Afternoon Peeps and Boro fans,

It has been a few days since my last post. I have been lost in the wilderness for a while, but have now found home again.

Boro have been battling away in the relegation zone recently without making any progress. You can't call a point at home to Blackburn progress. Can we?

Where do we go from here? 

The Manchester City match on Saturday was much better in terms of end product, but the result was inevitable becaue of our confidence in front of goal.

When I say end product, I mean getting forward and into dangerous areas to cause the opposition trouble resulting in shots on goal.

Southgate managed 180 minutes of football without a goal threat prior to the City game, but within 20 minutes on Saturday, either side of half time, we went close on three separate occasions. Alves

had all three chances to score but was thwarted by Shay Given. That was always going to the biggest problem on Saturday against Manchester City, their new goalkeeper.

Boro have a habit of playing against opposition goalkeepers that are in the best form of their careers. Given made two world class saves to deny Afonso and received man of the match for his heroics.

I must say Brad Jones was also excellent in the opposite goal. He produced many good saves to deny City in the first half. I must admit, if we do go down, we will have two very good goalkeepers to help us back up.

It does look bleak in terms of results, but at least the performance was encouraging from Saturday. We actually looked like scoring. Shock!

My manager notes

Clueless again on Saturday. Bates in midfield and O'Neil on the bench. What is he playing at? Digard was back, but was taken off with half an hour to go with no sign of fatigue or injury. Has Southgate lost the plot?

Another moan must go to Southgate for leaving Tuncay on the bench and persisting with Marlon King up front. The gut has offered nothing since his switch from Wigan/Hull.

If Southgate keeps up the crazy decisions he will soon be following Tony Adams to the managerial scrapheap. 

A trip to West Ham on Saturday will ease the pressure on Southgate, but a heavy defeat to the hands of the Hammers will mean curtains for GS.

Follow the Boro Brick Road...

Afternoon Peeps and Boro fans,

How's it going!

This is a make or break weekend for Middlesbrough FC and, in particular, our oh so friendly manager, Gareth Southgate.

The team could be rock bottom of the Premier League table and without a manager on Monday morning. Tomorrow's game at the Riverside is massive, it is huge, it is big. 

The fans will be there in their numbers to support the team, but I can see them turning on the men in charge quickly if Blackburn get their noses in front.

Nothing less than a win will only do for our passionate fans. We do not care how we win tomorrow just as long as we win. Ugly the better I say.

We are boosted by the news that Southgate will not park the team bus on the edge of our own box tomorrow. He says we need to be more attacking.

"We must have more of an attacking threat and we need to show it against Blackburn. Obviously we have to combine that with a positive overall performance."

Marlon King will, almost certainly, start against Blackburn tomorrow. This leaves a slight confusion as to where Tuncay will play because King's partner will be Alves.

Will we finally see Tuncay in the middle of the park? I'm hoping so. Our Turkish international played there in the EUROS last summer and was excellent in that position. If I hear all three names in the starting line-up tomorrow I will be very pleased.

Bold selection for tomorrow's game:

Turnbull

Hoyte    Wheater   Huth    Pogatetz

   Shawky           

  Johnson         Tuncay       Downing  

  King      Alves 

 

Southgate's safe selection for tomorrow's game: 

 Turnbull

McMahon   Wheater   Riggott   Pogatetz

Tuncay    Arca   Shawky    Downing

King       Alves

 

I know which one I would like to see, but Southgate has a habit of bottling the team selection for important games.

Good luck to the lads tomorrow and let's see goals and, more importantly, three points.

Up The Boro!!

Follow the Boro Brick Road... 

       

Morning Peeps, Chelsea fans and Boro fans,

I hope everyone is well because this one could be a tear-jerker. Tissues on hand everybody because, as the title says, this post is about the death of 4-4-2. Not the magazine, you numpty, the formation.

I witnessed an awful game of football last night at Stamford Bridge. The game was billed to be an exciting encounter. Chelsea were chasing Liverpool and Manchester United whilst our lot were trying to break the dreadful run of form.

Gareth Southgate hinted he might play an attacking formation at the Bridge, playing two up front, but he went against his initial thoughts and played one up top with the bus parked behind Marlon King.

Apparently we defended well for 60 minutes in last nights game. Where has Southgate clutched that assumption from? Was he watching the same game as I was? Chelsea are a shadow of the team that played under the guidance of Jose Mourinho. They play a very narrow formation these days, which makes them very predictable.

The Blues have no clue how to play their 'other' best players. It seems the team is jostled around Frank Lampard. Don't get me wrong, Lampard is a terrific player, but the Chelsea line-up needs to play a formation that will allow them to get the ball into dangerous areas from out wide. Drogba was excellent when he came on and single-handedly tried his best to break past the big red bus. 

Even Big Phil needs to look at a 4-4-2 formation to boost his team.

Southgate should have noticed Chelsea's lack of ambition in the first half and changed the formation to 4-4-2. It was clear after about 15 minutes that Chelsea would play the ball around in midfield with no end result. The only time the Blues got the ball wide in the final third was when Anelka picked the ball up and if he had the ball there, who was in the box? You guessed it, nobody.

Last nights game will not be used as an advert for Premier League football. Lack of ambition, no passion and two managers that are clueless with tactics. 4-4-2 was officially dead last night.

Southgate will get a lot of stick from Boro fans after last nights defeat. Most, including me, expected to see a brave formation and a strong attacking line-up to face Chelsea. We were all disappointed Gareth.

What did we have to lose? Nothing. We were stuffed 5-0 at home against Chelsea so why did Southgate feel it was important to park the red bus at Stamford Bridge? He feared the worse of course. Something that will backfire on him in the not so distant future.

Boro had nothing to lose against a top four side and showed no adventure what so ever in the game. Johnson had a couple of jinking runs down the right, but barely troubled Cole. Downing was as quiet as a mouse all evening, hardly on the ball and never able to threaten.

The player I feel most sorry for was Marlon King. He was put up front on his own to deal with Alex and Terry. Welcome to Middlesbrough Marlon.

So as both sets of fans witnessed a dour football match it was left for the supporters to reflect on how their teams can improve.

Southgate needs to get his hand away from the worry button and be bold and brave for once otherwise he might be doing another Pizza advert very soon. If we do not play a 4-4-2 formation at home to Blackburn on Saturday, then we can all fear the worse. Sorry to say it, but we will be bottom of the league and out of the division at the end of the season.

Change the formation Southgate. Be bold. The players are good enough!

Follow the Boro Brick Road...