Warnock Weekly 13-2-08 || Middlesbrough F.C. news, reviews and comment

WARNOCK WEEKLY - A CUP-LE OF TRUTHS - 13-2-08
Tom Warnock

Take a look at the Premier League table because the present moment is one rare occasion where a Boro fan may agree with the statement "the league never lies". And it's not an issue of the league lying, but rather, us lying in the league - above Newcastle and above Sunderland.

The recent good run of form has lifted us to twelfth position, a position that is considerably better than what we ever could have hoped for a few months ago. We have gone five league games unbeaten, including two wins and draws against strong Blackburn and Liverpool teams. We also picked up an away point at rivals Newcastle.

It's not bad going all things considered.

However, looking up the league is something we can seldom afford to do, even after such a run of form. Our closest adversaries are Spurs, who sit three points above us in eleventh. However, West Ham in tenth are a massive eight points above us. In realistic terms, closing a seven point gap is maybe seven or more games away and that's assuming West Ham drop a high number of points.

Looking further up, Blackburn are ten points above us and Portsmouth are eleven above us, which all but eliminates any chance of a European spot before anyone gets carried away.

This being said, we have just acquired the record signing in the club's history and if there are any reasons to expect this good form to continue, then this is one of them. Now Gareth has proven his ability to steer us out of what looked like a downward plummit, he can try to build on this.

Gareth will have an idea of what he wants to achieve this season and I'm almost certain that winning the FA Cup will be a serious aim of his.

Many may laugh off this ambition however statistically, we have a far greater chance of winning the FA Cup than we do of finishing tenth or above. It would take wins to acheive the former of the two and with the momentum of the current crop, coupled with the arrival of Alves, this is a real opportunity.

In the league we still have to play the following fixtures amongst others: Liverpool (a), Aston Villa (a), Arsenal (a), Chelsea (a), Man Utd (h), Spurs (a), Portsmouth (h), Man City (h).

In the FA Cup, we would need to win three games to reach the final and the fourth would win it. We face Sheffield United on Sunday and the next game could see us face a West Brom or a Preston.

Weighing up the odds, the Cup is the real option for success. We don't even need to win it to acheive a passage into the UEFA Cup. This is something the players and management will all be aware of.

The only slight concern is that we aren't yet safe from the relegation battle just yet. If we continue in the same vein of form then we will have no problems but the next league game is Liverpool away and a defeat in that could potentially crank the pressure up a notch because we could drop back down a few places.

With regard to the Cup game, it's the perfect opportunity to play Alves from the start. It's away from home so the hype won't be too choking, the opposition and their manager - a familiar man to us - are both under pressure, and the game will not have the same intensity and pace as a Premier League fixture. The stage is set up nicely for Afonso to make an impact.

I would expect Gareth to go into the game with a full strength line-up. He is a man who knows what Boro and winning cups is all about, and nothing will appeal to him more than being the first cup winning captain and the second cup winning manager.

Come On Boro

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