Saturday – 19 Feb 11

1230p

Chelsea V Everton – Stamford Bridge R4R (winner hosts Reading in R5 01 Mar 11)

Carlito has gone and thrown in towel – the one John Terry conveniently dropped whilst parading the halls during the visit of the new number 9’s wife hospitality tour of the Bridge – for the league title race, and Frank Lampard is the latest to reveal similarly dashed dreams…Everton look to exact a measure of revenge for the 2009 final…1-2

300p

Birmingham v Sheffield Wednesday – St. Andrew’s

A gaggle of ginger gaffers in the respective technical areas…when was the last time that happened? The hosts would surely trade one of these cup runs – they’re in the Carling Cup final already v Arsenal – for league stability…for Wednesday, any type of sustained success will do as they tread perilously in League One, a mere 5 points above another relegation trapdoor…1-0

Stoke v Brighton – Brittania Stadium

#freethebigsam! No longer will we burst out loud at proclamations that one Rory Delap thrown missile accomplishes what 14 Xavi prescient passes do…expect Tony Pulis to release the hounds and unleash some pain on the lower level table-toppers…Gus Poyet may want to park this seaside revolution firmly in the Championship, and no further, if this is what life at the top is like…2-1
515p

Man Utd v Crawley Town – Old Trafford

Crawley Town will not just showing up with their hair parted, suited and booted, to collect a massive check – 9000 or so supporters will sojourn northwest to flood the Theatre of Dreams…afterward they may just be grateful for the day out, and the large-ish check…come on United, there is nobility in helping those less fortunate achieve great things…3-0

Sunday – 20 Feb 11

200p

Man City v Notts County – City of Manchester Stadium R4R (winner hosts Aston Villa in R5 02 Mar 11)

In the blue half of Manchester they’ll go mad for a continued cup run, and an unlikely double is entirely conceivable…Roberto Mancini knows one brand of football currently: isolate Carlos Tevez from his mates waaaaay up front, making him work really hard to get touches on the ball…it works most of the time…3-1
300p

Fulham v Bolton – Craven Cottage

Fulham absolutely shit-hammered Spurs in the last round; risible defending, a sending off, two early penalties, it was over well before half time with Tottenham players having the comport of a soon-to-be-whacked guido digging his own grave…Owen Coyle will get a nice long look at what roughly £3m buys you in the lower reaches of the Championship – David Wheater looks to continue deputising for a sidelined Zat Knight…the Redcar lad introduced himself to Bolton back-up keeper Adam Bogdan with a dodgy half-clearance directed towards his own goal…yep…2-1

430p

Leyton Orient v Arsenal – Brisbane Road

Yes, Arsenal have now demonstrated the requisite spirit for a multi-pronged attack on various silverware, who gives a toss? Leyton Orient are on their way to becoming cultural refugees, the Olympic and football lobbies conspiring to encroach on hallowed, spoken-for territory…the full house and TV dosh should brighten the spirit a bit, in only temporarily…1-3

Monday – 21 Feb 11

800p

West Ham v Burnley – Upton Park

Avram Grant undoubtedly has the empirical experience of dragging a relegation-threatened side to a cup final, but Eddie Howe brings the youthful exuberance and conviction that’s imbuing Turf Moor, confirming what a smart and shrewd hire it was to replace Brian Laws…neither have much to lose, suggesting a possible goal orgy…4-3

Work continues apace to bolster the ranks beyond the favours Gordo ostensibly cashed in to keep Marcus Bent for a few more weeks. The funds saved from the St Ledger screw-up (£3m) will also pad the unknown budget for a squad augmentation – so based on the conjecture available vis a vis possible targets and their reported asking price let’s call it somewhere nigh on £10m. Every bit of that will need wringing to ensure we can capitalize on the decent incision and passion displayed recently. That last bit of quality, creating chances, and goals, out of skill and intelligence – if it were present we’d still be talking Prem, the annual cup run, aspirations for repeats of previous glory. Without it we sit and contemplate the current untenable position – on the outside of serious promotion debate, irrelevant in the cups, borderline laughing stock because we tried to reshape and failed miserably – the days of Hasselbaink/Yakubu/Viduka and the like replaced w/ drab misrepresentations fueling a downward trajectory…

The middlesbroughfcblog.com casita witnessed live Boro footie on the telly for the first time since spring. Sod that nonsense! Like when we became full-time fag smokers, an informed decision was made – Ali and Gary Gill would guide us…the visuals there only for confirmation and reinforcement…here’s what we deduced by listening and not watching:

• Full strength squad – like we asked our Arsenal-loving and Rafa Benitez-taunting mate – does he really have a choice?
• Early on: Johnno has been electric – switching flanks to terrorise Cit-eh w/ maximum effect
• Mancini looks like a knob in his baseball cap
• Steady dusting of snow/precipitation – loads of empty seats
• Is Gordo salivating at the under-strength side fielded by the visitors? Benjani up front on his own??
• Final ball still lacking (see above)
• 30 mins – Johnno pulls up lame w/ a re-aggravation of his hamstring knack – ultimately subbed off for Marvin Emnes
• Shawky on the bench? What the eff?
• Gordo is hell Bent: castigating the striker because he thinks more can be done – Bent retorts w/ a ‘give me better service’ – it has been pretty appalling thus far
• Martin Petrov, in the eyes of an unbiased Arsenal supporter: ‘Why does a bloody Bulgarian need a little blue scarf? It’s hardly Turks and Caicos…Bulgarians rank just  above Turks…utter wankers’ (he is their best player of the first half though)
• And that’s why – sashaying through the middle of the park to carve open our defence and free Benjani for a cool finish right before the end of the half
• During the half-time cuppa and fag: Gary Gill asks are we content to contain their attack versus creating our own? Gamble, be brave!
• City improve their quality at the break – Richards/De Jong off – Barry/Tevez on
• 53 mins – Marvin Emnes off now after clattering w/ Pablo Zabaleta – unremarkable 23 mins from the Dutchie – Mark Yeates on
• Some of that nice work from The Boro: Hoyte and Franks juke and jive on the left to earn a corner – clearance from an indecisive Macca shot earns another – played long – Macca back on the left pops a beauty in at the far post that Rhys Williams plants on the top of Shay Given’s net
• Wheats labouring w/ a right ankle concern – existing niggle…
• 2^nd half has been a more ‘Come On Boro’ approach, but the will exerted to contain Cit-eh is compromising our attack – like we need help there!
• GOG MOM – Macca
• Final sortie – a corner delivered from GON finds Jonathan Franks – it’s on target but blocked by Sylvinho – hand ball??
• FT – Boro 0-1 Manchester Cini
• Post match – a dispirited Macca laments his two missed opportunities, along w/ the  inability to consistently carve out chances – GON: we worked hard – conceding when we did really dented the mood – the squad needs help – can’t compete w/ the WBA/Newcastles at this rate

Good riddance – naff off for this year FA Cup – Swansea on Saturday at the Riverside. Get that Celtic contingent down here post haste…

The existing deficiencies were again magnified in the loss to Barnsley 2-1. Boro negotiated suspensions and injuries to field another disparate side: Jonathan Franks on the wide right of a previously little used, though historically Strachan-favoured 4-5-1 -Marcus Bent foundered alone up front – Arca was in over Yeates again – Hoyte dallied some more on the left, ahead of 3 relatively well compensated and rested recognized left-backs. Never mind that the former Arsenal man and drafted replacement for Luke Young provided the opening goal – a benign cross cum shot from 35 yards out, adamantly labeled by the under-achiever as intentional. The visitors, heartened by the jovial and voluble traveling supporters, excelled early on and bossed it. Barnsley regrouped after the break, as is their wont, and changed shape to create 2 goals that changed the course and rendered Boro craven again. Mark Robins is starting to harness and conjure some of that old Oakwell magic – the Tykes now rest 15^th in the table on 30 points, but w/ two massive games in hand. Capitalise on those and we’ll have a new entrant into the playoff discussion…

The live blog is still on official Christmas holiday in Tenerife, and our normally reliable BBC Tees radio feed was replaced w/ a freakish imitation of Revolution 9 -  turn me on dead man…

• Celebrated egoist Leroy Lita suspended for punch petulance at the weekend
• Chris Riggott officially back – partners w/ David Wheater in the heart of defence
• Mark Yeates – still studying that lump of coal inexplicably planted in his Christmas stocking
• Arca goes close early on, capping a fine flowing team move – the strong shot denied by a full-stretching Luke Steele
• Boro goal! from Justin Effing Hoyte!! his deep, high cross from the right wrong-foots Steele and nestles in the top corner of the net – Barnsley 0-1 Boro – 24 mins
• Solid defending from Wheats – perfectly timed intervention in the box to stymie Hugo Colace
• No half-time ruminations – see above
• Barnsley reshape post-break – failure to clear a corner at the near post results in Stephen Foster heading the Tykes level – Barnsley 1-1 Boro – 49 mins
• GON tries to restore the lead quickly – latches on to a decent ball from Bent, but chips his effort cruelly over the bar
• Where is Julio Arca? 58 mins – Daniel Bogdanovic is given space/time to cross on the left – the delivery is met by an onrushing Hugo Colace to beat a helpless Danny Coyne – Barnsley 2-1 Boro
• Luke Williams makes his Boro bow – comes on for Jonathan Franks in the 73^rd – the little ginger doppelganger is the youngest senior debutant since good old Tommy Murray against Sheffield Wednesday in 1905…ah memories
• Emil Halfredsson – Icelandic winger – very impressive for the hosts
• Boro start to hibernate for the last 15 minutes or so until a quick pair of half-chances for the young starlet – a fierce Adam Johnson drive clips off the 16 year olds shin and painfully close to the Barnsley goal – right before the death he has another pop – better, but not enough for rescue
• With no GG to lead us, MOM honours go to Chris Riggott – solid in his return and a bit of a calming influence on our Redcar Rock

League duties take a back seat this weekend – Manchester Cini and their bespoke new gaffer bring the quarter-billion pound novelty – and possibly future relegated step-child – to the Riverside for the FA Cup. And it’s on the telly proper!