We reflect on key issues and memories from that rarest of Januaries for Boro – a generally happy one
It's been uttered ad infinitum, or worse, ad nauseam, that “Boro come down with the decorations”.
That any Boro squad who fill us with hope and glory in the closing months of one year will almost certainly let us down at the very beginning of the next, if not for longer.
The three straight league defeats that threw MoggaBoro's promotion push right off course in January 2012 come to mind. It was even worse the following year with the run of FIVE straight league defeats that began at Pride Park at the very beginning of 2013, a year of very few thrills for Boro.
Going back much, much further, who remembers when the “wise old heads” who won at Old Trafford before Christmas 1998 alarmingly metamorphosed, as one newspaper put it, into “horribly one-paced, goal shy pensioners” when they played at Elland Road in January? Even in the successful promotion campaign of 1997-98, we didn't escape January unscathed, a 3-0 hammering at Charlton being a lowlight. (Good job we only played twice in the league that month.)
Aitor Karanka's Boro and their delightful bucking of said trend has been more than a breath of fresh air – it's been, despite the odd hiccup, a pleasure. Five wins out of six in league and cup with a solitary goal conceded have hugely lifted spirits amongst Riversiders and the travelling Parmo Army. Especially the travelling Parmo Army who were there at the Etihad.
What's our secret? What have AK, Steve Agnew, Leo Percovich, the rest of the coaching staff and the players – for it really is a collaborative effort – done to create a side that, all being well, looks like it could be the most robust, solid and durable of the Riverside years?
There's no easy answer, but I put it down to what I call the SAM Index – Structure, Adaptation, Mentality. All three of which were fully in effect against Manchester City.
We will talk of Lee Tomlin's chipped pass to Albert Adomah, of Dean Whitehead keeping Sergio Aguero in his pocket, of Tomas Mejias finally winning over the doubters, of Patrick Bamford's dogged persistence, of Kike ending a goal-scoring drought and a “Tomlinho” turn that left Vincent Kompany for dead and deserved a goal it didn't get.
But there was no one hero from the display (although, if I had to pick one, it would be Daniel Ayala) – it was truly a team effort, build on rock solid foundations, flashes of maverick-like skill (from Tomlin) and the correct mental and organisational approach to the circumstances at hand.
In the centre of the park, Boro work best in pairs. That much is clear. And with our first-choice centre back pairing of Daniel Ayala & Ben Gibson available, and the engine room of Grant Leadbitter and Adam Clayton on song, the patient, probing passing game of Manchester City – which reminded me very much of our own passing game – was eventually drained of its effectiveness and induced with a panicky streak.
Boro, billed as the underdogs, thrived in the guise of such a tag; the reality was that one good team was taking on another, with the pompous and entitled bubble of the Premier League Champions set to be punctured.
You sensed that AK suspected that City were there for the taking, and told the players so at half time. And so it was that as City tired, Boro grew in confidence and countered their passing movements with penetrating, direct breaks through the centre of the park – two of which led to goals. Boro had adapted while a strong defensive structure and positive mental attitude had been maintained.
A degree of praise should be offered, too, to the previous managerial regime that helped lay the foundations for this success – Whitehead, Ayala, Gibson, George Friend, Leadbitter, Adam Reach and Albert Adomah, half of the fourteen who featured on the pitch, were all initially signed by or came through under Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus. It's enough to make any Boro fan feel immensely warm hearted.
Alas, there are downsides to all of this.
We talk about “strength in depth”, but those three words can so easily be exposed as myth when the right players are missing. It's not about quantity, but quality, and City have always lacked that extra zip in the absence of totem Yaya Toure. Nor should it be forgotten that once Manuel Pellegrini brought on a genuine midfield match winner in Frank Lampard, he almost got City out of jail.
The arrival of Adam Forshaw, who looks right at home in Boro's engine room, has given us much needed back-up in the centre of the park, but even so, are we anywhere near as effective without the pivotal Grant Leadbitter? Leads has been referred to as “Boro's Xavi” and while that is rather hyperbolic, his presence elevates the entire team performance.
And it was needed against Brentford last Saturday. Boro may have passed the Promotion Test of “winning while playing badly”, but virtually every note about that performance rang false. Mentally, it only differed from the Portman Road defeat in that Boro didn't get punished for not being at the races, particularly during one moment in the second half where all the defenders seemed to converge at the near post for a corner. So much for organisational skills.
Boro suffered the curse of a raised media profile, which leads to every opposition manager starting to pay more attention to your team. Lee Tomlin's three goals in two games and barnstorming match in Manchester hadn't gone unnoticed; every Brentford player seemed to have their eye on him. Mark Warburton's side worked hard to deny us room to break through the middle, forcing Boro to resort to almost aimless long balls, except the one that led to the converted penalty.
For a team that has, in my opinion, the three most technically gifted front men in the league and has shown endless attacking alternatives this season, it was surprising how short of ideas we seemed. Hopefully this will only be an aberration.
There were, of course, positives: our usual solid defending (once we'd woken up), Leads leading the way as only he could, Forshaw's commendable cameo and Ryan Fredericks working his way back to fitness. He will offer us an extra attacking outlay from the flank that we've been lacking recently.
But what of Albert Adomah? What, indeed? While Mogga-era players like Friend, Reach and Gibson have successfully adapted to and even improved under the AK regime, the flying winger we signed from Bristol City a year and a half ago doesn't look entirely comfortable.
His lack of confidence in front of goal is all too clear. It's quite probable that he would have converted that chip against City and that missed chance against Brentford last year. Such misses seem consequential of a change in footballing identity from individual match-winner to consistent team player. One who is more defensive and disciplined than daring and, arguably, directly visionary.
Clearly, AK believes in Adomah, but not in the way Adomah wants AK to believe in him: you sense Albert thrives on being the centre of attention in attack. I think if AA re-invents himself fully and gets back on the goalscoring trail, like Andy Cole did after a similar painful period at Manchester United years ago, it may well be one of the stories of the season.
And on that note, it's time to look forward to February - starting with Charlton.
Up The Boro!
(Originally published online at GazetteLive on February 6, 2015.)
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