Boro to break 32-year hoodoo?

Anfield has rarely been a happy hunting ground for Boro, and indeed we have to go back to 1976 to recall a victory at Liverpool. I reckon we had a decent chance in this fixture last season, that is until Fernando Torres shifted into a higher gear than those around him, and we have the same pitfall to negotiate again this time around. For Gareth, it’s a tie that carries considerable jinxes. To call Liverpool a bogey side for us would be to ignore the fact that they have been traditionally bigger than MFC for some years, but our current boss has never won a game against Rafael Benitez. Could all this change today? After all, the Pool hardly sizzled when beating Sunderland last weekend.

As for the opposition, there’s something eternally enigmatic about their attempts to surpass their top four rivals and win the Premiership. I just can’t see it happening again this time around, despite all the money Benitez has spent, and I don’t suppose I’m the only one who met Robbie Keane’s £20.3m transfer to Anfield with a shrug. Don’t get me wrong. Keane’s a fine forward, and he could very well score today. But it’s a hell of a spend and yet another instance of Benitez accepting less than the best whilst only very occasionally making the sort of transfer splash that raises eyebrows. Signing Torres was a masterstroke, but a rare one in a side that ever flatters to deceive. Why Benitez pursued Gareth Barry throughout the summer remains another mystery. It’s not as though the team are lacking options in central midfield, and the subsequent unsettling of Xabi Alonso made little sense to me.

Their half-hearted interest in Stewart Downing actually seems more logical. It’s only through reading Anthony Vickers’s latest rant that I see why I should veto this move. We have many reasons to hate the Pool, and in Rick Parry there’s a definite figure of odium for us to boo. Though I haven’t forgotten the horror of the Christian Ziege debacle, it escaped my mind that Parry was in charge of the FA when we had our three points docked in 1997, an instance that derailed our progress in ways that we continue to feel the repercussions from to this day. Still, Parry isn’t the club. I quite like Benitez, in all truth. Though he has hardly transformed his spending into creating a side that plays football the beautiful way, you have to respect a man who can lead his lot to two European Cup finals, winning one in spectacular circumstances.

Do I think we’ll win today? Of course not; any kind of result at Anfield has to be seen as a bonus, though in our favour there’s always the fact that in recent years Liverpool have traditionally started their campaigns slowly and been susceptible to up-for-it ‘lesser’ opposition. They never seem to begin their charge for the title until November, by which point they are already so far behind the leaders that Champions League qualification is the best they can play for.

Justin Hoyte might make the starting line-up. Now wearing the number two shirt traditionally associated with preferred right-backs, it’s a good test for our £3m man, and an interesting dilemma for Gareth who now has to select a preferred central partnership from Huth, Pogatetz and Wheater. Who would you drop to the bench out of that trio? In midfield, Mohamed Shawky - who featured prominently in the Spurs win - might be short of fitness, so that could mean a place in the eleven for Didier Digard, which I’m sure many people want to see in any case. What is starting to look clear is that new blood in this area won’t come from Reading. Surely, there’s only so much chicanery Gareth can take from Steve Coppell before he decides to take his business elsewhere. Having offered £5m for James Harper, Reading have once again nudged the price up, this time to a quite staggering £6m. When you start talking those sorts of numbers, you must imagine there are better players for that kind of money. A shame, really. I saw Harper as a very good deal for us, and for him.

The rumour mill has in fact been rather quiet, which either translates into very good management from the club, or a genuine lack of activity. The biggest rumour has concerned potential outgoings, no less a figure than Mido linked with a loan move to Wigan. Though nothing official has been said, the player’s alleged interest in his move appears to be possibly down to a plea for more playing time. It’s worth noting that Steve Bruce was interested in signing him when he was in charge of Birmingham City.

Talking of whom, this week has seen the rather surreal exchange of heated banter between Boro and Brum fans following comments from City Chairman, David Gold, about how he would prefer to follow a ‘yo-yo’ club than a mid-table plodder, proposing our good selves in this role. Keith Lamb retorted, asserting Boro’s achievements as reasons to be more cheerful as a Teessider, though it’s at times like these that I wish he’d keep out of it and let the silly comment stand to be ridiculed on its own merits. Upwards and onwards, I suppose, or chugging through to another mid-table finish.

Finally, more a local interest story than anything to do with football. I watched Atonement last night. You will of course recall the media interest in the fact that several scenes were shot in Redcar, the beach doubling as Dunkirk during the British forces’ retreat from France in 1939. It really is a good movie, if incredibly worthy fare, yet the best bits - and I hope I don’t say this as a biased Redcarian - are those filmed on the Esplanade. The promenade was used for a key scene, a five-minute continuous tracking shot that follows Robbie (James McAvoy) and his mates as they walk through the chaos of the evacuation and even includes the outside of the Regent Cinema, one of this writer’s haunts as a child. It’s one of the boldest bits of filming I have ever seen in a motion picture, and must have been a massive undertaking for the crew and army of extras who had to be choreographed to perfection in order to keep things moving. Apparently it took just five takes to get it right. Anyway, an excellent film and genuinely emotional, which I hope will be my feelings at around 5.00 pm today. Please.

It’s Wheater-Fix!

My apologies for a few days’ rest from this site. I have had a celebratory weekend, helped along no end by the best Boro season opener since 2000 (and a sincere hope that it ends better than that turbulent year). The boys were simply superb against a lacklustre Tottenham team, ever flattering to deceive with a multi-million pound squad that is far better on paper than in reality. And we’ve signed Justin Hoyte to boot! All we need now is for James Harper to put pen to paper and join the cause and mine happiness will be complete.

Back to Saturday, and a line-up that I don’t suppose anyone would have imagined. David Wheater playing at right-back? Mohamed Shawky on from kick-off? Jeremie Aliadiere on the right wing? Mido coming off the bench to settle matters, which must have been fantastically satisfying for him? Playing an illustrious Spurs team, it all looked a bit makeshift, and yet Boro were composed from the start. Fresh, eager, full of running and creativity, there were very few occasions when they looked second best. Let the papers rile on about the Londoners all they want - today’s Guardian focused on Dimitar Berbatov’s protracted departing saga before writing a paragraph about the win. Boo! The talking point wasn’t the latest chapter in this summer’s third dullest transfer epic but the way his current team was deconstructed. Spurs always flatter to deceive. They might look brilliant at times, but never always, and in fact it was our good selves who appeared sharp throughout. What was wrong with Wheater’s disallowed goal? Nothing, from what I could see, yet how many column inches did that especial slice of injustice garner? Er, none actually, though fortunately the Rock was able to make amends for it later. I have Wheater in my Fantasy Football team and I’m proud of it. He’s a steal! A great defender and a genuine goalscoring threat.

Everything about the team was laced with positives. I particularly enjoyed Stewart Downing’s performance on the left wing. As dangerously creative as ever, our man made a mockery of everyone who has slated him throughout the summer. I am extremely glad he hasn’t left to waste his time with the Liverpool squad. And what about Didier Digard’s delightful ball into the box that was deflected in by Mido? How good was that?

I’m sorry if all this reads like an aimless series of platitudes, but I am genuinely chuffed with the spirit to which we have headed into the new season. Whisper it, but Gareth’s summer dealings all look very justified at the moment. Bring on Liverpool.

Line-up: Jones, Wheater, Huth, Pogatetz, Taylor, Aliadiere, Shawky, O’Neil, Downing, Alves (Mido 82), Sanli (Digard 72).
Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Emnes, Adam Johnson, Williams, Grounds.
Booked: Digard.
Goals: Wheater 71, Mido 86

Justin Hoyte was announced as having signed just before kick-off, and got to wave to a packed Riverside prior to the business in hand. At £3m, it’s a good deal for Boro, and though few expect him to have the instant reliable impact that had been made by Luke Young, Hoyte has an awful lot going for him and Arsenal fans seemed a little disappointed to see him off. Their loss, I suppose. Once he’s given a squad number, Hoyte’s page will be going up on the site’s list of profiles, and I’m sure we all hope his stay is happier than those of Paul Merson and Ray Parlour, two of our last signings from Arsenal.

It’s believed that this will not be the last incoming of the transfer window. The favourite to join in order to make up the numbers in midfield is still James Harper, though Reading are still pissing about - technical term there - where the money is concerned. According to the papers, Gareth has slapped five million big ones on the table and told Steve Coppell to take it or leave it. The Royals want £6m, but surely they’re kidding themselves and you would imagine they really ought to take the money and run. Elsewhere, Boro are said to be checking out several alterrnatives, though first among them is probably not Emmanuel Agyeman Badu, a Ghanaian international attacking midfielder who is here for a spell on trial. Jimmy Bullard is alleged to be on the cards still, though you imagine if they’re looking seriously at the Fulham man perhaps they should be renewing their interest in Heerenveen’s Michael Bradley. Just a thought.

Justin Time?

Hmm, whatever happened to Gareth’s assertion that Luke Young was going to replaced as soon as possible? It’s several days since Aston Villa plunged £6m into our 29-year old right-back, and still not a sausage where new blood is concerned.

More on sausages in a bit, but first another helpful comment by Steve Gibson on our efforts to sign Justin Hoyte of ‘the’ Arsenal. Gibbo clearly wants more bums on seats at the Riverside, and in an attempt to persuade us to part with our cash in these crunched credit days, has gone on the record regarding the Hoyte affair:

‘We have made Arsenal an offer which we feel is fair. We’re not negotiating and we’re not falling out with Arsenal if they don’t accept the bid. Arsenal are a good club to deal with and we’re both doing business the right way. If they accept the bid then great, if not then we move on.’

I’m just feeding this statement through the Quotometer 6000, FITC’s translation software that filters out the bullcrap and reveals what is really being said. The results are chugging out of our state of the art daisywheel now:

‘Please, please, please buy a ticket to watch us play Spurs on Saturday. We really need your money, and we really want it also. Just to help you make up your minds, we are aiming to spend some of the cash we have made from selling Boateng, Cattermole and Young on other players, preferably a new right-back and a central midfielder, though not all of it because those days have long, long gone. Just ask the manager at Linthorpe Road NatWest. We’ll say something kind about Arsenal too as they might be reading this, but really none of us are bothered what they think as long as they sell us their third choice right-back for not very much, plus bonuses that we never might have to pay (if we’re lucky and Tony McMahon comes good).’

Only joking, of course. I think Boro bank at Barclays. And never mind about that Hoyte fella. If that falls through, Gareth has a perfectly fine alternative to call on, none other than Moritz Volz, Fulham defender. Oh God no! I hear you cry, and you might be right as the German strikes me as one of those innate squad players who will never amount to much more. Despite being around forever, he’s just 25, and it says an awful lot that he doesn’t feature in Roy Hodgson’s plans for the new season. For further information, try a peek at Volz’s official site, a neat, Panini-inspired effort that features such gems as his favourite London restaurants and a review of what’s on his iPod currently. One of his favourites is James’s Born of Frustration, which sort of says it all. Who says Germans have no sense of humour?

According to the official Boro site, we have now been linked with a grand total of 90 players over the summer. The piece reporting this is based on the domain’s regular ‘What the Papers Say’ column, a rather smug slice of editorial that mocks fans for following gossip whilst knowing exactly who the club are really after. Looking through the list, there are some obvious names in there, such as those we have actually signed (Digard, Emnes) and others we have tried/are trying to recruit (Harper, Hoyte). Others include people I wouldn’t wish to see within a hundred leagues of the Riverside, like Shola Ameobi and Alan Smith along with people we’re always meant to be sniffing around, like David Dunn and bloody James Beattie. Only a few real stunners are in there, such as French international goalkeeper Gregory Coupet, and Milan’s young forward, Alexandre Pato. I imagine the people who conjured up that tall tale (the source is shadily mentioned as ‘Internet reports’) were having a good old laugh as they wrote it.

Finnan crispy

So Luke Young has left, joining Aston Villa in a deal that could rise to a quite staggering £6m (depending on bonuses for the number of appearances he makes). It’s an amazing profit for a player who has only worn the Garmin shirt for one season, and as Steve Gibson said, a good bit of business for Boro:

‘Selling a 29-year-old full-back for £6m a year after we bought him for £2.5m, and doing so in the knowledge that we will replace him, is right for the football club in the short term, medium term and the long term. We’re already busy working on bringing in a replacement.’

Farewell then Luke. You turned out to be the best right-back I have probably ever seen play for Boro, certainly since the club’s rebirth in 1986. All right, so the competition for that honour isn’t exactly outstanding, but it was a pleasant surprise to find that a player we had signed more or less to make up the numbers and lend an experienced hand was revealed to be bloody good and a genuine contender to regain his place in the national side.

Upwards and onwards, I suppose, and wearing my solution focused hat, let’s concentrate on the key word in Gibbo’s statement - replacement. Two names have emerged as potential signees. The first, Justin Hoyte, was discussed in my last update (scroll down), but for a more in-depth analysis of his merits take a look at this entry from Boro Mania, where the opinions of an expert on young Arsenal players was sought. Certainly, Hoyte isn’t the finished article, and in his instance I would argue the potential for a first team scrap between him and Tony McMahon could turn out to be quite interesting. The quoted price is £3.5m, with various sources having it that this fee has actually been agreed and personal terms are at the negotiating stage. Nothing has been advanced via the official channels, so I guess we shall have to wait and see.

The second target, and the reason for this blog’s pisspore pun (I do apologise for it, but it was the best I could come up with after twenty seconds’ thinking time) is Liverpool’s veteran, Steve Finnan. Now 32, it’s likely that Rafa Benitez will let Finnan leave for a reasonable fee. For one thing, Liverpool have other options, and clearly want someone who can play as a wing-back, whereas your man is more of an orthodox defender. Finnan could also be surplus to requirements with Alvaro Arbeloa and Philipp Degen also battling for a starting place, and let’s be honest, when it comes down to it he just isn’t Spanish enough for Rafa. For our money we’d be getting a bit of an underrated gem, someone who has won 50 caps for the Republic of Ireland, played at every level in the professional English game and competed in the big European competitions. That’s some record, compunded with the fact that in spite of Rafa trying to sign player after to player to fill the position, Finnan has usually emerged as the best choice for his role. Considering he was signed to pad out the ranks, he’s been a more than useful recruit for Liverpool.

Which one would I rather see at the Riverside? Hoyte, obviously. His age and potential sound about right for us, whilst Finnan’s advancing years would suggest he’d get a decent contract a nice wage for an uncertain amount of return, which seems to run against every principle of Southgate’s Middesbrough. By all accounts, we can expect something to happen shortly on this front. Another pertinent question concerns the possibility of nailing a player who is as good as the one who has left, and the answer is likely to be no. After all, if such a right-back existed why would Martin O’Neill blow a cool six million on Young?

In the meantime, Boro completed their pre-season preparations with an energetic 6-1 ass whupping of Sparta Rotterdam last night. Though the defeated home team could argue that our fitness levels were higher, the excuse doesn’t really encompass the comprehensive nature of our victory. Afonso Alves (2), Jeremie Aliadiere, Josh Walker, Stewart Downing and Rhys Williams all found the net in a win that was so easy it feels as though we weren’t truly challenged in the build-up to next Saturday’s resumption of hostilities. It probably doesn’t help that they sold their best player to us, of course, and Marvin Emnes was good value for a second half cameo appearance, long after all the damage had been done and the match’s pace slowed right down.

As far as we can glean any clues about the side from their run of friendlies, I have to say it all looks very positive. Boro have enjoyed some excellent results, manged to keep the squad in good shape and maybe (fingers crossed) have a chance to enter the season without our usual raft of injuries. That would make a nice change. There’s a general feeling that Gareth is getting things right at the Riverside. The £6m for Young is a real gift horse and a sign that Boro are serious about getting their house in order, particularly in terms of their debt. Naturally, no one wants to see the back of good, experienced professionals who can produce the goods regularly, but the turnaround in our fortune’s is never likely to happen in a hurry.

Stop Luke, and Listen

Ominous times are these, readers, what with Boro being revealed as a selling club now that Luke Young is almost certainly an Aston Villa player. In fairness, £5m (as the unofficial price appears to be) is a great bit of business for a 29-year old, and someone on whom we have made a 100% profit after a single season’s work at the Riverside. Yet it seems so poor to be losing a player who was one of our best in 2007/08. I contend that had he been playing for a bigger club like, er, Villa, Young would be in the England squad by now and probably pushing for a place in Fabio Capello’s starting eleven. Perhaps he’ll get that chance now.

Gareth described Villa’s offer as ‘one that makes it very difficult to turn down,’ and smething in the region of five million is an awful lot of dough. On the downside, Boro will lose an integral part of their defence. It’s not like top drawer right-backs are going cheaply, as Martin O’Neill has discovered, and the strongly hinted suggestion we’re after Arsenal’s Justin Hoyte as a replacement is not one that fills me with confidence. The brilliant thing about Luke was that he was a rare ‘old hand’ in the Boro defence. We could really have done with his experience this season, particularly as it’s nigh on certain that he would be protecting a reasonably green goalkeeper. Hoyte simply hasn’t played that often, and has failed to force himself into the Gunners’ line due to Bakary Sagna and Emmanuel Eboue sharing time at right back.

Whether losing Young is a complete disaster of course remains to be seen. In his interview with the official MFC site, Gareth hinted that to an extent his own hand was forced. From the sounds of things, once the player learned of Villa’s interest he was looking for the nearest exit. Not that anyone can blame him; O’Neill is a class act of a manager, and Young is more or less guaranteed his game within a side that I think can make a genuine push for top six hoinours. In any event, it’s suggested Hoyte will command a price tag in the region of £3m, and there’s also Tony McMahon to factor into a position that could now be open to competition. At least Gareth appears keen to find a quick replacement for Luke, which is just about all we can ask for.

Things could move very quickly on the transfer front, with interest reignited in James Harper and the fee of £3.5m floating around once more. Debate on the midfielder’s merits has been mixed. Some, including myself, think he would be a marvellous acquisition and a necessary injexction of experience. Others consider him to be far from the answer to George Boateng, even though the Boat had hardly been in scintillating form for at least two years. In an ideal world, Harper would be extricated from Reading before they start their Championship season on Saturday, which could make tomorrow very interesting for Sky Sports News viewers or those clicking the Refresh button on NewsNow.

Getting back to Young for a moment, I suppose the writing was on the wall as Boro beat Darlington 5-0 in Tuesday’s pre-season match with McMahon starting. A young side still had more than enough about it to see off Darlo, with goals from Adam Johnson (who got our first and last of the evening), Marvin Emnes, McMahon, and an own goal. Emnes impressed until his subsitution on the hour mark, and special praise was reserved for defender Rhys Williams. With seven places on the substitutes’ bench this season, many of these kids could find themselves a lot closer to the pitch than they might previously have imagined. The pre-season campaign finishes tomorrow with a match against Sparta Rotterdam, for which we can expect to see Gareth name a much stronger squad. Unfortunately, it will be one that doesn’t contain the best right-back we’ve had in years.