middlesbroughfcblog.com » stoke city

The Republic – Irish Invasion On Teesside?

BA — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 05:51:22 +0000

Sean St Ledger? Caleb Folan? Roy Keane? All are scheduled, some confirmed, to appear soon at The Riverside. Keano will definitely make his Saturday 3p appointment to field his so far quite disappointing Ipswich Town side against a Boro looking to rebound and eradicate memories of an oh-so-forgetful 10+ day spell – losses to Forest (Carling Cup) and Bristol City away, scarcity of player movement in the dying days of the transfer market – of ennui and malaise.

St Ledger and Folan are two of the many loan targets bandied about the press recently; included in the bevy are: Everton striker James Vaughan, Blackburn defender Zurab Khizanishvili; Stoke defender Leon Cort. Are we establishing some sort of organisational alignment w/ The Potters? They already have they’re tentacles in the Austin Aztex of the American USL…are they plotting to augment their academy w/ an austere former Premiership outfit? If we suddenly adopt a striped kit we’re fucked…

Gazza expounds on the current course; apparently some funds are available after AA effed off to Doha, the balance of the previous sales output went towards minimizing the gargantuan debt that financed the glory decade that has come and gone…

re: the Tuncay and Huth sales

BA — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:46:16 +0000

Stoke Fucking City swoop for two of our better players, and get them at a bargain price. £11m for the Teuton and Turk…6 for Huth is job done – we recovered the original fee to Chelsea and don’t need to worry about more inevitable injury woes…but 5 for Tuncay? The comparisons to other summer movements have been well documented with lingering incredulity. Memories of the two goals bagged at Villa, winners at Portsmouth and home v the aforementioned SFCFC, his stunner to sink a then top of the table Arsenal, the goal-of-the-season bicycle at home v Villa, and the legendary indefatigability shall forever burn in our mind…if Turkey didn’t have such dodgy form we’d be guaranteed more of this brand of courage and spirit…

Could it be a damning augur that a team craving to settle into our vacated regular top flight berth is pilfering the pieces for their own consolidation? Absolutely – just another fortunate club exploiting our weakness for buying high and selling low, leaving a bare cupboard for another critical campaign…

In The Ditch

BA — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:40:17 +0000

‘The only way we will get results is if they’re behind us and not against us…’ Purlers like that used to come from his boot, and now they emanate from his gob…Stewart Downing has the panacea for all of Boro’s relegation ills. The temerity. Invective rained on the Teessiders as they exited the pitch at The Brittania Stadium Saturday. ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt’ accompanied the exodus. A small band of supporters slipped ’round the back to illustrate further – waving their shirts emblazoned w/ the badge they’d slaughter and maim for, hoping it’d resonate. One can only surmise the symbolism was met w/ the same inaction, insouciance and indifference that’s been largely displayed for nigh on 5 months.

A predictable result, from the most predictable of situations. Stoke City’s single-minded long ball attack claimed another scalp – a Rory Delap missile throw from the right found an unmarked Ryan Shawcross, glancing a header into the far side of the net. There was no late match scramble; no impetus, as flagrant as it can be, to scythe and pillage for something, anything that wouldn’t cut them 5 points adrift of Premiership asylum. We pandered to glorified Championship side. Three centre halves – two wing backs – one hopeless fucking tactician, who looks thoroughly knackered…the kind of fatigue a crook experiences while on the lam, desperately hoping to be captured so the whole ordeal can end.

The only luxury the club has is a surplus of time, which should be devoted to plotting a course out of these doldrums, into more stable waters. Forget the speculation that relegation is a financially secure method of keeping the expenses lean, or that the positive posturing of players in recent weeks is merely to further polish their profiles before the next football fiscal period. And forget trying to locate phantom points that may help us avert the footballing equivalent of a nuclear event.

It’ll be our mess to clean up after the cupboards are emptied this summer, but that’s only fair, because it’s our club, and we’re the reason why you’ve failed…right Stewart?