[SHEP_HTAFC]

MIDDLESBOROUGH v HUDDERSFIELD TOWN......SAT 17th JANUARY.....K.O 15:00

SEASON SO FAR

This is a Yorkshire derby...no matter what the 1974 re-drawing of the county boundaries say...although this was rescinded in 1996.
Indeed, a famous son of Middlesborough, Brian Clough, stated that he was "a Yorkshireman born and bred"

Town come into this game after a fantastic performance and result against a promotion chasing Watford last week. A deserved 3-1 home victory was gained with goals from Wells, Vaughan, and Lynch. Indeed Watford had won their last 3 away league games before this, scoring 10 goals and only conceding 2, so this makes last weeks result all the more satisfying.
Town's home form had been very patchy at the start of the season. Their first 4 games only yielded 2 draws. However the last 9 home games has seen us win 6 of them, with only 1 defeat (Birmingham).
The game was a performance full of passion, fight and desire....a complete opposite of the F.A Cup game the week before. That game resulted in a 1-0 home loss to Reading...with a total of 6 shots between the 2 teams and only 1 on target for Reading.
On the road Town are very much weaker than they are at home. After a total of 12 games, Town have only won 2 of them (Reading and Wolves). They have drawn 3, but have lost 7.
Indeed in our last 5 away games Town only have one draw to show for it (a very disappointing 2-2 v Rotherham on Boxing Day...where we were 2 goals up with less than 2 mins to play). The 4 other games were all defeats, including a 5-0 hammering v Norwich. These also included an unlucky 3-2 defeat at Derby, and a hard to stomach 3-1 loss to Fulham after being the better team for long periods.
So we know where Town's problems lie away from home - goals conceded. We have conceded more away goals (28) than any other team except for Fulham (30) this season. Scoring hasn't been as big an issue....we currently lie joint 9th in most away goals scored (15).


Last week Middlesbrough were away at Reading. The game ended 0-0, however the Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici was voted man of the match. Boro dominated possession and had more shots on and off target than the home side. That is Boro's 4th game in a row where they have kept a clean sheet.
Middlesbrough's home form has been patchy this season. They have had some good wins, 2-0 v Derby, 4-0 v Brentford and Norwich....but also some shockers, including a 1-1 draw v Blackpool, and home defeats to Sheff Wed and Reading.
Boro's last 2 home games have resulted in 2 wins, with 5 goals scored and none conceded.
Overall however, Middlesbrough have the best defence in the league, both home and away. They have only conceded 7 home goals, and only 10 away. Scoring has been a little more difficult for them at home, they lie 8th with 22 goals.
Leading scorer this season is midfielder Grant Leadbitter with 11 goals (10 in the league). This is a fantastic return from a player who in the previous 3 seasons has a total of 19 goals. He will be one to watch because in the reverse fixture this season, Middlesbrough won at the JSS 2-1, both goals coming from him, the 2nd from a 90th minute penalty.


This will be a tough game for Town, and I for one would take a draw right now.

PREVIOUS HISTORY

We have played each other 89 times, with a total of 38 wins for Boro, and 32 for Town.

Boro v Town has seen every fixture bar 2 played in the top two divisions of English football.
The exceptions came in 1928 with a 4-0 FA Cup win for Town, and a 1996 League Cup tie we lost 5-1.

HISTORY, FACTS & FIGURES

Middlesborough were formed in 1876. They moved to Ayresome Park in 1903 and their first ever opponents were Celtic for a friendly.

They were the first team, in 1905, to ever pay a transfer fee of 4 figures, £1000 for Alf Common from Sunderland. It took them another 44 years in 1949 to pay their first 5 figure transfer fee.

1914 turned out to be their highest ever finish in the league finishing 3rd.

1966 was the first time ever Boro were relegated to the 3rd tier. They were promoted the following season.

The only other time they were relegated to the 3rd tier was 1986. This was the same year they went into liquidation, and had to be reformed as Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Company (1986) Ltd. They were promoted the following season again.

Middlesborough's only major trophy win was the League Cup of 2004, where they beat Bolton 2-1...Steve McLaren was Boro's manager.

Middlesborough's twin town is Dunkirk

LINKED TO BOTH

The obvious one is Town's current player of the year ADAM CLAYTON.

Also our very own JACOB BUTTERFIELD.

ALUN ARMSTRONG

ANDY PAYTON



Boro's current U13 Academy coach played 98 times for Town between 1995-2000. He was Town's top scorer in the 96-97 season. He was born in Middlesbrough.
PAUL DALTON...

Probably a few more out there.......

FAMOUS FANS OR SONS of BORO

ROY 'CHUBBY' BROWN - "A woman asked her hubby if he knew how she could make her bust bigger. He said 'try rubbing toilet paper between your tits, it's worked for your arse"

BRIAN CLOUGH - "Rome wasn't built in a day. But I wasn't on that particular job"

BOB MORTIMER - "“Vic, have you farted?....  (Vic: "No")......What, never?”

PAUL DANIELS - "You'll like this ... not a lot, but you'll like it."

CHRIS REA - "I went back to see me father after me mother had died and the fuckers had knocked the whole place down. I'd been gone three years, hard touring in Europe. I literally went to drive somewhere that wasn't there. It was like a sci-fi movie. The Middlesbrough I knew, it's as if there was a war there 10 years ago."

SHEP's TEAM

Team selection for Town could be difficult, as Gobern had a good game v Watford and would feel unlucky to be replaced by the now available Hogg after suspension.
Do we stick with the same 4-4-2 format, or go with 3-5-2 and try flood midfield?
My team selection would reflect that I think we need to go for away wins now. Boro have shown they can be beaten at home, and we have shown we can beat teams in the play off positions. So on that basis, my team would be:-

SMITHIES

SMITH  LYNCH  HUDSON  ROBINSON

SCANNELL  COADY  HOGG  BUTTERFIELD  

WELLS  VAUGHAN