Great Goalkeeping Denies Middlesbrough March 8, 2010
Posted by stuart in Middlesbrough.Tags: Boro, Cardiff City, David Marshall, Follow The Boro Brick Road, Gordon Strachan, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, The Riverside
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I didn’t have enough space in the headline to put ‘great goalkeeping and poor refereeing deny Boro’ so I just left it with praise for the opposition’s stopper, plus I don’t want to make people think that Boro were hard-done-by on Saturday and that Cardiff City and the officials played very well.
David Marshall in the Cardiff City goal was in inspiring form for the Bluebirds and clearly was the best performer on the park at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday. His saves from Barry Robson and Chris Killen were outstanding to say the least. It was a third away game in-a-row where we have been unable to breach the opposition defence which is a worrying statistic considering that those matches were against three of the top 10 sides who are chasing promotion.
I won’t go on about the refereeing decisions in the game because, to be fair, it was the same for them. I’m pretty sure they had a good case for a penalty that wasn’t given so that evened out at least one of the contentious moments but that still left us one bad decision down which would have given us a point in South Wales.
We have to expect the officials in the Championship to be worse than the elite refereeing of the Premier League so we can’t moan but we can moan at our team for not creating more and using the ball better or am I being a bit hard on the lads because after all we also must expect our team to be worse than last season’s campaign in the Premier League.
The loss to Cardiff has stopped the momentum going into the Newcastle game this Saturday which is going to be a massive test for the Boro boys. They tore Barnsley apart last Saturday, albeit because of another poor refereeing performance, and will be full of confidence as they make the short trip down the A19 so the Middlesbrough players will have to roll their sleeves up for this one if we are to get anything from the game against the league leaders.
Can we beat the Geordies at the Riverside? I’m not putting money on it that’s for sure.
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Former Celtic Man Is Digging Us Out Of Mess March 2, 2010
Posted by stuart in Barry Robson.Tags: Barry Robson, Boro, celtic, Follow The Boro Brick Road, George Boateng, Gordon Strachan, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United
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Gordon Strachan is slowly piecing his own Middlesbrough jigsaw together with the help of a few of his old pals from yesteryear in Scotland. The 53-year-old endured a few months of mixed reactions from the Boro faithful but now, after grabbing a few experienced players from north of the border, it looks like he has transformed our team of over-paid and inexperienced players into to a workforce of honest lads and it’s far from the finished article.
The January transfer window was always the one thing that Strachan wanted to utilise to build his own team and from the players we have seen slot into the side we have to be impressed. Stephen McManus has added calmness and authority to our defending since joining us on loan from Celtic and Kyle Naughton, another loan signing, has given the side increased energy down the flanks.
Permanent signings Willo Flood, Chris Kellen, Scott McDonald and Lee Miller have all added that extra bit of hunger to the team as we fight for Premier League football next season. These players are very eager to play top flight football in England and want to make the next step up having played at the top in Scotland.
The best signing has been saved until last. The capture of Barry Robson could prove to be the best signing of the season in the Championship. So far the 31-year-old has started seven games scoring three times and grabbing two man of the match awards along the way.
His engine is unbelievable for a thirty-something and with his desire and leadership in the middle of the park we could be on the move in the league now because I think, despite the loss of Johnson to Manchester City, we have one of the strongest midfields in the Championship – certainly the middle pairing of O’Neil and Robson.
We’ve been desperate for someone as passionate as Robson to fill the boots left by George Boateng two years ago. Many fans could see it last season that the side lacked a certain bite in the middle of the park despite the efforts from Matthew Bates but without players like these a team can crumble in minutes, just like we did in games that eventually resulted in us being relegated from the Premier League last term.
Now we have the fight back in our midfield we can hope for better fortunes in games as we enter the business run-in of the season. Tough games against Cardiff City and Newcastle await but I’m sure our players will be up for the fight.
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I Get By With A Little Help From My Friend December 22, 2009
Posted by stuart in Newcastle.Tags: Adam Johnson, Boro Brick Road, Danny Coyne, Mark Yeates, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Shola Ameobi, St James' Park, Tyne–Tees derby
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The highest attendance in the Championship so far this season witnessed Newcastle breeze past Middlesbrough with a little help from the referee and his assistants yesterday.
Marlon Harewood tapped in the first goal when Ameobi had headed across to the former West Ham striker and then Ameobi headed Newcastle’s second on the hour mark.
I’m not normally one to moan about decisions from referees in games but the foul prior to the first goal was blatant and the hand-ball from Taylor was also a clear gimme, but again unnoticed by the men in charge.
Looking at the decisive moments in the game I think Gordon Strachan was spot on with his assessment of them. Speaking to the BBC after the game this is what the Boro boss had to say about the contentious moments in the Tyne-Tees derby.
“There must be eight of us in this room that think it was a push and I agree, it was a push,” Strachan said.
“It was a hand-ball when we were pushing for an equaliser and even just before the second goal in the middle of the park just before it got knocked out wide, Rhys has gone in for a header and the gut has knocked him off the ball.”
Just a few points about the team that started against the league leaders – I was surprised to see Brad Jones still between the sticks after a few very shaky performances against Blackpool and Cardiff City. Again the Australian looked vulnerable in the air and spilt a couple of shots on the way to having a shocker against the Magpies. Danny Coyne must be given a starting role against Scunthorpe and Barnsley because just like last season our goalkeeper is costing us points.
Another player that was deserving of a starting role at St James’ Park was Mark Yeates. The winger has been in great form of late and would have added creativity for us in the final third, something that was missing from our play. With Adam Johnson missing it would have made even more sense to start Yeates at Newcastle.
Boro have now dropped to 14th in the table and the warning signs are now clearer than ever. Will the slide continue? Or can we find a way of winning on Boxing Day?
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Boro Players Seek Refuge On The Road December 14, 2009
Posted by stuart in Boro, Gordon Strachan, Newcastle.Tags: Boro, Boro Brick Road, Follow The Boro Brick Road, Gordon Strachan, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Premier League, St James' Park
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Gordon Strachan feels ‘the footballing gods’ had not been kind to the Middlesbrough players on Sunday against Cardiff City which suggests that he is looking beyond the grey skies that cover Teesside for help.
Our Scotsman is still searching for his maiden victory at the Riverside as Boro Manager and Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to the Bluebirds certainly added fuel to the fire that is burning bright in most sections of the stadium.
It’s getting increasingly worrying that our away form outweighs our home record by some distance. I remember the days when we were hard to beat at home – not many years ago in fact. Now, it seems we have reversed the trend and are excelling on the road which highlights the fact,even more, that we have a team that would rather play in front of the travelling fans than the home ones.
If the footballing gods were to ever help out a side that are having a torrid time at home it would be Boro. There are teams in the Championship with similar home records but their fans still back them despite losing games in front of the masses.
The Boro boo boy syndrome is catching around the Riverside, the more games we lose at home, meaning the players become more and more nervy which is crippling their confidence.
Fans at the Riverside need to be patient and understand that we will not bounce back to the Premier League if we boo our players off the pitch at the end of matches.
I’m pretty sure that the footballing gods will not be needed on Sunday against Newcastle United because our players will relish playing in a stadium that won’t be booing them. It’s hard to think that the St James’ Park faithful won’t boo and jeer the Boro players as much as our own fans do.
Strachan should look to the fans for help and guidance at home because at the moment it is the fans that are helping visiting sides win at the Riverside and not just the performance of the Boro lads.
Follow The Boro Brick Road..
