By Packwolf
October 19 2005

First of all, a confession. I haven’t seen much football in the last month. Shameful I know but work is hell and hell is work- and a dismal 2-0 home defeat to Sunderland. The only match I have been to was the away trip to Wigan; great day but a result only slightly less dodgy than one of their pies (although I am sure the Wiz will point out that with mushy peas they are lovely) so I am hardly speaking from any position of authority here.

Which brings us conveniently on to Adrian Chiles, the West Brom supporting Rooney look-a-like with a penache for making Graham Le Saux look interesting, which is a feat in itself. A week last Sunday, in the preview of the Villa game which was a full decade before the two minutes worth of highlights and Flintstone uttered the phrase ‘and we will see which Boro turned up to Villa Park today’. And then and there I was introduced to an emotion I had never felt before- agreement with Chiles. It seemed to sum up the last month perfectly but I guess you want more than that, after all you’ve bothered to open this file haven’t you? Well in the word of the Bassett ‘Let’s do this’ [what exactly, remains to be seen- I know I’ve been waiting for eighteen months now]. So erm, yeah. Whatever.

On the Month of September

Tenth. Tenth. Not quite success, not quite failure. Just mediocre. Now I know how it feels to be David O’Leary. But either way it makes judgement on the season so far somewhat difficult. People say that wait until you are ten games in before anything can be said. Well we’ve had eight and I’m going to say what we’re all thinking. How the hell can we beat Arsenal at home one week and then lose to Sunderland? Well, I suppose we could tarnish our victory slightly by saying that with Vieria gone Arsenal do not look as accomplished and that with Henry and Campbell out they were somewhat weakened. But you can only beat the side put out in front of you and there was nothing lucky about it.

Imperious, grandiose, competent. Words McClaren can only dream of using before he comes out with his usual ‘magnificent display’ and his inane punch-worthy grin. Words that could be used to describe such a display. We were hungry and stoked, we had a point to prove (that we could limit the number of goals conceded to less than four) and that we were ready to graduate up to the Champions League places. This was reassuring, bouncing back from a 3-0 home defeat to Charlton, the flash in the pan, inevitably finishing the season in 9th place Charlton, implied that that performance (one of our worse ever) was out of our system, that we had the confidence and the belief to make the step up, to not let anything get in our way. We left our television screens, sorry, the Riverside, with hope that day confident we could get a positive result at Wigan and start flying again- after all our last away game was a 3-0 defeat of Birmingham, surely we could win at the JJB.

Put simply we didn’t. We all know that. But this match did show something because it was the archetypal match of our season so far. We had the desire and the passion but equally we had the complacency. We came out of the blocks looking like world beaters, scored a well worked goal and kept trying until halftime. After which we sat back, let the opposition attack us and looked as up for it as a pregnant hippo with piles.

Conceding was inevitable, anyone in the away end could see it a mile off twenty minutes before it happened so why McClaren couldn’t is beyond me. But then McClaren’s view of reality and the fan’s view is often quite different. At least it was a magnificent display though. They all are. Apart from Charlton of course. But this was Wigan. We sat back and let Wigan attack us. We played 4-5-1 at Wigan for Christ’s sake!

We are an established European side now and although Wigan are a feisty talented outfit, why we resorted to tactics most teams play when they play against the big three puzzles me. This is particularly because we had no fear the previous week, we attacked Arsenal and won. Why go to Wigan and play negatively? Attack, win. Odd that combination really isn’t it? Particularly when our attack probably is the most accomplished part of our team now- Hasselbaink and Viduka are proven, the Yak is starting to show his worth as well.

With the age of Southgate and Ehigou (as well as the proneness to mistakes from the latter- he’s made at least three already this season which have cost us goals) we cannot expect them to sit back and defend for ninety minutes week in week out, particularly against the likes of Wigan. But the most disturbing thing was the lack of passion in the second half. We played that game once before, against Charlton, the players were rightfully booed. No passion, £28 down the toilet, sorry it’s my right. You would have thought we would have learnt our lesson. But sadly not.

We doled up the same in the last 45 minutes against Wigan and we were punished. A fair draw in a game we should and could have won. Not a bad away point but galling that it could not have been more. Particularly because our major rivals, Liverpool, Spurs and even Bolton have strengthened this season and we have been left behind somewhat- by losing Zenden, even with the players we have brought in, I still think this team is weaker than it was last season, largely because we have no real creativity in midfield. And this is annoying as to obtain even top 6 or 7 again we need to ensure we get all the points we can and not drop silly ones. Two points were dropped at Wigan. It was going to be three against Sunderland.

I guess this is like a sleeping dog really, poke it with a stick and it bites half your hand off. In our case we decided to give a biscuit to the cute clueless Mackem puppy before rubbing its tummy and packing it back off to Sunderland with a hamper full of Pedigree Chum. The less said about this the better, suffice to say that Julio Arca’s coat has never looked so shiny and Sunderland have never looked so supple.

It wasn’t as if we played badly (despite what most people seem to think about that game, I don’t think the performance was that bad, maybe they were just swept along by the fact that it was the Mackems who had beaten us) it was just Sunderland wanted it more. More passion, more drive, more determination. More silly free kicks given away by Boro on the edge of their penalty area. Seems to be the story of the season really. And the problem with playing against a side that shows more passion than you is that subjectively it looks like you are not being passionate yourself.

This was a half truth against Sunderland. We had many shots and in many ways were unlucky, a few good saves, a few near-misses, a few Rochemback shots that found their way back to Brazil or wherever he’s from. Did they get lucky? Not really, they rode the storm and deserved the points, we could have won but not one of the seventeen million chances that Sunderland’s defence gifts any team who plays them, didn’t go in. Maybe on another day they would have done. Maybe on another day, Rochemback would remember he was a footballer.

So one good performance, one half-good performance and one akin to the average contender on The X Factor [I’m still waiting for the XXX factor but I doubt it would make prime time, there’s a missed opportunity there I feel]. So what happens at Villa. Of course, we score three goals, give away more silly goals and actually play quite well. Good to get the Sunderland mess out of our system but where we go from here is anyone’s guess. Probably draw against Portsmouth, lose to West Ham and beat Man Utd 23-0 with Adrian Chiles getting sent off three times in the same game. God knows.

Average month coming up like all months this season, tough away game at the Ham, difficult home games against Pompey and United but still an opportunity to accrue points. And we need to because two or three good results and suddenly everything is rosy. But two or three bad ones and we are heading towards the mire. But stay positive and focussed- by beating Arsenal we know we have the ability to beat anyone, we must take that belief and push forward with it. But with it we must instil passion because without that we will have a disappointing season, scraping wins here and there, finishing about where we are at the moment, a team with potential but lacking the desire to fulfil it.

And this would be a retrograde step when we should have progressed. This can be our best season if we try, if we put our hearts and souls into it and play for every ball and this passion must be reflected in the noise from the fans. So no more booing, loads more singing and we can banish these lethargic displays. I know we shouldn’t have to endure them, the money the players are on and all but maybe they need reminding. Put in all the effort and we will be rewarded. And hopefully McClaren can get the hint as well because some of the displays this season so far have been unacceptable.

If we play anywhere near to the level we can, we can sneak up on our rivals and steal fourth place. But the time to act is now before the points gap becomes to wide. And Pompey at home is a good fixture to have. Lets hope we can turn it round before true damage is done. We have lost ground but not heart (although some of the players need to find it). We need to show the players just how much it means to us.

On the UEFA Cup

I suppose it was always about progressing. With our inconsistency it wouldn’t have surprised me if we had crashed out to Xanthi but thankfully we did a professional, if slightly dull job and have a guaranteed four more European games. This is obviously beneficial, not least because it raises the profile of the club and allows us to continue our evolution into serious honours contenders and allows us up a place or two on that nasty UEFA quality of sides ladder thing.

And there is no reason, if we can find a way of instilling passion into the side, that we can go a long way in Europe and perhaps even win the competition. But of course, there are no second chances with cup competitions, one bad performance and that could end the adventure, which is why we need to put our inconsistency behind us. Of the group stages, we should get through although in reflection the draw now seems harder than it did upon its first revelation. Grasshoppers and particularly Alkmaar will not be easy grounds to visit although if we win both our home games I guess we would only need to pick up a point or two out of these fixtures, something that should be well within our capabilities. But remember top spot means an easier upcoming round and we must aim to finish top of our group as it’s well within our grasp. Indeed we managed it last year with teams of a better quality in our group than this, hopefully the novelty has not worn off and we can play to the potential we know we are capable of.

This time, of the home games, Litex Lovech and Dnipro I know very little about but if a side like Dnipro can beat European opposition so convincingly (in the form of Hibernian) then they do pose a threat. Yet we need to look to win both of these games and we should be able to, provided the coaching staff do their homework properly. The problem with these sides is the element of the unknown, which may be where Dnipro playing Hibernian can help, but coming to a big Premier league ground may make them more up for the tie than they would otherwise have been- and remember, in our last home outing we lost to Sunderland. Premier league minnows indeed. Nothing is guaranteed.

Yet I would prefer these teams at home rather than away, Ukraine and Bulgaria are probably not great places to play football and the chances of getting a result out there, with their own partisan fans and dodgy bobbly pitches are more difficult than it would first appear. At least we have them on our own terms, in our own backyard and with a crowd of 7 odd thousand cheering the lads on. Meanwhile, as last season showed, we are more than capable of playing against accomplished sides away from home and getting a result and I don’t see why Alkmaar and Grasshoppers would be any different. Indeed in probably knowing more about these teams and the fact that these are the bigger games in the group probably means that being away from home works to our advantage as we can be stoked over them and have the confidence that we had beaten teams like this before.

Indeed sometimes being in a more familiar surrounding of 15000 people in a half-decent stadium is more reassuring than playing in a shed to a crowd of 4 and a dog called Nigel. So in the end we can’t really moan about the draw plus we get a trip to Amsterdam out of it. And who can complain about that? I’m still hoping for Tahiti in the last 32...

Until next time… Packwolf.