Warnock Weekly 16-1-08 || Middlesbrough F.C. news, reviews and comment

WARNOCK WEEKLY - NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT - 16-1-08
Tom Warnock

Now is the time for Boro to act. There are just fifteen days of the transfer window remaining to do something about our problem. We need goals and for those goals to come, we need goal scorers.

The three strikers who arrived during the summer have thus far failed to make an impact sufficient enough to replace Mark Viduka and Yakubu's respective goal tallies.

Mido has been on the sidelines for some months now so he escapes some blame, whereas Tuncay has started to restore some of our faith in his abilities of late.

Overall, these lads aren't bad at what they do. They have good movement and energy, an eye for a pass and a nice touch on the ball. None of these things guarantee goals though.

One of the main reasons why we find ourselves toward the foot of the table is because the players we have don't score enough.

From the outside looking in, it appears that Boro are actively looking to sign a striker, or perhaps two, during the January window.

With speculation in overdrive, it's difficult to separate the realistic from the complete fantasy.

After year upon year of speculation, you learn to immunise yourself from the sensational stories of the tabloids. And as Middlesbrough fans, it's often best to expect little and simply wait until players are officially unveiled by the club.

Two names have been the main focus of press attention this week. Both are Brazilian and both are strikers but the sums of money being suggested are in my opinion inflated.

I'm not sure if it's the press exaggeration or if it's the club being held to ransom. I'm sure though that Steve Gibson would have some qualms about paying such a large fee midway through the season when the club's future is not guaranteed. It would be a financial disaster to be spending such amounts of money with potential relegation on the horizon.

In my opinion, any serious strengthening should have been done over the summer and any action taken now will look like a panic singing, especially if the price continues to rise.

We do need to sign a striker but at the right price. If we enter February having made no acquisitions then we have a rough few months ahead. That much is for certain.

The media have also been talking about the possible departure of Stewart Downing to Tottenham. I will state now that I do not believe this move will happen.

Firstly, would Gibson release our most valuable asset for such a miserly £8m, especially to a team who is in our area of the league? This would be a bad tactical move.

Secondly, this would completely send the wrong message to the Boro fans. It would show a distinct lack of ambition and alienate fans even more.

If the bid was doubled then obviously it would command serious consideration and fans could empathise with the club if we let him go.

But for £8m it's not worth it. Downing has been responsible for many of the points we've won this season and we will need his talents to help us stay in the league.

The Liverpool result was a promising one. Against the top sides any result can be considered positive. Although we could have won the game, we could also have lost it had it not been for some inspired saves from Skippy.

Sunderland winning was the only down side of the weekend and it leaves eight teams separated by only six points. It also leaves us just one point above the bottom three.

Derby can be cut loose and Fulham are drifting behind the pack but the eighteenth position still awaits for whoever goes on a bad run of form. Let's hope it's not us.

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