Forthcoming Fixtures

City Dire Display in North East

MFC Reserves  2  -  0  MCFC Reserves

With at least two places up for grabs in the first team due to suspension, you might have thought that the team would be up for it. That was sadly not the case as the team travelled to a chilly Billingham Synthonia, the home of Middlesbrough FC during the winter months. Also very strange is playing players out of position that they are clearly not comfortable to play. The worst aspect of the game is that Middlesbrough had nothing up front to really threaten us and both goals came from set plays that had taken them towards our penalty areas on those rare occasions. The only player to come out of this game with a glowing report was the sprightly Shaleum Logan, playing right back and later switching to left back after a late defensive substitution and re-shuffle.

I admit to never being a fan of Lee Croft, but in recent months, given our only option at the time was to play Sibierski or Croft in the first team, I would plump for Lee every time to see how he could grow into the team. He has failed to do that and now he is looking even worse in the reserves. Time and again he was in space down the right and time and again he failed to deliver a good ball.

Steve Wigley again baffles you with a strange formation. He had decided on a 4-4-1-1, with Karl Bermingham just behind Wright-Phillips; a role which he was clueless to achieve. This formation also has Ishmael Miller on the left wing; a position he clearly dislikes as he always has his head down. His natural role is very akin to Thierry Henry who natural drifts out to the left to give himself more space. With playing Bermingham just of Wright-Phillips, it meant there was always a spare defender covering Miller’s left wing. This stifled his play with what little good service he got.

The sooner the midfield in the reserves is bolstered by the return of Jonathan D’Laryea or the introduction of Haapala the better, because Marc Laird has yet to learn that a midfielder is not just about running around a lot. Just look at Tugay against us for Blackburn, he hardly broke sweat – yet he constantly had the ball and very rarely gave it away.

One of the annoying things about the first goal was that it came from a free kick that never was as Shaleum had cleanly nipped in front of the defender and taken the ball. But you can have no excuses for not defending the cross. Things might have been different had Micah Richards played, but he was forced to sit the match out as he had pulled up during the warm up and Michael Ward was forced in as a late replacement. For the record, Middlesbrough's first goal, was scored by their captain, Lee Cattermole, right at the end of the first half. The second goal came from a corner where David Wheater rose unchallenged at the far post to loop the ball into the far corner over a despairing dive by Kasper Schmeichel on seventy nine minutes.

Another more pleasing stat from the game saw Curtis Obeng make a brief debut appearance for the reserves. So that is yet another academy production line prospect move up to the next grade, be it very brief. This substitution was the reason for the late re-shuffle at the back.

I must say how disappointed I was to find that the official club reporter had not travelled up to the game, and so as we can see from the report posted, holds numerous inaccuracies.

MFC: Knight(GK), Porritt, Grounds, Cattermole(capt.), Wheater, Cooper, Fisher(Franks 65), Langthorne(Thompson 80), Craddock, Burgess, Owens.

Subs:  McCardle.


MCFC: Schmeichel(GK), Logan, Jordan(Obeng 88), Onuoha(capt.), Ward, Laird, Croft, Ireland, Wright-Phillips(Johnson 71), Miller(Grimes 85), Bermingham.

Subs: Matthewson, Marshall.


MoM: Logan; was at the heart of most of city’s attacks and got back well with some great timely challenges. It’s just a shame his slight of frame means he’s not quite ready for the first team as right back is where we will need if Sommeil plays at centre half on Saturday.