Coventry
League position: 17th – 45 pts
Form: 19th
Remaining fixtures: Derby (a), Portsmouth(a), Millwall, Scunthorpe, Boro (a), Reading, Norwich

Saturday’s clash with fellow strugglers Derby can provide a tremendous boost for either, should anyone care to win it…Digger also outlined another bleak scenario for the Sky Blues earlier this week: essentially they’re fucked if relegation happens and they could very well do a Plymouth

Boro
League position: 18th – 45 pts
Form: 11th
Remaining fixtures: Sheff Utd (a), Ipswich (a), Barnsley, Burnley (a), Hull (a), Coventry, Cardiff (a), Doncaster

The roadmap to safety was done and dusted weeks ago…where have you been?

Derby
League position: 19th – 44 pts
Form: 22nd
Remaining fixtures: Coventry, Leeds, QPR (a), Burnley, Norwich (a), Bristol City, Reading (a)

If the gap between the Rams and the bottom three was just a bit smaller you would nominate this lot as serious candidates for the drop…five of the last seven are against high-flyers, and Bristol City is top of the form table

Doncaster
League position: 20th – 44 pts
Form: 20th
Remaining fixtures: Cardiff, Preston, Hull (a), Crystal Palace, Barnsley (a), Leicester, Boro (a)

Sean O’Driscoll’s men largely control their own destiny: beat back fellow strugglers Preston and Crystal Palace and safety should be attainable…the crippling injury troubles and woeful recent form still put the gaffer in better stead as opposed to the miserable situation he averted by declining the head gig at Bramall Lane

Crystal Palace
League position: 21st – 42 pts
Form: 13th
Remaining fixtures: Ipswich (a), Leicester (a), Scunthorpe, Doncaster (a), Leeds, Hull (a), Nottingham Forest

As much as we’d like to credit Lennie Lawrence for the predicted successful escape act we cannot…Palace have gained a cohesion and discipline under Dougie Freedman that was sorely absent under the previous regime…form has stabilised and the Eagles have garnered a reputation as a rather difficult proposition to break down

Sheff Utd
League position: 22nd – 35 pts
Form: 17th
Remaining fixtures: Boro, Cardiff, Preston (a), Bristol City, Reading (a), Barnsley, Swansea (a)

The recent wins against Forest and Leeds will prove to be a false dawn: this lot are going down, and as long as the Ginger Mourinho keeps the other city club up we’re heading towards some eye-popping League One attendance numbers for the next installments of the Sheffield derby

Preston
League position: 23rd – 34 pts
Form: 7th
Remaining fixtures: Portsmouth (a), Doncaster (a), Sheff Utd, Millwall (a), Cardiff, Ipswich (a), Watford

What an achievement it would be if Phil Brown can pull it off…by our rudimentary reckoning PNE need 5 wins, and a couple of them will have to come in a decidedly underdog role…we’ll be watching and hoping…if it doesn’t hopefully there will be a kind, genial gent there to talk us off the bridge

Scunthorpe
League position: 24th – 34 pts
Form: 23rd
Remaining fixtures: QPR, Reading, Crystal Palace (a), Coventry (a), Millwall, Nottingham Forest (a), Portsmouth

Alan Knill will get his shot at League One, albeit through an unconventional route…he should have the last three matches to get a head start on the return to the third tier…no need to cry though, cos Scunny know the way out of that division rather well

Anti-climactic as it may appear, the bottom three will be as follows:

22. Preston

23. Scunthorpe

24. Sheff Utd

Coming up we’ll take a gander at who is, erm, coming up…from down below in League One. Stay tuned…

• Boro line up in a 4-4-2: Steele; Hoyte, Wheater, Bates, Bennett: O’Neil, Thomson, Tavares, Arca; Emnes, Lita

• No Barry Robson anywhere. His meteoric rise into Boro folklore appears to have crashed and dented. Does it portend an extension of the Tavares loan, or another fresh body in the next few weeks?

• Birthday boy Sean St. Ledger also absent, not even named to the Preston bench. Another celebrating Capricorn, our own Leroy Lita, turned 26 today. He’s in up front with Marvin Emnes to form a pacy, dynamic pair

• Ref: Craig Pawson – last Boro match the 3-1 drubbing at Derby – Steele/Wheater/McManus/O’Neil all went in the book that day

• PNE haven’t beat Boro in the league since 1972 – usually an ominous omen

• Andy Lonergan, the Preston-born home keeper, is certainly one susceptible to the occasional egregious blunder between the sticks. Can Boro be active enough in his box to cause some bother?

• Great work from Leroy Lita early on – he’s not getting enough support from his midfielders, who frankly are too busy trying to protect against Preston counter attacks. Few options available when he gets deep, forcing some of the nice passages of football currently on offer to disintegrate

• Transfer Rumour Target du jour: Soren Larsen – hulking Danish striker at Toulouse…experience at the top level with Bundesliga side Schalke 04…something of a Nicklas Bendtner understudy, which is great socially, but less so from a football perspective

• Lethal: Up. For. It. The misery set in after Preston scored from a corner was short-lived as Boro broke forward and Leroy, who still stupefies his gaffer, unleashed a fierce drive into the roof of the net. More remarkably is that he kept his top on; becoming a man before our very eyes – Preston 1-1 Boro

• Barca/Boro – imperceptible at the moment: Bennett/Hoyte resembling proper wing backs as Thommo and Tavares play the Busquets role – it’s a dangerous tactic that’s been profitable thus far, contravening the notion that full backs need to be full backs…Preston breaking on the counter when they can get behind the Boro back line

HT PNE 1-1 Boro

Before Gilly’s cup of tea: great organisation so far – Thommo and Tavares covering the vacancies when the full backs bomb forward – we still need the numbers to rush forward when we create advantages…MF flood the box and remove onus from LL and Emnes…onto the second half

• Things open up as it approaches the hour mark – Marvin Emnes becomes too ponderous, waiting an age to do something in a great attacking position. It’s a real chance wasted. Fortunately the Boro birthday boy Leroy Lita, ‘someone you don’t normally associate composure with’ – controls a diamond ball from Julio Arca and slots a professional finish into the PNE goal – Preston 1-2 Boro

• Make it four great aerial chances for David Wheater this half – and one stormer of a goal. It’s padding the goal difference now, a critical element of relegation survival that, if it came to it, wouldn’t be a concern. Some might be happy closing up shop for 30 minutes to ensure a result; others want a cricket score a remuneration for active roles in the season of suffering

• Will Lee Miller, starting this day for Notts County at Home Park versus Plymouth Argyle, be coming back to cover for Asian Cup participant Scott McDonald? The Larsen link makes sense if the Scottish donkey gets either a loan extension or reassignment. Exploits of Tarmo Kink aside, there’s a sense that Mogga would be more assertive and exacting in the scouting of continental prospects

• The Beast Jon Parkin has been rendered pretty anonymous today. Matthew Bates and David Wheater have neutralised this animal with relative ease. Limiting his gazelle-like strike mate Josh King, on loan from Big Ferg, required more pace than guile

• Attendance: 11946 (approx 1000 Boro)

• GG MOM – Lethal

Immediate reaction from Gilly: Arca terrific, centre halves brilliant – this has been coming for a while – a really expansive and controlled performance – only the second 3 goal outburst this season – Boro 3-1 Reading

Mac continues his chuntering down the tunnel, reports Mark Drury – why didn’t Hoyte pass the ball during that late rush for four?

Manager interview with Mogga: time to go on a run – not overly concerned at other results currently…23 games to go for us to sort our business, build belief, and improve confidence – try to bring in manageable players the have the right price – a year of change…results on the pitch and a shake-up in personnel

Tunnel reaction from Julio Arca: we were patient, chose the right attacks, and continued to play better football – more tactical, sharper – completing the changes the manager wants to make will take time, but it will be worth it

Leicester City traded dead cool Mediterranean sexy for a proven, if not slightly whorish, global lothario. Lisbon, Rome, Genoa, Mexico City, and now Leicester – lock up your daughters, lock up your wives, for sex god Sven Goran Eriksson has docked, looking for tasteful accommodation, cos he doesn’t like commitment in any form. The aim? Promotion, but of course. Kyle Naughton is the first of what looks to be several additions to a retooled side – Jason Roberts is being eyed up seductively, and rather flagrantly, to fetch the goals needed to string some results together and climb out of the league basement…

Derby esta jugando bien! A spot of Spanish tyro Alberto Bueno – on loan from Real Valladolid and personally recommended to Nigel Clough by Vicente del Bosque – has imbued Pride Park with the kind of rapture a recent American divorcee might find in Tuscany. Robbie Savage maintains his dual role as prime villain and cocksure midfield maestro; many Boro fans lamented our dearth of someone of that ilk from our squad during the recent 3-1 dismantling. Throw in an assiduous, omnipresent attacking midfielder like Kris Commons, and starving artist Stephen Bywater – for cultural enhancement only – and you’ve a squad exceeding pre-season expectations of lower-table middling. This here’s a pretty decent side now…

Top Two

No movement – QPR and Cardiff remain imperious…and frankly we’re fucking sick of talking them up…

Playoff Occupiers

Norwich lead the charge of the recently promoted, primarily due to their competent defending that’s avoided the occasional tonkings meted out to fellow new fish Leeds and Millwall – John Ruddy has emerged as a confident surrogate for former taboo lust target Fraser Forster – presiding over the attack are the trident of Wes Hoolahan, Grant Holt, and Chris Martin, affording Paul Lambert an embarrassment of artillery

Care to have a guess at the two teams averaging over 2 goals a contest? Yes, fucking QPR is one…who’s the other? Here’s a clue: they employ four former Boro lads, and we could do with two of them at the moment: an in-form, skilled striker + Prem tested left back…Watford! Marvin Sordell is rewarding Malky Mackay’s faith by banging in regular goals – Adrian Mariappa and Martin Taylor highlight an effective back four keeping out just enough goals to prolong this current meteoric rise

A comment on Paul Fletcher’s ponderous Boro blog splendidly compares the growing pains of Ipswich to our own malaise – Roy Keane has advanced past the Ireland/Sunderland fixation to blood some damn fine youngsters, proof that patience does pay off eventually as Town fly high…Burnley produced some heart-stopping moments in the last few weeks: an insane late comeback to top Preston 4-3, prompting a fresh hot funk from Little Ferg, followed directly by a Tallinn takedown at the Riverside that saw well-earned points evaporated

The Real Meaty Bit Of The Table

Reading, Swansea, and The Trees hold steady in the upper half…Billy Davies is keeping his head down and getting on with the job of keeping his lot in the thick of it – 9 unbeaten since the opening day defeat to Burnley…Leeds/Preston surely gets the nod for match of the month: a 4-1 halftime lead squandered to a previously flaccid Preston side who erupted for five unanswered goals to stupefy the Elland Road faithful and win 6-4…Boro are afflicted with a wisecracking wee gaffer enthusiastically walking the plank on his own accord…drugs, drink, and smoking indeed…the dias-Boro has the highest chemical dependency rate of them all! Portsmouth remained fucked – the Football League wants assurances over four lingering issues before ratifying a proposal to emerge from administration…remarkably the insolvency issues are being overshadowed by some brave displays in what were always going to be hectic circumstances

Bottom Three

Leicester have invoked their experienced saviour…the dosh from the Thais is there, and it’s real according to Sven…set the controls for the heart of the Prem…Crystal Palace languish too, with prospects less fulgent than the Foxes…positive result against Pompey aside, the Eagles have spent the last six weeks flitting between drab 0-0 draws and hapless multi-goal thrashings…Bristol City aren’t really remembering the times when Keith Millen held their hair whilst really sick from too much blue curacao in the drunken lemonades…he’s got but a few matches to string some results together and get off the floor

West Bromwich Albion – it’s their bi-yearly migration north…can they solve the riddle of consolidation? Roberto di Matteo goes from League One to the Prem in a meteoric two years…

Nottingham Forest – rode an amazing wave of form to control 3rd spot…tight, organised, fitter, and more up for it than most of the opposition…Billy Davies gets teams promoted…maintaining that status? not so much…

Cardiff City – overcame the usual late season bottle job, and
administration bother…bags of goals…they’d be entertaining if
promoted…

Leicester City – improbable cohesion – Nigel Pearson should be investigated for human cloning violations – a steely and determined side, crafted in the mould of the former Boro man
Blackpool – Ian Holloway has a little dance…the form side who slid into the playoffs – those types have a history of running the playoff gauntlet – Pool haven’t been in 1st division since ’71

Swansea – there’s your Welsh bottle job – top 6 stalwarts for most of the season were doomed by lack of goal punch – will Sousa stay?

Sheffield United – promising finish, though they rarely were serious
promotion contenders…welcome back Paddy Kenny!

Reading – major turnaround under Brian McDermott – strong cup run buoyed league form

Bristol City – seemingly couldn’t lose under Keith Millen – Nicky
Maynard bagged a quiet 20 goals, especially the cracker v Pool that nearly spoiled their party

Boro – more later

Doncaster Rovers – free flowing footie under Sean O’Driscoll was frequently pleasing to the eye…can’t complain over top half finish

Queens Park Rangers – survived the standard managerial merry-go-round – Warnock says they’ll have to be reckoned w/ next term as they mount a serious promotion push

Derby County – better from young Nigel – will continue to build and ideally push for a top 10 finish

Ispwich Town – disappointing…after Roy Keane got the job late last season they responded strongly…horrific start to campaign was insurmountable

Watford – decent football at times, though their stars were all loan players – Tom Cleverley was outstanding…

Preston North End – little Ferg has them more organised…can he work some of the old Posh promotion magic?

Barnsley – Mark Robins was a great appointment – never an easy game – he’ll get more time to change the culture

Coventry City – briefly flirted w/ playoffs for a spell, even after selling Leon Best

Scunthorpe United – tremendous achievement to stay up given their paucity of resources…will look to cash in on the popular goalhawk Gary Hooper

Crystal Palace – promotion attempts railroaded by administration…did just enough under Paul Hart to avoid possible extinction

Sheffield Wednesday – despair at final day relegation – American
investment and sound stewardship of Alan Irvine should see a quick return to the Championship

Plymouth Argyle – the affable Paul Mariner instilled a courageous
spirit after the sacking of Paul Sturrock…sadly they couldn’t ride
it out the basement

Peterborough United – out of their depth, and the resulting
instability – sacking Ferguson and Cooper – was too big a
specter…revived under Jim Gannon for a spell…now Gary Johnson is the man to architect a new push back up

Boro have another crisis to negotiate while preparing for the holiday programme, this of a defensive nature. Sean St Ledger is back with Preston, unofficially, on gardening leave until his loan deal becomes permanent come January. Speculation abounds though as to the status of that deal – recent reports highlight an alleged row between defender and gaffer that has the full Ireland international defender cogitating over the impending permanence of his move. Virtual trudging has helped deduce that said row may have been blown out of proportion and that Gordo has designs on converting SSL to right back in the coming new year to help re-shape the squad. Additionally Seb Hines, who was pretty efficient in performing a partnership w/ David Wheater prior to acquiring SSL, suffered gruesome knee damage on reserve duty in the midweek and is out for up to 8 weeks. Expect Emanuel Pogatetz to occupy the central defence w/ Wheats and the recall of Andrew Taylor at left back. The caterwauling for Joe Bennett and/or Jonathan Grounds remains neglected.

Elsewhere in the projected squad: Gary O’Neil has been declared fit to retain the captaincy and return to his role in the Boro engine room; Adam Johnson is out after injury v Cardiff, so Mark Yeates, on a run of 3 consecutive excellent shifts, will marshal the left flank; Julio Arca may feature on the right side – not because he’s really excelled mind, it’s just the paucity of attacking options; and the Kitson/Lita reunion tour is about to reach its climax, so how about one last duet in the intimate surroundings of St. James’ Park?

As we reveled in our tech totality – AV from the press box, Ali/Gary in the booth, and a dubious feed scrambled across the Middle East and then into our laptop – here were the observations that made it in the notebook:

• Johnno’s goal – really magic; Leroy Lita chased down the long goal kick and held up play for the onrushing AJ…clinical finish
• Gary O’Neil was very offensive-minded, advancing more forward than usual and getting efforts in on goal – the free kick for the first goal probably should’ve been dealt with, but good for the midfielder’s confidence no doubt
• Rhys Williams thundered that shot off the woodwork – the potential 3-1 lead would have been unassailable
• The foul on Joe Bennett leading to the free kick that produced the leveler was ridiculous – the young left back is clearly being unfairly targeted for his refreshingly physical approach – and the late off side ruling against Johnno as Boro pressed deep in stoppage time was bullshit too…
• If Gordo has time, maybe convert Emnes to a RM role…could work…isn’t that what we bought him as?

Get well soon Moz…

Here’s the tentative schedule for events this coming weekend:

• Strachan introduced at Hurworth most likely tomorrow
• Colin Cooper acts as caretaker for Preston away on Saturday
• Strachan observes from the stands and takes official control Monday

Number 7 on Gibbo’s speed dial, Anthony Vickers, has this situation in his pocket – Eric Paylor has a more multimedia go at the news and subsequent reaction…