Warnock Weekly 14-11-07 || Middlesbrough F.C. news, reviews and comment

WARNOCK WEEKLY - CHAMPING AT THE BIT - 14-11-07
Tom Warnock

All for one and one for all? Or a siege mentality waiting to implode? These are the two roads which the players, the fans and the hierarchy must choose between to determine the fate of Middlesbrough Football Club.

We picked up a point at Bolton, which does little to alter our situation. Yes we didn't lose - but we could draw every game and still be relegated.

We need to win at some point and Bolton was the perfect cue for such a result. Words have begun to fly between fans and players and indeed Steve Gibson himself.

Boo boy target Stewart Downing has expressed doubts over his future, Gibson has virtually relieved all pressure on Southgate by assuring him he will remain in his multi-million pound contract until at least the end of the season, and Cattermole's verbal shots - the players equivalent of booing, except we aren't paid to be criticised - are still rippling their way through the Boro supporters.

Add to those factors the carbon copy post-match interview from Gareth and you have a shining example of the phrase 'ignorance is bliss'.

Every week we move closer and closer to Christmas, the time when we traditionally embark on our mid-season slump. The only consolation is that this time it can't really get much worse and God forbid if it does.

It's Villa at home next. This is a game we must win. Not least because after it we face a difficult away trip to Reading.

Naming a game which couldn't be described as difficult is a task in itself. After all if you think Reading will be tough then try table toppers Arsenal. Oh yes that's right - we've got them the week after.

A win against Villa would be invaluable because Bolton face Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Wigan in their next four league games. Three of these games they would be expected to lose.

Luckily for Boro December's games are primarily against bottom half opposition. This is why I believe it will be the month where our fate will be decided. Teams are rarely relegated at the end of the season. In fact it's the crucial periods which can make or break seasons and December is ours.

I was wrong in my prediction that we would be in the bottom three by the time we faced Tottenham. I was correct in saying, however, that if we weren't then it would be a battle to stay out of it.

As it was, a draw kept both teams out of it and Spurs look safely on their way to a mid-table to top half finish. So who do you think the draw was more significant to?

Gareth must get a grip on his players. They aren't playing for the fans. They're playing for themselves and in some ways against the fans.

The message from the likes of Lee Cattermole is that they would rather go down in front of an empty stadium if all we do is boo. Lee should be saying something along the lines of; you can boo if you want, but just make sure you turn up and we will turn it around and prove you wrong.

This kind of rallying cry may inspire something, anything. And we need it because if we continue with nothing then we will ultimately only get one thing - Championship football.

The other thing you can count on is that most of our current players will not be around to endure it and we will be left to pick up the pieces. These players got us into this dilemma and so until they get us out of it and prove everyone wrong, we will continue to voice our discontent.

The fans make the club tick as much as anyone. They are the heartbeat of this club and we need unity not division. The fans look to the players for inspiration. It shouldn't have to be the other way round.

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