Author: Diasboro

The latest in a series of profiles and interviews, Orginal Fat Bob gives his personal view on the life and career of a footballing guest, before sitting down for a chat and asking a few questions. Our Diasboro special guest this week is Alan Foggon.

1. The Overview – the man and his career

Alan was one of my favourite players whom the crowd loved as well, when he played for the Boro in their famous promotion team of 1973/74. Utilised by our manager Jack Charlton as a super-fast forward, founded on his performances as a junior sprint champion, He latched onto through balls played over the top by Bobby Murdoch and Graeme Souness and although opposing teams knew the tactic, it didn’t stop him becoming our leading goal scorer at the end of that famous promotion season.

He was born in West Pelton, County Durham and made his first-team debut for Newcastle United, just days before his 18th birthday in a 0–0 draw at Arsenal. Alan talked to me about his first games in Europe when he made two appearances as a substitute. He is remembered famously by the Magpies for the second leg of the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final in Budapest. His shot on goal was pushed onto the crossbar by the Újpest keeper, then he followed it up to lash the ball into the net and make it 3–2 on the night, 6–2 on aggregate. It was a night that he will never forget, and he still had a smile on his face when he was recounting it, indelibly imprinted in his memory.

Boro signed him at the age of 22 from Cardiff City in 1972, initially on loan, which was another astute signing by Stan Anderson at Boro, but was largely due to the scouting talents and contacts of the late Harold Shepherson. Alan had wanted to return to the North East of England and he made his debut for us on Saturday 25th November when he came on as a substitute in a 2 0 defeat at home to Swindon. He went on to make over 105 league appearances for Boro, 10 as a substitute, scoring over 45 goals, which is a quite impressive goal scoring ratio to games played.

After he left the Boro in 1976, he had brief stints with Rochester Lancers and Hartford Bicentennials in the United States before moving to Manchester United. He only made three league outings at Old Trafford before he switched to Sunderland.

Later moves took him to Southend United, Hartlepool United (loan), Consett. and Whitley Bay. He finished his career as one of only a handful of footballers who have played for all the big three football clubs in the North East.

He is a quiet, almost shy man, but he was quick to point out with a grin, that despite his Geordie roots, his son who was sat next to him, is a smoggy, having been born during Alan’s time on Teesside.

As an aside, he thinks that Tony Pulis is a good appointment for the Boro as he is thorough, and all his teams have been hard to beat, based on a solid defence. He thinks Gestede is a big tough forward and well-seasoned professional.

Alan wishes us well, however he acknowledges that we will have to go through a transitional period before achieving promotion as our current performances are quote “dire!” unquote.

2. The Interview – a quick chat

OFB: What year did you join Boro as a professional footballer?

AF: 1973

OFB: Where did you stay? Did you rent, or did you live in digs?

AF: I lived in Hartburn, Stockton in my own house.

OFB: Who was your favourite Boro player and others that you have played with?

AF: Bobby Murdoch, Graeme Souness and all of the 73/74 promotion team.

OFB: Who were the best and worst trainers in the team?

AF: Me and Me!

OFB: When did the team travel for away games, how did they get there, by bus or by train?

AF: We usually travelled by using the team coach the day before playing a game, but if we played in London we sometimes travelled by train.

OFB: How many players usually travelled and did the Directors travel with you?

AF: Usually there were 13 players and the Directors used to travel with us on the coach.

OFB: Did you have nice hotels or was it just bed and breakfast?

AF: We always stayed in nice hotels and when we played in London stayed at the Waldorf.

OFB: Who did you room with for away matches?

AF: Bobby Murdoch.

OFB: Who was the joker in the team?

AF: David (Spike) Armstrong.

OFB: Can you tell us any amusing anecdotes or pranks that were played?

AF: Absolutely none that you can put into print!

OFB: Whose boots did you clean as an apprentice?

AF: Jim Iley (Ex Newcastle United Captain)

OFB: Did you try and emulate your style of play, on any individual player who played in your position?

AF: No, I always played my own game with my own individual style of play.

OFB: What was your most memorable game, your own individual performance and best experience with the fans?

AF: I have a few memorable games. The Fairs cup games for Newcastle United. The Boro game against Oxford when Bobby Murdoch scored.

The best experience with our fans was when we won at Luton 1 0, during our promotion season in March 1974. Boro clinched the 2nd Division Championship with a goal from David Mills. and we travelled back from London with our fans on the train and I’ll never forget it.

OFB: What was your worst game or experience and why?

AF: Every game that I played in and lost was my worst game and experience.

OFB: Is there a game that you wished you had played in, either for Boro or another team?

AF: I would have loved to have played for Boro and won the League Cup at Cardiff.

OFB: Who was in your opinion the best manager that Boro have ever had and why?

AF: Jack Charlton, his record at Boro speaks for itself.

OFB: Who was in your opinion the manager that had the greatest influence on your career and why?

AF: Stan Anderson, I will always be grateful to, for rescuing me from Cardiff, as it allowed me to go on and become part of Big Jack’s team.

OFB: Which opposing team and which player did you fear playing against?

AF: I hated playing against West Ham and particularly Billy Bonds because he was so big and strong.

OFB: Which opposing team and which player did you like playing against?

AF: (Laughing!) All the teams I played against and scored a goal.

OFB: Who is your favourite Boro player of all time and why?

AF: Bobby Murdoch, because he and Jack Charlton taught us and helped us all to develop as players. We learned so much, which was of great benefit to us and assisted our careers in football.

OFB: Who is your current favourite Boro player and why?

AF: I’m afraid I haven’t seen enough of the Boro team to form an opinion.

OFB: How do you think the match day has changed from the time that you played professional football to the present day?

AF: The game is much quicker these days than when I played football and the players are a lot fitter too.

OFB: If you could be a fly on the wall, is there any dressing room you would wish to eavesdrop on?

AF: Yes, I’d like to listen into the Manchester City dressing room, it could be interesting.

OFB: Do you have any regrets in your career, or missed opportunities?

AF: You only make decisions which are right at the time, but later can prove to have been the wrong one. So you only have yourself to blame.

OFB: Do you still follow the Boro and their results

AF: Yes

OFB: Whereabouts in the Country do you live these days?

AF: Jarrow, Tyne & Wear

OFB: Whom have you made a lifelong friend through football?

AF: Bob Moncur and Jim Smith from Newcastle United.

OFB: Finally, if you hadn’t had a professional career as a footballer, what do you think you would have done as a career?

AF: I’ve no idea I started playing for a club at 13 and signed for Newcastle at 15 years old.

OFB: A huge thank you Alan, for taking the time to talk to Diasboro and our readers.

Middlesbrough		Sunderland
Gestede Braithwaite	10′ 42′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	51% 17  8  7 16	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	49%  7  3  5  7

Toothless Black Cats limp out of Cup

All the talk before the game was about who TP would select and if Chris Coleman even had 11 fit players to select. Many in the Boro fraternity thought that Pulis would give his squad a run out in the Cup with the likes of Dimi getting a game but when the side was announced, far from it. It was as clear as the hail stones which had battered the Riverside just minutes before that Mr Pulis was taking the FA Cup seriously and respecting all its traditions and the fee paying fans.

Britt was dropped to the bench with Paddy out of the squad altogether and seating space made for Clayts and Forshaw with Gestede alone up front. Downing was in a free roaming central role with Traore right once again and Braithwaite on the left. The Makems had brought 4,500 with them which from my personal visual memory was probably the biggest away following at the Riverside since the visit of Everton in the Cup on a Tuesday (or was it a Wednesday?) night a while back. Whilst they attended in numbers they were largely quiet for the most part and as the game commenced it was little wonder that the 4,500 at times sounded more like 450.

As visiting teams go this Sunderland side was one of the poorest and should they inevitably drop to League One I suspect that they may keep dropping such was the paucity of their threat. In truth Sunderland were shocking and the score line is more a reflection on how mundane Boro looked in truth. The early stages saw a bit of Sunderland possession but without really hurting us and once Adama picked up the ball in the middle of the pitch he went on one of his mazy dribbles where nobody including his own team mates have a clue where he is going to end up but by the time he had left half the Sunderland side dizzy he played Gestede through with a well weighted ball and the big striker stroked the ball past ex Boro Goalie Steele. 1-0 up and only ten minutes gone and immediately the Sunderland team and fans looked very flat and disillusioned.

At this stage there was the likelihood and indeed strong expectations that the floodgates would open. Sunderland had little phases of possession but Boro were knocking the ball around confidently and with one or two slick interplays which gave a statement of intent that this Boro side had more goals in them. A Downing corner saw a familiar Steele flap at the cross with Shotton I think trying to get to the ball and somehow hook it to Braithwaite who poked home from six yards out to make it 2-0 just minutes before half time. So far Adama had terrified them, Braithwaite was a lot more effective than of late, Downing as usual was pulling strings but Howson was the one who caught the eye, full of running and energy in both breaking up and setting up attacks.

Both sides came out for the second half unchanged and Sunderland went on the offensive in a desperate effort to get back into the game but the quality in their final balls was less than atrocious. It was so bad it literally felt like pantomime season had been extended. Prior to the first half kick-off as the Teams entered the pitch the Red Faction held up a banner of a small Black Cat being dwarfed and growled at by a huge intimidating Lion, as the game wore on that banner was looking very prophetic indeed. Bereft of their star Striker Lewis Grabban who had enough and threw the towel in to return to his parent club Bournemouth in the week the Black Cats looked toothless and clawless. The young lad Maja was left on his own to fight for scraps which he did manfully to his credit but he was never a match for Gibson and Ayala at this level who probably had their easiest game in years. In many ways it was a sad site to look down upon as despite being local rivals it does the region no good economically in the wider context not to have sides competing at the top end of the Football League structure.

Throughout the second half Boro sat back and at times too deep, inviting pressure on themselves and apart from a Gordon Banks style Randolph save from a point blank header from Browning they never really looked in trouble. The home fans had been looking forward to an action packed second half goal fest but like our previous games of late it was a game of two halves although this time thanks to that Randolph save we kept a clean sheet against a much weakened side. Whilst Boro were underwhelming in comparison to our first half endeavours Sunderland’s efforts were extremely poor and the second half has to rank as pure rank!

It was poor as a spectacle and whilst we did enjoy a series of “ole’s” as we passed the ball around teasing the Makems it wasn’t really entertaining. High balls lumped up to Gestede were not creating anything as he won his share of headers but then what? Perhaps TP’s mantra was simply sit back, keep it tight and hang on to the clean sheet and play them on the break and used the game to instil a mind-set for the longer term good of the club rather than get carried away chasing meaningless goals. If so then it has undoubtedly served as a useful exercise in the grand scheme of things.

Adam Clayton received a rousing cheer as he warmed up on the touchline and eventually came on for Braithwaite in the 65th minute as TP sensed the Black Cats were a solitary goal away from making the game a nervy finish for Boro. With that Substitution, Downing went right and Adama left presumably to be within ear shot of Pulis and Kemp coaching from the side-line. Howson pushed further forward to support Gestede while Grant and Clayts renewed their former roles anchoring the middle. With ten minutes remaining Adama was then subbed for Marvin Johnson, which gave the ex-Oxford wide man come erstwhile left back some game time to impress and he did have a few good touches in his short cameo to his credit.

It was good to see Adama receive a standing ovation for his efforts from the Riverside faithful with his name being chanted as he made way for Johnson and then high fived the entire bench after receiving a Pulis hug. I suspect the lad is very much a confidence player and the experience will have done him good to hear his name deservedly echoing around and ringing in his ears.

In the four minutes of injury time George was clattered on his right knee and looked to be in great discomfort and despite strapping and bloody minded courage the bench took the right decision in putting on Christie to see the dying seconds out. My MOM was almost Traore for sheer excitement and creating the opener brilliantly for Gestede and for forcing a stretching Steele save in the second half but for all round steady involvement and contribution I think Howson just edged it with Downing and Leadbitter also having decent games, the latter of which received a round of applause from the visitors when taking a corner in front of them in a nice show of appreciation to their former player.

This result then chalks up another victory for TP, the first half of which showed lots of promise, the second half was perhaps a little too measured and controlled but we kept a clean sheet and scored two goals so job done. What did concern me though was that the opposition was poor and against a better side on another day that level of performance in the second half will see us punished more often than not so something for Dave Kemp and Tony Pulis to mull over. In the after game interview Pulis did say that the players would be back in for double training sessions this week which I guess answers my concerns that the Manager himself knows it isn’t the finished article yet. That message was further reinforced further by goal scorer Rudy Gestede’s interview saying that the training methodology under Pulis is totally different to Garry Monk’s in terms of emphasising roles, duties and responsibilities. For me I still am more concerned with the Championship and the thought of our Home Sheffield Wednesday game now shuffled out to a mid-week sometime but I can’t deny I will be looking out for ball 19 on Monday nights draw!

Pulis enters the third round of
his assessment of the Boro squad

So once again it’s that time of year when the players pulses quicken and their hearts jump while they eagerly await the teamsheet as the early January excitement of the FA Cup takes on an extra significance. As Tony Pulis takes charge of his third full game, the players will soon discover if they have been selected to prove they deserve one last chance to secure a place in his squad as the transfer window creaks open. The de-romanticised supporters up and down the country have long since put their practical heads on and now see the third round of the FA Cup as little more than a chance to rest players after the exertions of the congested festive fixture programme. Even the followers of middle to lower end Premier League clubs have lost the notion of the early rounds being the beginning of the Wembley dream and their chance to experience glory – in fact ‘cup’ and ‘glory’ have become etymological strangers in the lexicon most football supporters.

However, for many Boro supporters the fact that the game is against local rivals Sunderland automatically elevates the contest beyond a game that they can nonchalantly retrospectively claim in the event of losing that it wasn’t their priority to progress in the Cup. Neither I suspect will supporters of the Black Cats claim they are free to concentrate on the league, as so far as I can see they’ve seemingly failed miserably to concentrate on winning league games in a very long time. If you thought Boro fans were glad to see the back of 2017, then spare a thought (no matter how fleeting) for those who have turned up to witness the gloom at the Stadium of Light in those twelve dark months, which saw the Mackems win just one solitary league game – a 1-0 victory in mid-december against Fulham that only just prevented them having the indignation of a miserable winless calendar year. Indeed, if it hadn’t been for Sunderland, Boro would have had to chalk off half their Premier League victories last season – so it was a little more than the usually schadenfreude in our case.

To add injury to insult, Sunderland are currently struggling to field a team on Saturday with 9-10 players currently sidelined – including Lee Cattermole, Didier Ndong, Darron Gibson with Aiden McGeady and Paddy McNair both claimed to be major doubts. Manager Chris Coleman has indicated his bench will likely consist of mainly academy boys drafted in to make up the numbers – so on the face of it this is a tie Boro should be hopeful of progressing in. Sunderland are planning to bring in a couple of midfielders in January and Adam Clayton has been muted as a target – though news that Aitor Karanka is bookies favourite for the Forest job has fuelled speculation in the press that he may come shopping at Teesside and already quite a few Boro players are being linked – including his former midfield destroyer.

Tony Pulis has indicated that he will use Saturday’s game to have a look at some of those players he’s still undecided on. The danger is whether we’ll see them deliver a first-half Deepdale-type display if it ends up being a cobbled together team lacking balance. The Boro boss must have already learned that he maybe only has a limited squad and without a few key players on the pitch it then becomes scary to watch. Perhaps Christie has already had his card marked defensively but it’s possible he could still be a right-sided attacking option, who we know also has a long throw and a decent cross and shot in his game. I suspect some of our academy players will also looking for a chance to impress and what better place than a local derby. Besides, Sunderland have only managed to score three goals in their last six games so it may not be too dangerous for Pulis to experiment a little.

Middlesbrough		Sunderland
Tony Pulis		Chris Coleman
3rd Round History Sheff Wed (H) Burnley (H) Barnsley (A) Hull (H) Hastings (H) Shrewsbury (H)	SEASON   F-T 2016-17  3:0 W 2015-16  1:2 L 2014-15  2:0 W 2013-14  0:2 L 2012-13  4:1 W 2011-12  1:0 W	3rd Round History Burnley (A) Arsenal (A) Leeds (H) Carlisle (H) Bolton (H) Peterborough (A)	SEASON   F-T 2016-17  0:2 L 2015-16  1:3 L 2014-15  1:0 W 2013-14  3:1 W 2012-13  0:2 L 2011-12  2:0 W
Last 6 Games Preston (A) Aston Villa (H) Bolton (H) Sheff Wed (A) Millwall (A) Ipswich (H)	F-T (H-T) 3:2 (1:2) W 0:1 (0:0) L 2:0 (0:0) W 2:1 (0:1) W 1:2 (0:2) L 2:0 (1:0) W	Last 6 Games Barnsley (H) Nottm Forest (A) Sheff Utd (A) Birmingham (H) Fulham (H) Wolves (A)	F-T (H-T) 0:1 (0:0) L 1:0 (1:0) W 0:3 (0:1) L 1:1 (1:1) D 1:0 (0:0) W 0:0 (0:0) D

Ahead of the FA Cup game against Sunderland, Tony Pulis has been busy putting his coaching team together with news that his 64-year old long-time assistant Dave Kemp has come out of retirement and the garden shed to join him at Boro as his number two – along with his former goalkeeping coach at West Brom in Bobby Gould’s son Jonathan. It’s been quite a good day for Jonathans as Woodgate is also to remain as a first-team coach too. Though the most interesting news to emerge was that Pulis has only signed a 18-month contract – perhaps that may indicate he’s potentially on big bucks as coincidentally that is when Boro’s parachute payments run out. Clearly Pulis is an appointment solely geared towards the Premier League and I fancy a manager who has spent the last ten years managing in the top flight wouldn’t sign up to the prospect of needing to be a selling manager in the Championship come the 2019-20 season – particularly with the prospect of Brexit suddenly limiting his buying options of European former bargains who may soon need to qualify on the international criteria.

For new Boro boss Tony Pulis, the Cup is essentially his first ‘pre-season’ game and a chance to look over some of the players that are probably not foremost in his mind as he gets ready to prepare to trim the overgrowth of his over-sized squad. Those who have yet to feature in the new boss’s selections must be doubting their future at Boro – particularly the likes of Clayton and Forshaw, who were overlooked in favour of the invisible lad from Watford who stunned supporters after he took off his precious rusty ring and magically appeared in the starting XI. Also someone likely to be feeling a little depressed as he hopes to hitchhike his way into the boss’s plans is the so far overlooked Marvin Johnson, who will be even more paranoid if he’s only on the bench.

Guedioura has barely kicked a ball since he was a surprise £3m deadline day arrival at Boro almost a year ago and although he’s previously worked with Pulis it would be an even bigger surprise if suddenly became part of his plans – especially if that significant fee was dependent on him making three appearances. Other players yet to get a glimpse of the pitch under Tony Pulis are loanee Lewis Baker and youngsters Dael Fry and Marcus Tavernier – I suspect he’s under no immediate hurry to test the academy boys but with Ryan Shotton now becoming his first choice right-back, then Fry is the only other available recognised centre-back in the squad and the Boro boss will want to cast his eye over his potential. As for Baker, well when you want to trim the squad a non-playing loanee is as pretty surplus as they come and Connor Roberts has already unsurprisingly returned to Swansea after barely getting a chance to move his career forward – though Baker is a year-long deal so it might be a case of not picking him to make Chelsea cancel the deal for us.

I raised the point previously that shifting players who arrived on inflated fees and contracts is not going to be easy if they decide they don’t want to lose out financially. Whether Boro are prepared to subsidise their moves to other clubs is not known but if individuals are informed that they are not in Tony Pulis’s plans then it must be clear it is for their foreseeable future and beyond. Ashley Fletcher in theory could be offered the chance to go out on loan if as anticipated there is little interest in paying anything approaching £7m for a player who rarely makes the Boro bench – but then again I presume Villa never thought a Premier League team would pay £6m for their bench-warmer Gestede a year ago so you never know.

Perhaps the club will keep an open mind and will listen to offers on most players bar those Pulis is 100% determined to keep hold of. One player with a question mark over him is surprisingly (or not) Britt Assombalonga, who hasn’t got off to the best start under the new manager – he doesn’t appear overly suited to being a Pulis-style target man as he’s not a striker who likes to play with his back to goal nor is he comfortable anticipating knock-downs from a target man either. In theory, he could be the Plan B striker if he’s being fed from Downing on the left and Adama on the right – but you imagine he’ll be waiting on the bench if he doesn’t fit into the shape of things to come from what recent games have shown us. I suspect only a PL club would pay anything like £15m for him and it may well be that his value will only be redeemable while he’s still viewed as a 1 in 2 scorer – albeit with 90% of his goals coming against the bottom six Championship teams. The problem is also once you advertise a player as unwanted his value will likely fall – perhaps the club will play their cards close to their chest in a similar way to the summer selling, which realised pretty good value on players we knew were facing the exit.

Some players have seemingly already impressed Tony Pulis enough to be singled out for special mention, with perhaps Adama Traore being a surprise full 94-minute participant against Preston. The speedy ex-Barcelona graduate divides opinion between those who think he flatters to deceive and other who believe he is potentially a deceptively good player. It’s possible to make an argument about the potential of any player but we can only judge someone on what they have so far shown – undoubtedly Adama is quick, possibly the quickest but as yet his game consists of receiving the ball, mainly in a stationary position, before attempting to use his explosive pace to get past anyone ahead of him – at least he can now look up and make a pass but so far hasn’t shown that he has the ability to collect himself to shoot on target. The other aspect of his game missing is the ability to move into space to make himself available for a pass or anticipate where a ball may be delivered from by a team-mate.

In terms of where to play him, Adama has been more effective playing on the right rather than the left where he can be more easily dispossessed when turning into traffic. Many may think such pace is better utilised in a more central position but unless he discovers aspects to his game that are currently not evident then it’s only hypothetical that Traore has the ability to play a more sophisticated role. Pace is a valuable weapon and if Adama perfects the right-sided role of getting to the by-line and crossing the ball into dangerous areas then that will be more than useful at this point in time – maybe we’ll see his understanding of the wider aspects of the game develop but often when someone has the gift of lightening speed their personal understanding of what happens on the pitch is skewed towards using their main talent. At the very least he makes the opposition think of how to stop him and that sometimes creates space for other Boro players to exploit. Indeed, there is an argument to have him stand close to the halfway line when defending corners with instruction to his team-mates to hoof the ball – plus I suspect he’d be attended by at least two opposition players.

There has also been mention that maybe Bamford is not a Tony Pulis player, though I would like to see Paddy given until at least the end of the season to get a fair crack at playing the supporting striker behind the target man. We know Bamford is an intelligent player and can also score goals, but he needs regular time on the pitch to sharpen his game and it’s hard to imagine other players with his all-round game will be readily available in January.  Given the choice between Braithwaite and Bamford, I’d lean towards the latter as whilst the Dane has looked busy and occasionally explosive, he has quite often looked a little uninterested at times and has drifted out of too many games in the last few months. However, Bamford must have been the happiest man on the bench when his number came up just after half-time instead of the last ten minutes under Monk – though I suspect Preston’s unused sub Kevin O’Connor was probably the happiest man on the bench, as even though he didn’t play, his numbers unbelievably came up on the lottery ticket his uncle bought him for Christmas, which remarkably netted him a cool one million Euros! Just how happy his aunty is pretending to be is not known.

So will the Boro players show Tony Pulis they are just the ticket as they collect more winnings from the Sunderland AFC gift that keeps on giving? Or will our lucky streak come to an end as the Black Cats walk across our path to the next round of the FA Cup? As usual your predictions for score, scorers and team selection – plus which Boro players numbers will be up when the manger sits down with the chairman to decide who’s not worth a gamble?

Preston North End		Middlesbrough
Robinson Hugill	14′ 40′	Ayala Howson Shotton	13′ 65′ 73′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	63% 20 7 7 12	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	37% 7 4 4 9

Dani double in a game of two halves

It’s been almost like a quick-fire round in a quiz this last week or so with comings and goings along with games arriving think and fast. After the disappointment of Saturdays barren spell in front of goal hopes were slightly raised as opposed to being high that the Preston ground staff might at least have to give their posts a fresh lick of paint come 5.00pm. Unbeaten in their last nine matches and sitting 5th in the form table for the last ten games to Boro’s 9th and with home advantage it was understandable to the uninitiated at least that this game had low scoring home win written all over it.

The hope for Boro was that Tony Pulis would provide something entirely different to our previous ten games (indeed previous twelve months) whereas Alex Neil will have been hoping for more of the same please. Despite the difference in recent form the sides actually started the game in 8th and 9th places with only two points separating them. A win for Preston would see that gap stretch to five points and Boro slipping further away from any Play Off hopes. A win for Boro however would see them leap frog the “Invincible” Lilywhites and keep those dreams alive. Boro’s problem has been keeping clean sheets away from home but with Pulis now sorting things out that hopefully will become a diminishing statistic. Preston on the other hand are hardly prolific in front of goal and had conceded one goal or less in 75% of their last twenty home games so the likelihood of a high scoring game was extremely low.

The team news revealed a few changes for Boro after their second half malaise against Villa with Braithwaite totally omitted from the match day squad and Christie coming back in at RB for Shotton (maybe fatigue or possibly punishment for allowing Albert’s cross on Saturday). Guedioura made his first start this season (possibly his first start for Boro ever?) which seemed a bold move as his match fitness and sharpness at this level had to be questionable. With Clayts and Forshaw nowhere near the team Adlene’s inclusion was a very brave shout (or very stupid one depending on viewpoint). The most exciting change however was Traore starting instead of Gestede which would necessitate a slight change in style from hoofing high balls to playing quick balls out of defence for Adama to chase.

The conditions were going to be a test for both sides with the rain persistently pouring down on a dark miserable New Year’s day in Preston. Boro were quick off the mark earning a corner which came to nothing but at least showed intent. Middlesbrough born Hugill then had an opportunity for the “Invincibles” early on but played it straight into Randolph’s arms. Shortly after Adama broke away after being fed in by Friend as Pulis was screaming to George to just “feed him”.

The match generally descended into a scrappy affair with neither side really getting a grip of the game and Maxwell in the Preston goal generally untroubled. Once again Traore broke away but was brought down for a free kick. Stewy launched the ball by lofting it over the Preston defence for Ayala to power home an unstoppable header in the 13th minute. Within seconds Barkuizen ran up the same flank and launched an almost identical ball to unmarked Callum Robinson to make it 1-1 with a question mark at the returning Cyrus Christie’s marking plus the closing down on the left flank of Barkhuizen and failing to cut out the cross in what has now become almost a trademark “back post” conceded goal for Boro.

The game then resorted to how it was before the goal flurry as Preston probed and tested the Boro backline with the best opportunity falling to Hugill after Christie was skinned, the cross fired in saw Hugill test Randolph to tip it around for a corner. Boro were sat back defending but Preston were now growing in confidence and Boro needed to get a grip both of themselves and the game. Robinson came close again from the corner of the 18 yard box with the ball headed for the top corner of our goal but once again Randolph came to the rescue. Up until this point Guedioura had been largely anonymous until Hugill clattered into him on 35 minutes to let him know he was in a game. Boro were now struggling to keep possession and were constantly being pushed back by Preston with nothing coming out of the Boro defence or midfield to feed a very lonely Britt.

Guediora let Harrop know he was still around by clattering into him in a desperate effort to break up Preston’s dominance that at this stage had the lion’s share of possession and indeed far too much for it to be comfortable for Boro’s travelling Army. Nothing was sticking up field for Boro as Preston after their sudden equaliser had the wind behind their sails and knocking at the Boro door. Then the inevitable happened when the pressure finally proved too much and five minutes before half time another ball into the Boro box found the waiting Hugill who simply nodded into Randolph’s goal from 6 yards out, so much for having big lads at the back! Just before the half time whistle Barkhuisen this time had an opportunity to almost make it 3-1 and deservedly so as yet another cross came in undefended to Christie’s side which was then headed back to Barkhuizen central in the 6 yard box whose header fortunately hit the crossbar this time.

TP had his work cut out at half time to sort out his back four who were looking edgy and a midfield who were outfought. His changes and tactics were failing miserably and apart from Stewy’s free kick and a couple of Adama runs Boro were as bad as they were in the second half against Villa. The selection of Guedioura looked an eccentric one that had back fired badly but at least he had the opportunity to take a look at him. Christie’s positional defending was once again very poor and overall the side looked disjointed. The Travelling army booed them off at the half time whistle and based on only 135 minutes of football under TP it wasn’t looking good in fact it was looking appalling. Too much tinkering perhaps, confusion in the back line and midfield with consequently once again Britt finding himself treading a very lonely path.

It takes time for a new Manager to get his message across but what was clear in that first half was that too much had been changed too quickly with Boro looking at sixes and sevens without any idea of how to get themselves back in the game. I’m not sure what the record is but for a Boro Manager to hear boos after less than two games takes some doing. TP had to radically alter something during his half time team talk as it was heartless to watch and there was nobody out on that pitch who was prepared to drive the side on. Christie was poor, Howson and Grant were a shadow of themselves, Friend was struggling, Ben and Ayala looked like strangers and Britt was cut adrift. If it wasn’t for Randolph we could have been three or more goals behind.

Incredibly TP made no changes at half time as the same Red Shirted “disconsolates” came out again to face the “invincibles” who were being handed the opportunity to live up to their preferred nickname. It has to be said that if GM was still in charge of this performance the backlash from the travelling army would have been heard back on Teesside. Despite TP’s half time team talk apart from the midfield pushing further up nothing changed in the opening exchanges as Preston flew into challenges. I’m guessing that warnings were given and ignored as TP made a double sub after only five minutes into the half and brought on Bamford and Gestede for lonely Britt and anonymous Guedioura.

My take on that was that TP realised what Boro fans realised a year ago about Guedioura and has also concluded that Britt simply doesn’t work hard enough in his system despite scoring goals, a luxury that he isn’t enamoured with. An early chance came for Bamford who threw himself at the ball but unfortunately no real power behind his header. Traore ran past Harrop who took him out again and after a quickly taken free kick the ball was passed around the Red shirts and passed around some more and then it all fizzled out as it has so many times this season. Preston regained possession and attacked Christie who succumbed to a free kick that looked like it could have been a penalty but Ref David Coote reckoned that contact was initially outside the box so a yellow card sufficed and Harrop’s resultant free kick flew over the wall calling on Randolph to be alert.

Preston were lively and active, pressing Boro reminding them that they were looking for a third. TP responded once again by removing the yellow carded and susceptible looking Cyrus and putting on Shotton. Moments later Johnson cleaned out Traore but the Ref deemed it just a yellow despite Johnson ignoring the Officials request to come to him for the booking. Traore again started a move that involved Bamford and Downing break down but an ensuing Ayala long ball up field saw a downward Gestede header poorly cleared, falling to Howson who outside the 18 yard box beat two defenders and precision chipped the ball in an arc into the far corner of Maxwell’s net to make it 2-2 and Boro were back.

As bad as Boro were in the first half TP’s changes had a positive effect and Boro’s tails were up once again. Boro’s front and midfield seemed more joined up but now with some pace and energy to the fore with Paddy in contrast to Britt’s seemingly lackadaisical style. As Boro sensed another opportunity Bamford crossed to Gestede whose shot went wide. Preston were now rocking as Boro then won a corner courtesy of Howson which Downing sailed in to the big lads in the box but Preston cleared for a throw in. Shotton launched the throw in towards Gestede but Preston cleared and as Pearson breaking chased the ball into the Boro half George took one for the team and earned a yellow for his troubles.

The game had opened up but Boro now looked much more of a threat with Preston chasing to get back into it and after a short corner Traore crossed towards Gibson who flicked the ball off the top of his head for Ayala arriving at the far post to pile in again with yet another header to make it 3-2. The transformation since the substitutions was unrecognisable from the absolute dross that was served up in the first half. In fairness to TP he gave the chance to redeem but was quick to address those shortcomings when it was clear that they didn’t respond to his talk at half time. The mood in the away end had changed and when Adama launched a “shot” (being kind) that ended up amongst the travelling army the ball was tossed around in an effort to wind down the clock and of course wind up Preston.

Horgan and Gallagher came on for Preston in a double Substitution from Alex Neil to rescue something and tipped the balance back in Preston’s favour as they pushed forward in a frantic last few minutes. With two minutes left Bamford took the ball into the corner flag and held it up in contrast to those who say he hasn’t physical strength or the desire to scrap. Gestede then “inadvertently” kicked the ball away for a yellow after it was adjudged an infringement had taken place. Boro then had to defend but as the end to end tide turned again they broke away with Gestede getting his heels clipped for his troubles. Traore then saved a ball from going out of play but unfortunately it favoured Preston who collected it, broke to attack but fortunately it petered out as the seconds of the four added minutes ticked down slowly. Randolph was next to pick up a yellow for Boro as he was adjudged to be taking too much time as he took an eternity to take a goal kick.

A last minute onslaught from Preston had nerves jangling once again but still David Coote let the game go on to almost five minutes of added time before finally putting the whistle to his lips ending the torment and TP getting his first victory.

MOM was probably more “Man of the second half” because the first 50 minutes were frankly atrocious. So should it be Howson perhaps for his goal and second half endeavour, Traore for constantly causing mayhem, Downing for safe and solid again or Ayala for his two goals, even Randolph for keeping us in it in the first half? I’m not sure but the one from the above that maybe just edged it was Howson who played a major part in driving the second half resurrection and his drag back to beat two defenders to score was a treat to watch.

Well that was a real seesaw of emotions and a real test of the Manager’s credentials who got things disastrously wrong in the first half but corrected the deficit and pulled a win out of the ashes which is a very rare feat in recent Boro management history. Considering Preston had been unbeaten in their last nine games and notorious for tight low scoring games that turnaround was all the more remarkable. Boro are now just a point behind the Blades in 6th spot with the same GD of +9 goals and two points off Leeds in 5th. Villa of course are playing Bristol this evening and so things will likely change but a victory was so important for TP’s credibility and for Boro to keep alive any hopes of a Premiership return.

Pulis looking to de-clutter his squad
ahead of January sales

Boro head to Preston looking to begin 2018 in a manner that will hopefully indicate it’s going to be a year of resolution for Tony Pulis and his team. He’ll no doubt be looking at his midfield to get their first foot in to bring good luck for the remainder of the season and those who don’t shape up may also be getting a rocket or two from the manager in the half-time interval pyrotechnics – particularly after the damp squib of a performance against Villa. Steve Gibson may indulge in the old tradition of throwing coins to celebrate the arrival of January and the transfer window but on reflection he may have decided throwing money, particularly after bad, has not brought him much luck at all recently. However, Pulis may also be reminding his squad that there is also a new year tradition of getting rid of old possessions to symbolise a fresh start.

While many may be nursing a hangover on New Year’s Day, few will have as big a headache as Tony Pulis apparently has after he woke up to the realisation of the mind-throbbing task of making a team in his image from a set of players seemingly no longer fit for purpose. It may be January and the start of the sales but those impulsive purchases from the summer spending spree are still cluttering up the club’s wardrobe and blocking their entrance to the magical kingdom that is ruled by the Premier League Lion, from which they have been frozen out of.

Monday’s opponents are in good solid form at the moment and Alex Neil’s team last tasted defeat ten games ago after a wobble that saw one of the early season pace-setters lose four on the spin. In an uncharacteristic winless run, Preston conceded 15 goals in just six games – they’ve since only conceded four goals in their subsequent unbeaten run of nine games. From what we saw at Villa, Boro may have their work cut out at Deepdale to make a mark on the Lilywhites clean sheets – just one shot on target doesn’t bode well against a defence seldom troubled. Many will be suspecting this game has 0-0 written all over it, then underlined three times, before getting out the yellow highlighter pen. Boro appeared quite pedestrian against Villa and a repeat of that won’t be rousing those still sleeping off the New Year celebrations in the back rows of the stands – though Tony Pulis was critical of the slow play that he saw from his players and is demanding they move the ball quicker. Hopefully, quicker doesn’t mean higher and longer – otherwise I suspect the Preston centre-backs will be looking forward to an easy afternoon’s work.

Preston North End		Middlesbrough
Alex Neil		Tony Pulis
P25 – W10 – D10 – L5 – F28 – A23		P25 – W11 – D5 – L9 – F32 – A24
Position Points Points per game Projected points	8th 40 1.6 74	Position Points Points per game Projected points	9th 38 1.5 70
Last 6 Games Cardiff (A) Barnsley (A) Nottm Forest (H) Sheff Utd (H) Burton (A) QPR (H)	F-T (H-T) 1:0 (0:0) W 0:0 (0:0) D 1:1 (0:0) D 1:0 (0:0) W 2:1 (0:0) W 1:0 (0:0) W	Last 6 Games Aston Villa (H) Bolton (H) Sheff Wed (A) Millwalll (A) Ipswich (H) Bristol City (A)	F-T (H-T) 0:1 (0:0) L 2:0 (0:0) W 2:1 (0:1) W 1:2 (0:2) L 2:0 (1:0) W 1:2 (0:0) L

Having started the season with a plan to recruit an array of attacking riches for the purposes of blowing away the opposition, the chairman sadly discovered the Championship was going to be anything but a breeze for his expensively assembled squad paid for by the parachute windfall. The team created by Monk only managed to huff and puff before eventually hyperventilating, which left the young manager being asked to take a deep breath as he was told to sit down and prepare for some bad news.

As early as August, many Boro observers were wondering where Garry Monk was planning to fit in all these newly arrived forwards and the former manager struggled to accommodate them without resorting to mind-distorting foam-fumed formations. Now that we’ve reached January with the less expansive inclined Tony Pulis in charge it’s become even more of a stretch of the imagination to picture where they will fit in. It was noted against Villa that Boro had a very attacking looking bench, which is hardly surprising given just how many forwards there are in the squad – I suspect Pulis will not be expecting to retain all their services.

The size of the Boro squad was a concern for Boro’s new manager in the post-match press conference on Saturday – Pulis proclaimed “The squad is definitely too big. I don’t like big squads.” Though he wants to find out about all the players before deciding who will move on as he added “Steve [Gibson] spent an absolute fortune in the summer and out of respect to him I really have to be prudent with what I do and don’t. Not make rash decisions.”

I suspect the problem the club will face when trying to move on the unwanted players in the transfer window is that Boro probably paid over the odds in the market and quite a few of the players reportedly said they were made offers that were too good to turn down. It will be hard for many potential buyers to match the contracts these players currently enjoy, something we discovered when an unwanted Downing decided not to take a pay cut to join Harry Redknapp at Birmingham, which in the end has fortuitously turned out to be probably Boro’s best piece of business in the summer.

It’s been often argued by managers that they want two players for each position so that they are adequately covered. However, this is perhaps problematic when you have players who arrived or were currently in place that were used to being considered in the starting XI. It is especially difficult to keep a contented squad if the manager has settled on his core group of players and there are few opportunities for those left out in the cold Teesside air. This may be fine for big clubs who are involved in European competitions to keep their squads relatively happy and motivated – but surely a squad at Championship level should make use of versatile players who play different positions and instead offer their promising academy players a place in the matchday squad when senior players are unavailable.

It’s looking increasingly that if Boro are to entertain (and I use that word loosely) the prospect of a promotion bid under Pulis then we may be looking at more than a few tweaks in terms of the squad make up. We saw in the new manager’s first starting XI that he likes defenders who defend and players who have a physical presence – this appears to have cast doubt on the futures of quite a few who became regulars under Garry Monk. Gone were Christie and Fabio as their defending was not up to the standards expected by a Pulis team, whilst that may have created a more solid back line it suddenly removed much of the wide service to our front men too – albeit erratic. The question for many is whether George Friend can regain his form, otherwise Pulis could be looking at quite a few full-backs this January – Connor Roberts is surely going to be heading back to Swansea in search of other avenues to develop and Christie and Fabio must be already doubting their futures under the new boss.

Other players though will be anticipating becoming centre-stage under Pulis – Rudy Gestede didn’t need to stand on tip-toes when they lined up for inspection and was soon having a target stapled to his shirt in training – though the key will be if his team-mates are good at guessing in what direction the ball will bounce off his head. Assombalonga is not the type of player who looks to play off a target man and run the channels and link up with the players around him – we have seen he is a player who needs feeding in the box and he probably wouldn’t also be ideally suited to being a Pulis style target man either. In theory, Bamford would be a better player to play off a target man as he reads the game well and tries to anticipate what will happen and is much more mobile for that role. Whether Paddy will be deemed physical enough for his manager may depend on him showing the right attitude and returning to the gym to bulk up even more.

While some players will be wondering how to impress the manager, perhaps Adama pulled off a master-stroke late in the Villa game by sprinting back to his own half at a blurring speed past his manager in the dugout to put in a last ditch tackle as Villa broke away. Whether Pulis will succeed where all those before him have failed in trying to integrate that breathtaking ability to cover the blades of grass is something few will be tempted to place a wager on – there was a moment in the Villa game when one of his team-mates was about to release a ball down the line for him to run on to, but pulled out of the pass as he discovered Traore was standing motionless in the centre of the pitch waiting to be given the ball. It’s been said before but if Adama had a footballing brain he’d be playing in the Champions League and not on the bench in the Championship.

Well the good news for Boro followers is that 2017 has ended, we started last year in 16th spot in the Premier League as we travelled to Leicester to face the title-holders just one place below them. Just a few weeks earlier in mid-December, Aitor Karaka’s team were feeling confident as they despatched Swansea 3-0 to climb within just three points of Southampton in 9th. Supporters were anticipating the squad being strengthened in the January window and comfortably retaining our top-tier status. Sadly the wheels came off, key player Gaston sulked in trying to force a move to the Foxes and none of Karanka’s targets were interested in joining him as the club ended up with a limited out of favour Championship front man in Gestede, a struggling Bamford who hadn’t hardly played for a year and the underwhelming euphemistic ‘Lad from Watford’ Guedioura.

It was not the end of our Premiership dream but the beginning of the end as Boro had to wait 17 games before their next victory at home to fellow strugglers Sunderland – it was all too late and by then the manager had imploded and left along with many of the players in their heads as a divided camp seemingly kept their fighting spirit for the dressing room and not the pitch. Boro limped out of the Premier League with out so much as a whimper as temporary head coach Agnew proved to be just that.

The summer saw Steve Gibson attempt to lift the spirits of supporters with claims of wanting to build a team capable of smashing the league. He appointed Garry Monk with the mission of producing an expansive team that would fire its way back to the Premier League and gave him his blank chequebook to finance the project. Sadly his new young manager never really convinced that he knew how to keep that promise on behalf of the chairman and after a half a season of ‘false dawns’ and ‘shooting ourselves in the foot’, Boro were left limping in the dark and Garry Monk became Gibson’s third managerial casualty of 2017. He was replaced on Boxing Day by an older wiser more pragmatic man in the form of Tony Pulis – whether he will be able to galvanise the club to put in a promotion challenge is too early to say but it appears the chairman has nailed his colours back to the mast of pragmatism and a more steady sturdy vessel to realise his dreams.

It certainly gave everyone at Diasboro plenty to write and comment about after coming into existence on 3 January 2017 and we have bore witness to the whole difficult year unfold – it’s seldom been pretty and for many it has been a year of frustration and lost opportunity. We hope 2018 will prove to be a different ball game – but as long as it’s football (of whatever description) we’ll be here to keep an eye on proceedings. So here’s to wishing everyone in the Diasboro community all the best for 2018 or Guten Rutsch as we say over here (it means have a smooth start to the year and not have a ‘good slide’ as it is sometimes literally translated) – Anyway, let’s see what it brings for Boro – hopefully not a slide!

So will Boro start the year as they mean to go on and get back to winning ways as they turn over a new leaf? Or will Boro still be suffering a headache from the previous 12 months with the self-inflicted pain of repeatedly running into a brick wall? As ususal you predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus what are your predictions for Boro in 2018?

Middlesbrough		Aston Villa
		Snodgrass	75′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	45% 13  1  5 16	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	55% 11  5  9 12

Prodigal Son punishes Pulis

Well this one was our new manager’s first game in charge in the Championship for nigh on ten years as he came face to face with Steve Bruce who has never beaten Pulis on home soil. All sorts of rumours about who would be playing went from the bizarre to the ridiculous, some thought that Pulis would rip it up and start again with a complete new look Boro whilst some more rationally thought that he would just gently tweak one or two positions and gradually mould the team in his image over a few games.

Adlene Guedioura’s name surprisingly kept cropping up on various forums which would be one heck of a shock given his lack of game time and questionable fitness levels. As Pulis seemingly picks players for the Team rather than individual skills and abilities stranger things have happened I suppose and I suspect may happen over the coming weeks.

The most likely change that most of us figured would be George Friend back in for Fabio purely because of height which is a characteristic of TP’s teams especially defensively. Albert Adomah’s injury in Villa’s last outing at Brentford meant that his dead leg may have kept him out of his return to the Riverside as Villa desperately needed to get a result as they hadn’t won in their previous five games and their fans were becoming restless with Bruce under pressure.

The eagerly awaited line ups at a damp and bitterly cold Riverside announced that Friend indeed was starting and that Fabio was nowhere to be seen but more surprisingly that Christie had also been dropped for Shotton with Ayala coming back in to partner Ben centrally. Incredibly Guedioura was on the bench despite not starting a game in almost 11 months. Albert of course wasn’t going to miss this one as he took his place on Villa’s left flank with his dead leg seemingly repaired.

The game started as a tense cagy affair with Villa sitting deep and Boro having most of the ball. Villa relied on Hutton and Albert in the early stages to get at Boro’s new RB Shotton supported by Downing and in fairness they both coped pretty well with the “Returnee”. Snodgrass on the other flank took some time to get going against George who responded well at least when Snoddy was actually on his feet as he seemed to spend more time rolling around on the immaculate Riverside turf like a Jack Russell with an itch. Hogan who was leading the Villa attack was anonymous throughout.

Boro’s back four seemed to be well drilled and looking more Karanka like in terms of discipline except without the sideways passing as balls were lumped forwards up field to find the head of Gestede which unfortunately they rarely did or when they did it was anyone’s guess which direction they would fly off in. Britt paired up front with him was (I’m guessing) supposed to collect the knock downs won by Gestede but not many as mentioned were won and running about chasing lost causes doesn’t really suit Britt’s game. Braithwaite was bright and lively and started a few forays and tried to cause Villa problems as did Stewy on the other side but that was about it as far as attacking effectiveness went. As well drilled as our new look defence seemed to be our attacking pair were tactically decapitated from the rest of the shirts in Red.

Neither side were great but Boro did have most of the possession in the first half and looked the more likely to well maybe not score but perhaps do something and therein lay the afternoon’s problem. Apart from Shotton’s poor man’s Rory Delap impersonations we gave Jaffa Orange’s a bad name in fact Eunuchs show more spherical intent than our “striking” pair despite a series of long balls, high balls, diagonal balls and even Shotton’s long throws. It was very poor fayre as games go and when the half time whistle went there was polite applause around the Stadium more out of courtesy to our new Manager than for what had been on display. There were some positive signs of more bite, grit and determination at the back and from the midfield and even Stewy was getting stuck in but on a few occasions we were almost the Architects of our own downfall as both Ayala and Ben were guilty of handing possession straight back to the black shirted villains and on one occasion Ben gifted Albert who fortunately took pity on his former team mate and spared his blushes.

The second half started around 60 minutes, I say 60 minutes as the opening 15 minutes were non-existent, like a sort of parallel universe out on the pitch or an episode of the Open University from 1972 in glorious black and white complete with kipper tie and dodgy side burns. Both sets of fans sat in quiet contemplation for that quarter of an hour, presumably thinking of their New Year resolutions. I have no idea what Boro’s half time team talk consisted of but it sure must have been comatosing stuff. It was disconcerting, nothing seemed to be functioning any more, the defence looked ill at ease at times as Villa now started to creep into it realising that they could leave their back door open with all their Bank cards and passwords on the Kitchen table and Boro would still probably try to pick the front door lock with a knitting needle.

Pulis obviously realised that it wasn’t working but bizarrely he took off Braithwaite who at least looked like he may create something and left on the anonymous Britt and Rudy who looked like they were total strangers. Adama came on for the Dane which lifted bums off seats with a few trademark runs that of course came to nothing not least of all because to keep up with him required movement and that’s something that our Strikers hadn’t been particularly good at on the day. As the game was winding down and we were pushing for something we came unstuck up top and Traore chased back 50 yards in a sprint that would leave Olympians in shame to prevent Villa’s debutant sub Hepburn-Murphy from scoring.

Further tweaks had been made when Bamford came on for Gestede who up until that point had succeeded only in making a great impersonation of a pogo stick albeit one with a bent spring and then the uninspiring Britt was removed for Fletcher. When Fletcher came on he performed a similar role as Gestede except with greater mobility and energy. Bamford ran more miles in his twenty minutes than either Britt or Gestede had attempted collectively all afternoon. It has to be said without the more cavalier wing backs our Strikers did suffer from a lack of quality service.

We did I think have two shots in the game, just before half time Gestede had blazed an attempt well wide and over and in the second half Howson blasted it over the crossbar from the edge of the 18 yard box into the North Stand. The deciding factor between two poor sides was ironically down to Albert who managed to get round Shotton and deliver a cross to the far post and as has been our modus operandi all season there were no defenders with Villa piling in and Snodgrass momentarily upright to head home relatively unopposed apart from a despairing George.

And so it was, Villa ended their five game streak without a win, Bruce finally won in the League at the Riverside and beating Pulis on his home turf in doing so. Boro? Well on that basis TP has a heck of a lot of work to do at Rockliffe before New Years day. If he wants a high tempo hard working side with everyone grafting and pulling together then he needs to have more up his sleeve at the sharp end than what was witnessed today. Its early days and new tactics will take time to bed in but effort and willingness is the minimum expected. Graft as TP himself alluded to during his introductory Q&A is a Teesside byword for Steel, it’s no use having graft at the back, steel in the middle and a dogs breakfast up front. I’m sure in time it will all come together but that day definitely wasn’t today.

I was questioning whether to award a MOM and honestly can’t, there were not many stand out displays. Stewy again was probably the pick of the bunch and got stuck in to his credit with Howson once again putting in an improving effort. For me Bamford when he came on emphasised what the Teesside public expect, running, chasing, closing down, busting a gut and a desire to win. Reputations and past glories I am led to believe count for nothing with TP so for that reason it will be interesting to see who gets the nod up front at Preston and more importantly how they are integrated into the rest of the team. My head welcomed the changes but my heart felt that it was perhaps too many much too soon.

Pulis not promising any miracles
as supporters hail their new messiah

Boro’s stumbling journey back to the promised land appears to have been given a boost with the arrival of the sure-footed experienced Tony Pulis at the club – though he has made it clear he is not the new messiah by declaring that supporters shouldn’t expect miracles as he “can’t turn water into wine”. I’m not sure where the new Boro boss normally buys his water but it may need pointing out that our sparkling squad cost us around £50m in the summer, even though it quickly went a little flat under Garry Monk’s after he became unscrewed trying to get a grip at the top. Unfortunately for the connoisseur, there have been few performances that could be described as vintage this season and many supporters have been unable to bottled up their frustrations at what has been chillingly served so far. The Riverside crowd will be looking to Boro’s new manager to at least make their glasses appear half-full rather than half-empty and ensure the team’s performances are full-bodied with no bad after-taste that sticks in the throat.

The appointment of Tony Pulis just a few days after Garry Monk was dismissed by Steve Gibson caught supporters a little by surprise. Normally, Boro followers have several weeks to trawl through the prospective candidates and either dismiss them as unworthy or hail them as an inspired choice – unfortunately many were still stroking their chins and contemplating if a nearly 60-year old man should still be wearing a baseball cap. Though for many pragmatic fans, the cap is not a deal-breaker and some off-duty fashion police casually wandering around Teesside this week suggest a non-custodial sentence of perhaps around six weeks community service would normally be an acceptable punishment for such a faux pas – especially given Middlesbrough has never been a fashionable club.

Though one of the main issues of doubt expressed was if his style of football would be entertaining enough for the Riverside masses. Admittedly they have been spoiled recently by Garry Monk’s one-touch tiki tacky sticky patchy football – albeit quite often one touch before losing possession on the edge of our own box. Then there were the expansive years under Karanka that had many on the edge of their seats unable to move with anticipation before willing themselves to fall off and bang their heads to numb the pain of boredom. It appears the time has arrived to once more re-educate the Teesside public in the aesthetics of football tactics and forget that the next Pep Guardiola who can work on the fraction of the budget has still not been unearthed by the Rockliffe Google operators. Happily for Boro, the aforementioned Google operators thankfully didn’t confuse Anthony Pulis, to give him his proper name, with the football manager Anthony Pulis, who is currently the head coach of US club Saint Louis and the son of Tony Pulis – hopefully that cleared up any confusion.

Departing manager Garry Monk seemed also genuinely surprised to be unexpectedly shown the exit last Saturday following victory over Wednesday – he claimed it was Boro’s best performance and a corner turning moment for his team that had so far appeared to be going around in ever-decreasing circles for many observers. To make matters worse, not only was the victory insufficient to keep his own job, it resulted in Owls boss Carlos Carvalhal losing his and then rather ironically him being subsequently installed as Swansea manager ahead of the ex-Boro boss, who was strongly tipped to take over at his former club – maybe he’ll now get the gig at Hillsborough instead?

Meanwhile all the hype and hyperbole that surrounds the appointment of a new manager shouldn’t distract from the business of gaining points on the pitch. Aston Villa arrive at the Riverside after suffering a dip in form recently, which has seen them drop out of the play-off places and below Boro on goal difference. There will be plenty of familiar faces in the dugouts on Saturday with Steve Agnew fronting up alongside Steve Bruce and news that Jonathan Woodgate has joined the coaching team of Tony Pullis. Also returning to the Riverside will be crowd favourite Albert Adomah who’s been in good form this season but many will hope he keeps his best moves for the pre-match warm-up. I’m sure there will be plenty of handshakes before and after the game but Boro will be hoping that Villa continue their bad form and the new era begins with three points.

Middlesbrough		Aston Villa
Tony Pulis		Steve Bruce
P24 – W11 – D5 – L8 – F32 – A23		P24 – W10 – D8 – L6 – F32 – A24
Position Points Points per game Projected points	7th 38 1.6 73	Position Points Points per game Projected points	8th 38 1.6 73
Last 6 Games Bolton (H) Sheff Wed (A) Millwall (A) Ipswich (H) Bristol City (A) Derby (H)	F-T (H-T) 2:0 (0:0) W 2:1 (0:1) W 1:2 (0:2) L 2:0 (1:0) W 1:2 (0:0) L 0:3 (0:1) L	Last 6 Games Brentford (A) Sheff Utd (H) Derby (A) Millwall (H) Leeds (A) Ipswich (H)	F-T (H-T) 1:2 (1:1) L 2:2 (2:2) D 0:2 (0:1) A 0:0 (0:0) D 1:1 (0:1) D 2:0 (1:0) W

Tony Pulis has described himself as a ‘football man’, which has probably not come as an unexpected admission, even by the less observant supporters on Teesside. I’m still not sure if it’s just stating the blindingly obvious or has some deeper philosophical meaning that separates him from many of his counterparts. OK, I suppose if he’d come out and said he was a ‘gardening man’ many would presume we could be looking at another Steve Agnew or someone lacking confidence in his ability to succeed in the job. I suspect at this level, the manager’s job is seldom advertised with ‘must be interested in football’ as it’s normally a given – hopefully we’ll get a bit more meat on that particular bone in the coming press conferences, along with answers to that other chestnut of what ‘old school’ actually means in practice.

Though it seems we’ll first have to get any particular bone that needs picking over well away from our growling chairman, since Tony Pulis apparently finally chose to join Boro after Steve Gibson was thus described as ‘like a dog with a bone’. Though what particular breed was not alluded to, perhaps a nice loyal labrador that’s getting a bit grumpy and impatient in its old age after many years guiding the blind faithful through the crowded thoroughfares of English football and gently past the pitfalls of ambition. Perhaps Pulis finally relented after Gibson’s last email “Hi Tony, just been messing around in Photoshop and thought you might be interested to see how you’d look in a Boro red baseball cap – btw I’ve also took the liberty of ordered some extra letter T’s and P’s for your training kit just in case – p.s. Just about to make that call I mentioned to Garry”.

Tony Pulis has already been busy trying to connect with the Teesside public and has emphasised his shared working class roots as the son of steel worker from Newport. As luck would have it Newport also has a Transporter bridge to add to the symbolism, although to increase the confusion Middlesbrough has a Newport bridge that doesn’t appear to be based on any particular one from Newport – he’d be wise to do his homework on his industrial architectural cross-references in order to avoid going a bridge too far. However, I’m still awaiting the ‘Ed Milliband’ style photo of Tony tackling an iconic 2,500 calorie parmo in front of the media pack just to prove he’s ‘one of us’ but he may keep that in reserve for any badly digested results in the near future.

Steve Gibson may have perhaps found a manager he can personally relate to and share the experience once again of taking Middlesbrough forward. Gibson celebrates his 60th birthday in two weeks time, which is just seven days before Pulis celebrates his – perhaps on the face of it nothing more than a coincidence but it will be a shared milestone between two men looking forward to the next journey with the feeling of wanting to enjoy a new challenge while they still have a feeling of unfinished business and the drive to take it on. You get the impression that there is already good chemistry between the two men and maybe after the last difficult 12 months endured by the Boro chairman it will be something of a re-energising experience to have someone by his side who knows what it takes to get a team working for each other.

Some of the issues around the appointment of Boro’s new manager, which have become problematic in fully accepting him as an appropriate appointment, are those that surround events relating to his previous exits from former clubs. These may at least encourage Steve Gibson to be clear with Tony Pulis regarding any bonus incentives offered to him. Coming between Pulis and his bonus is a bit like getting between a Hippo and water as he doesn’t take kindly to not getting what he thinks is due to him. In his earlier managerial career he had a major falling out with Gillingham chairman Paul Scally and the resulting court case over the settlement was reported in the Guardian – Scally had testified that there was an alleged blackmail plot by Pulis to obtain his outstanding bonuses after documents came into his possession that claimed financial irregularities on the chairman’s part. The case was eventually settled out of court with Pulis receiving £75,000 instead of the £200,000 he had sought and it resulted in an acrimonious feud between the two men.

In 2016, Pulis famously lost an appeal to a commercial court that saw him having to hand back a £2m bonus plus £1.75m in costs and damages to Crystal Palace. He was accused of “Fraudulent behaviour” by the judge in his representation of the events surrounding the early payment of that £2m bonus, which was awarded for keeping Palace in the Premier League. The problem was that it contained a clause that Pulis must stay at the club until 31 August to qualify for it but he subsequently left two weeks before that deadline.

Without going into all the details, it was claimed Pulis had persuaded the chairman Steve Parish to pay him the £2m early as he urgently needed the money – though he then left the club shortly after it was paid. The main reason for leaving by Pulis was that there was player unrest after a meeting about unpaid bonuses to them – the deciding argument in court seemed to be over whether that meeting had taken place before Pulis received his early bonus or after. Pulis claimed it took place after and made his position as manger difficult. Parish claimed it was before and Pulis only used this incident to justify his exit after promising to stay. It had also been reported in some newspapers that Pulis and Parish didn’t get on and that Palace had accepted their manager’s departure by mutual consent.

Though in terms of the spirit of the £2m bonus it could be argued that Pulis deserved to be paid most of that sum given he finished the season in 11th place and preserved their Premier League status – which probably secured the club around £100m. The purpose of the bonus was not that he stayed at the club until 31 August with the caveat the club also avoided relegation – it was definitely that the reward was based on Pulis keeping Palace up and he achieved that aim and then some. It appears from what I’ve read he may have been unhappy at the club and suspected from the player unrest that promised bonuses were not forthcoming. Perhaps he tried to ensure he got his first before leaving – as it turns out it proved to be a costly error of judgement on his part and a severe public blow to his reputation.

As for this new chapter in his career, Tony Pulis didn’t waste much time in getting his hands dirty as after watching his new charges huff and puff from the director’s box alongside Steve Gibson. As he headed to the dressing room for the half-time team talk he presumably asked the Boro chairman before leaving his seat – “Who’s that little guy playing left-wing?” and “Where’s Friend? Is he injured?” – since his first action in charge appears to have been to bulk up the defence by replacing Fabio with George, who incidentally he’d previously been interested in signing. It’s encouraging that he’s already working out what he wants and is already looking at aspects he would like to change. He strikes me as the kind of manager who knows how to build a team and more importantly get the group to add up to more than the sum of their individual parts. I suspect he doesn’t take nonsense from his players and he’ll gain instant respect in the dressing room – though many ex-players also regard him as very good man-manager, who will also get the best out of each individual.

It will be interesting to see who comes into the starting XI on Saturday and whether we’ll see a change in formation. OK, it might be early days to attempt anything too radical but perhaps we’ll see some differences in approach with set plays – I can’t imagine for a minute Pulis will be happy with the short sideways free kicks that are normally on show. Also I get the impression Tony will be lining up his players to check their physical attributes as his team are never bullied out of games. Rudy Gestede may be about to discover if he’s the new Peter Crouch – his neck may be about to discover whether his head is screwed on tightly!

So will Tony Pulis turn out to be Boro’s new Messiah or is he still being viewed as just a very naught boy by the doubters? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus how many Tony Pulis baseball caps will the the club shop sell before the game?

Middlesbrough		Bolton Wanderers
Braithwaite Assombalonga	49′ 67′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	59% 16  6  2 15	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	41%  9  0  4 22

Boro’s BB guns blow Bolton away

After the drama of Wednesday on Saturday today’s game had potential to take the shape of a banana skin with a temporary Manager in charge. Four challenging games in just over a week was always going to be a challenge but jettisoning our Manager after the first game wasn’t factored into it. On paper Boro should still have gone into this game as favourites but as this season has panned out as we know to our cost it hasn’t always worked in our favour.

The announcement of Tony Pulis was timely in that it steadied the ship albeit he wasn’t in the dugout but watching on from the West Stand upper. An incentive if needed for those playing today to push their claim for inclusion in his plans going forwards. Early morning punditry on Sky Sports indicated that they couldn’t understand why GM was only given 23 games and that Boro probably knee jerked because TP was available. The phrase “a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing” came to mind as the “experts” in the studio clearly had no idea what was happening at the Riverside since August.

Bolton on the other hand will have seen Boro’s managerial hiatus as an opportunity to try and snatch their first away win of the season and build on what can only be described as a spluttering run of form of late which has dragged them to within a point of the Championship safety zone including the recent scalp of Cardiff. Craig Liddle went with the same again from the Wednesday win with Shotton retaining his place in defence. Within a few minutes of the KO he was required to be alert in dealing with balls up to Madine who not unlike Nuhui previously can be a bit of a handful but Ryan was up to the task all afternoon and only put a foot wrong once yet managed to somehow get his right leg extended and hook the ball back quickly redeeming himself.

Bolton looked like the league table suggests, workmanlike but other than ex Boro loanee Ameobi had nothing to really trouble the Boro backline. Another Ex Boro lad Andrew Taylor behind him tried manfully to support the long legged Ameobi but Downing tore him apart on a few occasions in the first half and he went off injured although a few around me felt he was perhaps sulking at being skinned repeatedly by our elder statesman.

Tony Pulis sat beside SG looking down on proceedings will not have been impressed by the profligate waste of chances by our forwards in the first half. Assombalonga was battling but never imposed himself on the game, Bamford was energetic and full of running but no end product and indeed at times very frustrating. The two linked up well in the first half when Britt won the ball on the half way line after a Shotton headed clearance, held off defenders and played a through ball for Paddy to run on to but Alnwick got down and saved what in reality was a tame effort.

The nearest Bolton came to scoring was when Randolph cleverly dragged a back pass from Gibson to his right then scuffed his clearance putting us straight into trouble. Madine did manage to beat Shotton once in the air from a forward lobbed set piece but it sailed well over the bar. The half ended 0-0 but Boro had by far the Lion’s share of the ball but were misfiring at the sharp end. Braithwaite had a chance through on the keeper and in fairness looked more lively and purposeful than his outing on Saturday but his effort was saved or went wide depending on the Officials view.

Tony Pulis had departed his seat in the West Stand a few minutes before the half time whistle and was stood waiting for his new charges as they entered the dressing room. Whether through injury or tactical intent Fabio didn’t appear for the second half and George Friend lined up in his familiar LB role. Interestingly Friend was linked with Pulis previously so perhaps he was questioning why one of the Championships best LB’s was sat on the bench anyway George put in a steady and reliable display with only one of his trademark foraging runs abruptly ended by another of our Ex’s David Wheater on the edge of the Bolton box which was perhaps just as well as George otherwise would have been clean through with only Alnwick to beat and so its likely his blushes were ultimately spared.

Just as torchlight started to sparkle around the ground in the build up to the Leo tribute on 50 minutes Braithwaite went to the right of the Bolton goal after being put through by Howson and his deflected shot off the heels of the Bolton defender saw the ball spin up and curl over Alnwick to put Boro ahead as the celebrations morphed into the original planned Leo tribute which lasted for a credible five minutes declaring support for Leo and his family with a sentimental rendition of “he’s one of our own”. The timing of the goal could hardly have been better timed and after that any remote hope Bolton had to get something out of this afternoon’s game ended with the huge emotional tide now engulfing the Riverside.

The game was finally put beyond reach when Britt burst through on goal after a quiet afternoon, cutting in between two White shirts after Howson back passed to Shotton who then lumped it “Pulis style” up into the Bolton half for Braithwaite to head it on to the path of Britt who despatched with aplomb. 2-0 and for his troubles Britt was then brought off with Gestede already warmed up to take his place much to the goal scorers obvious disappointment.

If Gestede’s introduction was an indication of things to come then I think we can rest easy just now as the big Benin striker had his 50p head on and nothing came of anything played up to him. It almost seemed as if the ball bounced off his head rather than directed with any intent. Despite Bamford trying to play off any knock downs it was a tactic that is best described as a work in progress. The second goal provided comfort for Boro and the remainder of the game was merely confident containment with a few forays for Boro but most were eventually adjudged to be either fouls or misdemeanours of some sort by a very eccentric Referee.

All in all no poor or suspect performances, the introduction of George and later Gestede may give speculation as to how TP may want us to play but I think it is very early days and no doubt he will want to assess what he has at his disposal and how best he wishes to utilise his assets and those he regards as excesses. Grant was full of energy and crunching into challenges and Howson alongside was energetic and had another good game and indeed nearly added another goal in the dying minutes of the second half after a clever Bamford back heel.

MOM for me was Shotton, from zero to not quite hero just yet but he put in a commanding, resolute, solid performance and Ben alongside looked calmer and more comfortable than he has for a long time

Boro enter market for a new manager
as Gibson heads first to Liddle

After Steve Gibson got tired of waiting to see some fine fare on the pitch from Garry Monk he’s headed off to Liddle to deliver the goods this Christmas. There was little hint on what was to follow by the chairman but he’s now looking for a safe way to protect his investment after the Boro manager got more than he bargained for following Saturday’s victory. Within a few hours of Garry Monk’s team swooping to steal victory against the Owls, he no doubt entered the chairman’s office in good festive spirit after the coach journey sing-song back to Teesside of “O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!” still ringing in his ears – before being informed that sadly the Boro faithful would no longer be coming to adore him this Boxing Day or indeed any time there after.

Few had expected this post-match silent night of the long knives, as remarkably his opposite number in the Wednesday dugout, Careless Carvalhal, was also facing Christmas keeping the turkey company at home and arranging the Brussels sprouts on his plate in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It seems bar any remaining feeling of humbug, Steve Gibson had presumably already made his mind up that there was no time like the present to wrap up his struggling manager’s tenure in preparation for his Boro Christmas sack.

It was not a major surprise for Boro followers, the romantic return to the Premier League for the chairman and his new young manager had not been going smoothly and the marriage was not working out as hoped after Monk had received a shorter honeymoon period than expected. No doubt there were some awkward silences in the morning as they didn’t meet eye-to-eye over the Championship table as Gibbo woke up to smell the coffee and Monk began to wonder if he’d soon be toast as the bank statements were brought up again. Social media rumoured that Monk had been flirting with a return to his Welsh Ex and it was also suggested in the press that Steve Gibson had already been making overtures to the more experienced Tony Pulis, who he’d apparently admired from afar for many years. Matters came to a head on Saturday as a seemingly upbeat Monk was preparing to enjoy a night out celebrating what he labelled Boro’s best performance of the season. Instead Steve had already made his mind up to dump Garry in favour of the prospect of pulling a cracker with Tony this Christmas and discussing a long-term future together.

Ending relationships is never easy and local media suggested it was done with a heavy heart by the Boro chairman – though it will be with a considerably lighter wallet given it was his third managerial dismissal of the year, along with their coaching teams. It was getting so crowded on the club’s immaculate lawns that Gibson had already let one of his gardeners move on to pastures new as Steve Agnew had taken his golden trowel to help Steve Bruce at that nice Villa down the road keep his play-off borders in good order.

As expected, the club have kept their supporters fully informed on the MFC website on these managerial developments and it’s a shame we don’t have space for the full statement…

Middlesbrough Football Club have parted company with manager Garry Monk. The club would like to thank Garry for all his hard work and dedication, and wish him all the best for the future. The club’s Academy manager Craig Liddle will take temporary charge of first team affairs during the interim period while a successor is appointed. The club will be making no further comment until an appropriate time.

…Erm, actually that appears to be all of it – anyway it perhaps would have been inappropriate to say too much as apparently it would have spoiled all the fun on social media of speculating on every rumour that materialised over Christmas.

We shouldn’t forget that amongst all the managerial shuffle sideshow there is still a game to be played and hopefully won! It’s unlikely Craig Liddle will attempt anything radical as he’s just keeping the seat warm and in theory the second bottom Trotters shouldn’t have enough to blag the points off Boro – though we shouldn’t forget they beat second-place Cardiff at the weekend, so along with fools and horses, the players will also need to work hard to gain victory. It’s important that the players start the game in the right frame of mind and not get distracted by the off-field activities, Boro are still only three points from the play-offs with half a season to play – they only need to have a slightly better second half to be in the promotion mix.

Middlesbrough		Bolton Wanderers
Craig Liddle		Phil Parkinson
P23 – W10 – D5 – L8 – F30 – A23		P23 – W4 – D7 – L12 – F23 – A41
Position Points Points per game Projected points	9th 35 1.5 70	Position Points Points per game Projected points	23rd 19 0.8 38
Last 6 Games Sheff Wed (A) Millwall (A) Ipswich (H) Bristol City (A) Derby (H) Birmingham (H)	F-T (H-T) 2:1 (0:1) W 1:2 (0:2) L 2:0 (1:0) W 1:2 (0:0) L 0:3 (0:1) L 2:0 (2:0) W	Last 6 Games Cardiff (H) Burton (H) Nottm Forest (A) Barnsley (H) Wolves (A) Reding (H)	F-T (H-T) 2:0 (0:0) W 0:1 (0:1) L 2:3 (1:1) L 3:1 (2:1) W 1:5 (0:2) L 2:2 (2:0) D

Making sense of the timing of Garry Monk’s departure will depend on which rumours you choose to give credence too, if any. If you are of the opinion that Steve Gibson has decided Monk was not going to produce the two points per game average that was needed to be sure of making the play-offs then now was the obvious time to make the call – any later and the new man would be at a disadvantage in assessing the squad before the January transfer window. Furthermore, if it’s true that Steve Gibson had been sounding out Tony Pulis on whether he fancied the Boro project then it’s likely other clubs who are prone to getting twitchy at this time of year would also be showing interested in a man who is in a similar bracket to Big Sam for avoiding the drop. If the rumour that a mature man in a baseball cap has visited Rockliffe over Christmas is also true then it would have been somewhat awkward if Garry had spotted him checking out the size of the cones outside his office. So it may well be that Monk had to be out of the picture once Gibson got the green light from the former Baggies boss.

If there is no new manager lined up then it would be a very odd time indeed to sack Monk as the positive energy gained from the comeback victory over the Owls would be lost – plus Boro would then have their academy manger Craig Liddle taking over and trying to get up to speed for three crucial games in seven days. OK, some may suggest that wouldn’t be less confusing than some of Monk’s recent tactical showings, but the second half performance at Hillsborough would have been a good lift for the squad and probably enough to see off Bolton and then confidence could have been carried through to the next game against Villa – so it seems doubtful a new appointment isn’t imminent.

The other rumour doing the rounds, which I’ve now heard from several sources, is that Monk postponed the Thursday press conference to Friday on family grounds but secretly met up with Swansea officials to discuss their vacant post. On the face of it that sounds both far-fetched that both parties would risk such a meeting and somewhat naïve if it turned out to be true given millions of people walk around with smartphones in their pocket and enjoy nothing more than posting up random photos and messages on social media. We now live in a Big Brother society where everyone is watching everyone and those who aren’t being watched like watching themselves and telling the world what they having for breakfast. Though the big problem with social media rumours is that they all feed off unverifiable sources that so often feed off themselves – fake news is now indistinguishable from real news for many and it now only matters what is believed to be true, before being liked and forwarded, rather than actually knowing what is true.

What seems to be gathering pace is that many in the know believe Tony Pulis will be unveiled as Boro manager in the next 48 hours – it’s quite possible he will be introduced before the Boxing Day kick-off wearing a Boro baseball cap in the centre-circle to shield his eyes from the glare of disbelief of many at the Riverside who were hoping for entertainment as well as results. It seems that entertaining football now only belongs to the super-rich clubs with billionaire backers who can afford to risk winning in style. It’s long since been conceded that winning trophies is the preserve of the big clubs but now even enjoying watching your team play exciting football has also been given up as foolish nonsense. The name of the game now is making up the numbers and accepting that pragmatic dull football is your only option if your want to rub shoulders with the elite for more than just a brief flicker of the limelight that surrounds the circus that is top-level football – the dream is now being able to rub shoulders with rich and famous but first you must accept drab mediocrity is the price of the ticket.

So will Boro show that their promotion goose isn’t yet cooked and give the supporters a festive treat? Or will the players go cold turkey and look like difficult to swallow left-overs from Monk’s reign? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will Tony Pulis be drooling in the stand at the prospect of seeing long balls hoofed up to Rudy Gestede?

Sheffield Wednesday		Middlesbrough
Wallace	30′	Howson Shotton	71′ 83′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	45% 11  5  4 15	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	55% 13  4  4  5

Howson Shot on target
as boo boys seal the points!

After Werder’s brilliant Christmas blog opener this game was always going to be a big ask to try and usurp on entertainment value alone. As it was the build up to this game was perhaps less Dickensian and more the mood of an Edgar Allan Poe tale with two adversaries facing a swinging Pendulum. I doubt “The Bench and the Pendulum” would make a Hammer horror list with today’s generation but both benches would have been hearing that encroaching heavy hiss and swoosh as the air parted above their heads with each sideways pass of the axe. By this stage of an underwhelming season I doubt if either set of fans would be remotely bothered if Charlie Cavalier or Garry Magnolia’s fate would be decreed by the random swing of the axe this afternoon, win, lose or draw. Any festive spirit in evidence was as a consequence of being consumed en-route to the ground for this mid table sack race.

The line-up surprisingly saw Shotton returnwith no sign of Fry and Ayala on the bench. My guess was that Shotton’s experience and physical bulk was brought in to deal with the threat of the giant Nuhui. No Clayton or Traore on the bench seemed to ask more questions from the Boro faithful than provide answers to Garry Monk’s mind.

Boro enjoyed the opening first few minutes before a handful of Wednesday corners seemed to turn the tide. Boro started to work their way back into the game with a series of slick interplay and passes working their way up the pitch with Downing, Bamford and Braithwaite linking up well. Fabio gave away a strange free kick presumably for handball but it looked more like he was shoved. The resultant free kick on the quarter hour mark sailed way over Randolph’s bar. The best opportunity of the game fell to Bamford when Downing set up Christie who came inside beating the offside trap and from 6 yards out Paddy inexplicably headed it straight across the goal when hitting the target was easier.

Downing was scythed down by Pudil as he rounded him but the resultant free kick came in low and wasn’t really a threat. Grant tried a 25 yard shot that was weakly hit and deflected but still required Wildsmith deputising for Westwood to get down to his near post. With the game entering twenty four minutes Boro looked to be the better of the two sides but nothing to show for their efforts and possession. An opportunity lost by Bamford and Assombalonga saw Wednesday break but Hooper was thwarted by Randolph as the home fans started to vent their disappointment.

Just as Boro looked to be getting a foothold the Owls teased us out then broke down their left getting in behind us with four red shirts chasing the cross leaving Wallace completely unmarked and impossible to miss as he blasted it past the stranded Randolph. Poor dysfunctional defending yet again highlighting just how disorganised this Boro side are defensively, totally bereft of confidence. As Boro tried to get themselves back in the game Britt was dragged down by Palmer on the edge of the 18 yard box, despite Britt’s penalty appeals the Ref rightfully deemed it outside. Despite a seasonal pantomime in deciding who was going to take the free kick between Braithwaite, Leadbitter and Downing it was eventually Downing who skied it well over much to the merriment of the Home fans.

A Howson effort moments later also sailed over the bar then a Braithwaite chance fell to Assombalonga who couldn’t get his reward as his shot was blocked to go out for a corner which Downing fired in but Britt couldn’t connect with. Just before half time Braithwaite fed in Bamford then to Howson but the move came to nothing. Despite their goal to the good Wednesday still looked very vulnerable as Boro enjoyed the greater of the possession yet we couldn’t find a way through their backline. A Wednesday break after Howson lost possession saw an attack which Randolph required Gibson’s interference to spare his blushes. Another late Wednesday effort came to nothing just as the half time whistle went as the travelling army let their feelings be known as the sides departed the pitch.

No changes from either Manager at half time as Boro came out first as the game meandered into a slow start. Nuhui went close early on but fortunately the quality of his attempt was up to par for the game as a whole and went well wide. A Fabio cross on fifty four saw Braithwaite collect a knock down from Britt via Bamford but his attempt was straight at the keeper. A Bamford run then saw him brought down providing another free kick opportunity which Braithwaite despatched into the Leppings Lane lower tier as was now becoming the norm for the game and the disgruntled away fans held their collective sore heads in their hands.

False Boro hopes were quickly dented as Britt manged to put the ball in the net only to be ruled offside as he slid in too early on 60 minutes. Marvin Johnson was readied for Braithwaite three minutes later as GM tried to rescue something from the game as ex Boro man Jacob Butterfield came on for the Owls goals scorer Ross Wallace. As the game succumbed to a scrappy series of attack and defend (poorly) a quick Randolph throw out to Christie saw Boro break away and as the ball came into the box Bamford was brought down for a clear Penalty which Grant then took an eternity lining up, eventually hitting it waist high straight down to Wildsmith’s right. Just as Wednesday fans were celebrating their stand in keepers save a Fabio cross was cleared out to Howson who volleyed it straight back at Wildsmith through a crowded box who this time failed to keep the shot out with Paddy and Britt closely shepherding it in. 1-1 and Boro were back in it with twenty minutes to go.

Johnstone went down with cramp after a run into the Boro box and bizarrely Boro generously allowed the ball to go out for treatment. I’m not sure that a club in our predicament can be that generous, just as well they didn’t have me to face when they left the field of play as I think I would be less than sporting when I opined my seasonal thoughts of good will to all men. That one moment I felt summed up what is so very wrong with this side, too nice for their own good. As the game entered the last ten minutes the Owls looked knackered but still Boro struggled to break them down. Balls were fizzing about and being put into the Wednesday box as we looked to have far greater levels of energy but we still weren’t troubling Wildsmith. Joao came on for Pudil as Carvalhal tried to change things as Gestede was also readied by Monk to enter the fray.

Just as Gestede came on for Paddy at a corner Shotton came up for the same set piece and managed to bulldoze his way through the box to get his head first to the ball putting Stewey’s corner kick into the top far corner. In fairness to Shotton he hadn’t been outstanding but ploddingly effective all afternoon as he dealt with Nuhui which is something that a long and growing list of Boro CB’s have all failed to do. Six minutes to go, Boro 2-1 up and now Jordan Rhodes comes on for Wednesday along with that horrible “Typical Boro” feeling.

A few frantic moments ensued as the Owls threw everything they had left in their tired legs at Boro. Tavernier was brought on for Downing to run the clock down and put some more zest into the Reds attack. Just afterwards the 4th Official held up the board with a ridiculous five minutes on it. Hooper and then Rhodes fluffed their lines as Wednesday pushed forward and Boro’s defending was less than clinical again. A Tavernier break saw Gestede and Howson supporting as the ball was ran into the corner flag by scorer Howson after Rudy failed to get off his shot. Seconds later came the relief as the whistle went for the end of the game and the exhausted Boro players huddled and celebrated with each other.

The result was more important perhaps than the manner of it and whilst there were some very good passages of play the game for a Boro fan was frustrating to watch made worse by the fact that Wednesday were so poor themselves. As it happens two of the hitherto Boo boys sealed the Victory and whilst Stewy for me was MOM (yet again) Shotton generally had a steady, strong game and to his credit score the winner, perhaps that was just the tonic he needs to kick-start his Boro career. Three points are three points albeit against another lower placed side but whilst we will happily take them it was far from convincing caused mainly by poor defensive awareness. Avoiding defeat today was the main objective at all costs so on the basis of that it was mission accomplished.

Is the season of goodwill over for Monk?

Saturday’s game sees the halfway point in a season that has failed to deliver anything other than a bleak mid-winter for Boro supporters. It had all promised to be quite different after the summer break, many of us had thought we’d been gifted an early Christmas present by our own Magi of Middlesbrough, Steve Gibson, as he made a pledge to bankroll the assembly of the best team in the Championship. Following the grimmest of bad fairytale endings to our long-awaited Premier League return, our spirits were lifted by the promise of a Boro team on song as Gibbo proclaimed “Tis the season to be jolly” – though we’d got confused in all the hype and it turned out it was indeed just the festive one and not the football season he was talking about.

However, we are still waiting for all the joyful Fa la la la la la la la la’s that were expected to follow in what is now a stuttering spluttering of a season. Not for the first time has the anticipated product delivered on the pitch failed to be as advertised – or did we just neglect to read the small print or spot the asterisk claiming terms and conditions apply. Perhaps in all the excitement of seeing selfie addict Neil Bausor pictured grinning with the latest big money signing, the chairman’s aspirational nonsense talk lead to misplaced over-exuberance on our part. Indeed, to make matters absolutely clear I almost expected to see a Steve Gibson advent calendar launched with ‘I didn’t say we would smash the league’ written behind every door rather than treats.

With each passing week it’s looking less and less likely that there is any kind of painstaking gelling process being engineered behind the scenes. Last week, as the Christmas period approached, Boro put on a naivety play and were made to look less than stable for crucial periods amongst Millwall’s burdensome beasts. Garry Monk struggled to identify one let alone three wise men despite seeing many of his players bearing gifts, which were badly received by the Boro faithful who were left feeling galled and frankly incensed. Sadly the gift of mirth was missing from the comedy of errors on display and few now believe the Boro manager is a rising star to follow to the desired destination.

After losing four of their last six games Garry Monk cannot afford to preside over yet another self-inflicted defeat otherwise he could be having quite a ding-dong with the Boro hierarchy as they contemplate sending him merrily on his way. Boro are at the point where Monk has pared down his squad to those who he trust to pick and there seems few options left to see any radical change in fortunes. As his chosen few continue to make errors it hard to return back to those who he’s already deemed incapable. The only solution put forward seems to be work harder and avoid making mistakes but the worry is that there is an overall absence of leadership on and off the pitch as the shapeless season drifts on.

Our latest opponents are also looking short of what they were expecting to see and Carlos Carvalhal is under pressure to improve matters. Sheffield Wednesday have struggled to win games this season and have become draw specialists as they’ve offered less threat without the injured Forestieri. However, some Boro fans will be expecting inevitable goals from their former players – Jordan Rhodes will no doubt be keen to prove a point as will Adam Reach, who is the kind of left-sided option that Boro appear to be missing. Also among their ranks is former Boro midfielder Jacob Butterfield and it will be interesting to see how he fares in the ensuing battle.

Although Carvalhal has claimed to have done plenty of homework on Boro, the good news is that he has appeared to have copied it from a dodgy site on the internet. His conclusion was quite amusing to read as he declared he does not think there is much difference in the styles adopted by Monk and former boss Karanka. He continued with “They’re a solid team. Most of their players played last year in the Premier League and they were promoted two years ago”. With such pre-match analysis I’m now beginning to understand why the Owls are languishing in the bottom half of the table.

Sheffield Wednesday		Middlesbrough
Carlos Carvalhal		Garry Monk
P22 – W6 – D9 – L7 – F26 – A27		P22 – W9 – D5 – L8 – F28 – A22
Position Points Points per game Projected points	15th 27 1.2 56	Position Points Points per game Projected points	10th 32 1.4 67
Last 6 Games Wolves (H) Norwich (A) Hull (H) Reading (A) Ipswich (A) Bristol City (H)	F-T (H-T) 0:1 (0:1) L 1:3 (1:0) L 2:2 (0:1) D 0:0 (0:0) D 2:2 (0:0) D 0:0 (0:0) D	Last 6 Games Millwalll (A) Ipswich (H) Bristol City (A) Derby (H) Birmingham (H) Leeds (A)	F-T (H-T) 1:2 (0:2) L 2:0 (1:0) W 1:2 (0:0) L 0:3 (0:1) L 2:0 (2:0) W 1:2 (0:1) L

Many supporters initially had great expectations for the season but they have now witnessed the team fall on hard times as we wait for our mutual friend, Steve Gibson, to get his bleak house in order. Before I continue with this analogy, I should warn you that Martin Chuzzlewit is literally not a promising Dutch midfielder on Boro’s radar this January window – nor is David Copperfield the playmaker magician waiting to fill the sulking boots left by Gaston Ramirez. Though as Christmas Eve approaches, there is perhaps a Dickensian tale to tell that may, or may not be about to materialise before the very eyes of the Boro chairman…

This festive story begins with a rather tired but pensive Steve Gibson, suitably attired in his club-shop MFC-monogrammed onesy, climbing into his four-poster bed at Rockliffe Hall. As he contemplates the importance of the Boxing Day visit of the Trotters from Lancashire, he is unaware of the Ebenezer-style ethereal visions about to visit him. The first apparition to appear is the Ghost of Promotions Past, an androgynous figure of indeterminate age in a white robe with a strange blue band across his chest that bear the large and meaningless words of ‘Ramsdens Currency’. The ghost takes a rather astounded Gibbo by the hand and then flies with him over Teesside and first shows him the padlocked gates of Ayresome Park as a warning of the times when money was scarce, before revealing a vision of his younger self celebrating promotion with Bryan Robson not only once but twice. They both enjoyed the thrill of spending money in these earlier times and he let Bryan buy whatever he asked for – though both of them loved to see exciting players and they rarely thought about buying defenders back in those distant care-free days.

However, Gibson also remembered how his friend Bryan couldn’t make his dream come true but he found it too hard to tell him it was time to say goodbye. The spirit then showed Bryan as an official ambassador to Manchester United stood next to Alex Fergusson – his friend had finally found true happiness with his old bigger club. After this vision, Gibson pleads with the spirit to show him no more, to which the spirit replies: “These are the shadows of things that have been. It is what it is, do not blame me!” Gibson wondered why the spirit was talking like Mogga and it made him feel sad as it reminded him of a time when he was much meaner with his money – but as he turned around to speak the spirit was gone.

Next to visit the Boro chairman was the Ghost of Promotion Present, he spoke in broken English and had dark slightly curled hair. He came as a messenger from someone special and wore a scabbard with no sword to represent that he offered no threat – especially to the opposition. The spirit once again transports Gibson around Teesside showing him scenes of both celebration and deprivation. He then shows Gibson a vision of his nephew struggling alongside a poor weak tormented soul, both left exposed by an impoverished emaciated midfield “If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the promotion dream will die”.

The spirit finally reveals to Gibson two weak and confused coaches who he named Ignorance and Want, then warns “Beware them both for they know neither method nor madness but most of all beware Ignorance for on his brow I see that written which is Doom unless the writing be erased”. The spirit said he must now leave for he has just a brief time left and will only remain on the earth until his gardening leave doth ends.

The Ghost of Promotion Present finally disappears at the stroke of midnight, leaving Gibson to face the Ghost of Promotion Yet to Come. As it approaches “like a mist along the Riverside ground”. The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently, approached. In the very air through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery that is so often craved on Teesside. The ghostly figure was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched spectral hand and a long scythe held in the other. Gibson stared at the apparition and was transfixed as he wondered if the hooded cloak and scythe was an obvious metaphor that Monk is soon to embark on gardening leave too.

The eerie figure before him does not speak – not even to the local newspaper – but instead reveals a vision to Gibson of three unknown wealthy Chinese businessmen standing in the Riverside director’s box as the crowd applaud them enthusiastically. The spectre then points to another scene of the same crowd a few weeks earlier shouting “Gibson Out! Monk Out!” This is too much to bear for the crest-fallen chairman and he asks the ghost to show if there were any who felt any emotion over his departure. The ghost can only show him a creditor momentarily rejoicing that he has gone, giving the club more time to pay off their debt. A horrified Gibbo pleads with the ghost for another chance to redeem his reputation and “sponge away the writing on the wall”. As he stares in disbelief he asks “How I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life!”

Gibson suddenly awakes and finds himself back in the present on Christmas morning – the visions he has seen make him want to transform himself into a better chairman. He vows that from now on he will only give money to those who know how to spend it wisely and never again will he wait until it’s too late to make difficult decisions. His mind is made up, Monk is only getting another six months to show he’s up to the job and he’s having no more than £20m in January to spend on decent League One players – from now on I will will be a different man he thought.

So will the expectations on the players prove too great as the Boro chairman finally begins to wonder what the Dickens is going on as the hard times continue? Or will the Boro supporters finally have a hoot as Garry Monk’s men show the Owls they are no pussycats in their determination not to miss the promotion boat? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will Steve Agnew leave his garden unattended while pretending to watch his nephew as he plots Boro’s downfall for his new employers?

The latest in a series of profiles and interviews, Orginal Fat Bob gives his personal view on the life and career of a footballing guest, before sitting down for a chat and asking a few questions. Our Diasboro special guest this week is Andy Campbell.

1. The Overview – the man and his career

I must admit that of all the Middlesbrough players I have met and will meet and talk with, I probably know Andy the best of them all. Watching him grow from a little lad of nine years old, to the mature family man he is today with his lovely wife and two daughters. His brother Neil, was and still is, close friends with my youngest son. They played for local T.J.F.A club member Nunthorpe Athletic together for five years, before Neil signed as a professional footballer with York City. Andy used to come along to the Nunthorpe games to watch, but was already heavily involved over those years with the Boro at junior level.

Whilst working in London, I went to see the Boro play Wimbledon in a cup game one cold and miserable night in the 2001/02 season. At that time Wimbledon were using Selhurst Park as their home base and walking to the ground with my youngest son, we saw our team coach approaching. Andy saw us and gave us a wave through the window of the bus. It somehow made the match and supporting the Boro more personal even though the match itself was dreadful. He is a close friend of both my sons these days and they still play the odd game of football together for fun, or for charity.

Born in Middlesbrough, Andy started his career in 1995 with his hometown team and was signed as a professional by Bryan Robson who gave him his debut at the age of 16 against Sheffield Wednesday. I remember when the Boro were away against Liverpool and he was called on to play as a substitute. Unfortunately, no one had packed a team shirt for Andy and luckily enough a Boro supporter in the crowd gladly handed his over so Andy could play. Some of his career highlights include scoring against Manchester United in the FA Cup in a 2–0 win for us and also playing for England at under 21 level. That flame haired head could be seen storming with pace down the pitch leaving defenders struggling in his wake.

He left the Boro in 2002 when Steve McClaren had taken over as our manager, to join Cardiff city and Lennie Lawrence, initially on loan, before making the move permanently for £1million. His Cardiff career got off to an explosive start, scoring 6 times in his first 4 appearances. He scored once on his debut against Northampton, twice on his third appearance against Blackpool and a hat-trick in his fourth appearance against Oldham. Overall, he had two fairly productive years at the beginning of his spell at Ninian Park, including a fine lob over goalkeeper Chris Day at the Millennium Stadium to give Cardiff a play-off victory over Queens Park Rangers to put them into the Football League Championship. He is still revered by the Cardiff fans who keep in touch with him to this day.

He moved to Halifax Town in 2006 although his season was interrupted by a serious knee injury. He made a good start to the following season by scoring two against Altrincham in the second game of the season and then a hat-trick against Droylsden later in the month.

He departed Halifax after the club folded at the end of the 2007–08 season then later went to Bradford and Whitby. In June 2012 he was appointed as manager for Norton & Stockton Ancients where he was extremely successful using his contacts within the game to sign talented players. In June 2015 he was appointed as manager for West Auckland Town, but he left last year. His career now, is that of a highly regarded and respected teacher. He can also be found at the Riverside Stadium most match days, where he joined this season as a match day host and M.F.C. ambassador.

2. The Interview – a quick chat

OFB: What year did you join Boro as a professional footballer?

AC: I joined the Boro in 1995 although I had been with them as a junior since the age of 10, which seems a long time ago now.

OFB: Where did you stay? Did you rent, or did you live in digs?

AC: I was and still am, a local lad and lived in Marton just outside Middlesbrough, which as everyone knows is where Captain Cook the explorer was born.

OFB: Who was your favourite Boro player that you played with at the time?

AC: It was actually not just one, but two players that were my favourites. The first was Jan Aage Fjortoft and the second was the gaffer [Bryan Robson] whom I grew up watching him on TV and admiring his style of play and leadership on the pitch.

OFB: Who was the best trainer in the team?

AC: Robbie Mustoe.

OFB: How do you think the match day has changed from the time that you played professional football to the present day?

AC: Now, there is comprehensive and additional media focus and football is more of a business today than a sport.

OFB: When did the team travel for away games, how did they get there, by bus or by train?

AC: We generally got the bus, or if it was a long journey then we flew. We travelled on a Friday afternoon once training in the morning was finished.

OFB: How many players usually travelled and did the Directors travel with you?

AC: There were generally 20 or so players and 5 staff, no Directors travelled with us.

OFB: Did you have nice hotels or was it just bed and breakfast?

AC: We always had very nice hotels that we stayed in.

OFB: Who did you room with for away matches?

AC: I used to room with Mark Summerbell.

OFB: Who was the joker in the team?

AC: Oh, it was Gazza!

OFB: Can you tell us any amusing anecdotes or pranks that were played?

AC: There were far too many, Gazza had us in stitches every day!! [None of these incidents and stories can be published – OFB]
OFB: Who was in your opinion the best manager that Boro have ever had?

AC: Bryan Robson.

OFB: Why?

AC: Because he gave me my debut in the first team and my chance in professional football.

OFB: Who is your favourite Boro player of all time?

AC: Bernie Slaven.

OFB: Who is your current favourite Boro player?

AC: Stewy Downing.

OFB: Do you still follow the Boro and their results?

AC: Yes!!!! [Andy insisted on three exclamation marks – OFB] I have started this season acting as one of the hosts for the Boro on matchdays and really enjoying it.

OFB: Do you still live in Middlesbrough?

AC: Yes, I live next door to you and have done for the past thirteen years! [Yes, indeed he does – OFB]

OFB: A huge thank you Andy for taking the time to talk to Diasboro and our readers.

Millwall		Middlesbrough
Wallace Saville	31′ 37′	Downing	67′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	34% 15  8  7 11	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	66% 12  3  2 17

Big bullies batter Boro boys

The pre game intro piece about the dark skies and the dark blue shirts along with highlights of segments of the game felt pretty meaningless at 5.00pm so what follows is now curtailed, blunt short and sweet, mindful that sometimes less is more.

A daunting trip to one of football’s toughest, roughest football environs saw GM stick with the slick passing side that delivered against Ipswich last week. If it was questionable before KO the folly of playing thoroughbreds against agricultural beasts soon began to unravel after the opening quarter of an hour. Route one aggressive brutal football seemed to terrify at least four or five in red shirts. Even our talismanic terrier turned into Santa Claus nine days early by gifting presents complete with ribbons on a few occasions.

Braithwaite was feisty but ineffective; Assombalonga was surplus to our battling needs as he found himself off side when we needed street smart striker savvy. Bamford was pretty well anonymous after the first half. Howson seemed to be chasing and clattering but never in control. Christie like Randolph has lost his mojo after their Danish mauling. Ayala was as ungainly and awkward as has been his want of late, Ben alongside looked powerless to prevent his defence dissolving all around him. Fabio had gusto but lacked end product, overall a very poor showing from Boro.

Three shots on target compared to eight for Millwall tells a damning story. Millwall don’t play football they simply bury you, bombard you, they fight and scrap for everything leaving no mercy. Hoof the ball forward, play for corners and set pieces, close down and fight. It was like Dirty Harry versus the Sound of Music. Incredibly GM didn’t see fit to change things at half time as his pantomime ponies were trampled by the farmyard Clydesdales. Sending players out early does not come across as a management masterstroke with no change to address the obvious shortcomings at half time and in doing so totally wasted the opening moments of the second half as we needed to claw our way back into the game but it’s difficult to claw your way back into a scrappy affair with manicured nails.

When the changes came they were disconnected. Gestede came on yet we done nothing to address the requirement to provide service to him, a limited Footballer but one that can win balls in the air yet those balls never came until late on. Downing one of our better deliverers was covering for the departed Howson. That alone smacked of a confused knee jerk not fully thought out team tactic and simply highlighted the Managers inability to select tactics suitable for the occasion and failed further in being able to address those shortcomings mid game.

GM claimed in his after match interview that he had prepared his side all week for a very direct game yet his side looked more like they had prepared for a weekend of flower arranging. They were bullied and many of them bottled it yet there was nothing changed to address the Lions brash tactics. I do feel some sympathy towards GM for the shambolic defending but this afternoon is yet another tick in the charge list against him. Too many times, too many games and too many instances of shortcomings as that charge sheet builds. Those basic mistakes he referred to are without doubt a genuine complaint and the naivety he laid at his charges door are without doubt fair but who is responsible for organising them. Someone has to show leadership, define and enforce standards with consequences for bottlers. If you coach and train players all week prepared for an onslaught and your side look weak, soft and intimidated then you have clearly failed in your objective.

One player looked reasonable and again that was Downing, incredible that week in week out he keeps delivering consistently decent performances yet the rest of the squad are hit and miss.

Prior to KO I thought that today Monk would have brought in Clayts alongside Grant in view of the anticipated battle. Assombalonga has scored goals but in the last few games he hasn’t offered much else and in a scrap he doesn’t offer much at all, that said there were nine others out there on the pitch that collectively didn’t offer much either.

Results like this happen over a season but again it was the nature of the defeat. Disjointed and disorganised but in this case there was no fight, spirit or bottle, no plan B. Stewys spawny goal gave undeserved hope and highlighted the fact that it was down to incompetence of the opposition keeper rather than brilliant game management and a tactical masterclass from GM.

The better team “on paper” lost yet again but more alarmingly they didn’t look like they had anything in reserve or on the bench to change things. Once again another false dawn under this Manager has come and gone. The manner of his after match interview told me that he is now out of ideas and struggling to see where things are going wrong. GM said he feels like a broken record, maybe it’s time SG realises that if not broken the record is certainly very badly scratched and like as not beyond repair.

Monk sees the moment for momentum

Following the momentous victory over a team in the top half of the table last week, Garry Monk has called on his team to take the opportunity to move forward and build momentum. Although, his chosen metaphor sounded like the team is still lucky to be walking as he expressed his frustrations with “We’ve taken steps forward already this season, and then shot ourselves in the foot and taken a few steps backwards”. Personally, it doesn’t sound like a good idea to take step backwards after shooting yourself in the foot as you could easily fall badly – perhaps that is why Boro have put in some limp performances in this campaign.

In a week when Manchester City set a record of 15 consecutive victories in the Premier League, Boro head to Millwall looking to extend their own winning run – albeit to two. As football writers desperately seek a suitable metaphor for the literal act of entering the Lion’s Den, it only remain to say the visitors will be facing a difficult situation as they walk out in the hostile environment that is Millwall’s ground. I suspect none more so than Ayala who will be hoping he’s on first name terms with the Lions as he instead proves to be a thorn in their side as they come forward to attack – though whether he’ll manage to keep his paws off them in the penalty area is another matter and is indeed not in the script of the more famous book.

So as the Boro players head a little belatedly to London to undertake their Christmas shopping, they will first need to stop off in Millwall to carry out some contractually required obligations that is expected of them by their employers. In this season of goodwill to all men, Boro have have decided it is now time to be a little more mean spirited and stop parking their sleigh in front of their goal and offering gifts to many of those who ask questions of the defence. It’s possible that even Adam Clayton may be contemplating regrowing his impressively long beard in a bid to escape exile in his grotto and get in on the act by being the secret tattooed Santa at the centre of the exchanges by those less gifted.

Although the sleeping Lions lie down in 17th spot, three-quarter of their points have come from home games – with five victories, including wins over Sheffield United, Leeds and Norwich. They’ve actually only conceded one more goal than Boro this season but have scored five fewer – so although they trail Garry Monk’s men by nine points, their performances appear not too far behind on paper. Indeed, Millwall have only conceded two goals in their last four home games at the Den so Boro will need to be on the front foot from the start – as well as avoiding shooting at it!

Millwall		Middlesbrough
Neil Harris		Garry Monk
P21 – W5 – D8 – L8 – F22 – A21		P21 – W9 – D5 – L7 – F27 – A20
Position Points Points per game Projected points	17th 23 1.1 50	Position Points Points per game Projected points	8th 32 1.5 70
Last 6 Games Aston Villa (A) Sheff Utd (H) Fulham (A) Hull (H) Sunderland (A) Burton (H)	F-T (H-T) 0:0 (0:0) D 3:1 (1:1) W 0:1 (0:1) L 0:0 (0:0) D 2:2 (2:1) D 0:1 (0:0) L	Last 6 Games Ipswich (H) Bristol City (A) Derby (H) Birmingham (H) Leeds (A) Sunderland (H)	F-T (H-T) 2:0 (1:0) W 1:2 (0:0) L 0:3 (0:1) L 2:0 (2:0) W 1:2 (0:1) L 1:0 (1:0) W

Following victory over Ipswich last week there was an expectation that it wouldn’t be long before we would start to hear proclamations from some in the Boro camp that the season was back on track. Thankfully we haven’t been disappointed, after keeping a clean sheet at the Riverside Ben Gibson has declared the team have ‘rediscovered their defensive resilience’ and has now set a target of keeping 23 clean sheets this season to spark a promotion challenge, before further announcing (gulp) that Boro can ‘go all the way’ – though he added it may ultimately not be this season. Whilst it’s possible Boro defended better it should be viewed in the context that Mick McCarthy’s men were not the most adventurous visitors we’ve seen and the Tractor Boys never really got out of second gear as they sat back on their own land, rarely threatening the goal of the townies of Teesside.

Though this recent declaration shouldn’t be confused with a similar one made by the manager just over a month ago in the international break when he claimed Boro had “struck the right balance” following three successive victories over Reading, Hull and Sunderland. Garry Monk had admitted in previous games his side “were not paying enough attention to their defensive responsibilities”. Whether everyone then felt that was job done and the problem was sorted and our promotion challenge was back on track was not eluded to, but after the break that defensive problem returned in spades with three defeats in four games after some quite frankly laughable defending produced a whole series of comedy of errors that left few on Teesside smiling. Still it’s reassuring to know that this time the team are convinced that our defensive resilience is back.

Just in case you were wondering why the defensive side of Boro’s game had been neglected, though I’m sure you’ve already guessed, Monk pleaded guilty to something that many had long suspected was happening by saying “we’ve been focusing on the offensive a bit too much”. Yes all those goals and chances had come at a price (other than the £50m of course) – that free-flowing football that had kept many supporters out of their seats from August to October as they cursed Monk’s Keeganesque approach that was being played out in front of them instead of the solid Karanka wooly comfort blanket they deep down craved. The new Boro manager was still trying to find the right balance and many will be puzzled that in his head he’d been seemingly imagining the sideways and backward passing in our own half was all just a bit too gung ho.

It appears that following the crisis defeat at Bristol City, enough was enough – Boro needed to be more solid and if that meant passing the ball forwards then so be it. Tricking the opposition into thinking Boro were not attacking by windscreen-wiper passing was now off the agenda. Boro’s forwards, particularly Braithwaite, had also been told not to try and set up Darren Randolph with goal assists. In a desperate attempt to shore up a team leaking goals, Patrick Bamford has been recalled to run away from the Boro goal and try and kick it towards the opposition – or failing that to another team-mate in front of him. OK, it will probably lead to less goalmouth action – especially in out own half – but something needed to change if Boro were to make a promotion challenge.

Whilst Man City’s timely winning run has been ably assisted by Jesus – that’s the one pronounced Jay-Zuss by football commentators (presumably in case they inadvertently upset viewers who may think they are cursing when they suddenly shout out his name) – many Boro supporter’s prayers have been answered with the return of St Patrick, who last week was instrumental in the more proactive approach and even managed to snake his way through the Ipswich defence to seal victory. For those who have been following the Boro star, he is now part of a promising trio up front where the three wise heads of Downing, Bamford and Braithwaite all have good control of the ball that are capable of linking up intelligently together if they are allowed game-time to develop.

Though this week Garry Monk was dealt a major blow when it emerged that one of his multi-million pound midfielders has been sidelined for the foreseeable future – Yes, never-present former lad from Watford, Guedioura, has Tweeted from Qatar to reveal he has been ruled out with a hamstring tear. Obviously, treatment is probably not available in the rather cold climate of Teesside at this time of year and it’s still not clear if this untimely injury, which has reduced the manager’s options on who to have on the bench for the development squad, will rule him out from the January sales too.

As for which team Monk will opt for, well it’s probably a good bet that we’ll see an unchanged team given that there are no other injury worries. The key to last week was playing with a number ten who appeared to know how to actually play the role and Patrick Bamford was able to both pass the ball, hold it up, run with it and even score – probably not since Gaston Ramirez have we seen someone in a Boro shirt look effective in that position. It was his first start in over ten weeks and Monk has challenged him to remain in the team – though perhaps the challenge should be the other way round as he was previously dropped when playing some of his best football – maybe the challenge is actually for his manager to recognise the difference he brings to the team.

So will Garry Monk get a step closer to equalling his Boro record of winning three games in a row? Or will the Lions hunger be greater than that of his slightly peckish promotion-seeking players? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will a red-nosed Rudy come on to shine and leave Millwall with red faces?

In the latest in a series of profiles and interviews, Orginal Fat Bob gives his personal view on the life and career of a footballing guest before sitting down for chat and asking a few questions. Our Diasboro special guest this week is Ian Bailey…

1. The Overview – the man and his career

Ian Bailey was born in Middlesbrough on the 20 October 1956 (age 61). Another local lad to play for his home town club, he was an accomplished defender. His best position was as a left back from the years 1975 to 1982 making over 144 appearances. He made his debut for us on Saturday, 20th December 1975 in a 1-0 win at home to Tottenham Hotspur. His long flowing blonde locks used to stream behind him in the wind. Whilst talking to him, I pointed at his head (which was most indelicate of me) and asked what had happened to his blonde tresses. He ruefully grinned and passed his hand over his follicle challenged scalp and replied, “they’ve been long gone, years ago!” Fans may remember the cracking goal he scored against Sunderland at Roker Park which I believe was the only goal he ever scored for the Boro.

Reminiscing, he recalled being involved in a serious encounter in an FA Cup game with our own Bruce Rioch, who at that time was playing for Everton. Rioch made a horrendous tackle on Ian which Jim Platt has said was the worst thing he had ever seen in football. Ian was laid on the ground after the tackle, when both sets of trainers and medical staff raced onto the pitch to attend to him. Rioch was immediately surrounded by both Boro and Everton players who were jostling and remonstrating with him over the tackle. Ian was stretchered off the pitch and fortunately had not broken his leg, or suffered any long-term damage. Not so for Rioch, who was promptly told by the Everton Directors and Manager that this was not the standards expected by their club and he was shipped out of the club a short time later.

After having a great career with his home town club, Ian was signed in 1982 by our own Big Jack Charlton, who was by then the Sheffield Wednesday manager. He made over 35 appearances for them and would have made more, but he broke his leg. He left in 1984 to go to Blackpool, then Bolton Wanderers, but talking to me, he felt that he was never the same player again after his injury. After retiring as a professional footballer, Ian went on to become a physio starting at Rotherham. Whilst qualifying to be a physiotherapist, Ian had to undertake some on the job training and worked with Steve Smelt who was the physio for the Boro at that time. Strangely enough for Ian, the manager at Boro was a certain Bruce Rioch. Now this was a man who was always known for not shirking his duty. He made a point of meeting up with Ian at the Boro and personally apologis ing for that awful tackle he had made on Ian years previously. The apology made, Ian being the nice guy he is, graciously accepted. Incident closed, but not forgotten.

I remember Ian making his way into professional football because I was one of the referees who watched his rapid progress from the juniors, to the reserves and then first team football at 19 years of age. As part of a three-man refereeing team and newly promoted myself, we worked with Harold Shepherdson, who was a wonderful man and a strict disciplinarian. Harold insisted that all the junior players were respectful of all refereeing decisions and would not allow his lads to swear on the pitch. I cannot ever remember Ian being booked or even sternly talked to, so he must have been one of the nice guys. It says a lot for the junior team in those days (which was pre-academy) that so many local lads were turned into professional footballers. The always cold, open field at Hutton Road with the many training pitches, was surrounded by nice houses at the Longlands. The neighbours were used to footballs going over the high wire fence into their back gardens and generally would throw them back. Sometimes if a junior hadn’t been training very well, he was sent off to round up any missing footballs. These were usually located at a house where a large dog was barking fiercely. It certainly encouraged the lads to train well and make sure there were no wayward footballs.

Ian is today the same as he always was, quiet, softly spoken and a gentleman, whose love of football still shines through, to whoever has the pleasure to meet him.

2. The Interview – a quick chat

OFB: What year did you join Boro as a professional footballer?

IB: I joined the Boro in 1975.

OFB: Where did you stay? Did you rent, or did you live in digs?

IB: I lived in Middlesbrough when I signed for the club, so I still lived at home.

OFB: Who was your favourite Boro player that you played with at the time?

IB: It was Graeme Souness, a player with skill and the steel and grit to be a winner.

OFB: Who was the best trainer in the team?

IB: It was the late Willie Maddren who was a lovely lad and used to train very hard, even with a dodgy knee!

OFB: How do you think the match day has changed from the time that you played professional football to the present day?

IB: Everything is done for the professional players these days. The players only turn up for training and for match days. They have masseurs, fitness coaches and someone to look after their kit. They have their strip laid out and boots cleaned and polished, all ready to put on and go out playing. When I was a professional footballer, we had to clean our own boots, do our own warm up routines and stretching exercises and get ourselves ready to play. Mind, thinking back to those days, we wouldn’t have had it any other way.

OFB: When did the team travel for away games, how did they get there, by bus or by train?

IB: We used to set off to away games every Friday and always by coach. We never used the train or charter-planes!

OFB: How many players usually travelled and did the Directors travel with you?

IB: There was usually about 15 or 16 of us in case anyone felt ill the next day. I can never remember any Directors being on the coach with us.

OFB: Did you have nice hotels or was it just bed and breakfast?

IB: It was always hotels and never a bed and breakfast and they were always good hotels.

OFB: Who did you room with for away matches?

IB: My roomy was Spike, the great David Armstrong.

OFB: Who was the joker in the team?

IB: There were always jokers in the Boro team over the years. I do remember though that Brian Taylor and Patt Cuff were comical and funny characters.

OFB: Who was in your opinion the best manager that Boro have ever had?

IB: Without any doubt it was Jack Charlton.

OFB: Why?

IB: Because he was the man who gave me my first pre-contract as a professional player. The other reason is he got the Boro into the First Division in his first season.

OFB: Who is your favourite Boro player of all time?

IB: Juninho

OFB: Who is your current favourite Boro player?

IB: Patrick Bamford

OFB: Do you still follow the Boro, their results and where do you live now?

IB: Yes, I always look out for their result and these days I am retired and live in Rotherham.

OFB: What do you think of the current Boro team?

IB: Presently they look disjointed and they don’t go forward enough especially at home. As a former Left Back, I don’t think Fabio is enough of a team player and is too individual. Unfortunately, I don’t think they will get promoted this year. The midfield is poor and play too many passes sideways and back. The midfield also doesn’t help the strikers and score enough goals. What I do know is I wouldn’t have liked to play against Traore! If it was up to me I would stick him in the middle of the park and play balls over the top and get him to run at defences, he terrifies defenders!

OFB: A huge thank you to Ian for taking the time to talk to Diasboro and our readers.

Middlesbrough		Ipswich Town
Braithwaite Bamford	44′ 51′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	57% 17  6  4 14	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	43%  7  1  4 18

Bamford blasts the blues away

Perhaps this afternoon’s game should have been played at high noon to compliment the pre match build up over the last week. For many home fans it was do or die for our Manager after some pretty disappointing results of late. Just about everything was dissected, from selections, tactics, omissions, confidence, and belief right through to potential changing room trouble makers stirring the pot. Regardless of who had or hadn’t done what and when this afternoon was going to be about 90 minutes of football that for many felt would decide GM’s Boro fate rightly or wrongly.

In a game with so much at stake the amateur psychoanalysts amongst us would be dissecting GM’s team selection first and formation second to get a clue of what goes on inside Garry Monks mind. Old tried and tested with Grant and Clayts in the engine room or perhaps three at the back to cover for the wing backs that had been badly exposed lately. Downing left or left out, Traore on the right or on the bench? The eagerly awaited team sheet at 2.00 declared that Grant was indeed restored but partnered with Howson but the biggest change was Bamford starting with Traore dropping to the bench.

The atmosphere was very subdued not helped by the cold and the seemingly growing expanse of Red Plastic with the home crowd now slipping to 22,500. Boro started off bright and lively which was just as well as anything other than a win and a convincing one at that was the order of the day. Paddy was in the hole behind Britt with Stewy on the right and Braithwaite on the left. Within the first ten minutes it was very clear that words had been said about passing it out from the back and passing sideways. The inclusion of Bamford was more than an appeasement or act of contrition from a Manager trying to avoid the sack for the second time in his career on the same day. Paddy was quick, mobile, running into space, looking for the ball and creating, playing clever intelligent passes linking up Britt with the middle of the park and integrating with both Braithwaite and Downing.

Tension filled the Riverside as Ipswich stood firm, frustrating Boro and obviously under instruction to keep their heads, keep Boro quiet and the home fans would do the rest. Celina on loan from Man City had cut through the Boro defence only for Ayala to clear the danger. After 15 minutes the tempo like the temperature dipped a little and the Riverside resembled a still pond. The lack of noise from the stands was deafening, pressure was building but not on the pitch. A roll out from Randolph saw Christie and Ayala closed down quickly and one of those self-inflicted wounds seen so commonly of late avoided as the North Stand vented their spleen at the return of bad habits creeping in. It was exactly this type of slow monotonous passing about at the back build up that has seen us adrift of the play offs let alone automatic promotion.

Downing was looking lively and trying to create while Fabio was a bundle of energy winning a succession of headers as high balls were played out to his flank in an orchestrated attempt to gain a height advantage. Mick’s game plan wasn’t working as the diminutive Brazilian out leapt everyone in a blue shirt timing his headers to perfection. Grant was dominating the midfield and was a true Captain and leader flying into tackles, breaking up play but encouragingly setting up Bamford, Braithwaite and Downing to do their thing. Howson was trying to keep the forward momentum going with a few speculative balls that were being played into space that just weren’t coming off. It was the right approach but a brave one given the quiet nature of the church like Riverside.

A free kick from Stewy fell to Ben who sliced his attempt goal wards only to see Bialkowski get down to save. A quick break out from Ipswich saw Spence their RB surge forward leaving Boro stranded up field and Grant having to takeone for the Team as he simply took the lad out thereby ending any threat. Clearly the Players knew that if Ipswich went a goal to the good the flat atmosphere could quickly turn toxic. You could almost sense 21,000 Boro fans mentally saying to their side “go on then, prove it”.

Just before the half hour mark Downing in a crowded area spotted Fabio free and pinged a brilliant 35 yard cross field ball to the on rushing wing back who hit the ball on the volley only to see it go just wide. At this stage it would have been just reward for Boro as they totally dominated the game and more importantly were showing zest and zeal and looked up for the fight. For the first time in weeks they looked like they wanted it more than the opposition and prepared to put a shift in, none more so than Braithwaite put in a show worthy of the famous battery brand. He was running, chasing, closing down, setting up attacks and shooting himself.

Waghorn was a bit of a pain, moaning constantly and proving a handful and so the inevitable yellow for Ayala came as he clattered through him upending the mouthy Geordie striker. There was definitely more urgency and the intent was much improved but both Grant and Dani had now collected Yellows and after Christie, Randolphs and Ayala’s passing faux pas the home fans were sensing a “Typical Boro” moment. Against Derby we were excellent in the opening 13 minutes until going behind and imploding. Would the Tractor men do the same and kill off the nervy hopes that we all had watching from the stands, too anxious to sing, too desperate to get excited about the more positive slicker Boro, watching in relative silence interspersed with the odd moan about the Ref who seemed to see the game somewhat different from the majority in Red.

There were some really clever enjoyable passages of play namely between Bamford, Braithwaite and Britt but nothing bringing any ultimate joy. Stewy had a wild effort as did Britt as chances were limited and despite playing most of the game in the Blue half no desperately needed nerve breaking opener would come. Someone behind me remarked about what does Downing bring to the team and just at that moment he stopped the ball from going out of play, twisted and turned the Ipswich defender in front of him leaving him unceremoniously on his backside crossing for Britt through a packed 6 yard box, the ball bobbled about before breaking back across to Braithwaite on the edge of the 6 yard box and lashed in a close range right footed shot to lance the boil that had been ready to burst all afternoon. The Riverside was relieved rather than erupted and with only a minute until half time cool heads were required to see the half out.

The second half saw a change for Ipswich as Huws came off and Garner came on but the Ref also retired himself much to the pleasure of those around me with the 4th official taking charge for the second 45 minutes. The half started with Boro still dominant but with a bit more intent from McCarthy’s men with Garner now providing more attacking threat. Five minutes had passed and Christie slid a ball through to Paddy just ahead of Downing and danced his way as only Bamford can towards the 18 yard box. Braithwaite made an opening to receive the ball to Paddy’s left and Britt was running through on goal anticipating the pass but Paddy had other ideas and hit a low shot with the ball going past the stranded Bialkowski hitting the bottom of the upright rebounding into the net. That was the moment the Riverside relieved itself literally with joyous celebrations, going two up, easing the anxiety but most of all to see Paddy celebrate. All afternoon he had been the catalyst which enabled faster more pacier movement and passages of play and the goal was a well-earned and just reward. Moments later Paddy put the ball through for Britt who was just blocked by Knudsen getting back in a last desperate block. Boro were now in charge of the game with Grant bossing the middle, Howson covering when Christie went up field and clattering into challenges showing grit and determination. Celina pulled Grant back to go into the Ref’s book as frustration started building in the Ipswich ranks as they saw their frustrate and niggle policy founder.

Big Mick made a double substitution but the game looked well beyond them at this stage as Christie, Fabio, Downing, Bamford and Braithwaite were running the show with Grant still impeccably pulling the strings. Randolph had become a virtual spectator and GM decided to put on some fresh legs and take a few of his heroes off. Johnson came on for Downing and shortly after Gestede for Bamford. The logic was understandable but once those two went off the impetus was handed back to the Tractor men. Johnson didn’t quite get up to speed and wasn’t as effective as Downing and whilst Gestede won headers and knock downs for Britt they were nearer the half way line than Bialkowski ‘s goal line. Had Ipswich scored the consequences could have been horrific, as it was we held on for those last few minutes and ran the clock down with Forshaw coming on for Grant. All three of those substituted richly deserved their standing ovations. The game ended 2-0 to Boro in what was a really surreal afternoon. A much needed win for the Manager, far more positivity from Boro actually “passing forwards” but it remains to be seen if it is too little too late despite it being only December.

MOM for me was Bamford; his languid grace was the main difference in this Boro side adding intelligence, pace and movement. Special recognition however goes to Downing, Leadbitter, Braithwaite and Fabio who were worthy nominees.

Monk hopes not to come a cropper

As Boro spent the week preparing for the arrival of the Tractor Boys, Garry Monk has perhaps been left to plough a lone furrow as he searches for a combination that will harvest the three points for Boro this weekend. The question for many supporters though is whether the Boro manager has reaped what he has sown after scattering seeds of doubt among the faithful as the team’s performances have wilted under the heat of the promotion challenge. Others have argued that the current crop of players, which were unearthed in the summer transfer window, have been rotated accordingly but have still been unable to flourish – leaving the managerial prospects of the new boss looking more than a tinge blighted in the process.

Whatever the reasons for the failure of Boro’s team to grow as the season has progressed, one thing is pretty much certain on Saturday, defeat is not an option for Garry Monk. Not only is it not an option but it will most likely leave him facing having to dress up in a red suit and donning a fake white beard if he is to be gainfully employed this Christmas – though he’d probably make good use of the sack for that particular job. Though having said that it’s perhaps not the right job for a man who cancelled Christmas this week – yes, spare a thought for the poor children of the unfortunate Boro players who face the prospect of empty designer Gucci stockings after the long-planned collective Crimbo shopping trip in the bright lights of London was unplugged after the team displayed a somewhat festering spirit against the unfestive Robins.

Apparently it was alarm bells rather than slay bells that started ringing for Garry and he panicked when the players said they’re going to shop until they drop – one thing is failing to gain promotion but talk of a relegation battle was surely a step too far! OK it’s another thing for Steve Gibson to let his managers shop until they drop but the players have already been gift-wrapping presents for the opposition in recent weeks. Though as promotion now seems half a world away, perhaps Steve Gibson will be inspired by the John Lewis man on the moon advert from a couple of years back and start contemplating looking through his telescope to see if he can find a rather thrifty Mogga once the parachute payments run out.

After a good start to the season that left them in second spot, Ipswich went on a run that saw them lose 7 games in the next 10 as they plunged down the table. However, Mick McCarthy’s men seemed to have regained their composure of late and have lost just one of their last six to put them three points ahead of Boro in seventh spot. Defeat for Boro could see the notion of promotion slip out the consciousness for many supporters as it could leave the club as much as 9 points off the play-off pack. Indeed many may start looking over their shoulders as Garry Monk’s team is only three points above 15th place and 4 defeats in 5 would start to look like something more terminal.

Middlesbrough		Ipswich Town
Garry Monk		Mick McCarthy
P20 – W8 – D5 – L7 – F25 – A20		P20 – W10 – D2 – L8 – F35 – A30
Position Points Points per game Projected points	9th 29 1.45 67	Position Points Points per game Projected points	7th 32 1.6 74
Last 6 Games Bristol City (A) Derby (H) Birmingham (H) Leeds (A) Sunderland (H) Hull (A)	(H-T) 1:2 (0:0) L 0:3 (0:1) L 2:0 (2:0) W 1:2 (0:1) L 1:0 (1:0) W 3:1 (2:0) W	Last 6 Games Nottm Forest (H) Derby (A) Aston Villa (A) Sheff Wed (H) Hull (A) Preston (H)	F-T (H-T) 4:2 (2:2) W 1:0 (1:0) W 0:2 (0:1) L 2:2 (0:0) D 2:2 (1:1) D 3:0 (1:0) W

Whilst many supporters have been vocal in their lack of confidence in Garry Monk, others are seemingly waiting in silence for a change in direction to materialise one way or the other. This pregnant pause in proceedings, following the Bristol debacle, means everyone is now holding their breath in anticipation of what will happen against Ipswich – though I imagine Steve Gibson is surely reluctant to dismiss his third manager within nine months despite this promotion campaign proving to be a difficult birth. Having thrown out the baby with the the bañera-aqua at the end of last season, many Boro followers are beginning to think that there is still much work to do on the discarding side.

What has become clearer, or indeed less clear, as each game has been witnessed and dissected is what is it that Boro are trying to achieve on the pitch. Is it back to the solid less adventurous model that brought Karanka his promotion success? or will we see at any point the supposedly planned expansive game materialise that the chairman sanctioned the spending of all those millions in the summer. The reality is that Garry Monk doesn’t appear to be on message on either of those scenarios – he’s not a manager who looks to organise his team and execute a meticulous game plan – nor is he particularly driven to put out a team that delivers free-flowing attacking football. At the moment we just have a manager looking to just somehow win each game by picking a safe combination of players who just don’t make a costly error.

It’s this almost frozen by fear of failure approach that has left many of the players looking ponderous on the pitch and uncertain of whether to stick or twist when they receive the ball. The free kick just outside the box in the dying seconds at Ashton Gate perhaps summed up the entire season – Nobody wanted the responsibility of taking the risk that the right ball could be delivered into the box that could earn Boro an unlikely point. Instead a meaningless short sideways kick passed the responsibility to someone else and the opportunity was gone in that instance.

At this moment in time I feel almost that I couldn’t tell you what XI should be picked to play for any particular game – there appears to be nobody screaming pick me and I’ll show you what the team are missing. Confidence has left the building and it’s now unclear what it’s going to take to rebuild it other than a string of victories – it’s that Catch 22 situation that leaves the outcome of successful season relying on success manifesting on the pitch. If the players don’t believe in themselves and each other or the manager then this is the stuff that bad runs are made of.

Though for some players, perhaps they are prone to getting carried away after a few good results against limited opposition and forget that there is no right for Boro to win games by just turning up with their multi-million pound teamsheet acting as some kind of Championship top trump card. This kind of talk was for me summed up by an article from early November, which had initially passed me by at the time but a link appeared at the bottom of one about the Bristol inquest in the Northern Echo. Stuart Downing announced ‘Martin Braithwaite is showing he’s too good for the Championship’ adding that he wants ‘everyone connected with Boro to help Braithwaite reach the Premier League’. This is a dangerous thought to have and it’s the kind of mindset that leads to complacency – a couple of good personal performances doesn’t make you into a Premier League player, for that you need to perform consistently well week in week out and take your chances when the team is not playing well. Besides Premier League forwards occasionally attempt to score goals from their own half like Wayne Rooney did last week – not attempt an ill-judged back-pass to their own keeper from within the opposition half.

There is a feeling that it’s possible many players arrived at Boro believing the pre-season hype that they were the Championship supergroup getting ready to go on tour and soak up the adulation and envy of other clubs. Whether the out-of-tune band needs breaking up and some being left to pursue a solo career in self-promotion elsewhere is not certain – but we urgently need a team not a collection of individuals looking for a better gig more suitable for their imagined talents.

So will Garry Monk be able to avoid becoming the next Boro manager to pick up his golden trowel and head off to Middlesbrough Garden City? Or will all the money ploughed into the summer recruitment finally start showing some green shoots of recovery against the Tractor Boys? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will Steve Gibson be able to spot where his investment on the pitch is hiding with his new telescope?