Middlesbrough Pre-Season Update

Article by e-Middlesbrough Correspondent Stephen Davison

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When football fans start talking in days rather than weeks, you know the football season is almost upon us as excitement increases.

Pre season is well and truly underway and the players will be starting to get their fitness back after the summer.

The days are gone when players go away and put the pounds on during summer holidays and hammer the all inclusive. Sports science is adapting and transforming every year, players are now sent away with their own tailored training programme so that they can keep in shape and return to work with a target weight set.

The players have been back some 3 weeks now so with basic fitness achieved, they will now be being primed to be at their peak come the first game of the season. Marbella warm weather training has been completed and 4 friendlies have been played, 1 of which was prior to their departure.

The 5 games will have taught us nothing as the opposition will have already been placed to the back of the memory bank by many, but to refresh, they were a 4-1 win against ASA Tirgu Mures, a 0-1 loss to Lucena, a 4-0 victory over Real Linense, a 5-0 thumping of Atletico Clube Portugal and3-1 win against Rochdale.

Plenty of players got a run out and bar the blip against Lucena; it was deemed a worthwhile trip. Next up its Rochdale and then a short journey to Hartlepool, a very difficult home game against top class opposition in Villarreal follows and then the real work starts in earnest with the home curtain raiser against Birmingham.

The loss against Lucena was met with severe criticism from Aitor Karanka. Lots of the post match quotes reflected the same stance he took last season when he was far from impressed with certain performances.

This is a good thing, the man is a winner and wants to win every game that he played and now manages. If the players do not match his orders and fail he will be honest and frank in telling them. This is not just blatant criticism like managers of yesteryear to get a reaction from a player to think ‘I will show you gaffer’.

Yes it is to get a reaction but with an honest view of what he has witnessed and also what he expects. His standards will not drop and his preparation is already talked about within the club as being meticulous, he expects every player to carry out the orders he has given and leave nothing on the pitch.

Recruitment has proved problematic so far but Aitor Karanka seems unfazed by the lack of new personnel. He had a list of targets, of which Kike was the No1 target if you believe all you read, and the club set about trying to get the other players he had earmarked.

Jaunfran agreed terms and then changed his mind due to the fear of feeling homesick, then promptly considered leaving Spain to go to Italy; it’s a relief for the lad that he has found a cure so quickly. The viral #FreeJelleVossen campaign has yet to bear fruit but has raised a laugh from supporters and media interest in Belgium.

The Adam Clayton transfer rumbles on, but the club are believed to be very confident that they will get their man. Huddersfield appear to have moved the goalposts in terms of price so it remains to be seen if Karanka gets his man, but he has identified Clayton as the creative midfielder that he wants.

Kenneth Omeruo has been true to his word and decided to rejoin the Boro on a season long loan. It is a coup in itself that he has chosen to come back and join the good fight as his stock has risen considerably with his performances in the World Cup for Nigeria, which led to lots of interest from Premier League clubs.

Patrick Bamford is another being strongly linked with a loan as well so the Karanka/Mourinho link is working very much to the clubs favour. There will be plenty of opposition for his signature from other clubs though. Other Chelsea youngsters are also being discussed in the media as making a possible temporary switch to the Riverside but time will tell, lots the talk may just be the media picking up on the relationship between the 2 bosses.

The hunt for a right back continues. Young England and Boro starlet Bryn Morris has played at right back during the pre season matches as has David Atkinson. If either player can grab the position by the scruff of the neck, they might just find themselves in the line up on 09 Aug 14 at the Riverside against the blues.

Another forward has been a priority in the transfer window but as yet only Kike has arrived. With that in mind, young Bradley Fewster has done his chances of a call up to the 1st team squad no harm at all with 3 goals in 2 games in Marbella. Match reports have been very positive and he might just find himself on the bench if he continues with his current impressive form and progression.

Luke Williams was another forward thinking player to have a fine pre season, scoring regularly. He has been touted as a future star by the club since he was a young boy having made his debut when just 16 and played for England at every level up to and including U20’s. He is still a young man at just 21, but he now needs to progress fulfil his obvious talent. He had a successful loan at Hartlepool at the back end of last season and done extremely well. Once his loan ended he was back in the 1st team at Boro at the back end of last season and done well. This is a huge season for Luke and I for one really want to see the lad succeed. He has that something extra, that ability to beat a man and get you off your seat. He needs to do it now on a regular basis and establish himself at the club.

Hopefully the rest of pre season will see the team get a good run out in their remaining friendlies, be injury free and have a few more bodies in come the big kick off, ready to hopefully start a promotion campaign.

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