Jeff Winter's Soccer Spotlight || Middlesbrough F.C. news, reviews and comment

MATCH FIT, CASH FAT 11-2-08
Jeff Winter

CLICK HERE TO JOIN IN JEFF'S LIVE Q & A SESSION...

Like everyone else, I was eagerly awaiting the chance to see our goal machine in action on Saturday and he did not let us down.

He has been much maligned as a goal scorer and I suppose you can't argue with statistics, but for the first time in his career, he is getting a regular game and his confidence is high.

The way he finished against Wigan, Newcastle (albeit offside) and again against Fulham make me think that as well as his blistering pace and skill, perhaps he could also now be described as a goal scorer.

I would like to see him last ninety minutes once in a while though. If he is carrying an injury then okay but for a young lad he rarely seems to have the stamina for ninety minutes, even taking into account his phenomenal work rate.

I know it wasn't really Jeremie Aliadiere that you thought I was on about.

We do have another potential "goal scorer" in the ranks and against a weak Fulham side, it was an ideal opportunity for him to get match fit and score some goals.

As it turned out, his fitness regime mounted to a few half-hearted warm-ups as he was kept to a bench-warming role.

Mido, who arrived at the club not match fit, has had a long injury problem. This has not stopped him from getting to the fridge however, as he has returned overweight and far from ready for action.

Well, where and when is he going to play?

Saturday saw us get a vital home victory but through a mixture of fear and unfit strikers, we were forced into playing 4-5-1 for most of the game.

This was a game where we did not create the chances that we have been creating of late and we ended up hanging on when we could have been out of sight.

I recall when Juninho was recovering from his operation. On the day his second child was born, he was in the swimming pool at Bannatynes in Ingleby Barwick under strict supervision. He was building himself back to full fitness. I have not seen Mido in there much.

So finally to the real deal - the man who despite the fact that no big club has ever come in for him at the age of twenty-seven, has a phenomenal goal scoring record. He arrived but has not played for six weeks so is not match fit.

On the way to the ground my logic was clear, he should start. A player who is coming back and is not fit plays in the reserves and does sixty minutes, so why not Alves? Surely a not match fit Alves has to be better than DGL. After the game though, I had to concede that Gareth had probably got it right.

DGL will clearly never ever be a regular Premier League goal scorer yet he had in fact contributed to the only goal of the game. He also had another header that was probably our only other real chance of the game. It was only a matter of time though and when Alves eventually replaced DGL, the stage was set.

Thirty minutes later we were all confused.

In his defence, new team, new environment, playing up front and with no support. There were also no chances created for him.

But come on! Even taking all of this into account, I am sorry but he just did not look like a footballer.

In the press box, an ex-player described him as a "very expensive Stan Webb" (that's one for the older fans). He half jogged, half ran without looking as if he had a clue what he was supposed to be doing and even at corners or free kicks, he was static on his flat feet rather than being on his toes. That instinct is natural and does not come with match fitness.

I have looked again at the YouTube clips of his thirty-four goals and yes it is him. Maybe I am just cynical, or maybe it's because of the long line of "goal scorers" we have had down the years.

Whatever the outcome, I hope that this week our strikers are doing something to get match fit and that we will see evidence of it this Sunday.

I know many were critical of referee Phil Dowd's handling of Robert Huth's yellow card on Saturday. I have covered this in an article on my website and my feelings on the ludicrous suggestion of playing Premier League games abroad will be in my Evening Gazette article this Friday.

Keep up to date with all my columns on my official website.

YOU CAN READ MANY MORE OF JEFF'S ARTICLES ON HIS OFFICIAL SITE

RETURN TO JEFF WINTER'S SOCCER SPOTLIGHT INDEX HERE