:00:15. > :00:20.On tonight's Late Kick Off: It WASN'T acceptable in the '80s -
:00:20. > :00:23.but is fake now the way forward? $YELLOW If we have a standard
:00:23. > :00:26.generic pitch throughout football, there ain't going to be any point
:00:26. > :00:31.going to away games. Quinn's gone - but is O'Neill
:00:31. > :00:33.heading back to Wembley with the Black Cats?
:00:33. > :00:40.And Hartlepool were flying high on Saturday - could Carlisle match
:00:40. > :00:44.them tonight? Hello, welcome to another Late Kick
:00:44. > :00:47.Off. Danny Mills is back. And joining us tonight is another
:00:47. > :00:51.former Middlesbrough and England defender, now the Under 18s coach
:00:51. > :00:55.at the Riverside, Colin Cooper. Does another exciting era beckon at
:00:55. > :00:58.the Borough Academy? I mean, we finished that game - I've let my
:00:58. > :01:03.allegiance go in there - Borough finished the game with a Graduates
:01:03. > :01:06.against Sunderland the other week... Well, I think it's the way forward.
:01:06. > :01:09.You know, the money that's not in football any more, I think you've
:01:09. > :01:11.got to keep developing, and we've had a good reputation over the
:01:11. > :01:14.years, and hopefully we can continue.
:01:14. > :01:19.Yeah. Did Gordon Strachan's prevalence for signing men in
:01:19. > :01:22.kilts... Did that cause any lasting damage? Cos morale must have been a
:01:22. > :01:25.bit low when all these established pros were being brought in.
:01:25. > :01:29.Well, when I was young, one of the reasons I signed for Middlesbrough
:01:29. > :01:33.was that there was always a pathway. That pathway stopped briefly, but
:01:33. > :01:36.thankfully it's open again now. This is the way forward, isn't it?
:01:36. > :01:39.I was at Southampton at the weekend, spoke to Nigel Adkins, their
:01:39. > :01:43.manager - they are trying to get a team that is at least half home-
:01:43. > :01:48.produced. It's got to make a sense in the current financial climate.
:01:48. > :01:51.Oh, definitely. But Colin's right - players need a bit of light at the
:01:51. > :01:55.end of the tunnel, they need to see their dream is possible. And I
:01:55. > :01:58.think that's even happening at the likes of Man City - one or two
:01:58. > :02:01.Academy lads have been in and around the first team on the bench,
:02:01. > :02:05.just to give them a little relief, and a bit of hope.
:02:05. > :02:08.Do you worry about the fall away? Do you worry about the fact that
:02:08. > :02:11.you'll have a hell of a lot of players that are unfortunately not
:02:11. > :02:14.going to make it? Well, that is the sad part about
:02:14. > :02:18.football, you know, Dave Parnaby who runs the Academy has that job
:02:18. > :02:22.to do every year, the yes and no one, and it's an awful thing, but I
:02:22. > :02:25.think when you bring players in at 16, there is a point we have to say,
:02:25. > :02:29.this isn't the way to go. But hopefully I think we give them
:02:29. > :02:31.enough belief, enough tools to go and have a career, even if it's not
:02:31. > :02:34.at Middlesbrough, have a career somewhere else.
:02:34. > :02:38.Well, that's the whole point - to try and hone them up to have at
:02:38. > :02:40.least some sort of career. If you are of a certain age, you will
:02:40. > :02:44.remember those horrible plastic pitches at clubs like Preston,
:02:44. > :02:47.Oldham, Luton and QPR in the 1980s. Well, since they ripped up the
:02:47. > :02:51.Astroturf at Deepdale in the 1993- 1994 season, English football has
:02:51. > :02:54.been a grass-only game. But last Thursday ,the Football League
:02:54. > :02:56.announced plans to canvas opinion about the possible return of
:02:57. > :03:06.artificial pitches. And, as Andrew Hartley reports, technology has
:03:07. > :03:16.
:03:16. > :03:24.# It was acceptable in the '80s... Actually, they were hated by most
:03:24. > :03:27.people in the 1980s, but plastic pitches aren't what they once were.
:03:27. > :03:30.Northern League side Durham City are the highest placed team in the
:03:30. > :03:37.English football pyramid to play on one of the new-style artificial
:03:37. > :03:40.pitches. It's state of the art, with grass-like fibres. Durham's
:03:41. > :03:44.manager is the former Sunderland player Richard Ord.
:03:44. > :03:49.I would rather play on grass, but this is fantastic, because we have
:03:49. > :03:58.never had a game called of all season. It gets played off seven
:03:58. > :04:02.days a week throughout the year. I prefer this rather than playing
:04:02. > :04:08.on some of the other pitches where you get bobbly surfaces, and cannot
:04:08. > :04:11.get your touch right most of the time.
:04:11. > :04:15.Some of the games we've seen this year have far surpassed anything in
:04:15. > :04:25.the Premier League. The tempo, the passing, the speed of the game's
:04:25. > :04:36.
:04:36. > :04:39.been absolutely brilliant, so as a The Durham City pitch began life
:04:39. > :04:42.here in Cumbria. The company's one of Britain's leading manufacturers
:04:42. > :04:52.of artificial grass, and has just been awarded the contract to
:04:52. > :04:58.
:04:58. > :05:02.install a training pitch for the The technology is much different
:05:02. > :05:05.from the '80s - the '80s carpet was very much like you would find in
:05:05. > :05:10.your sitting room. The grass itself is a very hard-wearing polyethylene
:05:10. > :05:14.fibre, which is stitched into a polypropylene backing. It's then
:05:14. > :05:17.sealed in with a latex covering on the back. I think they should
:05:17. > :05:23.embrace the technology - there's a lot of successful examples of
:05:23. > :05:25.pitches, not just in football, but in other sports out there. Hockey
:05:25. > :05:29.is now being played on an artificial surface since the mid-
:05:29. > :05:37.seventies, other sports are just slow to catch up. People are afraid
:05:37. > :05:40.of it, because they are not used to The winter weather has played havoc
:05:40. > :05:43.with the Football League fixtures recently. Last weekend,
:05:43. > :05:50.Middlesbrough's game at Ipswich was abandoned, 20 other matches
:05:50. > :05:53.postponed. The positives of synthetic turf for clubs without
:05:53. > :05:59.undersoil heating, are clear - many games would not have been called
:05:59. > :06:02.off, saving money, and a fixture pile-up. Plus, there are other
:06:02. > :06:12.financial benefits, which is why Accrington Stanley are leading the
:06:12. > :06:13.
:06:13. > :06:18.call for change. Instead of just using it once or
:06:18. > :06:25.twice a week, you can use it seven days a week. We could have the
:06:25. > :06:30.youth team on it, the community team, and you just -- you do not
:06:30. > :06:35.just bring in money through the rental, but you have a halt though
:06:35. > :06:40.more of people coming in and using the football club.
:06:40. > :06:44.But our League One sides are not so sure. I still feel that football is
:06:44. > :06:48.again that should be played on grass. I am a traditionalist. I
:06:48. > :06:53.feel that we are making the game more and more sterile, the next
:06:53. > :06:58.thing will be indoor pitches and this sort of thing. I just think we
:06:58. > :07:03.should stick to the grass, it is part of the game, you go away
:07:03. > :07:07.somewhere and think, is their pitch good or bad, so you have to adapt
:07:07. > :07:12.to their pitch. If we have a generic football pitch throughout
:07:12. > :07:16.football, there will be no point in going to away games. We are all on
:07:16. > :07:21.the same level. For somebody as ordinary a player
:07:21. > :07:25.as me, I played on one of the first pictures ever at QPR, I ended up
:07:26. > :07:33.tackling fresh air, the ball was bouncing so much. It would be a
:07:33. > :07:36.disaster. Players do not like it, managers do not like it, more
:07:36. > :07:40.experienced and international players would say it affects ankles
:07:40. > :07:45.and joints, so it would not be a step forward as far as are
:07:45. > :07:54.unconcerned. Rugby has already died in. Gosforth
:07:54. > :08:02.led the way in Union, no Super League new boys Widnes have a so-
:08:02. > :08:06.called iPitch, its which so far has been met with a mixed response.
:08:06. > :08:11.If you use the right fibre, burn marks should be avoided. Not only
:08:11. > :08:17.because of the carpet, but -- but because of what is underneath the
:08:17. > :08:22.carpet. They may be a shock pad, and the low that, a base of stone,
:08:22. > :08:26.then maybe at a further base -- a further shock pad beneath it.
:08:26. > :08:31.At Durham City, they 0.2 experiments that proved their pitch
:08:31. > :08:37.is not any more dangerous than grass.
:08:37. > :08:42.The only thing with the artificial surface, is that it is a lot faster,
:08:42. > :08:47.and insurance plays a big part. Muscle soreness and stiffness, the
:08:47. > :08:54.players complain about. There is no injuries. You do get a few odd
:08:54. > :09:00.little Burns, but you can get grass burns, so when it has got rain
:09:00. > :09:05.macro on it it is perfect. When we have had heavy weather, it
:09:05. > :09:08.-- on grass you would go all over on your ankles, but this is a plain
:09:08. > :09:13.flat surface. Before plastic pitches come to the
:09:13. > :09:20.League, there would need to be a vote in favour at an AGM of all 72
:09:20. > :09:23.clubs, perhaps in two years' time. A lot of the clubs pushing for it
:09:23. > :09:33.other clubs that claim would be on there as well. I just think the
:09:33. > :09:40.
:09:40. > :09:48.Danny, soap and -- no games get called off, no bobbles, and its
:09:48. > :09:53.beat -- it speeds the match up? Nonsense! I understand it is a
:09:53. > :09:56.fantastic tool for learning on, it is brilliant for kids, but playing
:09:56. > :10:01.at the highest level it is certainly not. Professionals do not
:10:01. > :10:09.like it, the ball does not roll the same, but has the same, a bit like
:10:09. > :10:14.golf, when you see players take a defect, they take a big chunk of
:10:14. > :10:22.grass. You cannot do that on Astroturf. But the world progresses,
:10:22. > :10:26.we do not have men in ruffles and tights any more! Life goes on, we
:10:27. > :10:32.have the technology, why not apply it in football? Particularly lower
:10:32. > :10:36.down when the struggle so much to get a game on? I understand the
:10:36. > :10:43.point, and I think the debate is, you do not get games called off -
:10:43. > :10:50.fine. But quick and easy, artificial pitch? Artificial game.
:10:50. > :10:56.That much of a difference? It is a great teaching told... We have
:10:56. > :11:02.teams, Serie A teams in Italy use it, it is used in France,
:11:02. > :11:06.Switzerland, Belgium, in Scotland, they have already introduced it...
:11:06. > :11:10.It is a massive advantage for the home team, because it plays
:11:10. > :11:17.completely different to grass. The ball does not roll the same, it is
:11:17. > :11:24.harder. It affects your knees more. So you end up with more knee-
:11:24. > :11:29.ligament damage, cartage damage, because used -- you twist your foot,
:11:29. > :11:35.and your foot stays planted. If you go and watch a game or play on it,
:11:35. > :11:41.it is a completely different game, for kids it is perfect, up to the
:11:42. > :11:46.age of 16. This is the latest we see is the latest generation.
:11:47. > :11:54.must have had previous experience of plastic pitches - in terms of
:11:54. > :12:00.soft tissue... I played in Luton, as Danny said, massive thing for
:12:00. > :12:07.the home team. You know the consistency, you get used to it.
:12:08. > :12:13.You see some of the Games in the lower leagues, Durham City, you see
:12:13. > :12:20.some of them players, throwing themselves in front of balls, slide
:12:20. > :12:25.tackles. There is no knowing what it does to your skin. It rips it.
:12:25. > :12:33.am tempted to get you to rip your trousers off and test it! You are
:12:33. > :12:37.right, some of the injuries look horrific. Slabs of meat... It is
:12:38. > :12:42.bad enough pre-season when you are playing on dry pitches, but when
:12:42. > :12:47.you slide on this, like the Rugby League lads, you end up with a grey
:12:47. > :12:53.is that simply does not heal for three or four months. Sometimes a
:12:53. > :12:58.patch that sort of size, and it does not heal because every week
:12:58. > :13:02.you are training, you get infections... So would it have to
:13:02. > :13:08.be blanket Colin, would everybody have to adopt it in terms
:13:08. > :13:14.offenders? I understand the financial implications for clubs in
:13:14. > :13:18.League One... Harry Redknapp said this week that they struggled at
:13:18. > :13:23.Stevenage because the pitch was rubbish. It is a cliche, but the
:13:23. > :13:27.pitch is a great leveller. If a Premier League side go to an away
:13:27. > :13:33.game and the pitch is terrible, the advantage of being better, more
:13:33. > :13:40.skilful, goes out the window. So yes, for kids learning their skills,
:13:40. > :13:48.you have consistency. But at the very top level, artificial pitches
:13:48. > :13:56.are not anywhere near a good enough for me to play week in, week out.
:13:56. > :14:06.Bad news for lines meant to. If you have any sports injuries to show us,
:14:06. > :14:13.
:14:13. > :14:16.keep it clean please! You can Still to come: A rare Monday night
:14:16. > :14:20.away trip for Carlisle. Could they repeat their finest hour with
:14:20. > :14:23.another win against Brentford? Niall Quinn's 11 and a half years
:14:23. > :14:26.stay in Sunderland is over. He arrived in 1996 as a player and
:14:26. > :14:29.departed in 2002. He returned in 2006 temporarily as manager, then
:14:29. > :14:39.became chairman. He has been in international development for the
:14:39. > :14:42.majority of the season. -- this season. Ellis Short, the owner, in
:14:42. > :14:46.a glowing tribute, said his work was done in this area. Surprise,
:14:46. > :14:50.for me. Like you say, he is part of the furniture at Sunderland. It's a
:14:50. > :14:57.real surprise. If that's coming from Ellis Short, maybe his work is
:14:57. > :15:00.done. Hopefully by his own choice. He's got family and business
:15:00. > :15:05.interests in Ireland outside football. If that is the case,
:15:05. > :15:08.fantastic. Go home, relax and enjoy yourself. He has done a fantastic
:15:08. > :15:11.job for Sunderland Football Club, let's not forget that. I suppose if
:15:11. > :15:14.we're looking at his legacy, we will look to their darkest hour
:15:14. > :15:18.when they'd stumbled out of the Premier League with a record low
:15:18. > :15:22.points and he brought Roy Keane in. And started the root and branch
:15:22. > :15:26.that has established Sunderland now as a Premier League team. Well, he
:15:26. > :15:29.did fantastic as a player. He had that incredible partnership with
:15:29. > :15:33.Kevin Phillips. He's still playing. And then he obviously went away,
:15:33. > :15:36.came back, and he was a great front man for the club. He had passion. I
:15:36. > :15:41.think the fact that he knew about football, he knew about business
:15:41. > :15:44.and managed to put the two together. He said he didn't know about
:15:44. > :15:47.business. He said in his pay-off that he didn't really have any
:15:47. > :15:51.formal education, no business experience. He's now gone away to
:15:51. > :15:55.look after his own business interests. I think he's had enough.
:15:55. > :15:58.He knows enough about business and football. In a boardroom, talking
:15:58. > :16:00.about football to a chairman and giving them a basic understanding
:16:00. > :16:06.of what footballers are like and managers, it would have been
:16:06. > :16:11.invaluable. And he has done a fantastic job. He hasn't quite been
:16:11. > :16:15.in the limelight in the last couple of seasons. He's had more of a
:16:15. > :16:18.back-seat role, if you like. But he's done a fantastic job and I
:16:18. > :16:22.think everyone wishes him all the best. Massive charisma as well, of
:16:22. > :16:25.course. Wonderful guy and I think the world of him. You rightly said,
:16:25. > :16:30.bringing Roy Keane back and getting the whole thing going again after
:16:30. > :16:37.that horrible Premier League season. But good luck to him. He's a
:16:37. > :16:40.fantastic and I wish him all best. He feels he leaves the club in good
:16:40. > :16:43.hands off the field and certainly on. A lot of Sunderland fans will
:16:43. > :16:47.certainly agree having seen off Arsenal in the quarter-finals of
:16:47. > :16:50.the FA Cup. Everton away in the next round. Are they potential
:16:50. > :16:58.winners, do you think? They'll certainly have it on their radar
:16:58. > :17:01.with a man like that. When you look at who's left in the draw, Chelsea
:17:01. > :17:04.have a difficult game against Birmingham. Sunderland have to be
:17:04. > :17:06.up there. Tottenham I presume will be one of the favourites. You
:17:06. > :17:10.presume they're going to get through against Stevenage in the
:17:10. > :17:13.replay. But after that, normally it's one of the big four. I think
:17:13. > :17:16.it's only happened twice in the last 20 years that a team outside
:17:16. > :17:20.the top four... Sunderland have an out and out I must win attitude.
:17:20. > :17:24.But they have their work cut out. Martin O'Neill has done a fantastic
:17:24. > :17:27.and job and they have to be in the top three or four favourites.
:17:27. > :17:31.only problem is they haven't won at Goodison since 1998 which was
:17:31. > :17:35.eventually on a penalty shoot-out. Not beaten Everton at all since
:17:35. > :17:43.2001. And David Moyes has never lost to Sunderland in 14 games as
:17:43. > :17:47.Everton boss. Well, as somebody from a family Sunderland background,
:17:47. > :17:51.there always has to be a first time, so this might just be the one.
:17:51. > :17:55.are all pledging our allegiances somehow tonight. Some of us more by
:17:55. > :18:00.accident than others. We should say congratulations to James McClean
:18:00. > :18:03.claim for getting his first call-up to the Ireland squad. Hartlepool
:18:03. > :18:07.are back in League One's top 10 after that 3-0 win over Notts
:18:07. > :18:14.County. Neale Cooper absolute they gave them the hairdryer after the
:18:14. > :18:17.1-0 defeat to Preston last week. -- absolutely. To such an extent he
:18:17. > :18:20.said he was exhausted. He learned under the grand master, Sir Alex
:18:20. > :18:24.Ferguson. Have you ever been on the receiving end of the hairdryer?
:18:24. > :18:28.you having a laugh? Hairdryer? What would I want with one of them!
:18:28. > :18:34.set that up for you, didn't I? Have you ever been absolutely beasted by
:18:34. > :18:40.a manager? Once or twice, maybe a lot more than that. You need it
:18:40. > :18:44.sometimes. Do you? Of course you do. You have to be careful what players
:18:44. > :18:47.you do it to. Some players react really badly. But as a player
:18:47. > :18:51.sometimes you need a kick up the backside. That is what you've got
:18:51. > :18:54.to have. I think Arsenal probably deserved one last midweek. They
:18:54. > :18:58.didn't perform against Sunderland and now they're out of the Cup. So
:18:58. > :19:01.it does work. But is there a place in the modern game with the brittle
:19:01. > :19:06.personalities? You're dealing with 18 year-olds and you ask them to
:19:06. > :19:12.make a cup of tea and they cry. Like Danny said, you have to pick
:19:12. > :19:15.your targets. There are people who you can give the hairdryer to. Some
:19:15. > :19:18.you have got to put your arm around. But it definitely worked. They won
:19:18. > :19:21.3-0 and Martin Allen lost his job after the game, so whatever worked,
:19:21. > :19:24.it worked. Whatever Neil did, it worked. You have been reading my
:19:24. > :19:31.next link! Brentford's Griffin Park is a regular in football trivia
:19:31. > :19:35.quizzes. Do you know why? That's what Google is for, surely! I know.
:19:35. > :19:39.It has a pub on every corner. That's old school for you. He is
:19:39. > :19:41.absolutely right. It does have a pub on every corner. So, after
:19:41. > :19:44.tonight's game down in west London, Carlisle fans were spoilt for
:19:44. > :19:46.choice to either celebrate a win or drown their sorrows. You
:19:46. > :19:56.commentator, BBC Cumbria's James commentator, BBC Cumbria's James
:19:56. > :20:10.
:20:10. > :20:20.into the back of the net. -- good ball. Great ball end. Right to the
:20:20. > :20:27.
:20:27. > :20:37.edge of the area. Brentford are 1-0 up. Carlisle have it now. Pong past
:20:37. > :20:45.
:20:45. > :20:50.one man. Into the stands. From a tight angle, it is in the net.
:20:50. > :21:00.Harder and low. The goalkeeper could not deal with it. After 32
:21:00. > :21:24.
:21:24. > :21:34.coming in and it is in the back of the net for 3-0. Carlisle are in
:21:34. > :21:37.
:21:37. > :21:43.big trouble now. He went -- the defender went for a back header and
:21:44. > :21:53.got it very wrong. The very questionable. After 41 minutes, it
:21:54. > :22:05.
:22:05. > :22:15.is three goals to nil. They could be space for the 4th. Good save.
:22:15. > :22:28.
:22:28. > :22:34.Good save by Adam column. Dear me. Carlisle are in real trouble. What
:22:34. > :22:44.a finish. Be done -- it didn't matter who was there as it was a
:22:44. > :22:49.
:22:49. > :22:54.wonderful finish. Straight into the top corner. Beautiful finish.
:22:54. > :23:04.Carlisle were worried about the men at the back post, but a man at the
:23:04. > :23:31.
:23:31. > :23:41.front paws just bend it into the Almost a hat trick there. It has
:23:41. > :24:08.
:24:08. > :24:13.some of that. I am not saying Carlisle are not trying, but it is
:24:13. > :24:22.good to see someone come out and show what it means. That is full
:24:22. > :24:32.time. They beat them here this time last year in the Johnstone's Paint
:24:32. > :24:34.
:24:34. > :24:42.Trophy final. But tonight Carlisle have been mauled.
:24:42. > :24:52.Not a good night for the Cumbrians. They have done Hartlepool no
:24:52. > :24:58.Last week, Darlington earned a stay of execution until the end of April.
:24:58. > :25:01.Darlington 1883 was formed so fans can buy shares. They're trying to
:25:01. > :25:07.raise �750,000. 173,000 so far. They reckon 600,000 will be enough
:25:07. > :25:10.to make the club viable for the future. What do you think? Well,
:25:10. > :25:15.first of all, that they're still in business is the most important
:25:15. > :25:18.thing. They have been through a really, really rough patch and, as
:25:18. > :25:21.much as I think is he is probably enjoying it, I feel for Craig
:25:21. > :25:27.Liddle. All hands to the pump. Youth team, first team, the whole
:25:27. > :25:30.lot. I just hope that whoever gets hold of it, they get the money
:25:30. > :25:33.together and have a bit of good fortune for the people of
:25:33. > :25:36.Darlington. We want to see them back in the League if possible and
:25:36. > :25:44.that's not going to happen if they can't raise the money. Creeping
:25:44. > :25:48.ominously as well towards the relegation zone. Does it remind you
:25:48. > :25:51.of 1986, of what happened with Middlesbrough's liquidation? Gates
:25:51. > :25:55.locked, training on park pitches? Well, listen, the one thing it is
:25:55. > :26:04.for the players, we might be smiling or whatever, but we were
:26:04. > :26:07.scared. We weren't that scared, obviously! Well, indeed. Can we
:26:07. > :26:10.just talk about co-ordination and knowing the words of the singalong
:26:10. > :26:13.there! Never been a problem! think it's important, I really do.
:26:13. > :26:23.That end shot was nearly 12 months after the beginning shot, which has
:26:23. > :26:26.the scary part. -- was. I think I'd played a dozen games in the first
:26:26. > :26:29.team. So, where's your football career? Them lads who are now
:26:29. > :26:33.playing at Darlington, you hope that can be sorted out. So that
:26:33. > :26:36.they get football careers. And hopefully back in the League as
:26:36. > :26:40.quickly as possible. Great club. I would just like to see the people
:26:40. > :26:43.of Darlington really get behind them. Different feel round
:26:43. > :26:46.Middlesbrough this week and for the last week after that midweek win
:26:46. > :26:51.over Forest, first since Boxing Day. Giving everyone a bit of a boost.
:26:51. > :26:56.Three points from the previous 18. It is really tough for Tony at the
:26:56. > :26:59.moment. Everybody knew that the squad wasn't massive and suffered a
:26:59. > :27:02.few injuries and a few suspensions recently. So it has been a real
:27:02. > :27:12.grind. But the performance against Forest, they were much better than
:27:12. > :27:15.
:27:15. > :27:18.Forest on the night. They deserved the win. It should have been more
:27:18. > :27:21.comfortable really than it was at the end of the game, but
:27:21. > :27:24.Middlesbrough were much stronger than Forest. You just hope that
:27:24. > :27:27.they can get another one at Millwall and then they can get back
:27:27. > :27:31.into the play-off picture. And you never know. Is it the play-offs, do
:27:31. > :27:34.you think? You pulled me up on it a few weeks ago. You still haven't
:27:34. > :27:37.forgot it! It's tough. A young, small squad, you don't have
:27:37. > :27:40.strength in depth. It was always going to have a tricky spell.
:27:40. > :27:44.Hopefully they have now got out of that. They can now go on a decent
:27:44. > :27:47.run to the end of the season. If they make the play-offs, as we all
:27:47. > :27:50.know, the play-offs is a complete lottery. You have got three games
:27:50. > :27:55.to get to the final and possibly get promotion. We have seen the
:27:55. > :27:59.team from sixth sometimes do it. It can happen. But now they have to
:27:59. > :28:02.start again and get a new lot of momentum going towards the end of
:28:02. > :28:05.the season and let so that they do. Just a word about Barry Robson.
:28:05. > :28:08.He's going to depart at the end of the season to the Vancouver
:28:08. > :28:11.Whitecaps. Which means, at the age of 33, they're getting a higher
:28:11. > :28:15.earner of the books, but he has been a major influence. Obviously,
:28:15. > :28:18.the lads you mentioned before came down from Scotland, I'd like to say
:28:18. > :28:21.I think Barry has been the biggest success of them all. He has that
:28:21. > :28:24.epitome that Middlesbrough fan loves. -- fans. He wears his heart
:28:24. > :28:28.on his sleeve and gives his lot. Hence one or two suspensions. By
:28:28. > :28:32.I'll be sad to see him go. I think he's been one of the better players
:28:32. > :28:34.of the last two years. And nice to see Rhys Williams been given an
:28:34. > :28:37.extended contract. Which either means you're tying up the crown
:28:37. > :28:40.jewels or you're going to get a good pay-off when he does go.
:28:40. > :28:43.Fantastic. Got to keep the youngsters to keep going. Really
:28:43. > :28:46.good to see you. Good luck with developing the new talent. Thanks