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UNITED FOR CHANGE 9-4-08
Udayan Mukherjee
In a post match interview on Sunday, Gareth Southgate was asked whether he could sum up the enigma that is Middlesbrough Football Club in twenty words.
With a wry smile, the Middlesbrough manager said “No!”, before adding that it was significantly less than what was asked for.
It is interesting that watching this club over a certain period of time introduces everyone to the bizarre world of ‘Typical Boro’.
You would expect that in a normal club, the ‘typical’ moniker would apply to an event that happens once a year or so. With us it is almost every match.
That’s not to say that it isn’t sometimes a good thing. I enjoyed the match against Manchester United more than any other game at home this season (I missed the Arsenal match because I had had my tonsils out the day before).
There was a positive vibe and the eagerness to make a good atmosphere in the stands had a knock-on effect on the pitch where there was passion and no end of skill.
Simply put, Middlesbrough deserved something out of the game. This is a fact proved by the notoriously blinkered Sir Alex Ferguson admitting that a draw was a fair result.
Perhaps there are deeper tactical reasons why there is an inability to get good results against the smaller sides, whereas we have one of the best records in the Premiership against the top three or four.
I believe our players have the ability to pick out a good pass when they are not harried, i.e. when the opposition will allow us to attack instead of forcing us to play in the tactical straitjacket that is so often the case in clashes with the poorer sides.
Simply put, the innate tendency to ‘shit themselves’ on the ball has cost Middlesbrough this season and perhaps it is a confidence thing.
When we feel pumped up and start passing the ball with a bit of confidence, we are close to being a good side.
We need to learn to play football at all times, even when the chips are down.
When we get in the mentality of moving around and passing the ball on the floor, we are certainly in with a shot of beating any team.
In short: If you can deserve to win matches against Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea then the bread and butter games should be less of a challenge.
One thing that struck me during the United game was the number of bodies we piled forward. This was the case even during periods when we would normally sit deep. It was very encouraging.
I believe that George Boateng was an important part of the performance on Sunday. Indeed, his performances this season have generally been excellent. His passing is still hit and miss but his drive and will-to-win is still important to the team.
If I was Gareth Southgate, I would keep Boateng.
In a young team, his experience and will-to-win is something that is needed in certain games and his snarling midfield displays can often bring out performances in others around him.
Simply put, if Boateng is willing to have more of a bit part role, as he has done this season, then he is a valuable asset.
Of course, if he does leave then perhaps Lee Cattermole will step up to the plate as someone in the heart of midfield who can tackle and encourage. Unfortunately, Lee’s early promise has left him and he is now a player who seems to be unable to comfortably pass a football.
Catts had rough edges at the beginning of his career but I believe that he has actually got worse. If you look at Cattermole, his figure seems to have bulked up considerably.
If a footballer is to be at his optimum, then he must be lithe and lean rather than looking like The Terminator (and anyway, that’s Poggy’s job!).
I believe that Lee Cattermole believes his hard man image to the point where he has neglected the other parts of his game.
I would suggest that along with the defenders, Cattermole’s pre-season work should involve a fair amount of ball work because his early games seemed to show a lot of promise.
In many respects, Cattermole suffers from having the same mentality as too many English players.
Players in this country have been taught to have a never say die attitude and a will-to-win.
This is admirable but take a look at the grass roots level. How many kids look dazzlingly skilful? How many kids look cultured on the ball? The answer is very few indeed.
Children, and I am quite sure that this is repeated all over the country, are taught to lump the ball to the big guy up front.
Trying tricks, passing it about "too much" and waiting for the right opportunity - i.e. getting a feel for the football rather than just the athletic side of the game - are actively discouraged.
Passion and the will-to-win should be the reason why English players are better than others but this should not be their only trait. Until we learn to get a feel for the ball then we will not progress as a national side.
I’m sure you will have noticed that the Boro defence tend to look uncomfortable on the ball but like Cattermole, I think that they are young enough to be taught to play football the right way.
At present, our attacking options have very little aerial presence and we must learn as a club to play football on the floor.
When we do try and play nice football, look what happens!
Udayan Mukherjee
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