Mowbray: There is no cash to splash
Nov 20 2010 by Matthew Leslie, The Journal
MIDDLESBROUGH fans hoping for a January spending spree to boost their side’s flagging Championship campaign have been left disappointed.
Boss Tony Mowbray revealed ahead of today’s clash with Millwall there will be no splashing of the cash at the Riverside Stadium.
There is not much of a transfer war-chest available to the former Hibs and Celtic gaffer after he stated there is no loose change floating about and creative wheeling and dealing might be in order to land any sort of a bargain buy.
That this situation has arisen can be largely in part to Riverside flop Gordon Strachan’s flashing of the wallet. which saw plenty of money chucked around but with very little value.
Mowbray is now having to tidy up the mess his predecessor left behind and try to work with what he has.
Fans will no doubt be wishing some footballers were issued with receipts and be taken back to the shops, the likes of Kris Boyd flattering to deceive since his arrival on Teesside last summer.
However, Mowbray is showing the grit which made him an Ayresome Park hero during his time as a Boro player and insists he will do his utmost to make what he has work – while keeping an eye out for any cheap bargains in the January sales.
He said: “There is no war-chest of money at the football club. The finances of the club are such that we cannot keep spending money.
“We will wait and see what January brings, but we might have to be creative.
“As for the possibility of players leaving the club, in an ideal world we would want to keep our best players – but there are always financial implications.
“We are already discussing which players we can keep and who we can move on. That is football. Faces change.” Boro aces David Wheater and skipper Gary O’Neil are two names which have reportedly been linked with moves to the Premier League.
Aas far as the duo is concerned, Mowbray is monitoring the situation on a day-by- day basis.
He added: “If we can keep hold of David and Gary then that is what I would like to do.
“The football manager has the final decision, but it is a collective thing which also involves me talking to both the chairman and the chief executive.”
Meanwhile, Mowbray insists he will closely monitor the progress of midfielder Kevin Thomson, who has not had the best of luck with injuries since his arrival on Teesside.
He added: “Where you look throughout the season he has started and come off in four or five.
“I want to put an end to that, so there is fair chance I will give him a breather or give his leg a period to settle down so every time there is a heavy whack he does not have to leave the pitch.
“I am sympathetic to the problem and will try to give him the opportunity so he is ready to go through challenges.
“I thought we were over it, but he took a blow on Sunday and he did not feel he could continue.
“I want to get to the stage where he can take any blow. It is psychologically better for him and I do not want to set up the team and lose him after 20 minutes.
“After all we have lost Stephen McManus. Losing him is a huge blow for the club because of his experience and quality he provides.
“He has been captain of Scotland and Celtic and is a real leader around the dressing room, so he is a huge loss.
“Matthew Bates and David Wheater have been very solid and looked a decent partnership over the last two games.
“They played together in the youth team and won the Youth Cup together, so they know each other very well and enjoy playing alongside each other.”
