New Boro arrivals bring a return to old values

05 March 2010 09:45
MIDDLESBROUGH have lacked an old-fashioned leader in their dressing room since former skipper Gareth Southgate hung up his boots.[LNB] That is the view of Boro first-team coach Colin Cooper who believes that the arrival of Willo Flood, Stephen McManus and Barry Robson has added some proper men[LNB] to a squad that boasted impressive technical ability but lacked traditional football values.[LNB] Gordon Strachan has labelled every game in the Championship as being like a war of attrition and Cooper is convinced the no-nonsense arrivals from Celtic possess an abundance of fighting spirit and leadership.[LNB] The coach regards tomorrow's trip to Cardiff City as a game that Boro must not lose and called on the players to show the same battling qualities that made Cooper such an uncompromising performer in his playing days.[LNB] In this league I think those old-fashioned values serve you well, he said. The manager used a perfect phrase the other day, he called it a war of attrition' where you grind out every single game.[LNB] That pitch we played on against Blackpool last month was like turning back the clock 15 years. That was a battle and we weren't strong enough on the night. By hook or by crook we must not lose at Cardiff.[LNB] Cooper described the type of characters that he feels the club has lacked in recent years.[LNB] I do think it's a generation thing,'' he admitted. You see less and less of the hardened professionals like I saw when I was a kid.[LNB] They were not as good technically as a lot of the kids you see coming through the academies, but they set the standards in terms of commitment.[LNB] On the training ground they would make sure that no one shied out of a 50-50 ball.[LNB] Nowadays you see people pulling out to avoid contact or confrontation in training sessions.[LNB] The lads like Mick (Stephen McManus), Barry (Robson) and Willo (Flood) all have that quality, they are what I would call proper men, proper footballers'.[LNB] Just look at Willo. What you see in him is a bit of a throwback. He may only be 5ft 6in but he plays like he's 6ft 4in. He is the type of lad who has an abundance of spirit.[LNB] You can see he is a hard little so-and-so but he's also a decent athlete and an excellent technical footballer. He has a lot going for him.[LNB] I think the lads who've come in, and I would also include Danny Coyne in there too, were brought up with the values of a different era where older players pretty much ran dressing rooms and ran football clubs if we are honest.[LNB] Managers used to put a lot of onus on older players to get things right in the dressing room whereas we have had a lack of experienced players.[LNB] Maybe not since Gareth (Southgate) retired, he was probably the last of that generation.'' He added: Younger players are not of that ilk any more.[LNB] Maybe it's unfair to tar all of them with the same brush.[LNB] You still find one or two but generally the younger players are quieter and go about their job.[LNB] Most of them we have here are very good, technically gifted footballers. But if they can add something to their game at the age of 19-20 and become a leader then you are setting yourself up to become what I call a proper footballer.[LNB]

Source: Northern_Echo