Category: Uncategorized

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?

In the first 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 Jim Platt…

1. The Overview – the man and his career

I’ve got to know Jim very well over the last few years and he still looks as if he could play in goal tomorrow for a professional team. He still coaches at the Reds Football Academy with Bernie Slaven, Craig Hignett and Gary Pallister. He has also played regular football into middle age and was once beaten in goal by our own regular of these boards Jarkko! who has never forgotten the experience.

Tall slim and always immaculate, Jim personifies what a former athlete should look like and should not be compared with some of his contemporaries who look a lot older! I’m sure I’ll get some stick from some of them when next I see them for saying that, but Jim does look pretty good.

We signed him for £7,000 from Northern Irish side Ballymena and he went on to become a regular in the seventies and the eighties. During his playing career at Ayresome Park, he had five managers and played 481 games, which makes him (I think), Boro’s fifth highest all-time appearance maker. I’m sure our resident keeper of records, Ken Smith, will check that and correct me though.

One of our greatest ever goalkeepers, he was a great striker as well. Jim always liked playing up front and was a striker when he was at school, before being moved back between the sticks. He once played for the Boro reserves as a striker at Lincoln and scored a hat-trick. If you can remember those halcyon days, there was just one substitute allowed. Jim was travelling with the team as 13th man, but one of his team mates was ill on the bus. So, Jim was put on the bench and then during the game another Boro player pulled a hamstring after 15 minutes and had to go off. The rest is the stuff that readers of the Hotspur or Roy of the Rovers will feel familiar with. Jim came on and got first a good goal, then another one, this time a tap in and finally a great header which puts him in the history books.

I actually saw him play centre-forward for the reserves when I couldn’t get enough football and used to go to Ayresome Park. These were usually mid-week games on cold winter nights when I wanted to see what players were coming through from the juniors. I took an avid interest, as in those days I was a referee who as part of a three-man team, we used to officiate for all the Boro trial and junior games. It was nice to see the players we thought would make it, including the likes of: Mark Proctor, Craig Johnson and Stan Cummins break into the reserves, then the first team. Jim Platt always caught the eye playing up front and could have made a decent living as an outfield player.

During his long and distinguished career, Jim won 23 caps for Northern Ireland. He undoubtedly would have won many more, but at that time there was another one of football’s great players who was also in competition for the International goalkeeper’s shirt. That was of course, the great Pat Jennings, who also played for Spurs. Jim was also in the Irish team that won the Home Championship, the last time it was played. The former chief scout for the Boro Jack Watson insisted: “If it hadn’t been for Pat Jennings, who was world class, he’d have got more than 100 caps.”

Jim was eventually started to be edged out by John Neal, who brought in Jim Stewart, and exiled Platt with loans spells at Hartlepool and Cardiff in 1979.But both times he played his way back and his form in his later years was good enough to ensure he went to the 1982 World Cup in Spain with Northern Ireland, playing against Austria. His testimonial game included international team-mate George Best, someone that I thought I would never get to see play in a Boro shirt. Best even agreed to sign for the club but then went on a drinking spree and sadly it never happened.

Although fans may know he played for Ballymena United he also acted as their manager for a season from 1984–85, after which he had a longer spell at Coleraine, managing them for six years from 1985 to 1991. In 1991, he had another short spell, this time at Ballyclare, for just one season from 1991–92.

For the 1992–93 season he was given the job of managing Swedish outfit Assyriska, in the Swedish First Division. He had a two-season spell managing Darlington one partly with another former Boro player David Hodgson, then the other from 1995–96, before leaving full-time management to take a job with Gateshead.

He has also previously been Middlesbrough’s Chief Coach at their Football Community Centre and now he acts as a match day Boro ambassador and host. He welcomes guests from the world of football and former players, joining in discussions with fans, reminiscing of past glories and hopeful of new ones.

2. The Interview – a quick chat

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

JP: I joined the Boro in 1970 at the age of 18.

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

JP: I lived firstly in the MFC Hostel and then we moved out of that and into digs. I hated digs!

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

JP: It was probably Eric McMordie as he was from Northern Ireland as well.

OFB: Who was the best trainer in the team?

JP: There were several players at that time who were good on the training field. These included the likes of, Derrick Downing and Alan Moody. Later in my career, the best players who showed up well on the training pitch were David Hodgson and Craig Johnson.

OFB: Who did you room with for away matches?

JP: I was a groupie! Several of us used to room together in those days but later in my career I used to share with the late, great, Bosco Jankovic.

OFB: Who was the joker in the team?

JP: Eric McMordie was always playing pranks and was the joker in the pack.

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

JP: I remember when we travelled on the train as a team, Cliff Mitchell who was the Evening Gazette Chief Sports writer at the time, used to travel with us. One day we were going to an away game and Cliff who was on expenses went for lunch leaving his beloved trilby on his seat. Eric having the “divvil” in him casually picked up the trilby, slid back the window of the coach and threw it out, to be lost forever. When Cliff came back to his seat, he spent the rest of the journey searching high and low for his hat!

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

JP: Oh! undoubtedly Jack Charlton was the greatest manager that I played under at M.F.C, however, great credit must also go to Stan Anderson. Stan carefully scouted and searched for the players and ended up with and assembled some great players. It wasn’t all plain sailing though, I fell out with Charlton and was dropped for 23 games in 1976-77 in a dispute over where I should be standing at corners.

OFB: Why do you think Jack was the greatest manager?

JP: It was his ability to change things. He could read the game that was in front of him and change the shape of the team and the formation by his astute use of tactics.

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

JP: I don’t really have a favourite player of all time, but I admired David Armstrong who played some 300+ consecutive games for the Boro.

OFB: Who is your current favourite Boro player?

JP: Again I don’t have a favourite player. Let’s be honest it’s a team game and that’s why I’m not a fan of Traore! I would hate to have to play with him.

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

JP: Yes of course I do, I will always follow the Boro, they are my team. I had over 13 years and played 481 games for them. As you know, I am here every match day acting as a M.F.C ambassador and host and it’s nice to catch up with old friends and make new ones. I still live locally in Ingleby Barwick and I love being here with my lovely wife and we also enjoy our holidays abroad and back in Ireland.

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

Bristol City		Middlesbrough
Bryan Paterson	51′ 54′	Magnusson	75′ (og)
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	49% 15  7  0 10	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	51%  7  1  5 13

Rockin Robins give Boro the bird!

The team news saw Forshaw and Howson paired in the middle with Traore getting a rare start and Dael Fry getting the nod ahead of Shotton. Bristol normally play with tempo and use their height to good advantage so it was going to be another test for Monk’s men. Our inability to beat teams above and around us once again meant that this game had extra pressure on our Manager.

Traore lined up on the left for Boro and was soon involved in blocking a ball played down the wing. Almost immediately he linked up well with Britt and won the opening corner of the game. From the corner Bristol broke with Reid and a Dael Fry header spared our blushes. This was a warning that would go unheeded and eventually be our downfall.

A long through ball over the top of the Boro defence saw Bobby Reid in on Randolph with the Robins first real threat shepherded by Ben Gibson to safety. Howson then had to nip in at LB to block an immediate second attack with the ball fortunately taking a deflection for a Boro throw in. On twenty minutes a slip from Christie when he was trying to launch an attack allowed a break which saw the ball fizz across the face of the Boro goal as the pressure started to mount. Moments later the best chance of the game fell to Bristol when we defended a free kick and a shot from Pack just outside the 18 yard box was cleared off the line by Britt.

Bristol were growing in confidence, gaining a head of steam and Boro had some resolute defending to do. Forshaw was getting involved a lot and a rare threaded ball to Britt was cut out by the Bristol defence. Boro won another corner but Forshaw was penalised by the Ref and the opportunity gone. At the other end Bristol had a throw in accompanied by the Icelandic clap for Magnusson who has a Delap type distance on his throws but with more useful height. Fabio cleared and then as the ball was coming back at us he gave away a ridiculous free kick twenty yards out for a blatant shove. Not the cleverest of tactic from the Brazilian considering that Bristol are one of the tallest sides in the division and set pieces are bread and butter for them. In the last minute of the half Downing squared the ball across to Fabio who hit it hard as Fielding scrambled to get down and deflect the ball away in Boro’s only shot on target of the game.

No changes for either side at half time as Bristol continued to break with pace and crucially precision passing. Traore lost possession and Fabio deserted his LB role then Bristol through a series of fast slick passes of the type we would love to see from Boro saw a cross from the unattended right flank to the far post for it to be headed home by former alleged Boro target Bryan. Boro tried to get themselves back into the game via a confused and muddled free kick on the edge of the Bristol box from which the Robins broke again, even pausing to allow for reinforcements and carved us open again to make it 2-0 in as many minutes. It was a repeat of the second half Derby implosion all over again.

Gestede was brought on for the ineffective Braithwaite on 56 minutes and on joining the action flicked a ball on for Fabio who skewed his cross much to the derision of the home support. Bristol were sitting and picking their moments to simply slice through us. Stewy put another cross into the Bristol box which like most all evening seemed to be sponsored by Flymo as Fabio was laid prostrate in what looked to me like a recurrence of whatever it was that troubled him earlier in the season.

On 66 minutes Johnson came on for Downing with Traore swapping flanks to the right with Gestede supporting Assombalonga up front who had been looking even more isolated since the start of the second half. Boro looked scrappy, lacking structure and second best to 50/50 balls. Once again we were watching us pass the ball around in front of the opposition as our possession stats rose but with no idea of forward or penetrative activity. A corner from Johnson on seventy three minutes summed up our evening as he hit a daisy cutter when Gestede was looking for something greater than ankle height.

A speculative punt of a free kick was easily headed clear by another former Boro target Flint back out to Forshaw who lofted the ball back into the box for Gestede who was unceremoniously upended. The melee presumably distracted Magnusson who headed into his own net. Boro now looked somewhat rejuvenated sensing that they might just nick another. Bamford came on for Fabio with Johnson dropping back and Paddy into the Braithwaite role.

With ten minutes to go Paddy picked out a great ball to Britt but there was just too much pace on the ball otherwise our top scorer would have been clean through. With three minutes of normal time remaining Traore was pulled down and Johnson lined up the free lick with Fry, Gibson and Gestede waiting in the box for the delivery which was knee height and failed to beat the first defender. Assombalonga was wrongly adjudged to be offside when Howson played a ball over the top from deep in the Boro half as we desperately tried to get an equaliser.

Christie who had an uninspiring performance by his own hitherto standards then managed to get himself booked for a shoulder block after being turned at pace. Just as Boro looked to be out of what few ideas they might have had Adama broke from his own half beating three players before Smith took him down for a Free Kick just outside the Robins 18 yard box. Bamford took the free kick passing it back to Howson who then played it wide to Christie and our last opportunity was gone in another negative backwards pass. Even Bamford now seems to be infected with the passive passing virus. Forshaw was our best player today but in reality we just were not good enough to beat a functional, disciplined and hardworking Bristol side that pressed and passed forward at every opportunity, pace and power once again costing us the game.

So here we are in December, six points off that last play off spot and I witnessed absolutely nothing that showed improvement in organisation, attitude, ability, tactics or belief. The Tractor Boys are up next and I fancy the wily experienced McCarthy to walk away with all three points next Saturday at the Riverside. 13 points off a relegation spot and 14 points off an automatic promotion spot. It is up to SG if or when he acts but I have seen nothing for a while now that makes me feel that we are a work in progress and that things are falling into place, more like things are dropping off and falling apart.

Boro need to shape up at Bristol

Boro travel to Bristol for Saturday’s late afternoon televised Championship ‘main event’ in what is quite probably a must-win game for Garry Monk’s inconsistent promotion hopefuls. As we approach the halfway point, the Robins are bob bob bobbin’ along quite nicely in the play-off positions having spent less than a quarter of what Boro threw at the market. Following the resumption of hostilities after international break, Garry Monk’s promotion vessel seems somewhat in the doldrums after two defeats in three games took the wind out of their sails. His accident prone team are shipping goals alarmingly and still don’t look like shaping up into contenders of a similar fashion to that of those Bristol cruisers.

The Robins have not fallen away as the promotion race has heated up and lost just one of their last six games. Their less expensively assembled attack has already notched up 30 goals and Boro could find themselves three wins behind the Bristol outfit if they lose at Ashton Gate – plus quite likely falling down a tightly packed table. Surely this is a game Garry Monk’s team need to win if they are to keep in touch with the play-off pack. Automatic promotion is a boat that the Teessider’s have almost certainly missed with Wolves already five wins ahead after nearly half the season gone and Cardiff pretty close behind. To catch them up, Boro would need to emulate their impressive 75% win rate and then hope they dropped to our less impressive 40% one. In fact Boro need to up their points per game to nearly 2.4 (which essentially means 4 wins out of every 5) for the rest of the season just to reach the 2 points per game average.

Bristol City		Middlesbrough
Lee Johnson		Garry Monk
P19 – W9 – D7 – L3 – F30 – A20		P19 – W8 – D5 – L6 – F24 – A18
Position Points Points per game Projected points	5th 34 1.8 82	Position Points Points per game Projected points	7th 29 1.5 70
Last 6 Games Hull (A) Preston (H) Sheff Wed (A) Cardiff (H) Fulham (A) Sunderland (A)	F-T (H-T) 3:2 (0:1) W 1:2 (0:1) L 0:0 (0:0) D 2:1 (1:1) D 2:0 (2:0) W 2:1 (1:1) W	Last 6 Games Derby (H) Birmingham (H) Leeds (A) Sunderland (H) Hull City (A) Reading (A)	F-T (H-T) 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 2:0 (1:0) W

Whilst we generally admire the long-term nature of Boro’s approach when it comes to the running of the club and making appointments, perhaps we have misjudged the recent nature of football and the shorter-term goals in which it now operates. Given the disparity in the financial rewards between the top-flight and the second tier, Boro have a very limited time-frame in which they must achieve their goal within the budget constraints. It is almost meaningless to imagine there is such a thing as a long-term strategy that can exist in a consistent form for more than a season or two. Any club must radically adapt to the cost of failure as the options available get reduced year on year – the majority of players who can play at a higher level will move on as the market pulls the levers and the window of opportunity that presents itself is either taken or lost by those who have them. For example, should Ben Gibson, if he wants to play at the highest level, contemplate turning down offers in the summer unless he’s absolutely convinced that Boro are going up? His form peaked under an ultra-defensive coach and he indeed he may beginning to wonder if his stock is still high enough to get him back onto the gravy train.

Are the club hierarchy actually actively measuring progress or even questioning the apparent lack of it? If so, other than results, what is that measure? You could easily argue even measuring performances under Monk would maybe be less satisfactory than points or position would be. Presumably it must soon becomes a question of whether the manager or head coach is demonstrating that he is capable of delivering the desired outcome in what for Boro is a two-year time period. After two seasons the option probably becomes either a one season gamble of front-loading the resources before the need to make severe cuts to stay within Financial Fair Play (FFP) or a new two to three year plan back on to average Championship spending where Boro are no longer able to force the market.

The puzzle for many looking back is that Boro’s transfer strategy in the summer appeared to be out of sync with the actual time-frame we had to work within. The mantra was the tried and the tested – but having tried and tested most of them they don’t appear to have passed. Also the signing of young up-and-coming players who needed more experience and pitch time doesn’t seem to fit with what is actually needed to achieve our short-term set goal. We can ask when was it exactly that Ashley Fletcher was supposed to make an impact? £7m is a lot of money to invest in a project who is not able to get game time and develop – he just doesn’t seem to fit into the urgency of the task. Though that price range for Boro has been the going rate for projects in the last year or so – Adama, Bamford and Gestede were signed for similar fees but deemed not ready to play and nearly a year later are no nearer becoming first choice players. In fact is more likely they never will be as time progresses. As for those in the £3m price bracket – well Shotton has at least proved to be of similar value to Guedioura and de Pena.

We don’t know if the squad assembled was specifically designed to suit Monk’s requirements or was part of a more general collective shopping list that the chairman deemed necessary to make the team more attack-minded in view of last season’s failings. Though many are still unsure of what the manager’s footballing philosophy is – he seemed to go back to basics around six weeks ago to make the team more solid and has shown little to suggest he needed the large number of attacking players that Boro eventually signed. In fact when Monk first arrived at Boro he was rather coy about what his style of football is and preferred not to put forward a label but simply said that he’d “leave his style and philosophy for others to describe as the important thing is to win games and that is the purpose of how he trains himself, his staff, players and club” – he added that his footballing philosophy sat on top of that ideal and he believes the key is to get the crowd engaged and the players engaged. It’s not clear if that statement can now be interpreted as meaning he doesn’t have an overall idea on what methodology he wants the players to adopt – it may not be important but this season may have shown he knows more about what he doesn’t want than what he does.

Unusually for Boro by recent standards, they failed to use the loan market effectively – the only two to arrive have become almost anonymous with Baker gone from the first team picture and Connor Roberts unlikely to get a game unless Christie is out. This lack of action may put off any future recruits from opting for Boro but it may be the only route open to the club in January to persuade creative players with something extra to join the party.

The feeling among many supporters is that there isn’t a coherent strategy on the pitch and Boro are still a collection of individuals rather than a team. The initially surplus Downing has become a key player for Monk but you could argue he still has no end product with I believe no goals and just one assist to his name this season. It’s a stat made more stark if you think he’s probably taken over 50 corners this term – what has happened to the idea that a set-piece is a goal scoring opportunity at Boro? So few now expect a goal from a corner that I wonder why the supporters still cheer when we get one. The irony about Downing’s stats is that he’s keeping Adama out of the team because it’s deemed he doesn’t have an end product – though Traore actually has two assists in 50% less minutes on the pitch. Either way not exactly inspiring figures from either man.

The main problem that was not resolved in the summer transfer windows was one of creativity – Boro still have a mainly one-dimensional defensive central midfield and nobody to supply the strikers. Assombalonga is a fish out of water outside of the box – though that particular analogy is perhaps a little strong as a fish out of water is normally a dead fish, maybe more a penguin out of water or even a seal – he just needs someone to feed him a bucket-load of fish and preferably not red herrings.

The season hangs in the balance and we have learned more about its failings than its successes – central defence is no longer reliable and the full-backs have become more like attacking wing-backs without protection. Our central midfield are the former defensive shield who look puzzled by the additional responsibility of passing the ball forward – to the extent that they serve neither purpose. Braithwaite blows hot and cold but mainly blows while Britt runs around waiting for the ball. None of the attacking wide options have so far delivered with anything like the consistency required and the result has been Boro have only had enough in their locker to see off the failing teams at the bottom of the table.

When Captain Monk set sail in August, we were told by those who built the good ship Boro that the state-of-the-art design was unsinkable as it embarked on its journey back to the new world of the Premier League. However, with winter approaching and despite heading towards the iceberg of all frosty end-of-season receptions, there appears no sign of changing course in this titanic battle to gain promotion. The Boro manager hasn’t quite got to the stage of rearranging the deck-chairs yet but when he does he may consider using some of those which were there before he arrived. Steve Gibson has probably been made aware that there may not be enough lifeboat payments from the Premier League to allow the club to survive too long in the icy waters of the Championship – at some point he may have to wrestle the wheel away from his relatively inexperienced captain if his dream is to stay afloat.

So will Boro keep their season afloat and steer a course through the troubled waters at Bristol? Or will the promotion pack sail into the sunset after a listless performance from Garry Monk’s press-ganged crew? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection. – plus will first mate Rudy be back up in the crow’s nest to catch a glimpse of the promised land ahoy.

Now five months into his tenure, Simon Fallaha puts forward the suggestion that if Garry Monk is to make his mark, or find a voice, at Boro, he should not discard the past altogether but instead learn from it, building on the right positives

Bryan Robson, Steve McClaren and Aitor Karanka are the three longest-serving, and also, interestingly, my three favourite Boro managers since 1994.

Why is this? Opinions have never seemed so divisive as they have during their tenures. Be it the football, the recruitment, the press conferences, the image, the man management (or lack of it). It is swings and roundabouts, and it is also true that they were given a lot of money to spend, as our current boss Garry Monk has been.

But, in each case, I don’t think anyone can doubt the mark all three have made on the modern Boro story. Like Gareth “Arsenal-lite” Southgate, Gordon “Jockification” Strachan and Tony “One Of Our Own” Mowbray, they had a distinct voice. Unlike those three, they had the greatest means to implement it. And in doing so, they became masters of what I’d like to call the “Big Moment”.

Where do you want me to start? Uwe Fuchs. Promotion. The Riverside Stadium opening. Juninho. Emerson. Fabrizio Ravanelli. Home grown and adopted Teessiders making a mockery of the Manchester United defence. The old Wembley, twice. Paul Merson. Marco Branca. Promotion, again. Hamilton Ricard. Victory at Old Trafford, three times over. Benito Carbone. The Southgatian punch. Juninho, again. Bolo Zenden. Cardiff. Our first foray into Europe. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Mark Viduka and Aiyegbeni Yakubu’s goals. Beating the Premier League’s top three at home in the same season. The Road to Eindhoven, though not the denouement.

And, under Karanka alone? The Anfield penalty marathon. Looking Manchester City in the eye in that memorable victory at the Etihad. Grant Leadbitter’s celebrations. Tomlinho. Patrick Bamford’s breathless opportunism. La Bamba. Tomas Mejias, blunderer turned Old Trafford hero. Brentford at home in the play-offs. The new Wembley, though, again, not the denouement. A heart-warming Ali Brownlee tribute. David Nugent against Hull. Jordan Rhodes at Bolton. Brighton, both home and away. Pitch invasions and promotion. Gaston before Gasgone. Adama Traore terrifying Arsenal. Marten De Roon at City. Alvaro Negredo at the King Power, though, yet again, not the denouement.

There’s a trend emerging here, for better or worse. In isolation, these moments would make a wonderful story, critic-defying triumphs against the odds, pessimism to optimism, the ridiculous to the sublime.

But it is not wise to treat them in isolation. They should be seen as part of a bigger picture. One should not overlook that these very same big moments betrayed all three managers in the end, and Boro themselves.

It is seductive to lose oneself in the romanticism of it all, to simply embrace the moment while one can, and to tell the party-pooping naysayers to stop raining on the parade. To simply worship the heroes and smile about the memories. To appreciate who, what, when and where… without asking why.

There’s the rub. Boro’s “best” managers post-Lennie Lawrence, and indeed many of the fans during that time – me included, I’m not ashamed to admit – could all be accused of living for the moment and not contemplating the consequences. Being content with the occasional moment in the limelight, because, after all, we’re only Boro, and shouldn’t expect anything more. Being strictly sentimental when reflection is also called for.

As literary critic Alan Jacobs once implied, reflection strengthens true emotions while exposing feelings that are shallow and disingenuous, whereas a purely sentimental approach avoids reality and tries to keep people from asking questions. Questions that, when at least attempted to be answered, could provide more of an idea about why Boro continuously fail to make the most of the greatest opportunities that present themselves. And give more of an insight, perhaps, into how the same Boro that were dismantled by Aston Villa could dismantle Chelsea the following week, or the same Boro that ran on empty at home to Watford could fearlessly take on Arsenal soon afterwards.

Or how, to use a more recent example, Karanka and his collective alarmingly metamorphosed from being efficient, effective and in control to panicky, fearful and doubtful. A miniature self-destruction engineered by nerves, mind games and a cup defeat, after which which the manager and his team never regained their aura of invincibility. What once seemed wonderful turned toxic, narratives of “incompetent” coaching and “victimised” players staining the public face of the club in such a way that we are still reeling from it even now.

What to make of Garry Monk’s Boro? Or Boro as a whole?

Last year, we came “home”, to the Premier League, after a long hiatus. Today, one could be forgiven for thinking that Boro are homeless, unsure of whether they should be bouncing back immediately or treating this as a season of transition with a possible promotion charge.

So far, Monk has given us what I can call, at best, a handful of “little big moments”, aspects which, if reflected and built upon, could guide his Boro towards finding a voice for themselves. Traore bouncing off from what wasn’t really a naughty step to terrorise Bolton, coming from behind to win twice in the same game, a new goal hero in Britt Assombalonga, and Bamford’s playmaking and goalscoring attributes, at least until he lost favour and form. There has even been, to a point, Rudy Gestede’s redemption. Once seen as superfluous, he is now much missed in attack.

These “little big moments” arose from the creative and industrious sparks that our midfield and supply line has so conspicuously been lacking in for years. Two years ago I made the point that it is midfield, not strike force, that defines a club’s season, and I stand by that. Without the right support, strikers cannot thrive fully. Without the right protection, a defence cannot fully function. A combination of character, leadership, organisation and skill, not just organisation and skill.

“Character is just as important as skill.” When he said those words, Roy Keane was referring to Arsenal and what made the difference between Arsene Wenger’s champions of the past and stable nearly men of the present. And it was what made the difference for Robson’s, McClaren’s and Karanka’s Boro, in a big way.

Grant Leadbitter was Karanka’s Nigel Pearson, or Gareth Southgate, in that he was so much more than a player. He was, and still is, a leader, offering presence and character that still can’t be found anywhere else in the squad. Boro are not the same without him. Arguments that he will not last forever, he is now in his thirties, his engine is not what it was and Boro shouldn’t still be so reliant on him are all valid, as is the belief that transition is necessary in football and that bringing in the likes of Adam Forshaw, Marten De Roon and Jonny Howson was crucial for freshness and continuity.

Towards the end of Karanka’s reign, however, it was hard to ignore the suspicion that the manager was not so much naturally transitioning as attempting to maintain total control. Karanka was renowned for wanting his own way, something far more likely with an eager, willing newcomer than an independently-minded thinker. And the more prominent that mindset becomes, the soul continues to drain from the team until they are a shadow of what they once were, let alone what they could be.

Nowadays the absence of Bamford and Traore, neither of them Monk’s signings, has raised eyebrows. Regardless of unreliability, one knows what these players can offer to the team, and one would be disappointed if Monk was not to make use of their qualities accordingly at the expense of proving that his signings are the right ones. In other words, he should follow what Karanka did at the beginning and not at the end – build on the right strengths, making the most of the resources left to him.

Giving Monk the keys to the transfer treasure chest so soon has done him and Boro no favours, presenting the image of someone too keen to undo the sterility of the defensively-minded, deeply divisive regime that played its part in splitting the club. Often, those keen to highlight the negative aspects of a previous regime – I won’t go into all that here – tend to forget why we believed in it to begin with.

For eighteen months Karanka’s Boro were, for the most part, an imperious collective – and why? I take you back further, to Jack Charlton’s Champions of 1973-74 and Bruce Rioch’s Promotion Heroes of 1986-87 – the only teams to concede fewer goals than Karanka’s Boro circa 2015-16 since the war – and ask you to note that while, to the paying customer, goals are football’s oxygen and all that, having a rock solid defence gives you confidence, a feeling of relaxation. For if you take the lead, the game is almost certainly yours. When the right foundations are there, everything else will follow, and not just on the pitch.

However. The next step, which Karanka and even Robson proved incapable of taking, was evolving, not retreating. A year into Karanka’s reign and I couldn’t believe how confidently we passed the ball and how sublime some of our team play was, even if it was constrained by a safety blanket. Robson’s Boro were laughed at and ridiculed in 1996-97, and not unreasonably so, but we will never forget daring to, and living the, dream. Both managers, however, retreated when faced with pressure, playing it safer. In each case the mercurial and spontaneous were gradually eschewed for the workmanlike and dependable. Were Stuani and Nugent, or Deane and Ricard, as eye-catching as Tomlin and Bamford, or Juninho and Ravanelli?

It was a retreat. And while the results may have improved, the football didn’t. Passivity, and protection, had replaced activity and initiative. If a manager and a club harbour ambition, this is fatal.

Especially when spending a lot of money on players and aspiring to fit in with the top clubs in a division, something that Monk’s Boro have set out to do. We came to associate Karanka with fear of failure, but there’s also such a thing as fear of success. It’s also known as the “I want to be sure I’m ready for it” mentality, something that stops a club from getting what they really desire. Thus they stand still in time while everyone else goes for it. Like, say, Bournemouth. They weren’t expected to, and, at least financially, had no right to reach the Premier League, but went for it anyway and are finding their way. They’re a club Monk could learn from.

Now, one may conclude that freedom of expression for our attacking players is the answer, full stop. I’ve heard the “We have some good players, just let them play” argument before, and am aware that if too many individuals subvert their skills for the sake of a collective it is doomed to fail. But if a manager wants to find a voice, to make his mark, freedom alone is not the answer – a lasting impression is not solely created by players, but also by the restrictions imposed by the man in charge. Each restriction or order imposes upon the team makes it more distinct. Freedom on its own means chaos, which ultimately means boldly going nowhere.

That’s where I unfortunately feel Monk’s Boro are right now, and will continue to be unless we find a voice. It might be time for Monk to show his authority, to stir the players up a bit and make them take notice. It may well have reached the point where the players have “become complacent and started taking advantage. They might have done nothing wrong, just become a bit blasé about the results or their performances… It is then you have to crack the whip.”

So spoke Jock Stein to Jack Charlton in 1973 – and we know exactly how well the following season turned out for Boro.

Middlesbrough		Derby County
▮ Ayala	60′	Vydra	13′ 47′ (pen) 63′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	59% 16  2 11 12	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	41% 13  8  6 10

Ram Raid Rocked Riverside

Bright winter sunshine lit up the Riverside on a cold and freezing afternoon as Derby and Gary Rowett attempted to end a ten game winless jinx at the Riverside. Both sides looked fairly well matched on paper at least judging by their respective league placings but the Rams have a game in hand and all Boro’s victories were largely against the bottom feeders so this afternoon was going to be a real test for Garry Monk.

Boro were without the suspended Howson and Bradley Johnson was missing for Derby due to a Hamstring which pleased me personally because I always felt he was a real nuisance any time Boro faced him. It was the first time since that Brighton game that Nugent would be back at the Riverside, hopefully he would make an appearance but if it was to be then the hopes also wished that it was to be an ineffective one. Gary Rowett’s men have been hard to beat on their travels this season suffering just two defeats in their last ten away days.

The team news was that Grant was only fit enough for the bench (I would have thought either you are fit or not fit?) so Forshaw as expected started as did the forgotten Clayts, recalled from the wilderness in an entirely new look midfield for Boro. Surprising for some Johnson had kept his starting berth with Paddy and Adama on the bench. Nugent was in the starting line-up for Derby a selection we would later live to regret. As the teams came out the winter sun had dipped and there was now a decidedly icy feel in the air.

The opening 13 minutes saw some of the best football from Boro for a long time with balls down the flanks played into the Rams box repeatedly. The one sided dominance was such that it looked like Derby were in for a torrid afternoon. Carson pulled off a reflex save from Britt to prevent Boro taking a deserved lead. Then Derby broke free from the onslaught down the their right wing. Gibson came across to help out Fabio but instead of shielding, clattering or tackling the attacker rounded Ben with ease, played a through ball between Fabio and Clayts to Vydra past Forshaw and a quick one two with Nugent saw the ball in the back off the Boro net totally against the run of play. Fast, slick, pacy and powerful football, not a dithering moment or backwards pass in the entire build up, not even a lumped in cross just on the ground direct football.

That single solitary goal knocked the stuffing out of Boro, hopes, belief and confidence just visibly drained from the faces of the Boro players after that sickening blow to an otherwise very positive start. When Boro restarted the game Nugent went flying into the Boro half chasing the ball with vigour resulting in Ayala clattering his former team mate and taking a yellow for his troubles. If it wasn’t bad enough conceding you would think we could restart the game with a bit of drive. Derby and Nugent in particular knew that we like to pass the ball around like pensioners playing pass the parcel at an incontinence fund raiser. Hassle, pressurise and confuse by closing down quickly and the floor becomes very wet around those in possession.

The next 20 minutes or so saw Boro looking sheepish, plenty of possession and lofted crosses but not with the style and swagger in those first opening minutes. Derby were not going to push us too much and seemed happy and content with their one goal advantage. Carson must have wasted over 5 minutes himself just taking goal kicks yet the Officials seemed oblivious to the time wasting. Fair play to him, Derby hadn’t won at the Riverside in 17 years and this was an opportunity not to let slip.

The last ten minutes of the first half saw Boro start to shake off their woes and begin firing on all cylinders again as they ended the half in the same manner in which they had started. We possibly saw some of the best Boro build ups and moves this season yet we were a goal behind. Surely after a half time team talk, extra application, and determined focus we would come out and grab an equaliser and push on. We had all the possession and were by far the better side it was just a matter of time.

I don’t know what happened in the Boro dressing room at half time but it clearly didn’t gee them up or have them coming out fired up. If I was a betting man my money would have been on them taking a nap because they fell asleep straight from the off. Braithwaite dawdled and passed back (which was something we actually excelled at all afternoon) why? I have no idea, I actually think he was confused and hadn’t realised we had changed ends and were still shooting towards the opposite goal. It wasn’t just a bad back pass it was unbelievably unnecessarily stupid beyond belief. It was the sort of ball that would have Far East bookmakers launching a frenzied investigation had there been a huge bet on Derby scoring in the 46th minute. Nugent raced on to that suicide ball, played in Vydra who was up ended by the already booked Ayala. Straight Red card most of us feared yet he stayed on the pitch thankfully much to the annoyance of the away support.

The resultant penalty was despatched with confidence by Vydra for his and Derby’s second of the match. At this point Ayala had become a serious liability especially when considering his grappling and flailing arm display at Leeds just 6 days previously. GM had to remove him from the fray and put on Dael Fry yet he somehow didn’t see what 23,000 odd could see was going to happen. We know that when Dani is on fire he is brilliant but we also know that he has his off days and with it the odd rick in him. This penalty wasn’t of his making, that blame lay squarely at the feet of Braithwaite but to remain on the pitch was about as fortunate as GM and us Boro fans could have wished for. Take the good fortune and get him the heck out of there surely. Bizarrely Ayala remained on the pitch which left me surprised and shaking my head at the gullible naivety of GM.

I didn’t have to wait long before the absolute bleeding obvious happened and headless Dani clattered into a stupid challenge over the half way line in the Derby half to give the Ref the easiest second yellow and sending off decision he will ever have to make in his entire career. Now 2-0 down and down to ten men and to rub salt in the wounds it was Nugent who was the justifiably aggrieved party picking himself off the floor.

As Boro resorted to default passing sideways and backwards ever more so it was Nugent again who chased a lost cause down the Derby right forcing Fabio to try and find Randolph with a rushed back pass only for the ROI stopper to slice his kick and present Vydra with the opportunity to smash it past him for his hat trick. My hope is that if Randolph was going to drop a clanger then it may as well have been in this game because there was absolutely nothing from the moment the second the half kicked off that made us hope that Boro would mount any further threat. It was a series of balls back to Randolph interspersed with the odd Forshaw Cryuff turn to nowhere before then passing back or sideways.

All momentum, ingenuity, organisation and discipline had gone. Fry came on too late to shore up a pitiful back line let down by a dysfunctional midfield and poor Britt was isolated and alone. Downing and Fabio tried and along with Christie showed some effort but from the opening brilliance to sheer abject garbage was beyond the effort of just three individuals. The Derby fans oleyed every pass as Randolph had to save further Boro blushes. Adama had come on but it was too little too late. Bamford too was brought on but again too little too late. The lack of in-game management meant that instead of changing things around we just continued rolling it out from the back putting ourselves straight back into trouble.

There is no way a manager can be held responsible for a player losing his head and being unprofessional but having been given a get out of jail card free and not hooking him is culpable. Interestingly I had said earlier in the week about Braithwaite looking a different class at times but as yet there is just something that I’m not quite sure off, well after that back pass he would have been hooked within seconds and replaced immediately by me. I’m sure our previous Manager would have done that and probably start speaking to him again by next Easter if he was lucky.

It started brilliantly; it clicked but fell apart and derailed all too easily and quickly. Another team at the sharp end of the table that we fail to beat and worse still let humiliate us. To me this isn’t just about this one game, there is a pattern emerging and one that after 19 games of a clunky, spluttering, “time to gel” season is not a coincidence nor a series of unfortunate events. Team selection, tactics, devoid of a settled plan or pattern is blindingly obvious. A Leeds fan said (very smugly) to me last week that I shouldn’t get so worked up and expect so much, Boro have a manager who will keep us in the top half, even top third but hasn’t the ability to go any higher. I think he is right and the more I reflect upon our season I’m convinced he is. Unless we are playing the bottom six sides we are totally out of our depth and Bolton apart and periods of Hull I haven’t seen anything to convince me that my smug Leeds colleague is wrong.

This was the third draft of the match report, believe me I had to edit out huge swathes of observations and tone it down before settling for this version. The team, tactics and direction simply fell apart and whilst certain individuals undisputedly let the team, manager and fans down today I suspect it was symptomatic of a deeper underlying cause. I have seen it before and I know it will have to wait until it becomes ridiculously unbearable but something has to change, no doubt it will as usual be too late.

My MOM was Nugent, by far the best Boro player on the pitch, just a shame that he was playing for Derby, at least the Boro fans showed their class and gave him a good ovation when he was subbed.

Boro hope to ram home advantage

After the arguments last week of whether Leeds was still a derby game, there is no doubt that the game on Saturday is definitely the Derby game. In midweek, Boro got their promotion aspirations back on track following the disappointing display last Sunday at Elland Road with an improved performance against Birmingham. Admittedly the Blues were possibly the least effective side to turn up at the Riverside this season and Garry Monk’s team did enough to get the job done without overly impressing.

The Rams should prove a much sterner test this weekend as they currently sit level on points with Boro just behind on goal difference but having played a game less. We now know Boro can generally overcome the opposition at the foot of the table and happily the current bottom six have all been defeated by our expensively assembled team with 13 goals knocked in. Boro have fared less well against teams in the top half with just the Blades being put to the sword early in the season – the other six games saw four defeats and two draws with just 3 goals in those 7 games. Is that telling us something? Probably, but maybe it’s only telling us that Boro are failing to overly trouble teams that are not low on confidence and ability.

Despite the win over Birmingham and signs that Boro had actively tried to be more adventurous going forward, the team failed to go on to the next level against limited opposition. Indeed, they actually did what I suspected and mentioned in the match preview after scoring – they relaxed and took their foot off the gas and seemed to lose their initial intent as the Blues appeared to get back in the game before a sublime pass from Fabio and a clinical finish from Assombalonga meant the points were staying on Teesside. Boro will not have a chance to win on Saturday unless they keep at it for the whole 90 minutes – this is what we need to see against the better teams. Derby’s form going into the game at the Riverside is pretty good – slightly better than Boro’s with 13 points from the last 18 and usually a couple of goals in the opposition net.

Middlesbrough		Derby County
Garry Monk		Gary Rowett
P18 – W8 – D5 – L5 – F24 – A15		P17 – W8 – D5 – L4 – F26 – A20
Position Points Points per game Projected points	6th 29 1.6 74	Position Points Points per game Projected points	7th 29 1.7 78
Last 6 Games Birmingham (H) Leeds (A) Sunderland (H) Hull (A) Reading (A) Cardiff (H)	(H-T) 2:0 (2:0) W 1:2 (0:1) L 1:0 (1:0) W 3:1 (2:0) W 2:0 (1:0) W 0:1 (0:0) L	Last 6 Games QPR (H) Fulham (A) Reading (H) Leeds (A) Norwich (A) Sheff Wed (H)	F-T (H-T) 2:0 (1:0) W 1:1 (0:1) D 2:4 (0:2) L 2:1 (0:1) W 2:1 (1:0) W 2:0 (1:0) W

Like many relegated clubs, Derby County have struggled to regain their top-flight status after they parted company with the so-called elite clubs just over 15 years ago. The post-millennial Derby lost their Premier League status in 2002 after six seasons at the top table, which saw them have three different managers in Jim Smith, Colin Todd and finally former Villa boss John Gregory – it was also incidentally the season in which former Boro striker Fabrizio Ravenelli and soon to be Boro striker Malcolm Christie were the club’s joint top scorers with nine a piece.

Relegation saw Derby’s financial problems mounting with debts approaching £30m, which were mainly owed to the Co-op Bank. The bank appeared quite co-operative in striking some kind of deal with potential owners, John Sleightholme, Jeremy Keith and Steve Harding – whereby if they could stump up £15m, the club would be placed into receivership and subsequently sold to the three men for just one pound each. This deal cost many creditors a considerable sum of money, including the former chairman, Lionel Pickering, who had taken control of the club shortly before previous owner Robert Maxwell made his final drop in the ocean and was instrumental in the move to Pride Park. Pickering’s loss proved pride does come before a fall as he got dropped in it when he lost £12m thanks to this deal – with significant shareholder and Derby supporter Peter Gadsby also taking a hit too.

The £15m later transpired to be a loan from a company called the ABC Corporation based in Panama that would charge an annual interest of 10%. The new directors, dubbed the ‘Three Amigos’ by supporters, claimed (in what is becoming somewhat of a familiar story) they had no idea of the identity of those who had loaned them the money – though a later investigation by the journalist David Conn (yes him again) claims that the most likely source was Michael Hunt, the former Nissan UK managing director, who in 1993 was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in the UK’s largest ever tax fraud. In any case, they had engineered a deal to gain them control of the club for just three pounds.

Clearly the financially struggling club needed astute new management to turn them around, so it appears somewhat surprising that former barrister and coroner Sleightholme invited his friend, the Glaswegian ‘businessman’ from the Outer Hebrides called Murdo Mackay to the party. You may have thought any new appointments may have been closely scrutinised but it apparently went unnoticed that Mackay’s history included being a director of five companies that were struck off for failing to submit accounts, personal bankruptcy after his recruitment agency MMK went bust and the liquidation less than a year previous of his venture ‘Inside Soccer Recruitment’ that left the tax man and creditors owed nearly £160,000. Mackay ended up in the role of Director of Football as he’d apparently taken his coaching qualifications whilst working as a player’s agent, though his relationship with manager George Burley was frosty as he was accused of trying to interfere with team matters, which caused Burley to eventually quit his position.

Though it was in regard to the repaying of the £15m loan that caused the most outrage – Pride Park was sold to the to the ABC Corporation and in return was then rented back to the club for £1m per year. It later came to light following a three-year investigation by Derbyshire Police that Murdo Mackay, along with one of the one pound buyers, Jeremy Keith and long-time club Finance Director Andrew McKenzie did a secret deal shortly after the takeover without board approval to sell the stadium in which they were all personally paid £125,000 plus VAT in commission. They then hid this deal by routing the payment from Derby County to a third-party company using a false invoice for the combined sum of £440,625. Mackay and McKenzie were subsequently sentenced to three years in prison for conspiracy to defraud, with Jeremy Keith sentenced to 18 months for false accounting.

After this shabby affair, millionaire property developer and former shareholder, Peter Gadsby led a consortium to buy out the club in 2006. After the takeover, Gadsby and his consortium looked for a manager who could rebuild the weakened Derby squad, which had just one recognised striker, who we now know as Karren Brady’s husband, Paul Peschisolido. The man they decided on was that firework of a character Billy Davies, who is best not returned to when lit in case he explodes in your face unexpectedly. The consortium also started to clear some of the club’s debts, which somehow had risen to over £50m, as well as returning ownership of Pride Park back to the club – they even still had a bit of loose change to provide Davies with a respectable transfer budget. It all paid off when Davies finished in third place and then defeated West Brom in the Play-off final to secure promotion to the Premier League.

However, the joy of Derby’s return to the top-flight was short-lived as the club had a poor start to the season. Games 13 saw the unlucky Billy Davies seemingly engineer his own dismissal by ‘mutual consent’ after he went off unexpectedly following a rant against the board over poor signings. Though his team had shipped 31 goals in those opening games and their form was so bad that they even only managed to beat Newcastle 1-0, which would actually turn out to be their only win of the season. In fact so confident were bookies Paddy Power of their inability to escape relegation that they had already paid out to punters who had backed them for the drop after only five games following an inept 6-0 defeat at Liverpool. Such was the fans anger at the board’s apparent lack of investment in the team that October saw CEO Trevor Birch (who you may remember as the Leeds former CEO) forced out, shortly followed by Peter Gadsby who was subsequently replaced by the former Hull City owner Adam Pearson – though rumours of American buyers putting together a bid may have played a part in their decision to leave.

Former Wigan manager Paul Jewell was named as Davies replacement and brought in nine players in the January transfer window, including defenders Alan Stubbs and our own Danny Mills, as well as Robbie Savage. Though by the time the window had closed the club had once again new owners after they were purchased by an American group called GSE – that stands for General Sports and Entertainment – though it’s not clear which half of that name Derby fell into.

The American consortium, which subsequently changed their name to North American Derby Partners, were owned and run by Andy Appleby, who may well have reached out to Derby supporters that think the grass is always greener, as one of his ventures was as an exclusive marketing partner of AstroTurf – where not only is the grass greener, it’s also long-lasting – albeit fake. Though it seems the group were serious investors after putting together a consortium to finance the $100m takeover of Derby – whether some of the American investors that pitched in ended up wondering when they were going to get to go to the Baseball Ground instead is only conjecture though. Appleby claimed he had passion for sports and it’s what keeped him going by declaring “It’s kind of like the Confucius quote: Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – something that many a footballer appear to have taken way too literally for my liking!

Adam Pearson remained as chairman and he proudly boasted after the American takeover “This is a significant day in the history of this club and the takeover adds new financial firepower, underpinning a long-term plan to establish Derby County as a major player in the Premier League” before adding “The long-term aim is to establish the Derby County brand worldwide… and obviously develop a squad which over the coming seasons is renowned as a Premier League force.” Despite these words and the arrival of new players, a manager and owners, The Rams sheepishly became the first Premier League club to be relegated in March – six games before the season ended with the lowest points total ever of just 11. They also equalled the historic 108 year Football League record of Loughborough of only winning one game in a season.

Ten years after the American owners first arrived with their vision, Derby supporters are still waiting to be force or even minor disturbance in the Premier League. The American dream eventually ended in 2015 when they sold the club to new owner Mel Morris for an undisclosed fee. He’s a Derby fan and entrepreneur who made his fortune through the famous computer game Candy Crush and has also taken on the role of Chairman. Since relegation managers have come and gone with the – try the son of club legend in Nigel Clough – try the former player and assistant manager in Steve McClaren – try the apprentice of one of the world’s best coaches in Carlo Ancelotti’s right hand man Paul Clement – try the manager that got a local rival promoted in Nigel Pearson – try that man again we tried before in case he’ll try harder this time in Steve McClaren – finally, shall we try a former player again? in Gary Rowett.

Back onto the Saturday’s game and team selection issues for Garry Monk to ponder. The return of Fabio instead of George Friend was a resounding success as he put in a MOM contending performance. Christie naturally returned after missing out for the first time due to suspension so no surprises there. Next up for suspension is Howson, who also put in a good performance against the Blues – it’s likely that he will be replaced by Forshaw to partner a creaking Leadbitter in the engine room. The question on many supporters lips is whether matchday squad stranger Adam Clayton will make an appearance on the bench – if he doesn’t then his future at the club must be seriously in doubt. A rare appearance of Patrick Bamford from the bench showed he can offer a real threat to the opposition and on that form he appears to have been much underused. Given Johnson’s average performance it must be worth moving Braithwaite back to the left and playing Paddy in the number ten role where he can offer the team his vision. I suspect Adama will need to be content with a place on the bench but he needs more than five minutes on the pitch to loosen up his coiled springs.

So will Boro be butted out of the playoff zone by the Rams making a charge up the table? Or will Derby be put out to grass as they sheepishly return back to the East Midlands having been fleeced of the points by Boro? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will a smouldering Clayton come off the bench all charged-up and see red as he quickly heads back down the tunnel for a cooling shower?

Middlesbrough		Birmingham City
Assombalonga	10′ 41′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	54% 17  7  9  7	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	46% 12  2  5  7

Britt brace blows the blues away!

Pressures of work and the thought of howling wind and rain didn’t exactly have me excited for this one; suffice to say my attendance was more in obligation than elation. Our surprise three win run now ended, reality meant we were now back in the pack chasing the 3rd and 4th play-off spots which as we know can be a lottery even on the final day of the season.

Steve Cotterill’s side hadn’t won a game away from home all season with just a singular point to show for their paltry nine goals scored since hope beckoned under Harry back in August. Boro had high hopes themselves way back in August with a glittery star studded collection of Championship jewels that had lost not only their sparkle but arguably for some their invoiced value. Walking up the Riverside Road I wondered if SG had or indeed was even able to take out GAP insurance for his summer spending spree?

There had to be some selection changes after Sunday in order to restore sanity and obviously Christie who was desperately missed had to return along with Johnson coming in for Tav who had taken a physical battering and George who had taken a psychological one replaced by Fabio. The weather was nothing short of horrible especially those of us in the lower sections of the ground with the rain pelting down leaving us drenched just from watching the warm ups.

Interestingly Boro’s warm up seemed to be focussed on shooting practice. Gone was the one two interplay passing and shooting and instead lining up like schoolboys for class, running forwards and taking turns to shoot. Maybe this was a sign that some basic thinking was being applied which essentially meant that if you pass and don’t shoot you won’t win games but if you have a crack eventually something will give or at least should by the law of averages.

The opening few minutes saw some Boro pressure and Birmingham’s game plan of sitting deep and not over committing. Understandable I suppose given the circumstances as they were the away side with a really appalling away record. It has to be said that this Birmingham side looked bereft of any idea and confidence, possibly the poorest side I have seen at the Riverside in a long long while. Jota who we courted in the summer was distinctly average in front of Nsue who had a decent game for the Blues but other than that there was nothing of remote concern. Downing who had been an object of desire for Birmingham or Harry at least in the summer was putting on a display to show them what they could have had in contrast to the ineffective Jota.

On ten minutes Fabio set up a move which saw Braithwaite floored and then Britt pick up the loose ends and feed Stewy who cut inside onto the edge of the D, fired a fierce shot at Kuszczak who bizarrely parried it straight up in the air only for Britt following in with a poacher’s instinct to head home. The early goal we felt would settle nerves and we would now go on to turn the screw. As bad as Birmingham were it didn’t quite happen that way. As hapless and as disorganised that Birmingham looked we somehow managed to give the ball away through sloppy passing or over-complicating the simple stuff almost inviting them to get back into the game.

Strangely Steve Cotterill’s side still sat deep despite going behind and genuinely looked clueless as to what to do next. We passed the ball around but we just didn’t look convincing, a lot better than Leeds definitely and you can only beat what’s in front of you but the ground for a night game seemed quiet and at times felt more like a pre-season knock about. We even gifted them a couple of chances one of which required a point blank Randolph block low down at the corner of his 6 yard box and another gift from Ayala which he managed to get back and put in a redeeming sliding block on the edge of his own box to spare his blushes from old boy Grounds.

The game was no classic and whilst we were not in any real danger apart from our own enforced errors the anticipated goal avalanche just didn’t look to be coming anytime soon. In fact it took a piece of bare faced cheek or sublime skill from Fabio to hook an up and under ball to Britt to bury any feint hope the travelling Blues support had to slot home from just about on the penalty spot making it two nil just before half time on 41 minutes.

The second half saw Maghoma come on for Davis and Cotterill (not Steve) come on for Adams. Maghoma and Jota then moved in behind the Striker and the pair of them looked lively and started to pull the strings as Boro seemed content camping in their own half protecting the two goal advantage. Things were extremely uncomfortable for the opening 15 minutes or so and it looked like it might be one of those Typical Boro nights when we throw away a two goal lead against a distinctly poor side indeed.

Having survived the opening onslaught eventually Birmingham looked to be running out of ideas which perhaps was just as well as we didn’t seem to have much innovation ourselves. Balls were being passed around with little penetration and indeed forward runs were often checked to pull the ball back and pass yet again with Johnson getting some groans. Ben found himself in the middle of the park, bringing the ball out from the back and instead of just getting rid or plain hoofing it decided to dribble past two blue shirts and lose possession only for Grant to step in with a high footed interception to clear up what would have been a straight through on goal two v. one on Randolph from the half way line. As it happened that was the end of Grants night as he was replaced by Forshaw presumably to rest him for Saturday especially as Howson had picked up a yellow which I believe may now have him suspended for Derby’s visit.

Concerns had been previously raised about Christie who looked to have twisted his knee badly and didn’t look to be running freely and as Forshaw warmed up it did cross my mind if GM would play him at RB. Bravely however Cyrus soldiered on perhaps buoyed by the banner of support from the Red faction.

Forshaw was immediately tenacious, disrupting play whilst Howson who had steadily set up moves and read intentions all night carried on as normal alongside having one of his better games including managing a 25 yard strike which sailed into the North Stand upper. On 71 minutes Bamford was then brought on for Braithwaite who was looking a little jaded and tired as the game wore on.

Paddy was clearly looking to impress on his arrival and added much sparkle, zest and zip, linking up well with both Stewy and almost with Britt. I say “almost” because there were some clever balls and movements but the pair of them needed more game time to read each other. The positive was that it put a smile on Britts face as he clearly appreciated the creative support. Bamford himself had a shot which just went narrowly wide of the post and also called Kuszczak into action diving at his feet from a nicely weighted ball from Stewy.

Downing then came off to a rousing ovation for Traore with only a few minutes left plus the four minutes of additional time. Adama managed a mazy dribble beating four defenders before the Lino adjudged the ball to have come off Adama for a goal kick. In the last minute of the game however as Boro cleared their lines Adama won a header twenty yards out in his own half, wriggled free and rampaged down the middle of the park drawing in defenders trying to block him and sent a through ball for Paddy who took it forward and then cut it across to Britt who nearly finished the night with his third only for Nsue who managed to cut in and clear it just before it reached him.

We won all three points in a must not lose game but in reality the opposition were really poor and but for late cameos from Bamford and Traore there wasn’t much to excite. Saturday and Derby will be a much sterner test. If I was marking them I would have to say 6/10, can do better. My MOM was between Fabio (who had a goal bound shot deflected), Stewy and Britt for both his goals but for overall contribution I think Stewy might have edged it but only just.

Boro hope to wipe away the Blues

Garry Monk’s team will try to shake off the Blues at the Riverside on Wednesday following a rather grey performance against the Whites at Elland Road that left a cloud of gloom hanging over Boro’s renewed promotion aspirations. The performance against Leeds failed to build on the three straight wins before the international break that many had hoped had finally turned the corner on a rather bumpy road to nowhere that had diverted Boro’s promotion chances. Despite those wins against struggling teams, the team displays were not particularly convincing in most parts – more solid and workmanlike than those befitting a squad professing to contain an embarrassment of attacking riches.

It’s been clear to expectant Boro watchers for much of the season that something is missing – whether it’s the creative spark or the confident drive going forward that gives a team its swagger – it’s not really evident. This is not something new, under both Karanka and Agnew, the essence of the team was one of caution first, expression later – almost an apprehension that the opposition are better and must be first stopped from being allowed to play their game. What about Boro’s game? Is there a real belief within the team, from the manager to the players (or even to the supporters) that all that unrivaled spending on an array of attacking talent before the season started had got us wondering how on earth could Monk decide on who to leave out.

Instead, the questions have increasingly started to become about which of our signings have started to show that they deserve their place. Perhaps they have been poorly integrated or supplied – some have been jettisoned from the matchday squad altogether and appear to be heading for a January exit, while others have failed to find their feet and have seemingly lost their touch and confidence. Building a team is perhaps not an exact science (or maybe it is) and it may well be that in the dash to sign up players in a busy market some key components got overlooked. Pace and power were the rebuilding buzz words but maybe guile was neglected from the summer shopping list. We know that even Karanka’s promotion winning team didn’t really function until the vision and skills of Gaston Ramirez suddenly made the team click around him – Boro lack such a player at the moment and really that should have been first on any smashing wish list.

Middlesbrough		Birmingham City
Garry Monk		Steve Cotterill
P17 – W7 – D5 – L5 – F22 – A15		P17 – W4 – D3 – L10 – F9 – A25
Position Points Points per game Projected points	6th 26 1.5 70	Position Points Points per game Projected points	21st 15 0.88 40
Last 6 Games Leeds (A) Sunderland (H) Hull (A) Reading (A) Cardiff (H) Barnsley (A)	(H-T) 1:2 (0:1) L 1:0 (1:0) W 3:1 (2:0) W 2:0 (1:0) W 0:1 (0:0) L 2:2 (1:2) D	Last 6 Games Nottm Forest (H) Barnsley (A) Brentford (H) Aston Villa (H) Millwall (A) Cardiff (H)	F-T (H-T) 1:0 (1:0) W 0:2 (0:1) L 0:2 (0:0) L 0:0 (0:0) D 0:2 (0:0) L 1:0 (1:0) W

Birmingham arrive in the North-East with their season not looking in particular good shape, having already given Harry the heave-ho two months ago after he failed to walk-the-walk despite his renowned ability to talk-the-talk. Steve Cotterill has taken over but with no real impact on the pitch – it’s clear scoring goals is their elephant in front of the opposition goal and with just nine this season they are going to have trouble winning games if the opposition score.

In recent weeks we’ve seen how club ownership has often left fans hostage to the fortunes (or lack of fortunes) of those who appear almost randomly decided to takeover the supporters dreams. In the mid-1980’s, a financially struggling Birmingham was sold to former Walsall chairman Ken Wheldon, who tried to get the club back on an even keel by undertaking the task of cutting costs and selling assets, including the training ground. Though despite the cuts, he still couldn’t get to grips with the financially troubled club and decided to sell it on to the Kumar brothers in 1989, though the ones involved in the clothing business rather than the others who lived at number 42. However, following the famous collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) in 1991, the Kumars suddenly found themselves bankrupt and Birmingham City was once again left looking for new ownership.

An advert in the Financial Times was then spotted by a young ambitious women in her early twenties, which lead to her putting an interesting proposal to her boss. The woman in question, is now probably better known from the television show ‘The Apprentice’ in which she is Lord Sugar’s latest sidekick, namely Karren Brady or Baroness Brady as she’s also rather grandly now known. The young Brady was appointed at the age of 20 as a director of those two slightly misnamed esteemed journals ‘The Daily Sport’ and ‘The Sunday Sport’, which were owned by the pornographer David Sullivan. She was appointed after he’d been apparently impressed with her ability to sell to him £2m worth of advertising in six months whilst Brady was working as an advertising executive for LBC. Then a few years later she saw that advert in the FT, which was looking for new owners of the club after it went into receivership. Brady then persuaded Sullivan to buy Birmingham on the condition she could run it and in 1993 at the age of just 23 she became the club’s managing director.

It was rare to have a women in such a high profile position in football and she claims it made her a target for sexism. In one famous story, as she boarded the team bus for the first time, a player apparently shouted “I can see your tits from here” – to which Brady responded “When I sell you to Crewe you won’t be able to see them from there will you?” and the over observant player was indeed promptly sold. That was a clear message to the players that they better understand quickly who was in charge. Though not all of the footballers at the club got on the wrong side of her – she famously married Canadian footballer and then Birmingham top scorer Paul Peschisolido – indeed they are still together and have two children.

The club itself was co-owned by David Sullivan and David Gold who made their fortunes together in the adult industry – in fact Welshman Sullivan was once sent to prison in 1982 after he was convicted of ‘living off immoral earnings’ but was eventually released after serving just over two months, following a successful appeal. Gold is the self-confessed son of an East End criminal known rather imaginatively as ‘Goldy’ by his fellow associates – one story that the former Birmingham owner is fond of telling is how, following a copper ingot heist from a Thames barge by his father’s gang, Goldy was supposed to be the getaway driver of the haul but fell asleep in the rather comfy cab of his lorry and was subsequently collared by the police and sent down. Prison left his family to live in “abject poverty” according to David Gold and he instead found escapism in football as an avid Hammers supporter. Gold even ending up playing for West Ham boys in the 1950’s with the offer of a professional contract but no doubt turned it down to pursue his early business career – which ironically lead to him making the wealth that ultimately made him the now club’s owner.

After 16 years as owners of Birmingham, Sullivan and Gold finally sold the club in 2009 to Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung for over £80m after the club was promoted to the Premier League. Yeung had previously tried to takeover the club two years earlier but had failed to deliver the cash in time to meet the deadline – an aborted bid which caused then manager Steve Bruce to quit the club as manager. He then acquired 30 per cent of the club through his company Grandtop International Holdings (which later changed its name to Birmingham International Holdings Ltd), which was based in the Cayman Islands, before making a second successful bid. Yeung arrived in London from Hong Kong at the age of 12 and trained to be a hairdresser before returning to Hong Kong to make his fortune in the real estate industry (as hairdressers apparently do). After the Asian financial crisis he then made an even bigger fortune by dealing in Penny Stocks in the Chinese autonomous territory of Macau – Penny Stocks are low price (usually under a dollar) high risk shares that are not generally traded at major stock exchanges.

However, in June 2011 he was arrested in Hong Kong and charged on five counts of money laundering – this caused the club to be left in financial limbo resulting in a transfer embargo being imposed by the Football League. The case eventually went to trial in May 2013 and lasted 10 months before finding Yeung guilty of laundering a total of HK$270 (around £26m). He was sentenced to six years in prison and was forced to put his company that owned the club, Birmingham International Holdings, up for sale. It was a long drawn out affair as Yeung tried to influence who could be appointed directors of the company and sold the shares gradually – Eventually, the British Virgin Islands based investment vehicle, the somewhat optimistically named Trillion Trophy Asia gained over 50 per cent of the shares allowing them to make an offer for the remaining ones. The men behind Trillion Trophy Asia are two Hong Kong businessmen, Paul Suen Cho Hung and Daniel Sue Ka Lok, who are also involved in real estate and specialise in turning around distressed Hong Kong assets – though whether the Birmingham players deserve to win a ‘million medals’ (as Harry might have said before he was sacked) may depend on if they can turn their season around and avoid the drop.

Football ownership has increasingly become a game dependent on the arrival of random rich men with the West Midlands clubs having pretty much fallen into Chinese ownership in recent years. The richest is Wolves owner Guo Guangchang, through his Fosun International Group, who reportedly has net worth of £4.4bn to make him ‘the richest man in the West Midlands’ – a phrase best spoken for full effect in a brummie accent. Then there’s the new West Brom owner Lai Guochuan, who bought the club through Yuni Investments from Jeremy Peace for a price reportedly between £150-200m and with personal wealth of £2.8bn makes him ‘only the third richest man in the West Midlands’ – adds brummie accent in incredulous tone. Finally comes the Aston Villa chairman Xia Jiantong, or Tony Xia as he prefers to be called now, who bought the club he apparently supported in his Oxford University days from Randy Lerner for £76m. Purchased through his Recon Group in order to expand his ‘sports portfolio’, Tony is sadly barely a billionaire with a net worth of just £990m, though he calls himself “more than a dollar billionaire” – coincidentally, many in the West Midlands also now call themselves Zimbabwean dollar billionaires.

Back onto the game and Garry Monk will want to win this game and preferably show that his team is progressing or at least give the Riverside faithful a performance to cheer. With this the second game of three in six days, it’s unlikely that he’ll have anything radical up his sleeve to alter the recent tactics. You’d expect Cyrus Christie to return and with Friend appearing to have been partly to blame for both Leeds goals in a less than adequate performance I’d expect Fabio back as a starter. After that, much will depend on what he feels he can do to freshen up a stale looking Boro on their last two outings. Adama, despite his erratic nature still offers forward momentum and would generally be expected to start loosely on the right – Downing could go left instead or even become the number ten with Braithwaite shifting out wide. Perhaps we’ll even see some rotation of places throughout the game to see what works. There could even be an option to see something more adventurous in central midfield – where maybe the forgotten Baker could return to a role I thought he’d eventually reside in. Though before we get too excited, the reality is that we’ll probably see very few surprises when it comes to team selection as Birmingham should be beatable with Monk’s favourites lining up again.

So will Boro show that they are no longer feeling peaky and play a blinder at the Riverside? Or will Garry Monk’s team appear off-colour as they leave the supporters with the blues? as usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will Emilio Nsue remind us that we may have sold the wrong fullback?