Author: werdermouth

The results at the bottom of the table have been relatively kind to Boro since we last won in the Premier League five games ago – albeit against a poor Swansea side. In the last four games the four clubs below us have only amassed ten points between them (Hull 4pts, Swansea 3pts, Sunderland 2pts and Palace 1pt) and have allowed us to remain four points clear of the relegation pack.

OK, it’s the nature of the drop zone that the teams down there struggle to pick up points but there is surely no need to hang around the trap door waiting for them. Three points tomorrow against a side with seemingly problems on and off the pitch could see us increase that gap to a massive seven points.

Opening up such a gap would make the compasses of Boro survival experts point in the direction of safety – especially knowing that the current bottom three have a combined goal difference of -71, which even the North Pole would find chilling.

We all know what our problem is, the world and his dog know what the problem is – and judging by his recent shopping trips – even our optimistically cautious manager knows we need to score more goals.

So Karanka has options, Negredo, Bamford, Gestede and Rhodes are all hoping to get the nod and prove their worth – though you wouldn’t be too surprised if only one of them started.

Much will depend on what formation the Boro boss chooses to go with – we’ve gone from not so long ago slavishly following the edict that wavering from 4-2-3-1 was not an option – to a whole raft of possible formations to probe the opposition and dance around the pitch to: 4-3-3, 4-1-4-1, 3-5-2 or 5-3-2. Though with every new formation it seems the available slots to select attacking players becomes fewer.

Karanka is a technical coach (sorry to break the news) and the wisdom of the football technocracy has decreed recently that when playing against a team who set up with a back three, you must follow suit. West Ham are another such team following this latest trend and our man likes to show he’s up with the best thinkers. This all sounds fine in theory but for Boro it essentially means a back five and three predominantly defensive midfielders plus two forwards. So perhaps we don’t quite have the players for that formation just yet.

Against Watford we saw Stuani join Negredo in what was arguably the Uraguayan’s most effective game for some time, but whether he gets the nod again is uncertain. I think (or even hope) we’ll see at least three attacking players starting against the Hammers – it’s a home game after all and the opposition are not a top six team.

With the current influx of strikers I fear Rhodes is in the departure lounge – Karanka said of him: “He needs to forget about whatever is going on around him because if he is distracted he could get injured” – though presumably the biggest risk of injury would be a nasty splinter from the bench.

The manager has also declared the returning Bamford won’t feature from the start – some would see that as mind games against the opposing coach but usually when Karanka makes these statements he actually means them.

Chelsea target Adama is probably due a run out on the gallops to keep him loose – and I’m sure West Ham’s defenders won’t want to see him run at them – but it won’t be as a wing-back as he’ll more likely scare the pants of Karanka with his edge-of-the-box antics in his own half.

Then there’s Downing who has pledged to stay and fight for his place – whether any of Karanka’s staff have been strategically placing Chinese take-away menus on the floor near his locker in the hope of planting subliminal messages is pure speculation – but it seems his number at Boro is not quite up yet.

So it’s extremely hard to second-guess a Karanka selection these days – I know of no person who has achieved this feat this season. Gaston is still suffering a transfer-window-long injury so won’t feature but the lively Fischer is available again. So I won’t attempt a starting XI and will leave that to others to speculate on.

So as usual add your match predictions – score, line-up, crowd and anything else that’s up for grabs – for instance: How many times will MMP scream 180 over the PA as Duzza takes to the pitch?

It’s the moment all football fans look forward to – the magic of the third round of the FA Cup – all the thrills and spills unfolding as the big boys enter the fray and take on the plucky underdogs…or do they?

[insert own personal recollection of needle scratching across a vinyl record here]

Well maybe that sentiment belonged to the era that pre-dates the internet. To paraphrase a recently departed famous Teesside magician – I like the FA Cup, but not a lot. Maybe I’m wrong, but I now get the impression that as clubs have long shown indifference to what was once the Wembley dream, the fans have joined in and seem to dismiss a Cup run as being a bit of a distraction. Well unless you’re one of the lucky supporters who follow clubs hoping to finish in the top four then believe me you need a distraction every now and then.

This indifference initially started with a few big clubs putting out a second string team as their priorities were with winning the Title or qualifying once again for the big money of the Champions League – but as the top four generally had big squads of top players it was only slightly frowned upon and they usually won anyway – though if they unexpectedly lost there was always a trip to AC Milan next week to console the fans.

But what didn’t make sense was when other ‘lesser’ PL clubs followed suit and stopped fielding their first XI – they puffed out their chests,  straightened their jacket collars and announced “we’re a big club now and the FA Cup is not our priority” – confident that their fans will be more than happy if they secure 14th spot in the table, pragmatism became the order of the day as glut of unused trophy cabinets started appearing on ebay.

OK I understand that everyone has now become fearful of dropping out of the PL but it’s now even spread to Championship teams (and beyond) as clubs look to rest key players ahead of more important league games.

But for clubs like Middlesbrough, the FA Cup is something we need to take seriously – Boro have got a whole week before their next game at Watford and a home tie against a Championship side (who will no doubt probably field a weakened side as they bid for promotion to the promised land) offers a good opportunity to kick off a decent cup run and a bit of relief from our daily grind of staying up.

It only takes a few back-to-back Cup victories and the energy of supporters is lifted and the hope (albeit of the kind that kills you) spreads through the town and beyond.

I remember a few years back when a group of us from Untypical Boro met for a discussion with Steve Gibson – Mogga was still manager then and the Boro Chairman’s ambition was to get promoted, hold our own in Premier League and perhaps win a Trophy every four or five years.

Well Steve Gibson was speaking as a Boro fan – the question on Sunday is will Aitor Karanka be pragmatic and select a team with either one or two eyes on Watford – or will he have his eyes closed with a mental image of both hands lifting the trophy as a the defeated Jose looks up from the pitch with a tear in his eye.

So call me an old-fashioned lover of black plastic discs, but I’d like to see our best team on the pitch and Boro give the paying public a good display and move safely through into the hat (or whatever hyped-up vessel they now use to allow Ian Wright to draw Arsenal at home). There’s no point holding back and playing a one-upmanship game of bench envy instead – we know our best players can sit down for 90 minutes, so I’d rather see them play.

So usually drill, make your predictions of team selection, result, attendance and anything else you might fancy a flutter on.

Let the Wembley dream begin!

Since some of you are already keen to get the discussions underway I thought I’d better start a proper post to mull over what the January Transfer Window will entail for Boro. It looks like Rudy Gestede has donned his flat cap and is about to move up north and is preparing to seek out suitable property in Yarm that can accommodate a pigeon loft.

So who else is on Boro’s radar? My punt last week was for Gerard Deulofeu from Everton to bring some pace, vision and another Spanish voice to the party.

OK feel free to speculate as you wish as I try to work my way through bells and whistles of WordPress that are within my budget (all that’s free).

Diasboro (a combination of diaspora and Boro for the uninitiated) was a phrase coined ten years ago by Untypical Boro blogmeister Anthony Vickers to describe the geographically scattered supporters of Middlesbrough Football Club.

This blog has taken this name as it succinctly represents the online community he created and nurtured – in fact Diasboro only exists in the face of the uncertainty that surrounds the continuation of this community and will act as an alternative gathering point to discuss the way forward.