Warnock Weekly 27-2-08 || Middlesbrough F.C. news, reviews and comment

WARNOCK WEEKLY - SWEET FA-IRNESS - 27-2-08
Tom Warnock

At the time of writing this column, I stumbled across a statement on the Boro website from Chief Executive Keith Lamb. It is a statement which made me scrap my initial thoughts of post match reflection for this column. Instead, I want to mirror the comments of Lamb - which can only be described as 'incandescent with anger'.

If you've taken the time to read the statement from Lamb, as I'm sure you all have done, then you will agree that the above description is not exaggeration in the slightest.

We were all left looking a bit surprised when a red card was brandished for a speculative brush across the face by young Jeremie Aliadiere on Javier Mascherano. It was indisputably a foolish move but far from what would be considered violent by any stretch of the imagination.

It is a shame that the same standards used in refereeing football aren't applied to policing and the criminal justice system. It really is ludicrous.

Everyone saw the horrific tackle by Martin Taylor which has taken a player out of the game for a year, yet that perpetrator is only serving a three game ban in comparison with the now four game ban which Aliadiere must serve.

The only consolation is that we do have back up in attack. With Alves and Tuncay, we do have quality waiting in the wings to replace Jeremie but that is beside the point.

We have lost one of our chief attacking contributors for nearly half the remaining fixtures. And the sad fact is that Middlesbrough can do nothing about it.

In theory, there are twenty teams in the Premier League and each one is an equal. Each team receives equal treatment, has equal power and say in matters and also has equal opportunities. However, this appears to be merely a fantasy.

It seems that there is no way for clubs like Middlesbrough to get 100% equality with the likes of Manchester United. The FA does not seem to place us in the same category as a Man U or a Chelsea. We are beneath them and to the FA, so are the supporters who follow the Boro.

Some action needs to be taken; a stand needs to be made.

Boro are not the only team who are victims of unfair treatment and collective action is needed to send a message to the FA.

Perhaps clubs could refuse to release players for England games? Let's see how Gerrard, Terry and Rooney cope without the support of their equally valuable team-mates.

Or even better, perhaps fans should boycott England games. Let's face it, we wouldn't miss out on much and it would save us from lining the pockets of the idiots who 'govern' our country's favourite sport.

Everyone knows that the injustices run much deeper than the odd red card.

After all, by rights, West Ham should currently be a Championship team. Their situation last season was a clear breach of regulations but the London-centric men at the FA conveniently believed a fine would be sufficient.

While I don't believe in point deductions per se, I do believe in consistency. To be honest though, it seems as though Middlesbrough will forever be the only team to have been relegated as a result of points docking.

There is one thing Middlesbrough players can do to let the FA know we just won't go away, no matter how much they may want us to. That one thing is to win their trophy, to put our name on their trophy and to get our club's name in their history books. Wouldn't that just sicken them right off?

And we can move one step closer to doing just that, starting tonight.

Bring it on!

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