Boateng says the FA Cup quarter final against Cardiff, when he was dropped, made up his mind to leave the club.
Stinging Attack On Southgate!
Boateng says the FA Cup quarter final against Cardiff, when he was dropped, made up his mind to leave the club.
George Boateng: "After six seasons at Middlesbrough I'd had enough.
"It felt as if I was lost, like in the film The Truman Show.
"Every day was the same, every season was the same and football was becoming routine.
"On top of that we had in Gareth Southgate a young manager who made a lot of mistakes.
"Last year he didn't pick me for the FA cup quarter-final against Cardiff - he wanted to experiment!
"What utter nonsense, especially experimenting with your 32-year-old captain, that's something you just don't do.
"We lost 2-0 and missed the chance of winning the cup especially when you saw the clubs still in.
"When I met Phil Brown, I had a good feeling and he told me I was his top target.
"So I became enthusiastic and the challenge of keeping Hull in the Premier League was something I needed.
"A lot of people thought I was crazy especially when they heard that my salary was a lot lower.
"I'm not playing for money any more. For me the only thing that counts is working with pleasure."
BORO 0 BLUEBIRDS 2Schwarzer, Young, Wheater, Huth, Pogatetz,O'Neil (Johnson 59), Arca, Rochemback, Downing,Alves (Mido 46), Sanli.
Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Boateng, Grounds.
Att: 32,896
Peter Whittingham and Roger Johnson wrote a new chapter in a remarkable FA Cup fairytale as Cardiff pulled off yet another astonishing giant-killing act at Middlesbrough.
The Welsh club, who face a trip to the High Court this week with their very existence under threat, blasted Barclays Premier League Boro out of the competition to book a semi-final trip to Wembley.
City, the only side to take the cup out of England - they did so in 1927 - will now eagerly await a draw which remarkably will include only one top-flight side, Portsmouth, following the demise of giants Manchester United and Chelsea on Saturday.
And the truth is, the Coca-Cola Championship side were full value for their victory as they took the game to Boro throughout.
They forced their way ahead through Peter Whittingham's sensational ninth-minute strike and were in dreamland when defender Roger Johnson headed home a second with just 22 minutes gone.