Time for Boro’s stars to roll up sleeves and earn the right to win
A REINVIGORATED, more vibrant Boro must emerge from the international break next weekend.
The two weeks of breathing space away from Championship football has offered Garry Monk and his squad a golden opportunity to get back on track.
After being mugged by Norwich City, Boro began to show unwelcome signs of playing with fear in the home draw against Brentford.
It’s not something which can’t be put right, especially as Monk has amassed a squad of players which is well capable of producing the goods at this level.
But Boro are already eight points behind the front runners. So they can’t afford to lose any more ground in the promotion race.
That’s why they need to come out with all guns blazing and hit the ground running when they return to action at Barnsley next Saturday.
Monk’s main task on the training pitch is to win the battle for hearts and minds. It’s crucial that everybody clears their heads and re-focusses on the task ahead.
It’s been a little perplexing for the fans that Boro are currently in midtable despite having seemingly signed a lot of quality from the £40m summer outlay.
Maybe the expectations have proved too much. Both the bookies and the fans believed Boro would be top of the league by this stage of the campaign.
The players are carrying the weight of those expectations on their shoulders. Maybe it has created sub-conscious belief that the victories would be regularly chalked up simply by turning up. Now reality has hit home, especially following the poor showing against Brentford. The need for everybody to start to roll up their sleeves, and earn the right to dominate games, should not be lost on anybody at the Riverside.
There has been a criticism aimed at Monk that he doesn’t know his best team. But then he is spoiled for choice, certainly from an attacking point of view. So maybe it’s only fair that everybody is given a reasonable opportunity to prove themselves.
In any case there are at least half a dozen players who are likely to become the mainstays of Monk’s lineup this season.
He’s unlikely ever to leave out Britt Assombalonga and Martin Braithwaite, unless their form dips dramatically, while Adam Clayton, Ben Gibson and Cyrus Christie and Darren Randolph are among the men who should be guaranteed a regular place.
Another player who is pushing hard at last to be a regular fixture is Jonny Howson. The former Leeds and Norwich man needed some time to find his feet on Teesside. In fact he was not particularly impressive in the opening games.
But Howson finally and firmly grasped the nettle at Fulham two weeks ago. He was outstanding when the team was under the cosh at Craven Cottage.
Jonny probably tried too hard against his former club Norwich in a match whether Boro were generally held in a strait-jacket.
But he produced by far his best home performance against Brentford. He worked tirelessly to try to drive on the team at a time when players around him were suffering from the jitters.
Monk initially seemed to have settled on his first choice defence, but made a big change last week when he omitted Dael Fry.
The Middlesbrough-born defender has come on in leaps and bounds during his run in the side and indicated that he might become a permanent fixture.
However he paid a very heavy price for his naïve boob against Norwich when he was dropped for the clash with Brentford.
The experienced Ryan Shotton came in as replacement though the new man did not enjoy the best of home debuts on a day when the Boro back line looked more nervous that at any stage this season.
We must wait to see whether Monk brings Fry back, while another defender currently out of the side is longterm Teesside favourite George Friend.
Fabio has been preferred at leftback and, while the Brazilian’s defensive strengths are open to question, he can be a force going forward. In fact he has already weighed in with two goals.
At this moment in time Monk needs enthusiastic players and Fabio fits the bill, though Friend’s positive attitude has never been in question.
Up front, Monk has so many attacking options that it may take some time for the forwards to sort themselves out into some kind of pecking order.
Nobody can doubt the overall quality within the squad, which is one reason why Boro fans are frustrated by the team’s current league position.
We must not forget that Boro have lost just one game in all competitions, but then their performance against Brentford was the worst of the season.
That’s why time on the training ground during the international break must be used effectively.
It doesn’t really matter which lineup that Monk selects against Barnsley as long as the team hits the ground running and fights for the right to take the three points.