BORO have made a secret move, behind the cover of the Afonso Alves deal, for Inter Milan's 18-year-old Macedonian striker Goran Slavkovski.
Sky Sports have, tonight, reported that BORO have agreed a deal and all paper work is complete to bring Goran to the Riverside on loan until the end of the season.
Goran is understood to have undergone a medical with BORO today ahead of his move to The Riverside. It is also reported that the player has rejected offers from elsewhere in order to gain first team experience with BORO, as Gareth Southgate looks to add to his attacking options with the imminent arrival of Afonso Alves beginning to excite fans.
Goran is understandably a 'back-up player' at Milan and has stressed that "Middlesbrough are a perfect club," for him to gain some valuable first team experience.
Goran has apparently been likened to Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic and if his scoring ability is anything close to that of the big Swede then, along with Afonso Alves, BORO's goal drought could look set to be well and truly over.
Wednesday 30 January 2008
BORO Call on Goran
Gary Still On Top
Gary O'Neil remains top of the BORO Blog 'Man of The Match' rankings after he ran himself into the ground in BORO's 1-0 home win against Wigan, earning himself my fifth award of the season and all in front of new England boss Fabio Capello.
BORO Beat Latics
BORO got off to a rocky start as Wigan looked to make an instant impact, but some confident defending from Robert Huth and an 'out to impress' Luke Young saw that the early threat was dealt with.
BORO then began to tear up the 'Titus Bramble lead' Wigan deffence as first Downing then Tuncay found themselves in great positions, Downing narrowly missing and Tuncay seeing his superb run and strike tipped just wide by Chris Kirkland.
Tuncay, back in the side after missing the weekend game with Mansfield, then went on to waist a host of chances that any other Premier League team would have buried, leaving Gareth Southgate feeling more anxious to get the Alves deal wrapped in time for his side's visit to North East rivals Newcastle on Sunday.
But BORO's perseverance payed off, a superb lobbed pass in the 19th minute found Aliadiere darting into the Wigan box. He took the ball down and lashed a great left foot effort between Chris Kirkland and the near post to record his first goal at The Riverside, in front of the on-looking Afonso Alves who was in the stands for the game.
Then, moments later, Tuncay could have scored the second. But, with a split second to react after Downing's skewed effort, he could only direct the ball inches wide.
Tuncay then fell victim to what appeared to be a hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Mido, who received a round of applause from the home crowd. However, with the departure of Tuncay, so did the game loose all flow and rhythm and the remainder of the first half boiled down to a desperate scrap with both sides simply 'hoofing' the ball aimlessly down field.
The Second half was simply awful from BORO's point of view, time after time the ball was seen to be just aimlessly hoofed down field and all the spark from the first half was well and truly gone and with the game constantly being stopped for stupid free-kick decisions, there was definitely no flow in the game. I swear, football will soon be becoming a non-contact sport if referee Rob Styles has his way.
Sitting far too deep to ever look threatening to the Wigan goal, BORO just had to dig themselves in and scrap away to hang on to the one goal lead.
Jason Koumas was introduced early in the second half, for Wigan, and lashed a fierce shot at Mark Schwarzer who tipped the ball over the bar with a fantastic fingertip save.
Then Emile Heskey might have grabbed the equaliser late on, if not for a strong handed diving save from Schwarzer to keep the ball out of his net.
With Fabio Capello in the stands for the game, each of the England hopefuls could be seen putting in a good performance, but none more so than Gary O'Neil who, spurred by the crowds frustrations, ran himself into the ground; chasing every ball and closing down the Wigan defenders right to the final whistle.
Agonisingly, BORO saw Downing victimised by an untidy tackle and the England winger worryingly limped off just six minutes from time.
The BORO performance was far from impressive, but the result is what was important and Afonso Alves must have been licking his lips at the number of chances that BORO had created.
Attendance: 22,963
BORO Blog BORO Man of the Match: Gary O'Neil
Photos courtesy of MFC official website (www.mfc.co.uk), SkySports (www.skysports.com/football) & BBC Sport (news.bbc.co.uk/sport)
Tuesday 29 January 2008
Woody Makes His Move
Jonathan Woodgate ended any lingering doubt over his future yesterday as he sealed his move to Spurs for a, so far, undisclosed fee.
Southgate signed Woodgate on loan from Real Madrid back in 2006 as a like for like replacement for himself, after he swapped the captain's armband for the managerial hot seat. Woodgate impressed during his loan spell and BORO opted to take up their option to sign him on a permanent basis, last May.
However, following a successful run in the BORO first team alongside both Emanuel Pogatetz and more recently David Wheater, Woodgate started to suffer with recurring niggling injuries; the sorts of which have plagued his entire career and reduced him to just a handful of games whilst at Real Madrid.
His Success in the BORO side earned him a recall to the England team, under former BORO boss Steve McClaren, featuring alongside Stewart Downing in the side that faced Spain last year.
However his recent injuries have allowed Robert Huth and an on fire David Wheater to form a formidable partnership in the centre of BORO's defence, leaving Woodgate feeling unsettled. BORO boss, Gareth Southgate, stressed that the club wants every player to want to be playing for BORO, or else they might as well leave,
"You're looking for everyone at your club to want to be here and be part of it.
"We were then asking a question of Jonathan, do you want to be here and be part of what we want to do or do you want to head off? And it seems he wanted to head off.", he told MFC.co.uk
There has definitely been more outward action than inward, this transfer window as BORO wave goodbye to youngster Josh Walker who has joined SPL outfit Aberdeen on loan until the end of the season.
BORO also saw, arguably, their best home grown striking prospect Ben Hutchinson agree a pre-contract agreement with SPL giants Celtic. Hutchinson has impressed in brief first team appearances for BORO this season, but the striker has failed to agree a new contract with BORO and has agreed to join Celtic when his current contract runs out, at the end of the season.
Afonso Alves is expected to complete his move to BORO "imminently" as talks are concluding over a fee for the player and chief executive Kieth Lamb prepares an appeal for the player's work permit. Initial requests expect to be turned away as Alves has failed to make the required number of International appearances to qualify him for a work permit. Gareth Southgate believes that the appeal, however, should bring more success as the player is 'of exceptional talent',
"Given the quality of the player and his record in Holland, we would be hopeful."
The club remain confident that, if everything can be tied up quickly, Alves could be available for the away clash at local rivals Newcastle on Sunday and the player could join new England boss Fabio Capello, who will be in the stands tonight for BORO's home game against Wigan.
Sunday 27 January 2008
Through to Round Five
BORO made it through to the fifth round of the FA Cup after beating Mansfield Town 2-0 away at Field Mill.
BORO made it far from easy for themselves as Mansfield ran a-mock, though their inability to score came as a relief to BORO who have also struggled in front of goals this season.
Mansfield got off to a flying start in windy conditions and mounted an instant charge. Matthew Hamshaw making light work of BORO's left hand side and linking in well with Michael Boulding, who was presented with an early chance as the wind caused a lobbed pass to drop sharply over Wheater and into the path of Boulding who was narrowly beaten to the ball by a quick to react Mark Schwarzer, sprinting from his line to volley clear from the edge of his box.
Mansfield went about the opening exchanges as though they were the Premiership side as BORO struggled to adapt to the blustery conditions. However BORO bagged a goal against the run of play, Adam Johnson whipped in a 17th minute corner that was half-heartedly punched away by keeper Carl Muggleton, David Wheater was quickest to react but his scrambled effort was deflected into the path of Dong Gook Lee who calmly side footed into the back of the net to record just his second goal for BORO, since joining last January.
The goal seemed to give Mansfield an extra boost as they thwarted BORO attacks and Michael Boulding cut inside of David Wheater striking with a superb left footed effort which struck the bar with the faintest of touches from keeper Mark Schwarzer, who then bettered that save from the resulting corner with a superb palmed stop from Boulding's looped header.
Robert Huth was then lucky to avoid a red card when he stabbed his foot into the stomach of troublesome striker Michael Boulding as he lobbed the ball clear of the BORO penalty area. The referee deciding upon a booking despite cries for a red card, from the home fans.
The game came to a temporary halt in the 31st minute, as a barrage of footballs were lobbed onto the pitch from outside of the stadium, much to the amusement of the crowd and the referee. The game got back under way with a long range Fabio Rochemback free-kick, which found the target but was well caught by Muggleton.
Julio Arca and Fabio Rochemback were simply perfect in BORO's midfield with some classy passing moves and both looking unbelievably calm despite being given little time on the ball. Jeremie Aliadiere was also, once again, instrumental in the BORO attack and almost opened up for a second goal just before half time, as he cleverly turned two Mansfield defenders before charging into the box and crossing over the on-rushing Muggleton to Dong Gook Lee, who had the goal at his mercy when he bizarrely decided on a diving header that went embarrassingly wide from six yards out; leaving captain Julio Arca flabbergasted.
Gareth Southgate introduced George Boateng at the start of the second half as he replaced Emanuel Pogatetz, Julio Arca slipping into the left back slot whilst Southgate preferred to stick with the 4-3-3 formation that BORO played in the first half.
But Arca looked unsuited to his new position and Boateng failed to impress as Mansfield came out for the second half with new vigour and determination. Southgate was so unimpressed with the performance that his side were giving in the second half that he introduced Stewart Downing in the 64th minute, replacing Adam Johnson.
BORO looked, temporarily, lifted by the introduction of Downing and started to fight back against the Mansfield pressure. But it didn't last long and it took the introduction of a heavy looking Mido before Mansfield started to wind down. Some good holding up and clever passing from Mido gave BORO fans a glimpse of what has been missing for some time, this season. Though it will be some time before he's back to full fitness and also looks like he could do with losing some weight.
Billy Dearden then introduced his giant forward, John McAliskey to try and further unsettle Robert Huth and David Wheater who both had a poor game. But it wasn't enough to improve Mansfield's chances and a late BORO attack lead to their second goal as George Boateng crossed from the right for Mansfield captain Jake Buxton to head home an own goal, just ahead of Stewart Downing.
Attendance: 6, 258
BORO Blog BORO Man of the Match: Julio Arca
Photos Courtesy of SkySports (www.skysports.com/football) & BBC Sport (news.bbc.co.uk/sport)
Friday 25 January 2008
If Woody Goes Then Southgate Has To Go!
I say, following media speculation of the possible sale of defender Jonathan Woodgate, that if Woodgate goes then Southgate has to go.
I believe that, under no circumstances, can it be beneficial to BORO in either the long or short term to sell Jonathan Woodgate. Regardless of injuries, Woodgate is, in my opinion, BORO's strongest central defender.
Woodgate has played the highest percentage of possible games during his time at The Riverside than any other club that he has played for and I believe that, despite, niggling injuries If Woodgate goes then Southgate has to take a look at whether he made the decision for the good of the club or just to put more money into Steve Gibson's pocket.
Tuesday 22 January 2008
Fresh Hope for Alves
BORO and Afonso Alves were awarded fresh hopes, today, that a deal can be made to bring the Brazilian to the Riverside within the next nine days.
Alves is locked in a sticky situation after the Dutch FA ruled, last week, that the player has, in fact, entered into two separate contract agreements meaning that the player, contractually, belongs to both Heerenveen and AZ Alkmaar, the other Dutch club trying to sign him.
BORO had agreed personal terms with Alves, who expressed that he wants to play for neither Dutch club and does wish to seal his move to BORO. BORO appear to have also agreed a fee with Heerenveen for Alves, amidst the reports from AZ claiming that the player is legally theirs.
But this week Alves' lawyer, Pim de Vos, has delivered a claim to the Dutch FA stating that Alevs' supposed contract with AZ is not legally binding.
"The Fifa and Uefa regulations write that at the signing of a contract agents with a licence and a lawyer have to be present. That hasn't been the case."
Alves' club Heerenveen also refused to finalise the deal by signing the contract, which Alves agreed in December.
The Dutch FA will meet again tomorrow to resolve the situation with both Gareth Southgate and Alves, himself, hoping that the ruling will see the Brazilian striker arrive in the Premiership before the end of the transfer window.
BORO Miss Out on 3 Points
BORO could have had Blackburn dead and buried following their 13th minute goal, with a string of chances that could have seen BORO walk away with a five goal win. But BORO's lack of scoring ability served to heighten the need for a proven striker and, whilst news of an imminent return for Mido will come as a relief to the club, BORO still need to thrash out a positive deal for a new striker after approaches for Afonso Alves and Lyon's Fred appear to have come to nothing.
BORO went to Blackburn feeling confident with the home side failing to perform at Ewood Park, whilst BORO have been better on the road than at home this season.
It was BORO who took the lead after just thirteen minutes, when Stewart Downing's perfectly weighted free-kick found the giant David Wheater. Rising above Ryan Nelsen in front of keeper Brad Friedel to launch a powerful header into the Blackburn net, Wheater secured his third goal of the season.
Determined to grab a result at home, Rovers mounted a series of comeback charges but were reduced to long range efforts and Roque Santa Cruz's effort lacked the power to beat Schwarzer.
BORO might have had a second goal, before half time as Gary O'Neil crossed from the right for Tuncay who failed to make a connection with the ball
After the break, David Bentley got BORO hearts in mouths as his long range, left foot curler left Schwarzer scrambling across his goal as the ball bounced narrowly wide.
Once again Jeremie Aliadiere was instrumental in BORO's attacks as he looked to begin a more ruthless streak, bursting into the box and opting to go for goal rather than square the ball to Gary O'Neil in front of goal.
Wheater could have scored his second of the game with another header, this time striking the bar as Rovers' deffence struggled to cope with the 6ft 4in defender. Whilst Tuncay made a complete hash of his earlier effort, the ball bouncing off of his standing leg from less than 6 yards out.
Fabio Rochemback' power-driven free kick stung the hands of Brad Friedel who had no time to react, parrying the ball out to Gary O'Neil whose follow-up shot, on the turn, was weak and was gathered easily by Friedel.
Then on 75 minutes substitute Matt Derbyshire made BORO pay for their missed chances, as he had done earlier in the season at the Riverside. Sant Cruz knocked the ball down into the BORO box before Jason Robert's miss-hit fell kindly to Derbyshire who placed the ball past Schwarzer from less than ten yards.
Stewart Downing came close with a far post header and Jeremie Aliadiere headed his late effort over the bar from inside the six yard area, wiping out Brad Friedel in the process.
Rovers were relieved to see BORO waist countless goalscoring chances and were happy to hold on to a well undeserved point.
"There are so many good things about the performance that we shouldn't be disappointed, but we are." - Gareth Southgate.
Attendance: 21,687
BORO Blog Man of the Match: David Wheater
George Boateng was in the BORO side again at the weekend, though stripped of his captaincy. Julio Arca was awarded the armband against Blackburn and Gareth Southgate confirmed that Boateng had been stripped of his captaincy on a permanent basis, after the added responsibility appeared to have coincided with a major dip in performance since Southgate became manager. It is likely that Arca will remain the captain for now, but fans' favourites to take on the role for the long term future are Jonathan Woodgate or Luke Young.
Friday 18 January 2008
BORO Strike New Garmin Deal
BORO have bettered their best ever kit sponsorship deal by extending their current contract with the world's leading manufacturer of satellite navigation systems, Garmin Sat-Nav.
BORO boss Gareth Southgate, chairman Steve Gibson and Garmin officials posed for press as they announced the deal, which will see the words 'Garmin Sat-Nav' branded across the chest of the BORO players until the end of 2008-2009 season.
BORO's Chief Operating Officer, Neil Bausor spoke on the deal, "The new deal cements our relationship with Garmin and allows us an opportunity to forge a strong partnership over the next 18 months and drive both our success in football, business and community support."
The new deal allows Garmin to further raise their existing global profile and marketing Director Clive Taylor added "Garmin is very proud to associate its name with such a prestigious Premier League club, both organisations share the desire to be on the leading edge of our respective fields."
Meanwhile BORO recently launched their latest 'kit debate'. Fans were given the opportunity to vote for whether the next BORO kit should sport the famous 'white band' or whether the shirt should be all red. An overwhelming majority (80%) of fans voted for a return of the 'white-band', like that worn by BORO players throughout 888.com's sponsorship reign.
Following the success of the poll, club officials have decided, for the first time, to allow fans the opportunity to vote on next season's home shirt. Previously fans have been able to choose the away kit that BORO would wear, but now fans have been given a choice of three new designs for the 2008-2009 season home shirt.
Tuncay Sanli, David Wheater and Adam Johnson model the three new shirts below.
Take a closer look at the three new shirts and vote at the Official MFC Website
Wednesday 16 January 2008
Alves on his way?
BORO transfer target Afonso Alves is understood to be close to sealing a move to BORO after a visit to The Riverside to meet with manager Gareth Southgate.
It is understood that Alves' team, Heerenveen, are asking for around £15 million for the super-striker who netted more than 30 goals last season and it is thought that BORO are close to agreeing a deal with the player.
However the deal is set to hit turmoil as Heerenveen's rivals AZ Alkmaar claim they have a 'pre-agreement' with the player, which stated that he would join the club at the beginning of January.
Whilst BORO are close to a deal with Heerenveen, if the Dutch FA rule that Alves is officially an AZ player then BORO would have to begin negotiations with AZ over a deal for the player and it is likely that AZ would demand a higher price for the player who has insisted that his future does not lie in Holland, as he hopes to move to England.
Alves' visit to The Riverside, at the weekend, enraged AZ officials who are convinced that Alves should be their player after agreeing to join them at the end of 2007 and the club have called for the Dutch FA to step in and rule on the whole saga.
The Evening Gazette have also reported that French side Monaco are showing interest in BORO's inconsistent Brazilian midfielder Fabio Rochemback, who has long been the subject to speculation suggesting that he is unhappy at The Riverside and wishes to leave. Reports last year claimed that Fabio's father was pleading with other continental clubs to make an approach for the player.
Sunday 13 January 2008
A Brighter Week
BORO followed last week's 2-1 FA Cup away win at Bristol City with a well deserved and vital 1-1 home draw against giants Liverpool.
Gareth Southgate was delighted last week as he saw his weakened side come from behind to bag a 2-1 away win against Bristol City with goals from top scorer Stewart Downing and a surprisingly cool finish from defender David Wheater.
But yesterday BORO were up against former European Champions Liverpool at the Riverside, a team that have, in fact, failed to win in any of their last 5 visits to the Riverside.
BORO started, as they have in recent weeks, by absorbing the pressure and defending comfortably, despite some early chances when, first, Gerrard saw his angled drive palmed away by Schwarzer, then Sami Hyypia's header flew just over the bar.
Liverpool were, once again, looking uncomfortable at the Riverside and it was BORO who took the lead on 26 minutes. George Boateng, back in the side and wearing the captain armband, took possession on half way before playing the ball to the obvious choice, Stewart Downing, who played a pin-point cross to O'Neil, who then headed the ball across goal where Aliadiere headed the ball back across goal again for George Boateng to follow up and flick it into the net. The perfect way to mark his return to the squad.
Andriy Voronin made a desperate penalty claim early in the second half as he was shrugged over by Robert Huth, but referee Andre Marriner waved away the appeals.
As they usually do, BORO appeared on top against their higher rated opposition and nearly took advantage of some simply awful play from Liverpool as Tuncay turned to find Downing inside the the box and he lashed a powerful left foot shot, which smashed off the inside of the post after Jose Reina managed to get the faintest touch with his fingertips and Gary O'Neil lofted the rebound over the bar.
Liverpool mounted a late comeback in the last twenty minutes of the game and on 71 minutes Fernando Torres took advantage of some sloppy defending and rocketed a 20-yard shot past Mark Schwarzer, yet another contender for 'goal of the season' scored past BORO.
Liverpool then mounted a late charge and Ryan Babel saw his long range drive flash past the BORO goal, but it was not enough to salvage a win and BORO held on for a vital point.
"I am really pleased with the performance we gave." - Gareth Southgate.
Attendance: 33, 035
BORO Blog BORO Man of the Match: Stewart Downing
Wednesday 2 January 2008
Bad Start to the Year
Despite the determined start from both sides, few chances were created and a series of no-nonsense challenges in soggy conditions showed each side's willingness to grab a result.
Former BORO striker, Yakubu, was given a tough time from the home crowd and, indeed, from the BORO deffence with some good hard challenges from BORO's Robert Huth, who gave one of the best performances in a BORO shirt.
With both Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta missing for Everton, Gareth Southgate was feeling confident that his team could grind out a result. However it wasn't going to be easy against a side that have lost twice in their last sixteen games.
BORO, filled with confidence from their 1-0 win against Portsmouth showed courage and invention going forward, but few solid chances were presented before Stewart Downing saw his effort cleared off the line by Phil Jagielka.
BORO still looked favourite to score in the second half and would have taken the lead if not for a great save from Tim Howard to deny Gary O'Neil from close range.
Then in the 67th minute Everton made BORO pay for their lack of finishing quality as Andy Johnson found himself open inside the box to knock the ball past keeper Mark Schwarzer.
Just five minutes later Everton struck again as Johnson combined with McFadden to set up the Scot for Everton's second and to give BORO no way back.
Attendance: 27, 028
BORO Blog BORO Man of the Match: Luke Young
