Yank The Boro: An American Up Teesside

[SirFozzie]

Nah, but the Boro is, currently

[Chief Rum]

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2003

The Vault Is Still Open

Boro Manager Kieta Says Club Is Working On More Contracts

MIDDLESBROUGH-- The money hasn't stopped flowing just yet, interim Boro manager Matthew Kieta said. The manager announced at his weekly press conference Tuesday that the club was continuing to pursue contract extensions with players at the end of their deals.

The Boro have already inked forward Jospeh-Désiré Job and injured centreback Ugo Ehiogu to contract extensions, and have also worked out future contracts with transfers midfielder Gaizka Mendieta from Lazio and winger Boudewijn Zenden from Chelsea, both currently on loan with the squad.

"As it turns out, I happened into a situation where plenty of key players were near the end of their contracts," Kieta said. "Some managers might look at that as a chance to clear out the roster. I see it as talent needlessly going out the door. These are guys that can help us, so I'm taking tseps to insure they will be arouind to do so after this season.

Kieta said the club was currently working on deals with midfielder Doriva and forward Jonathon Greening. Both players were regulars in the first eleven last season, but have seen sporadic play this year so far.

Kieta said both players were "a big part of the club's future" on Tuesday.

"Our play hasn't excatly been top notch for much of the season," Kieta said. "Doriva and Jonathon haven't played as much because of depth issues at their positions, but they will get their time. And in the end, they may be among the most important players on the first team."

Doriva is a defensive midfielder who is stronger offensively than defensively. The recent tactical change to a formation with a defensive midfield position is likely going to open up more time for Doriva and fellow defensive midfielder George Boateng.

Greening has been a jack-of-all-trades reserve, as he has the versatility to start at forward, winger, or in the midfield. His lack of any standout skills for a particular position, however, may be hurting him, as players with more position-specific skills have been getting the call ahead of him at all three pitch positions.

Doriva, 31, has appeared in four league matches and out up 6.50 rating. He is one of the best tacklers on the squad, with a 4.67 average so far this season. Displaying the manager's use of him as a key backup plan, Doriva has been selected, but not used in an additional four league matches.

Greening, 24, has three appearances, including a start against Sheffield United in the FA Cup match last month. He has put up a 6.67 rating, with 2.52 tackles per match and has also drawn seven fouls. Greening, a product of Manchester United's youth system, is thought to be a younger player with a bright future by many football observers.

Neither player was available for comment on Tuesday.

Kieta also fielded questions about his forward depth and the recent poor performance by Italian striker Massimo Maccarone. Maccarone, expected to be a young star for the Boro, has played poorly this season and was the target of comments by Kieta about his effort this past summer.

Maccarone has nine appearances, including five starts, but just two goals and a 5.78 rating. The fact he has continued to see playing time despite this might indicate a lack of depth at the forward position.

"Well, without a doubt that is the case," Kieta said. "We have been seeking help at the spot all season so far. [Job] and Juninho have been grabbing the starts lately, but they can't start them all, and the question of who plays behind them is probably one of the biggest decisions I have to make."

Kieta said Maccarone was putting int he effort, he just wasn't seeing the results.

"I don't know how to get him going at this point," Kieta said. "Massimo has to do it himself. He is capable of better play, and we both know it. I think with time, he can figure it out and get going."

Kieta said depth wasn't the issue so much as quality depth. He noted that aside from Maccarone's problems, Malcolm Chrisitie and Greening have also both been inconsistent at the position, and few of the midfielders and wingers, which is strong with playmakers, are the types of players who can move forward and finish the deal.

"If I had to pick, our third best forward is probably Michael Ricketts," Kieta said. "The problem is he has also been our only consistent right winger. As it stands right now, I would rather have him starting on the right as opposed to backing up on the frontline."

Kieta said the mood of the team was good going into today's third round match with Southampton in the Carling Cup competition.

"We haven't won in a few weeks, but we're playing better," Kieta said, noting a home draw with Manchester United and a close loss to Arsenal at Highbury. "I think we have a lot going good right now, and I hope we can carry that through to the Saints."

After the Southampton match, the Boro will embark on what looks to be their toughest early month in November. They have matches with Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool in November.

Boro Reserves Fall To Newcastle, 1-0

The Boro reserve squad lost their third match in a row Tuesday when they fell to Newcastle United's second team, 1-0, at Kingston Park in Newcastle.

Only eight shots total were taken all good, with just two shots by the Boro. The only goal came in on a penalty kick by striker Richard Offlong. The 20th minute score made up for an earlier penalty miss by Offlong in the ninth minute.

The match was played in a brutallly cold -5º C, makign the match all the worse for the Boro reserves, who were playing without midfielder Mark WIlson, who hurt strained his groin muscle in training on Sunday.

The Man of the Match went to Newcastle centreback Gary Caldwell, who racked up eight tackles, three interceptions and an impressive 16 for 16 on headers.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Nah, but the Boro is, currently

My version or in real life? It's too early to say my version, I think, and the real life one just won the Carling Cup.

So, no, they don't really suck.

CR

[Chief Rum]

WEDNESDAY, October 29, 2003

Boro Face Saints Today In Carling Cup

The Third Round of England's League Cup Kicks Off Today

SOUTHAMPTON-- The first of England's treble will take its next step tonight, including a matchup between Middlesbrough and Southampton, when the Carling Cup competition resumes.

This is the third round of the competition, which features all clubs at the Third Division level or higher. This is the first round in which the top eight Premiership squads are involved, including Arsenal and Manchester United.

Middlesbrough won its way into the third round after beating First Division squad Sheffield United, 2-1, on September 23.

Several Premiership squads will be facing each other. The match of the night is at Anfield, where Liverpool will host Arsenal.

In other Premiership-only matches, Bolton goes to Everton, Wolverhampton visits Aston Villa, Chelsea hosts Fulham, Blackburn travels to Old Trafford and a date with Manchester United, Leeds plays Leicester on the road, and CHarlton will play Newcastle United at St. James Park.

Tottenham, Portsmouth and Manchester City drew lower-league squads, and all will be on the road tonight. Tottenham and Manchester City drew Third Division sides in Oxford and Hull, respectively. Portsmouth goes to the home pitch of the Second Division Queens Park Rangers.

There are also five matchups involving lower-league squads only. Former Premiership squad West Bromich Albion of the First Division travels to Third Division Cheltenham, Second Division Bristol City plays at First Division Stoke,and Second Division Brighton hosts First Division Crystal Palace in three of the five matchups.

Watford goes to Nottingham Forest in the only matchup of First Division squads, and Rushden hosts Sheffield Wednesday in a showdown of Second Division teams. The second matchup, which includes a team in Sheffield Wednesday that upset Premiership squad Birmingham in the second round, is the only match that doesn't involve either a First Division or Premiership squad.

[Blade6119]

Wow, i just downloaded the new version on calcio(released like march 20th, i think after you started this). I was really impressed with some of the info they have, and I was shocked by just how talented they rated all the Americans. All the players you would care about are there, and their damn good...even the non-league U.S. teams ahve players that could dominate in first division and below and compete for a squad like the boro. Some of the youngsters like Taylor Twellman, Santino Quarinta, Beasley, and what not look to be bright prospects...i forgot to check if Adu was with DC(Washington in the game), but hopefully he is. All in all i was thouroughly impressed with the update. Just thought id mention it to you if you want to dl for future games.