Following up last Monday’s profile of Ľubomír Michalík, jettisoned from the Slovak squad, with an analysis of the fortunes of another man cast from the international wilderness might seem perverse, but the furore surrounding Rhys Williams’ eleventh hour denial is worth more than a passing mention.You’ll recall that Australia’s shy and retiring manager Pim Verbeek “slammed” former World Cup hero Gordon Strachan for over reliance on the needle in attempting to combat Williams’ struggle with osteotis pubis, a condition more commonly associated with Australian Rules football. Ginger Thatch clashed with Baldness Denier and two men not scared to give it…
All posts tagged Middlesbrough
Transported Out
A common strategy for managers taking a team up into the Premier League is to “give the lads who got us there half a season, if it doesn’t work, bring in new blood”. A parallel technique has largely been used over the past couple of seasons on descending into the Championship. Newcastle decided to bank on those who ushered the club down to usher them back up and this is a policy that appears largely to have succeeded. True, some particularly coveted jewels were offloaded in Owen and Martins, but the Magpies decided to gamble on an automatic return.So has…
Window of opportunity or pane in the ass? Part 1
To adapt an old joke, when is a transfer window not a transfer window? When it’s ajar.The significance of yesterday’s 5pm deadline for incoming transfers pales when you realise that at all levels the majority of the deals struck were loans and note that, after a week’s hiatus, such deals can continue to be made by Championship clubs until 23rd March.Nevertheless, here’s a quick survey of January’s winners in the second tier.NewcastleWell, this is novel: satisfaction at my club’s mid-season dealings. In recent years we’ve become depressingly accustomed to a chronic failure to address deficiencies and plug holes, but for…
Raiding North of the Border
Kneejerk journalism has suggested Kevin Nolan as the most accomplished performer thus far in the Championship, but as good as the ex-Bolton man’s displays have been, I for one would suggest Alan Smith as having been every bit his equal. A third name, however, might stake a claim for the accolade of the best of the best so far. What sets Graham Dorrans apart is his easy calm in possession, clockwork passing and eye for the odd peach of a goal. A fringe figure last season after signing from Livingston, the Scot has blossomed since the Baggies’ descent, culminating in…
David Howell: Speaking, sadly, from experience, I can say that Basildon does indeed ...
Lanterne Rouge: Thanks for pointing out the error Peter - corrected now....
Peter Moody: Presumably the sentence in the last paragraph should have read " . . ....
PFOJ: That's just how American sports franchises work, the owners probably f...
Curious: All the GFC players are locals, none are paid and the majority of the ...
