TAKE THE LOW ROAD TO GET AT BORO GIANTS
BEFORE their game against Aston Villa yesterday, Middlesbrough had conceded a miserly ten goals from 19 games. No surprise there I guess, considering they are managed by a man who is renowned for his defensive tactics, Tony Pulis. I spoke to Paul Wotton, my former Southampton teammate and currently the Plymouth assistant manager, this week.He told me that, under Pulis, it was black and white. There was no grey, you always knew what was required wherever you were on the pitch. Hours spent on the training ground being drilled has brought Pulis considerable success and players love that clarity, especially when it brings results. His arrival at Boro was reminiscent of his time at Stoke where he worked wonderfully well with chairman Peter Coates. It seems he has a similar rapport at Boro with Steve Gibson. That clarity on the pitch that his players enjoy is also sought by Pulis from those who operate above him. He knows having a close relationship with the key stakeholder can be much more productive than when you go through a middle man. Despite Boro splashing the cash under former boss Garry Monk, this working relationship Pulis harvests with his owners enabled him to bring in defenders Paddy McNair and Aden Flint, before adding Danny Batth from Wolves, to a back line that already boasted Dael Fry, George Friend and Ryan Shotton. Those signings won’t have been cheap. However, in Batth they have a player with a Championship winner’s medal in his back pocket. Batth has had to bide his time under Pulis but he has given Boro some balance at the back and formed a solid partnership with Flint. Against Brentford last week, Pulis was able to consolidate his lead when under the cosh by bringing on another central defender in the form of Daniel Ayala to close out the game. Boro switched to a back three which very quickly became a back five – and it must be the tallest in the league. Fry, Flint, Friend, Ayala and Batth are all well over six foot and are able to deal with anything thrown into the box. How do you get past them? The stats don’t lie, it is hard. Teams have found it difficult to get around and through them, although I feel some sides have played right into their hands. They defend very compact and tight as a unit and have the height to deal with most crosses, so I would try and get down the outside with natural foot players and deliver low crosses or cut-backs, and try to work the ball into forwards’ feet around the box. Central defenders naturally drop towards their own goal and a low cross in the box can cause havoc.