Have Boro left ‘Eurocracy’ behind… For The Better?

by Si, posted in Uncategorized

It would seem that ditching over-complications and focusing on what attacking players can do instead of what they can’t has genuinely given Boro a new lease of life, says Simon Fallaha

“Luck is the forgotten arbiter of football destinies.
We are tactics-mad because, as humans, we like to
believe we are in control.” – Jared Browne, 2012

What is ‘Eurocracy’, in football terms?

I’m not sure anyone can put a finger on just the right words to use. But if you asked me, I’d simply say: a continental philosophy that places command, control, tactics, teamwork and managerial image over free-spirited, individual technique.

It may sound rather modern, but it’s actually been around England for many years. The Liverpool Boot Room culture, Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish were able to adopt elements of the continental game to obtain success either at home, in Europe, or both.

Suffering on the side lines throughout the nineties were two very individualistic squads, Roy Evans’ Liverpool and Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle. Throw our own Bryan Robson’s class of 1995-97 into that group too, such were the qualities of his attacking players in contrast with most of the defence – with apologies to Phil Whelan, Derek Whyte et al.

By 1997 the Wengerlution was taking shape and clubs were catching on to Eurocracy as a means of a path to the top. Chelsea joined in, as did Liverpool with the arrival of Gerard Houllier and the shift to a more solid and commanding style. Even Robson was not beyond building his success from 1997-2000 on a strong backbone and team players.

Generation after generation of Eurocrats – Mourinho, Benitez, Guardiola, Rodgers, Klopp, Wagner, you name them – have arrived and prospered to varying degrees since, with equally varying responses to their styles. Be they attacking or defensive, the need to command and control remains paramount. See: Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool teams and how they didn’t feel so confident when they weren’t allowed to dictate.

Arguably, Boro’s biggest Eurocrats of recent times have been Steve McClaren and Aitor Karanka. One need only contemplate their coaching pedigree, the experience that success on the biggest stages of all gave them, and how they attempted to adopt said principles into something concrete and successful.

And neither was entirely popular at Boro.

Were they the problem, I often ask myself, or was it the culture that spawned them which created limitations under each tenure? At best, things were genuinely good, even great. There was genuine moments of strong unity, at least on the surface, along with progress that either you hadn’t seen for years or didn’t think you’d see again at all.

That, frankly, is not the sort of ride that you want a naysayer – even if he or she is ultimately right – to derail. And with Karanka alone, I discovered joy beyond magic “No 10s”. I took great pride in watching confident, ball playing centre backs, commanding midfield generals, multi-purpose wing men and all-purpose forwards.

How nice it would be to just applaud and build on the merits. To accept that every story has to end sometime and leave it at that. But it’s not that simple. Because it’s quite common for Eurocratic managers to dig their own grave very deeply, very quickly. Such is their desire for control.

It doesn’t matter if the coaching philosophy is cautious or cavalier – the Eurocrat is likely to reach a point where he cannot take the team any further, but is too proud to admit it. The squad then see the vultures gathering over his head, the team start to drop more points, the fans get on his back, and it’s goodbye to any form of confidence, let alone command. That’s how you end up with games like Stoke 2, Boro 0, and a once imperious manager looking as white as a sheet.

Perhaps Eurocrat rhymes with bureaucrat for a very good reason. All those complex dossiers, lots of passing patterns, ‘subtle and artistic’ link-up play, meticulous research into tactics, training and image. You look at all that, and everything written about it, and think that it must amount to something great. But sometimes, it’s left looking like a puddle that pretends to be deep but really isn’t.

And the Eurocrat becomes the Emperor’s Clothes, a laughing stock who many are keen to either forget or remember as a figure of comedy. Like, in my opinion, the greatest comic bureaucrat of all time, Yes (Prime) Minister’s Sir Humphrey Appleby. It’s hard to forget “The Key”, where he is locked out of No. 10 for attempting to exert a little too much power. An instance of a somewhat obstructive but useful individual becoming downright oppressive and insufferable, and there was joy in seeing him receive his comeuppance.

On reflection it is also sad that it can come to that for the Eurocrat, for I would never want to discard his merits and methods entirely. Any analysis must be fair and objective, and there are many, many positives that can and should be both lauded and carried forward.

Still, continuously favouring the solid over the surprising and the workmanlike for the spontaneous will eventually guide any team to a dead end, regardless of how successful a strategy may be for whatever length of time. What an analyst may deem “putting an overpaid ego in his place” and “showing him who’s boss” can equally be deemed condescending to the player, and harmful to team spirit. It’s not a case of too much coaching, or too little coaching – but the right coaching.

Players don’t always need to be “corrected”. They need to be appropriately utilised for the good of the individual and the team. It is here where the Eurocrat can put his pride aside and learn from the more experienced man managers, thinking about what a player can do rather than criticise him for what he can’t.

This is where the recent success of Adama Traore under Tony Pulis comes into play. Were a coach overly determined to “correct” his game, as Karanka surely was, he would note, as The Secret Footballer did about Kyle Walker, that Traore has so much pace that his control (there’s that word again) simply isn’t as good as it ought to be, and that he would rely on being fast enough to catch the ball in time for a cross from the wing even if he over hit his first touch.

But, as TSF says, the pitch is only so big, and Walker would knock the ball out for a goal kick countless times, all because he ran out of pitch. “It’s like watching Forrest Gump.” (Now where have we heard that one before?)

He adds, “It is symptomatic of fast players that their touch suffers as a result of their pace” and that there are areas of the pitch where “a fine touch” and “good control” are essential. So Karanka would be far from alone in being immensely frustrated by Traore’s lack of a final ball. Yet TSF also notes – and I am entirely in agreement here – that coaches and scouts are “suckers” for pace. And so are fans.

For too long, I feel that we at Boro have been taught simply to be grateful for the dependable without being able to fully appreciate the unpredictable, the maddening even, that can take a team’s football to another level. Traore has no defined role, as such. He’s not what you’d call consistent. But he is, for all his imperfections, a special player, one who keeps bringing you back to watch the team.

And if that’s not part of what makes us love football, I don’t know what is.

It’s early days, but it may well be that Pulis’ arrival at Boro represents the first stage of a new cycle for the club. Where the cult of managers and all-conquering tactics is ebbing away into forwards being forwards, attacking midfielders who attack, erratic but lively wingers, full backs that defend, and reliable goalkeepers. An attempt to counter all the over-complications in “the beautiful game”.

Or, to put it simply…

“Football is a simple game made complicated
by people who should know better.”

Thank you kindly, Bill Shankly.

108 thoughts on “Have Boro left ‘Eurocracy’ behind… For The Better?”

  1. A thoughtful piece Simon, many thanks.

    There is no doubt that focussing on the ‘wrong’ in a player’s abilities and talents drives out ‘right’ and replaces it with a lack of self confidence and player checking the manager’s view out of the corner of his eye; and there goes the powers of concentration.

    Keep it simple then we can all understand it. I often felt that AK used the players like the coloured panels on a Rubik cube. Maybe a different strip for defence, midfield and forwards. That mindset could even complicate that, a bit like Tommy Cooper and the uniform cap sketch..

    UTB,

    John

  3. French Ligue 1 side Bordeaux have been in touch with Middlesbrough to kick off talks over signing Martin Braithwaite.
    According to French sports daily L’Equipe.

    1. Martin Braithwaite departing would be a surprise but its pretty clear that the sharp end of the side isn’t functioning in the way that I suspect TP would prefer and therefore changes are to be expected.

      Martin has shown flashes of skill but has never really made himself indispensable. He isn’t the only one of course despite his goals Assombalonga seems like a spare part in games as does Bamford, Fletcher and even Gestede who is possibly the nearest to the type of Striker at least in physique that TP normally goes with. If cold hard cash is put on the table some or even all of them could go (suitors pending) I suspect but that would mean some incoming to replace them.

      There is a story linking us with Charlie Wyke returning to the club today but I would be shocked let alone surprised were there to be any substance in that story. A club with little cash would maybe look to speculate in the lower leagues for up and coming bargains but despite SG splashing the cash in the summer a lot of that was recouped by the outgoings plus MFC still have the benefit of parachute payments. For me the Wyke story doesn’t stack up especially for a club wanting a swift Premiership return. We have seen with Johnson that the step up can be a very steep climb indeed.

  4. Simon

    A good read, it is a theme I have often touched on.

    Puel was pilloried for his time at Southampton with grim attritional football, now at Leicester with the likes of Vardy, Gray and Mahrez available amongst his attackers to give real pace, skill and top class finishing he is doing a good job.

    Pochettino is of the same ilk, he had some potent weapons at Southampton and did well. Here is a wiki quote about his time at Espanyol.

    ‘Despite the lowly league position, Pochettino’s work had drawn praise from commentators[25] and he was beginning to display the characteristics that would inform his coaching at his subsequent clubs, namely the imposition of a specific tactical style on all of the clubs’ team from the senior side down to youth level, attending training sessions to receive updates from all levels, a preference for 4–2–3–1, a focus on a high-pressing game and the promotion of players from the academy to the first team.’

    That reads largely familiar.

    He is now at Spurs and only just on balance, Kane, Son, Alli et al are a tad better throughout the squad than what we could put out last season.

    AK is from the same coaching school but was stubborn to say the least. Give him top quality attackers and he will do well but don’t expect him to be flexible.

  5. I think this piece would have worked better without the references to Eurocracy. I’m not sure what it was trying to say about continental approaches, foreign managers and other than British players.

    The bit about simplicity and utilising players in their proper positions is relevant. But I still think some people are getting carried away by Pulis. He never managed to accrue more than 47 points with any of his teams in the Premier League, whilst Boro have done that, and more, on 5 occasions, including 3 seasons of 50+ points, with one spectacular 55 point haul under the much maligned Steve McClaren.

  6. Hi Ian

    It’s sad to say it, but because AK is cut from the Mourinho cloth this inflexibility is a given. I’ve read and listened to the views of United fans who want Mourinho out despite the relative improvement in results and goals.

    Here are some of their thoughts…

    “(I am) hurting at the stodgy, sterile football Mourinho is producing… Even when United score high, against smaller teams, the football appears functional and automated.”

    “(The Mourinho method) perfectly encapsulates Mourinho’s innate insecurities as a man, and his fear of taking a risk in case it backfires and chips away at his fragile ego.”

    “Hopefully… it will all blow up in his face. The meltdown would be epic, as there’s nothing quite like watching Jose’s angry little pinched features when it all goes t*ts up for him.“

    Deja vu?

    1. Si

      Burning Questions?

      After burning he midnight oil?

      I like this form of insight, what it does is to make bloggers stop and think and not argue or question the content but to consider the pros and cons of what each of us think.

      I for one loved the discipline that AK brought to the Boro at a time that players were allegedly turning up for training in taxis straight after having a heavy night.

      There is no doubt that the excellent players that Mowbray bought were turned and coached into better players by Karanka.

      This is proven by the values obtained for Reach Adomah amd recently Forshaw.

      As you say the Stoke Match was a turning point for Karanka when he realised he couldn’t improve on what he had done.

      The Higgygate and Charltongate episodes also showed that he was capable of poor self discipline.

      There was also a mean streak to Karanka and whilst every manager in every walk of life has to be firm you cannot be vindictive.

      On the note that Pulis is early days all I can say is I like what I see and hear so far

      Thanks again Si for AK excellent piece.

      OFB

    2. Simon
      To compare the present situation at united ( second in the league) with the situation at Boro when AK took over does not ring true for me.
      We desperately needed to break away from years of abject management, and yes i do mean at every level, from buying, selling, coaching, man management, motivation, discipline, and resolution.
      At the root of most opinions is support for the ( unhappy) players.
      This i believe is wrong, the cause of their unhappiness was the demand to play in an organised manner, the demand to win most, if not all, their home matches. The demand to compete in any and every match home or away, against everybody whatever their position in the football hierarchy. Even to abandon their love of bogie teams, of which we had many going back to Victorian times it seems.
      All the above is a very complicated way of saying the training set up had become a feather bed, somewhere that you would want to see out your career in peace and quiet, away from the hurly burly of cup ties away to Prem giants, and as for beating them? Hhm.
      We were very lucky to have AK. He straitened us out, showed how to trade players, made us a lot of money, with a final (giant) bonus to come from Traore.
      Unfortunately for the players, he opened our eyes as to what they had been getting away with for a long time.

  7. Lovely journalistic article Simon…..well done.

    Now I do not profess to be as knowledgeable with regards to football as some on here, but one thing in modern day life that now is constant (almost) is “Fashion”

    Football Tactics and Coaching go hand in hand and with the Premier League especially. Eurocracy as SImon called it, is now the norm with more and more European Coaches being hired and also wanting to coach in English Football. Whether we like it or not, the EPL is firmly placed at the top of the World with regards to status.

    Also apologies in not saying thank you to RR for his QPR match report. I may possibly have to re-think by thoughts on TP and his ability to improve the Boro and MFC. Certainly Saturday was an improvement in terms of tactics and team selection. However whether that can be continued against the better teams above and around us, which would allow us climb into the top six is still debateable. We have to start taking points off those teams, that will be the only way to achieve what SG dreams about.

    So can TP, as Ian says, make a silk purse from a pigs ear. He certainly appears to be improving players that we all would say have been underperforming. Adama and Howson the two most influential and then Ayala and Shotton at the back.

    If he can improve the front end, getting more men into the box and contributing more goals, then we may have a chance. But TP has to gain more wins than he has done so far.

    2. Pedro
      The one bright spot in all the talk about a play off position is that the points were dropped at home.
      I say that because it must be easier to reverse home form than away form.

  8. Thanks for your feedback, Teapot. I really appreciate it.

    I’ll admit, I was walking back from Titanic Belfast after a press conference when the term “Eurocrat” suddenly popped into my head and I began thinking of how it related to the tactical complications the Wengers, Houlliers, Rafas, Mourinhos etc put in place for their clubs to evolve in the modern era – but all ultimately regressed. Even Wenger. (The “OUT MEANS OUT” banner says it all.)

    Perhaps, however, it’s a term that works better as an idea in the head rather than on the page. The piece took longer to write than I would have liked because I originally penned it as a loose collection of ideas that just wouldn’t flow.

    Still, I simply couldn’t resist the reference to Sir Humphrey and his tendency to over complicate the simple. So Eurocrat stood.

    I guess one of the things I was trying to imply is that while Eurocracy is useful and important in many ways, for some it’s gone too far. It’s reached the point where it’s considered a criticism to say that all a centre forward does is score goals.

    1. SO all a centre forward does is score goals?

      And all a writer does is assemble a collection of words?

      You and I know Si being a writer is a lot harder than just getting words down on the paper.

      I’m always looking back on previous articles I have written and think I could have done better!

      Hindsight is a wonderful thing and to get things done in a tight time frame takes pressure and notwithstanding a bit of stress which actually then transform a piece into a work of art.

      As you know the saying goes “ everyone says I’m lucky. The funny thing is the more I practise the luckier I get!”

      Oh you lucky guy !

      OFB

  9. Thanks Pedro.

    It did occur to me while I was writing this that Eurocrats very much dominate English football. The top seven in the PL are all managed by foreign coaches.

    The highest placed Englishman? Dyche, whose Burnley very much thrive off the underestimated underdog tag. They take great joy in getting one over the Eurocrats (ie Karanka) who feel entitled to beat them with their money and tactical knowledge.

    But even that can only get you so far, meaning elements of Eurocracy are undoubtedly vital. Even so, there will be those who believe, not unfairly either, that there is too much emphasis on control and tactics when there needs to be a bit more freedom and excitement.

    The solution, as always, is somewhere in between. Otherwise we’ll get another Jorge Valdano decrying that power-mad coaches are “robbing the game of skill”.

    I will never, ever forget his rant after Rafapool played Jose’s Chelsea in 2005.

    “Football is made up of subjective feeling, of suggestion, and, in that, Anfield is unbeatable. Put a s*** hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium and there are people who will tell you it’s a work of art.

    “It’s not: it’s a s*** hanging from a stick.

    “…The extreme control and seriousness with which both teams played the semi-final neutralised any creative licence, any moments of exquisite skill.”

  10. That was a good little read for lunch-time Simon.

    I think your quote from the late Bill Shankly properly sums up the game today. The reality has always been that system will take you so far, but only so far. For each new system that becomes popular, some team (or teams) might get success with it in the short term, but over the medium to long term everyone learns how to counter the system and so the system begins to fall into disrepute.

    The clubs that achieve and replicate success do so not because of a system, but almost despite a system. The key to success has always been having players of talent that can deliver something unanticipated, something mercurial.
    Goal of the season, or goal of the tournament is never the one that was achieved simply by the team applying a system. No, the goal of the season or the tournament is the one that makes everyone stand up and instinctively burst into applause because it was obtained by some magical element that could only be delivered by some gifted individual (or maybe individuals).

    Successful clubs for me have always had that blend of system, infused with precocious talent.

    The successful clubs are the ones that can always attract those mercurial talents. From time to time other clubs have one or other on their books and can gate crash the upper echelons of the game for a short while at least. Their problem is then being able to retain that talent whose agents sticky fingers will be working out how to maximise their meal-ticket.

    Its too early to make a judgement on TP at the Boro. The early signs are good. Lets hope he continues to nurture our own precocious talent as Traore could be the thing that sets us apart from the rest when the promotion places are shared out at the end of the season.

    1. Powmill
      There is a case, you know, for saying the unthinkable.
      That football is a entity that is always desperately trying to achieve stability(which means, incidentally, a settled group at the top)
      Then someone devises a new system, or formation, and scoops the jackpot, the cup, the league, the whole shebang.
      Everybody then has to change or expire.
      Two outstanding examples are, in order, the “W” formation, which stood the test of time, then was consigned to oblivion forever by the deep lying centre forward.
      This was introduced by Manchester city in the person of it’s striker a certain mr. Don Revie
      Truly original in conception, it meant either adapt or die.
      So it is inappropriate to be too critical of the people searching for something new.
      Speaking personally, I was very grateful for the changes brought to our club by AK.
      Incidentally, we are still enjoying the benefits of his tenure.
      Not something you could say about many Boro managers.

      2. Plato, I am not critical of change in system nor of looking for a change (or evolution) of system. As you rightly point out, it is change in the fashionable system of the day that enables the occasional changing of the guard.
        The main point I was making is that when many (most?) teams adopt similar systems and stratagems it is the individual and unpredictable talent that makes the difference to both results and to entertainment.

  11. Thanks Simon, an enjoyable article once again and the ‘Eurocrat’ analogy is perhaps good one given our new ‘old school’ manager with perhaps a simpler more pared approach to football.

    The control and complexity that more technical-minded managers wish to exert on the pitch does risk overloading their players before they are ready to move to the next level. Getting the basics right and developing the understanding between players as individuals sometimes is lost as the ‘Eurocrat’ wants the players to be interchangeable regardless of their individuality – which perhaps can mean you lose something from these individuals as they attempt to become modular units.

    I think the other thing you find with coaches that attempt to take full control is that the failure is often blamed on things out of their control or individual mistakes rather than there being any fault with their actually methodology.

        1. I reckon Werder should trademark.

          In2Views !

          It’s keeing me busy and out of mischief.

          As I’ve said hope to
          Be seeing big John Hickton on Saturday and I’ve also been in contact with Rhys Williams in Australia.

          Harry Pearson will have his interview finished next week with Dave Allen and Archie Stephens and Gary Pallister and Mark Proctor currently in draft form.

          Two matches next week so Werder and RR will be busy but there’s a lot to come on this blog

          Keep posting all you bloggers !

          OFB

      2. OFB,

        this is like going to the Elite, Odeon or Gaumont and watching the trailers for ‘Coming Attractions’.

        Do only virtual Usherettes visit all parts of this cinema or do we have to go to the foyer?

        UTB,

        John

        1. Some pretty ladies Steph McGovern of the BBC and Ellen Sowerby who lives in the USA and runs a huge Facebook page for Boro supporters there are both going to usher in some In2Views for the blog !

          Both these charming ladies are Boro through and through and are keen to promote the news of Boro where they can.

          John Hendrie has done his In2Views and he’s a funny guy.

          French Franck is also talking to me so we should have a great showcase of talent for the rest of the season.

          So sit back and enjoy the ride, pour yourselves another drink and enjoy the banter and the great writing of Werder. Redcar Red and Si.

          OFB

          1. With apologies to the no doubt charming John Hendrie, I think in the interests of equality surely you meant the handsome and charming French Franck…

          2. Eerrr

            Got to be careful what I say I see John nearly every week !

            French Franck looks tremendous and all the women swoon when they see him at the ground

            A bit like when they see me ????

            OFB

  14. Thank you kindly, RR!

    Now, while I’m thinking footy, some more thoughts.

    Today is the third anniversary of our famous cup win at City.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGpuDy0rye4

    That was arguably AKBoro at their best. Extremely stingy and masterfully organised defending, excellent goalkeeping – from the maligned Mejias! – a bit of luck, moments of true class and all around pride.

    What I remember most from the game isn’t Dani Ayala’s development from fragile and erratic to a tower of strength, though I was very happy about that. No, it’s Tomlin’s turn – because, as Powmill has implied, it was unanticipated and mercurial. And he had the cheek to attempt it against one of the highest rated defenders in the land. That he didn’t score was almost irrelevant – it was impressive enough to be remembered.

    It’s tempting to say that the system had nothing to do with that. But here is where I beg to differ.

    A rock solid defence, a feeling of control, injects confidence into attacking players. They know that if they score, they are highly likely to win. And when success comes from strong coaching, the more players who wouldn’t necessarily be inclined to agree with the methodology before the coach arrived will believe in the way the coach wants them to play.

    This may well be why perpetual international underachievers Spain were transformed into winners – the development and initial success of “tiki-taka” injected confidence, momentum and belief into already fine players. It was a joy to watch them triumph in Euro 2008.

    The danger, and tragedy, is of the coach and the system gradually buying into their “untouchability” and thus regressing instead of expanding. By Euro 2012 tiki-taka was being dubbed “tiki-takanaccio”, or worse, “tiki-tedium”, an attacking style having gone backwards into a we-can’t-lose-so-long-as-we-keep-possession rule.

  15. Simon

    Spain reached the point of playing without a striker and the opposition being lambasted for only playing one up front.

    when Henry was in his pomp loitering on the left wing, Arsenal in effect almost played 4-6-0. If the opposition didn’t play in the right spirit with two up front and four in midfield, Arsene would moan and grumble, he hated the opposition not allowing his team to over run them in midfield.

    By the way I think Eurocrat is very apt.

    Elsewhere, poor Phil Neville is already under fire!

    1. The FA appoint Phil Neville without due diligence, well at least the FA are living up to the nomenclature I alluded to previously. If it wasn’t so shocking it would be almost hilarious especially when you consider how the post became available in the first instance!

      I’m guessing they were all probably too busy wetting themselves at the introduction of another unnecessary and unwanted International Tournament to disrupt clubs domestic seasons. The UEFA Nations League will no doubt be a runaway drip that dribbles along irritating Managers and Fans alike.

  16. A more simplistic reason could be that the vast influx of foreign players created a need for foreign managers.

    The top clubs are almost entirely staffed by foreign players, so exponentially we have seen a rise of foreign managers to handle them.

    Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that Sean Dyche is hovering behind the top clubs with a predominately British squad of players. Maybe we will see Boro under TP feature more British players?

    2. GHW, I’m not 100% sure I follow the link of increased non-British playing staff, therefore increased non-British coaching (management) staff.
      The influx of foreign players was an influx of a whole lucky bag of assorted nationals (Italians, Spanish, French, Germans, Danes, Argentinians, Turks, Nigerians and on and on). Each one a foreigner in this land, but also a foreigner to other foreigners in the same club.
      The chosen foreign manager himself as well as being foreign to native Britons is just as likely to be a foreigner to many (most?) of the non-British players in his squad.

      Isn’t it just simply a case that the managers/coaches deemed to be the best at delivering success (whatever the system) happen to be non-English?

      1. Agree with you, Powmill., though there may be a case for foreign owners bringing foreign coaches.

        I think the influx of foreign players had much more to do with value for money, particularly as British players – especially established English ones – come with a very high price. I don’t know, but doubt, that British coaches are paid higher than foreign ones – certainly not the top ones.

      2. I see what you’re saying but these foreign players were totally different to the British players, particularly the “refuelling habits”

        Foreign managers helped established proper diets and more technical coaching methods, something the foreign players were already accustomed too.

  17. How sad that none of managers who have won the Premier League title is English. None but there were two Scottism managers and only nine managers in total who has lisfted the trophy.

    I suppose Monk won’t be the first one. Up the Boro!

  18. Ferguson, Dalglish, Wenger, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Mancini, Pellegrini, Ranieri, Conte… yep.

    Technically the foreign influx began to explode post-Bosman in the mid-90s, by which time a handful of USA 94 stars joined the PL with varying degrees of success. Chelsea, Toon Town, ourselves and Arsenal were a major part of that breakthrough, with Gullit and Wenger the first non Brit bosses to challenge the PL’s top six.

    Back then it was awesome to see top class foreigners in the PL. Now it’s commonplace.

    1. Simon
      In the late 40s and early 50s it was awesome for me to see top British international players because every First Division team boasted at least one such international player, and I saw many of them at Ayresome Park because it was rare to see any football on television even if one owned a set.

      I actually saw Boro beat a Brazilian team called Bellavista 4-0 as part of the Festival of Britain in 1948, and later a Soviet Union team to whom we lost but can’t remember the name of that team.

      2. Ken
        The pleasure of seeing quite wonderful players on regular basis when going to the match was bought at a very heavy price, and it was paid by the players.
        I remember reading a tale about Wilf Mannion which ran as follows.
        ” his older brother gave him the father and mother of a telling off because he was going along with qthe local plan to get him signed up with the Boro,( orchestrated by the local priest according to legend)
        He told him that he would be tied to these local yokels for ever, on a basic wage with no escape, ever.
        Wilf was being begged to sign professional forms by Arsenal at the time.
        And that is how it turned out.
        They were all prisoners of the system.
        The moment it was challenged in court it was over, but too late for wilf and all the others

  19. OFB,
    Interesting to know how many ex international players still live in the area and how many who have moved on still keep in contact with the club.
    I presume Mark Shwartzer is still in England ( his parents live near me )
    Boro have had a good connection with Aussie players, trivia question, who can name the players who have played for Boro and Australia ?

  21. Michael Beveridge

    Totally agree.

    Instant thoughts are Craig Johnson, Mark Swarzer, Paul Okon, Brad Jones, Scott McDonald, Mark Viduka.

    Then I am struggling, a couple of players keep flitting in to my memory without putting names to them. An example is Killen but he was from New Zealand.

      1. THose were the two I knew but couldn’t remember their names

        Incidentally when I say I used to ref craig Johnson and the juniors way back I also seem to remember another young Australian lad then but her went back

        On the other front Big Jack Charltons lad John went to play in Australia anyone remember that ?

  22. Terrific article, Simon. Probably my favourite of yours yet. Thanks.

    I don’t think that either approach – “Eurocrat” or old school – is better than the other but one is likely to be more appropriate than the other at a given point in time and in a particular set of circumstances.

    As OFB mentioned, Boro desperately needed the structure and discipline that Karanka provided in his first two-and-half years with us.

    I don’t think AK’s overall tactical approach was the cause of his downfall – we saw him beat Man City with it and draw with Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool. His man management on the other hand – personality rather than plan – was a problem.

    I think that is the major difference he had from other Eurocrats. Klopp, Pochettino, Guardiola, 90s Wenger – though they may all be strong, perhaps stubborn, characters, their man management seems geared towards persuading players to play their way rather than trying to force them too and punishing them for often one-off mistakes.

    Of course, the managers I mentioned all have better players and more money to invest.

    Pleasingly, Pulis appears to be a strong-willed persuader himself. So is he old school? Maybe not as much as one might think.

    Having fullbacks that defend first may seem old hat but if you’re regularly conceding goals from areas vacated by attacking fullbacks, perhaps holding them back is just plain good management.

    2. Of course in the old 2-3-5 system full backs and centre halves hardly ever crossed the half way line even to take a free kick. Wing halves might score 3 or 4 goals from open play in their whole career. I do remember George Hardwick though scoring 2 penalties against Newcastle one Christmas.

  23. When the dust settles from the window, it will be interesting to see how we played the market.
    Under AK we seemed to always get a good price for our players, and pick up a couple of bargains our self.

    1. When it settles I hope we end up with a better balanced squad and a few incomings (loans or otherwise) to improve in one or two areas.

      We need to beef up on the left side with cover for George and possibly a Left Winger should a suitable one be available but only if it would be an upgrade on what we have. The Central Striker position is a conundrum where we appear to be overloaded with quantity but not necessarily the required quality for the new Manager’s tactics.

      All that said I don’t think we should act in desperation as I think we have enough to keep things going and then there is the TP effect which has seemingly worked well in improving several players already. Perhaps he can work some magic on Johnson (and a few others) as a Left sided Winger or Full Back.

  24. Si

    Really good piece that raised several very interesting points. Though I’ll have to disagree with you on your point about Robbo being a coach. I think he was a big name used to draw big name players to the club. A brilliant player and inspirational leader on the pitch, absolutely. But not a coach. If he were we wouldn’t have been relegated in 97 even with the 3 points debacle. Only my opinion of course

  27. I agree that Boro are overloaded with strikers but selling them to other clubs won’t be easy. I can’t imagine any club making a reasonable offer for Bamford who is the first forward I’d be looking to shelve. Fletcher might be useful to keep for the future if we send him out on loan this season, but what would be the point in selling either Braithwaite or Assombalonga to promotion rivals at a large loss?

    Boro do seem to get their fingers burned especially when buying foreigners, but if Braithwaite has ambitions to make the Danish World Cup squad, he might be tempted to go to a Premier club in such a beautiful city like Bordeaux on the Gironde, although it’s a nightmare driving in the city. However it’s unlikely that Boro would sanction a loan move, so I’d keep him.

    As things stand Boro must persevere with Assombalonga, but as a twin striking force initially with Braithwaite and Gestede as back up although I support the Clough axiom that football was meant to be plated on grass not in the air. I have always rated Charlie Wyke and believe him to be a better all round striker than Assombalonga, but neither are good enough for the Premier League, so I agree with TP’s stance in not spending any more money this month.

  28. Point taken, FAA. And it’s a good one.

    Reminds me of NikeBoro’s brilliantly written analysis of Robbo’s tenure. Part of it went something like this…

    “We had the players to be safe (in 1996-97) but they lacked direction and leadership. Game after game they were like lost sheep following headless chickens. It was Robbo and Anderson’s inability to coach and organise that cost us.

    “OK, they brought us straight back up – but so they should with those resources and it was never the same. Boro had been found out and the limelight never returned. Unsurprisingly, we were viewed as a little club that tried to buy a place at the top table and failed pathetically.

    “Eventually we were seen as a funny farm. After all, considering the culture of drinking and gambling prevalent then at the club, apparently with the involvement of Robbo and Anderson, who in their right mind buys Merson and Gascoigne? Merson did great things for us as a player but, as for the person, what were they thinking to bring him into that toxic environment? As for Gazza…”

  29. I see what you’re saying but these foreign players were totally different to the British players, particularly the “refuelling habits”

    Foreign managers helped established proper diets and more technical coaching methods, something the foreign players were already accustomed too.

      1. I saw the reply up by the original post GHW.

        You know, I think that probably there is a mix of reasons that the influx of foreign nationals as players and coaches/managers happened. I do understand what you mean though. But there was a hint of ‘we want what they’ve got’ when English clubs were no longer successful in Europe, so chairmen and owners naturally looked to the perceived quality of the coaching/management that was delivering success in Europe. The top men, rather than the only men that could handle the foreign players.
        Whatever, the by product is exactly as you say, with a much improved professional sporting and science ethos in our game today.
        Good man management is still the key ingredient though, whatever the nationality of the manager and whatever the system.

  32. With regards to ins and outs at the Riverside………I agree that if we can come up with a reasonable deal (difficult), which includes a (small) fee for Fabio we should take it as I think he is out of contract at the Season end. However I do not think George is anywhere near his form of two years ago and believe he needs replacing in the summer.

    I cannot see how we can lose Fry, even as back-up. Clayton as I have said, would let go at the right price, but a back-up to Grant and Howson would be needed.

    Up front, well there is no chance of recouping the fees we paid out, plus there will be the high wages (for the Championship) to consider for any potential club, unless it was one that was Foreign owned. I like Bamford so would stick with him as he can play in more than one position. Britt probably will not be successful under TP, unless he changes his style of play which is very unlikely. Balls forward quickly and into the box on the ground, with more than one player in attendance.

    if TP does not compromise and play to the existing forward players strengths, then I do not think we will get into the play off positions

      1. Try telling that to the Rhodesians, or Reachians, or Albertinis circa 2016.

        Mogga had to deal with it too. That was what hurt me at the end of both Mogga and AK’s tenure – one side behind the manager, the other beside players not involved or perceived to be out of favour.

        It got nasty online in Mogga’s time. I think you had Mrs Bailey and Granny Bailey slating the manager on Twitter.

        And for every person who argued that Scott McDonald was failing considering what we paid for him, there were those who asked where we’d be without his goals. I’ve said it before – he may be the highest league goalscorer of the Riverside years but that doesn’t mean he’s good.

  35. Braveheart

    I followed the link to the Echo. the gazette and the club have to sit down and do what they should have done months ago.

    One other bit in the echo intrigued me, Leeds have caved in about their new badge design and are going to consult further.

    1. I saw that about the awful new badge that Leeds are proposing…
      Maybe we should follow their fans example and get 40000 signatures beseeching MFC to drop the awful insipid Liverpool-esque attempt we have had for these last years and revert to the 1986 badge of the reborn club.

  36. Nice piece, Simon, as ever.

    “Eurocrat” is well chosen. Pulis is Boro’s Brexit appointment, after what may now be perceived to be a failed European experiment. Albeit an experiment that delivered unprecedented economic prosperity.

    But will our Brexit be hard or soft ? Based upon a patriotic pride in our finest British qualities? Or upon a bigoted backward- looking nationalism and fear of foreigners and their peculiar ways? A celebration of roast beef, Yorkshire Pudding and proper gravy? Or the reviling of foreign muck like pasta and boeuf bourguignon?

    The fascination of Pulis’s reign resides in precisely this question : Will his regime represent a return to the old-fashioned British virtues of hard work, discipline, simplicity and commitment? Or to an outdated and discredited head-in -the- sand macho culture and the kind of social values that the rest of society has long since consigned to the dustbin of history?

    “Eurocrat” may ultimately be too reductive, flattening out the considerable differences between Spanish, German, Italian and French football and managers into the homogenised figure of the foreigner. Yet Karanka himself was an eclectic European mix; a Spanish coach, playing Italian- style defensive football with a Germanic efficiency in front of a parochial English crowd. That final mis-match being the source of both the manager’s and the crowd’s ultimate mutual incomprehension and disillusionment.

    As with Brexit, however, social class might have had as much to do with the sources of difference as nationality. What Wenger, Houllier, Mourinho, Ranieri et al represented was an unprecedented professionalisation of football management. The onward march of a European liberal elite into the heartlands of British popular culture. The supplanting of British working class ex-pros, many of them scarcely fluent in their own mother tongue, by a cadre of middle-class European multi-linguistic professorial types operating on a worldwide canvas, whose understanding of the game went considerably beyond getting their players to run through nettles and issuing injunctions to “get stuck in”. That movement, paralleled as it has been by the transformation of the game itself from an accessible working class sport to an expensive middle-class entertainment, has in itself been the cause of much populist resentment.

    The main interest of the Boro’s current stage of development, like all good narratives, resides in how it resolves an enigma: How much has Pulis himself developed since, and learned from, his Stoke City days? And to what extent will he be able to synthesise his British bulldog instincts with what he has been able to take from more sophisticated European ways of working?

    The most concrete manifestation of this question at the moment lies in the symbiotic relationship between Traore and his manager. The future of each may be very much bound up with the performances of the other. Much of the optimism around Pulis, and the credit he has so far accumulated, arises from his assumed role in the transformation of Traore from mercurial, inconsistent dribbler to Boro’s best hope for promotion. Is the relationship between the two consigned to be a short-lived European holiday romance ? Or a splendid and transformative example of Anglo-European co-operation?

    4. Much to agree with there, Len. Though I think it’s not only Traore but the apparent improvement in form of several other players who had been playing under par, that has been noticeable in recent weeks. Gibson, Howson, Friend (and how!), Ayala, Shotton (massive change)…..all have improved massively in the weeks since Pulis took over. Downing, to be fair, had been showing decent form for a month or two beforehand,

  38. Almost time for Derry Girls and a Star Trek: Discovery catch up.

    So I’ll sign off here for tonight with a story of contrasts.

    “It is sad how soon supporters forget the good things players have achieved and want them kicked out.”

    That was Cissie Charlton, speaking about Newcastle fans and how they turned on their one time God, Jackie Milburn, and relating it to how her own son Jack got serious abuse from the Gallowgate end just after his one and only season as Toon boss had come to a close.

    There were lots of issues. For one, Big Jack didn’t even want to be Newcastle manager. After-dinner speaking and TV work was keeping the money coming in. He didn’t miss the day-to-day toil of football management.

    But chairman Stan Seymour told him they had nowhere else to turn and needed him.

    This, the 1984-85 season, was a tough time and there wasn’t a lot of money to spend. He agreed to take the job for a year and told the board they’d have to “sort it out and get a new manager” after that.

    He kept them up quite comfortably, yet, as his son John said, “there was nothing in place to replace him and they had no intention of getting anybody else.” So he agreed to stay on, but things were uneasy.

    He’d taken over after fan darling Kevin Keegan had departed. And the fans wanted Big Jack to get right out there and buy another big name, regardless of debt. But Jack did the exact opposite instead, putting the club on a better financial footing by not spending. And when he did have the money to spend, the right players either weren’t on the market or didn’t want to come to Newcastle.

    The tipping point came as the Toon lost a 1985-86 pre-season friendly to Sheffield United. They’d just been beaten to the signing of Eric Gates by relegated Sunderland – because the Mackems had the cash. Cue “SACK JACK” and “CHARLTON OUT”.

    The consequences? Jack turned on the supporters and nearly came to blows before going to the boardroom and telling Stan Seymour he’d had enough. He never returned as manager. He was too raw and angry to change his mind even after the directors tried to intervene.

    Yet when he returned to St. James’s to collect his belongings after a day off, he saw around four hundred people outside… there to persuade him to stay.

    Had he been too impulsive? Chief scout Joe Harvey told him he hadn’t.

    “Once that crowd get after you they’re never going to stop.”

    Any doubts about his decisions were settled. He knew he didn’t make many friends in Newcastle by doing what he did, but he wasn’t bothered. He knew he’d made the right decision.

    This leads to a remarkable contrast, highlighted by the late, legendary journalist Bob Cass, between the Irish (and surely, in my view, the Boro faithful) who viewed Jack as a “prince” versus the Toon Army who saw him as a “pauper”.

    I’ll hand you over to Cass and his words in the second post.

  39. Here’s Bob Cass…

    “Covering an Ireland side which took its cue from its laid-back boss, I applauded that musketeerial sense of being all in it together which I rarely, if ever, came across with England – not that there was ever much to celebrate. The FA’s policy of almost total isolation eschews social contact with the media. It would be really something if such demarcation could be justified by England’s results.

    “The contrast in hospitality and co-operation offered covering Ireland or Wales could not have been more marked. Unburdened by delusions of international grandeur, players, many rated as high if not higher at club level as those who wore the three lions badge, were sociable, easily approached and not averse to enjoying a glass or two after a match.

    “For instance, it was the regular routine for myself and a couple of other journos to join the Irish players as they wound down, particularly after a match in Dublin where we all repaired to a favoured venue in Leeson Street.

    “Either that, or prop up a bar with the boss and his assistant Maurice Setters in the team hotel at Dublin airport. That usually happened when there was an early flight to Newcastle the next morning.

    “Often, when big Jack and I were on the same plane, he would depart the Emerald Isle a feted celebrity and return almost anonymously to his native Tyneside. A local World Cup hero he might have been but Magpie followers never forgot he walked out as manager after only one season in charge.”

    Make what you will of that.

    1. He will always be my favourite manager and the 73/4 team my favourite Boro team

      Even though McClaren won the cup

      Robson changed the outside view of Boro amd developed our training ground

      The man called JC was king of them all

  42. Delving deeper into the Book Of Jack…

    We know that even after 1977, Jack wasn’t finished with Boro.

    In late March 1984 he received a call from a desperate Boro chairman, Mike McCullagh. An old friend of Jack’s.

    We were skint. Headed towards receivership as well as relegation to the third tier. And Malcolm Allison had walked out when the club was in a perilous position.

    We looked doomed, and Jack didn’t need the trouble. But his loyalty to McCullagh was deep. When he discovered that Jack and Pat Charlton had lost a substantial amount moving house between jobs a couple of years earlier, McCullagh had sent a cheque for £20,000 to cover the shortfall.

    Jack repaid his friend but could not turn him down in his hour of need.

    Three wins and three draws from the nine games which Jack managed led Boro to finish seven points clear of the drop. Survival. Yes!

    A grateful McCullagh then started talking of plans and players after Boro drew 0-0 with Huddersfield, on the last day of the season, at Ayresome Park.

    But Jack apologised to his good friend and walked away.

    (Source of info: Colin Young.)

  43. Before Terry Venables took the reins of the Boro team from the weak grasp of Bryan Robson, he had won the Spanish league with Barcelona.
    This English Eurocrat insisted on formation and re-introduced the concept of tactical substitutions to the team.
    This was after years of Robson’s seemingly wilful rejection of teamwork.
    Not keeping Venables was Gibson’s first major mistake as chairman.
    Venables combined astute tactical knowledge with tremendous management skills.
    He could organise a team to be greater than the sum of its misfiring parts and provoke the best out of malcontents such as Boksic.
    Please bear with me, there is a point to all this.
    When El Tel managed England, he took units from clubs as he rightly believed it was a short cut to understanding on the pitch.
    So he didn’t just take Mcmanamen from Liverpool, he took the full back Jones as well, to exploit their well drilled understanding.
    This wasn’t a new concept. The elegant centre half Alan Hansen was a multiple championship winner but only achieved a comparatively small number of caps for Scotland as The then manager preferred to take an existing pair from the Old Firm, Rangers I think, rather than mix and match.
    Which brings us to Pulis.
    Our Eurocratic manager has identified pairings all over the pitch, not least re-teaming Ben and Ayala.
    And Grant and Howson.
    It’s was educational last Saturday to see how well Traore and Gestede liked up. Both recipients of mistrust and criticism, but now a burgeoning bromance.
    For the twenty or so (?) minutes they shared the pitch, we saw them combine to make their keeper go full stretch to save, had the ball cleared off the line and Traore score his first goal for the club.
    The criteria for being a eurocrat seems to be is to favour systems over individuals,
    But it is partnerships which make those systems work.
    See Wenger who realised the value of his English back four. And his Petite/Viera midfield axis. The Arsenal managers current strife comes from not establishing fresh partnerships.
    We could talk about Iniesta and Xavi. Scholes and Keane, Beckham and Neville G.
    Pulis is more of a eurocrat than he’s given credit for.

    1. The benefit of synergies across the pitch is a differentiator and can make ordinary players far greater than the sum of their parts. Without understanding two players can look clunky and at odds with one another which was very apparent under GM when most of the team looked clunky as Monk could never settle on his best eleven. Trying to find his best eleven is ultimately what done for him in the end, the best eleven players as individuals do not necessarily add up to the best team.

      I think back to Nsue and Adomah who seemed to work well, link up well and understand one another then the “upgrade” to Barragan and AA’s departure and the rest is history even allowing for the fact it was at a different level. That same season saw the diminutive dwarf usurp ex Hartlepool goalie Dimi. I never ever thought (and still don’t) that Dimi was a great Keeper (I’ve seen cooling Tower’s go down quicker) despite a record number of Boro clean sheets. Personally my sheets were never the same or even clean watching Valdes, the stains are still visible today!

      The understanding and synergy of the Boro back line combined with Dimi and the instinctive interactions between them all was destroyed by the “upgrades” of a crocked South American, a below average Spanish journeyman RB and a Keeper who had played in a side that totally dominated opponents for 95% of their games for a decade and never being exposed let alone hadn’t played competitively for years.

      Chambers eventually was a success but those first few games were very rickety until he settled and formed the only recognisable synergistic pairing in that defence alongside Ben. What ultimately ensued was little wonder then, what the Manager had built so well the very same Manager dismantled and in doing so destroyed all understanding and synergies in stark contrast to Dyche at Burnley.

      “Instinctive interactions” mean that Players can react without thinking, structure and galvanise themselves with confidence knowing who is where and doing what. Over time it improves, refines and gets even better to the point where it almost becomes telepathic, which crosses the keeper will come for and which to leave to your CB partner behind. The shouts and calls are all immediately trusted, accepted and believed without question. Contrast with the “discussions” between Valdes, Clayts, Ben and others especially early on.

      I accept that our former Championship back line may not have been good enough at the next level but I’d have put money on Dimi, Nsue, Ben, Ayala and Friend being a tighter unit than the inquisition that we witnessed week in, week out. Friend was injured as was Ayala apparently which didn’t help but Nsue was better than someone who struggled to even take a throw in and a Keeper with Cuban heels on his boots who had historically won medals don’t you know in a side brimming with Europe’s best players.

      So my rambling point is that I fully agree with both Chris and Si about certain players working well together whether we call them Pairings, Units or just simply appreciate the “understandings” out on the pitch. Organisation and structure is the basic foundation and we have seen both AK and now Pulis do this to good effect but it is the synergies that build over time that yield the real benefits over individualistic skill. I believe that TP understands this and that AK upon reflection might now have learnt through trial and error.

      1. Chris and RR: Two first-class posts, and multiple interesting insights from Si,

        All of them making the blog such a must-read source.

        Many thanks to Si, and to Dormo, Pedro, Powmill, and Martin for their too kind comments. Much appreciated.

    2. What a great Post Chris and it certainly made me think about partnerships

      These go way back like Keegan and Toshack Boam and Maddren Moggy and Pally then Pally and Bruce and I’m sure Ken can come and provide us with many more

  44. Love it Chris. Very well put.

    It ties in slightly to what I said in my post about Eurocracy not simply being a modern fad.

    I think it was Jared Browne (again) who asked about Spain following Euro 2012: “Are (they) so revolutionary? I seem to remember Liverpool treating the ball like a private possession for the entire 1980’s.”

    A football fan known as “Sivori10” took it further with a cutting comment… that Spain’s tiki-takanaccio was “loved” by “a bunch of football pseuds who don’t know their history”. He went on to underline how the West Germans of the seventies had as good a record, with more scope, dimension and creativity in their play, and that Holland’s “Total Football” may even have been better.

    His point? That “everybody’s a genius when you’re successful” and that the Barcelona and Spain love-in would pass. Blunt, simplistic maybe, but he turned out to be right.

    But I’m getting sidetracked. The linking up of Adama and Gestede, which you alluded to, really shouldn’t be a great surprise. Firstly we had the frankly gorgeous run and pass from Adama for Gestede’s goal vs. Sunderland. Then, as I wrote on Twitter…

    “A nice leap and knockdown from Rudy, great intuition and finish by Adama. Sheer delight.”

    The one response I got was: “We dreamed of this once at Villa.”

    They’d already had time to work towards an understanding.

  46. We know Pulis has played with one up front at Boro so far.

    Interesting I read an interview of Boro’s Finnish Flash yesterday. Mikael Soisalo was interviewed in the leading Finnish sports weekly. Presumably their correspondant in England had visited the Pools vs. Wrexham match and had popped in to Darlington to interview the blond-haired winger.

    Interestingly Soisalo said he likes Pulis as a coach. But also said he must change his playing style now that Pulis is here. He referred to the traditional playing style under Pulis. That Pulis prefers 4-4-2 and hoofing the ball upwards.

    What I have seen Boro on TV and reading in here and the I don’t agree. We have played with just one up front So far. One wonders if the journalist had added something to the interview or Pulis has ideas to change his formation.

    Of course we play more direct now than before. My son and wife have commented that, too when seeing Boro under Pulis. And they both have played football at a higher level than I do. And I have the problem that I always look through very red-tinted glasses!

    Anyway, interesting to see if we will soon see Rudy and Britt together as Bernie mentioned in the Gazette today.

    BTW, Soisalo said that he has the best condition of all the players at the club at the moment. He said the club is happy with his work rate and this is shown in the data. But he has been injured with a fraction in his leg recently – a fatigue problem.

    Let’s see if he can break in to the team soon. At least the guy is giving all he has for the cause. He said his dream is to play for Real Madrid. But first he want to break into the Finnish National team after beeing a regular in the Under 21’s.

    Up the Boro!

  47. PS. Leeds United has signed a Finnish youngter called Alpo Halme this month – a centre back. Our Soisalo told that he asked Halme to join him playing football while they were in a kindergarten. So the two guys have played in the same teams practically all the lives!

    Now as the latter have joined Leeds, they plan to move to a shared house together as the distance is about an hour between Leeds and Boro. They both live alone for the first time in their lives even Soisalo has lived already a year in Darlington. Now he likes to help his best friend a bit.

    Up the Boro!

  48. Just a diversion about the ‘goings on’, or should that be the ‘non-goings on’ at Hartlepool United FC. The Hartlepool Mail yesterday raised seven questions that needed to be asked and answered. Werdermouth suggested a week ago that the troubles at Pools were the result of total mismanagement, and it’s fairly obvious that that has been the case. Apparently the club was debt free prior to the 2015/16 season, yet the finances have escalated so much out of control that a chartered accountant has been unable to identify what bills are unpaid. No wonder then that a benefactor cannot be found to put more money into the club when the previous one is counting the financial cost of his input.

    I myself did consider sending a three figure cash donation to the ‘Save our Pools’ appeal, but any donation would seem pointless – a bandage when amputation is required. Very sad, but it sounds as if the club may not even be able to fulfill its remaining fixtures this season and a repeat of Darlington’s situaton would appear to be on the cards. I feel so sorry for the supporters, but more so for the players and staff of a club where Brian Clough started his great managerial career.

    1. Pools supporters are in a damned if they do and damned if they don’t scenario. Rock and a hard place doesn’t even come close to describing it. Clearly something financially has gone wrong very quickly and has spiralled out of control. At a guess perhaps paying up a growing list of Managers contracts won’t have helped but there has to be much more to it than that surely?

  50. I see TP is talking about starting one or two tomorrow that haven’t featured much under him to have an opportunity to assess them. Brighton on the other hand will either field a weakened side because Premiership survival is of greater importance or conversely they will field a strong side because they need to try and instil some confidence and belief as the trapdoor from whence they came beckons.

    Who knows and being honest I’m more interested in seeing what Pulis does tactically rather than the actual result come 5.00pm. I know its the FA Cup but I’m struggling to be even remotely up for it, I’d much rather be playing Wednesday on Saturday rather than Tuesday.

  51. Braveheart

    Just a quick thank you for raising the issue of the sound quality during the managerial press conferences and the inability to hear the questions posed by the press.

    Just listened to today’s press conference and pleased to say that the sound quality was much improved and MFC have clearly responded to the concerns.

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