middlesbroughfcblog.com » tuncay

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…

What We All Want – Boro Need To Burke The Cups

BA — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:20:00 +0000

Boro boss Gareth Southgate surely has pondered if cup runs are worth it this season. With so much wagered on gaining promotion, would the disruption of the inter-league competitions overburden an already underweight side? Even if Tuncay and Alves, and possibly any combo of David Wheater, Robert Huth and Gary O’Neil, do depart it’s painfully clear there won’t be enough time to replace the decamped, never mind maximizing the revenue and trying to buy multiple parts.

Gary O'Neil - brass in pocket

In the end Gaz will take a fairly strong side to City Ground for the league cup clash w/ Nottingham Forest, 4-time league cup winners during a dominating decade-plus spell. Marvin Emnes remains highly questionable after the head injury suffered v Doncaster; Digard, Pogi, and Chris Riggott still recover from their various maladies; and Gary O’Neil succumbed to the hernia injury he bravely elected to fight through – his courage is commended as he prepares for a 3 week layoff after surgery…we initially questioned where he was on Saturday w/ no announcement made, or noticed, until today…get well GON, for you are £5m we could potentially use for further squad revision…

New Direction – Boro Continue The Early Rise

BA — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:16:16 +0000

For one glorious night Boro went top of the table, but it was another Cardiff tonking, not administered to us, that ended the stay. It does little to dull the luster from another win – 3 on the bounce – a semi-comfortable win over a daring Doncaster side that proved the Arsenal-light approach is in practice at many levels. Goals from Tuncay and Leroy Lita fueled the latest 2-0 triumph Saturday at The Riverside. The Tuncay strike only helps his value as the transfer window remains tantalizingly open – it was the early appearance in the 15^th minute generating concern as Marvin Emnes was carted off w/ a concussion. The young Dutchie couldn’t avoid Rovers keeper Neil Sullivan after chasing a ball from Mark Yeates deep into the opposition box – Sullivan saw yellow and our striker remained supine for several minutes receiving treatment before his exit.

Julio Arca partnered the midfield w/ Rhys Williams after the mercurial Gary O’Neil failed to make it in the squad. His recent decision to delay medical treatment and cracking early form are entirely commendable and appreciated, but the lingering frailty of seemingly phantom ailments at crucial times continues to bewilder. If dependability is a concern then selling him has to be an option. That’s the other element of the due diligence in determining who wants to play for the shirt and who doesn’t. Take your players word, and his contract, into the equation with the other denominators and integers and problem-solve: can we expect you to do the job asked of you?

The slight tweaking conducted by Gaz amidst financial restrictions has been pretty successful 4 matches in – the continued effective man-management is absolutely essential to achieving the objectives set forth, first amongst them being promotion…

Got Yer!

BA — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:21:21 +0000

Away day glory for the first time since last November – Gazza beamed in the post game presser: ‘It feels sweet to win away but the manner of the win was pleasing’. Indeed, Boro produced an attractive and clinical display versus a Swansea side whose injury troubles were exacerbated notably by an assiduous Adam Johnson. Johnno collected the first of Boro’s treble – a rifled effort from an impossible angle far on the left edge of the penalty area; Marvin Emnes had another spectacular finish for the second – his blast reached inside the top corner past Dorus De Vries in a flash from 20 plus yards; and Tuncay, the anti-Gerrard by electing to play for country instead of club, glanced home a header off a set piece after arriving as a substitute for the lively Emnes.

The Swans edged Boro in most major areas – 53% possession, 15 total shots – but it didn’t seem there was terribly much for Danny Coyne and the rest of the back line to do. The physicality that many expected us to be deficient of was on display again…more of a Birmingham approach, less Wolves, defensive-centric, that gets you promoted too. And it may have to be the foundation if we are to expect no more new players coming in, despite occasional rumblings to the contrary. It’s the propensity for late sales, Robert Huth rumours to Fulham/Stoke continue apace, that don’t have time for replacing that should be of greatest concern. We dallied after the Luke Young sale, Catts was sold, not replaced, then flogged to Steve Bruce again 12 months later, this time to the Mackems! AV said it best in a nod to Stocktongate: at least he can finally play for his home club.

Cheers to Smoggy Chris for providing a feed of live BBC Radio Tees coverage from Ali Brownlee and Gary Gill at the ubiquitous justin.tv – for reasons unknown this will be an option exclusively for away fixtures, and that’s good enough for us

The Long And Winding Road – 06 Aug

BA — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:47:53 +0000

The advent of meaningful matches has ushered in a convivial spirit. Goodwill towards fellow supporter and club has been restored at the end of this long and winding road…

Optimism abounds as we’re inside 48 hours of the start of a new beginning – the Blades beckon on Friday – is it genuine, or merely masked by the miasma caused by a hot summer lull? The currency of jobs, reputations, and livelihoods will be staked to ensure a satisfactory rebate of football happiness and contentment. Will all the effort and culture change that occurred over the summer interval, in the public view or behind the scenes, manifest itself on the pitch? It’s the main query as we forge forward…

The squad shaping that we hoped to be done with by this time continues:

In For Sure: Leroy Lita is on board – a fairly quick bit of business after talks w/ Sheffield Utd stalled

Rumoured: a duo of forwards from Olympique de Marseille – Mamadou Samassa and Elliot Grandin – the former a potential centre forward option that’s desperately required, and the latter an additional candidate to spring assaults from his preferred position on the right side of attack; Henri Camara, bequeathed ‘The Rabbit With The Rifle’ in his native Senegal…the striker is available on a free after release from Wigan

Stationary, For Now: Tuncay will be unwrapped for the Championship public to see – no takers yet for the charismatic captain of Turkey…if he’s still around come the end of the transfer window it could prove to be the best ‘signing’ of the off-season

Connecting Through AMS: Afonso Alves, wherever the fuck he goes…France and Qatar are the probable destinations per the latest tattle

Friday will be here shortly, especially if spending the interim steaming drunk. We’ll be cautiously confident of one of these will be on offer whilst at work…

The Long And Winding Road – 30 Jul

BA — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:09:48 +0000

Boro were blunted at Boundary Park – the pristine pre-season was marred in a 2-2 draw w/ Oldham…after falling behind earlier, we stormed back w/ some set-piece perfection; Rhys Williams and Robert Huth both crunched headers home to stake us a lead…it was short-lived as Oldham pegged back quickly…in the end they shared the insignificant spoils…

Another listen to this proved more uncomfortable than before…a self-imposed miasma may have obscured the jarring impact…full credit to GS though for remaining calm and diplomatic, and to the participants who provided the pejoratives

The Stuttgart/Tuncay link is still in play, though no official confirmation from player or club…and the Mido fiasco persists as Gareth reveals the ‘offer’ that was proffered was really just that, bereft of any formal exchange of legal tender

The Long And Winding Road – 29 Jul

BA — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:41:26 +0000

So it’s VfB Stuttgart submitting a satisfactory tender for our dear Tuncay, £9m reportedly – the Turk wanted to stay in England, but fractional offers from Spurs, Villa, and Everton made this Bundesliga barter the best course for the club…

Residual impact from the Carlisle friendly results in another prolonged absence for Matthew Bates…a staggering fourth knee injury sustained by the emerging defender/midfielder combo

Gareth Southgate + Ali Brownlee + supporters questions = manufactured puff or a subtle mea culpa?

2009-10 squad numbers revealed…

The Long And Winding Road – 22 Jul

BA — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:57:43 +0000

No pictures just yet, if at all, but Boro appear to have clinically dispatched Dumbarton 5-0 this past evening…GON, Jeremie Aliadiere, Adam Johnson and Rhys Williams all netted for the visitors, but the result was tempered by yet another knack for Didier Digard

Mido is back, but he isn’t; he was part of the trio with Tuncay and Afonso Alves to not make the trek north for the Dumbarton/Carlisle programme…the club states each have varying degrees of ailments, but it could be prevention of such they’re hoping to preserve, tacitly yearning for other clubs to come along and provide much needed £ to further revamp the squad…

The Long And Winding Road – 15 Jul

BA — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:37:49 +0000

Stewie was down Birmingham way having his Villa turn and cough…£12m is the reported fee for someone who needs bullet points to highlight how effing useless he was last season:

0 league goals
2 goals overall in 42 appearances – both v West Ham in the FA Cup
missed crucial penalty @ Sunderland – momentum shifted and we lose 2-0
missed penalty v Stoke (regal Tuncay bailed him out by scoring in the 85th to win 2-1)
he’s fucked til October, at the earliest

Martin O’Neill became convinced that he needed to move now – not January when other clubs surely will be inquiring…this is the best bit of business brokered by the triumvirate since GS has been gaffing

The Long And Winding Road – 14 Jul

BA — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:22:42 +0000

92 goals needed this season to earn promotion?? With this lot??? ‘You’re having a laugh Gazza!’ says AV…

Nothing tangible on the transfer front – rumours persist around Stewart Downing moving to Villa for anywhere between £10-12m, Tuncay joining him for another £8m, or even beating it to Goodison Park for something reputedly far more derisory…

David Wheater has been taken out of the display case, and Gareth won’t even acknowledge an off-the-menu request for him…from anyone

Dean Windass reckons Boro need a bit of this…

We’re also sniffing around the newly transient Danny Webber…news of the possible pursuit hasn’t mollified the masses

What else have the lads been up to? Philip Tallentire tattles, mainly cos he lives closer, and it’s his job…