Press Links:

Luciano Becchio:

Becchio is a player who is currently under contract to Leeds. A former Boca youth player, he hasn’t really established himself despite being highly rated as a youngster. He was snapped up by Mallorca only one year after signing his first professional contract and spent his time ther playing for the B team. Various loan switches to other lower league Spanish clubs ensued before he made the switch to Leeds permanent the summer gone.

Verdict: Becchio is a player who has never played at the highest level. He’s a relative unknown and to sign this player would be not only a great risk, but a drain on funds and wages which could be used elsewhere on a player who might actually benefit the team. He’ll not only be over-priced if we purchase him, but the chances of him doing nothing far out-weigh any chance of him being a success at this level. He’s a player that Boro would do well to stay away from.

Stephen Appiah:

Appiah is a Ghanian defensive midfielder with a distinguished career at club and international level. He began his career playing for Italian club Udinese. But it wasn’t until a few years later that he announced his prescence as a quality player. After a loan spell at then Serie A club Brescia, where he 31 appearances, scoring 7 league goals, he was spotted by Juventus and subsiquently made the move. However, he made little impact on the team and only two years later, found himself on the move to Fenerbahce, where he played alongside Tuncay on many occasions. Unfortunately in the 07/08 season, he suffered a horriffic knee injury and is still recovering to this day. He currently finds himself looking for a new club having left Fenerbahce.

Verdict: Appiah is a strong physical prescence in any midfield and would probably be the Boateng we never had… a strong defensive box-to-box midfielder who can score a couple of goals. Despite declaring himself physically fit, it remains to be seen how high his fitness levels are and how well his injury would stand up to the rigours and physical nature of the Premiership. I’d like to see Appiah in the Boro team as he will add a different option to those of Shawky and O’Neil.

I’d probably sign him on an initial 6-month contract with an option of an extension if he can stay fit and prove himself he can handle this division.

Julian De Guzman:

Not to be mistaken for his younger dutch brother Jonathan De Guzman, Julian is a Canadian international, an unremarkable defensive midfielder currently on the books of Deportivo. He began his career on the books of French club Marseille, however he never made a single appearance. After a two year stint in the German lower leagues, Julian made his name playing for Hannover before being noticed by Deportivo, where he’s spent the previous four years. However unremarkable, his key skills lay in his ability to tackle and is considered a good team player with a high work rate.

Verdict: Julian is a player i’d only suggest signing through injury or desperate needs of midfield backup. What Boro need at the moment is a bit of flair and creativity in midfield and Julian certainly doesn’t offer that. Infact, he doesn’t offer anything more than what Shawky currently brings to the squad.

Steven Defour:

Defour, despite being only 21 has already got a long career under his belt. An attacking midfielder, he posesses a lot of pace and is also a creative midfielder who excels at linking play between midfield and attack. He began his career at Belgian side KV Mechelen where he never made a single appearance. He was allowed to leave on a free and then made the move upto the Belgian first division with Genk. He impressed for Genk and two years later found himself playing for Standard Liege after a £1m move. He’s attracting interest from a lot of clubs including Arsenal. Defour is currently a regular in the Belgian squad, with 20 caps and 3 goals under his belt to date.

Verdict: Defour would be an excellent addition to the squad, given his current ability. But it remains to be seen how interest in other clubs turn out, notably Arsenal. He’s a player Boro should definately look at however interest from other clubs may dictate how much Boro would pay or if Boro would even consider making a bid.

Available for? : Defour could be available from anything between £2.5m upto and above £6m depending on the interest shown in him. Anything higher would probably be out of Boro’s price range.

Axel Witsel:

Witsel is Steven Defour’s 20 year-old team mate at Standard Liege. A home-grown Liege player, he began his career two years ago making 16 appearances for the first team and scoring two goals. His ability obviously wasn’t un-noticed has he immediately tore his way into the first team the season after, establishing himself as one of Belgiums brightest prospects by helping himself to 7 league goals along 33 appearances. He currently has 9 international caps and 2 goals to his name, with many more to come.

Verdict: Witsel is another signing i’d like to see Boro capture. He’s undoubtedly a young star with a bright future, yet interest from larger clubs appears to be steering more in Defour’s direction at the moment. Witsel though arguably has a better technical ability on the ball, while equally being a very creative prescence at the centre of Liege’s squad.

Available for? : It’s unknown how much he’s available for, but i’d speculate that Liege would be hard pressed to turn down a solid bid of around £4m. He’s a definate purchase now or in the future.

Player(s) i think Boro should definately look at now or in the future:

Jonathan De Guzman:

Unlike his brother Julian was, Jonathan is a 21-year old player with very high potential and is currently showing that in the Dutch Eridevisie. Currently playing for Feyenoord, he’s an attacking midfielder with flair and the creative skill needed to both create AND score goals of his own, as he’s shown during his career so far. His on-field performances arent going un-noticed either, with the Dutch international coach keeping close tabs on him. His international credentials currently include 7 U-21 caps and 3 goals.

Verdict: As i’ve stated, hes a very good player, and one currently not on the radar of any of Europes big guns… or if he is, nothing has been revealed. He’s not only a player with a great future, but he would also be capable of fitting straight into the team.

Available for? : If Feyenoord were willing to sell, i’d expect Boro to be paying a fee of in excess of £4m, possibly upto £6m.

Michael Kightly:

Kightly is a player of much potential. Currently playing his trade with Wolves in the Championship, he’s a pacey winger who likes to get into the box and not only score goals, but set them up. He began his career at Tottenham, although he was shipped out to Southend for free without makin a single appearance. Actually, he spent a lot of his early career in the lower leagues, moving from Southend in 04/05 on loan to Farnborough Town and then again to Gray’s Athletic for another free transfer. Wolves have picked up somewhat a gem as Kightly made the move up from the Blue Square straight into their first team making an immediate impact. Kightly continues his bright form again this season with 16 appearances and 7 goals.

Verdict: Again, another bright spark that would add a bit of width to the team to compliment Downing on the left and would give us some much valuable goals from the wide areas. Definately a player with a bright future.

Available for? : Kightly being English, no doubt his value will be inflated. Wolves have stated that they want to keep Kightly and he doesn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to leave. Bids in excess of £5m might persuade Wolves to talk and i’d expect them to hold out for almost £7m given the nature of Engish players values in the transfer market. Out of Boro’s price range.

Pablo Piatti:

Piatti is an Argentinian forward player who can be played either as a striker or in attacking midfield. Still only 20, he’s a player of much quality much likened to Leo Messi. He began his career back in Argentina with Estudiantes, a top division team where he earned his reputation as one of Argentina’s brightest youth players. His form earned him a summer move to Spanish side Almeria in a deal worth £6m

Available for? : Probably isn’t available at all considering he only moved in the summer, but hes already proving a huge sucess for the Spanish minnows. These are the sort of players i wish Boro would go for, but alas, they slip through our fingers.

Luigi Bruins:

Bruins is one of many young Dutch players to have come onto the scene during recent years. A 22 year old attacking midfielder (what else?), he’s the central midfield partner of Jonathan De Guzman in the Feyenoord squad. He’s A player recognised in Holland for his technique, his eye for a pass and his eye for goal, not only from open play, but free kicks also. Bruins began his career at Excelsior, making huge strides in his first season. In all, he made 66 appearances for Excelsior scoring 10 goals before his £800,000 move to Feyenoord. In his first season at Feyenoord he capped off with  27 appearances and 6 league goals.

Verdict: Like Jonathan De Guzman, Luigi Bruins is a player that would be worth the capture, and could probably fit straight into the squad. He would offer a different aspect to play, laying off with neat through balls and long range passing. He’s also hopefully bag a few goals from the centre, something that he’s already used to.

Available for? : The fact that Feyenoord didn’t pay big money for him would suggest that he might be available for a lot less than De Guzman. Considering he isn’t a home grown player either, they could be persuaded to cash in and make a healthy profit in the process for a fee no less than £3.5m.

To be updated…

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Transfer rumours heating up ahead of January - Update #1

It’s another Sunday kick off for the Boro, in a difficult game which we’ll be hoping to see at least a point dropped in the hat to add to this season’s tally.

Boro have had little luck at Goodison park which will leave many with doubts of getting a result, but now is probably the best time to chalk up some points on the board against the Scouse club. However, despite their form dipping in and out this season, they still hold a respectable place in the league one point and one position ahead of us.

This weekend will see the return of our former Nigerian striking ace, The Yak, as he likely returns to the starting line-up following a spell of injury. He’s no stranger to scoring goals wherever he is, and notched up a decent tally of goals last season for Everton. Yakubu currently has three Premiership strikes under his belt this season and he’ll probably be wanting to increase that tally, especially against his old club. Never the less, Yakubu left the club under “dodgy” circumstances, so i wouldn’t be suprised to hear Boro’s away contingent boo’ing each time he receives the ball, then again, i would… i’ve lost all respect for the man.

Everton’s most widely recognised nickname is “The Toffees” or “The Toffeemen”, which came about after Everton had moved to Goodison. There are several explanations for how this name came to be adopted, the most well known being that there was a business near the ground called Mother Noblett’s Toffee Shop which advertised and sold sweets, including the Everton Mint, on match days. This also led to the Toffee Lady tradition in which a girl walks around the perimeter of the pitch before the start of a game tossing free Everton Mints into the crowd. Another possible reason is that there was a house called Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House near the Queen’s Head hotel in which early club meetings took place. The word “toffee” was also slang referring to Irishmen, of which there was a large population in the city at the turn of the century and who tended to support Everton rather than city rivals Liverpool.

They are currently a club on the up going by the last couple of seasons, but in general, are regarded as severe relegation flirters. At the moment, Everton currently runners up for the record of most years in top flight football, behind Arsenal… but that has looked like being shattered on many occasions as Everton are quite used to having a good season only to be dissapointed the next by coming close to relegation only to survive. I suppose that’s good in a way, at least they get to Celebrate success and failiure one way or another.

Everton’s illustrious honours include winning the old First Division nine times and receiving runner’s up medals on seven occasions. Their trophy cabinet also holds five FA-Cups with their players receiving a further seven runner’s up medals. As you can see, they’re no stranger to success, with a further two League Cup wins and even a European Cup winner’s Cup. The most suprising of their honour’s is that in 1985 they were actually named The World Team of the Year by the World Soccer Magazine.

David Moyes will be looking nervously over his shoulder with the Boro currently sitting a point behind his team in the table, and Gareth Southgate will want to take advantage. But it’s not only Everton that are having a hard time of things in the consistency department this season. As ever, Boro are showing signs of inconsistency, but the season appears to be leveling itself off. It is a shame though that we couldn’t capitalise on some of our other results, while still having the luck… such as against the Aston Villa game.

The hot topic at the moment is whether Boro can get points from Goodison on Sunday.

Late goals have cost us a few points this season, and adding those “omg we should have won” games onto our points tally shows us exactly where we should be sitting in the league this season. Games against Liverpool, West Brom, (arguably one of our best displays) and Sunderland (another match winning display) are all games which, if we were actually a friend of lady luck, would have had points from. From a calculated 9 points, ideally, 7 of those would have been ours, which would put us in third place in the league, one point ahead of Arsenal. Yes, we can complain and look back all day if we want to, and it’s nice to speculate where we could be and yes, should be sitting in the table, but atleast we can take pride in what Boro could actually achieve this season if things went our way in the grand scheme.

To be fair though, it was a pretty average game against Aston Villa last week and if it wasn’t for the quick reactions and the never die attitude of Tuncay, we may have gone home licking our wounds, but things really weren’t as bad as a few individuals made out. Those who are familiar with “The Hatchet Man”, an idiot, no skilled pathetic journalist who abuses his Daily Mail collumn with articles that attempt to attack a team and draw in fan’s to basically “have it off” with him, wrote a pretty damning article slating Alves and his finishing ability, and im not sure how many other people believe that his is crap, but that really isn’t the case and i’d try and convince readers otherwise.

Alves is still the best finisher at our club and to be fair, those weren’t really ideal chances. Let’s take a look at Alves’ first suspect chance… the left footed side-footer. The ball came in so fast, but before that atleast three other Boro players had a chance to score. Alves was marked by two players when he received the ball unexpectidly and could only direct the ball past the post. I’d lay the blame on the buildup players who should have had a shot on goal. Secondly, there’s Digards long range strike, which the keeper parried. I’d agree this could have been a different story, but at the end of the day, the ball was so close to the keeper anyway and on such an angle that the ball would have been saved, or hit the keeper anyway if he attempted the lob. So keep faith people, he will deliver. If he gets the chances, he will definately score the goals… but if he doesn’t get the chances, lets not blame him either because it isn’t his fault if he doesn’t get the service.

everton: possible team line-up and team news

Everton look set to field their best team this week [left], which see’s the return of coveted striker Yakubu, who recently, has been linked with a move to Tottenham.

New signing Fellaini has been a revelation in the centre for Everton, often being their source of creative play in the absense of Tim Cahill. He missed last weeks game through suspension however he’s back in contention and will take the place of Jack Rodwell in the centre, as he takes his place on the bench.

Victor Anichebe looks set to be replaced by The Yak, who will be partnered upfront with recent in-form goalscorer Louis Saha

Currently, Everton only sport two injury victims in the treatment room.

The game comes too early for Nuno Valente who is out with a knee injury. He’s rated doubtful for the game, but likely won’t return until the end of the month.

Lars Jacobsen is also out with a dislocated shoulder and isn’t due back until December.

middlesbrough: possible line-up and team news

Gareth will be tempted to play the same team that beat Aston Villa last week at Villa Park, so no changes are expected to be made to this weeks team.

Boro currently have three players in the treatment room.

Mido was taken from the pre-match warm up last week with a suspected Hamstring injury and he’s expected to be out until the end of the month.

Mohammed Shawky [thigh strain] and Rhys Williams[knee ligament injury] still remain sidelined until December and January respectively.

Team Talk

So what do the readers think about tomorrows squad? Personally, i’m happy.

I’ve been banging on about dropping Downing for the past couple of weeks, but this week i won’t complain if he’s in the starting Eleven. He had a good game against Villa last week, knocking in some good crosses and also taking a few well taken shots on goal. He also seemed to be getting around the pitch a little more, moving from the left into the middle and actually looking for the ball, which was good to see.

Digard and O’Neil looked OK in the centre and i remember a nice bit of passing movement on the edge of the Villa box before Alves had his side-footed miss. It was good to see but im sure O’Neil or Tuncay could of had a good chance to score!

Riggott looks set to keep his place in the team after some very good displays in the Boro shirt. He looks like he’s recaptured the form that we saw when he first arrived, which is great to see. Riggott always did have huge potential and was no doubt at one time good enough to start for England.

As a consiquence, Wheater is having to make do with a place on the bench, which is good to see. It’s a testiment to how well Riggott is doing at the moment.

Justin Hoyte is also bedding in to his role at right back with an assured display against Aston Villa. He was great defensively and he was a good attacking threat going forward, although his dribbling skills leave a lot to be desired.

team vs team statistics

Boro have a dreadful record at Goodison Park. Our last win was in the Carling Cup in 2005, where we came out 1-0 victors.

Over an amount of 63 games, on 42 occasions, we’ve came away with absolutely nothing.

Everton have only collected 1 win and 3 draws from the last six home games played, which leaves a lot to be desired, giving Boro a fighting chance to collect points. In this time, they’ve scored 6 goals, but a large 10 have been leaked at the other end.

Boro’s away form is none too clever either. We’ve picked up two good wins, but in losing three from the last six, we’ve scored 6 goals, however 9 have hit the back of the wrong net.

Everton’s 18 points from 12 games sees them lie inside the top half of the table, in 7th position. Middlesbrough’s 17 points from 12 games sees them lie inside the top half of the table, in 8th position, one point behind Everton.

Despite the stats, Everton are unbeaten in their last three home games,

They’ve won their last three Premiership games,

But haven’t drawn a match in three.

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Boro, believe it or not, are undefeated in their last three away games,

We’re currently four games undefeated

match predictions

I suspect this will be a good game of football to be honest. Boro have shown flashes of form and have definately been creating the chances and scoring some goals, but the same can be said for Everton for the last few games also. If Digard and O’Neil start, then that should provide ample competition in the centre against Fellaini and Cahill, although i fear their midfield definately has more of a scoring threat if they’re allowed to roam free.

Im not certain on the final score this week, so i’m going to make two predictions.

Boro will either win 1-2 or the match will be a 1-1 draw.

Key players i’d expect are going to be Fellaini for Everton, and i’d like to see Alves score for Boro.

Where can you see Boro play?

Currently, there are no links to view the Boro game on the internet. Please check back on sunday Morning where i will be updating this section of the article with links to the game.

If you are familiar with streaming football games over the net then you will already have the software.

If not, then do a quick google search for Sopcast and TVU. The games can also be viewed on Justin.tv [when available] and will also be published along with direct viewing links to Sopcast and TVU. The links will open the respective software automatically.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Everton Vs Middlesbrough - Big Match Preview

First up we have David Wheater. Many perceive him to be “a man”, but BoroMania have discovered that he actually likes to dress up as a woman and ride around Liverpool on his little bike with a basket!

Wheater

If that isn’t the spitting image of Wheats, i don’t know what is!

Second up, we have Afonso Alves.

Many would believe he’d be spending his time working on his finishing after this weekend’s howlers, but oh no… He’s actually been seen in Australia filming Neighbours, where he acts as his alter ego, Steve Parker!

Alves!

Skip ahead to 55 seconds!

That conclued this edition. If anyone has any others to add, please email them to ross010[at]msn.com and i’ll add those to a future article for the viewers to see!

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

What do Boro players get upto in their spare time? Let’s take a look!

Whether he reads these sites and their articles or not, nobody knows, but only a week later it’s becoming apparent that he’s finally seen sense.

Today it emerged that  Boro have opened talks with both Jones and Turnbull in an effort to tie their long term futures to the club.

Turnbull’s form has been top notch all season and he’s been by far one of the best  performing and most important players on the pitch for us, so it’s likely that there will be a few clubs keeping tabs on his situation here at Boro. Turnbull’s contract is currently due to expire in the summer of 2009, and he can sign a pre-contract with any other club as early as January 1st.

“We have started to talk,” Southgate told the Evening Gazette

“Both goalkeepers are in the same position and both feel they have a future with us.

“We are starting to make progress. Discussions will be ongoing.”

“Ross has shown more and more confidence as he continues to get games under his belt. He has responded to the challenge,” he concluded.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Southgate finally starting to see sense as he opens contract talks with Jones and the Bull

VS

The top half of the table has been very inconsistent over the last few years with no less than 5 teams claiming European football through their final league position. Boro, Tottenham, Bolton and Everton have all had recent high finishes, and now it’s Villa who are vying for the rights to claim their place again in next years UEFA Cup, starting the season with dazzling displays of fast attacking football and clinical finishing.

Boro fans will obviously be familiar with the European mid-week games and it’s something which kind of hindered our progress in the league, the key words being European Hangover. Many a league match was played on a Sunday, only for Boro not to turn up, but hopefully we’re going to find out that it’s not just the hangovers on Teesside that make the points run off flipping their fingers shouting; “not today lady boys!”

Only six points separate Gareth Southgate’s side from fourth place but equally just three points is the margin of safety to the bottom three. It’s vital that Boro get some points from Villa Park and Goodison next week in order to secure our place in the middle of the table.

Aston Villa, or The Villains, are one of the oldest and most successful football clubs in England, having won the First Division Championship seven times and the FA Cup seven times. Villa also won the 1981–82 European Cup, one of only four English clubs to win what is now the UEFA Champions League. Aston Villa is the fourth most successful club in English footballing history, having won 20 major honours, although many of these were won before the Second World War and the most recent was in 1996.

To date Aston Villa have spent 98 seasons in the top-flight, the only club to have spent longer in the top-flight is Everton with 105 seasons. As a result, Aston Villa versus Everton is the most played fixture in English top-flight football. Aston Villa is one of an elite group of seven clubs that has played in every Premiership season, they are: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite Villa’s illustrious honours, they’ve had an up/down time in the Premiership over recent years, but times ahead appear to be brighter. Current manager Martin O’Neill has put together a mostly English squad capable of beating anyone on their day, a squad full of skillful, young and energetic attacking talent mixed with experienced professionals, surely what seems to be a winning combination.

Players such as Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young, Gareth Barry and Luke Young are all important parts of their squad this year. Agbonlahor has emerged as one of Englands brightest prospects, a pacey striker who prides himself of making a nuisance out of defenders. While his finishing still needs development, he’s shown some excellent finishes this season and is no doubt about to hit the next level of his game. If he can stay in the top-10 goalscorers this season, we’ll be seeing more of him in the England Squad.

another away day for boro

Away games have been progressively dire for about a year now and we’ve only just picked up our first away win of this season, against Wigan. It’s a game of mixed feelings for me this weekend, personally. I’m going to look on the bright side this time for a change for reason already stated… the European hangover. Villa had a difficult game midweek, but worked well to beat their European opponents who were unbeaten in 14 games.

It’s time for Southgate to start picking teams and choosing formations that are going to get us points away from home. Considering we’ve had a pretty bad time of it away in the Premier League, changing tactics may not be such a bad move. If i may ask you a question, would you rather play a defensive formation and lose or an attacking formation and lose? Fair enough if we play an attacking formation and lose, we haven’t really lost out, where as it also increases our chances of winning, that’s my take on it personally.

Boro are beginning to collect a bit of dead wood at the moment… while that may be a strong statement, there’s definitely players that need to be dropped to the bench in order to freshen up.

Gary O’Neil has slightly improved during the course of the season, but his displays certainly are lacking, while Stewart Downing looks more like Allan Johnston at the moment.

Southgate doesn’t seem to be a taker to the rotation policy and rightly so, that’s one thing i agree with him on, but he also doesn’t seem to like dropping his “reputable” players, namely Downing. A few might agree with me that if we can’t get the ball to Downing, or he can’t get into the game, then we might aswell play with 10-men… better still, just bench him and give Johnson a little run in the team to keep him happy, no doubt it will benefit the team. I guess we’ll see what his decisions are tomorrow afternoon.

Aston Villa: possible team line-up and team news

Martin O’Neill looks set to field his strongest team, after receiving positive news of Milner’s recovery and resting key players during Friday’s game.

Goalkeeper Brad Friedel, captain Martin Laursen, in-form Gareth Barry, Nigel Reo-Coker and Luke Young were left on the bench and should now return in place of Brad Guzan, Zat Knight, Curtis Davies, Craig Gardner and Moustapha Salifou.

Villa have been relatively lucky with injuries this season compared to other teams in the division. Their only two players out at the moment are Wilfred Bouma [Foot injury] and Stilyan Petrov [Hamstring] so O’Neill can pretty much chose any line-up he see’s fit.

Middlesbrough: Possible Team Line-up, team talk and news

Gareth will be forced to make one or two changes this week to the squad, but for once it’s not due to injury. Mido is showing to the manager that he deserves a start from his excellent free kick that gave us the equaliser against West Ham last week, which should see Alves relegated to the bench, with Tuncay retaining his place alongside Mido. With Arca still recovering from injury, that leaves Digard and O’Neil to take up the central midfield roles with Aliadiere taking his usual place on the right wing.

Chris Riggott has been solid in defense and he’s tipped to start the game alongside Pogatetz. With Justin Hoyte also set to reclaim his place at right-back, that means Wheater will take his place on the bench bar any late injuries to either Riggott or Poggy.

On the injury front, we’ve only three players left in the treatment room at the moment. Mohamed Shawky is currently suffering from a Thigh Muscle strain and isn’t due back until early December, while long term injury victim Rhys Williams remains out of action until January.

Robert Huth on the other hand has resumed training with the squad, and is making good progress on his ankle. We’ve plenty of defensive cover at the moment so Huth, while fighting for contention, is doubtful and will most likely not be apart of the squad.

With Downing still in the squad, it gets me wondering what it will take to actually see him dropped out of the team. People are probably getting sick of hearing me bang on about this now but unless he miraculously gains some confidence over night, i can’t see him making a major impact on the game. What makes it even more depressing is Adam Johnson, full of energy and drive, biting at the bit waiting to get his chance in the team… surely at this stage, he’d give much more to the team than an invisible Downing.

Didi also needs to be given more time on the pitch in my opinion. He does brilliant in the games he comes off the bench, but seems a bit less effective from the start, however, he’s yet to be given a full 90 minutes in a premiership match. For me personally, he hasn’t been at all bad from the start, but im sure a full match will do him the world of good… knowing you’re going to be subbed after 55 minutes isn’t going to be a great confidence boost to such a young player, either!

team vs team statistics

Overall, a total of 137 matches have taken place between Boro and Villa. Unfortunately our record at Villa park isn’t one to brag about. 69 games have taken place in the Midlands, but we’ve only managed to win a meager 16, drawing 15. Aston Villa have won the remaining 38 ties! another unsettling fact is, they’ve also beat us more times at home than we’ve managed to beat them! Looking at the overall stats though, it looks a little better to look at with Aston Villa winning 64 games, Boro winning 41 and a draw amount of 32 times.

- Aston Villa are currently unbeaten in their last 5 home games
- They also haven’t drawn a match in their last 5

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Boro are currently unbeaten in 3 games

We havent had much luck recently either, with Villa mostly dominating the scoring charts

This is our current form and league position

Match Predictions

I say this every week, but again, yes… another tricky tie.

A lot of us will be hoping that Villa’s exploits on Friday will see them tired and not really up for a game of football. The fact that O’Neill rested a few players will mean that Villa won’t be as fatigued as one would hope, but we can always speculate and hopefully the players will go into the game believing they can take some points away from Villa Park.

Villa have only had one full day of rest, so even the players that came off the bench, hopefully, wont be as energetic as they usually would coming from a game Wednesday or a week previous.

Gareth should have his players up for a fight, but Villa are a very good team this year and they have goals from all over the park. Personally, i think it will be a very entertaining game of football, but Villa may just be too strong on the day i reckon.

My prediction is, Boro will get a point. The game will also be a very entertaining 2-2 draw.

Aston Villa 2 - 2 Middlesbrough

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Aston Villa vs Middlesbrough: Big Match Preview

Ross has always been a keeper of potential, but little did we know we’d be seeing such consistent and if im honest, nigh on world class keeping so early after the departure of Mark Schwarzer.

It’s been well documented over the last couple of weeks that Ross’ contract is due to expire in the summer, and in two months he’ll be able to sign a pre-contract with any club he sees fit to join.

Gareth has been talking to the press and has said in no uncertain terms that talk have yet to begin!!

“From Ross’s point of view he’s negotiating on the field and we had that with David Wheater last year.

“I want to keep them hungry. We haven’t lost a player through a contract situation that we’ve been desperate to keep at this football club.

“When the time’s right we’ll sit down but I want him focused on playing and playing well and sometimes other things can be a distraction so it’s picking the right time to have those discussions.

“But, without question, we want the pair of them to stay and they’ve both got the long-term chance of becoming the number one, but that might go on for years because they are both young enough to have that competition for places.

“I can sleep easily at night in the knowledge we’ve got two excellent keepers.”

You can sleep easily can you Gareth… really? You’ve got a potential England number one who’s performing and catching the eye week in, week out,  who can open negotiations with any other club in two months and you can sleep easily at night?! What!?

I’d like to turn readers’ attentions to the Mark Viduka transfer saga for a second and how Boro were so confident of keeping him. What happened there? Well, Viduka was offered terms, which he rejected and entered talks with Newcastle, only for Boro to offer him a contract which blitzed the one he was on in the first place. It smacked of desperation, and he moved anyway making Southgate and Gibbo look like complete idiots.

Whoever the decision lies with to open negotiations is making a grave mistake.  If the decision  is Gibbo’s then you’d think that in his 22 years experience of running a football club, he’d know better than to let one of his brightest stars leave for absolutely nothing.

It was that “It’ll be alright on the night” attitude that’s seen Viduka leave, I’m sure there’s been more down the years as well and it absolutely infuriates me to see such a lax attitude towards the future of our players and the club.

Gareth, in the previous quotes has had the audacity to claim that “We haven’t lost a player through a contract situation that we’ve been desperate to keep at this football club.” Well… i think that just speaks volumes of his naivety. I think offering Viduka 5k more on his original 60k p/w wage, as opposed to the original 40k offered suggest Boro were desperate to keep him.

One word to sum up this entire article… Ridiculous!

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Southgate a lot more naive over contracts than he makes out?

As i stated in the previous article, for those who do not know what i’m talking about, there was a bit of banter between Boro, Newcastle and Sunderland fans before the start of the season in which all sets [obviously] stated that they were going to be top dogs in the North East, so i then decided that i would keep an update between the three teams in a North East League table. I was originally going to cover a monthly update, but i thought it best, considering it was only the beginning of the season, to let the table mature a bit so we can get a good synopsis of how the teams are performing and their relative position in the league.

Well, im glad i made that decision because things have cirtainly got interesting. At the time of writing, Newcastle are currently sitting on the foot of the table and are currently fighting for three points, which will allow them the right to deny that previous comment.

It’s on that note that we will start with Newcastle.

Newcastle have been having a bad time of it recently. Unstable in the board room, unstable at management level and injuries to the first team… Its not suprising that they’ve found themselves at the foot of the table (probably temporarily). Bad form, a lack of confidence and a small squad are just a few of the factors that’s led to the Magpies demise over the last couple of seasons, and all of this has equated to, basically, a lack of results on the pitch. The loss of Kevin Keegan was and is still the main talking point and probably the Geordies chief blame.

Newcastle have won only three games so far this season, and none up until Monday night’s home victory over Aston Villa have been very convincing. At the moment, it’s only Martins and Owen who are scoring the goals. One can only wonder how they’ll fare if both have a dry patch? It’s not just scoring that could become a major problem, it’s the fact that they seem to be leaking goals left right and centre. If Newcastle was a ship, she’d be sunk before leaving harbor. Are the leaks going to be fixed before that happens?

Sunderland are enjoying slightly better, but still mixed fortunes at the moment compared to Newcastle. Sunderland have enjoyed taking points from games against ourselves, Arsenal and Newcastle through the current campaign, which is one step further than Newcastle (with regards to Arsenal atleast). However, losing points against teams that Roy Keane would rather beat, namely Stoke, has seen them sit just above the relegation zone, not in immediate danger but enough to be looking over their shoulders. Sunderland, while taking points, are taking them one by one.

Like us, Sunderland also enjoyed, or rather didnt enjoy a 5-0 deficit to Chelsea. The funny thing was though, Keane thought it fit to criticise the referee and blame him for the scoreline instead of his teams absolute abomination of a game of football. How can the ref be responsible for your team leaking 5 goals? Hmm… 1-0 to common sense.

The managerial situation is turning heads at Sunderland also. With Keane’s contract expiring, he’s yet to sign a new deal to tie him to the club. Im sure it will be saga full of drama and roumor, but i think we can expect him to sign on for atleast another 3 years. Why buy the team he has if he doesn’t intend to see it through?

Middlesbrough and Southgate are looking forward to brighter pastures at the moment. While we’ve had mixed results aswell, losing games we’d really expect to win along with all of the late goals we’ve conceded, we’re doing OK for ourselves at the moment, sitting in 8th place. Things are beginning to come together as far as injuries are concerned, with Arca and Tuncay both returning to the first team, and we’ve managed to get points against Super City and West Ham.

I do fail to see why Southgate was happy with a draw at home against an out of sorts West Ham side though. Personally, i see it as two points lost. Yes, i’m glad we didnt concede late, we can thank Ross Turnbull for that… it was a close call, but i suppose one point is better then zero.

Its coming upto January, so i along with plenty of other fans will be hopefully looking forward to some midfield re-inforcements.

Onto the league table then?

Well… its pretty tight, but its no suprise to see that Boro are at the top at the moment, but tonights win against Aston Villa has brought Kinnear’s men one place above Sunderland and equal on points, much to the relief of the Geordies i’d expect. They’ve been getting a lock of stick, however short their time was at the bottom. Things are close though. There’s only two points in it, but Boro have the better form which is why i said it was no suprise. In actual fact, there’s not a lot in it between the places of 17th all the way upto sixth, so it will only take a good run of form to climb up from the bottom into the top half. Doom and gloomer’s of all teams, keep your mouths shut. It’s a long season and it only takes 3 wins to propell you up!

You can discuss this topic and many others on the BoroMania.com message board. Register up and join the growing numbers of friendly faces! .

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Premiership: North-East league update #2

He’s just returned from a period of 8 months rehab and is happy to be back in the frame.

“I hope to be knocking on the first-team door in six weeks,” he said.

“It’s good to be back. I had 30 minutes in a behind closed doors game last week and now another 45 minutes for the reserves.

Bates started last night’s heavy defeat to Newcastle in the Reserves and currently working his way back upto match fitness, and first team contention.

“I’m a centre-back but I was happy to play right-back. There are possible opportunities in the first team at right-back at the moment and so it has given me a target to aim for. I want to get involved again and push for my place.

“My body is 100 per cent again, but maybe my lungs are only 70 or 80 per cent, and that’s why I need a few more games.

“It won’t be easy with the reserves playing every other week, but I have to keep going in training as well.”

I was impressed with him when he broke into the first team so i wish him all the best  when he ’s fully fit!

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Bates returns from the Injury wilderness

It’s not exactly the latest breaking story that Alves hasn’t got his scoring boots on, but the backroom staff are taking the situation lightly.

Alves has only scored one goal this season, a magnificent free kick against Stoke. The Fons has been unlucky in front of goal this season… but it’s not just luck, he’s had absolutely no service what so ever, and that’s set to continue unless changes are made to the starting line-up.

Malcolm Crosby seems to think it’s just a matter of time until the goals start flooding in, but you and I both know that with O’Neil and Shawky flat in the centre of midfield, sending through a total of zero killer passes, then both Mido and Alves are going to be starved of service. Mido’s goal tally is a mixture of very good individual goals and the result of a couple of assists, but to score in the Premier League, Alves is going to need a lot of killer passes to feed from.

Unless Southgate grows some testicular fortitude and rings the changes, Alves can expect to be in his barren spell for a while unless he conjurs up some Samba magic and takes things into his own hands.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Boro coach has faith in Alves

The Boro squad travel to Ewood park next week after a sour defeat at the hands of Chelsea. Some fans have been wanting Southgate to ring the changes in for a couple of weeks now so lets get as many suggestions in as possible.

The way it works is this:

- You can choose from five formations, 4-4-2, 4-5-1, 4-3-3, 4-3-1-2, and 5-3-2.

- Simply email your formation and selection, along with a couple of sentences as to the reason you chose it to ross010[at]msn.com, and ill put them onto the page for everyone to see in a format such as this:

Ross A:

I’ve chosen a 4-4-2 diamond formation. Downing has been rather poor for my taste so it’s time to give Johnson a crack at the whip and let Downing sweat on the bench.

O’Neil and Shawky have been poor aswell, so they also need to be dropped. I believe Tuncay’s creative prescence in the “Juninho” role (a free role behind the strikers) would be beneficial for both Mido and Alves… all three players have goals, but i believe they’d all work well together using their different playing stlyles to eachother’s advantage. Whether fully fit or not, i’d risk throwing Tuncay in, With Digard covering the defense, this should allow us to go forward in numbers and be ready to break up any counter attack.

Changes need to be made and this is what i’d do.

Post from BoroMania: Middlesbrough Football

Choose your Boro starting line-up for the Blackburn game!