Sam Hall

Since I last wrote a piece, the ‘Boro have been somewhat Bi-Polar in the way they have played. After winning a thrilling five goal game at the Cardiff City Stadium, we managed a Boxing day knock out of Hull City. Yet then we drew 1-1 with Peterborough, Lost 3-0 and 2-0 to Blackpool and Burnley respectively.

It’s no surprise that once you begin to take key parts out of the machine that the Mogganaut will not run as smoothly. So when the central cog – Nicky Bailey – is not in use for a potential eight weeks, there will be a problem. Bailey has been our midfield hero, I don’t need to stress that anymore as it has been done so many times before. He’s out with a medial knee ligament injury and must be our hardest felt absence. [1] It should be noted that in the game he was injured, Peterborough offered no real threat going forwards until after half time, when Kevin Thomson was asked to stand in for him.

Kevin Thomson- a man asked to do an impossible job; fill in for Bailey. Thommo has nowhere near the skill and build that his English counterpart utilises; he does not know when to close down and challenge, he doesn’t seem to have the radar-like awareness and he definitely doesn’t have the pace to get back and fill in at the back. I like Kevin, I really do and I would have liked to see him do well here and push on on the international stage. However, at this moment, I feel that he is a write-off from the Strachan era. Not his whole career, just his Middlesbrough one. It’s awful to see a player have his time at a club ravaged by injury, Thomson being a perfect (Not that his situation has been in any way perfect) display of just that. Watching him against Shrewsbury and Burnley – I didn’t get to the Blackpool game- it stood out just how ill equipped he was to be a holding midfielder. Whilst brought to the club as that primarily, it seems as if Thomson looks more suited playing directly in the middle. His passing is relatively good when playing long balls, not the type we associate with defenders, but defence splitting passes that open a game; as displayed against Doncaster at the end of last season. [2] His tackling, as I’ve previously stated, is suspect. He does often pull off unlikely tackles, but it is his inability to produce the simple, and repeat that during the game, that is worrying.

It is also worrying that Jason Steele is injured and Connor Ripley- 19 next week – is filling in between the sticks. On his home and full debut against Burnley, Ripley had a game to forget. The first goal conceded was soft, perhaps not on his behalf, and unlocked the door for more long range attempts on goal. Thus Kieran Trippier blasted a speculative effort from well outside the box, the young keeper diving over the ball and letting it swerve behind him and into the net. It was a sickener for the young lad, he didn’t really do much wrong the rest of the game and certainly put a lot of the more senior players in their places after some unpunished defensive laps. The keeper will no doubt be criticised by fan, though I would disagree with the criticism thrown his way. For a young man to come in and do a job with that much pressure on him is unreal, a full debut in front of a home crowd known for being hostile towards goalkeepers is not really an ideal situation. It was great to hear the Red Faction singing his name in the second half, although there were a few with their own opinions around the ground tagging, “is s**t!” , on the end.

Hopefully injuries will be good to us in the next few weeks, looking forward to Coventry City and beyond. Maybe if new signing Lukas Jutkiewicz finds his feet soon, we could be looking at a healthier position come april. Anyway, whether this happens or not, we’re flying high considering and should be grateful that we have a stable club unlike some of our Teesside neighbours. I’ll be posting more in the coming days surrounding our new signing and the plight of Darlington Football Club, but that’s all for now. Get behind the ‘Boro and push them on to glory.

Erimus