:00:18. > :00:20.Tonight, we reflect on Newcastle's worst home result in 88 years.
:00:20. > :00:24.Jason Steele is amongst our sizeable Boro contingent and tells
:00:24. > :00:34.us if the club just has not been good enough this season. And Steve
:00:34. > :00:37.
:00:37. > :00:40.Bruce talks about his challenging Good evening. We're in the company
:00:40. > :00:43.of Middlesbrough players past and present tonight. Joining Danny
:00:43. > :00:46.Mills and myself in the studio, current Boro defender George Friend.
:00:46. > :00:51.And, about to end his 13 year association with the North East,
:00:51. > :00:54.Julio Arca, who left the club by mutual consent this week.
:00:54. > :00:58.How are you feeling? What are you going to do? Where are you going to
:00:58. > :01:03.go? I can't believe it. I know, it has been such a long
:01:03. > :01:12.time. I have enjoyed it here. But these things happen in football.
:01:12. > :01:15.You finish in one place and you have to move on. So I am going back
:01:15. > :01:19.home now to get this problem that has been affecting me sorted.
:01:19. > :01:22.Hopefully, I will come back in the summer to look for another team.
:01:22. > :01:28.Congratulations because you are the first farmer's boy we have had on
:01:28. > :01:31.the programme. When you were at Wolves with Nicky Gray, he said you
:01:31. > :01:37.used to come in with eggs. I was expecting the full-scale market
:01:37. > :01:40.garden. It's a bit far for that. Devon is a long way away. Not the
:01:40. > :01:43.award I thought I'd get, but the first farmer, I'll take it. It
:01:43. > :01:50.could have been worse. There is a character called George's Friend in
:01:50. > :01:55.Peppa Pig, the kid's cartoon. knowledge is fantastic.
:01:55. > :02:00.Lest we forget, this is a serious football programme. We are going to
:02:00. > :02:02.be talking very seriously in a wee while. We'll pick over the bones of
:02:02. > :02:04.a fourth consecutive season without promotion for Boro after we've
:02:04. > :02:08.considered the pressure mounting for Newcastle boss Alan Pardew
:02:08. > :02:18.after another defeat. This time, a shocking 6-0 at home to Liverpool,
:02:18. > :02:19.
:02:19. > :02:24.the Magpies' worst result at St James' Park since 1925.
:02:24. > :02:28.It is a tough blow for us to take. Not just as a club, but as a squad
:02:28. > :02:32.in itself. They need to absorb that and show now that they have got the
:02:32. > :02:35.heart for this. We are now in the battle. More so than we have been
:02:35. > :02:41.in it all year. Fifth last season. Manager of the
:02:41. > :02:51.year. What is he thinking? He will be absolutely distraught with the
:02:51. > :02:51.
:02:51. > :02:54.way it has gone. Fifth last season was beyond all expectations. Mid-
:02:54. > :02:57.table would have been a much fairer reflection on the team, the squad
:02:57. > :03:03.that they had. Once expectations go up, people think they should aim
:03:03. > :03:07.for the Champions League. But Demba Ba leaving was a big blow. They did
:03:07. > :03:11.bring players in. All the players that came in last year were an
:03:11. > :03:19.instant success and fitted perfectly. This season, it hasn't
:03:19. > :03:27.been as easy. Has it come too late as well, at the wrong time of the
:03:27. > :03:30.season? Should they have brought them in earlier? They had a huge
:03:30. > :03:33.influx in the January window. really difficult sometimes when you
:03:33. > :03:36.have to change the whole system, the style of play overnight, fit
:03:36. > :03:40.these players in. You sometimes get one or two good games out of them
:03:40. > :03:43.and then they go off the boil a little bit. And I think that is
:03:43. > :03:46.what has happened. They are going to be fine. You have to remember
:03:46. > :03:49.that Sunderland are not out of it either. They have a massive game
:03:49. > :03:55.against Aston Villa. If Villa were to win that, everybody is suddenly
:03:55. > :04:01.on 37 points. To have suffered two horrific results at home, the
:04:01. > :04:06.morale must be diabolical. Somehow, he has got to pick them up. In
:04:06. > :04:13.these next three games. West Ham next week will not be easy. Ex-
:04:13. > :04:16.players, ex-manager, they'll want to put one over on them. QPR, you
:04:16. > :04:21.are hoping that they are down and buried, and that's a win. And
:04:21. > :04:24.Arsenal, last game of the season at home, four four the last time. I
:04:24. > :04:30.was at the game, fantastic. You do not want to play Arsenal when they
:04:31. > :04:34.are looking to stay in the Champions League places.
:04:34. > :04:37.Sorry to do this to you, boys. But the season can't end soon enough
:04:37. > :04:45.for Middlesbrough. Yesterday, they scraped a 2-2 draw at home to
:04:45. > :04:50.The stars were out for Middlesbrough's last home game of
:04:50. > :04:53.the season. Club legend Gianinno gave the crowd a lift after a
:04:53. > :04:56.Championship campaign to forget. Thoughts have already turned to the
:04:56. > :04:59.Thoughts have already turned to the future. Indeed, Boro's minds
:04:59. > :05:08.appeared elsewhere when just 32 seconds into the match, Charlton
:05:08. > :05:13.took the lead. The visitors dominated and Boro were left
:05:13. > :05:16.reeling again when Rhys Williams turned the ball into his own net.
:05:16. > :05:19.Tony Mowbray was left with plenty to talk about at half-time and his
:05:19. > :05:22.team responded with a well worked move to give Marvin Emnes an
:05:22. > :05:26.opportunity in front of goal only for the Dutchman to shoot horribly
:05:26. > :05:32.wide. But Emnes would soon make amends, latching onto this ball to
:05:32. > :05:35.haul Boro back into the game with 13 minutes left. Just enough time
:05:35. > :05:38.for Scott McDonald to mark his appearance from the bench with a
:05:38. > :05:48.goal to rescue a point for Middlesborough and ease some of the
:05:48. > :05:51.fans' frustration ahead of next We cannot fudge this. 10 wins from
:05:51. > :05:57.your first 16 games, and then you have got three from 20 since the
:05:57. > :06:05.turn of the year. Do you know what has gone wrong? It is a question
:06:05. > :06:12.that has been coming up a lot as you can imagine. I think if it was
:06:12. > :06:15.one factor, we would have resolved it, and that would not exist. But
:06:15. > :06:19.we have been struggling and it may come down to a few different things.
:06:19. > :06:22.People getting injured, and loss of form, maybe too many of us, and we
:06:23. > :06:27.just have not been good enough in the game. Why would you lose form
:06:27. > :06:32.collectively? Big players in the team, if they are all losing form
:06:32. > :06:36.at the same time, it has an impact on the whole squad, the whole team.
:06:36. > :06:40.There are a lot of fine margins in those games. If you lose another
:06:40. > :06:43.one and another one, it has a snowball effect. So we are sitting
:06:43. > :06:50.where we are and we cannot believe it because at Christmas, we were
:06:50. > :06:55.flying high. We could not wait for the second half of the season and
:06:55. > :07:00.here we are now. Simple law of averages, lost
:07:00. > :07:03.another one, lost another one, you think it has to change. Form can't
:07:03. > :07:10.keep repeating itself and yet it has. Does that losing mentality get
:07:10. > :07:17.ingrained in the squad? Do you almost go out thinking you are
:07:17. > :07:21.going to lose before you have even gone across the white line? I would
:07:22. > :07:25.not see it that way. But when you lose and you lose, some games you
:07:25. > :07:35.have seen that you should win and you get beaten or you get a point,
:07:35. > :07:37.
:07:37. > :07:41.it is not good enough. That is what has happened this season. It is not
:07:41. > :07:44.just one thing, it must be a few things going on that hopefully the
:07:44. > :07:49.manager will sort for next year to make them back to the Premier
:07:49. > :07:54.League. The environment must be horrible to
:07:54. > :07:57.go into every day. To have that collective objective not being
:07:57. > :08:07.achieved week after week, the whole environment, there must be abject
:08:07. > :08:09.
:08:09. > :08:13.misery around the training ground. I think the hardest thing was that
:08:13. > :08:17.we had it in our hand and it has slipped away. We could have changed
:08:17. > :08:21.that and we have not been able to. We have got a really good core
:08:21. > :08:25.group of lads and we try to stay as positive as we can under the
:08:25. > :08:28.circumstances. This is the second season it has happened. We missed
:08:28. > :08:32.out on the play-offs by finishing seventh. And again, it has happened
:08:32. > :08:35.this year. The manager must be, not panicking, but thinking, if it
:08:35. > :08:42.happens again next year, is he under any sort of pressure with
:08:42. > :08:52.regards to his job? This year we had a chance because the squad was
:08:52. > :08:56.
:08:57. > :09:03.bigger, we had plenty choices. you almost got too many? Can you
:09:03. > :09:07.have too big a squad? You need a good 20 to 25 players. But don't
:09:07. > :09:15.you need to know who your core seven or eight players are and they
:09:15. > :09:25.are consistently out there all the time? Yes, of course. But you work
:09:25. > :09:27.
:09:27. > :09:31.the other players around them. But it is difficult for those that
:09:31. > :09:34.don't play to keep them happy. But in this league, you need a good 22,
:09:34. > :09:39.25 players. There are about 46 games and you need players to be
:09:39. > :09:45.fit. Then of course, compounding that from a personal perspective,
:09:45. > :09:49.you have only been involved in three games. You were flying and
:09:49. > :09:54.all of a sudden, you are out. It must be horrific not to be able to
:09:54. > :09:57.wade in and help your mates. Yes, this is my first muscular injury, I
:09:57. > :10:00.have never experienced anything like it. I didn't know what was
:10:00. > :10:03.going on in terms of that. I thought I could play on. I was
:10:03. > :10:08.probably playing the best football of my career and really enjoying
:10:08. > :10:12.playing for Middlesbrough. It was great. And to be out and see
:10:12. > :10:17.results not go so well, especially now towards the end we have really
:10:17. > :10:27.dipped off, it is very frustrating. How will you look back on your 13
:10:27. > :10:34.years in the north-east? As a player, you have your ups and
:10:35. > :10:39.downs. But looking at the full picture, I did my best for the two
:10:39. > :10:47.teams. You had some great highs here as well. I think so. I want to
:10:47. > :10:53.take that with me. We have promotion with Sunderland. So many
:10:53. > :11:00.good players, international players, a high level. I would like to take
:11:00. > :11:04.the positives with me now. But it's been good. I have enjoyed my life
:11:04. > :11:12.inside the pitch and outside the pitch in the north-east. I want to
:11:12. > :11:16.come back. More Twitter questions for our two
:11:16. > :11:26.Boro stars. Who is the best manager and worst manager you have worked
:11:26. > :11:29.
:11:29. > :11:32.for at Boro and Sunderland? That's a good question. Straight answer. I
:11:32. > :11:35.will say Gareth Southgate, he got me here and give me the chance to
:11:35. > :11:45.move from Sunderland to Middlesborough and play in the high
:11:45. > :11:46.
:11:46. > :11:50.level. Worst manager? Cheeky that. I would probably say Gordon because
:11:50. > :11:57.I did not play as much as I wanted. But that's the only reason why.
:11:57. > :12:03.Did we ask for Sunderland as well? That will do. I think they will
:12:03. > :12:09.agree with that. One for George as well. Do you
:12:09. > :12:17.think you can fill Julio's shoes? I'm not going to kid myself. Julio
:12:17. > :12:23.has had a great career. You can tell the truth. I've seen him in
:12:23. > :12:27.training. He's nutmegged me that many times that I think I can't
:12:27. > :12:30.answer anything other than he's a great player and I would say that
:12:30. > :12:33.we are very different players as well. Julio is technically one of
:12:33. > :12:38.the best I have played with. I am more of a grafter, running up and
:12:38. > :12:41.down. Nothing wrong with that.I like to think in terms of coming in
:12:41. > :12:47.and being the Boro left back in this league, yes. But in terms of
:12:47. > :12:56.Julio as a player, he is brilliant. There we are. You can go back to
:12:57. > :13:06.Argentina now. We're wall to wall Middlesbrough this week because our
:13:07. > :13:16.
:13:16. > :13:19.very own Craig Hignett has been to Over recent years, Middlesbrough's
:13:19. > :13:26.academy has produced a stream of top young keepers. At present, I
:13:26. > :13:30.think we have one who is going to Jason, thank you for speaking to
:13:30. > :13:36.Late Kick-off. Do clean sheets and awards give you confidence? Yes,
:13:36. > :13:40.definitely. Are you a confident player? Yes, 100 percent. I
:13:40. > :13:46.probably shouldn't say that. But if I'm being honest, yeah. I think
:13:46. > :13:49.everybody is. I think the first thing you do in a match generally
:13:49. > :13:52.makes you know whether you are feeling good or not and whether you
:13:52. > :14:00.think you can come and take every cross or whether you want to just
:14:00. > :14:03.stay in goal and do not want to risk anything. It is weird. You can
:14:03. > :14:09.go from one game and being a world beater to being the next game and
:14:09. > :14:13.thinking you've got shovels on your hands. You just feel weird. Tony
:14:13. > :14:19.Mowbray has given you the number 1 shirt. Give us an insight into your
:14:19. > :14:29.relationship with the gaffer and how he gets the best out of you.
:14:29. > :14:33.
:14:33. > :14:37.The less I speak to the manager is better for me 100 percent. It means
:14:37. > :14:40.he does not need to speak to you about anything, does not need to
:14:40. > :14:44.tell you what you should be doing. He shows me videos of different
:14:44. > :14:54.goalkeepers and how they play at top levels, he shows me how to play
:14:54. > :15:04.
:15:04. > :15:07.to get to the top level. I keep This season, obviously, the lads
:15:07. > :15:12.started on fire, winning 10 of the first 16 games. Did the team get
:15:12. > :15:15.overconfident? Maybe. In this league, it's hard to explain but
:15:16. > :15:25.you could be absolutely brilliant on a Tuesday night at home against
:15:26. > :15:27.
:15:27. > :15:32.Hull and play away on a Saturday I just think in general, we haven't
:15:32. > :15:36.been good enough. It's not that our performance level has not been the
:15:36. > :15:39.same. It is all through the team, 40 odd games in the season you
:15:39. > :15:42.cannot keep the performance that high, but you have to find a
:15:42. > :15:50.certain medium and I do not think we have done that enough in my
:15:50. > :15:57.How low do you get when you go through such a bad spell? Are you
:15:57. > :16:00.easy to live with? No. You wouldn't understand. After we lose on
:16:00. > :16:05.Saturday, I can go for two, three, four days without speaking to my
:16:05. > :16:10.missus, my mum and dad. I don't like losing. I hate what it does to
:16:10. > :16:17.me. It shouldn't do that to you, because there is more to life than
:16:17. > :16:22.football. I've got a bairn and we lose on a Saturday and I just want
:16:22. > :16:32.to go to my bed. Football is my life and I don't want to get to 35
:16:32. > :16:33.
:16:33. > :16:39.We just had such a great spirit and it's been hard to take over the
:16:39. > :16:45.last couple of months. It's hard when you are losing that many games
:16:45. > :16:55.to stay best mates. But that's what we were at the start of the season
:16:55. > :16:56.
:16:56. > :17:05.The more games you lose, it's hard. You just want to keep yourself to
:17:05. > :17:10.yourself, but you've got to stick How much of this club is in your
:17:10. > :17:14.DNA? It's the only club I've ever played for bar Northampton.
:17:14. > :17:18.Hopefully, I will stay here, but you never know in football. I would
:17:18. > :17:22.like to think I would come out the end of some tough occasions and
:17:22. > :17:32.stuck out for myself and I'm still in the team. That's all I can be
:17:32. > :17:44.
:17:45. > :17:54.Said three or four days not talking to his missus, which means he has
:17:55. > :17:57.
:17:57. > :18:02.not be can -- he has not spoken to her for all of 2013! It seems he
:18:02. > :18:11.takes it to a heart? There is a lot of Youth Court on a sting, but that
:18:11. > :18:21.will change because it has to. -- Youth Court honesty. You take it
:18:21. > :18:23.
:18:23. > :18:29.away with you, but you have got to move on. If you don't, it will eat
:18:29. > :18:35.you alive. You mentioned Tony Mowbray - can you see it and
:18:35. > :18:45.manager trying to find a solution to all of this? Do you smell the
:18:45. > :18:46.
:18:46. > :18:54.desperation of trying to break out of a bad run? He is probably trying
:18:54. > :19:00.to use the star he used at West Bromwich. All this leave the money
:19:00. > :19:06.spent before he arrived at the club was spent, so he has been fighting
:19:06. > :19:15.with that. For some reason probably, he did not find the money he wanted,
:19:15. > :19:25.so at the same time, he has to work with what he has got. He knows how
:19:25. > :19:27.
:19:27. > :19:30.much it means to be people. - Write to the people.
:19:30. > :19:40.It was the final round of fixtures in Leagues One and Two yesterday,
:19:40. > :19:56.
:19:56. > :20:06.and at long last we have got good whimper. Gavin masse reacted
:20:06. > :20:06.
:20:06. > :20:14.quickly. -- Gavin Massey. Tom Eastmond took full advantage.
:20:14. > :20:20.Carlisle finish the season 17th in the table.
:20:20. > :20:28.Hartlepool pars one final game in League One. Jamie Proctor at Tampa
:20:28. > :20:38.in to score his first of the afternoon, but both teams were soon
:20:38. > :20:39.
:20:39. > :20:49.on level terms. Monkhouse was able to get his 7th of the season. In
:20:49. > :20:53.
:20:53. > :20:58.the final minutes though, Hartlepool were denied victory.
:20:58. > :21:03.Nigel Worthington arrived in March with York City in freefall. Now he
:21:03. > :21:07.has secured their place in the Football League for another season.
:21:07. > :21:17.A draw would have been enough, but a win for Dagenham would have left
:21:17. > :21:23.
:21:23. > :21:30.them vulnerable. Chris Smith scored again's only goal. Worthington now
:21:30. > :21:40.finish 17 in the table. Berwick Rangers have maintained their place,
:21:40. > :21:46.
:21:46. > :21:52.York have survived under Nigel Worthington. I suppose it justifies
:21:52. > :22:01.making the change. It does and he has done well. The decision has
:22:01. > :22:06.been proved right. It encourages teams that are struggling towards
:22:06. > :22:11.the end of the season to sack managers and not give them time.
:22:11. > :22:18.Chairman think we will have a honeymoon period, but longer term,
:22:18. > :22:24.I don't think it works. -- chairman think. We have it every year.
:22:24. > :22:34.Managers get sacked, some do well and it becomes the right thing to
:22:34. > :22:35.
:22:35. > :22:45.do. Congratulations to Darlington who secured promotion yesterday.
:22:45. > :22:53.
:22:53. > :22:59.Needing a win, Darlington came from behind to beat Northumbria 3-1.
:22:59. > :23:02.Congratulations to their manager and his staff.
:23:02. > :23:04.And good luck to Spennymoor Town in the final of the FA Vase at Wembley
:23:04. > :23:07.on Saturday. Steve Bruce took Sunderland to
:23:07. > :23:10.their third highest league finish since the mid-1950s two seasons ago
:23:10. > :23:13.before he was subsequently sacked. He's now on the verge of a Premier
:23:13. > :23:23.League return with Hull City. Here's how he reflects on his time
:23:23. > :23:29.
:23:29. > :23:37.at the Stadium of Light. Nice to see you. You have brought
:23:37. > :23:46.the sunshine with you! I have enjoyed it. I have stayed under the
:23:46. > :23:54.raider until you came to town. -- under the radar. I needed to douse
:23:54. > :24:00.myself down after what happened at Sunderland and then go again.
:24:00. > :24:05.it take a lot to get the Sunderland experience, particularly the end,
:24:05. > :24:12.out of your system? It hurts you, it disappoints you and you feel
:24:12. > :24:19.angry. You think, surely I would have been given more time and just
:24:19. > :24:24.because of the reaction of one game, although you have worked for just
:24:24. > :24:33.evaporates. After one you say, what are you going to do? Will that be
:24:33. > :24:42.the end or are you going to have another crack? You knew that black
:24:42. > :24:49.and white lion was a tough one to cross? Absolutely, but I always
:24:49. > :24:55.thought I could be the one to give them the success they crave. I had
:24:55. > :25:02.taken over a club that had just survived. We finished 13th and then
:25:02. > :25:07.10th. I had a bad run, 11 games or whatever it was, but I think he was
:25:07. > :25:14.be a reaction. I don't blame the supporters, because it is nonsense
:25:14. > :25:20.going around and that is not true. I don't know. Looking back on it,
:25:20. > :25:28.was it the wrong thing to do? When the nitty-gritty came, there was a
:25:28. > :25:36.certain elements who would never forget where I was from. Didier
:25:36. > :25:45.shot cue, some of the abuse you got? Certainly be hatred. Unless
:25:45. > :25:50.you have managed up their, it is a difficult place. It is its own
:25:50. > :25:55.principality, if you like. They want their teens to be in the
:25:55. > :26:00.Premier League because they don't want to be in the championship. It
:26:00. > :26:06.is a difficult experience, but looking back on it, I have done it.
:26:06. > :26:15.In a lot of ways I was pleased, but it always disappoints you when it
:26:15. > :26:23.ends as horribly as it did. If only life felt in two days comfortable
:26:23. > :26:29.boxes. I said to Birmingham at the time that I had just signed a new
:26:29. > :26:37.deal and I did not think it was right at that particular time. When
:26:37. > :26:45.the opportunity arose to replace Sir Bobby, I have already committed
:26:45. > :26:53.elsewhere. -- I had already committed elsewhere. You know all
:26:53. > :27:03.about the rivalry. A really tough line to cross over their, obviously.
:27:03. > :27:04.
:27:04. > :27:13.A Geordie managing Sunder Land's, it is not easy. Absolutely. I am
:27:13. > :27:20.sure it was hard for him. But it only takes going to St James's Park
:27:20. > :27:28.and been part of that glorious team and the barriers are broken down.
:27:28. > :27:34.If you give it your all, the fans will forgive you. I am pleased for
:27:34. > :27:38.Steve Bruce. He has had tough times, but he has got this opportunity.
:27:38. > :27:48.They are spluttering over the line go. Full board does become
:27:48. > :27:52.
:27:52. > :27:58.emotional. He is doing great we've Hull. -- football does get
:27:58. > :28:03.emotional. He is doing great with Hull. I think he has been a great
:28:03. > :28:10.manager with an lot of experience. He was a fantastic player as well.
:28:10. > :28:13.People can learn a lot for him. Thanks and good luck. It's our last
:28:13. > :28:16.show of the series next week. Before then, we'll leave you