Honeymoon over for Strachan at ‘Boro?
For a team with just three married men in their squad the end of the honeymoon is an inappropriate term to use but there doesn’t seem much evidence of love-in’s going on around the Riverside Stadium as new relationships develop.
Reading through an opinion piece in the Daily Mail the writer seemed to identify and highlight a number of issues which will be very familiar to most Celtic fans.
Touching on the problems of finding the right combination of strikers to put the ball in the net through inconsistent team selections and onto his contempt for media duties it reads like deja vu from the moans and groans of Celtic supporters over the last few years.
Throw in a fall-out with the teams most creative player, in this case Adam Johnson, and it seems that football at the Riverside isn’t much fun at the moment.
PROMOTION
Without a win in the four games that Strachan has been in charge for ‘Boro travel to face QPR at the weekend with their hopes of automatic promotion fading fast.
The appointment of a new manager is supposed to give a team a lift but it seems that Strachan has had a negative effect on the squad at the Riverside Stadium with his approach and attitude rubbing people up the wrong way.
Gareth Southgate managed to survive relegation last season and had the club in a decent position when he was axed although a three consecutive home defeats, including a 5-0 hammering from West Brom had attendances plummeting.
“The form of Adam Johnson since Southgate’s departure and the appointment of Strachan should already set the alarm bells ringing,” sounds a little familiar as we approach the first anniversary of the spectacular fall out of Strachan and Aiden McGeady.
Johnson was voted the North-East Player of the Year last week but with his mentor Southgate no longer at the club it looks certain that the academy graduate will be leaving the club at the end of the season when his contract expires.
“They cannot hold on to leads, they are shipping goals and failing to create enough chances to bury weaker opponents and, even with Strachan’s new striking additions, are not scoring enough goals,” added the article, if it wasn’t for the date that comment could have applied to Celtic at any point from January 3 onwards to the final goal-less draws that saw the SPL title lost.
MEDIA
Finally it’s onto media relations and it doesn’t seem that Gordon has learned much from his Celtic experience.
Sure there can be silly questions, and even sillier questioners, but when the cameras and tapes are rolling it’s a good idea to view the bigger picture and appreciate that you are talking to your supporters and the public in general rather than the dirty dozen sitting with you in the room.
The article added: “Strachan gives the impression that press conferences and interviews – in fact the media full stop – are an irrelevance, a pain in the backside and a waste of his valuable time.
“Why does anyone want to be asked and then have to answer stupid questions?
“But supporters in this region expect a little more from their managers. They want to hear what they have to say, in fact they demand it.”
As I said it all sounds very familiar to the latter days of his Celtic reign, that wonderful thing called hindsight would surely suggest that winning three-in-a-row at Tannadice in May 2008 would have been the perfect time for Strachan to bow out unbeaten at Celtic.
The trials of Strachan and Middlesbrough will make interesting and detached viewing for Celtic supporters over the coming weeks and months.
Despite their league position they remain third favourites for promotion but even at odds of 20/1 there’s unlikely to be a rush of money for ‘Boro to finish the season as champions.