What Boro Must Do To Get Promoted

With just a few days to go until the start of the new football league season the excitement and optimism has begun to set in for fans and clubs up and down the country.

After four frustrating years in the Championship Middlesbrough and manager Tony Mowbray will be hoping that this is finally the year they revisit England’s top flight, but as past seasons have shown it won’t be an easy task.

Here are the main areas I think Boro will have to improve if they want to break into the top six this year and put right the wrongs of the past campaigns.

1.                   Establish  a settled back four

Last season it became a bigger and bigger mystery each week who would start in Boro’s inconsistent defence, as fans lost count how many times the back four changed.  Injuries played their part as a clear lack of understanding between the players led to a leakage of sloppy goals contributing to a dismal second half of the season.

This year Boro have retained the services of home grown goalkeeper Jason Steele, the England under 21’s keeper continues to improve. Captain Rhys Williams missed the first half of the campaign last year due to an ankle ligament injury, while full backs George Friend and Justin Hoyte were also sidelined for lengthy periods of time. This season the trio will need to sustain their proven form throughout the season and build some stability at the back.

At 33 Jonathan Woodgate demonstrated that he has still retained Premier league quality, however the veteran defender was continuously in and out of the side last year can’t be relied on to play every week. So for me Mowbray still needs to sign another centre back before the transfer window shuts.

2.                   Continue playing after New Years day

For the past two seasons Mowbray’s side have looked like a team ready to return to the Premier League. Last year Boro were flying high on New Year’s Eve, third in the table on 47 points. However whenever it’s time to change the calendar things always seem to go drastically wrong.

Boro’s gradual slip down the table two seasons ago was a bitter disappointment, but that wasn’t half as demoralising as last season’s catastrophic end where Boro took just 8 points out of a possible 63 after the turn of the year. This could have been down to a number of reasons, the most obvious a loss of confidence and belief, nevertheless if the Teessider’s desire a place back in the Premier League they can’t afford any New Year woes this time around.

3.                   Bring in the Crowds  

There were times last season where the Riverside was bouncing, over 28,000 fans watched Boro briefly move top of the league table against Sheffield Wednesday, while a similar amount saw their glamorous FA cup tie with Chelsea in February.

Those occasions were small reminders of Boro’s distant Premier League days. Now the regular attendances linger around the 15,000 mark with the stadium half empty, a disheartening sight to see for both players and fans.

 Whether this means the club put on more special offers for fan’s to come and watch their team or just hope the performances on the pitch are enough to lure the crowds back, because the support and atmosphere is crucial to Boro’s promotion dream.

4.                   Find a top class striker

Ever since Boro were relegated to the Championship four seasons ago they have always lacked that prolific goal scorer who can score around 20 goals a season. Scott McDonald’s move to Millwall could release some funds for Mowbray to invest in a new forward to replace the Australian, who was earning a reported £30,000 a week.

Even so McDonald did provide Boro’s main supply of goals last season, as the former Celtic striker found the net thirteen times. If Boro are to sustain a strong promotion challenge they will have find a new source of goals, weather that be strikers who are already at the club like Lukas Jutkiewitz or Marvin Emnes or a new signing all together. But one thing is certain goals win games and Boro just don’t seem to score enough.

5.                   Get the first goal

When Boro conceded the first goal in a game last season the chances were they would go on to lose the game. This may seem obvious but it was a particular problem at the Riverside. Teams would come and clinch an early goal from a counter attack or set piece and then just sit back with eleven men behind the ball and defend their lead and victory.

If Boro want to be competing at the right end of the table this campaign they will have to score when they are dominating the game and find that extra bit of quality to break down the opposition before they are punished first.

Champion At Last

There were times when we thought it would never happen, three years of semi final heartbreak followed by a final which agonised a nation, it was always a case of oh so close, but at last we can finally say Andy Murray Wimbledon Champion.

It was the final that most people wished for, the world number one against the world number two, Murray versus Djokovic had the makings of a classic which seemed impossible to call.

Andy Murray finally gets his hands on the Wimbledon trophy 

However not only did Murray beat the best player in the world to claim his maiden Wimbledon title, he also completely outplayed him and although the usually resilient Serb tried everything to prolong the contest he just couldn’t match the magnificence of the Murray.

It was a match where momentum continuously shifted from one side of the net to the other, but at the crucial times it was always Murray who seized it striving to a 6-4 7-5 6-4 victory in a gruelling 3 hours and 9 minutes. What a difference from his fortunes twelve months ago.

Although Murray’s experience of last year’s final may not have given him much to smile about back then, there’s no doubt that the occasion helped propel him to an Olympic gold medal, a US Open title and at last his treasured Wimbledon crown.    

We have also seen a more open and at times emotional side to the usually reserved Brit, who since his triumphs has showed the public a greater side to his personality which has certainly earned him a lot of fans.

    

Murray’s eyes had been firmly set on capturing his first Wimbledon title ever since missing the French Open back in June. From his impressive comeback victory at the Aegon Championships three weeks ago all the way up to the climax of this fortnight the Brit has showed plenty of heart and passion as he has looked more determined than ever to get his hands on the famous trophy.

In their four precious Grand Slam meetings Djokovic had been victorious in three of them; however Murray had been successful when the pair met at last year’s US Open where the Brit achieved his first Slam title. While their only meeting on grass had come at last summer’s Olympics which Murray won in straight sets.

The nation believed. There was hope and expectation that this was the year when Wimbledon celebrated its first British male singles Champion since Fred Perry in 1936, that 77 years of waiting didn’t become 78.Centre Court roared, Henman Hill was packed and at home many watched in anticipation, it was all down to Murray to deliver.

If there were any nerves lurching in the players stomachs before the match, it was Djokovic who was affected most. The Serb was forced to save three break points from the word go, before Murray finally clinched a break in a marathon third game which lasted 20 minutes, as the Brit finally took his seventh break point to lead 2-1.

However the buoyant celebrations were abruptly silenced as Djokovic quickly broke back in the following game. The rallies became exhausting even to watch; continuously exceeding 20 sometimes even 30 shots in the sweltering heat, even for the games two fittest athletes the challenge was bound to take its toll. 

With temperatures close to 30 degrees it was Murray who kept his cool, he once again took advantage of some surprising errors from the world number one who was still hunting for his A-game.

Murray nearly made the same mistake of handing his earned break straight back. When serving into the sun he served two double faults and faced two more break points. However once he held, the set never looked in doubt as he emphatically served it out to love after a draining hour of tennis.

But there is one thing guaranteed when you take on the heart and passion of Djokovic and that is he never goes away, that’s why he’s world number one. It took until the second set for the Serb to at last stamp some authority on the match, as he started to dictate some brutal rallies breaking Murray to lead 4-1.   

At that point Murray could have let the momentum swing further away from him, but instead he fearlessly wrestled it back. He was agonisingly denied two break back points when trailing 4-2, however rather than feeling sorry for himself he willingly kept on fighting and was handed his reward when Djokovic double faulted to surrender his lead.

With the set in the balance at 5-5 any sort of slip up would prove costly, and it was Djokovic who blinked. With no challenges remaining the Serb let a tight line call get under his skin, which sparked a frustrated reaction towards umpire Mohamed Lahyani.  

Murray recognised his opportunity, and swiftly took advantage of the Serbs meltdown. After finishing the job of breaking the Djokovic serve he once again held to love, capping it off with an ace to put him only one set away.

The Brit continued to sense that his opponent was vulnerable, as Murray moved in for the kill breaking Djokovic in the opening game of the third set.

There was always likely to be some sort of Djokovic fight back, but the question was how late would he leave it? And would Murray allow it to happen?

Both were quickly answered, from 0-30 on the Djokovic serve Murray missed the chance to claim a 3-0 lead and a double break, minutes later the Serb wasn’t so hesitant when he was presented with a similar opening.

From leading 2-0 with a break, Murray’s third set suddenly turned sour. He lost his rhythm on serve and for the first time in the match his racket was littering errors, as the momentum steered back towards Djokovic who twice broke the Murray serve. It was now 4-2 in the Serbs favour.

But just when we thought the Murray charge was finally showing signs of faltering, we were proved wrong again. It was then the Brit’s turn to spin the set on its head breaking back to 4-4 before striking his biggest blow yet.

He simple chased down every ball to once more break the Djokovic serve and resistance to put himself only one service game away from the title.

40-0 up, three Championships points, but it could never be that easy. They all went pleading, as Djokovic launched his last attack which resulted in ten minutes of torture for everyone involved. Four deuces’s past, but at last Britain’s 77 years of wait went crashing into the net along with Djokovic’s final backhand. Murray was the Champion.

 “It was an unbelievably long match with some extremely long games; I don’t know how I managed to come through that final game”

“I’ve played Novak many times and I think when the game is finished he will go down as one of the biggest fighters, he’s come back so many times from losing positions and he almost did the same today”     

So to a tournament that has certainly provided us with plenty of drama and excitement over the past fortnight. But at last it has final brought British tennis it’s greatest day yet, ending a 77 year wait for a male Champion.

Wimbledon 2013 - it hasn't been bad has it?   

History In The Making

So Andy Murray has earned his second crack at a Wimbledon final, along with the chance to make history of becoming the first British male to win the prestigious event in 77 years.

His route through the tournament may not have crossed with the familiar big names of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal; however that is to take nothing away from the Brit’s exceptional achievement over the past fortnight where at times he has had to battle harder than ever.

Murray marches through to the Wimbledon final

Murray’s semi final opponent was by no means a small task, 6 foot 8 to be precise. The giant Pole Jerzy Janowitcz could be a match for anyone in Wimbledon’s to come, but for this year at least Murray possessed enough experience and quality to overcome his huge task.  

Only 22 years old Janowicz has made his big burst onto the tennis scene in the past year reaching number 22 in the world, with his height being a menacing factor. There were moments when the towering Pole looked impossible to break, consistently serving around 140 mph, as Murray could only second guess where the ball was going to land.

But Murray wasn’t going to let his Wimbledon dream be crushed by this rookie, who hadn’t made the fourth round of a Grand Slam until this event.

Murray battled and battled to recover from solitary set down, taking the second and winning five games in a row to clinch the third, before his progress was abruptly halted by the decision to close the roof much to the Brit’s displeasure.

Now leading two sets to one Murray was determined to retain the advantage. After a 30 minute wait he quickly regained his momentum under the beaming lights of centre court, as the roaring crowd spurred him on to a 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-4 6-3 victory in a total of 2 hours and 52 minutes.

"He's talented and unpredictable; he has huge serves, which give you very little rhythm to come back at him.” Said Murray after the match

"It's a tough situation, there was about 45 minutes of daylight left” (before the roof was closed) "It's an outdoor event and we should play as much outdoors as we can. And I'd won five games in a row. But I took a shower, spoke to the guys and got to back work."

Murray didn’t do a lot wrong in the opening set; his serving was as good as it’s been all tournament, as he didn’t face a single break point. However Janowicz had only been broke four times while reaching the semi final and his monstrous serve was causing Murray plenty of problems.

In the fourth game of the match Murray saw his first break point go begging. But more decisively the Brit allowed two set points to pass him by while Janowicz was serving at 5-4 down. A second serve at close to 120 mph saved one of them the margins couldn’t have been finer.

Janowicz had been considerably calm considering this was his first slam final, and in the lottery of the tie break it was the higher ranked Murray who buckled. The Pole’s free hitting allowed him to run away with the breaker and the vital first set, as some abnormal errors crept into the Murray game.

However Janowicz had little time to celebrate his first set triumph, as the giant Pole showed his first signs of faltering, serving two double faults in the opening game of the second set to hand Murray a crucial break.

The 2^nd seed then showed his efficiency by holding serve for the remainder of the set, as Janowicz threw everything to get the break back. However Murray stood firm saving four break points to level the match at one set all.   

With the time approaching 8pm Janowicz began to ask continuous questions to umpire Jake Garner about when the roof would be closed, demanding the man in the chair to “tell me the exact time”

That permanently growing argument could have backfired on Janowicz but instead it only seemed to fire up the mouthy Pole who demonstrated there was more to his game than just his serve, showing a variety of big forehand’s and delicate drop shots to break Murray for the first time in the fourth game of the third set to take command.

But sometimes it’s amazing just how momentum can change, at one stage Murray trailed 4-1 in and needed to react fast to prevent going down 2 sets to 1. Twenty minutes later the match had totally flipped on its head and it was the Brit who was serving for the third set.

Murray reeled off five games in a row to clinch set number three breaking his opponent twice, as Janowicz started becoming predictable overusing the drop shot whilst he began to run out of ideas.

Janowicz didn’t do himself many favours. His constant moaning at the umpire about the roof made it easy for the Pole to take of the role of the villain which at times brought him boos from the crowd.

The momentum was strongly with Murray, but if Janowicz couldn’t stop him, tournament referee Andrew Jarrett could. At 8:30 the decision was made to close the roof to which Murray argued “It's unfair, it's an outdoor tournament” before saying “you’re only doing it because he's been complaining about it for 45 minutes."

After 30 minutes off court the match could have easily swung back the way of the Pole, however Murray refused to let the brief interruption bother him. Subsequent to both players holding their opening service game Janowicz was the one to blink first, when Murray broke in the third game aided by more errors and a double fault from the Polish number one.       

Once he had the break there was no chance of Murray giving it back, he charged to victory and his second successive Wimbledon final. He even broke the Janowicz serve for a final time to spare us the drama and agony of him serving it out himself.

Murray’s success was greeted with an echoing roar from crowd who are sure to be right behind him in Sunday’s final, as he bids to become the first British male winner since Fred Perry back in 1936.

Now all that stands in Murray’s way of his maiden Wimbledon title is the ever ominous world number one Novak Djokovic who was given his biggest scare yet by Juan Martin Del Potro in the other semi final, which the Serb finally prevailed 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 in the longest ever men’s semi final at SW19 lasting 4 hours and 44 minutes.

Sunday’s final has all the makings of a classic but will it be Murray mania on his home turf, or will the determined Djokovic spoil the prolonged party? 

Murray Surges Back To Reach Wimbledon Semi

It’s had unthinkable upsets, agonizing injuries and been more unpredictable than ever before, Wimbledon 2013 had certainly given us plenty to talk about. After eight days all it was missing was a five set epic on Centre Court, but we can always rely on Andy Murray to keep us sweating.

Relief for Murray,as recovers from two sets down

For the majority of 3 hours and 26 minutes Murray trailed the world number 54 Fernando Verdasco in a momentum shifting quarter final, it wasn’t until the last 5 minutes that the score board finally showed Murray ahead as he stole the match from the peril of defeat.

With fellow Scot Sir Alex Ferguson watching from the stands, Murray was forced to pull off a great escape that even the former Manchester United boss would have appreciated; he of all people knows the feeling best.

Murray’s fearless mind-set and sheer tenacity ensured he recovered from two sets down for the seventh time in his Grand Slam career, to rescue his fading Wimbledon dream.

He may not have made  it easy for many of us to watch but certainly kept us  intrigued in a energy draining battle which he finally prevailed 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 7-5 to set up a semi final with big serving Pole Jerzy Janowicz.

It was shock to see Verdasco play at the level he did, since his career high ranking of seven in the world back in 2009 the Spaniard had somewhat faded away from the top of the game. While his results this year have also been patchy, in many ways a run to the Wimbledon quarters had come out of the blue.

For two sets Murray had no answer to the Spaniard’s aggressive nature and blistering forehand, which earned him a deserved two set lead. A respectable achievement considering Murray hadn’t dropped a set all tournament.

But as Verdasco soon discovered when you’ve got Murray down at Wimbledon you just can’t let the Brit off the hook. Spurred on by the crowd, Murray hauled his way back to claim an emotional victory on centre court in arguably the match of the Championships so far.

"He served fantastically well. He's a very, very good player. He's been at the top of the game before and he's playing well again. Said Murray “I started to play more solid and really took my time when I had the chance."

Murray more than most knew that when he walked on court against Verdasco he was expected to make the semi-final for the fifth year running, anything less would seen a major let down that’s the price you have to pay when your ranked number two in the world.

Also take into account the early exits of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal which made Murray the overwhelming favourite to progress the final from his half of the draw, only he knows how much pressure that really put on him.

The first set was a cagey affair, as both players struggled to make an impact on their opponent’s service games. Even Murray who is renowned for being one of the most effective returners in the game found it difficult to adapt to the left handed serve possessed by Verdasco.

Verdasco’s aggressive approach resulted in some early errors and break points for Murray; however every time the Spainard was down he was able to come up with the goods finding his serve and sweltering forehand at the vital moments.

Serving second meant Murray was always playing catch up to his opponent, but at 5-4 an unforgiving slip-up proved to be costly for the British number one. A double fault from Murray on Verdasco’s first break point handed the Spainaid a set advantage, for the first time in the Championships Murray was in a spot of trouble.

The momentum looked to have steered back Murray’s way when he broke serve in the third game of the second set, however it abruptly switched back as Murray’s lapse in concentration allowed Verdasco to flip the set on its head breaking Murray twice before serving out for a two sets lead at 5-3 up.

For two sets it was like watching the Murray of old before his triumph at the Olympics and US Open. His passive play was being continuously exploited by Verdasco who was the clear aggressor in the match, at times blasting his higher ranked opponent off the boundaries of the court.

At two sets down any sort of mistake could have been fatal. Murray spent little time in clinching a break at the start of the third to begin his long road back. Verdasco’s grip on the match slowly slackened, as Murray began to step up the court and take the ball on while he ran away with the set.

However Verdasco wasn’t going to back down easily, the Spaniard re-established his rhythm on serve and even forced two break point serve in the sixth game of the fourth set, which Murray sternly denied him.

At 3-3 in the fourth set Murray finally made his move, his more aggressive play was now forcing Verdasco errors whose dreams of an upset were suddenly vanishing. Once the break was sealed there were no signs of Murray handing it back and that was enough to force a deciding set.

Verdasco played his part as Murray far from ran away with it, but with the crowd roaring behind him and his comeback almost complete it seemed inevitable that the home favourite would finally come through.

It took until 5-5 for Murray to claim the significant break which allowed him the serve for the match, where he held to love to survive his biggest test yet.  

Murray’s semi final opponent will come in the shape of 6 foot 8 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland who overcame his fellow countryman Lukasz Kubot 7-5 6-4 6-4. Despite the Pole’s height it is yet another match where Murray must fancy his chances against a man who had never reached a 4^th round of a Slam until this fortnight.

So after all the events and shocks of the last nine days maybe a match like this was just what the tournament was missing. From a British perspective all it needs now is a first male single champion for 77 years. Is that too much to ask? In four days time we’ll know the answer.

Deadly Djokovic Halts Haas

There’s seems to be a hunger about Novak Djokovic at this year’s Wimbledon, a hunger to prove that he is the rightful world number one ahead of  nearest challenger Andy Murray and the tournaments early casualties Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic's toughest test so far, but he's still through in straight sets  

His fourth round match with 35 year old veteran Tommy Haas, a man who four years ago ended Djokovic’s hopes at SW19, proved to be to Serb’s biggest challenge yet. But if this wasn't Djokovic at his best then the rest of the draw should be more than a little concerned at his almost immaculate progress.

After a first set of little resistance from Haas, the German took a shock 4-2 lead in the second breaking Djokovic’s serve for the first time in the tournament. However the 13^th seed slowly faded and although he again broke the Serb when serving for the match at 5-4 it only prevented the inevitable as he went down 6-1 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

“It was never going to be as easy as the first set and I had to work for my games, I was serving well and returning exceptionally good at the vital times. Said Djokovic "I am really glad I managed to close it out in three sets"

However it wasn’t all about the top seed on day 7 of the Championships. This was also the day when Andy Murray, despite a brief scare, saw off 20^th seed Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to reach the last 8 without dropping a set, where he will take on the left handed Spaniard Fernando Verdasco .

It also saw David Ferrer and Juan Martin Del Potro produce their best performances of the tournament so far; the pair will now meet to battle for a potential semi final showdown with Djokovic .

Djokovic himself will now face Tomas Berdych who let’s not forget was a Wimbledon finalist back in 2010, and the Czech had be in good form to see off young Australian Bernard Tomic 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4.

However the big story of the day came in the Women’s draw where defending Champion and clear favourite Serena Williams suffered a staggering defeat  to 23^rd seed German Sabine Lisicki, to bring to an end a 34 match winning streak for the American, as she followed Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka whose departures have swung the draw wide open.

Unfortunately for the British fans Laura Robson wasn’t able add her name to the quarter final line up, as the 19 year olds unprecedented journey was brought to a hard fought end by Estonian Kaia Kanepi who prevailed 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 to set up a quarter final with Lisicki.

After all the upsets 4^th seed and last year’s runner up Agnieszka Radwanska is the highest ranked Woman left in the draw, however the 24 year old Pole is yet to win a Grand Slam and faces Na LI in the pick of the Women’s draw.