Deep In My Heart, Manchester United v Middlesbrough || Middlesbrough F.C. news, reviews and comment

DEEP IN MY HEART
Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough, 27th October 2007, Old Trafford, Premier League
James Keen

Are you ready for the return of the old winker himself? We saw enough of this fella last season for our wives, girlfriends and partners to consider we were having an affair with him. But fear not, he's not been playing as well this season as last.

Yet as the game with Boro has approached we've seen a sudden upsurge in his form, with a couple of goals in the Champions' League scored just to terrify the Boro backline. Oh no.

It has been said in recent weeks that our defence aren't playing well enough, and the man who said it, Mr Schwarzer, even owned up to not playing well himself. And by God is he right!

It's very easy to point at our forwards and say "You're not scoring enough!". But when you're finding it difficult to hit the net and your teammates start shipping goals at the other end then the pressure really does begin to mount.

Poor Tom Craddock and Ben Hutchinson have come into a squad that has no confidence and are playing in a situation that is sink or swim.

Tuncay Sanli has not settled as we had hoped, and after an initial burst of two in two for Mido, he too has struggled. It would only be fair to point out however that both have struggled with injuries and so haven't really been able to fall into their stride.

In the last six games in all competitions Boro have won none. They have claimed just one point, which was against Sunderland. Manchester United, meanwhile, have started scoring for fun, with eleven in three games. They have won five on the bounce.

The one thing Boro and Manchester United have in common is that both are out of the League Cup.

But that's where the similarities end.

Manchester United have played in a similar way to the way Boro have tried but only with a lot more success.

United struggled in the opening weeks of the season. Scoring came at a premium and the plethora of creative attackers just couldn't find a man to put the ball in the back of the net.

Yet suddenly Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney have all come to life, and the rest of the team have started chipping in too. This has made United stronger. The pressure is off the forwards and therefore off the defenders too.

The two go hand in hand.

Gary O'Neil has been one of our better players but since his arrival we've only played thirty minutes of football with our full strength team on the field. Arca, Tuncay and Mido all got crocked against Sunderland and since then we've not looked the same.

George looks like an unwanted man whilst Rochemback is on a completely different wavelength to the Boat. He is also missing his friend Julio.

Stewie is trying his hardest but is growing more disillusioned than ever with the players around him.

And let's not even mention Skippy, and the entire backline, are playing like a group of players fighting relegation.

And because of attitudes like that, we now are!

I am sorry to say it, and it pains me to do so, but we are in a relegation battle.

We now have Tottenham breathing down our necks and they will catch us. Bolton are going to have the usual new manager surge and so will also overtake us. That leaves Derby behind us, and the way things are going we'll probably be in the same position by the time we play them.

So what's the way out of this?

Graft? Effort? New system? Different players?

Thankfully I am not the manager but the problem is that the current manager seems to be as clueless as me.

Gareth is a thoroughly nice person. He was an excellent player and I'm sure that in time, with experience, he will become a great manager. As a Boro fan I will support him while he is our manager and will always hold a place in my heart for him for that day he lifted the Carling Cup.

But if we are being honest, many other clubs would be looking for a new manager if they were in our current situation. But we know that Steve Gibson will not and that he will maintain faith in Southgate.

And so, when we make our trip across the Penines to face Ronaldo and his friends, we will have a team lacking confidence and direction, a manager struggling to come up with an idea, and a sold out crowd praying that Wes Brown decides to stake a claim for a move to Boro by banging in a hat-trick in his own net and then punching Ronaldo in the face to get himself sent off.

The way things are going we'd probably still lose 4-3 after George and Lee Cattermole decide to smack Ronaldo as well.

This preview may be rambling a little, and it may have little direction, but I think that is because of the way things have been going. I too am baffled. I cannot see the light and am struggling to think of a way we can turn things around.

But one thing that is for certain is that I will always be behind the boys and somewhere deep inside I will believe that there is a way we can win this and every other game. And let's be fair, at this moment in time we have nothing but our faith to keep us going.

We need that faith, we need that belief, and we need our players to believe too!

The Outcome: My heart tells me that we may come away with heads held high with a 2-1 defeat, whilst my head tells me we'll struggle and lose 3-1. Either way, it's going to be a bad day for the Boro.

Last Season: Manchester United 1-1 Middlesbrough, 21/4/07, Premier League, (Viduka 45)

Boro Form (most recent result first): LLLLDL

Man United Form: WWWWWL

Probable Teams:

Boro: Schwarzer, Young, Taylor, Woodgate, Riggott, Boateng, Rochemback, O'Neil, Downing, Mido, Tuncay

Man United: Van Der Saar, Brown, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Anderson, Giggs, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez

Man to Watch: Ronaldo

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