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The holiday period is over, its time to wash the scarf, oil the rattle and put on that bobble hat. Friday night is the night. Middlesbrough vs. Sheffield United at the Riverside stadium, the start of a glorious campaign?
Pre-season has left many scratching their heads. We've gone undefeated, scored a considerable amount of goals, defended well in the main, yet something rather troubling has occurred in the last week. Our young men of steel appear to dislike a physical battle. After running rampant against Macclesfield, Dumbarton and Carlisle, the last week has seen Boro take on two teams who offered a real taste of Football league grit. The Oldham Athletic game on Wednesday night (29th) was a real eye-opener to where our Infant Herculean's could come unstuck. Some real talent on show, notably Rhys Williams (Who has been outstanding throughout the pre-season programme), Jonathan Franks and the ever dependable David Wheater produced sterling performances on the night. New boy (Or should I say new gadgy?) Danny Coyne was impressive: extremely vocal, commanding and an all round presence, a suitable no.2 for the first few weeks of the season. Mark Yeates appears to be a real gem. Full of energy and enterprise, he could be a thorn in the side of many a team in the Championship. The 1st Oldham goal, which gave the home side the lead going in to half time, was a case of very poor Boro defending, but the 2nd could not be stopped. A perfect free-kick into the top corner left Coyne stranded. Both of the Boro goals on the evening came from corner kicks, something which has been prevalent through the pre-season campaign. It would not surprise yours truly if we are highest scorers in the league from corners, as we appear to have perfected the art, 2 beautifully crafted headers by Huth and Williams earning Boro a draw, and maintaining an unbeaten record.
The Games at Macclesfield, Dumbarton and Carlisle, it appears to me, were purely for self gratification, a chance for Gareth to show his players that they CAN win games, that they DO have talent. However, the 2 most significant games came this week, the Oldham game mentioned above, a team who stretched Boro and forced us into playing a different style, not commonly thrust upon our Premier League reared youth, and the Millwall game this afternoon. The draw at the New Den, and the way in which Middlesbrough equalised suggests that there may be some Teesside steel in our freshly relegated squad. It is difficult to accurately predict the season, given that it appears the upheaval is far from over, with more players to exodus, and fresh faces to arrive, but the nucleus of our squad is good enough o send us back to the Premier League, if we have sufficient muscle to push over bully outfits in this league.
While it is difficult to assert any sort of grip on where we will be in 12 months time, one thing is for sure, those of us who have stuck around to see the outcome beyond May 24th 2009 have got to be vocal and have got to roar the boys on, breathe fresh life into our club, even when the games get ugly. We are part of the steel, which will take us back to the top flight.
COME ON BORO!