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GET REAL PEOPLE! 28-11-07
Karl Watson
If I was constructing a digital version of this article I would probably include some music. Perhaps Status Quo's 'Down, Down, Deeper and Down' would be appropriate. Or perhaps a chorus from one of Fall Out Boys recent tracks 'Sugar, we're going down singing'.
I think we all know where this is heading...
A season of Premiership football at Middlesbrough wouldn't be the same without the threat of relegation. However this season it seems more realistic every time I think about it. And it's worrying.
A long time ago I criticised the media for not praising us enough when we won. Now I have to criticise them for not showing just how bad we are when we lose.
As far as I am concerned it is the national and local media who appoint and sack managers and if the media had expressed their opinions about Southgate and his P45 more regularly, perhaps a lot more of us would be calling for his head.
The one thing that really puzzles me though is our acceptance of what is our worst start to a Premiership season.
Let's face it, if McClaren had started like this when he was in charge, people would have been calling for his head months ago.
What is also alarming is how this season's Premiership is without doubt the strongest it has ever been. Teams like Aston Villa and Portsmouth have improved greatly and there is now no way we can compete with the teams we were finishing above only a few seasons ago.
Despite the fact Portsmouth have not been in the Premier League as long as we have, people are now saying they deserve to be there. On the contrary, the only thing I hear from neutrals is how they believe that Middlesbrough shouldn't.
Weren't the signs ominous - especially when Pompey were battering us 5-1 and Villa were beating us 4-1?
These are teams that have invested heavily not only in their squads but also in their back room staff and their development.
I'm not sure how many of you saw the long list of people who were sacked along with Billy Davies at Derby on Monday but it contained ten names and signalled just how important back room staff are. It also demonstrated how much they contribute.
I'm sure if you ask any manager, they would mention the importance of their backroom staff.
So let's not shove all the blame on to Southgate. If we are aiming our anger at him, surely we should also be aiming it at all in the backroom?
I truly believe it is the backroom staff who are hindering us. Was it any surprise that Manchester United had a small decline after they lost McClaren to us? Is it truly coincidence that Venables went with McClaren and that Steve Bruce is fighting to bring Eric Black to Wigan? Is it also a surprise that when a manager comes into a job, he insists his backroom staff must also come with him?
I wonder how much Steve Gibson is regretting telling Martin O'Neill that he had to work with Boro's backroom staff? And let's face it, they've all now left to join Newcastle or went with McClaren anyway. Does this not speak volumes?
Football is now a business and in business, your contacts are everything. Alex Ferguson can get any assistant/coach/scout he wants because of his reputation.
There is no way Southgate can do this, hence the appointment of Colin Cooper as his assistant. If someone had said that Boro would replace McClaren and Round with two former defenders, would we really have sold as many season tickets as we have?
It all points to one thing: The appointment of Southgate and the process of selecting him.
Gibson also highlighted his desire to keep on developing the youngsters. Apart from Wheater where the hell are they?
We only play Hutchinson because everyone else is injured and he isn't even an academy player. We've only begun playing Johnson after he went out on loan, even though I believe he is considerably better than Downing.
The fact is we are letting our good youth players leave the club. It seems to be only a matter of time before Porritt goes and some players that we have let go, for example Birmingham's Cameron Jerome (who is now an England under-21 international), would walk into our side now.
This has left me thinking that all of McClaren's work has been destroyed in the space of two seasons and all the things Gibson wanted have not transpired.
The youngsters aren't coming through, the attendances are worse than ever, the football is worse than it was under McClaren, the signings are NOT spectacular and the results are not good enough.
I just don't understand what is going on. If this had been a bigger club, Southgate would have been out by now.
Don't get me wrong I am a big fan of Southgate. I've met him a few times, he treats myself and those around me with great respect, and he was a worthy lifter of our first ever trophy. However we are tarnishing his reputation of a great cult hero by having him as manager.
It is not him I blame however. Where was the subtle hint he was going to be our manager? Everyone knows Alan Shearer will end up in management one day and I bet behind closed doors he is gaining his badges. The appointment of Southgate appears rushed because time was running out and we did not get the one person we truly wanted.
I just feel he has been shoved in at the deep end before he can even walk, never mind swim. I don't feel he's had the right resources to do a good job, specifically not enough funds.
I have to be completely honest in my opinions. Football is no longer about sentiment. It's a dog eat dog business and I have to blame the board.
Yes, we are all thankful for what Steve Gibson has done for our club - incredibly thankful. However, if we are not careful we will be back to where we were when Gibson came in, and in twenty-first century football we won't get back to the Premiership.
It all comes back to Villa and Pompey. Where is the money? Again we are all thankful for the money he has put in but the amount that has been invested this season is just simply not enough.
If we're talking about sentiment we could all turn round and say let's get behind Southgate. But why should we? If we carry on this run we are going down.
If we look at matters on the field it is embarrassing. It was easy to say we'd be okay last season with Viduka and Yakubu playing for us but where the hell are our goals going to come from now? In Aliadiere, Dong-Gook Lee, Tuncay, and Hutchinson we have four strikers who between them have scored two Premiership goals in two years. YES, THAT'S TWO YEARS.
I feel our players have been brainwashed, especially when Aliadiere comes out saying he's going to bag loads.
What is this statement based on? His club record that reads twelve goals (in all competitions) from eighty-five games? This is an average if four league goals from sixty! So basically he is going to score one goal in fifteen games in the League. Who in their right mind would buy a striker who hadn't scored a League goal in five years?! It is crazy.
I have heard people saying Mido will bang them in. Let's get real people! Mido is a player who once had five different clubs in five different countries over three seasons. Incredible loyalty or what?
Let's not forget he plays for Egypt so we will lose him when it comes to the African Cup of Nations. So who's going to score for us then? If he was so good then why does he move from club to club at will? Why doesn't anyone want to keep him? Why the hell is he never fit? Is this not making sense people? Who in their right mind would buy a striker like this?
Then I read we are after players like Nugent. He hasn't scored a Premiership goal either as all the goals he has scored for Pompey were against Football League opposition. If he was that good he would be playing regular football!
Why is it that all our signings are cast-offs or just not good enough? When was the last time we actually had to compete for a player?
Spurs must have laughed their heads off when we were crazy enough to pay £7m for Mido. And I hear rumours of £4m for Nugent and £4m for Samaras. Why the hell are we paying such great sums for players who don't score Premiership goals, who don't even play Premiership football and who, quite frankly, their clubs are happy to see the back of?
That is called wasting money, something we all do when we go to games. It's ridiculous, just absolutely stupid.
Does anyone actually look into these signings before they are done? Did anyone actually look into Dong-Gook Lee as a player before he was signed or did someone just look on YouTube or Football Manager? Incidentally who was it that came out and actually admitted we were buying players based on their stats on Football Manager?
There are three teams worse than us I hear you cry. Take a look at these stats:
Goals Scored: 18th best
Goals Conceded: 4th Worst
Clean Sheets: 5th Worst
Half time league: 17th
Home League: 19th
Away League: 14th
Disciplinary table: 4th worst
Current Form: 17th
Will someone please wake up and address the situation!
I mean when Mido comes out and says we can still finish in the top seven, I'm pretty sure that Paul McKenna is part of Southgate's staff.
I understand Boro's positive attitude but let's start taking a realistic one.
Has anyone actually contemplated who would leave if we got relegated? They all would!
We would be left in the lurch. No one would turn up and we would be stuck in the same situation that Southampton and Leicester currently find themselves in. And I don't want to even think about Leeds.
Looking at our upcoming fixtures, I expect us to get beat by Reading and Arsenal. After that we have Derby, West Ham, and Birmingham. Are we really happy with the fact that if we beat Derby (which isn't 100% assured) then we will have only won three games close to halfway through the season? Give me a break.
Think of this what you will. Some of you may agree, some of you will disagree but I don't just watch Boro and put on my rose tinted spectacles, I watch all types of football from all over the world. I've been to other teams' games this season and let me tell you, we are in big, big trouble.
There is no one who will get double figures in terms of goals this year. We have people banging on about attractive football but didn't people call Chelsea boring? So boring they've won two titles in three seasons.
Get real people, why the hell are we accepting this garbage?!
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