Stalemate

Foxes fans present at Tuesday’s Carling Cup victory over Macclesfield, the highest scoring competitive match at the Walkers Stadium, will not have expected today’s encounter fail to produce goals. Nevertheless Leicester and Middlesbrough played out the Championship’s first goalless draw of the season and the 8th stalemate between the two sides.

This was Paulo Sousa’s 18th goalless draw as a manager in the English game and the 24th 0-0 to be played out at the Walkers Stadium. Leicester haven’t managed to go an entire season without a goalless draw since 1999/00.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough have yet to score at the Walkers in three attempts, two of these matches have finished scoreless.

In non goalless draw related news, Steve Howard made his 100th appearance for the Foxes today. Of the current squad only Matt Oakley, Andy King, Matty Fryatt and Jack Hobbs have featured in more games.

Next week City travel to Burnley. The last eight meetings between the two sides have produced just seven goals. Burnley haven’t scored more than one goal against City in the last 13 meetings between the two sides. The last meeting in which both sides more than one goal came in December 1982. So, 5-4 anyone?

Match Preview – Middlesbrough

It can’t have been much fun being a Middlesbrough fan over the last few years. Last season the club finished in 11th position. Hardly catastrophic perhaps, but put yourself in the position of a ‘Boro fan. The last time you saw your club finish lower was when a final day win at home to Newcastle was just enough to see your boys avoid relegation to the third tier in the 1989/90 season. You’ve just watched your club sack a manager who (at the time) had taken your club to 4th in the league, just one point off top spot and averaging 1.77 points per game. You see him replaced by a new boss who builds on these foundations by winning 9 of your remaining 32 league matches at a rate of 1.19 points per game. This is form which, if it had been replicated over the whole season, would have seen you finish 16th. You spend the summer investing in new players, you’re one of the few teams in the division able to spend money. You head to your first home game full of opening day optimism. Your side takes the lead, those title odds don’t look so silly any more, the misery and years of decline at the club could be coming to an end…and then you lose 3-1.

So where do things need to improve for Strachan’s side? Perhaps more than anything else they need to improve in the big games. 'Boro won just two of their 20 matches against Championship teams who finished above them last season. The side didn't win a single game against the top six, taking just two points from a possible 36.

Its been a while since ‘Boro beat the Foxes too, eight years in fact, and even then Leicester had to do the work for the home side courtesy of a 35-yard own goal from Frank Sinclair. The Foxes were one of four teams to do the double over the Teessiders last season.

But Strachan can point to some good signs. His team won 27 points on the road in 2009/10, a very decent return. In addition his side can have few complaints with referees. ‘Boro won 10 penalties last season and conceded just 3. Only Reading (11) won more spot kicks last term.

On The Day – 14th August 1998

Frank Sinclair completed his move from Chelsea to Leicester for what was then a club record fee of £2.55m. Exactly one year later he would score for his former club in the dying seconds to deny City their second win of the 1999/00 season. It finished Leicester 2-2 Chelsea.

Pedigree – Part 2

Foxblogger's look at what the past can teach us about the present continues as we take a gander at Derby County to Newcastle Utd.

Derby County
Premier League Experience: 7 Seasons
Current Spell in Championship: 1 Season
Last season: 18th

Derby County aren’t traditionally seen as a yo-yo side, but their six-year spell in the Premier League from 1996-2002 was the sides’ longest period in any division from the 1980’s onwards. Since 1980 Derby have been promoted or relegated a dozen times. Like Crystal Palace, the Rams seem to put together a reasonably good Championship season together after a rotten one. Under Nigel Clough there’s every chance this could continue.

Doncaster Rovers
Premier League Experience: 0 Seasons
Current Spell in Championship: 1 Season
Last Season: 14th

By one measure the Keepmoat Stadium was the most boring place to watch Championship football last season. Just 34 goals were scored in 23 league matches, a measly 1.5 per game. But to characterise Rovers in this way would be injustice equivalent to Graham Fenton’s £1.1m transfer fee, Doncaster were very entertaining and in the last seven seasons have provided their fans with nothing but joy.

In the same year as City last bulldozed their way back to the Premier League, Doncaster were lifting themselves back into the Football League through the Conference play-offs. Leicester haven’t played Doncaster since 1956, it’ll be the longest historical gap they bridge this season.

Ipswich Town
Premier League Experience: 5 Seasons
Current Spell in Championship: 7 Seasons
Last Season: 9th

Roy Keane may be the story for every other correspondent, but it’s the play-offs which have defined Ipswich Town’s recent history and left scars deeper than any the Irishman left on his opponents. The Tractor Boys have entered the play-offs on six occasions and won promotion only once.

The rot at Ipswich did seem to be ending under Jim Magilton, but the lack of killer instinct cost the side dear in the push for another play-off heartbreak. If Keane is going to perform his promotion miracles again one would think it will have to be as part of the top two.

Middlesbrough
Premier League Experience: 14 Seasons
Current Spell in Championship: 0 Seasons
Last Season: 19th (Relegated)

An average gate on 28,429 attended Middlesbrough’s home matches last season, over 80% of capacity. It’s a surprising statistic because the overriding impression of the Riverside Stadium last season was one of an empty stadium, apathetic fans and an anaemic strike force. The latter is at least true, Boro’ managed just 28 goals last term.

Comforting to Gareth Southgate’s men should be the knowledge that Middlesbrough’s last two stays in the second tier have been blissfully short, three seasons in total. 1997/98’s return straight back to the Premier League was made all the sweeter as Boro’ edged out Sunderland to automatic promotion by just one point. What would Middlesbrough fans give to see the same fate befall Newcastle?

Newcastle Utd
Premier League Experience: 16 Seasons
Current Spell in Championship: 0 Seasons
Last Season: 18th (Relegated)

Unlike their North-East rivals Middlesbrough, the Magpies were not founder members of the Premier League, but they do enter the Championship with more experience at that level than any other side. Only Manchester United and Arsenal finished higher than Newcastle in 2002/03.

The last time Newcastle found themselves in the second tier they spent four years here and almost relegated themselves again in 1991/92 (a season which included a 5-2 away defeat to Oxford Utd, a 6-2 demolition at the hands of Wolves and a 1-1 home draw with Cambridge Utd). The difference this time around is the Sky cameras will be on hand to delight in every such embarrassment. Newcastle visit Scunthorpe on 20th October…

Next time: Nottingham Forest to Reading