Since taking over Middlesbrough in the middle of January,
The Good Doctor Fox was tipped as a favourite for the drop and many expected
Season 6 for the north East side would be taking place in Division 3.
The first couple of games seemed to go rather routinely with
losses at home to Bolton and away to Charlton. Fox had to wait until his third
game in charge to claim his first point at home to Cardiff City.
Fox stated that he expected the first few games to be ‘casualties
of war’ as the squad was unfit and very top heavy, favouring attack instead of
defence and indeed the team were leaking goals, conceding 7 in the aforementioned
first three games.
After the draw against Cardiff, it was clear that TGDF
wanted to build upon new tactics, focus on stabilising the defence while making
the most out of the flurry of attacking options, there couldn’t be a tougher
challenge as his side travelled to league leaders (and new Division 2
champions), Blackburn Rovers.
“I felt that the Blackburn game was my first real game in
charge, the team was fit again, I had my own tactics and mentality in place and
transfers were starting to come in and out to mould what I wanted the team to
be. I felt for the first time my side was picked though my own hand, not a
forced one.”
The match re-vitalised Middlesbrough’s season as the team
captured a hugely unexpected 3-0 win at Ewood Park.
A slight dip against Sunderland in the North East derby saw
Boro lose 1-0 but Middlesbrough bounced back going on a 7 game unbeaten streak
claiming scalps from top teams in the division, scoring 22 goals in the process
and conceding 7, 3 of which in a 3-3 draw with Watford.
“I think it showed at that point we didn’t need as many
attackers as we had when I took over, I trimmed it down quite substantially and
we still managed to score on a very frequent basis. I think it does still show
that work may be needed in defence a little especially with our loanee’s going
back to their clubs. For the work they have put in, I truly can’t thank them or
their managers enough.
It wasn’t just an effort on their side though, our own
players really pulled their socks up and gave everything they had. It has shown
tremendous character on their part as they knew what it was like previously going
from game to game struggling to pick anything up. They have really shown what
they are capable of.”
Overall Middlesbrough finished 14th in Division 1,
8 places away from the drop zone they were predicted to finish up in with a whopping
20 point cushion.
“I have shown what this team is capable of and while I put
tactics in place, they are the ones going all out on the pitch. If this is what
they are able to accomplish in such a short space of time, imagine what they
will be capable of next season!”
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