11 years of Mark Schwarzer being Boro’s Number One keeper has come to an abrupt end, as the Aussie has opted to join Fulham on a two-year deal.
Schwarzer, who is out of contract at the end of June, is reported to have had offers from Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and Celtic, though has opted to join Fulham this summer. Read the rest of this entry »
Pride was restored in
Middlesbrough travelled to the
Gareth Southgate made three changes from the side that lost in the FA Cup quarter-final, with the South American central midfield pairing of Julio Arca and Fabio Rochemback being replaced by Mohamed Shawky and George Boateng. Afonso Alves is ill as Mido took his place in the starting line-up.
The acting Captain Arca didn’t even make the bench, though Fabio accompanied local boys in the dugout. It was notable that Boro did not name a striker as a substitute. Emanuel Pogatetz captained the side from left-back. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s a new illness sweeping
Firstly our Captain from the start of the season, George Boateng, loses his form, confidence and eventually his temper while he was wearing the captain’s armband. He was off the pace, detrimental to the side and a bit of a liability in the midfield.
There was no option but to drop him, to which he didn’t take too kindly to and was stripped of the captaincy.
The new full-time Captain, Julio Arca, seems to have caught the same bug. Granted, ever since he has come back from injury he hasn’t been the usual commanding and creative Argentine that we have come to love.
However, he continues to struggle in the centre of the park and is not producing the goods as he used to. There are flashes of his old self, but mere glimpses are all we are given.
There was an ironic cheer and applause as Julio’s number was held up against Sheffield United, as he was replaced by Gary O’Neil. The reaction said a lot and Boro fans seem to be growing increasingly impatient with our Argentine-come-Mackem.
I just hope that he can find his form again and get back on track, as both himself and Fabio Rochemback, can provide a formidable central midfield pairing on their day.
Get well soon Julio.
Middlesbrough succumbed to a 3-2 defeat against
Middlesbrough travelled to Merseyside to take on
Mido dropped to the bench, allowing the returning Tuncay to partner Jeremie Aliadiere up front.
Robert Huth hadn’t trained all week and didn’t make it, while his usual centre-half partner, David Wheater continued in the heart of defence as his ban doesn’t start until 7 days after picking up his fifth booking of the season last Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »
Middlesbrough and Sheffield United have to do it all again at The
For this FA Cup 5th Round fixture, Boro made two changes to the side that beat Fulham just over a week ago. Mido returned to partner Aliadiere up front, at the expense of Dong Gook Lee. Left-back Jonathan Grounds replaced the injured Robert Huth as Emanuel Pogatetz switched to centre-half.
There was a nice touch from the travelling army of
Alves, Alves, Alves. That’s all I’ve heard over the last 6 weeks. The expectation of the lad is high – though it comes with the territory. Personally, I think he’ll be a success at the Boro – but he could be come a victim of his own success.
I was lucky enough to be in a position to attend Alves’ press conference a week ago. He spoke (albeit not in English) very well and clearly had a determination about him. I particularly liked his interruption of his interpreter, in an attempt to let the whole room know about his “breaking of Marco Van Basten’s record of 6 goals in a game”, when he scored 7 against Heracles of the
A relaxed character, if a bit bemused by all the hype being attributed to him. I have to say that I was astonished to hear cries of “Dong-Gook Lee number 2!”, at the recent match v Fulham. How can someone make a decision like that after 30 minutes of play, where he saw the ball no more than five times? Read the rest of this entry »
All the buzz before the game was surrounding new multi-million pound man, Afonso Alves. The record-breaking Brazilian started the game on the bench, primarily because of his lack of fitness. Alves hasn’t trained with a team in a month, not playing in six weeks.
Dong-Gook Lee was the only change to the side that drew 1-1 at
The Middlesbrough captaincy has switched arms, following clear indication that George Boateng is no longer club captain. The said clarification came during January’s 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
Despite no official announcement at the time, Gareth has since indicated, though not in as many words, that Julio Arca is the new Captain of Middlesbrough.
Both George Boateng and Julio Arca occupied the two central midfield roles against Blackburn; though it was Arca who was given the captaincy. It’s not the first time the long-locked Argentine has had the armband though. Julio was captain for Middlesbrough’s 1-0 win over Portsmouth, just after Christmas; many thought it was purely down to George not being in the side.
Since the turn of the year, Julio Arca has held the on-the-pitch captaincy, with only the Liverpool draw on 12th January, the exception. Arca was suspended for the game and George Boateng came in to the side to play. Unsurprisingly, George took the captaincy.
However, the Blackburn game was different. It’s the first time that Arca and Boateng have partnered each other in the centre of the park, and therefore been on the pitch at the same time, since the Boxing Day defeat away to Birmingham. On that occasion the 32-year-old Dutchman, held the captaincy. Read the rest of this entry »