Warnock Weekly 6-9-07 || Middlesbrough F.C. news, reviews and comment

WARNOCK WEEKLY 6-9-07
Tom Warnock

If you were lucky enough to be part of the minority who walked through the turnstiles at the Riverside on Saturday then you'll know why everyone who is anyone has been raving about the performance of the Boro. On the other hand, if you weren't there, you missed out.

And don't be fooled by the media hyperbole, tagging us as 'world beaters' and hailing a turnaround in fortunes. But let's be honest - we were class.

And to any neutrals who might be casting a cynical glance over this column, when a Boro fan goes as far as to call his team's performance 'class', nine times out of ten it will be true.

Right from the kick-off up until the final whistle, it was the complete performance. The defence held it's shape, the passing was fast and fluid and the runs and movement of Downing, Aliadiere, Rocky and Mido allowed us to go forward at will.

The rear guard was equally impressive, and the return to fitness of Woody and Luke Young has given us a much more assured look. Playing with George on the right allowed Young to push forward and let George hang back and make the tackles.

I must admit at the start of the season I was concerned with our patched up defence, but the performances of Wheater bely his age. He looks as if he's bedded into the side and is enjoying his football.

The fitness of Huth and Pogatetz is some way away yet so David has a real chance to become the first choice partner for Woody. The price tag of Huth and the popularity of Mad Dog will give Gareth a tough choice to make when it comes to choosing his first eleven.

Football is a fickle world at times, and one great performance can change the view of the more impressionable fans as much as a 5-0 thrashing can. It's even more frustrating as a Boro fan because we know better than most about inconsistency. However things are certainly improving. Three wins from four and steady improvement in each game bodes well for the future.

It was very pleasing to see the completion of the Gary O'Neil signing. His name was mentioned a few months ago and the interest seemed to have died down. Obviously Gareth had been pursuing him behind the scenes. Personally, I haven't seen much of him for Portsmouth, but he seemed to be a popular player with lots of talent who will only benefit our team.

It's a shame we can never bring in the key players before the start of the season, instead of always leaving it to the final weeks of the window. It's no coincidence that we're slow starters, but the acquisitions have certainly made an impact thus far.

One other thing before I sign off, Gary Lineker and his Match of the Day cronies need to re-assess what they define as good football. Manchester United v Sunderland was one of the most boring games of the day, and yet BBC still saw it appropriate to show ten minutes of highlights and then discuss how inept Manchester United were.

I ask, since when can a team be given more coverage as a result of playing poorly? It's either discrimination against good football, or perhaps Mr Shearer has a say in the order of proceedings and has a revenge plot against the one north-east team who have won a trophy recently.

All we need to do this weekend is keep playing like that and make them show us... oh that's right - we aren't playing, which means we all have to endure McClaren enduced flashbacks while we watch England defend a 1-0 lead against Israel.

Roll on the next Boro game.

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