up as expected with Julio Arca coming in take the place of the suspended Tony McMahon with Justin Hoyte moving to right back. Rhys Williams moved to centre back alongside Matthew Bates and Stephen McManus as Boro adopted a 3-5-2 formation.

The game started at a high tempo with Boro looking to take an early lead so it was a bit of a surprise then when on 4 minutes McManus turned a cross from Barnsley winger David Perkins into his own net. A year ago Boro would have collapsed and it would have been game over. However, this is Tony Mowbray’s Middlesbrough and we will fight to the end.

Boro’s heads never dropped and soon after a Barry Robson corner was met with a glancing header by Scott McDonald for Boro’s equaliser on 11 minutes. Then just 2 minutes later McDonald repaid the favour and turned provider with a perfectly times cross from the left for Robson to bundle the ball over the line to make it 2-1.

Boro controlled the rest of the first half playing some mesmerising football and it was McDonald again on 44 minutes who played a clever through ball to Marvin Emnes who kept his cool and grabbed his 6th of the season and made it 3-1 to Boro.

Barnsley, who despite passing the ball well lacked any real quality, and never threatened Carl Ikeme’s goal. Boro were unlucky not to extend their lead by more in the second half which saw the travelling army of Boro fans mock the near silent home fans with chants of their own terrace favourite from years gone by of ‘it’s just like watching Brazil’ as Boro passed the ball around with style and ease.

Seb Hines replaced Justin Hoyte on 75 minutes, with Mowbray stating after the match that he had gambled on Hoyte’s fitness – a gamble that had paid off. Julio Arca then left the pitch to a standing ovation on 78 minutes to be replaced by Richie Smallwood, whose first contribution was to win a free kick on the edge of the box. It would have taken a brave man to try and get the ball off Barry Robson, and he was unlucky when his pile driver came back off the Barnsley wall.

The final whistle brought to an end one of Boro’s finest performances for a long time and it is all down to Tony Mowbray and what he has instilled in this team - togetherness, spirit, and belief. Barry Robson, Julio Arca and Nicky Bailey ran themselves into the ground whilst Emnes and McDonald created enough chances and the latter was unlucky not to be taking the match ball home with him. Boro’s defence coped with everything that came their way and Carl Ikeme had very little to. A satisfactory nights work saw the Boro players leave the field to a chorus of ‘we’re Middlesbrough’ but not before the modest Mowbray headed down the tunnel to the loudest cheer of the night from the grateful travelling fans.

Southampton continued their perfect start to the season with another victory which meant that Boro would have to settle for 2nd spot, but I think every single Boro fan would’ve taken that 2 weeks ago.

Bring on Brum! Boro are back!

Boro Man of the Match - Barry Robson - never stopped running and deserved his goal.

Attendance - 10,603 (1,879 Boro)
League Position - 2 (P 3, W 2, D 1, L 0, GD 3 Pts 7)

Game Highlight - 4th away win on the bounce
Boro Team - Ikreme, Bennett, McManus, Bates(c), Hoyte, Williams, Bailey, Robson, Arca, Emnes, McDonald (subs) Coyne, Kink, Hines, Martin, Smallwood

Thanks for reading, and as always comments (good or bad) are always appreciated. Keep a look out on Twitter (@MFCFacebook) and check the links section of this blog for the Facebook MFC Fanpage.

Leeds v Middlesbrough 13/8/11

Leeds 0 - 1 Middlesbrough
Emnes 67

Middlesbrough visited Elland Road on the back of a good victory in the Carling Cup and looked to further extend their unbeaten run in the Championship against a Leeds side who have struggled in the first two games of the new season.

Boro started the match looking for their third win in four visits to Elland Road, and set up with the same team that started against Portsmouth, albeit with Joe Bennett switching to left back.

Middlesbrough started slowly, succumbing to Leeds pressure with forced Carl Ikreme into making two great early saves. Leeds had Max Gradel was sent off on 27 minutes for two yellow cards. Immediately after the Leeds keeper Andy Longergan needed to make a good save from a Marvin Emnes effort - Boro's first real chance of the game.

A 50 yard effort from Adam Clayton forced Ikreme into another great save and helped the crowd become even more raucous. Minutes later Boro have another good effort, this time from Hoyte, saved.

Just before half time under pressure from the Leeds captain, Jonny Howson, the referee gave Tony McMahon a second yellow card for a soft shrug off highlighting what a poor game he has had up to this point. The challenge had nothing to do with Howson, and the referee was weak when he decided to even the game up, realising the mistake he made earlier sending off Gradel.

The assistant indicated 3 minutes of extra time to bring the first action packed half to an end, with the score remaining Leeds 0 - 0 Boro and the referee having to be escorted off the pitch by security.

Leeds started brightly again and within the first five minutes of the second half forced Ikreme into yet another outstanding save to keep Boro in the game.

Leeds swapped Brown for Nunez in an attacking substitution in the 57th minute closely followed by the Assistant Referee being substituted due to injury - unfortunately it was not the referee!

Howson pulled down Marvin Emnes on the halfway line, who would have been clean through on goal, and saw his second yellow card of the game. Justice as Howson in the first half berated the referee into sending off McMahon.

The sending off saw Boro press on and McDonald have a effort cleared off the line in the best chance of the game so far. Boro then substituted Justin Hoyte for Julio Arca and Mallaury Martin for Barry Robson as they pushed on for victory in the final 25 minutes.

On 67 minutes Marvin Emnes tears out the back of the Leeds Utd net with a spectacular goal finishing off a great passing move involving both Martin and Arca.

As the game progressed into the final ten minutes Boro took control of the game and the Leeds fans chanted for Ken Bates to leave their club. Boro piled on the pressure, with two corners in as many minutes, but despite the posession only resulted in a Bennett shot comfortably saved by Longergan. Boro did look for the second goal but despite having numerous chances could not extend their lead.

The assistant indicated 5 added minutes and saw Arca narrowly miss a chipped effort and Longergan going up for a Leeds corner. A needless free kick given away by Boro resulted in a Leeds free kick which again saw Longergan go up as a makeshift striker, but they could not profit. Seb Hines came on for Rhys Williams who was suffering from cramp.

The referee ended up playing 6 minutes of extra time but despite another close effort from Emnes the full time whistle went and Boro collected all three points.

Boro Man of the Match - Marvin Emnes

Attendance - 25,615 (2,337 Boro)
League Position - 6 (P 2, W 1, D 1, L 0, GD 1 Pts 4)

Game Highlight - Marvin Emnes scoring his 5th goal in 3 games, and a good performance from Carl Ikreme
Boro Team - Ikreme, Bennett, McManus, Bates(c), Hoyte, Williams, Bailey, Robson, McMahon, Emnes, McDonald (subs) Kink, Hines, Arca, Martin, Smallwood

Thanks for reading, and as always comments (good or bad) are always appreciated. Keep a look out on Twitter (@MFCFacebook) and check the links section of this blog for the Facebook MFC Fanpage.

Walsall v Middlesbrough 9/8/11

Walsall 0 - 3 Middlesbrough
Emnes 17, 37, 52 Pen

Boro demolished League One Walsall in the first game of their Carling Cup campaign of 2011-12 with a hat-trick from Marvin Emnes.

Walsall found themselves down to 10 men when Adam Chambers went in two footed on Ritchie Smallwood which did nothing to help their plight against Boro's early dominance.

Emnes struck in the 17th minute with Malaury Martin's scuffed shot falling to him who turned and drilled the ball home for his second goal in two games. Marvin doubled his tally on 37 minutes volleying a Justin Hoyte cross into the back of the net. Boro went into the break 2-0 up having been completely dominant.

The second half was much more of the same with Enmes third goal coming by means of a penalty awarded as Smallwood was brought down in the area. The rest of the game played out with no real threat from Walsall and unfortunately no further Boro goals.

With Leeds Utd to face on Saturday the game provided a welcome gentle run out that would no doubt boost the teams confidence going into that match.

Boro Man of the Match - Marvin Emnes

Attendance - 3,564 (602 Boro)

Game Highlight - Marvellous Marvin's first Boro hat-trick

Thanks for reading, and as always comments (good or bad) are always appreciated. Keep a look out on Twitter (@MFCFacebook) and check the links section of this blog for the Facebook MFC Fanpage.

Middlesbrough v Portsmouth 6/8/11

Middlesbrough 2 - 2 Portsmouth
Emnes 24
R Williams 54

A solid Boro performance was enjoyed by 18,194 Boro fans for the opening game of the season at the Riverside Stadium.

Marvin Emnes was first to strike in the 24th minute with him latching on to a Scott McDonald pull back which let Boro lead at half time and looking by far the better team

A lapse of concentration in the first 90 seconds of the second half saw David Norris equalise for the visitors much to the disappointment of the players and the home fans. Boro's heads did not go down and they fought back. In the 54th minute Nicky Bailey played a sublime through ball to Rhys Williams who calmly slotted the ball past the Portsmouth keeper.

Boro controlled the football well as the game entered its final stages but failed increase their advantage which resulted in a Pompey shot deflecting off Matty Bates chin and falling to the feet of Luke Varney to equalise for the second time.

Boro Man of the Match - Rhys Williams

Attendance - 18,194
League Position - 10 (P 1, W 0, D 1, L 0, GD 0 Pts 1)

Game Highlight - Excellent performances from Williams, Emnes & Bailey

Thanks for reading, and as always comments (good or bad) are always appreciated. Keep a look out on Twitter (@MFCFacebook) and check the links section of this blog for the Facebook MFC Fanpage.

What's Wrong With Boro?

Its been about six weeks since I had the fire in my belly to write about Middlesbrough again after a series of drab performances over the past couple of months but it came to a head today - a royal spanking by Reading and the departure of Kris Boyd caused me to pick up my pen, so to speak.

Saturday's game, if anything, highlighted just what's wrong with Boro. No squad depth, no creativity, no idea how to defend, no experience. I despaired hearing how time and time again our defence was carved open and how Grounds and Hines could not cope. When the fifth goal went in I thought back to our 8-1 mauling of Manchester City and how their fans felt - as I was feeling very similar.

Asset Stripping

At every opportunity Boro seem to be selling. This season we have already seen David Wheater and Gary O'Neil disappear off to the Premiership, and now another player sneaks out of the back door... Kris Boyd. Kris has hardly set the world alight at Boro but 5th place Nottingham Forest obviously see something in the SPL all time leading goalscorer.

There are two things that really worry me about the departure of Boyd:

1. How is it that Middlesbrough are unable to afford to bring in a loan keeper without having to trade out a striker?
2. What if Boyd goes and scores a bag load of goals at Forest? What does that say about the coaches at our club?

Only time will tell with regards point 2, but I do worry how we are so skint that we need to loan out before we can loan in. What I would like is Steve Gibson to come out and tell us, the fans, what is actually going on at the club. We need a rallying call from the boss, but all that is coming out of the Boro boardroom is silence.

The big 'r'

Middlesbrough have been consistent over the past two seasons if anything - and that has been selling players. As we have sold more players our position has dropped down and down the league. An obvious trend, but not one that the Chairman has spotted which is a worry because if we get any worse we are going down.

Boro need to stop this constant fire sale, pull together, give the fans a reason to go to the games but with the departure of Boyd it really would indicate to me that our ambition is fading, and ambition is something that Boro always had in seasons gone by.

Paul Smith

Not the designer or lead singer of Maximo Park, but the Nottingham Forest keeper has signed for Middlesbrough on loan. Smith has played for Forest since 2006 and was part of the team the gained promotion from League 1 in 2008 winning the Puma Golden Glove in the process. He is also the scorer of the quickest League Cup goal, scoring in 23 seconds against Leicester City in 2008. Having fallen out of favour at Forest Smith was placed on the transfer list and told to find first team football elsewhere.

It may be too early for Smith to start tonight's game against Derby as he has not played a first team game since May, but hopefully over the coming matches he can help sort out a defence devoid of experience and quality and get us back to keeping clean sheets.

Mowbray Confirms Wheater Exit

Skysports tonight have confirmed what we have been thinking for some time - David Wheater will be sold in the January transfer window.

It is the sensible thing to do financially, we can't afford to let him walk away for nothing after all the money invested in him on his journey through the academy, but I do wonder if this is the right thing to do for the football club as a whole.

In the past Boro have had to decide on the best time to sell players when we have been on the decline. The first was Stewart Downing - we opted to stick with him, not buy any players and were promptly relegated. The next Adam Johnson - we sold and then the team stopped performing ensuring no chance of promotion. I would argue in both situations Steve Gibson made the wrong call. With the money from the Downing sale we could have got a couple of players in that might have made the difference and kept us up and Johnson was the star man in the team when he was sold. What sort of message does it give to the fans when we insist on selling the local talent to our old Premier League rivals?

We walk a fine line with January coming up - Boro are in danger of relegation on current form - so what do we do? Twist or Stick? Gibson has opted to twist. Cash in now, get rid of Premier League quality and replace with Championship quality.

My major concern with all of this is will any of the money be reinvested back into the squad. How much will Wheater fetch? £2m? Well that in itself certainly isn't going to get us the players that we need to climb up the league. Another concern is where will the selling end? Surely Gary O'Neil is a prime candidate to leave in January and Kris Boyd has been another name mentioned. With our past record I doubt very much that these players will be replaced with better ones for the same money.

The only saving grace is that Tony Mowbray can spot a player with potential - we have to trust that he can bring in the sort of players that can help build a team ready to challenge for promotion in the next two seasons before the parachute payments run dry.

So I ask you Boro fans - would you sell David Wheater?

Boro Fans To Have Say On Community Projects

npower and The Football League have announced the 'Home Town Heroes' programme, a new £2m community initiative.

npower and The Football League have announced the launch of 'Home Town Heroes', a new community initiative that aims to put the power into the hands of the fans.

The £2m Home Team Heroes initiative - which will be run over the course of the three year sponsorship - will ask communities around the UK's 72 Football League grounds to vote on how this money should be spent, in order to make the most impact in their local area.

Communities can choose from one of three projects for children:
- A 'respect' training workshop for ten year-olds run in schools with a focus on team work and citizenship
- Football skills training for 4 - 6 year-olds run by the club's community coaches
- Improvement/clean up of a local park into a more football friendly space

The public will have until the end of December to decide and then each Football League club will work with npower to implement the project their fans have selected, before the end of the season. The 72 clubs will be supported in this initiative by The Football League Trust which oversees the League's community and youth development programmes

Fans can cast their votes by clicking onto the npower website, texting; filling in postcards at their local Football League club or one of npower’s touring event stands in the local area; or by logging onto their club’s official website.

Volker Beckers, RWE npower's CEO, said:"This scheme is all about giving power to the fans. As a new sponsor, we didn’t want to come in with a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Instead, we’re asking the communities around each club to vote and tell us which option suits them best."

Greg Clarke, Chairman of The Football League, said: "Football League clubs are an integral part of their local communities, demonstrating that football has the power to make a difference to peoples’ lives. Whichever project each community votes for - be it respect workshops, football training or the improvement of local playgrounds - our clubs will be actively engaging with local children to encourage them to get involved in football."


WeShallOvercomeBlog - "This is a great opportunity for Boro fans to have a real say on what projects are undertaken in the Teesside area. We encourage all Boro fans to vote on this great initiative from npower"

Deja vu?

Selling our proven Premier League players in a bid to gain promotion - this sounds familiar...

When others have kept the majority of their squads and gained promotion, at Boro we seem to like to buck the trend and sell. Huth and Tuncay were two players that were moved on as Boro cut the cloth to adjust for Championship life, players that we could ill afford to lose and for some reason it seems to be happening again as the January transfer window looms.

I'm sure most fans would be looking for Boro to strengthen the squad in the window, but paper reports this morning indicate that two of our most experienced players, David Wheater and Gary O'Neil, will be sold if a suitable offer comes in. I'm fully aware that if a sizeable offer for any of our players came in we would consider them, but for it to be all over the media surely can't be a good thing when Tony Mowbray is trying to turn our fortunes around.

I just hope these reports are false, as in the past we have sold and not replaced. If that was to happen this time round and the money just banked I fear all hope of promotion, either this season or next, will be gone. The Championship will be our home and our youth team making up the majority of the side. To be honest, I wouldn't mind that in itself, but with the lack of ambition shown in the past few months would it end there?

What do you think? Sell our Captain and the Redcar Rock or not?

Mogga Returns Home

Middlesbrough Football Club have today announced former Boro captain
Tony Mowbray will be replacing Gordan Strachan as manager.

A press conference is scheduled today at 3:30pm to introduce Tony as
the new boss to the media.

Hopefully this will be a great boost to the Boro team, and who knows,
with a good win on Saturday we could really turn our season around.

More to follow...

One Man For The Job?

There is only one man for the job, not that I think its the best man for the job, but Tony Mowbray is the only man who can galvanise the town, club and fans in this time of crisis. The club need a boost, and this could be it, but the problem is that it is taking a while to appoint him.

Surely as soon as Gordon Strachan handed in his resignation the call to find out if Tony Mowbray was interested in the job should have been made. If this was the case why was it only Monday (according to the local press) that his interview was carried out? I can understand leaving the appointment until after the Norwich City away game, especially with our away form, but I really thought that an announcement would have been made on Monday. But alas no, all that has been revealed is that Mowbray is on a good contract for the next six months at Celtic, even getting win bonuses, and he is reluctant to lose this cash.

So what for now for Boro? Well it seems that whilst the negotiations are ongoing with Mowbray and Celtic we are in limbo, apart from lining up Paul Ince as the number two choice in case Mowbray turns the job down due to his Celtic deal. This surely can not be good for Boro, and I don't know how Gibson has let this situation arise. Basically how I read it is that if Boro don't pay Mogga something near his current deal, or Celtic can't be reasoned with to pay some of the money we are going to go with Ince. Ince will know that he always was second choice, and so will the fans. Having come so close to signing Mogga, getting Ince would be a blow for the majority of Boro fans, and I don't think it will help with the needed recovery on the pitch, after all no one like playing in empty stadiums.

I just hope that something can be sorted out asap. The players need time with the manager and new staff, and vice versa. We have a must win home game against Bristol City on Saturday, and all this unrest surely can't help with Agnew's preparations. Come on Steve Gibson, lets get this sorted for the sake of the club!

Win tickets to Boro v Portsmouth with npower

http://www.npower.com/football

Win Tickets To Boro v Pompey With npower

We Shall Overcome Blog has teamed up with npower to give Boro fans the chance to win two pairs of tickets in the home end at the Riverside Stadium for the game against Portsmouth on Saturday 2nd October (ko 3:00pm)

All you have to do to enter is email us weshallovercomeblog@googlemail.com with the answer to the following question along with your name, email address and phone number (daytime contact as you will be contacted about collecting the tickets):

Who is Boro's all time leading goal scorer?

Winners will be picked by random and no entries will be accepted after 3:00pm on Wednesday 29th September 2010. Multiple entries will not be accepted. Winners will be notified by email that they have won by 6pm on Wednesday 29th September 2010 and posted on this page prior to the game.

If you are not lucky enough to win this competition you can always enter npower's own Big Ticket Giveaway which will see a pair of tickets up for grabs for every single npower football league game and fan club members will also have the opportunity to win club player and manager appearances. All details can be found at http://www.npower.com/football-league website.

Please note you will have to collect the tickets from the Middlesbrough Football Club ticket office at the Riverside Stadium prior to the game.

All we ask the winners in return is that you take plenty of photos of your matchday experience so npower can display them on their football league Facebook page and their flickr site. We might even post one of you on here!

As npower have been kind enough to offer the tickets to us please can you visit their website using the above links after you have entered, and it would be great if you follow this blog as well!! If you are thinking about changing your gas and electricity supply npower are currently offering a football saver tariff, with discounted gas and electricity until the start of the 2011/12 football season. You will also receive £45 worth of vouchers to spend at your football league club shop. For more details go to http://www.npower.com/football.

Many thanks and good luck!!

We shall overcome

[R Wells from York was the eventual winner, and enjoyed two tickets for the game, thanks for entering]

Brought to you by weshallovercomeblog & big mouth media on behalf of npower.

How Do Boro Fix It Then?

As I have already said in past blog posts, we do have quite a few moaners at the Riverside. Judging by recent performances they have every right to be venting off - but how can Boro sort out the form on the field?

It's fine posting on the internet 'Strachan Out!!!' but is that really the answer? Martin O'Neil is a name mentioned, even Tony Mowbray, but really is a quick managerial switch going to propel us up the league? Here is my thoughts on the current situation.

Sacking Strachan

I don't think this is the answer at all. The current team are Strachan's players and if he was to be sacked they wouldn't take too kindly to it. Remember they all said he was the reason they came to Middlesbrough. Sack Strachan and we would have to rebuild another squad again starting in January. Not good for a promotion attempt. I wonder also if we have the money for yet another squad rebuild?

Martin O'Neil

Really? Come on. Why would Martin O'Neil want to come and manage us? Talk about poisoned chalice. He'd have no money, a half full stadium and a Chairman who is getting into the habit of sacking managers after not even a full season trying to get promotion. I think he's give that one a miss.

Tony Mowbray

Brilliant captain for Boro... we have heard this story somewhere else before... Mogga will always have fond memories on Teesside, so why would he ruin his relationship with the fans by subjecting himself to the managers job? He has hardly proved himself in the managerial stakes either. There are Boro fans saying Strachan is a poor manager despite the fact he succeeded in the SPL (and also saying their mothers could manage Celtic in the SPL), but Mogga tried, and failed badly.

Keeping Strachan

Is five games a fair crack of the whip for an injury ravished side before the manager is sacked? I think not. But something has to happen, and fast. We need six points in the next two games to get a serious promotion push back on track. If we can do this we are not really that far behind - with Boyd and McDonald up front banging goals in I'm sure we could make up nine points. There are a lot of games left.

So The Sensible Choice Is..?

What do you do as a Chairman? Sit back and hope things change, or make a snap decision and hope that it works, at a financial cost to the club? As I don't have Steve Gibson's mobile phone number I couldn't ask him but I did get the views of Paul Fraser (Northern Echo) and Robbie Mustoe on what we should do with regards to out recent form via Twitter:

@paulfraserecho What's your thoughts on Strachan and Boro? Surely we gotta stick with him??
@MFCFacebook that's my opinion at the moment. I think, given the turnover in personnel, I don't see the point in axing Strachan now.

@robbiemustoe What's your thoughts on Strachan and our dismal start?
@MFCFacebook I'm saddened like everyone else, he must be given time, the fans must try & be patient. It's still early this season.

So Paul and Robbie think we need to keep the faith, and to be honest so do I. Boro fans if you do one thing please do this - if you shout for Strachan to be fired have a decent argument about why its best for the club... not only football wise, but financially as well. Getting rid of this squad and starting again could put us in more trouble than we are already in.

Feel free to put your ideas to save the club in the comments section - you never know, Gibbo might have a read :-)

Give Strachan a chance!!

So we are three league games in and the typical moaning element of Middlesbrough fans are coming out in force as they have finally got a slight reason to start venting about Gordon Strachan as Middlesbrough were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Millwall last night. These 'fans' as they like to call themselves, are the staunch Southgate supporters who for the entire second half of last season criticised Steve Gibson and Gordon Strachan for every decision made at the club after their messiah was dismissed after ruining a team only the season prior his appointment featured in an UEFA Cup final.

You just have to look at the legacy of Southgate's Boro to see that these people are clueless. Only a week ago we still had Mido, Digard and Emnes still taking Premier League wages from us and no club wanted them. Mido, now on his 11th club has finally departed to Ajax and Boro haven't recouped any of the £6m Southgate paid for him. Project Emnes (£3.2m), Digard (£4.0), Mido (£6m) and Alves (£12m) are just four massive failures that come to mind, for a total of £25.2m, not to mention others than have come in and failed. How is this conducive to Southgate being considered better than Strachan? Southgate also managed a relegation in his three years at the club, and managed to shift out young talent such as Lee Cattermole and failed to play Adam Johnson preferring the other flop, Jeremie Aliadiere on the right wing (£2.5m).

Gordon Strachan on the other hand has come into the club and has had to totally rebuild the team and staff. He initially brought loanees into the side, some dubious, but was honest with the fans advising that they were the best on the market available at the time. In the January transfer window he brought in Scott McDonald, Stephen McManus, Willo Flood, Barry Robson and Chris Killen who improved the Boro squad dramatically (McDonald currently this season scoring 3 goals in 4 games). Summer additions have included Kris Boyd, Kevin Thomson and Matthew Kilgallon amongst others. All of these players, nowhere near £25.2m, and more importantly they all have the right attitude. There has been the odd failure, Lee Miller has failed to impress and Nicky Bailey has had a shaky few games but you can afford the odd one not working when you are not paying much for them.

Promotion

So Strachan's objective for the 2010/11 Championship season is simple - promotion. This is what he will be judged on, and if he fails it may well be the end of his time at Middlesbrough. Steve Gibson will be patient with him, and in January will probably make more funds available if our squad is in need of even further strengthening, so why are the fans getting on his back after three league games? It is farcical. I accept that the opening game against Ipswich was not good enough, he knows that, Gibson knows that, but we followed it up with a solid draw away from home, then a win on Sunday against Sheffield United. Anyone calling for Strachan's head at this stage in the season are fools.

Did these same fans not see that sacking a manager in the opening part of the season last year didn't work? So why would it be a good idea now? Do they not understand that a majority of the players are Strachan's? So do they give another manager a few million to rebuild the squad again? The problem is that there is a hardcore bunch of Boro fans who just like to moan. They will moan to anyone and everyone about anything. I thought being a fan was about getting behind the team, not relishing the fact that the team has struggled and that means they can slag the club of again... Yep, these fans have paid their money so they can have their say... fair enough... but if a monkey bought a car would you let it drive it on the roads? No. These fans have little football knowledge and are still obsessed with the Southgate era.

You may say we also lost in the Carling Cup. Good is what I say... There are enough games to contend with in the Championship without playing in the Carling Cup. We need to plough all our resources and efforts into the league. We, as Boro fans, need to unite, get behind the club, team and manager and stop this constant moaning. It is killing the club. If its not people of Fly Me To The Moon slagging of the good work of the Red Faction it's fans moaning that the ground is empty and then not going themselves. Lets get behind the team, get to the ground and support the lads on to promotion!!

Come on Boro!!

Win tickets to Boro v Sheff Utd with npower - Winners...

And the winners of the npower competition to win two tickets for the Boro v Sheff Utd are:

Chris Hughes
&
Darren Allon

I hope you and your guest have a great time at the game, and remember to take some pictures for the npower blog!

Remember... If you were not lucky enough to win this competition you can always enter npower's own Big Ticket Giveaway which will see a pair of tickets up for grabs for every single npower football league game and fan club members will also have the opportunity to win club player and manager appearances. All details can be found at http://www.npower.com/football-league website.

Thanks to everyone for entering. Keep a look out on Twitter (@MFCFacebook) and check the links section of this blog for the Facebook MFC Fanpage for all the latest Boro news, views and score updates!

Win tickets to Boro v Sheff Utd with npower

http://www.npower.com/football

Win Tickets To Boro v Sheff Utd With npower


We Shall Overcome Blog has teamed up with npower to give Boro fans the chance to win two pairs of tickets in the home end at the Riverside Stadium for the game against Sheffield United on Sunday 22nd August (ko 1:15pm)

All you have to do to enter is email us weshallovercomeblog@googlemail.com with the answer to the following question along with your name, email address and phone number (daytime contact as you will be contacted about collecting the tickets):

What was the score last season when Boro played Sheffield United at home in The Championship?

Winners will be picked by random and no entries will be accepted after 11:30pm on Thursday 19th August 2010. Multiple entries will not be accepted. Winners will be notified by email that they have won by 9am on Friday 20th August 2010 and posted on this page on Friday night.

If you are not lucky enough to win this competition you can always enter npower's own Big Ticket Giveaway which will see a pair of tickets up for grabs for every single npower football league game and fan club members will also have the opportunity to win club player and manager appearances. All details can be found at http://www.npower.com/football-league website.

Please note you will have to collect the tickets from the Middlesbrough Football Club ticket office at the Riverside Stadium prior to the game.

All we ask the winners in return is that you take plenty of photos of your matchday experience so npower can display them on their football league Facebook page and their flickr site. We might even post one of you on here!

As npower have been kind enough to offer the tickets to us please can you visit their website using the above links after you have entered, and it would be great if you follow this blog as well!! If you are thinking about changing your gas and electricity supply npower are currently offering a football saver tariff, with discounted gas and electricity until the start of the 2011/12 football season. You will also receive £45 worth of vouchers to spend at your football league club shop. For more details go to http://www.npower.com/football.


Many thanks and good luck!!

We shall overcome



Brought to you by weshallovercomeblog & big mouth media on behalf of npower.

Middlesbrough v Ipswich 7/8/2010

Middlesbrough 1 - 3 Ipswich
McDonald 22

There was hope amongst Boro fans this morning but this was short-lived after a dismal display at the Riverside this afternoon which produced Boro's first defeat at the Riverside since December 2009.

Boro went into the lead after 22 minutes with Scott McDonald opening his 2010/11 account with a composed finish but if anything the game was open with both sides looking like they could score, with Ipswich hitting the bar before half time.

Boro fell asleep in the second half which allowed Ipswich to score three goals which ensured the win for Roy Keane's side. The boos where clear for all to hear around the Riverside as the full time whistle was blown.

More to follow...

Boro Man of the Match - Danny Coyne (Despite conceding three goals)

Attendance - 21,882

Game Highlight - Scott McDonald scoring our only goal...

Thanks for reading, and as always comments (good or bad) are always appreciated. Keep a look out on Twitter (@MFCFacebook) and check the links section of this blog for the Facebook MFC Fanpage.

England And The FA - Hang Your Heads In Shame

You won't hear me say this often, but I admire the French, or at least the way the French FA handled their exit of the World Cup. The players weren't taken back to their five-star hotels and pampered for another day at the FA's expense, no they were transported via coach straight to the airport and flown back economy. We can look at where, how and why England have failed in South Africa but our problems do not stem from 'player fatigue' alone, they stem from the very top, from the English Football Association.

Firstly we have Lord Triesman proclaiming to his mistress that 'Spain are looking for help from the Russians to help bribe the referees in the World Cup', then we have the FA extending Fabio Capello's contract two weeks before the tournament starts. Two massive blunders made by the top brass at the FA. Are these people even on the same planet as us? The Chief of the FA, brought in by Gordon Brown to clean up the organisation from the past sex scandals has one of his own and puts England's World Cup bid in jeopardy, then having seen how much it cost Liverpool to get rid of Rafa Benitez after giving a massive contract extension decide to do the same with Capello. Unbelievable. This incompetence runs from the top, straight down through Capello and finishes off on the pitch.

Enough about the FA for now. I was concerned when I saw Capello announce his final squad of 23. The usual suspect were there, Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Cole, Ferdinand, but there was no depth at all. There was nothing to change a game, no way to change the system. We have some promising young players, namely Adam Johnson, but even he was overlooked and the likes of Shaun Wright Phillips and Aaron Lennon were selected over the ex-Middlesbrough academy player. SWP and Lennon have has many chances at international level and haven't produced. Johnson can change a game. Then the strikers... Emile Heskey was chosen over Darren Bent. Heskey is not a goal scorer, he is unable to hold the ball up, does not contribute assists and has struggled at his club all season. Obviously a far better selection than Bent who has scored 24 goals in 38 Premier League appearances compared to Heskey's 3 goals in 16 appearances (15 of those as a substitute). What I would like to know is how is Heskey not good enough to start for Aston Villa, but good enough to start for England?

England's potent World Cup strike force

Peter Crouch has 5 more goals to his name for not many more starts, but Capello amazed England fans with his bizarre team selections in the group games. Neglecting Defoe and Crouch and starting with Rooney and Heskey was not what the England faithfull wanted to see - we wanted Rooney up front on his own, as he has played for Manchester United all season, scoring 26 goals in the league. The other shocking decisions were playing Carragher (whose legs have gone), Gerrard on the left, Upson instead of Dawson, King's inclusion having not been fit his entire life etc etc but as fans we have become all to familiar with England managers knowing better than us fans, then the team crashes out of the competition without even a whimper (or not qualifying at all).

To top all this off, after two miserable performances Wayne Rooney decides to insult the fans who have paid £1000's to go out and follow the three lions. We then paper over the cracks with an average performance against Slovenia, then bomb out against Germany. I'm not surprised that the team were booed, I have never seen such a gutless display from England.

So with the team knocked out it was nice to see Ashley Cole and Ledley King enjoying a laugh and a joke shortly after the Germany game, and it was nice to see that the FA had provided the England team with a private jet landing early in the morning at Heathrow to avoid angry fans. This again is more incompetence from the FA. Those England players should have been made to travel back economy, landed at Heathrow at lunchtime and if there was fans there to vent their anger so be it. The players obviously don't know what it means to support England, to follow your team all over the world, having maybe saved for years to afford it.

So what now? I think the likes of Heskey, King, Carragher, Barry, Upson, A Cole, Gerrard, James & SWP should never play for England again. Rooney will need to buck his ideas up to remain in for me, he has been woeful of late and looks unfit. We need to sack Capello as well. I would appoint a coach with a contract to the 2012 Euro's and no more. His job would be to build a capable young squad with a view to get to the quarter finals on the Euro's, and leave the team able to push on for the following World Cup. The selection policy should be clear - If you are too old to play in the 2014 World Cup you are too old for the England team now. We need to build a solid group of players, who don't take for granted their England call ups.

Well that's my thoughts / rant over with. No more England talk for me, I now can enjoy the rest of the World Cup without worrying about how England are doing. For the record I think it will be a Argentina v Brazil final, and Argentina will sneak it. Now to look forward to the start of the domestic football season, and seeing who Gordon Strachan signs in the next few weeks.