The North-East Summit || Middlesbrough F.C. news, reviews and comment

THE NORTH-EAST SUMMIT - SUNDERLAND INTO DROP ZONE 29-11-07
Stuart Young

A weekend to forget for all in the north-east as our three top-flight sides were comfortably beaten. Indeed they were humiliated.

Newcastle and Middlesbrough were both beaten convincingly at home by three goals, whilst Sunderland were thrashed 7-1 away at Everton.

Middlesbrough

Gareth Southgate was up against his former club Aston Villa on Saturday and was given a lesson in football tactics.

The Boro manager decided to go with a lone striker in an attempt to get a result at home. It seems that the pressure really is on Southgate and his way of coping with it is to adopt the 'McClaren tactics' of old.

This backfired on Southgate as his players were brushed aside by an increasingly confident Villa team. All three goals were individual errors and some Boro players will need to look at their performances after this one.

I thought Southgate wanted to play free flowing football and give the forward players a license to do what they do best. But instead the team took a backward step on Saturday by playing a packed midfield and a lone striker who is short on confidence.

I wondered why Southgate had the urge to put out a formation like this considering the lack of goals the team has possessed all season.

Playing at home does not mean playing it safe. You are asking for trouble if you implement this attitude. The chairman is making notes Gareth. If you want to stay on his good side you had better start making bold decisions rather than the safe ones that have so far got the team nothing.

Save the 4-5-1 system for the away trips to Manchester United and Arsenal. Give the boys a chance at home. The lack of support at the Riverside might be down to the dull approach to games.

I believe if Southgate can be bold in his approach to games from now until the end of the season, he will win the fans over. Middlesbrough fans don't demand success straight away but they do demand work ethic and bravery.

The next game for Boro is against Reading at the Madejski on Saturday and Southgate will need to get a result there otherwise the nightmare will become even worse for him and the Middlesbrough fans.

Anyone looking forward to the Arsenal game the week after?

Get back to basics for this one please Gareth. Drop players who make individual errors and bring in other capable troops that will fight for places.

Ease the pressure on Aliadiere by giving him a strike partner. Tuncay can score goals, he has proved that at his former club. Why not pair them up top together?

If it was up to me I would drop Cattermole for his error on Saturday. This would leave space on the team sheet for Tuncay and will allow us to play a 4-4-2 formation.

On the injury front, it looks like Arca is nearing his comeback and could feature on Saturday. He is back in full training and looks set to start the game against Arsenal a week on Sunday.

Sunderland

Sunderland players and fans will want to forget the game on Saturday very quickly. They were well beaten by a team that has progressed over the past couple of seasons and who are very strong at home.

I felt sorry for Gordon because he did not deserve the embarrassment of letting in seven goals. His defenders though can count themselves lucky that it wasn't more as Gordon pulled off some great saves to deny Everton the opportunity to inflict more punishment.

Where does Keane go from here as his side slips into the relegation zone?

Well the answer will come from the Sunderland manager himself as he gets his players back to the training ground for some lessons in work ethic. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in the changing room after the Everton game to hear the manager's rant to the players.

From now on, the character of Keane will show through as Sunderland try to rebuild and prepare for their next game against fellow strugglers Derby on Saturday. This one will be billed as both teams' biggest game of the season so far.

Derby have just appointed a new manager in the form of Paul Jewell and he knows a thing or two about relegation battles.

There has been positive news regarding the absentees this week - Kieran Richardson and Russell Anderson are nearing their rehabilitation programmes and could be ready to return at Christmas. This is good news for Keane because it will provide more options over the winter period.

It will be a tough task for Keane and his team on Saturday but I'm sure the backing of a packed Stadium of Light will bring confidence to the Sunderland players.

Newcastle

Liverpool arrived at St James' Park on Saturday looking confident. They then went on to score three goals and wasted a hat-full of chances. Newcastle on the other hand scored none and had no shots on target.

Having carried England in the first half of what was a forgettable night for our national side, Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain, returned to Premiership football and sliced and diced his way through an average Newcastle side at will.

The Newcastle fans had obviously forgotten Gerrard's effort in the first half of the Croatia game. If any football fan thinks he deserved to be booed like he was at Newcastle then they can count themselves a mug.

I'm glad Gerrard put England to the back of his mind and went about silencing the booing from the home fans. He single handedly destroyed Newcastle. Well done Gerrard!

What about the reaction from the fans towards Big Sam's substitutions?

I'm not the biggest Allardyce fan but it was very harsh of the Newcastle fans to boo his decision to take a full-back off for a winger.

Was this substitution odd? I would agree if he had taken a striker off and replaced that striker with a midfielder or full-back but the first substitution was spot on in my eyes.

The booing continued for the remaining substitutions, with Barton getting a standing ovation from the fans as he ran on to the pitch. Sorry he was booed by the fans as he ran on to the pitch. I keep thinking Barton is liked on Tyneside.

Stephen Carr's broad smile was a picture as he entered the playing field under a chorus of boos. Another valid replacement in my opinion considering Newcastle were three goals down and only had ten minutes remaining. Give him a chance, Allardyce was giving a previously injured player minutes on the pitch.

The tough task of taking his players to Ewood Park awaits for Allardyce. Hopefully the Newcastle fans will get off his back and give him the backing he received when he took over all those years ago. Sorry I meant those few short months ago.

No points this week for all three sides but with the thrashing given out to Sunderland by Everton it means they drop below Middlesbrough due to goal difference and slip into the relegation zone. There's no change for Newcastle, who remain in eleventh.

See You At The Top

RETURN TO NORTH-EAST SUMMIT INDEX PAGE HERE