Dave asked me to write the report for this game as he didn't fancy making the trip to the Riverside, but I'll be honest, after watching the reds undo all their previous good work by losing to this team of nobodies, writing about it was the last thing I wanted to do. There's not much to say anyway really. We were dire in the first half, so were they, but they scored with their only chance of the game (now where have we heard that before?). To make matters worse, the goalscorer was their worst player on the field, and surely the least deserving goalscorer of all time. Sander could have done better on the initial shot, but no doubt he'll have some excuse already lined up for why he couldn't hold onto the ball. After that, it was backs to the wall for Boro, as they got everyone back behind the ball and defended frantically. We hardly tested them, with only Gerrard and Barmby looking up for the fight. Losing games like this has been symptomatic of the reds over the last ten years, but when you've just beaten the mancs and Arsenal, it's sickening to lose to this shower. There's clearly a lot of work to be done to turn this side into title contenders, as our away record this season is woeful.
It seems that against the top teams we are okay because we can sit back and play on the break, but when faced with relegation fodder such as Boro, the roles are reversed and it is they who sit back. When this happens, we simply don't have the guile to break down a packed defence, and unless the likes of Heskey comes up with something, we struggle.
We miss Berger, of that there's no question, but the other big problem for us at the moment is that Heskey is the only in form striker we have. It's three years since we've seen Fowler at his best, and apart from that purple patch in September, Owen has struggled for the best part of two years.
Taking this into consideration, it's all the more baffling why GH chose to repeatedly overlook Camara, and then sold him for a pittance. What worries me is what would happen if, God forbid, Heskey was injured or lost form? We'd be in dire straits then I'm afraid, and we need fresh options up front.
TEAM: Sander Westerveld; Markus Babbel (Danny Murphy), Sami Hyypia, Stephane Henchoz, Jamie Carragher; Vladimir Smicer, Steven Gerrard, Igor Biscan (Gary McAllister), Nick Barmby; Michael Owen (Robbie Fowler), Emile Heskey:
