The one great factor which we all forget is that signing an old timer for money is a direct transfer from us to a well run club, of money!, which is the life blood of the game. Old timers are not worth signing no matter that they can do a job! The well run club have called time on his usefulness , and we are taking on his decline and exit from the game, at a great cost and with no escape clause, he stays until he is driven away to retirement (he has no option, the money is too good). Find out who is going to replace him and offer him better money than Cardiff to join us.
Len, how a player is perceived is a direct result of our coaching and game management, surely we have had more than our share of players being grabbed by well run clubs for washers and enjoying Good careers. We are definitely not the club for anyone with the ability to have a career in the game. Case studies are useful in their way and painful for us supporters. Whatever your personal opinion of Wing, getting him for nothing, any well run club who didn't fancy him would, or should, have had no difficulty in collecting a few million for his services after his spectacular entry into the game, his goal tally would have been boosted by penalties, a few well earned free kicks on the front edge of the box, the same. One could have accepted his omissions from the team had we been any good , but, my goodness, take away the Manager's. patter and there is no avoiding the bleedin fact that he made Britt Captain! I dread reading his purchase list.
I'd much prefer us to be looking at younger strikers with intelligent movement, good technique and composure - pace would be a big bonus too but we can't have it all at a budget - rather than a cut-price big lump.
Of course, we'd need to completely change the way we play to them but I'd be in favour of that too even if it means another 10th place next season.
Boro have been linked with .........
It’s that time of year again. The season proper has finished and the silly season of rumour, counter-rumour and speculation has replaced it. It’s a feverish time when Boro start the hunt for the 8 or 9 megastars who will surely lead us to promotion and the promised land. Already the media is full of names that we have been linked with. Some are wild dreams, others wild guesses, and yet more are just plain wild. Here are a few you may not have heard of yet..........
Boro’s scouts have been very active all over Europe, Asia and Africa. Two goalkeepers have been on Boro’s radar. Japanese keeper, Harry Kari, may not fit the bill, however, as he has an unfortunate record of rushing out of his goal to take down onrushing attackers, whilst Spaniard, Pedro Don Key, may well remind Boro fans of the last two Spanish keepers the club signed. Still, anybody’s better than Betty Nelly.
Boro have been linked with a number of Scots defenders, as Neil Warnock seeks to shore up his porous defence. They’ve made enquiries about man mountain, Ben Nevis, and his rugged, gnarly team mate, Glen Coe, both fixtures in Highland League Fort William’s squad. Boro have also been linked with Beltit Rozed, the talented Hungarian no-nonsense centre half.
Warnock has often been quoted as wanting leaders in his squad. It’s no surprise, therefore, that Boro have asked about the availability of tigerish Algerian scrapper, Ali Katz. Warnock has also long admired the fighting leadership qualities of Serbia’s midfield trio, Yura Sonovabic, Lastdic and the unsettled Sevenyearic, who is now seeking pastures new after 7 seasons at his current club. He probably won’t pursue early enquiries in their teammate, Filthiric, however, as Boro are worried about matching his current salary. However, our reporters have identified classic Teesside grit locally and think Boro could do worse than look at the Park brothers, Albert and Stewart. Boro have also been linked with lion-hearted Tanzanian superstar, Ngorongoro Krater. They could yet revise their interest in Botswana’s captain, Chumba Wumba, who is likely to come at a knock-down price; his leadership qualities are well known - ‘He gets knocked down, but he gets up again,’ as his national manager, Okavango Delta, said recently.
Rumours that Boro are considering making offers for Russian pairing, E Triptimova and U Sentimov are wide of the mark, as their disciplinary records are not good. Between them they have collected more red cards than the Bolsheviks, Lee Cattermole and Emmanuel Pogatetz put together.
We understand that Boro are also interested in playmaker, Doug Deepe. Let’s hope Boro don’t make the same mistake they made with Digard. Club officials apparently thought his name meant he would get stuck in when the going got tough. They didn’t account for him having glass legs. It’s hoped Doug will instead live up to his name and prove to be a resilient character. And he’s already had to dig deep twice in his career, just recently when he was sacked by Gravesend Gravediggers after their humiliating relegation from the Isthmian League division 5, and once previously when he was fined heavily by his club - a record fine for The Shovels - for breaking Covid lockdown rules. Sounds like he has character in spades. Sounds like just the kind of leadership Boro need.
Boro fans may recall Salomon Kalou, the former Chelsea striker, but may not be aware of his younger brother, Hasungotta. We gather Warnock has had him watched several times. ‘Hasungotta hasn’t yet made it to the big time,’ Warnock said, when asked about the club’s interest. ‘He’s played a few times for Gillingham’s under-23s, but we think he’s got real potential, as he’s scored twice in sixteen games. I’m sure I’ll be able to transform him into a quality striker. He’s just the kind of young, rising talent we need.’ After all, Neil knows all about young talent - just look at the significant amount of game time he allowed Boro’s youngsters at the end of the season. Boro are rumoured to have offered the Gills two million pounds. Seems cheap at half the price.......
Boro have been linked with Greek defender, Stifas Rigamortis, whose nonchalant, almost lethargic movement at set pieces could be just the thing to complement Boro’s existing zonal marking of nobody in particular. We understand that Warnock was also keen on Rigamortis’ team-mate, Kostas Megadrachmas, but the club has apparently been dissuaded by his exorbitant salary demands. Similarly, the club will not be pursuing their interest in FC Parmigiano’s shaven-headed midfielder, Maximo Tagliatelle, despite his having scored game-saving diving headers in a cup semi-final, because his expectations of club lunches and hospitality were said to be gastronomic. Tagliatelle said, ‘I want the same dough that Midough got.’
Boro have a surplus of dynamic and free-scoring midfielders, as Boro’s fans readily recognise. However, several talented midfielders are likely to be released by their clubs this summer. Acquiring some of these would really strengthen the squad. The Belgian, Hertz Van Rentals and Welshman, Dai Hatsu, both have good engines. Warnock is keeping tabs on the Gunn triplets - Tommy, Bren and Lewis, but has expressed doubts that Aldershot will release them from their contracts prematurely. Nonetheless, all three have proven themselves good marksmen. Spanish Italian, Franco Mussolini, is a hard-faced right-winger who regularly beats his opponents, whilst the critics’ friend, the Indian Pandit Mercilessly, offers something different.
Finally, Boro have been linked with The Little Fellow, the French wizard, Didier Didi - known as Diddy to his friends. Some fans have said this is a cynical ploy to kid people that a new Juninho is coming. Didier says he models himself on his hero, Jeremie Aliadiere.
Warnock’s search for the towering, bustling, rambunctious, ten-goal-a-season striker is gathering pace. Already this week he has been linked with the Irishman, Rick O’Shay, who holds the EFL record for hitting the woodwork most times in a season. Warnock has made an offer for Oya Amaowa, the Japanese striker, who used to be a riveter in a Tyneside shipyard, but was disappointed to learn that Oya is not after all six foot six.
He may be tempted to look at Icelandic striker Harpoon Gunnarsson. Fans may remember his great spearhead partnership at FK Eyjafjallajokul Whalers with the American, Courtney Fish. Warnock is also interested in giant Turkish centre-forward, Umi Gooliz, the attacker who once played alongside former Wimbledon bad boy, Vinny Jones.
MHowever, our reporters have heard from a good source that the most likely striker to join Boro this summer is former Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Mansfield, Forest Green, Sutton United, Wrexham, Eibar, Falkirk, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Wimbledon, Southend, Workington, Cove Rangers, Juventus, Stranraer, Macclesfield and Bury striker, the much-travelled, Halifax-born Willy Eckerslike. Fans of a certain age will recall how Willy inspired that magnificent chant at Southend: ‘Willy, willy, willy score, willy score? Willy, willy, willy score, Willy Eckerslike.’ Willy scored four goals at Macclesfield, but alas, could not prevent them being relegated and wound up. Boro are set to offer Willy a five-year contract. ‘If you want the best, you have to pay for it, whatever it costs,’ said a happy Warnock.
The Gazette would like to hear other rumours fans have picked up of Boro interest in new signings.
Brilliant, Clive. Hope they haven't got highlight tapes or our recruitment team might well bite at a few of these.
@clive-hurrenClive-hurren
That's put a smile on my face. Brilliant.
Thanks for taking the time to compose that post.
@clive-hurren. Brilliant, thank you, haven't laughed as much in ages. Even Mrs P was chuckling! 😎
re Clive Hurren
Brilliant Clive. I take it that Warnock is not interested in the two Siamese twins from Thailand Wewunwonce and Owlongsince.
There should be a stipulation set for NW. Do NOT sign any players over 28. Otherwise we end up with another hangover and clear out at the end of next season!
One of the tales of the fifties was about Boro’s match against a relegation threatened team who Boro were playing away for the first time and only Ugolini, Hardwick and Mannion arrived in time for the kickoff. Nevertheless the three of them defended resolutely and Mannion scored a first half hat trick to give Boro a 3-0 lead at the interval. Poor Wilf was shattered so George gave him permission to join his England colleagues for an international match in the evening, saying that he was sure that he and Ugo could take care of Boro’s opponents in the second half. When Wilf heard that Boro had subsequently lost 3-10 he phoned Ugo to ask what had gone wrong, Ugo replied that the rest of the team had found their way to the ground for the second half and were able to play.
I think this story might have been related by comedian Al Read, though I’m not certain, but the suggestion was that Boro were such a poor side, even in those days, just relying mostly on their two international players. Boro and Chelsea were the butt of many music hall jokes in those days, one tale was about Chelsea’s captain saying “I’m not superstitious but when Arsenal scored their 13th goal, I had a feeling we might lose”.
Wonderful, Ken! I hadn’t heard those before.
Lowestoft Town’s young defender Josh Wells has signed for Middlesbrough.
The 18-year-old will link up with the Championship club on a professional deal from July.
The former Thetford Town player has previously been on trial with Boro’s Under-18s and Under-23s.
OFB
Meanwhile Akpom has been told he can leave, another high earner and recruited by Video too, about which Mr Warnock is not happy. What did Boro pay for him? 3 million a year ago? Someone needs to get a grip. Are the recruitment team fit for purpose?
UTB,
John
Former Arsenal forward Chuba Akpom has been told he has no future at Middlesbrough,
The 25-year-old joined Boro last summer when they paid Greek club PAOK just under £3m for his signature. But Boro chief Neil Warnock has been left somewhat underwhelmed by the former Arsenal man. Five league goals in over 30 appearances followed this season, and now Warnock has made it clear to Akpom that he is not in his plans.
The writing may well have been on the wall for a while for Akpom as earlier this year Warnock admitted that the striker had been signed off by their recruitment team after watching videos, something he was not happy with.
“I can make anybody look good on a video. We really have to go into everything a bit more when we’re looking to sign players,” Warnock said.
“I don’t think we’ll be signing another player on the recruitment (team’s) say after just watching a video, we need to watch players live.”
We now understand that Akpom’s representatives have been charged with finding a new club for him. And already a number of teams are looking at a possible deal which is likely to be a loan as he is one of Boro’s highest earners at the club.
Millwall, QPR, Bristol City and Charlton are amongst the clubs who have been approached about the possibility of taking him. Akpom is still under contract until 2023, with the option of another 12 months.
With Akpom on his way, Warnock is looking at a total overhaul of his striking department with out-of-contract duo Ashley Fletcher and Britt Assombalonga already departed.
Warnock said at the start of April that £15m Assombalonga was unlikely to play for him again after admitting the player will leave this summer.
OFB
Middlesbrough are plotting a free summer move for QPR’s Joe Lumley, who was wanted by Nottingham Forest last January.
Lumley, 26, has played second-fiddle to Seny Dieng at QPR this season. Mark Warburton trusted him as his no.1 at the start of the campaign but he was soon replaced, and sent out on loan to the likes of Gillingham an Doncaster Rovers in emergency loans.
Since, Lumley has made a handful of appearances for QPR in the last couple of weeks and has thoroughly impressed on his return to the side.
His contract is out in the summer and talks are supposedly ongoing. But now Football Insider reports that Neil Warnock wants a free summer move for the Englishman, who was being linked with a move to Nottingham Forest in January.
Having graduated through the club’s youth academy, Lumley has gone to make 77 Championship appearances for the Rs – he is currently their longest-serving player.
The 2018/19 season was his most prolific though. Lumley featured 42 times for QPR in the Championship that season, having shared the no.1 spot with Liam Kelly last time round.
Now though, Warburton’s no.1 is Dieng and Lumley faces a potentially difficult decision in the summer.
Dieng has been linked with a move away and so QPR will be weary of losing the bulk of their goalkeeping department in one summer, with Liam Kelly being lined up by Motherwell too.
OFB
@original-fat-bob. If the story about the way in which CA was recruited is true (video) then yet again it shows the club, management and recruitment team in a poor light.
Just looking at his stats should have been enough to tell them that he was not a prolific scorer and in the light of previous purchases, he was clearly over valued. More money wasted! 😎
Exclusive - Middlesbrough have agreed a long-term contract with academy prospect Pharrell Willis after successfully fending off interest in the academy prospect from several Premier League clubs.
Willis has been instrumental in Boro finishing fourth in this season’s Under-18 Premier League behind only academy powerhouses Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool.
OFB
Sounds like Boro are producing some excellent prospects in the Under-18s - hopefully some will get their chance sooner rather than later instead of getting stuck behind some overpriced ageing journeymen. All we need now is for the first team to replicate this feat and finish fourth behind those three clubs in a couple of seasons...
I love the talk of finding Young players, the more the merrier. But to recruit on the basis of video clips means that the whole team of recruiters can be cleared out, at once. Utter idleness, to not walk into a match and just watch him alone, every kick, every move he makes, every run both on and off the ball, and then talk to the fans about his character, and then any other business, plus. I want us to sign no used players, and I do mean someone who has given his all for 6-7 seasons, no, they will not 'give good service', they have just done that for some other club. Get real, get players who are loving playing for a well funded club with great facilities. Old timers love the facilities, that would be the golf course and hospitality, and certainly see any threat of the prem. As a big downer.
The Boro have been attending a lot of games these past few weeks after Covid restrictions were eased, not only in the UK but in Europe as well.
There presence has also been seen at most of the local junior football games scouting players of the future and of course none of this games are to be seen on TV or DVD
Mkst of these scouts do this work for the love of the game, some travel expenses and a nice warm Boro coat to keep the cold and rain out as they travel mile after mile looking at what the North East has to offer.
Other scout of course have the computer systems but there is no substitute for seeing a player live on the files of play.
OFB
Yes, and often the player is seen several times during a season or even over years. Live and of couse also on computer and videos. It is quite professional job but at the end of the day, opinions, too. What the manager wants at that window.
Up the Boro!
MIDDLESBROUGH have established themselves as favourites to sign striker James Collins – but the Teessiders are set to face a difficult decision this summer over the future of Chuba Akpom.
Collins is set to become a free agent when his contract at Luton Town expires next month, and Boro are one of a number of clubs to have held talks with the Irishman and his representatives in the last week.
With the majority of Championship clubs facing the same financial pressures this summer, the free-agent market is more hotly-contested than ever, hence Neil Warnock’s desire to make some early headway once the transfer window officially reopens later this summer.
OFB
Nottingham Forest have been linked with a move to sign former loan striker Chuba Akpom from Middlesbrough,
The former Arsenal youngster is preparing to leave Boro, with the Championship club looking to recoup the vast majority of the £2.5 million they paid for him.
Akpom was only a teenager when Forest signed him on a six-month loan back in 2015. He failed to find the net in seven outings for the Reds.
Chris Hughton knows all about the talisman having signed him for Brighton. Again, he failed to score for the Seagulls, enduring a 10-game goal drought.
Following those failed loan moves, Akpom rediscovered himself in Greece.
He found the net 18 times and registered 10 assists during 79 appearances for PAOK Thessaloniki.
That form prompted Boro to hand him a return to England. In 39 appearances for the club, he’s scored five goals – which doesn’t showcase an amazing return.
Akpom managed just 20 starts for Boro during 2020/21 and Neil Warnock is now keen to offload him.
OFB
Say what you like about Akpom's time at Boro but if we get most of our money back from a striker that underperformed then it would set a welcome new precedent! Rather than the usual exit as big-loss free agents that we saw with the almost £30m trio (on paper not grass) of Gestede, Assombalonga and Fletcher.
It looks like Collins has voted for Cardiff over Boro. It's likely that the Bluebirds still have a war chest of sorts albeit vastly diminished after their brief Premiership visit down the back of Vincent Tan's sofa.
It will, no doubt, be a recurring theme. The old familiar story of losing out on our targets.
Call me cynical but there's really only been one method Boro have successfully deployed for the early securing of their targets at the top of their list in recent years - money! They've over-paid on transfer fees and offered contracts to players that nobody else could match. Why do you think we persuaded the likes of Britt and Fletcher to come to Teesside? And why do you think we couldn't move them on either!
Unless we're talking about an under-the-radar League One player or someone currently playing in the second division of a European league, who also happens to qualify under new Brexit rules for a work permit because they're perhaps a full international for a small country - then I doubt Neil Warnock's powers of persuasion are as strong as he thinks to get anyone on the cheap.
If I'm a betting man then I would wager Boro will be involved in throwing money at some last-minute panic buys to fill the void in front of goal towards the end of the transfer window - probably at about the same time Bolasie has discovered there were no takers for his 50 grand-a-week demands.
I'm not convinced the club can build a promotion-winning side on the cheap unless it's a long-term project that involves bringing in and coaching younger prospects and integrating our own academy players. Besides, can Warnock promise any player he's after that he'll be around in another 9 months? Doesn't sound like the kind of pulling power that will turn many heads: "Don't choose that other club, come and play for me on lower wages for a season and let's see if we can get promoted - and if we do you'll obviously be surplus to requirements"
I guess many will just say you had me at "don't!"
It will, no doubt, be a recurring theme. The old familiar story of losing out on our targets.
Until that is we sign a twenty five year old ex Arsenal youth lad now playing for a third division Czech team who we have never heard off but has a great video on YouTube and he then becomes our number one target all along whilst the others were just a mere smoke screen!