Bernie Slaven Official Website

Can the academy unearth a goal scoring sensation?

13th May 2013

TONY Mowbray has told Boro fans he is looking to bring a 25 to 30 goal a season striker to excite them next season.

Well good luck with that search Mogga because strikers like that are rarer than rocking horse droppings!

That’s why the big clubs pay multi-million pound transfer fees to snap them up as soon as they appear on the scene.

Boro have done it too. Boro have splashed out record fees and huge wages to bring in one of these mythical creatures.

They’ve broken the bank for Ravanelli, Boksic, Maccarone, Viduka and Alves over the years looking for the player that is going to rewrite the record books and fire the club to success and glory but they have not managed it yet.

All these big money international players have not managed 20 a season – yet Mogga is out to buy someone who can … and he’s shopping in Netto!

I’m not saying he shouldn’t look. He desperately needs to because every successful team must have a proven, clinical striker who can make sure you finish off teams when you are on top in games and pop up and snatch on even when you are not playing great.

And Boro don’t have that. That has been one of the biggest failings of the team this year.

Yes they’ve let a lot of sloppy goals in – way too many – but it is not scoring goals in games they have dominated that has really cost them.

I’m a big fan of Scott McDonald and think he has been the best of a bad bunch but he has missed far too many chances in games when we needed a goal to take control.

Lukas Jutkiewicz hasn’t played enough or scored enough, Curtis Main is powerful and direct but still very raw and Ishmael Miller has just never done it when he’s played.

Then there is Marvin Emnes. Dear me. Emnes got 18 last season and that’s great – but even then I wasn’t convinced he was a natural goalscorer. I said that I got flak for it.

But I said at the time “let’s see if he can do it again”… and he didn’t. He’s been a massive flop this season. He hasn’t played enough games and when he has plyed he hasn’t done enough to hurt teams. He has never looked alive or as if he could hurt the opposition.

How many goals has he got thsi season? Five in 28 in the league? Including a penalty. Blow me! I’d get five in 28 now myself – and I’m 52!

So yes, if Boro are to be up there and challenge next year and reach the play-offs or beyond that, Mogga has to find a proven goalscorer who can do it week in, week out. A guy who you can rely on to hurt the opposition and who will get the goals that win matches.

I hope he does. It’s just a shame that he has to go scouring the lower league and Europe to unearth one.

For me it has been the greatest failing of the Boro Academy that it hasn’t produced one single striker for the club.

The Academy has churned out good keepers, centre-backs, full-backs, left wingers, right wingers and midfielders and you could put together a decent team full of them playing right now in the Premier League – but it wouldn’t have a proven top level striker in it.

Yes, there was Danny Graham but he was a Geordie and he joined the Academy late and anyway, he barely scratched the first team and had to leave to find his feet in the game.

It puzzles me and hurts me that a region like this with so much talent and so much passion for the game can’t produce a guy who can score.

Now, I know loads of fantastic young 60 goal a season junior strikers get signed up for the Academy – David Wheater was one! – but most seem to get converted to other positions over the years before going on to be flogged elsewhere.

And it’s not just the modern age either. When I was playing at the club it was the same.

We had some great young strikers banging them in for fun in the reserves, lads like Nicky Peverill, Andy Fletcher and Charlie Agiadis who looked like they had it but for whatever reason never made that step up to the first team.

We had local lads as mainstays of the team all over the park but not up front. It’s strange.

Real strikers are very rare. There are only a handful of genuine natural goal-getters around at any one time.

You know, in the entire history of the Boro only 10 players have scored more than 100 goals for the club. Only 10.

Six of them were local lads: George Camsell, Wilf Mannion, Brian Clough, Alan Peacock, Micky Fenton and David Mills – but that last of those came through 40 years ago.

We desperately need to find another one soon. It is a generation since the last Teesside goal hero emerged. The time is ripe for another one.

And when we find one we need to make sure he is nurtured as a striker by the Academy, not over-polished and turned into a full-back and wasted. Let the natural talent shine through, lord knows we need it.

In the meantime, let’s hope Mogga finds a striker who, even if he can’t get 30 a season or even 25, at least threatens to break the 20 goal barrier.

Because unless we find some goals, some punch, some teeth, some cutting edge, then next season could be a real grind just like this one was.

THE Legends show, with Bernie, Micky Horswill and Malcolm Macdonald, is on air across the North-east from 6pm-8pm Monday to Friday.

On Teesside, you can listen to us on 104.5FM via Community Voice FM, or in other areas via Star Radio, Koast Radio, Hartlepool FM and NE1 FM.

Thanks to The Evening Gazette.

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It is what it is, a win!

18th April 2013

I’M STILL in shock from Boro winning. I’d almost forgot what that even felt like.

It wasn’t the best of games against Nottingham Forest and, my word, Boro made hard work of it but they did what they had to do and got over the line and that’s all that counts.

People tell me Boro can still make the play-offs now after that but they must be better at maths than me because I’ve looked and I’ve looked but I can’t see how that adds up.

For me the win doesn’t mean Boro have suddenly got a second chance to go up, it just means we are finally safe from the drop after a couple of anxious weeks when a lot of Teessiders were seriously worried about that happening.

And rightly so. Results and performances since New Year have suggested that if Boro were leaving the Championship this year it was only going to be via one direction. And I don’t mean the pop group.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m delighted Boro won the game.

I’m delighted for my old mate Tony Mowbray because he really needed the relief of that victory after a tough slog over the last few months.

I’m delighted for the players because they worked hard for the points and deserved it.

And I’m especially delighted for the long suffering loyal fans who have been incredibly patient watching dross while the wheels fell off the promotion bandwagon one by one.

But I don’t think we should be planning any open top bus parades just because we won a game and are now officially safe from relegation.

I don’t think staying up is any cause for celebration when you think where we could have been with a bit more consistency and organisation.

One scrappy win and a wave of relief can’t cover the cracks in what has been a very, very disappointing season.

And even though we won against Forest I still think there are reasons to be dismayed.

When I looked through the team-sheet I groaned.

We should be looking to build for the future now. We should be planning for next season and giving pitch-time to the players who will be in the Boro team come next August.

So why were Kieron Dyer, Josh McEachran and Sammy Ameobi there? They won’t be at the Riverside next year. Not in a Boro shirt anyway.

Why are we putting them in the shop window for other teams to benefit? That’s barmy. There’s no value in it for us.

We should be blooding the youth now. We hear they are pulling up trees in the Under21s league and that the next crop are going to be the future of the club and save us fortunes in fees. We should be seeing if they can cut the mustard in the first team against men. And there’s only one way to find out: throw them in!

For me we should have been doing that for weeks already. The senior players haven’t been doing it. The kids can’t have done any worse.

Maybe now the pressure is off and Boro are safe, Mogga will blood the next generation.

I’d like to see a very different teamsheet when Boro play at Bolton on Saturday.

We’ve seen Adam Reach in flashes this season and he has looked impressive at times but now he should be given a run through these next three games to show us that he can do it over 90 minutes.

He could be a first team or squad players next year so it benefits us if he plays. There’s no value in Ameobi there.

There’s others too. I’d rather local lad Luke Williams gets a run out instead of Zemmama who has had years to show us what he can do and never nailed down a shirt.

I’d give defender Christian Burgess a run-out. And winger Cameron park. And hot midfield prospect Bryn Morris too. These kids will benefit from first team football. They will learn something and we will learn something. What will we learn if Kieron Dyer plays?

It’s all about next season now. This one has been a grind and it can’t end soon enough for me – but in the three games we’ve got let we have to be preparing for next year.

Mogga wil have in his mind a list who is here next year and who isn’t. Anyone who isn’t shouldn’t take a shirt from someone who is.

SUNDERLAND gave themselves a great chance of staying in the Premier League with their derby win at Newcastle – and pulled the Magpies right back into the relegation mire.

Listening to the Mackem callers on the Three Legends you can see that Di Canio has blown away the gloom and given them a bit of a buzz.

Whatever you think of his politics – and I’m not going to talk about that – he has galvanised Sunderland.

I think teams can mirror their manager. Di Canio is energetic, passionate, colourful, driven, animated, unpredictable and great fun to watch and I think Sunderland have already started to show some of those characteristics.

Against Newcastle they were unrecognisable from martin O’Neill slow, cautious team.

They had so much zip and I think that and a bit of momentum will keep them up now whereas two weeks ago, with their fixtures and injuries, you would have tipped them to go down.

But the Geordie callers, they are all now very worried. And you can see why.

Newcastle did amazing last year and qualified for the Europa League and the Geordies were buzzing but it has become a millstone for them and affected form in the bread and butter games.

Alan Pardew has moaned the European fixtures and talked about his squad being too small to cope and about fatigue and tiredness. That’s rubbish. Players never complain about tiredness. It is just an excuse for managers.

It gets my goat to hear managers moan about Europe. Last year it was the objective and celebrated as an achievement. Now it is an inconvenience and an excuse.

And to talk of professional players being tired is an insult to the fans who slog their guts out for 40 or 50 hours a week to pay for their ticket.

But if that is Pardew’s attitude you wonder if it is affecting his team. They have some quality players but they haven’t done it this season. It hasn’t quite happened for them.

Yes, they have lost the goals of Demba Ba to Chelsea but you wonder too if they have been a bit complacent and distracted by Europe and that if they do get dragged into the dogfight if they are ready for it.

I think they have the quality to stay up – but it will be close.

Boro fans may have to wait a bit longer for their next derby.

Thanks to Evening Gazette.

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ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITY.

17th April 2013

The Three legends football phone in, over the last 13 years has been the biggest football show, broadcast across the North East.

We have now moved to Star Radio and with the help of a number of radio stations we continue to broadcast across the region, from 6-8 every week night.

We have advertising opportunities for local business big and small, and anyone that joins us at this stage, we will remain faithful to over the coming years.

We can cater for any budget size and the Legends will also make an appearance to your business if needed.

If your interested or would like a promotional package please email seven.enterprises@hotmail.co.uk.

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Mogga still under pressure despite chairmans backing.

11th April 2013

ANY HOPES of the play-offs are over. You would have to be deluded to think otherwise.

But that doesn’t mean the season is over and Boro can get the deckchairs out. No way!

Boro have five games left – and three at home – and it is crucial Boro make a decent fist of them. These games are huge.

You really can’t stress enough exactly how important it is for the team to finish with a flourish to salvage some professional pride and self-respect.

They will all know they have been woeful this year and that the team’s results and, with very few exceptions, individuals performances have been totally unacceptable.

Eight points from 48 is rank bad. They should all be embarrassed. They should all be busting a gut to put it right, to prove that they care and they deserve to wear the shirt.

It is important for the club to sell season tickets too. Fans are pig sick of the nosedive and are thinking about whether to renew next year so it is crucial they are reminded what it feels like to walk away from the Riverside buzzing after a win having been entertained.

And it is massively important for Tony Mowbray too that his side have a bright finish.

It will give Mogga something positive to build on as he starts looking at how and where he can improve next season.

It may restore some of his own dented pride because believe me, Mogga will be hurting over the way his team have collapsed since the New Year.

He will be frustrated and angry over the slide. He won’t be getting much sleep at night.

And most importantly, a good finish may get fans back on board and they may buy the idea that the last few months have been a blip and underneath the debris there is still the basis of a good team.

Because right now, from where I am sitting, a lot of fans are starting to lose faith in Mogga and in the entire club.

A lot of callers to the Legends, diehard Boro fans who have been through it all, are losing heart in Mogga’s ability to turn out a team to win games.

People understand there is no money at the club – you would have to be blind not to see that with the players we’ve brought in – but they don’t understand his selections, formations, the chopping and changing every week and the cautious tactics.

And most of all they don’t understand how such a great leader in a Boro shirt seems not to be able to motivate.

I had pals who went to the Hull game saying there was widespread moaning among Boro fans and that they were chanting: ‘It is what it is’.

Fans have picked up on that phrase and it annoys them because they don’t know what it means – or they do, it means: “It is what it is: it’s garbage.”

Stop saying it in interviews, especially if Boro have lost because it has become a joke, a burden, just like when McClaren got ridiculed for saying we were ‘magnificent’ after Boro had just been gubbed.

Now, I like Mogga and I want to see him succeed here but the pressure on him is mounting with every game Boro lose.

If we carry on this winless run in the last five and go into summer with three months to fester, I fear the worse.

The club big-wigs may say he isn’t under pressure but he is. Of course he is. Losing games brings pressure. Falling crowds bring pressure. Those thing have forced Steve Gibson to get shot of his last two men.

If we finish with five more poor results then something has got give, whether it is Gibson’s loyalty, Mogga’s self-respect or the crowd’s patience.

No one wants that. We need to go into summer with a bit of brightness, a little bit of hope. That means winning games – especially home games.

For me, these five games are as important as any five all year.

THERE’S been a lot of talk about a big summer clearout and starting from scratch.

I’d welcome that. There are not many who I would be desperate to keep at the club.

The rest have been disappointing. While there has been a lot of chopping and changing, very few have grabbed games by the throat and made the shirt their own when they have been given the chance.

Look through the team and there are big problems in every department: we leak too many, we don’t score enough and we get swamped in midfield.

And yes, that is a result of being a club with no money. We have gone from feast to famine and from kings to pauper is no time. That is what you get when you are shopping for players from the bargain bin and the slight seconds shelf.

There are very few of the first team squad I’d definitely keep – and most of those other clubs will want anyway so we may struggle to do that anyway.

At the back I’d keep Jason Steele, he’s been our best this year; Justin Hoyte, I’m not his biggest fan but he’s done well; Rhys Williams, but only as a central defender and George Friend, who showed in flashes he can do it.

In midfield there is the reliable Grant Leadbitter, then kids like Adam Reach, Richie Smallwood, Luke Williams and Mustapha Carayol, who we haven’t seen a lot of. I’d try to keep Nicky Bailey who’s a battler with the right attitude but he’s out of contract and we can’t afford what he is on.

And up front I’d keep Scott McDonald, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Curtis Main.

The rest haven’t done enough to earn a place in the team. They are either not good enough, not fit enough, not consistent or not bothered.

For me they could all go and I don’t think we’d miss them – and I don’t think any of them could really bang on Mogga’s door and complain about it.

The problem is not who we get rid of. Most of us would near enough agree with that list.

The problem is who we bring in. Who we can afford that is better. That’s the real test of Boro’s intentions next year.

THE Legends show, with partners Micky Horswill and Malcolm Macdonald, is on air across the North-east, from 6pm-8pm Monday to Friday.

On Teesside, you can listen to us on 104.5FM via Community Voice FM, and in other regions via Star Radio, Koast Radio, Hartlepool FM and NE1 FM.

We are also looking for local companies to advertise on the legends show. If anyone out there is interested please email seven.enterprises@hotmail.co.uk.

With thanks to Evening Gazette.

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A point against Posh is not an achievement

5th April 2013

HOW any Boro fan can be happy with a point against Peterborough I don’t know.

I heard and read people saying it ‘had stopped the rot’, and ‘at least it was a clean sheet’ and ‘they were a side in form.’

Dear me. It was Peterborough! Peterborough! They’re second bottom! For me it is a sign of just how low expectations and morale have got at the club if Boro fans are ready to claim a goalless draw against relegation fodder as a moral victory.

If Boro can’t go out and beat them when the players all supposedly still believe they can make the play-offs then there is no hope for them.

That point doesn’t help Boro close in on the play-offs. All it does is keep us mathematically in touch and will drag out the agony in what has been a long slow death of a season.

And we only got one point because right now the strikers can’t buy a goal. Miss after miss after miss let a poor side off the hook. Again.

After the game I heard Tony Mowbray explain his policy of rotating his strike force in order to keep them fresh. Fresh? They barely play games from one week to the next.

The only thing that keeps strikers fresh and hungry and full of the desire is goals.

If a striker scores they feel ten feet tall and can’t wait for the next game so they can get another buzz. That is what freshens strikers up. Goals.

And you can’t score goals or find a rhythm if you rotated - dropped! – every other game.

How are you supposed to get a goal if you’re not on the pitch? Or if you are on the pitch but are playing wide on the left or as a deep lying midfielder?

For me the way to get the best out of a strike force is to pick your best and stick with them. Give them time to build a partnership and start scoring.

And if they don’t score for few games you don’t give them the hook. You show a bit of faith. I know that. I had barren spells, all strikers do, its part and parcel of the game.

I remember when I was at Boro and I had the worse run of my career. I had gone a dozen games without scoring and one day after training Bruce Rioch called me over and I was sure I was getting dropped. And I couldn’t have argued.

But he put his arm round me and told me I was his best goal-getter and he was going to play me and play me until I started scoring again and to save us both time I should start tomorrow. And I did.

Strikers respond to a show of faith like that. And Mogga should do that with his striker. He should decide on his best and tell them: you’re the main man, go out and get goals.

For me that man is Scott McDonald. I know he missed about four chances against Posh and few more at Wolves – but he is still the best bet.

He works hard, he gets into the box, he gets into dangerous positions and he is not scared to pull the trigger.

He’s the top scorer even though he sat out the first few month and, for me, if goals are going to come, they’ll come from him so put him up front and let him get on with it.

Starting to score is the only way to get this season off life support and revive the fans.

Most seem to have given up and to be fair you can’t blame them. Boro’s form has been in freefall since New Year.

But, and’s that a big but - and you feel a bit daft even saying it – the prospect of a play-off place is still dangling there.

Given how rank bad Boro have been that says it all about this division. It is poor league full of average teams who haven’t been able to pull away and kill us off and somehow – don’t ask me how as I don’t even believe it is possible – Boro could still get into the play-offs.

Not that I think they would win them because for me they are not good enough.

And not that I think promotion was the priority this season either. For me, the priority was just getting through while wage cutting, book balancing and getting the finances.

All clubs are run by moneymen these days. They call the shots. In that, Mogga has done what has been asked of him so it is painful to hear some of the things said about him by disgruntled supporters.

I feel sorry for Mogga. He has done what they asked off the field but he has to carry the can for the results on it.

And the damage of the results and not getting promoted goes on his CV and it looks worse every season we don’t go up. A lot of managers would have walked. I know I would.

For him to stay and get to grips with the job and not complain says a lot about Tony Mowbray the man and the manager.

BORO go to Hull on Saturday for a tough clash against one of the promotion favourites.

And Tigers boss Steve Bruce looks like he get the last laugh on Sunderland.

He was sacked by the Mackems and replaced by Martin O’Neill but now the Black cats are in a mess and could be changing places with Hull.

Bruce has done a good job there and built a solid side who are hard to beat.

Meanwhile, for me Sunderland are in a right mess and look like going down.

They were already in big trouble under Martin O’Neill because they were playing poor football, not scoring and looked like their heads had gone down. Even O’Neill looked to have lost his zest.

And their fixtures… oh boy.

Then, to throw fuel on the fire they bring in Paolo Di Canio!

I’m not going to go into the politics of the guy but that won’t stop other people asking questions. It’s not going away.

Plus, Di Canio may be a big personality but he’s got no record managing a big club with a big and demanding crowd right at the top level.

So me it seems crazy that a team under pressure in the dog-fight do something so risky that will double the pressure off the pitch but has no guarantee of improving results and performances on it.

If Boro don’t go up – and I’m not gambling man but I wouldn’t bet on it – at least we may have a derby next year.

THE Legends show, with my fellow broadcasters Micky Horswill and Malcolm Macdonald, is now back on air across the North-east, from 6pm-8pm Monday to Friday.

On Teesside, you can listen to us on 104.5FM via Community Voice FM, but we are on air in other regions via Star Radio, Koast Radio, Hartlepool FM and NE1 FM.

Thanks to Evening Gazette.

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If we fail to gain promotion, where do we go as a football club?

12th March 2013

With 9 games remaining and a poultry 7 points out of 36, you would have to be on the borderline of insanity to put your money on Middlesbrough gaining promotion into the Premier League, but in this mad game of football, you write us off at your peril. There is no doubt there will be more twists and turns up until the final whistle blows on the last day of the season.

So what has gone wrong since the turn of the year? The obvious is loss of form, square pegs in round holes, no continuity and only one January signing. I personally think it runs much deeper than that. With the season almost over there are a lot of players who know that they will be shown the door come the end of the season.Part of the problem is that players that know they are being shown the door are concerned about their future and the future of their families. Do you honestly believe that these players will pull out all the stops knowing that they are surplus to requirements. I know from experience the majority wont. I will give you an example back in 1991 the then boro manager Colin Todd told the players and made it public that players would be shown the door if we gained promotion. We played Notts County in the play offs, needless to say we failed to gain promotion. I personally had switched off. I went out with the intention to be professional but there was something deep inside, saying if you do the business, the manager gets the plaudits, keeps his job and your out.

Wether you liked me as a player or didn’t no one could have questioned my loyalty. I spent just under 8 years at the club and clocked up 380 odd games, scoring 147 goals, but when this scenario arose it was simple, it was Colin Todd or me. Thankfully I remained.To simplifiy it I loved Middlesbrough, the club, the town, the people, that’s why I’m still here after 26 years. So if someone with the love affair, I had and have still for the club, can switch off at a vital stage of the season, why can’t these fly by nights switch off? With the performances I have witnessed recently, I believe there is more than one of them that has switched off.

I would like to ask if we don’t make it back into the Premiership this season, where are we heading, when will we stop selling our star players,when will we start buying players and how long can Steve Gibson continue to pay a record £1 million a month out of his own pocket to keep the club afloat?

Quite clearly as a football club we are fighting against the tide. My fear is if we don’t make it this season we will never return to top flight football. The reason for this would be that the teams that get relegated have an unfair advantage, they will receive a parachute payment of £48 million over the next 4 years, while we Middlesbrough continue to stagnate with no financial resources. I find it astonishing that 3 premier league teams who get relegated are rewarded astronomical amounts of money for failure.

I have discovered during my time on Teeside that the majority of fans always look for a scapegoat, in my opinion our failings are not down to one individual it’s a collective thing, from the top to the bottom.The chairman no doubt has still got the hunger,desire and ambition to be successful, but unfortunately he doesn’t have the finance. Some people might say , well he shouldnt be chairman and that might be a valid point. But who in their right mind would invest in Middlesbrough at this very minute.

Tony Mowbray has worked wonders with very little backing and in my opinion had the team punching above its weight for the first half of the season, we were sat 6th going into the January transfer window with an opportunity to bring in a couple of players to boost morale and inject confidence and how did we address it with Kieron Dyer who had scored one league goal in 6 and a half years and played 9 games in 3 years. That was certainly not a statement of intent, if anything it was an insult. Jonathan Woodgate came out after Saturdays shambolic display against Bristol City giving the war cry . In my opinion he was the wrong player to air his views and opinions. I have to be honest if someone like Woody was having a go at my performance and standards, I would have to remind him that he is forever injured and has rarely done the job he was employed to do. I would be raging that a player who is regularly injured and seldom plays criticises me and my job. That in itself tells me there is a lack of harmony in the dressing room.

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BERNIE’S BOLT FOR DIABETES.

28th February 2013

On 17th March, I will be running the New York half-marathon to raise money for diabetes.

The Three Legends’ sponsor Chisholm Bookmakers have organised a special race day on Tuesday 5th March at Newcastle Race Course to show their support. In recognition there will be a horse named ‘Bernie’s Bolt’ which will hopefully bring home the gold!

The first race starts at 2.20pm and the last at 5.20pm (subject to slight change depending on the race size). Myself, Malcolm and Micky will be there .

Call into a Chisholm Bookmakers to claim your free ‘£5 OFF’ voucher otherwise entry is £15 per person. You can find your nearest Chisholm betting office athttp://www.chisholm.uk.com/locations.htm

Please all come along and meet us and show your support.

See you all there.

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Chisholms bookmakers supports Bernies race day.

18th February 2013

Howard Chisholm has sponsored the Three Legends show and backed us to the hilt financially, without his backing the show wouldn’t have been up and running in such a short period, for this support we are more than grateful .
Now thanks to our connections with Chisholms, the Three Legends are now involved in a race day which is going to be held on March 5th at Newcastle Racecourse, there is also going to be a race called Bernies Bolt for Diabetes and Howard himself is putting a substantial amount towards the charity.
If you are not aware I’m doing the half marathon in New York on March 17th for Diabetes UK.
The football supporters of Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough who donate the most money will determine what shirt colour I do the run in. At the moment I’m running in a Newcastle shirt.
More details about the race day and tickets to be announced.
If you would like to donate towards the charity, please click on the New York half marathon link on the home page of my website.

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Well done against Leeds.

14th February 2013

I WAS delighted with the superb result against Leeds.

It was a really spirited show from the team, the side looked much better balanced with everyone in their natural position and Curtis Main sealed with a fantastic goal.

I’m delighted for the fans who saw their side dig in and show real spirit to end the wobble by beating Leeds on Teesside for the first time in decades.

The last victory over the Yorkshire rivals was so long ago that I played in it!

And the fans deserved that big result and big atmosphere after a couple of disappointing games at the Riverside.

I’m delighted that it has ended Boro’s slump and slide down the table and put them back in the play-off reckoning.

But most of all I’m delighted for Tony Mowbray because it is a big result that will take a lot of undeserved heat of him.

Poor Mogga came in for a lot of flak during the five game losing run and dear me, some of it was well over the top.

Some of the criticism was just this side of hysterical. A few defeats and some people lose all sense of perspective. It’s all doom and gloom.

I heard it on the Legends. I read it on the message boards and blogs. I got it from people who stopped me and spoke to me in the shops and streets.

That’s not to say supporters can’t criticise. Of course they can. They are passionate and they care about their club.

And hey, I run a phone-in show and it would be a dull affair if the fans weren’t allowed to get things that are bugging them off their chest

And if things are wrong at the club – one or off the pitch – then you are right to criticise.

Look at me. I criticise Boro. If something is wrong in the team or at the club then I am going to call it as I see it even if it upsets people. I have criticised Mogga. I have criticised the chairman. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong at all with supporters having an opinion.

But hey, you have to be realistic about your opinions.

And for me, Boro fans who have been calling for Mogga’s head, that’s not realistic. For me that’s just absurd.

People have to remember that even when Boro were having their wobble they were still in the play-off spots, still in the promotion scrap. The bad run was disappointing, it was painful and at times it was rank bad but it wasn’t a crisis.

A crisis was what the club was in when Mogga arrived!

Remember, under Gordon Strachan the team was a mess and it was heading towards relegation to League One.

Mogga has come in has done an incredible job to turn that around, to trim and tidy the squad and get us at the right end of the Championship table while selling players and slashing the wage bill.

People have to remember that before he could even start to think about building his own team he had to clear up the mess left by others.

Gareth Southgate and Gordon Strachan were allowed to go shopping in Harrods and they wasted millions and made a mess of the club and we are still paying for it now.

Mogga has had to shop in Netto and dig around in the bargain bin but he still done a far better job than them.

Given his restrictions Mogga has done a remarkable job in reshaping the squad.

People complain and say that he has bought rubbish players, that it is “his squad now.”

But hey, this isn’t the squad that Mogga would have chosen. It is not the squad he would have now if he had half the money to spend that the previous managers had.

This isn’t the squad he wants, it is the squad he can afford – and he’s doing wonders with it.

I’ve been looking through the squad over the time he has been here. Not including the Academy lads he has had 30 players to deal with and most of them were inherited.

He has personally brought in 14 and of those he has only paid a fee for three: £100,000 for George Friend, an undisclosed fee of about £200,000 for Mustapha Carayol and £1.6m for Lukas Jutkiewicz.

They are three good players at this level and among the best performers thsi season.

The rest of his players are free transfers or loans. He didn’t cherry pick those. He’s working with what he can get.

So it is wrong to slate him for that. People always say you can’t judge a manager until you see him get his own team out. Mogga is nowhere near being able to do that yet.

He has done a great job as far as the suits are concerned. On the business side of the club no-one can fault him.

And despite that he is doing a good job on the pitch too. The team is not yet the finished product but he’s getting there.

So before people go over the top after a couple of bad results they should remember all that. Criticise, yes. But keep it in perspective.

********

JASON Steele played his 100th league match against Leeds.

That is a brilliant achievement and puts him up among Boro’s senior players.

It feels like he has been around for years but he is still playing for the England Under-21s.

I think he is a terrific keeper who is growing in stature and for me, he is right up there among the best in this division – and he has time on his side so he’s only going to get better.

He could easily go on to be the replacement we never had for Mark Schwarzer, the keeper who dominates between the sticks for a decade.

He was heavily criticised at the start when he first came in and that was harsh.

He was only a teenager then thrown in out of necessity and he made all his mistakes in the glare of publicity when most young keepers make their on loan well out of the way on loan at a lower league club.

But he learned quickly and for me he has been one of the best and most improved players in the last few years.

He has made some unbelievable saves. He has won countless points for Boro. At times it has looked like he was taking teams on single-handed.

He is a superb shot-stopper, he’s brave coming out and when he adds a bit of experience he will start to command his box and take control of the defence more.

Yes, he took a lot of stick from some fans on Saturday against Barnsley and people pointed the finger at him for Barnsley’s two second half goals.

But for me, you have to look at what is happening in front of him. That’s usually where the fault lies when goals flew in.

But for the first a long throw from Rory Delap sailed into the box without anyone attacking it. And no one can say they didn’t expect it. It is what Delap is on the pitch for.

And the other one, the winner, yes he slipped and gave away the free-kick but he should never have had to deal with that back-pass. Seb Hines should have just hoofed it over the Transporter.

I’m amazed that he still gets stick after what he’s shown since he broke through.

It’s great that he’s clocked up 100 games – let’s hope he is here to celebrate 200, 300 and more because believe me, big clubs will be watching him and one way or the other he will end up in the Premier League. Let’s hope it is with Boro.

******

THE CLEAN sheet against Leeds was important and should be a massive boost to the morale at the back.

Confidence must have been very low after shipping seven goals to two teams in the bottom four – and against two of the lowest scorers in the division as well.

That was disastrous to the team. Has got to hurt your pride if you are in that unit.

And there can be no excuses, they will know that. The performances by the back line in both games was terrible.

Now Boro have stopped the rot with the first clean sheet since before Christmas they have to build on it with more. Blanks have to become a habit.

And that means they have to find some consistency. Not just in performances but also in selections.

Part of the problem at the back is the constant chopping and changing from game to game, in personnel and shape.

Have we turned out the same back four two games running? I don’t think so. That is a real problem for Mogga.

A defensive unit has to be given time to settle and gel. They have to learn how each other play, they have to have time to develop a telepathic understanding. Especially the centre-backs. And Mogga will know that more than most.

But you can’t get that when Jonathan Woodgate is in and out, when Andre Bikey is playing alongside him one week then Seb Hines the next. Or Rhys Williams. Or even Nicky Bailey one occasion.

And the full-back positions too. We had a problem when George Friend was out and Justin Hoyte, Stuart Parnaby and Andy Halliday were slotted uncomfortably in there.

And at right-back there has been a problem while Hoyte has been crocked with Williams and Bailey played there as makeshifts ahead of Parnaby who is a specialist.

That’s crazy. Mogga needs to settle on his best back four and, injuries apart, play it week in, week out.

You can tinker in midfield and up front, change your tactics a bit, move players around a touch to get the best out of the shape and the squad.

But not at the back. The defence is the foundation of the team and has to be rock solid. It underpins everything.

If Mogga wants more clean sheets – and he does – he needs to get the defence sorted. And stick with it.

***

THE Legends show, with my fellow broadcasters Micky Horswill and Malcolm Macdonald, is now back on air across the North-east, from 6pm-8pm Monday to Friday.
On Teesside, you can listen to us on 104.5FM via Community Voice FM, but we are on air in other regions via Star Radio, Koast Radio, Hartlepool FM and NE1 FM.

Thanks to Evening Gazette.

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Please bid for memorabilia and support diabetes uk.

17th January 2013

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I have put some memorabilia on eBay and all proceeds will go towards the charity, please bid on the items to help support.

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