smogblog

First, the now traditional apologies for this site’s dormancy over the past week. For once, this was down to technical problems. The main Smog PC has fallen ill with viruses, indeed so riddled has it become that I’ve waved a white flag, declared myself to be out of my depth and sent it off to be fixed. Using Mini Smog’s computer as an emergency back-up, it turned out that this too had virus problems, but for some reason they were treatable, though it took a few days and working through various routines to put it back in order. I wish I could blame inappropriate site visiting for these issues to have happened, but in reality I think it had more to do with running computers that hadn’t been using properly maintained checking software for some time.

Gremlins aside, I find Boro taking something of a step back in their last couple of matches. The defeats against Blackpool and Nottingham Forest were all too predictable, given the way we had laboured against Peterborough last Saturday. Suddenly, it feels like we are back to where we were in the dark days of Gordon’s early weeks, Boro’s lack of talent and indeed bodies in midfield becoming all too apparent against well prepared and in-form opposition.

Forest first, a case of trying desperately to carve out a draw against a side whose tail is up. Always a tall order, and we found ourselves flailing often with the East Midlands lot showing that they know how to attack with pace and style. The difference between us was a fluidity to the Trees that we just don’t yet have, a consequence of all those additions to the squad and constant adjustments that Gordon is making. Many of these are forced, but there’s still the feeling that the manager is yet to settle on his first eleven, a concern exacerbated with his square pegging of Emanuel Pogatetz at left-back, a position that Jonathan Grounds should have made his own. According to the papers, we will most likely be losing Pog in the summer, at a cost of £1.5m and with a queue of suitors ready to splash out on him. The question remains whether many will care. Not on the basis of this performance, nor on the way he is clearly perceived as not good enough to break through the McManus-Wheater axis in the centre yet can displace a natural left-back.

The home team were, in balance, good value for their win. They created the lion’s share of chances and most definitely had something approaching the cutting edge that we lack. Chris Cohen, who scored the match’s only goal, was a particular highlight in central midfield. For all their work, the Trees’ strike came as a direct result of the game’s most controversial moment. Leroy Lita – who came on and looked far livelier than the ineffectual Jeremie Aliadiere – was fouled by Kelvin Wilson, but the referee failed to blow for the freekick. Whilst the players still expected a whistle, the ball was quickly distributed up the field, catching our defenders napping and Cohen scored.

Aliadiere was at his most ‘Hardly Ever There’ in the 2-0 defeat at Blackpool. Plenty of chances and nothing to show for it while DJ Campbell and the inevitable Brett Ormerod found their way past Danny Coyne’s net. Utter tosh, but on the radar after an insipid 1-0 home win over Peterborough that proved how much work still needs to be done. It’s at times like these – as a terrible Posh came close to equalising following Barry Robson’s goal – that we remember Boro are essentially still a work in progress. Our form might have improved, but only to the extent that we should be good enough for a top-half finish. The playoffs are still just four points away, but the teams from sixth upwards have played less games than we have and the gap could widen to ten once everyone has caught up. Boro are chasing a total of 70, the magic number that ought to guarantee a place in the top six, but that looks a long way off right now.

Hope remains. The quick succession of matches is reducing to roughly one per week, which should do wonders for the Riverside’s overworked phsio room. Next week sees QPR travel to the north-east, and if we think we’ve been wasteful then the problems at Loftus Road just keep on coming. And then there’s that 5-1 we chalked up in London – more of the same please. It will have to be a home banker with Cardiff and the Geordies on the agenda soon afterward.

The apparent problem is goals, or lack thereof. Boro aren’t scoring, and it doesn’t take a genius to work out that such form doesn’t translate into victory. Surely, it can’t be a lot longer before Gordon realises his best option in attack most certainly isn’t the Frenchman, a striker who seems to exist in order to frustrate. Lita picks his games, and too often spends his time arguing with the officials rather than translating his obvious talent into goals. McDonald looks rusty still and we haven’t seen enough of Miller to work him out. Surprisingly, we miss Chris Killen.

But I think midfield remains the biggest issue. Bullied in the centre and just not strong enough, if bodies are to be added then they need to be inserted into this unit. Flood, Robson and O’Neil (another with a foot out of the door, if the tabloids are to be believed) represent a decent starting point. Let’s find the players to complement them.

Tags: Barry Robson, Blackpool, Emanuel Pogatetz, Jeremie Aliadiere, Leroy Lita, Nottingham Forest, Peterborough United

Hello all, and my apologies for a quiet week. Work commitments took over in the last few days before half-term, unfortunately, leaving your writer a broken husk, a shadow of his former self as he staggered home to Smog Towers each evening.

Not that I failed to celebrate our win over Barnsley in midweek. Hardly a classic, but the first half really was excellent, appearing to enforce all the hard working ethic and pressing play that Gordon is trying to instil. A goal from Chris Killen too! To be fair, the big Kiwi has been threatening to find the net for a while now, giving the impression that it was just a matter of time before he actually managed to puncture the oxygen between the sticks. This was his first goal, in his sixth match, so we look forward to the next one towards the end of March.

Boro managed to find a second before the break thanks to a calm and collected finish from Gary O’Neil, but the second period was all Tykes. Hugo Colace (he once captained the Argentina Under-20s, readers, leading a side that contained Messi and Tevez) pulled one back with what looked like an opportunistic shot through a sea of legs and that spurred the Tykes into attacking. There were a few close calls, one or two Boro forays, but a deserved three points at the end. In such a fine team effort for Boro, it’s tough to choose a man of the match, but new fans’ favourite Willo Flood was as good as anyone for his Mustoe-esque commitment and workrate.

Boro: Coyne; Naughton (Hoyte 90), Grounds, McManus, Pogatetz, Franks, Flood, O’Neil (Capt), Robson, Killen (Miller 68), McDonald. Unused subs: Steele (gk); McMahon, Bennett, Lita, L Williams.

Barnsley: Steele; Foster (Capt), Moore, Dickinson, Trippier (Hume 77), Teixeira, Doyle, Da Silva (Rodriguez 46), Hallfredsson (Hammill 58), Colace, Gray. Unused subs: Preece (gk); Macken, Potter, Butterfield.

Problems persist with another small midweek crowd, but there’s a cautious feeling of optimism descending on Teesside amidst the whiff of a place in the top six. Boro are currently just two points behind Leicester City, the team in the last of the playoff spots, and we have the best goal difference outside the top four. The team is hitting a winning groove, or at least no longer lose games they should spit out on their way to promotion, and it’s hoped this mentality will continue tomorrow against Peterborough, who prop up the Championship in 24th.

Pity the Posh. In pre-season, I predicted a year of ankle-biting attrition for Darren Ferguson’s newly promoted side. They might not win too many, but they’d give all comers a good contest and refuse to die quietly. Instead, it’s been a nightmare campaign, a turbulent sequence of revolving door managers and bad results. Ferguson went in November. His replacement, Kettering Town’s Mark Cooper, was a fish out of water who was yet allowed to dabble in the January transfer window for players before too being ousted. Jim Gannon is the current broom, best known to Boro as being part of the Stockport County team we beat in the 1997 Coca Cola Cup semi-final. His team plays as you might imagine, a little bewildered at wondering what tomorrow may bring and as such cannon fodder for anyone with anything about them. And that’s hopefully where we come in.

I don’t like to see battling promoted sides take a tonking. But clearly, these are desperate times and more than that I do want an emphatic performance from Gordon’s Boro that shows just how determined we are to fight for a chance of going up. It’s probably not a good time to learn that Gary O’Neil faces a battle to overcome groin injury prior to the game, or that there still won’t be any Julio ‘Wilkins’ Arca. I never thought I’d say this, but the sheer lack of midfielders makes the Argentine a hot commodity currently. Does this mean a return to the first eleven for Josh Walker, or will Rhys Williams be rished back into the side following a pelvic injury? Chris Killen is a further doubt, but matters seem a little less pressing in attack where Scott McDonald is returning to full fitness after a positive start against Barnsley.

Prediction: The Posh have a good winger in George Boyd, but he’s hit something of a barren spell in front of goal and it’s difficulty to see where the goals are going to come from otherwise. I reckon this could be a 2-0 win with an injury-riddled Boro proving still too strong for the visitors.

Talking of injuries, there’s still no news about any loan signings Gordon is eyeing up, which suggests his eye has stopped roaming altogether. This comes as something of a surprise, especially considering the lack of bodies in midfield, a unit that cries out for some new blood. I just hope we don’t get punished for as lack of vision. This, after all, is the business end of the season. The matches are coming thick and fast, and the grab for valuable points means we can’t slip up for a moment.

Tags: Barnsley, Chris Killen, Gary O'Neil, George Boyd, Jim Gannon, Peterborough United, Willo Flood

A Boro side compensating for its lack of numbers in midfield with two defenders in advanced roles fought back to clutch a point against Ipswich Town. Gordon rotated his pack for this one considerably. With Adam Johnson gone and Barry Robson suspended, it later emerged that Julio Arca was similarly unavailable, so there was little choice but to put together a scratch midfield. Justin Hoyte partnered Gary O’Neil in the centre while Andrew Taylor played on the left wing. Willo Flood was wide right. The defence saw Jonathan Grounds regain his rightful place at left-back. Kyle Naughton debuted on the right, with David Wheater and Stephen McManus forming a tough centre. Lee Miller and Chris Killen were our strikers, a partnership that was never likely to flow with goalscoring bite yet the pair was preferred to Leroy Lita; Scott McDonald was short of match fitness and didn’t make the teamsheet.

It was a formation designed for containment, but the plan came unstuck straight from kickoff. The Tractors’ goal – scored in 22 seconds – was executed by debutantes David Healy and Daryl Murphy. The former crossed from the right, the ball deflecting off McManus and falling neatly for Murphy, who slotted home from six yards out. A sloppy goal to concede, and Boro took some time to recover. Steadily, the action evened itself across the pitch, and when Gordon switched Hoyte and Flood at half-time the midfield started to take on a more potent shape. David Wheater’s headed equaliser from a corner was the sort of routine centre-back’s strike we all expect him to convert, and in doing so he gave the match the parity it deserved. The second half belonged largely to Boro, McManus putting on a display of power at the back to keep Ipswich at bay, while Grounds had another great game and must now be the first choice for his position.

Nobody’s idea of a classic encounter, then, though respect is due for Boro refusing to let their heads go down after conceding so early and there was certainly evidence of the bite and workrate Gordon is attempting to instil. It’s easy to forget also that we have opponents with as much to prove as ourselves. Roy Keane’s team have been in great form at home recently and are desperate to advance from the precarious state they find themselves in. Both managers agreed that a shared result was probably the correct one, and on the subject of his midfield, Gordon had the following to say:

‘Julio Arca was injured yesterday with an ongoing toe problem. We’ll have got Barry Robson back, which is good, but if we can get a couple of midfield players before then [the Barnsley game on Tuesday] it would be great because it’s a farce that a club like ours has to play with a right-back and a left-back in the middle of the park. That’s where we are at the moment, we have eight or nine players injured.’

Does this mean simply that Arca and Robson will be back shortly, or are Boro about to take advantage of the emergency loan system in order to snap up a couple of new faces to add to an already revamped squad? There’s been some speculation about Gordon considering a move for our old friend Bryan Hughes, who is now a free agent after agreeing a contract release from Hull City, but I would hope for someone with more attacking potential. At any rate, the midfield dilemma should ensure that plenty of column inches and megabytes of bandwidth are consumed with discussion over who the missing pieces might be.

Ipswich Town: Lee-Barrett; Rosenior, McAuley, Delaney, Wright (Garvan 79), Leadbitter, Walters (Capt), Norris, Colback, Murphy (Stead 84), Healy (Counago 61). Unused subs: Murphy (gk); Edwards, Peters, Balkestein.

Boro: Coyne; Naughton, Wheater, McManus, Grounds, Hoyte, Flood, O’Neil (Capt), Taylor (Franks 51), Killen (Lita 81), Miller. Unused subs: Steele (gk); McMahon, Bennett, Walker, L Williams.

In the meantime, and more for fun than anything else, I have spent a bit of time knocking together a graph of our Championship progress. Everyone likes graphs, especially on Sundays, and while the league table tells its own story what I have tried to do is show how Boro’s form compares with how they should be doing if they want to (i) win the title (ii) make the playoffs (iii) avoid relegation. As you can see, we are somewhere between (ii) and (iii) right now, though the general upturn in our fortunes has been noted and a continued rise could indeed see us hit the target of 73 points (based on results from the last four seasons) we should need in order to make the top six. It won’t be easy. The graph suggests a further 35 points are required from our remaining 17 matches, which means Boro will have to display promotion form from now until May, but it’s possible. Click here to see the results (opens in a new tab/window).

Tags: Bryan Hughes, David Wheater, Ipswich Town, Jonathan Grounds, Stephen McManus

According to Sir Steve, Boro’s activities in the transfer market have transformed them from a technical side (whatever that means) into a gang of grafters. Complimenting Messrs Lamb and Strachan for snapping up seven players during the transfer window, our glorious chairman noted that the team has had to change its philosophy if promotion is to be at all on the cards this season. He also pointed out the possibility of drafting in further loan signings to cover our deficiencies in midfield, something Gordon himself highlighted following his failure to add Charlie Adam to the list of new recruits.

It’s this area of the pitch that certainly looks the weakest as we head into the weekend’s away match with Ipswich Town. Speculation is rife over the formation Gordon will favour, the clever money being on a 4-3-3 that can switch to 4-5-1 by playing three forward players, two of whom can push up whenever required. In midfield, we can expect to see Flood and O’Neil continue their fine, hard working partnership, whilst Julio ‘Wilkins’ Arca should get a place by default. No Barry Robson; the Scot is serving his one-match suspension, which deprives us of the possibility of seeing all five former Celtic players on the pitch at the same time. No doubt he’ll be selected against Barnsley next week, and he’ll need to be as the side cries out for his attacking zeal.

The Tractors have had a quieter transfer window, possibly rightly after the spending spree Roy Keane went on over the summer in converting his team successfully from a good one into a relegation-threatened unit. Of course, Keane’s still there, and he’s augmented his side with Daryl Murphy and David Healy, both strikers joining on loan. In a woe that’s familiar to us, Ipswich have struggled to score goals this season, which partly explains their 21st place in the table. Things have improved since some dreadful early weeks, a period when they couldn’t buy a victory that kept them rooted at the bottom of the table. Yet their mini-revival has recently lost ground and Portman Road’s finest now find themselves wobbling dangerously over the relegation zone. A concern for Boro is that they haven’t lost in Suffolk for nine games.

Earlier in the season, we won the home tie 3-1, way back in September when Boro still looked like decent shouts for promotion. Jeremie Aliadiere was the unlikely hero that day with two goals – he’s carrying an ankle injury so will not be putting in an appearance today. Time for new stars to make all that transfer activity worthwhile, methinks. In truth, I associate this fixture traditionally with defeat. Even when we were rolling in it and Ipswich survived on the meagre profits from being run ’sensibly’ they were still good value against us. I shall never forget the Alun Armstrong saga, the ever-injured striker who spent three miserable seasons flirting with the treatment table at Hurworth before moving to Portman Road for much less than we had paid and becoming brilliant, at least for the season when he moved and his team looked like threatening the top spots for a time.

Before that, there was the ‘Colin Todd’ year, 1990/91, when for several feverish months we were the best away side in the whole of English football. Ipswich were still too good and leapfrogged us towards promotion as we ran predictably out of gas during the business period. If you recall, Toddy’s masterstroke had been to snatch veteran holding midfielder, John Wark, from the club that was yet to gain the epiphet ‘Tractor Boys’. Already well into his thirties by this stage, Wark was about as ‘Ipswich’ as it got, despite being from Glasgow. He had already enjoyed two spells at Portman Road, and continued to live in the Ipswich area whilst turning out for us. Of course, nobody really worried about the carbon footprint in those days and Wark was okay rather than inspiring.This could have more to do with Toddy’s tactics, mind. Week after week of watching mind-numbing long ball football at Ayresome as the manager ran out of ideas about how to use his players. Effective it might have been (only sometimes), but a spectacle for spectators it most certainly was not.

Once Lennie Lawrence took over and insisted that all his players live locally, time was called on Wark’s Boro career and he wound up returning to the club of his dreams. I admit I thought Wark was a decent player and it was a pity we couldn’t entice him to stay. In spite of his advancing years, he had five more seasons to give at Portman Road before hanging up his boots, a Strachan-esque 23 years in total of playing time. There was also the fact we had a film star on the books while he was here, Wark making up the numbers in Michael Caine’s Allied XI in the brilliantly rubbish (oh, you know what I mean) Escape to Victory. If only he could have brought Pele and Stallone with him.

But I digress. I find predicting these matches to be increasingly a poisoned chalice, as though what I say here could really have any bearing on the outcome. Still, I see this one as having ’score draw’ written all over it – let’s hope for an exciting, battling start to the new Boro.

Tags: Alun Armstrong, Ipswich Town, John Wark, Portman Road, Roy Keane

With the January transfer window closed and Boro having cut various deals to expel some players and recruit others, what have we learned?

Let’s start with a look at the Outgoing column. The most significant of these was of course the transfer of Adam Johnson, a deal that should benefit both Manchester City and ourselves, let alone giving the player an opportunity to thrive on the biggest of stages. In letting him go, we have effectively jettisoned the last of the crown jewels, albeit one that caught us a bit by surprise as we didn’t know until his loan spell at Watford quite what a star we had on our hands. You would have to see this as an ultimate severing of the links between Boro and the dream period of all those Premiership years. No more Tuncay, Downing, Huth, Mido (as a push) and now Jinky. We are what we thought we would become – a smaller scale football club that by financial necessity has limited its ambitions. In that sense, the reality of what this transfer means cannot be overstated. The choice was to profit from AJ now, or leave it until summer and either by some miracle he signed a new deal or, as is more likely, moved somewhere for free and we fall on the arbitration of the FA tribunal for compensation. As we know, this could have worked out, as in the case of Daniel Sturridge for whom Chelsea are having to slide millions in City’s direction. But equally it might have gone the other way. Remember Crystal Palace’s rant about the pittance they received when John Bostock signed for Tottenham? I don’t want to sound bitter, but the FA do appear to have one rule for the big clubs, a harsher one for everyone else. Put simply, I wouldn’t fancy our chances in this cattle market and as such Johnno’s tale probably ended in the best of circumstances for us.

As for the other leavers, I was disappointed that we failed to get more out of Mark Yeates though I can’t blame the club for taking the money and running once it was offered. Even sadder is the loss of Didier Digard, on loan at Nice and with a return looking extremely doubtful. Again though, the logic in letting go was sound and indeniable. For all his ability, which he possesses, he’s a glass jaw player who was simply incapable of lasting for any length of time in English football. You couldn’t build a team around him because you never knew when the next knock would come, and Gordon acted accordingly. I couldn’t have cared less about Marcus Bent. It was a pity to wave ta-ra to Kitson and Osbourne, but they came and did their jobs like professionals and we need to move on. Finally, the latest chapter in the jaw-droppingly prolific shiftathon surrounding Mido. I loved how he joined West Ham with a point to prove, churning out the same rhetoric as when Gareth signed him for Boro, and indeed when he went to Wigan on loan. It would be funny if he hadn’t first played a significant part in ruining us. I should go on to note the passing of Mohamed Shawky at this point, but I don’t want to.

Let’s not forget a brief mention about Nathan Porritt, a winger I’d barely heard of before he was turning up on Panorama as an unlikely co-star, a pawn in the machinations between greedy top flight clubs and scurrilous agents. Unfortunately, the earnest documentary seems to have had the side-effect of creating a monster out of the youngster, letting him already feel the ’star mentality’ before ever he has to prove it. A lazy loan period with Darlington was clearly the last straw. Sent away to prove he still had it, all he really demonstrated was the dwindling of someone with real potential. Sad. Even sadder when you consider that the show has never met its promise of bringing those who have ‘ruined the game’ to justice. Was it all a big cop-out, or was Panorama’s intention simply to open the door to corruption and ask others to step through and take any necesary action?

Now the recruits, beginning with the three initial signings from Celtic. All seem useful in their own way, and I like Gordon’s emphasis on getting players who will work hard and have already earned his trust. Willo Flood has emerged as the best of the trio, at least in these early weeks, though it’s Barry Robson who comes with the highest recommendation. The latter will need to knuckle down shortly. With Johnson and Yeates out of the picture, creative midfielders at the Riverside are in short supply and we need him to perform like the veteran stalwart he is. Chris Killen is another niche player at centre forward, nobody’s idea of a consistent goalscorer but he can hold the ball up. Given our lack of presence in the final third, this quality could be critical. Expecting a lot more of him than that will only lead to frustration.

Our two new loanees are Stephen McManus and Kyle Naughton, both drafted in to add their talents to the defence. The latter comes highly recommended and is already seen as one of the best bits of business during the transfer window. Yet it was also a deal completed quickly and without fuss, something I always like to see. Clearly, Naughton wanted to play and we can offer him that. The only downside is that he’s unlikely to linger beyond his loan period, but at least he gives us time to find a permanent alternative to the role. By the time he goes, will we have also done away with the lightweight Justin Hoyte and also Tony McMahon, who seems to be permanently developing and learning like someone trapped in a Southgate-esque nightmare? Celtic supporters sounded cold about McManus, a Strachan favourite, but it must be sensed that the manager knows what he is doing. The brief is this – provide a wall alongside Wheater that the onetime Rock can rely upon, and I think at this level he should be capable of doing that.

For once, Boro were involved in some real last-day drama, linked strongly with Charlie Adam (it sounds as though we didn’t quite offer enough) and Shunsuke Nakamura (wasn’t interested, which is fair enough), once the dust settled we had two more strikers on our hands. Lee Miller has a lot to prove, though I’m encouraged by the generally disappointed noises about his departure from Aberdeen fans. I guess it’s hard to rate a player purely from his statistics on Wikipedia, which are roughly in line with what we get from our current strikers. As for Scott  McDonald, the £3.5m signing from Celtic looks a class act, a consummate goalscorer who has found the net consistently at all levels. That’s never stopped us from breaking them before, but even considering our sour record with strikers we’d have a job on our hands to mess up here, and Gordon knows all about the Aussie. It follows logically that we wouldn’t have signed him without being fully aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and that makes for an encouraging change from past forays into the transfer market.

I should therefore see the changes as strengthening the defence and attack notably, whilst goalkeeping remains the same and midfield is on paper a little weaker. If a further body was to join us in this area, one of those emergency loan signings we didn’t even know about until the current season, I wouldn’t be too surprised. In the meantime, it’s apparent that this has very quickly transformed itself into Gordon’s team, many of the liggers from the previous regime shown their marching orders. We now live or die by players he has chosen, and it’s my feeling that while our fortunes should improve, perhaps to the extent of making the playoffs, we really ought not to be planning for Premiership football before 2011. Too many changes and perhaps a tad too late to make all the new faces gel.

Impressively, all the work has been done reasonably cheaply. Seven new faces, five signed permanently, at an overall cost of around £4.3m, which is a great bit of business. At the same time, Boro cashed in approximately £7.5m, saving on the wages these players were earning (most at Premiership rates) coupled with not shelling out for the remainder of Sean St Ledger’s transfer fee. Gordon might not see much of this mazumah. Boro continue to restructure along thriftier lines and the dwindling attendance rates won’t help.

Yet there are strong reasons to be cheerful. I cite the example of Crystal Palace, a club now in administration and docked ten points after failing to meet their running costs. We’ve avoided that fate, one that horribly earned few headlines within a top flight-obsessed media. In fact, I quite deliberately checked out where the story ranked on the Guardian’s football homepage on the day it broke. At the top was a yawnarific piece about Rafa Benitez, followed by Manchester United challenging the ban against Rio Ferdinand. Down the list I went, until the tale of Palace’s woe appeared in the secondary set of headlines. A cautionary tale like theirs should be big news, but it isn’t.

Portsmouth are another concern in deep trouble. In part, I resent Pompey. They lived the dream and are now paying the price, much in the grand tradition of Leeds United and to a lesser extent ourselves. You could suggest they’re still in the Premiership at our expense, but it’s an argument that doesn’t hold much water and besides, they’ll surely join us in the Champo next year, on diminished resources and in a worse state than we are.

The crunch hasn’t even left the top brass out of mither. Much has been said about Liverpool, enough for you to know what the story is and for this site to feel the need to repeat none of it. And then there’s United themselves, a club so vast that a day’s takings at one of their megalavatories earns more than a year’s season ticket income at the Riverside. Yet all this turnover does is pay the interest and keep up the loan payments that the Glazers have imposed on the club in affecting their takeover. I laughed the other morning at a statement from David Gill, telling us there’s over a hundred million in the coffers for Sralex to spend. Yeah, course there is, mate. That’s why Rafael keeps getting a game, no doubt. Because he’s special.

It seems obvious that Boro have tried to avoid any of this by taking the different route and downsizing the club’s operations. Keith Lamb warned us when he said the town would get the club it can afford (actually a misquote, but it’s good copy), and it appears what Teesside can cough up for is an average Championship side. At least it’s an affordable one, one that will still be here in years to come. No less a figure than Sir Steve knows how bad things have been in the past, a fate he sees as being intolerable. We could have gambled, and you never know – things might have been great. Or we could have waddled around lower mid-table in the top flight for years, haemorraghing money on a regular basis until the inevitable happened and with relegation came a fresh round of bankruptcy.

No one wants to see a return to the dark days of 1986, and as painful as it must have been for the Chairman to pull the plug on years of high running costs and an ever reddening bank balance, he took the sensible choice and guaranteed us a club to support. I’m not suggesting mistakes weren’t made. Personally, I thought hiring Gareth Southgate was akin to throwing a sacrificial lamb to the public. Even worse was the club’s refusal to show any trust in its fans by being upfront about what was happening behind the scenes. It seems fear of fans turning their backs en masse prompted Sir Steve to keep up the statements of ambition when he must have been aware they could never realistically be backed up. Only he’s made a sticky situation more hellish, because fans are turning their back on MFC and he’s got one mother of a job to entice them back through the gates.

Time will tell if and when we can ever return to the days of promise and plenty. 2010 feels like a more cynical age than 1994. Football costs more to everyone, especially at Boardroom level where a local millionaire like Sir Steve looks shabby compared to the billions that can be brought to bear by the likes of Abramovich, and the oil barons at Eastlands. The stakes have risen for everyone and there’s a real risk we could be sucked into the sort of mid-table Championship tedium that a former top flight regular like Sheffield Wednesday knows these days. Fortunately, it is just a risk. The club made a controversial but ultimately correct decision to wave off Gareth, and it could come up smelling of roses if the promise shown by an assiduous and strategically minded manager like Gordon comes to fruition.

Tags: Adam Johnson, Barry Robson, Chris Killen, Crystal Palace, Didier Digard, Gordon Strachan, Kyle Naughton, Lee Miller, Mark Yeates, Mido, Mohamed Shawky, Nathan Porritt, Scott McDonald, Stephen McManus, Steve Gibson, Willo Flood

Perhaps inevitably, and with some sadness but entirely understanding of the logic, Adam Johnson has signed for Manchester City. The fee for his services is undisclosed, but it’s believed the initial sum is between six and seven million, with various bonuses tipping the deal to the £10m mark. When you think that much of this has been compounded by AJ’s fine form and goalscoring touch for Boro in the first half of this season, he’s certainly done his duty by the club and we can only wish him our best.

Roberto Mancini has given Jinky the number 11 shirt, a traditional starter’s jersey that could see him step into Robinho’s shoes from the start. The City manager didn’t let on how often AJ could expect to feature, but it seems clear he’s with the Citizens for the long haul. His battle for the England jersey starts here.

Reaction from Manchester has been pretty positive. Comments range from the agreeably acute ‘A very good signing. Fast, determined and good ball control. He will be an asset’ to ‘we have the north east whippet’, which just about sums him up. So it’s goodbye Adam Johnson, a player whose value rose quickly beyond the means of the club to keep him and who we almost certainly never saw the best of. Personally, I have some accord with those who assert he’s potentially better as an all-rounder than Stewart Downing, but there’s still a long way for him to go. One thing for certain is I’ll be tuning in to one of the morass of City matches that are picked for live television coverage these days. What a move for him as well, going from mid-table in the second flight to a team pushing for a Champions League place in the Premiership. I’m sure there’s no one from Teesside who wishes him anything but well. A top drawer footballer and future international if treated correctly.

The fun didn’t end there. Almost as soon as AJ’s transfer was confirmed, the official site announced the twin signings of Scott McDonald and Lee Miller. Strange for the club’s own channels to get this in first, almost as though all eyes were on other business.

There should be a flush of excitement about McDonald, a 26-year old Australian international striker who found the net on 51 occasions for Celtic in 88 appearances. He maintained a similar record at Motherwell previously, after starting his career with the exotically named Gippsland Falcons, one of those ‘ex’ clubs in Australia that folded in 2001. Signed for a fee of £3.5m, which is big money for us, Gordon has the consummate goalscorer he wants. Let’s hope so. This is the point where we start working out if the Scottish Premier League is roughly at the same level as the English Championship. If it is, we could have a real gem on our hands.

Lee Miller cost the club a princely £500k. A proud statement at mfc.co.uk boasts that he ‘has hit double figures for Aberdeen for the past two seasons,’ which in most people’s eyes wouldn’t be a lot to shout about but at least edges him ahead of Afonso Alves. Presumably, Gordon sees something that we do not, but it shouldn’t be too long before we find out how good the Lanarkshire striker is when both he and McDonald are pitched in against Ipswich on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Nathan Porritt has been released from the club after his contract was cancelled. The winger who my Dad used to claim was better than Downing at his age, according to a Boro youth coach, and one of the minor characters in that Panorama documentary about football bungs, clearly didn’t meet his potential. Sorry Dad. Porritt will quite possibly be appearing in a Darlington shirt in the near future.

What a January, by some distance the most exciting Boro have been involved in during recent seasons. Compared to the lazy heartache of the Southgate years (‘It was strange to be sat at home eating a peaceful dinner when there was so much business going on elsewhere’) this was frantic stuff, and rightly so. Seven new players to enjoy, though all have been overshadowed by the loss of our one genuine star turn. Such is life in the second tier, as though we needed to have our faces rubbed in it that bit more.

Tags: Aberdeen, Adam Johnson, Celtic, Lee Miller, Manchester City, Nathan Porritt, Scott McDonald

I’m not sure I like being at work during transfer deadline day. Despite saying I was bored of it all the other day, I nevertheless spent many minutes sneaking glances at NewsNow and hours more internally debating the various twists and turns that lay ahead. It’s now ten past five and I’m back at home, getting cross because Sky Sports News doesn’t want to start on Sky Player and Smog Jr will not be shifted away from his xBox 360. Even now, I’m getting that ‘Sarajevo’ feeling of sitting here whilst gunshots and explosions sound in the distance, though luckily in my instance it’s just The Boy playing Call of Duty.

So what’s happened? For certain is Gordon’s capture of Kyle Naughton on loan from Spurs until the end of June. A right-back who impressed his way to the Smoke after earning an England Under-21 call up with Sheffield United, his chances at White Hart Lane have been limited to one stinking appearance. ‘Appy ‘Arry wheeled and dealed his way to a good one there, didn’t he? Still, Naughton (Market) acquitted himself well as a Blade and will no doubt hope to develop his career and talents at the Riverside. What this means for the future of Tony McMahon is anyone’s guess, while Justin Hoyte must hope he’s done enough at left-back to convince the manager that he can still feature for Boro. I don’t see it myself, especially with Jonathan Grounds and Joe Bennett both looking like excellent prospects, but I’m not a wily Scottish manager who was the first to spend big bucks on Craig Bellamy, so what do I know?

In the outgoing box, it’s reported that Mido has signed a four-month loan deal with West Ham United. Nothing has been confirmed by the club, who are still gloating over the possibilities of linking new striker Benni McCarthy with Carlton Cole, but Mido’s Wiki page has already updated and the striker is making his usual noises about proving a point. Yeah, about how many burgers he can fit in at one time, I bet. I have to confess I’d forgotten that Mido was still on the books. He certainly did very little at Zamalek and was nowhere near the Egyptian side that won the Africa Cup of Nations final yesterday. It’s good to see him back in the Premiership, mithering on a bench that isn’t ours. Good luck, Mr Zola, is all I can really add.

But all Boro eyes are on Manchester, as we wait to see if Adam Johnson has agreed a transfer to the Blue Corner. Man City have had their claws in Johnno for some weeks and can always back up their overtures with improved cash offers, so if this one does become a reality then it’s a good effort by the Board to squeeze a reported £7m from Eastlands. I certainly can’t blame Jinky for wanting it either. Robinho’s departure followed by a rumoured move for Martin Petrov should leave the left wing clear and virtually guarantee him a place – or near enough – in a team vying for top four in the Premiership. Impress there, and the sky’s the limit, along with quizzical calls of ‘Stewart who?’

So now we wait… as further deals are announced, or they aren’t. There’s still strong speculation that Scott McDonald and Lee Miller are on their way, but it’s felt that efforts to make a punt for Blackpool’s Charlie Adams have ended in naught. The best thing I can do is publish this (and clean up the typos along the way) and return later for a report on the fallout. Time to kick the kid of the telly…

Tags: Adam Johnson, Kyle Naughton, Mido

What do we call our 0-0 home draw with Bristol City? Another sign that steady progress is being made, albeit gradually? Or a win we failed to claim from opponents who were there for the taking? Boro dominated, worked tirelessly in midfield and generally put the Robins to the sword. Thirteen shots against Brizzle’s seven tells its own story, though a further clue comes in the statistic that ten of ours were off-target. Our strikers for the day were Leroy Lita and Chris Killen. The Kiwi looks fine with his back to goal, holding the ball up in that ‘Heskey’ role we need in the side, but he hasn’t scored in his three appearances and doesn’t appear to be capable of changing that situation at any point in the near future. Lita demonstrated goalshy tendencies at the Riverside yet again. What is it with this striker that makes him capable of finding the net on his travels but hopeless at home?

The other talking point was Barry Robson’s red card. This he earned after he was booked for the second time for pulling back Nicky Maynard early in the second half. A needless dismissal that was always on the cards (excuse the pun) once it became clear that referee, Mr C Webster, was one of those irritating coves who seemed intent on stamping his authority on the game rather than let it flow. Not that Robbo did himself any favours; his sending off effectively ended Boro’s ability to control the match and let it ebb away as City were never likely to do much more than try not to lose.

The plus points were Gary O’Neil and Willo Flood, terriers in midfield, and Jonathan Grounds who was allowed to keep his place alongside David Wheater. Stephen McManus, watching from the bench, is presumably not yet match fit, and though it’s felt he will eventually gain a starting place I should hope Grounds remains in the line-up at the expense of Justin Hoyte, who is not playing in his true position and arguably doesn’t deserve his current status as an ever-present.

Most pressing  is our need to get some goalscorers in the side, and it’s for this reason that Gordon’s pursuit of Lee Miller comes across as a little strange. Perhaps I’m missing something, but I don’t see what Miller would add to the resources Boro already have. Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee (someone I remember with a slight retch as a former Newcastle striker) has confirmed an offer has been made, believed to be around the £500k mark, so we shall have to hope that this is just one of several pies into which Gordon has pressed his fingers.

At Fly me to the Moon, Rob Nichols made the point that Scott McDonald would make an excellent addition to the squad, but wondered where the money was going to come from when the Riverside fails to drag in bodies from the locale. Fair comment. According to the official site, the attendance at this game was 17,865, which is bad enough at around half-capacity, but as we know these figures include seats already paid for via season ticket purchases. The true number was anything between 12-14,000, which is not only terrible but suggests around four thousand current season ticket holders simply won’t bother to renew at the end of the season. The club needs to do something to reverse this trend. A cutting edge at home that is generated by some intuitive signings would be a good – possibly the only – start.

Boro: Coyne; McMahon, Wheater, Grounds, Hoyte (Arca 64), Flood, O’Neil (Capt), Robson, Johnson, Lita (Franks 73), Killen. Unused subs: Steele (gk); Taylor, Bennett, McManus, L Williams.

Bristol City: Gerken; Orr, Fontaine, McAllister, Carey (Capt), Nyatanga (Sproule 85), Campbell-Ryce, Skuse (Elliott 46), Hartley, Maynard (Haynes 71), Agyemang. Unused subs: Henderson (gk); Sno, Clarkson, Saborio.

Tags: Barry Robson, Bristol City, Jonathan Grounds, Lee Miller

News reaches this desk about Gordon’s capture of Celtic and Scotland defender, Stephen McManus, on loan until the end of the season. A deal looked like it was anything but on the cards a couple of days ago, yet the Boro manager greased wheels and pressed palms in order to make it happen. That’s a big weight of our minds in terms of our tottering defence, a unit that hasn’t kept a clean sheet since Boxing Day, and it could be the start of a flurry of incoming players before the window closes.

But is it just me, or do the events and gossip making dizzying mincemeat of recent weeks leave you too feeling slightly jaded? I admit to being left bored, finding the whole transfer business quite tedious. Maybe I’m just showing my age here, but following NewsNow and its endless mill of tall tales and scurrilous nonsense is turning into a wearying experience. Here’s why…

1. Boro being linked with current and former Celtic players
They’re at it again, a story suggesting that Gordon is in talks with Espanyol about bringing Japanese attacking midfielder, Shunsuke Nakamura to Teesside, either on loan or permanently. The article then suggests that the player would view the consistent action he’d enjoy with Boro as his springboard into the reckoning for Japan’s World Cup team, while we would get the Bhoys’ recently best player as an answer to the lack of creativity in midfield. Sounds great, yet the story has little basis in reality beyond someone lazily putting us in the frame with yet another Celtic old boy. Stop with this already. I don’t care that such pieces of fetid crap virtually write themselves. I’m just not interested in this sort of business period.

2. That Adam Johnson Thing
It’s the story that threatens to eclipse the ‘will he… won’t he… will he… won’t, oh I can’t even be arsed’ seemingly endless Stewart Downing saga, possibly because Jinky is a better player. Is AJ going? Will he to see the season out with Boro? The only thing people appear to agree on is that the chance of a new contract at the Riverside ranges from very unlikely to absolutely impossible. I am starting to get sick of all the speculation. The latest round – that he could be off to Manchester City – leaves me completely cold, I’m afraid. Go. Don’t go. Make up your mind. Personally, I’d rather City than our man keeping Ross Turnbull company on the Chelsea bench, but partly that’s because I know the tightwads at Stamford Bridge will happily string us along until his contract elapses and then open their doors to  a freebie.

3. Random linkage elsewhere
Everyone knows that Boro need almost a new team of players, right? There’s even the possibility that Gordon will be given a war chest, or at least a thin envelope containing the contents of a whipround from Bulkhaul’s top brass. Gossip is therefore rife. Blackpool have reported that an offer for Charlie Adam has been knocked back. Who’s he? Don’t care. Lee Miller? Such a blazing success story at Aberdeen that a search on Wikipedia brings up some photographer as its top ‘Lee Miller’ instead. Nice shots, if I’m honest. Kyle Naughton? Never heard of him.

4. New wave of Mido rumours
It’s amazing what a few months outside Blighty does for a player’s reputation. Whilst on the books at Boro, nobody – apart from those desperadoes at Wigan – was interested. Now that he’s back in Egypt and presumably carries some exotic weight (as opposed to the weight of several kebabs and chicken dinners), Hull, Fulham and West Ham have all dipped in their fingers. Apparently, the striker has already snubbed the Tigers, warranting an atypical (insert ’sarcmark’ here) rant from Phil Brown about how he was just using them to become part of a bidding war. Don’t any of these people learn a thing? You had a lucky escape, Brown.

The bottom line is this – the sooner the deadline arrives on 1 February, the better. This transfer window has done little but keep media types in column inches and freelance fees and I no longer want any part of it. But perhaps you got all that from the verbiage above.

Back in the real world, Boro take on Bristol City tomorrow hoping to get revenge for the 2-1 away defeat back in August. Nicky Maynard tortured Jonathan Grounds in that game, but will he have McManus keeping him quiet at the Riverside? Elsewhere, Gordon is expected to name Barry Robson in his side, and I think we’d all like second helpings of the blood and guts commitment he showed on his debut. ‘Brizzle’ copped for a 6-0 reverse at Ashton Gate earlier in the week, so they’ll be looking for better here, and with all factors in our favour you’d have to fancy a Boro defeat. Still, let’s be optimistic and predict a 2-1 win, a nice bit of symmetry for the scoreline ‘pon which we were on the wrong end.

Tags: Adam Johnson, Bristol City, Celtic, Charlie Adam, Kyle Naughton, Lee Miller, Mido, Shunsuke Nakamura, Stephen McManus

I’m a little disappointed to find myself writing this more than a day after Boro’s astonishing 4-1 away win over Doncaster Rovers. As it turned out, I spent my spare time last night watching the Manchester derby, a thrilling League Cup semi-final (you don’t often get to read those words) that contained just about everything you could want from a football match. Yes, even a charged atmosphere that occasionally spilled over into real loathing. I mean, I hate to see any player getting pelted with coins from the stands, but if you could choose just one individual as a target for your fifty pee… Only joking. Or am I?

Naturally, Smog Towers was just as excited by Boro’s win on Tuesday night. When the boys flow like they did against Donny, you start to wonder why we aren’t simply laughing at this division as we rake through it with ease. I’ve seen us play worse opponents in the Championship and lose. As managers go, I have an awful lot of time for Sean O’Driscoll and believe he’s working wonders at the excellently titled Keepmoat Stadium. Why did this one go right? And after the steady, almost inpercetible at times progress that we have been making in recent weeks, is this a corner turned, or another ‘QPR’ and woe betide us when we taken on Bristol City at the weekend?

Perhaps the most obviously satisfying aspect was the way we took to the game like a Championship team. The attitude shown by the side during some of our darkest weeks – ‘We’re a Premiership club, you know, how can this be happening to us?’ – was gone as we seemed to embrace our status as a good second flight contender rather than a poor relegated lot who were simply baffled by what was happening around them. At the heart was a superb display from Adam Johnson. Back to his considerable best, Jinky scored twice and set up a goal for Jonathan Franks (his first at senior level, and a thing of composed loveliness it was), while around him was a squad that worked its collective backside off to press for possession, refuse the home team space and pass neatly when they were in control. I’ve been a bit snide about Willo Flood previously on these pages, but I’ll take it back now. The lad might have his limits, yet he never stops grafting in the heart of midfield. How badly have we missed that? It must surely be one of Gordon’s biggest challenges to maintain this level of workrate from the 24-year old on a game-by-game basis.

Leroy Lita scored a poacher’s goal. Nothing wrong with that, and it’s certainly the case he had something to prove after his Sir Missalot showing against the Swans. Doncaster’s goal – a late consolation from Jordon Mutch – was a screamer from 25 yards out, a ‘one for the Christmas DVD compilation’ that came when Rovers were three down and counting the minutes until the whistle. It was gratifying to see that a wonder goal was all they could produce to beat Danny Coyne. Another efficient display from the veteran, helped out by superb work from another shuffled central defence that partnered Jonathan Grounds with David Wheater. Grounds was brilliant, offering his manager a genuine, homegrown alternative to all those Fancy Dan centre halves Gordon has been trying to sign in recent weeks.

While we were cleaning up here, achieving an emotionally gratifying league double, our weekend opposition was losing 6-0 to Cardiff at Ashton Gate. By any logical barometer, this ought to make our home game on Saturday one where we see further progress, leapfrogging poor old Crystal Palace (I feel for them, really I do; we’ve been there and know how it feels) on our march toward the playoffs. But then, the Championship has shown just what it thinks of logic several times this season. At least here, we looked the part. Progress under Gordon might be painfully slow in taking place, but it is happening.

Doncaster Rovers: Sullivan; Chambers, Hird (Webster 79), O’Connor, Roberts, Spicer (Mutch 68), Wilson, Guy, Heffernan, Sharp, Coppinger (McDaid 82). Unused subs: Smith (gk); Dumbaya, Fisher, Clark.

Boro: Coyne; McMahon, Wheater, Grounds, Hoyte (Taylor 90 +1), Flood, O’Neil (Capt), Arca (Bennett 79), Johnson, Franks (Lita 55), Killen. Unused subs: Steele (gk); Walker, L Williams, Emnes.

It’s a well-worn cliche that players raise their games as a shop window. As is often the case, Jinky was playing before Premiership scouts, notably one from Tottenham, and goodness only knows how I would hate for him to end up at Shite Hart Lane, perhaps even more so than Liverpool, the only club that I know Sir Steve won’t allow any dealings with. Fortunately, it looks as though Manchester City have weighed in, offering good money for the winger. Rumour has it that Roberto Mancini wants to find a viable alternative to the left wing after the position’s previous custodian (some bloke called Robinho, you may have heard of him) caused his manager a string of headaches by mithering to leave in favour of a return to Brazil, and AJ could be the answer. If the Citizens are indeed interested, no doubt with a worthy bid in mind, the transfer could leave Boro supporters in two minds. On the one hand is the possibility of fresh millions to spend before the window closes, which we all know is necessary, particularly where a player who is clearly going to move on at some point is concerned. The other is the stark possibility of losing the team’s best, one genuinely class act star player.

According to the BBC, Boro’s loan offer for Stephen McManus has fallen through after it was suggested Celtic wanted too much money for the temporary switch. In a recent twist to a story that was threatening to go on, Tony Mowbray praised his defender publicly, suggesting it was never going to be the smoothest of transactions. I know what you’re thinking – as though any bit of transfer business we conduct is ever smooth. But never mind. Gordon is continuing to weigh up a tilt for Celtic’s  striker, Scott McDonald. According to some sources, the fee involved could be as high as £3.5m, which suggests someone was partying hard into the wee hours.

Tags: Adam Johnson, Bristol City, Doncaster Rovers, Jonathan Franks, Jonathan Grounds, Keepmoat Stadium, Leroy Lita, Manchester City, Scott McDonald, Stephen McManus, Willo Flood