Boro Mania

As a young man living his dream of playing for his boyhood club, Andrew Taylor could be forgiven for wondering why he is so unpopular.

The Stockton-born full-back must have noticed that a sizeable proportion of Boro fans have decided that he is not good enough to wear the shirt of the club he loves. Simmering tensions exploded in to an angry exchange with supporters when he was subbed against Bolton.

Taylor explained afterwards that he had simply told the fans to get behind the team, although he hadn’t chosen his words too carefully.

You can understand his frustration. The lad is Boro through and through and his reaction to being subbed showed how much he cares. He was disappointed and angry with himself, and to have a fan hurl abuse at him at that moment must have been heart-breaking.

No less so than David Wheater and Stewart Downing, Taylor is one of our own and he deserves to be treated as such. There is no doubt that he has the commitment, determination and sheer desire to play for Middlesbrough.

Moving on from questions of passion and loyalty, the key question is whether Taylor is good enough to be a Premiership left-back. The sub-text is whether we have anyone better to play there and, if not, who we could get in to replace him.

Unlike Wheater and Downing, he does not have stand-out abilities. You couldn’t say he has great aerial presence or a sweet left foot. On the other hand, he doesn’t have any stand-out weaknesses.

Taylor is a resolute defender and he gets forward when he can.

Defensively he isn’t anywhere near as imposing as someone like Wheater, but he sticks to his task and he tends to get the job done one way or another. Taylor’s sheer commitment comes through in the last ditch tackles and blocks he makes, and he usually sticks to the basic principles of defending – get in the way and get rid.

Not blessed with great ability on the ball, Taylor’s attacking play is as no-nonsense as his defending. Taylor’s floated crosses may not be as effective as the ones Downing whips in, but at least his willingness to overlap gives Downing an option.

Justin Hoyte is a more athletic and cavalier full-back, and a more natural fans’ favourite. But teams need balance. To have two marauding full-backs would risk leaving the centre-backs exposed too often, and only the best sides can afford such a luxury.

Our other options at left-back include Jonathan Grounds, Seb Hines and Joe Bennett, all of whom are behind Taylor in their development. Emanuel Pogatetz and Hoyte can both play there as required, but neither is best suited to that position.

Replacing Taylor from outside the club is an option. Recent history would suggest that this isn’t all it’s cracked up to be though. Leighton Baines and Nicky Shorey have both made high profile moves, but have failed to live up to the transfer fees and wages they commanded.

In reality, Southgate would be reluctant to splash the cash on a left-back and block the progress of not only Taylor but Grounds, Hines and Bennett. There is no point bringing in another ‘prospect’ and with our current transfer policy and wage structure, we would struggle to attract an established Premiership player.

We could bring in an experienced pro to act as stop-gap until one of the kids, like Bennett, is ready to kick on. Someone like Franck Queudrue would be a popular choice, but Southgate is unlikely to be interested in going down this route. He would probably argue that if anyone is going to hold the position until Bennett is ready, Andrew Taylor is.

Amid the speculation it is easy to forget that Taylor is only 22. Southgate once said that Lee Cattermole suffered after breaking in to the first-team too soon. Taylor has played almost a hundred games for Boro and as a result maybe people’s expectations are higher than they should be.

He wouldn’t be the first local boy to face doubters at a young age, but go on to prove them wrong. Jamie Carragher struggled to nail down a position at Anfield – forced to try his hand at right-back, left-back and in midfield. Now Mr Liverpool is one of the best centre-halves in the business.

Nor would he be the first left-back to succeed without great god-given talent. Nigel Winterburn was a fixture of the world-renowned Arsenal back-line for a decade.

In the short-term Andrew Taylor does a decent job for Boro. In the long-term he could be a great servant to the club, as a squad player at worst.

Sticking with him makes sense. Booing him makes no sense whatsoever. Let’s get behind Tayls and let’s get behind the team.