Written by Wigan Gooner
I'll not muck about – it's Pat Rice.
My reasoning for this statement is as follows, Arsene is facing a summer of upheaval like he has
never known at Arsenal. There could be more player movement at Arsenal that I have ever seen in all
of my years.
Football chants are the metaphoric glue that bonds fans together in banter. For some
players these are songs praising their talent, for others, well, it's best not to go there.
Unfortunately there are some offensive corkers we had to leave out, but the ones we left in are
equally class.
Sunday, 6 November 2005 and it's the 19 anniversary of Sir Alex's appointment as Manchester
United manager but the celebrations were on hold. A look at the league table made grim reading for
any Manchester United fan. An unusual pallid gloom had descended in and around Old Trafford
following the events that had transpired over the seven days preceding a pivotal encounter.
Arsene Wenger is keeping tabs on Wolves striker Kevin Doyle, a report in the Times claims this
morning.
The paper says Arsenal are monitoring Doyle as a possible replacement for Nicklas Bendtner,
should the Denmark international leave the Emirates. It is clear we need another forward as we will
lose Gervinho and Chamakh on the African Cup of nation at the turn of the year.
Part 2 of the series focuses on Norwegian striker, Jan Åge Fjørtoft...
Jan Åge Fjørtoft became a bit of a cult hero during his time in the Premier League playing for
Swindon Town in the 93/94 season. His fly by celebration became infamous throughout the league.
Tonight I intended going to watch Scarborough Athletic away at Nostell MW, but thanks to working
late I now had the choice of a comfy chair by the fire and Arsenal v Ipswich on the tv or the short
trip to the less glamorous surroundings of Queensgate and Bridlington Town v Armthorpe Welfare,
EASY CHOICE, Queensgate it was.
Our next 2 games are both at Queensgate so we have a good chance of picking up some much needed
points. On Tuesday we entertain 4th placed Tadcaster Albion, they have an excellent away record so
far having lost only once on their travels and scoring 19 goals in their 9 games, so this will not
be an easy game by any means but with home advantage and a near full squad to choose from I expect
us to win the game.
As this season draws to a close Tony Mowbray will be looking to build on Boro's recent success
in the npower Championship by getting stuck into the summer transfer market and also developing
players on the training ground. Off the pitch/training ground, the kit designers are busy making
their final choices before mass production of our new 2011/12 football strip commences ready for
release in the coming weeks.
Middlesbrough have launched their 2011/12 adidas home kit. Once an English Premier League fixture,
Boro will don this strip for their home games in the English Football League Championship for the
new season as they attempt to make a return to the top flight of English soccer following their at
the end of the 2008/09 [.
Around the time of the Fulham game, Wenger gave a statement in his press conference that caught
me by surprise and forced me to think.
By now you probably have seen this line,
But it will be difficult to find a coach who teaches me how to manage a football team.
Some fans have read arrogance and obstinacy in that statement but I disagree.
Fulham are the first visitors to Broadhall Way this season
First things first and news filtered through yesterday that goalkeeper Joe Welch has signed for
Blue Square Premier outfit Ebbsfleet United. Welch had been hopeful of staying at Boro after his
contract at Histon ended and played the second half of Boro's first pre-season friendly on
Wednesday against Hitchin Town.
Stevenage entertain Premier League outfit Fulham in their first pre-season friendly of the
season at Broadhall Way. We will be providing LIVE text updates throughout the game so you can keep
updated with the score and who's playing or not. It's interactive as well, so get involved using
the comment section above.
Newly-promoted Swansea have completed the signing of Middlesborough striker Leroy Lita
for a fee of £1.75m. Lita (26) who has had Premier League experience with Reading has
scored 20 Championship goals in two season's with Boro and could be a astute signing for the Welsh
club come the end of the season.
Instead of going through all the 23 teams we are to face this season, I thought I'd do something
slightly different to preview the new season. I've asked 6 Boro supporters for their views on the
season ahead as the club prepares for its first campaign in npower League 1. If you want a preview
of League 1, then I recommend reading The Seventy Two Unfortunates' Football League preview.
Sumner sinks Boro
Josh Sumner netted the only goal of the game as Liverpool U18s won 1-0 at Middlesbrough in a
friendly on Saturday.
View the full story here: Liverpool FC
A news article on 2011-08-06 16:58:21 from: Liverpool FC
This news item has been reproduced from today's media.
Charles: Scored Boro's first goal in League 1
Chesterfield 1-1 Stevenage | Charles 40, Lester 97
npower league 1 | b2net stadium | 5,836
A late late goal from Jack Lester prevented Boro from taking all 3 points at the b2net Stadium.
In what was a scrappy game, Boro were well on course to their first win in League 1 when Darius
Charles headed home from a corner 5 minutes before half-time.
For the fifth year running. Not for those with weak stomachs.
Points total after 19 games:
10/11: 25
09/10: 30
08/09: 42
07/08: 37
06/07: 34
Results over 19 games:
10/11: 7 wins, 4 draws, 8 losses
09/10: 9 wins, 3 draws, 7 losses
08/09: 12 wins, 6 draws, 1 loss
07/08: 10 wins, 7 draws, 2 losses
06/07: 10 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses
League position after 19 games:
10/11: 9th
09/10: 7th
08/09: 1st
07/08: 4th
06/07: 3rd
# of points behind 1st place:
10/11: -16
09/10: -12
08/09: +1
07/08: -10, with a game in hand
06/07: -13
Goals scored after 19 games:
10/11: 23
09/10: 36
08/09: 30
07/08: 33
06/07: 28
Goals against after 19 games:
10/11: 24
09/10: 25
08/09: 12
07/08: 12
06/07: 15
Home Goals:
10/11: 17
09/10: 26
08/09: 16
07/08: 20
06/07: 20
Away Goals:
10/11: 6
09/10: 10
08/09: 14
07/08: 13
06/07: 8
Clean Sheets:
10/11: 6
09/10: 6
08/09: 11
07/08: 10
06/07: 10
Goal scorers:
10/11: Torres 6; Gerrard, Kuyt, Maxi 3; Kyrgiakos, Ngog 2; Babel, Cole, Johnson, Skrtel
1
09/10: Torres 11; Benayoun, Gerrard, Kuyt 5; Ngog 4; Babel, Johnson 2; Skrtel 1
08/09: Gerrard 6; Keane, Kuyt, Torres 5; Alonso, Riera 2; Arbeloa, Benayoun, Babel,
Carragher 1
07/08: Torres 9; Gerrard 7; Babel, Kuyt, Voronin 3; Alonso, Benayoun 2; Hyypia, Sissoko
1
06/07: Kuyt 6; Bellamy 5; Alonso, Gerrard 3; Crouch, Garcia, Gonzalez 2; Agger, Carragher,
Fowler, Riise 1
# of games Liverpool failed to score in:
10/11: 5 [Wolves (h), Stoke (a), Everton (a), Brum (a), City (a)]
09/10: 4 [Chelsea (a), Sunderland (a), Blackburn (a), Pompey (a)]
08/09: 4 [Villa (a), Stoke (h), Fulham (h), West Ham (h)]
07/08: 5 [Pompey (a), Birmingham (h), Blackburn (a), United (h), City (a)]
06/07: 7 [Everton (a), Chelsea (a), Bolton (a), United (a), Arsenal (a), Boro (a),
Portsmouth (h)]
Home form:
10/11: 6 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses; 20 points out of 30
09/10: 6 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses; 20 points out of 30
08/09: 6 wins, 4 draws; 22 points out of 30
07/08: 4 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss; 16 points out of 27
06/07: 8 wins, 2 draws; 26 points out of 30
Away form:
10/11: 1 win, 2 draws, 6 losses; 5 points out of 27
09/10: 3 wins, 1 draw, 5 losses; 10 points out of 27
08/09: 6 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss; 20 points out of 27
07/08: 6 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss; 21 points out of 30
06/07: 2 wins, 2 draws, 5 losses; 8 points out of 27
I guess it's not all bad news.
Luke Foster: Opened the scoring for Boro against Barnet
Boro 4-2 Barnet (Foster 4, Basey og 8, Long 27, Roberts 46, McLeod 73, Marshall
76)
Highlights | BBC Report | Westley Interview
It's been a long time in coming, but Stevenage finally got back to winning ways yesterday
afternoon after comfortably beating Barnet 4-2 at Broadhall Way.
George Donnelly: Opted for Fleetwood over Boro
News broke this evening that Fleetwood Town have pipped us to the signing of Plymouth striker
George Donnelly. Argyle announced on their official site that the ambitious Conference Premier
outfit had a £50,000 bid accepted for the Liverpool born striker and that Stevenage had matched
that offer.
It was good to actually see the Boro playing after such a long lay off because of the weather
conditions, expectations were high, especially with the return of Richard Medcalf, a real class
player in my book, it was disappointing to see Joel Hartley left out of the team, he was not even
named as a substitute, also Dave Kemp, but Dave was at least included on the bench.
Good morning to you and welcome to a brand new week.
Cup football is the order of business again as we switch our sights from FA to Carling and it'll
be interesting, having seen some of the players struggle against Leeds, what exactly the manager
does on Wednesday night. Will he keep faith and hope that another game so quickly will increase
sharpness and see them recapture some form, or will he add a few of the 'first' team in from the
start to try and get things back on track?
Scarborough Athletic may be languishing down in 14th position of the NCEL Premier division, but
we have a massive 7 games in hand over league leaders Farsley AFC, the team we play on
Saturday.
If we were to win the 7 games in hand then we would be in 2nd place just 1 point behind the
leaders.
Following Saturdays disaster with Hallam Boro travelled to West
Yorkshire to face Thackley attempting to reach the semi final stage of the Presidents Cup.
Nathan Hotte was captain, and Denny Ingram was on the subs' bench
tonight.
17 year old James Hitchcock made his Boro debut between the
posts.
Below is a guest post I wrote for twofootedtackle.com earlier this week. Two Footed
Tackle is a blog devoted to the world of football, covering the Premier League right down to
non-league. You can follow them on Twitter via @twofootedtackle.
Stevenage's 3-1 victory over Newcastle United at the weekend may have shocked the nation, but
those who have followed the club over the last few years will tell you that they were not
surprised to see a Premier League side turned over at fortress Broadhall Way.
Boro boss 'Paul Olsson believes Boro will be up to the test when they
travel to leaders Farsley tomorrow.
Farsley are 22 points above Boro but with 7 games in hand, Boro would
be just 1 point behind Farsley if they were to win those games in hand.
Paul Olsson said "It is going to be a difficult game, but we have
said before that we always play well against the divisions better sides, we have beaten Bridlington
Town this season and we should have won at Parkgate.
I was as pleased as anyone could be last season when Scarborough TOWN finally shot themselves in
the foot, they tried to con their way into the NCEL, even got themselves accepted but were finally
thrown out because they could not keep to their assurances regarding floodlights etc.
Scarborough Athletic are a credit to the town and will be an even bigger success as they work
their way up the pyramid , they will go from strength to strength, but having this 2nd team playing
under the name 'Scarborough Town' can do nothing but slow down the progress of football in the
town, we 'Athletic' have a loyal following and always will have, but this 2nd team will naturally
steal a handful of our fans for certain games, simply because they will be playing locally and if
they have an attractive fixture while we have a less attractive game on the day then a few fans
will probably go to the Town game, this will have an effect on the future of the towns football,
the town cannot support 2 teams, especially 2 successful teams, I hope they 'Town' will not be
successful, and if they are run in the same way as before then hopefully off the field events will
stop them from actually reforming.
The transfer window finally kick started this week Aston Villa made sure it wouldn't be a dull
one, but what does the less glamorised move of David Wheater from Boro to Bolton mean for the
next 11 days of the market? Having signed for an initial £2.3m, Wheater steps into a defence that
is predominantly English, with Zat Knight and Gary Cahill established at Trotters rear, in front of
the eternally youthful Jaaskelainen.
PARKGATE 21/46
FARSLEY 24/45
TADCASTER 19/37
MALTBY M 21/36
BRID' TOWN 17/35
SELBY TOWN 21/33
TUESDAY NIGHTS GAMES AS FOLLOWS:
BRID' TOWN V ARMTHORPE
LIVERSEDGE V BRIGHOUSE
NOSTELL MW V BORO'
PARKGATE V MALTBY
TADCASTER V ARNOLD
WINTERTON V FARSLEY.
Nathan Hotte has left Scarborough Athletic to join Bradford Park Avenue and will actually play some
part in their game tonight against FC Halifax.
Nathan has shown excellent form for Boro, especially recently when the team has been struggling and
he will be badly missed.
Rob Northern has also informed the club that he wishes to leave and does not want to be considered
for future Boro matches.
Stevenage 3-0 Rotherham (Winn 44, Harrison 85, Laird 90)
BBC Report | Official Report
Winning is beginning to become a habit again after an inconsistent start to life in League 2.
Boro have now won their last four home games in all competitions, the latest being a 3-0 demolition
job of 3rd place Rotherham.
GEOFF WITH 'SNAPPER'Well known Dinnington Town stalwart Geoff Harris sadly passed away on January
3rd, Geoff had been a well known figure at the club for many years along with his dog
'Snapper'.
Geoff was always happy to chat with opposing fans and just loved the game, and I am sure he will be
badly missed at the club, I remember talking with Geoff at the game against Boro in 2008, we were
beaten 4-2 on the day by a very good Dinnington team.
John Mousinho: Could be on his way out of BHW?
If you didn't know already, today is the last day of the January transfer window. It's that time
of year when Sky Sports turns into a soap opera and prices go through to roof. It's been a
ridiculous day in that sense. How Andy Carroll is worth £35m is beyond me.
Scarborough Athletic beat Tadcaster Albion 1-0 in their local derby at Queensgate last night, I had
to be content with listening to the game on Seadogs live along with around 80 other liseners. It
was Ryan Blott who grabbed the all important goal for Boro and it was a special goal for Ryan as it
was his 100th from his 123 appearances for the club.
Lawrie Wilson: Looked to have won the game for Boro
Stevenage 2-2 Accrington (Harrison 7, Wilson 78, Gornell 88, Procter 90)
BBC Report | Westley Interview
This isn't going to be the most positive, pleasurable post I've ever written for this site in
the two and half years of its existence.
Boss Paul Olsson had the luxury of naming the same side for the second consecutive game, and also
named the same five substitutes from the victory over Tadcaster Albion.The first half was possibly
the most open game of football you are likely to see, and the score at the break could have been
6-4, as both teams decided they wouldn't play with a defence.
In a very one sided game, Scarborough Athletic ran out comfortable 7-1 winners last night in South
Yorkshire.Dinnington were a very poor side but that does not take anything away from what was a
great team performance from the Boro. Ryan Blott opened the scoring after just 9 minutes and Bill
Law doubled the lead just 3 minutes later, Ryan struck again on 18 minutes and a whitewash looked
to be on the cards.
Efe Sodje: Scored against his former club
Bury 3-0 Stevenage (Bishop 8, Sodje 61, Lowe 70)
BBC Report | Westley Interview
It was a disappointing night in Lancashire as Boro fell to their first defeat in the league
since they were beat at Gillingham on New Year's Day.
Listen to the Scarborough Athletic v Parkgate game live on 'SEADOGS LIVE', tomorrow afternoon, just
click on the link in the sidebar.Excellent commentry and also chat feature available.
UP THE BORO....................................
After 5 games without a win you could say it is must win time for Boro as they entertain Oxford
United at the Lamex tomorrow evening. After Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Shrewsbury Westley's men must
react or the slide down the league could continue. Oxford won't be an easy game as our head to head
record shows only one win in the 8 games against the Yellows.
