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QUALITY FROM BOTH FLANKS 26-9-07
Udayan Mukherjee
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Udayan Mukherjee column, one that has been a long time coming, thus proving that I am as reliable as a chocolate fireguard. Which, incidentally is much more reliable that a certain Mr H Webb, the refereeing equivalent of Sunderland's crack 2005-06 squad.
The same hardworking but ultimately rubbish Sunderland that Boro somehow contrived to draw against on Saturday. We would have picked up a well deserved win had it not been for Liam Miller's excellent last minute equaliser, a goal that once again underlines that despite Boro's excellent play for most of this season, we are failing to finish teams off and score when we need to.
Or perhaps I'm being a bit harsh? There are certain games where everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Middlesbrough Football club getting the rub of the green against Fulham must have torn a hole in the space time continuum and God in his infinite beardy wierdy wisdom decided that we must make up for this insubordinate behaviour by succumbing to a last minute goal by the Mackems and losing three of our most influential players in the space of an hour.
All three injuries looked serious, but in the event it seems to be only Arca who is injured long term. The injury looks to have laid the midfield star off for two months, which is something of a miracle as he had looked to have done some cruciate ligament damage.
Arca has been one of our better players this season with wonderful passing ability and an almost telepathic relationship with Fabio Rochemback. The pair had finally seemed to crack the concept that a deep lying central midfield pairing leads to there being no link between defence and attack.
While both South Americans would take turns to lead the attack, Arca provided something that has not been seen for a fair while at Boro - a midfielder prepared to get into the box and into goal scoring opportunities.
While Arca is injured, George Boateng will revert to his favoured central midfield role. When playing this season, Boateng has shown the dynamism of old. Indeed, he seemed to stem the flow of Sunderland players charging straight down the middle of the pitch and steadied the ship somewhat. The captain is a very influential player and provides steel in the centre of the park.
However, with Boro's new attacking style, Boateng's often haphazard passing could lead to stagnation of the play. Its not as if the Dutchman can't pass at all, it just seems that he sometimes lacks the footballing brain to instantly pick a pass.
However, I have probably presented the failings of the pair unfairly; this is the pairing that got us to the UEFA Cup final. Perhaps with the additional option of Gary O'Neil on the right, the pair can flourish.
The key is whether either of the pair will enter the box to take advantage of the quality now coming in from either flank. Whether it was a style of play carried over from Steve McClaren's reign I don't know, but they must learn to push on at every opportunity.
Whereas with Arca, Rochemback seems to move from box to box freely. He seems to remain deep when paired with Boateng. Doing this will invite pressure onto the back four, which given the past two games is not a particularly great idea.
Although the injury to Arca is a big blow, it seems that Tuncay and Mido are going to be fit for Sunday's match with Everton. With the absence of Aliardiere from the starting line-up, this may be seen as the perfect opportunity for Tuncay to show the Premiership what he can do.
It has been plain to see that the Turkish international is one of the most gifted players that we have at our disposal. His touch and skill on the ball are evident. Unfortunately he seems to have not quite hit top gear yet. Although he has played some sublime balls and got into several goal scoring positions he has, as yet failed to see an end product materialise.
Both Mido and Tuncay are very hard workers and seem to be fiercely passionate. Mido has already endeared himself to the Boro faithful with his link up play and goalscoring ability. It seems that he is well on the way to making himself a hero if he shows the same commitment to the cause as he did against Sunderland by staying on whilst clearly injured.
Tuncay seems to be similarly passionate. His comments upon joining Middlesbrough and his non stop running smacks of a man desperate to prove himself on the world stage. Once that first goal ripples the back of the net, I think that we will see that he is also reasonably prolific.
Gary O'Neil's debut was highly encouraging. He seems to be hard working and skillfull on the ball. Indeed with Downing on the opposite flank we will continue to have quality coming in from both flanks, something that the front two will relish.
If we can address the lapses in concentration at the back then we can start to push on. In this respect Boateng's return to the centre may prove to be crucial. He will provide much needed cover.
If Boat and Rocky can provide this cover without sitting too deep then we could be on to a winning formula.
Up the Boro!
Udayan Mukherjee
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