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From the Terraces
Have Middlesbrough only got themselves to blame for Premier League slide?
Posted by: Rob Facey, Tue 29th Apr 2008
Tagged:
Premiership, Middlesbrough
Football FanCast
columnist Rob Facey looks at Luke Young's justified criticism of his Middlesbrough team
mates as Gareth Southgate's men hover perilously above to the relegation zone
and asks whether a revamp is in order.
Luke Young has slammed his team mates after seeing
Middlesbrough slide slowly down the league this season and has called for an
immediate response.
Boro are still not safe after last Saturday's loss
against Sunderland and require at least three points to remain in the Premier
League, but the defender admits he is feeling the heat.
"Results wise you could say we're a soft touch," Young told the BBC.
Boro had the lead for just two minutes at the Stadium of Light on Saturday before conceding a last minute own goal to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory which increased the pressure on manager Gareth Southgate who has suffered a torrid season in charge.
"It sums us up to let them back in the game. When we score we need to see things out for 10 minutes, slow the game down and frustrate teams.
Young is adamant that the club must retain its Premier League status despite hovering so close to the brink. Boro have two home games remaining against Portsmouth and Man City so should be safe although their current inconsistent form will be a worry for long suffering fans.
"We didn't want it to go this far, we wanted to push on and win the mini-league at the bottom," Young said.
"We can't do that now so we've got to make sure we stay in this division."
Has Luke Young got a point? Are the club on the verge of relegation or will Boro get the points to stay in the Premier League? If so, what does the future hold for the club - Steve Gibson has been very generous with his cash in the past but are his poor managerial appointments the root of Boro's problems?
The squad does not seem up for the fight which is a worry and would be an insult to the Chairman who has more or less kept the club afloat. He was not helped by years of overspending and underachieving under Steve McLaren and will be aware that he cannot fall into that trap again.
Will Southgate remain in charge next year or is it time for a complete revamp at the Riverside?
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Poll:
We have been unfortunate and
We have been unfortunate and I think it boils down to the fact we have a decent striker who can kill off teams. We played well against the top4 and have had nothing to show for it, we create chances but don't have the composure to finish off teams.
The team is just so Jekyll
The team is just so Jekyll and hyde and its so frustrating. Agree that our forwards are constantly letting us down but time will tell if Alves can make the difference.
The team and manager deserve
The team and manager deserve the criticism as the league doesn't lie but a lot of critical decisions haven't gone our way. Poor refereeing cost us points at Villa, Arsenal, Chelsea and Bolton to name just a few. With the points from those games alone we'd be challenging the top half
