What happens in the next 24 hours may well define Boro’s season – firstly the transfer deadline day clock is ticking but will we sign the attacking midfielder that Karanka feels he’s been lacking? Or will it be goodbye Gaston as the player who has so often been the creative link between our midfield and attack leaves the club to join a relegation rival?
If that wasn’t enough to destroy the fingernails of Boro followers, there’s a little matter of a crucial home game against West Brom to occupy our minds – after failing to win in the Premier League for five games this has taken on the mantle of must-win for many. Boro are almost running in treacle as the relegation pack trip over themselves as they chase us like footballing zombies who don’t know they’re dead. Three points against the Baggies may just be enough to bury the hopes of a few of those clubs heading for the Championship life of the living dead.
Though what shall we make of our transfer hopes now that our targets have been picked off one by one. The question is whether we have actually missed out on somebody who was going to turn our season around. It’s hard to tell if any of those who we missed out on offered any guarantee of fixing the problem of scoring goals. Many Boro followers may sometimes wonder whether even the likes of Messi and Ronaldo would struggle to score in a Boro shirt.
The problem is of course world class players are not what Boro can chase – we must look to polish the kind of players who show promise or are out of favour with their clubs. Boro won’t be signing that finished article, the completely rounded player who dictates the game and takes a half-chance given the opportunity. No we are unlikely to actually sign someone who will suddenly make supporters content and confident of survival.
But judging from Monday’s press conference it seems Karanka is also not happy with the performance of Boro’s recruitment team. “I said I wanted to improve the squad and at the minute we didn’t.” was his curt response to questions as he proclaimed he had identified his preferred targets six weeks ago and didn’t know why they weren’t here.
The Boro boss seems to be in finger pointing mood at the moment – last week it was the the disrespectful crowd distracting his players from trying to execute his proven game plan – this week it’s the Boro recruitment team failing to capture his targets to make the required improvements to his squad. It’s almost as if Karanka has started lining up his excuses in the event of failure and placing the blame elsewhere – or maybe he’s just feeling the pressure and showing his frustration at events.
So one thing we can probably say for sure is that anyone named in the squad for Tuesday’s games won’t be heading off in the January window – and that applies to our targets too. The chance of any player dashing into the shower after the game, washing-and-going, then jumping into their top-of-the-range motor and heading off for a medical are slim.
Which brings us onto Gaston – he’s trained with the first team the last few days but Karanka said he was surprised to be informed by the physio that the Uruguayan was not fit to play on Tuesday. That sounds to me like Boro are perhaps leaving the window open for Gaston to leave – he’s now available to attend a medical should the need arise – despite Karanka telling us ‘100%’ that Gaston is not leaving Boro.
One player I expect to leave is Rhodes – surely there is no point pretending he is part of Karanka’s plans anymore – it’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘how much’ as Boro rub their collective chins and pretend they want more until the clock runs down and they say ‘OK we’ll accept your undisclosed offer’ and spin the figures to shown they got the best deal they could.
I’ve got a hunch the club will have a deal up their sleeves – they need to give everyone a lift – the management team, players and supporters need a lift before the vital game against West Brom and Steve Gibson will want to show he means business. The question is who will it be? Someone ‘Young’, perhaps a ‘Cheeky’ bid…
So you’ve got your work cut out with predictions today – not only is there a game with team line-up, shape, scores and scorers to get your head around – but who’s going to turn up at Rockcliffe at the eleventh hour to rescue our season and who’s heading out of the door?
Good summary of where we stand. AK sounds pretty depressed which is not what you want. He could do with some advice on press conferences and how to say less.
Frankly, a win and no more transfer movement at all (except maybe Rhodes out) would be great. However, it rarely works out like that.
I’m less negative than some about recent transfer dealings. It’s easy to forget tha Fabio, De Roon, Espinosa, Barragan and Traore are all really good solid incoming players. I’m also delighted to see Bamford back but don’t expect instant miracles from him and everyone (including Derby) seems keen on De Sart as one for the future. Certainly some guys didn’t work out as planned, the jury is still out on some others and Valdez splits everyone but that’s to be expected. Personally, I’m looking forward to Ripley coming back next year as a quality keeper.
I’ll go for a 2-1 win and have no idea about transfer possibilities.
UTB
It’s all looking like there could be a perfect storm on Tuesday night, we lose and no incomings, even the most optimistic bloggers are not putting a convincing case forward of how we are going to get the win we so desperately need and continue to fall back on the old “a draw wouldn’t be a bad result”. However you want to cut and paste it the last few weeks have been a bit of a PR disaster for the club, my main worry now is that as Werder has intimated SG goes out and gets the “player” to placate the supporters like last year (Rhodes) but it won’t be the player AK wants and so he probably won’t play him anyway. It looks to me like this is all going to end in tears, it’s not if but when.
Ulloa is said to have indicated he will play no more for Leicester and the 30 year old is said to be valued at £4M to £5M. He has one over-riding advantage – he is born in Argentina and therefore speaks Spanish.
Just sayin’, like.
Thanks Werder, excellent read.
AK does seem to be strategically laying the blame and making an effort to do so, especially with the cameras present. Sadly, I think this will all too soon come to a head and if it does sooner rather than later, we need an attack minded manager. Thanks to AK our defence when fit picks its self and is self sufficient, i cannot help think a Michael Laudrup style manager would work, some one who absoloutley knows what is required to stick the ball in the rectangular netty thing and has managed and sustained a freshly promoted team for a couple of seasons.
Anyway, incomings, i heard Cashley Young could be a loan target, that may off set a want away Gaston.
Looks like he is unravelling…totally delusional… If we don’t win tonight it might tip him over the edge.
UTB
His comments about Ramirez are interesting. Physically fit to play but not mentally by the sounds of it. In some ways you have to give AK credit for a frank press conference, he certainly wasn’t hiding his feelings like some managers would. Equally, it’s not unheard of for a manager to be frustrated at his club’s recruitment – Pulis was in a similar position earlier in the season.
There was a tweet from Leicester’s local paper yesterday saying the Ramirez deal was dead – even if it is, they’ve managed to destabilise a relegation rival, so job done perhaps.
I expect today to be very dull on the transfer front, I think our business is done and we need to concentrate on tonight.
AK seems to be disconnected from the mother ship and drifting away. Or are the fans drifting away from him. Blame laying doesn’t work, ‘I told them who I wanted, you didn’t get them’. Answer ‘they wouldn’t come because of the way your team plays’.
Tonight is all a bit High Noon. The Pulis artillery will be working on a barrage so we know what to expect. The sad thing is that they do too.
1 – 1 or 0 – 0. Boro to score 2? Don’t think so.
UTB,
John
“they wouldn’t come because of the way your team plays’.”
This keeps getting suggested (probably tongue in cheek but I’ll respond anyway) – there isn’t really any evidence for that though. Jese went to his home town club, Bojan – they wouldn’t loan him and we wouldn’t pay £12m, Snodgrass they wouldn’t sell to us and West Ham are arguably more attractive anyway.
If anyone was unsure about coming, look at Ramirez. AK can turn you from a PL reject heading home to Uruguay into a £15m Champions League target in less than 12 months.
The question is ‘Why are West Ham a more attractive destination for players to go to – what is it that makes us less attractive?’ Answers on a postcard friends.
Last season we had the great meltdown. The reasons are still moot but it happened. The advice to AK was chill. He survived the storm. I was taken by surprise that the meltdown happened so quickly.
Now, suggestions are we’re seeing the beginnings of another meltdown (had to smile at Borophil’s comment about givin AK credit for sulking in front of the cameras – no offence meant BP). Is AK happy? – no! Is he squirming? – yes, somewhat! Is he at the point of departure? Oooh, now that’s a moot point! Can I say concretely yes or no?- no! I would like to be able to but only AK can cash in his chips or SG can have a quiet word.
Seems this transfer window MAY just see a transfer out of manager rather than players but I wouldn’t put a daft quid on it.
UTB
Sport
Nice to see a blogger who tells it like it is all upset at a manager who tells it like it is.
We all accept that they ‘just’ failed to land at least one of their ‘nearly’ men, but, what if they could have landed one or both of them by upping their offer by a couple of mill?
In the enjoyment of hurling abuse, we should try not to forget that this person has put into the club one hundred and seventy million, in the process wiping off the debts owed to the chairman. In the course of doing this he has created a stream of players who command high transfer fees as when we choose to sell(note the word choose, something we are not too well acquainted with at Boro)
It would help if we could get away from this mad idea that we could hire a battered old English manager on his tenth club, if we did that we would get the same result as we got the last three times that we did such a thing.
Remember that the Burnley way, (details on application) have been operated by several clubs,(alright, since you ask, Blackburn, Bolton, the other escapes me, it’s within ten miles of the two mentioned. Two of the three are in league two, the other is going there in may)
so please can we just be quiet for a while, let him be, at least he has some vision of how he wants to live his life as the manager of Boro. More than any other of our inglorious bosses has had.
It was tongue in cheek!
A playground conversation or, more likely, a conversation in the executive bog at Rockliffe. A bit ‘my dad can fight your dad’ if you like.
Please win.
UTB,
John
Score predictions
0-0, 1-1 or 0-1 to them. I can’t see us winning.
Transfer deadline day predictions
Rhodes out
Some foreign chap in on loan, no-one I’ve heard of
Have a look at the article below from another somewhat local newspaper giving their view on AK´s presser. It includes bits which it appears our more local paper has missed out??
http://tinyurl.com/gtn93pe
Not sure what Bamford and Gestede think now being called in truth,,,,only Championship Players. I can only assume that MFC would not cough up the 12mil that Stoke wanted for Bojan and it seems AK is complaining about in the article,
The pressure is now really on….a number of loose comments about the fans, scouting/transfer team and may be, just may be a swipe at SG for not shelling out more money.
Are we seeing a get out here and it was not my fault when it all goes pear shaped?
🔴 I converted your long link into a short one using the website ‘tinyurl.com’ – it makes posts easier to read – Werdermouth
That wouldn’t be the same Yuri in Brugge, would it Werdermouth?
50 points to the real film buff who could name that film in 1!
I hope AK knows it then. 50 points would come in handy.
UTB,
John
Pedro
That really does put a different slant on things – he’s actually slagging off the club for only signing players that didn’t even get a game in the Championship, i.e. Gestede and Bamford. I bet that didn’t go down well!
It’s not to the Gazette’s credit that they chose to omit that from their coverage – it surely was a statement that needed reporting to give the real story.
To be fair to the Gazette, they did put the transcript up as well – I only knew about those particular quotes from their Twitter feed.
https://twitter.com/GazetteBoro/status/826294442210500608
I think he’s just being honest. He’s signed Bamford and Gestede as squad players and he is probably making a point that when we stay up he will have done it with limited resources and not having signed the players he has wanted. Whether he is being too honest and should just shut up, well…
The players aren’t stupid – they know he wanted to bring in others, but if he is clever he can use that as motivation in itself.
Hi, after some tricky bits I have reverted to normal. I blame Gill, not Gary but Ian!
Werder is busy today so may not be able to edit his article to provide updates so
I will be posting a regular timeline so that if anyone pops in they can see what has taken place to date. It doesn’t replace us all posting as well and having a chinwag.
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
This is the Mother of all popcorn fests!
Just munchin like!
🙂
Kind thanks to you Ian for giving your time!
UTB
Yes thanks to Ian for taking on the role of keeping you informed throughout Deadline day as he keeps an eye on what’s happening (or not happening). I’m on childcare duty all day again today as it’s mid-year break in the school over here. So I’ll be in and out during the day – hopefully there will be no technical problems!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
Ooh, that’s quite exciting. I didn’t know I could embed tweets.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
Sorry to interrupt Ian’s thread, but today threatens to turn into a watershed mark for the club. AK basically washed his hands of being responsible for the Gestede signing yesterday, which was very curious. I’m surprised at the Bamford remarks, as the player himself said that AK told him he would “sort it out” to get the transfer.
I understood that to mean that Bamford was not a planned deal, but one that we arranged because he became available and AK trusted him. Throwing him under a bus as a “Championship player” does not chime well with re-building his confidence after time in the wilderness.
As for Gestede, well. If AK is saying that Gestede would not have been his choice then you really have to wonder what is going on. If you like your conspiracy theories hot and juicy, then is there an argument that the powers that be did not want to back AK heavily in the window because of the performance to date? Rather than splash £12m on Bojan who presumably would not fancy Tuesday nights at Bristol next season they spent the same on two strikers to spearhead our promotion charge? It sounds a little like that to me.
That actually puts my hackles up thinking about it. Signing Gestede is pure wastefulness by the club. He couldn’t be any more the antithesis of a AK signing. AK who less than 2 weeks ago said “we won’t play long balls as long as I am here” signs a lumbering striker who (a) usually plays in a front 2 and (b) is known almost exclusively for his aerial prowess. Crikey.
All is not well at Boro. Let’s hope the club can somehow galvanise and avoid relegation, or that Gibson suddenly finds £20m to splash on two wide players.
I don’t think AK’s comments yesterday will be helpful for team morale, and as such I can’t really understand why he would talk about the club’s recruitment and two new signings in that way. The club has moved heaven and earth to bring in new signings for him since he came, and we’ve fundamentally re-built the attacking options twice, and have tried to do it again this window.
I’m afraid it does sound rather as if AK is getting his excuses in early.
I think he’s correct to say that he doesn’t know if we can stay up, if you look at the unfavourable fixture list and our struggles to score goals and win games. We are now in a worse position than before the window because the key creative player, Ramirez, is disaffected.
We may ask why the targets would not want to come, but the fact is that Stewy, Adama and Fischer have struggled for game time, Ramirez who is the one creative player who’s picked regularly wants to leave, and Stewy wanted to leave. Wildschut looks like he is only just getting his career back to where it was before he joined us, and Albert left under a cloud after doing so much for the club. Yes, we re-built Ramirez’ career, but overall we could look like a graveyard for creative attackers.
I’m not sure if we can loan any more players from Premiership clubs – this would affect any thoughts of signing Ashley Young.
You could also argue that AK turned Adomah from a middling-Championship player into a Championship-winning £5m+ player and Traore from a Villa reserve into one of the league’s most exciting prospects attracting the interest of Chelsea. Plus Ramirez’s transformation of course. So it depends on how you want to look at it.
We know precisely why all of the targets didn’t come and none of the reasons are AK.
AK said he is the only one who needs to know everything. Yet, yesterday when asked questions on transfer & player status many times he did a Faulty Towers Manuel ‘I know nothing!’
I have to say BP, in all honesty, he has the finesse of a first class numpty!
Happy days!
Sparta
Every manager we have had has toed the party line, with what dreadful results? Long live the man who tells it like it is.
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
Ian I don’t see it as a problem as we have Fabio, Ayala, Espinosa and Ben.
Starting my own rumours to keep things interesting. Do you think we would go for Oliver Burke from Leipzig?
What’s he taste like???
Sorry, lunchtime here!
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
They could do a swap, Gaston for Ulloa!
Just speculatin like!
Thanks once again to Werder for setting the threads up and for Ian as today’s MC.
A winger for up to (in the region of) £12m seems to be what we’re looking for. Andros Townsend? He was linked with a return to Newcastle, should we nip in, or try a loan deal with a fee agreed for the summer? Would Palace be happy to let him come to us?
It sounds as if nobody fancies Husband at left back in a standard back four. If Barragan’s hamstring is really fit and ready to play which, on a freezing cold winter night, must be a risk, then there are enough players for a back four with Fabio at left back. If AK doesn’t want to take that risk, he could easily switch to a back three, play Fabio as a wingback on either side and find another wingback. In that case, Husband would be less of a risk as a wingback than as a fullback but I could even see Forshaw filling in at right wing back.
De Roon and Clayton in the middle makes 7 leaving place for Downing to play behind
Negredo and ANOther. Could be Traore, Stuani or Bamford.
UTB
Ok, Sports fans, the answer to the film question is (drum roll!!!)
‘In Bruge’
Yuri was one of the characters. He was a gun seller in a dressing gown.
No word from AK, so he misses the 50pts – no shocks there then!
Lol
I knew that Spartak, I just wanted AK to get the points. You can’t help some people. Now back to the excitement and nail-biting tension of deadline day.
Maybe we’ve bought some new corner flags?
UTB,
John
I wondered if the Ulloa plus cash for Ramirez could be a possible too but not sure if Ulloa is even the same position, isn’t he a striker? I would prefer us to go for Townsend as i think he would nail that right wing spot we are short in, however i doubt Crystal Palace would accept our bids due to being a direct rival
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
I have sat back and cogitated about what was really going on in Aitor’s head and more importantly behind the scenes yesterday.
His ““Because teams in our position are signing players for £14m and we are signing players that didn’t play in the Championship” statement I think is the clue here. I don’t for one second believe that he was belittling either Gestede or Bamford, just clearly making the point as we all have on here that the intention in January was to improve the squad. That meant bringing in players of a higher level than those we have presently.
We haven’t improved the squad and as AK states Premiership teams are signing Players for £14m and we are seemingly searching in bargain basements and fire sales. I think the vast majority of fans are delighted to see Paddy back and believe in him but as AK says he has hardly played in two years. Gestede it is now appearing was not his signing but said the required complimentary things just as he did when Rhodes arrived. Hence perhaps the contradiction between fans and AK with West Ham, “you’ve signed the big lad, now hoof it up to him”. Was the dig at the fans actually aimed higher up in the West Stand?
Previously a picture was building that the type, style and attributes including mentality of a player required to play AK’s system was all being compiled in dossiers by IT specialists and sports psychologists/boffins. This was all being headed up by Orta and Gill in a crucial department in a new thinking strategic Boro (or so we were led to believe).
My take on things Boro presently is a bit like when you go shopping with the missus and she picks up a tin of soup for £1.75 but we see a “bogof” offer of Freshco’s finest own soup for £0.75. Wow that’s two tins for less then half the price of one well known and trusted brand gerrin there, result! Of course when said tins are opened, watered down tasteless, bland dishwater muck best describes them to which the missus says “told you so, why do you think I don’t buy that rubbish?”
AK I think was either being tactful (but as tact was in short supply I take it he was being honest) about Orta yesterday. So that leads me to think that Orta is picking up the trusted good quality branded tins of soup whilst someone else at the club (Bausor perhaps?) is swapping them for the dented ones at bargain prices. Orta say wanted Bojan for £12m but someone else instead bought two strikers for £12m!
Previously I have posted about our recruitment being underwhelming and asking what on earth do Orta and Gill get paid for? Money for old rope I think was the term I used. Maybe they are woeful, I have to say that there wasn’t many last summer who haven’t improved on our Championship side. Is Valdes more reliable than Dimi?, Is Barragan better than Nsue, Fischer better than Adomah or Negredo more prolific than Kike (or Rhodes)?
Something clearly stinks and it has now got to the point where it is rank eye watering stuff. Is is that Bausor has perhaps lost confidence and trust in Spanish superstars and their wages (not unreasonably) or is it that there are concerns about signing a £12m Spanish footballer on seriously high wages that will not so much flop as likely underwhelm in a de Pena type fashion? Perhaps someone at the club (Bausor?) is making sure that should the worse happen we will not go bust and the club remains solid and solvent rather than risk everything on another overpaid dud?
That brings me to Gaston. It appears to AK that he was training and is fit yet the “Physio” tells him he is unable to play? That I find bizarre, someone just witnessed training and running freely suddenly is unable to play? If I was AK the roof would have lifted off Rockcliffe and I wouldn’t have been responsible for my actions, and perhaps that is exactly what happened just before the presser (and AK has my full support on that).
My take on things then are this, Gaston is fit and could play (a part at least) tonight but somebody has said no. Is it Gaston? possibly but I suspect its more likely to be the same bloke who picks up the bargain dented tins to save money in the chance that he may be able to make a few bob as the clock ticks down.
Then you have yesterdays Press Conference. If the above is anywhere even remotely close to the truth then I think AK was very restrained, certainly more than I would have been. Take into consideration other “factors” that go on at the Club like cheap shirts etc. with the bull and spin about lead times and availability. If that is the presiding culture at the club then perhaps just maybe AK is right on this. Are the club finances being run like a corner shop instead of a Multinational chain Gggggranville?
That of course doesn’t change other current playing issues on the pitch but AK has built a rock solid foundation and say for arguments sake now wants three top Premiership/La Liga standard “offensive” players to be the icing on his cake taking us on to the next level and now he has been failed badly. Question is by who and why?
An awful lot of questions and issues but as a former Director once told my Manager at the time many, many years ago when I was learning the ropes “you don’t get yourself into those situations in the first place” and so it is with Boro. As a Professionally run club how on earth have individuals (and I don’t believe it is just AK) got us into the situation at present?
RR, A thoughtful and thought provoking post. The trouble is we’ll never know but I still blame it all on those awful shirts.
UTB,
John
I just wonder if the stance from the club is something I mooted earlier in that they are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.
Rhodes and Gestede in a front two next season!
CoB
RR,
I agree with your 2nd paragraph but not your third. AK has basically signed two squad players and potentially lost a key player (certainly temporarily) so you can see why he said what he said.
I can’t agree that Gestede wasn’t his buy however – he’s here to be back-up to Negredo and not someone to play long balls up to. It’s not an exciting signing, but it wasn’t planned to be one.
The rest of your post is speculation and conspiracy theories.
Its all pure speculation.
I see everything’s still rosy in bp’s garden as he sits there with his rose tinted glasses on whilst eating roses chocolates and reading a poem by Michael rosen about the war of the roses.
I bet if ak ran over your cat and then reversed to make sure he’d got him you’d still say it wasn’t his fault. “Stupid cat putting himself in the way of aitors car like that”.
I wish I had your positive outlook on things, life may be a whole lot happier for me! Ignorance is bliss and all that.
I’m more of a Quality Street fan to be honest.
RR
I’ll keep it short.
GS1 had the rug pulled out from under him just when he had got things on an upward curve. Robbo was given huge amounts of patience to pull the Boro back up after relegation & a mentor to boot.
GS2 was tapped up in a motorway service station -steady now! And Mogga was left scrapping around for whatever he could find whilst SG was praised as a saint for finding change down the back of the sofa.
Then, the taps were turned on for AK but only IMHO because the chance appeared for more filthy lucre.
During all this time Martin O’ Neil came saw & left. Not a word of why?
In addition, in the last 20 years have we ever employed, from the off, a proven top class manager? No! We’ve gone for a number of potential managers. Why? Well, you don’t want someone really knowledgeable or else they might actually want to run the club – and that’s not acceptable!
So, there’s AK havin a hissy infront of the cameras telling the world and his uncle the truth – ‘that question is not for me!’ Looks like he’s been cut off at the knees in the transfer stakes.
So, what to do? Well, he can walk away or watch as things collapse around him. Then, he can point the finger & say quite legit ‘Not me, govenor!’ How long will it last?
Meltdown Alert Warning: Orange
‘I will try my best!’ Says Aitor. He could have finished ‘but I’m refused what I asked for.’
More popcorn please!
Hurraaahhhhh!
UTB
So, whikst I
To be fair Spartak – GS2 was supposed to be our “proven” managerial candidate. You could also argue Mogga. Both should have been more than capable of getting us promoted given a level playing field, and both had done similar before.
Arguably if Mogga had replaced GS1 we might have got there, as it was the ill-fated Jockification that led to the piggy bank being taken away on Mogga’s watch.
So now Aaron Lennon may be available from Everton.
It seems that wingers are not necessarily in short supply, merely a question of what you want to pay and what you want to achieve.
Lennon would offer much less defensive cover than, for example, Ashley Young, and Oliver Burke is an unknown quantity. Andros Townshend being available is an interesting one, but he seems to have his heart set on Newcastle (and even posted a compliation video of his Newcastle best-bits earlier in the window). Who else is there? I’m sure Palace have another winger or two spare, and they won’t be needing them given Big Sam has gone for big all over and will presumably start with the heavy artillery in the next few games to get them over the line.
We’ve shipped out one flaky winger already, what are we looking for as a replacement? Proven Premier League experience? That would be Lennon and Young. Another hot prospect? Burke.
Or are we now modelling ourselves on Burnley and hoping to survive if we can, or get relegated then an immediate promotion campaign?
I agree with you BoroPhil that Albert improved as an all-round effective player (although he scored fewer goals), but he did leave because he became disillusioned by the way AK managed him, and I think we’d be in a significantly better place, and at the very least would certainly have more options, if he was still with us.
On Adama the rest of this a is a bit of a rant and is not directed at you at all, BoroPhil, just getting it off my chest. What a chaotic club like Villa last season did with their players isn’t much of a guide to anything. I know there is a more positive set of comments which could be made, but the way things have turned out we desperately needed to have developed Adama a fair bit further by now.
I’m not sure Adama’s confidence has been helped by getting a decent run in the team and then being suddenly dropped because of the lack of a tactical awareness which has supposedly been getting trained into him, or being brought on for only ten minutes and asked to turn a game when he has so little time to get into it, or being brought on and then switched from the right where he was playing well over to the left, or being in and out of the team like a yoyo…
Maybe it would have helped his confidence to give him a chance to tear into Stanley from the off and set up a couple of goals and/or score. Maybe it would help him and the team to be given licence to break forward and have the ball played over the top for him so he can use his pace running free on goal? For a team who will by definition be playing counter-attacking football a lot of the time, why does a player like Adama have to start most of his runs in a position with a bank of opposing players in front of him which he has to slalom through (although he’s rather good at that) instead of us playing the ball over the top or though balls between defenders which release runners.
Overall perhaps it’s probably fair to say it’s debatable whether AK is getting the best out of him. Let’s hope he pulls West Brom all over the shop this evening, and our midfield is encouraged to get into their box with Negredo to be on the end of his crosses.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
“but he did leave because he became disillusioned by the way AK managed him”
did he? when was this confirmed?
“I’m not sure Adama’s confidence has been helped by getting a decent run in the team and then being suddenly dropped because of the lack of a tactical awareness which has supposedly been getting trained into him”
again, is this the case? plenty of teams ease their promising players into the team. mainly because they are inconsistent ‘suddenly dropped’ seems a very dramatic way of putting it. look at Ross Barkley at Everton as a prime example.
Adama seems to me to be on an upwards curve. His best performance so far was against West Ham. It seems bizarre to give his manager no credit for that.
I noticed that the Gazette have published the full transcript of the Karanka press conference from yesterday and it is perhaps less damning than the Northern Echo’s interpretation of events when viewed in the chronological order they happened. It basically showed he wasn’t happy that Boro had failed to secure any of his targets which were needed to make an immediate impact – and it more about him not thinking Bamford or Gestede were ready to go in the short term.
Though all the same he seemed to infer that he would get the blame if things didn’t work out but essentially he was having to work with less than he had been expecting. But he still always seems to criticise but then go on to say everyone is doing an amazing job – probably his version of adding alledgedly before saying something controversial.
Our glorious leaders are so good, one of them said ” not for me” when we had Lalanna,Giroud , Matic ready to sign , there were others along the way too,which one was it?,maybe the one whose been here’s the longest,
Just a general post.
There is a big issue pending, the future of Gaston. We have seen examples of clubs not selling to other Premier League clubs, we lost out on Snodgrass for example.
If the club sell Gaston to Leicester it is an awful message to send out to the fans, other clubs around us wont sell to each other but we will.
It would leave the club with a serious amount of egg on the face, AK would have every right to be volcanic. Sorry Aitor, we couldn’t bring anyone in but we made a profit selling our asset to a rival.
A bit like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAsJFSakDv4
The hypocrisy of Leicester’s stance to Ulloa alongside their pursuit of Gaston is breathtaking.
Sky sports reporting we have agreed fee with Watford for midfielder Guedioura – down to players choice as to whether he joins us or Hull! Panic buy me thinks!
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
Just caught up with the postings of yesterday and today.
Thanks Ian for the ongoing updates.
That’s a great service.
Today the Gazette announced their Boro Premium Package for Supporters
This is of course accessed for a small monthly charge………..,
What we have here on Diasboro is written by supporters for supporters and has gone from strength to strength from its conception.
http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/you-want-even-more-middlesbrough-12531915
31 year old Guedioura at £4m or depending on which source £3M. Not sure what to make of that and where he fits in terms of the squad let alone team. Pretty much a journeyman Championship player or just an honest scrapper with a shot on him at the bottom end of the Premiership.
Forshaw, de Roon, Clayton, Leadbitter and now Guedioura if he comes doesn’t seem to add much to the quality that we are seeking. Again it smacks of preparing for next season in the Championship rather than signing players to keep us in the Premiership.
That would make it that we have now allegedly spent in the region of £12 -£14m depending on sources for three players who are basically good Championship players. I’d be surprised if this Guedioura link turned out to be true and then again I wouldn’t as it just compounds our January.
The Hull Daily Mail reckons they’ve sign Geudioura
http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/adlene-guedioura/story-30097379-detail/story.html
Fingers crossed!
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
I see the “morning” Gazette is now launching a “Premium” Boro service for even more news and articles “for a small monthly charge”.
http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/you-want-even-more-middlesbrough-12531915
Maybe if Trinity Mirror actually put more local news and less “filler” into the Paper more people would read it and advertise in it and they would have less need for schemes. Maybe they could print it late afternoon the same day and post it in the Evening so the news wasn’t 24 hours old?
The bloke who calls round and collects the money for the Gazette told the missus that he may not be back as the Gazette if I understand correctly (via second hand) is looking to sub contract it out and/or get people to pay by Direct Debit. Looks like that’s the end of the Gazette being delivered to our house then!
I don’t have a statement from Albert signed in blood to confirm that he was unhappy with the way he was managed by AK, but I don’t think he just fancied moving back to the brutal slog of the Championship after fighting for years to get us promoted, and yearned for playing midweek matches at Rotherham rather than visiting Old Trafford or Anfield. One day maybe it will all come out in his autobiography, BoroPhil, and then we’ll know for sure what went on.
Adama came in with the natural ability to run at and beat defenders with pace and skill. He did not have a regular place at the start of the season, but then he had a run of appearances when he seemed to be developing as a force, and then was dropped and identified as having tactical issues (as was Stewy) but these weren’t bad enough to prevent him from having that promising run in the side, but suddenly were bad enough that he couldn’t be trusted, and since then he has struggled to get a consistent run.
Of course I agree he’s played really well at times, and AK must take significant credit for that. I don’t know if AK did something in particular for the West Ham game so I’ll defer to you on that one, but overall I’d question whether AK has done enough to build the player’s confidence based on several events I’ve quoted, and given our lack of creative options he looks like a crucial player for our survival in the Prem. Confidence and the belief of the manager are crucial to Adama’s sort of player, as he has to take risks in the way he plays, and know that the odd mistake or loss of possession is not going to be inflated into a big issue.
Of course flair players can be frustrating and can be in and out of teams all over the leagues. I’m not sure that man management has been excellent in Adama’s case, I think it’s probably been average, and a big improvement on what was going on at Villa.
But perhaps from the outside, creative midfielders might look at what’s happened to several of the guys we’ve had here, and at our style of play, and wondered whether it’s for them.
or maybe Albert just didn’t fancy the increased level of competition, both for places and on the pitch?
Redcar Red
The poor quality of local papers is more evident if you are not a born and bred local.
I have not read the Derby Evening Telegraph for years, even when I go for a haircut it is the last thing I will read.
Like many I was astonished when I saw how much hadn’t appeared from the AK presser, I read it in my morning paper before it appeared on the Gazette site, is there an h in site?
Maybe, certainly in hindsite 🙂
Of course, if Adama is leaving our flank totally exposed several times agame there is a point when he has to come out of the side, or a freer role could perhaps be tried for him, if he can be the game-changer we need who makes the difference now that Ramirez is injured or disaffected or both.
Off to do some work, see you soon.
No signing Pogba while I am away
🙂
Rhode’s options seem to have reduced as apparently hard-pressed Villa have had a £15m offer accepted from Brentford for Scott Hogan – they could have had Gaston for that amount! – I don’t know if McCormack is included in that but that’s a hell of a lot of cash to find down the back of the sofa.
Seems strange that they have courted Rhodes who has nailed on Pedigree at that level yet would only offer £6m apparently and not the £10m or so Boro were supposedly after yet today they sign Hogan for 1 1/2 times that amount.
Perhaps more interesting is where are Brentford getting these Strikers from is it all down to Behham and his “Moneyball” system?
2.45pm Update from Sky that Guedioura is choosing between Hull and Boro. Won’t lose any sleep. Elsewhere it looks like Villa interest in Rhodes is over
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
Just who is Guediora???
And if correct, but with spin, 15mil for the guy from Brentford. Makes Rhodes look a bargain.
And us apparently reluctant to spend that amount for a Premiership player (allegedly).
We’re not going to sign anyone, are we?
I’m not holding my breath, but taking a quick look in here every hour
Maybe!
Perhaps!
Er, no!
Kick off soon. More Premiership footie at the Riverside Stadium,
Hurrrrraaaahhhh!
Where’s Jarkko gone?
4.00pm Boro express an interest in Andros Townsend, Palace won’t sell to rivals Boro.
2.45pm Update from Sky that Guedioura is choosing between Hull and Boro. Won’t lose any sleep. Elsewhere it looks like Villas interest in Rhodes has ended.
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
Just a thought, but if Dembele leaves Celtic and goes to Chelsea as mooted in some circles then would that maybe open the door for Rhodes to Celtic?
Mentioned Rhodes/Celtic a little while ago, RR.
I’d like to say great minds think alike but can’t coz I dont fit said catorgory – so yer on yer own buddy! Lol
2-2 tonight
Boro go behind by 2 goals. West Brom go to sleep allowing a great comeback & Aitor is hailed better than 100 Guardiolas!
Just guessin like
UTB
What’s this rumour that those expecting incoming transfers might look to Guedoverit – though question is will Karanka?
Werder
If that is the best you can do I suggest you get back to other duties!
Pathetic “an dross” is all I have to say on the matter!
Ian – That’s probably the same sentence Karanka uttered to Victor Orta when he saw the name – But hey, after nine hours looking after an exhuberant six-year-old you should be impressed that I can still place words in a seemingly non-random order…
Road to Rockcliffe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIIuR-HjFho
5.15pm Word has it Guedioura is headed towards Boro rather than Hull. Yippee!
4.00pm Boro express an interest in Andros Townsend, Palace won’t sell to rivals Boro.
2.45pm Update from Sky that Guedioura is choosing between Hull and Boro. Won’t lose any sleep. Elsewhere it looks like Villas interest in Rhodes has ended.
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
Yippee???
Why do we need another CM? I’m fairly certain AK called for wingers, pacy wingers, not CMs who can’t even get a game for bottom third Premiership teams.
It wasnt a yippee yippee!
At this stage, no movement seems like a reasonable outcome rather than picking up a Watford cast-off. I’d like to see them steal Townsend with a late 15 million offer but it won’t happen. Did someone mention Aaron Lennon?
So at the moment we are not getting Guedioura, or anyone else. Well that’s okay because we don’t really need another CM anyway.
As for AK stating that Gestede and Bamford haven’t improved us, well i agree. Gestede is a replacement for Nugent and Bamford is probably a replacement for Rhodes, but can also play wide right, in the same square peg manner as Stuani.
If Bamford was played up front and we signed a left-winger then maybe we would have an improved team.
I can’t see us signing anyone today. Nobody that will improve the first eleven at any rate.
I sincerely apologise for reporting the Watford reject may have chosen us, hopefully the tumbleweed will distract him. Skysports are firming up on the news
I will be away for a bit but will update later, I have to pick up Mrs G and go to the pub, a colleague of hers is retiring and he is a Boro fan.
I will try and keep updates going through the match as well.
Can’t believe we’re taking on board a Watford cast off, what the hell is going on? I really should take note of Spartak’s advice to cool for a while before posting, but this is beyond belief. Please, nobody post ‘give him a chance’, I’m so sick of hearing that right now.
I’m signing off, I can’t take this stupidity any more!
Well signs are the Guedioura is coming our way. If anybody knows him and his talents could they please enlighten us. At my count that is around 15mil or so we have spent three squad players. Not one that will make an instant impact in the team that badly need.
Can someone phone SG and ask if he has a plan in the offing. Plan A was to survive “giving it a go.” Plan B then must be to prepare for relegation cos it is on the cards. We can cash in on our EPL level players, send back the loanees and low and behold what have we got…..a team geared up for the Championship.
Looks like Rhodes is off to Wednesday
And on Wednesday.
May be the plan is to frustrate AK so much that he walks. That would be a bombshell and the more likely if we get beat tonight.
NB thanks to Werder and Ian.
Team news – speculation
Valdes
Barragan Ayala Bernardo Gibson Fabio
Clayton De Roon Forshaw
Stuani Negredo
I definitely can’t see that team winning, but we might get a nice dull 0-0
I’d agree with that team, one possible change – Downing for Barragan and playing left wing back. Midfield three I suspect may feature Leadbitter over Forshaw. I despair at Stuani getting near the 11, but I expect he will.
By agree please note that I mean agree it will be that team, not that I agree it represents the best team we can field. Don’t be having me down as an ultra-defensive bore-a-tron!
That’s not my team BTW – someone on OneBoro posted it. Seems to think it is the likely team.
It certainly would not be my team.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so underwhelmed. The Watford cast-off is exactly that, a squad player from a club we should aspire to be ahead of, especially given their abject form.
And Rhodes on his way? Well, I wish him luck, he deserves it. He wasn’t treated fairly at Boro and I hope he’s found a club that appreciate his talents. Best of luck.
But seriously, the Watford guy? Looks like next years promotion squad is taking shape!
We won’t get promoted with the likes of Guedioura in the team.
Note the updated passport pic, yes I’ve taken a backward step…
Yes RR the whole transfer window smacks of an absolute shambolic car crash. Not helped by ‘Rhodes frozen’ out on a Dead End Street. Maybe Bam Ford will get game time, go through the gears & hopefully ‘steer’ Bore ‘O’ away from relegation.
Was AK waving at our supporters on Saturday or was he drowning / waving goodbye ? I still haven’t changed my stance on the man & his methods, but enough of that for now.
Surprised not hearing on the blog from my outspoken pal who stays near Carlin How because… Loftus Cheek would be more than welcome at the moment.
Posted in January 2016:
“Sad to see Yanic move on without being given a fair shake. And in a position where we have problems.
“in a deal that could be worth £1 miilion”.
ie. We have given him away and we may get some crumbs back when Wigan eventually sell him on for £ 2-3 million, perhaps more, which is closer to his true value.
And if we are desperate to be rid of him, why was he not offered to the highest bidder? He’s had rave reviews, played very well, and must have impressed many clubs other than Wigan.
Shades of Butterfield. Sold for a song, moved on after a year for 6 times what we received, and declared a great deal for us because we got a tiny share of the huge sell-on profits.
Pull the other one.”
I await the Gazette article informing us what a triumphant deal Yanic’s sale to Norwich for £7 million has been for the Boro.
At the time the Gazette called the move “clearing out the dead wood”.
Guedioura was outstanding for Watford in their promotion season. A good technical player, capable of delivering great crosses from the right, and putting in plenty of effort.
Haven’t seen anything of him recently, and whilst he is obviously not the star signing we had hoped for, he will probably do a decent job for us as a squad player. Not a No 10, but someone that we should welcome and give a chance to. I was rather impressed by him in the past.
My thoughts too Len. He was instrumental in that horrible day at Bicarge Road late in the 2014/15 season.
A shame he’s 31. At 26 or younger I would more excited.
Sorry to see Rhodes go. I am in the camp that he has not been given a fair crack of the whip. So best wishes to him and mast Adam Reach feed him many goals on a plate.
No idea about this space filler from Watford. So no comment about that save to say I am underwhelmed.
I see the Daily Star had North West [sic] rivals Boro and the Toon in competition for Townsend. To be honest even if Big Sam would let him go to a relegation rival, in the players eyes there wouldn’t be any doubt about choosing them over us at the moment.
So. Let’s hope that we do manage to scrape home in 17th place at the end of the season and we’ll see what the summer will bring…Perhaps a whole new management team to build on the foundations…..
As for tonight, I find myself feeling absolutely anxious about what the team selection will be and how it will be set up to play. I have to say it is a bizarre sensation for me and I don’t honestly think I have felt quite this way before.
No prediction just hope we don’t get beat and if we are lucky enough to grab 3 points then that would be a bonus. Crowd….. 23,374
Actual team
Valdes
Barragan Bernardo Gibson Fabio
De Roon Clayton Forshaw
Stuani Negredo Traore
Subs
Dimi, Ayala, Leadbitter, Fischer, Downing, Bamford, Gestede
So looking at the team it looks like 4-3-3 with Adama on the right and Stuani on the left – I think Stuani has looked pretty decent on the left of late and it gives us someone who will look to get into the box if Adama gets in a cross down the right.
Though we’re still persisting with three defensive midfielders and I would think Downing is unlucky not to get the nod over Forshaw who has looked below his best recently.
Hopefully Barragan has been practising his throw-ins as I always expect him to make a foul when he picks up the ball.
Maybe Negredo will have one of his special games today now that he’s rested – I’ll go 3-1 to Boro as the siege mentality pays dividends and Karanka has a release from the build up of pressure that’s threatening to blow his gasket from his basket.
So 3-1: Negredo 2, de Roon.
I think Adams will play on the touchline nearest the manager so he can be “coached” in play. It’s been done before by worse managers for better wingers.
Transfer activity suggests to me that we are betting each way.
If we stay up, great. Root and branch review, never happen again etc etc but if we go down we aren’t saddled with too many superstars who would be too good (in their opinion) for a season of championship slog. A la Burnley and others.
It’s realistic. It’s pragmatic. It’s bloody depressing.
Adama bloody productive toxt.
Again no prediction from me, other than to say give it your all lads, hope for a bit of luck and MOtM to be Negrado. Crowd….24600
Underwhelming team selection with the three stoppers in central midfield once again.
Fingers crossed though. Come on Boro.
Game over – they’re 1-0 up
Game back on – but don’t get your hopes up.
1-1 Negredo penalty
Negredo (p) 1-1
Did I say 2-2?
Ah, how the memory slips with age!
COB
God this isn´t any good for the heart rate…end to end, could’ve been 3 all. Complaints about three MD´s and just as well as the defence is all over the place. Bernardo is having a mare and Barragan getting little change against Phillips.
Only hope Adama gets the same space in the second half…but doubt it. Still not enough bodies in the box when the crosses come in.
More goals to come in the next 45, but unless we tighten up at the back and possibly bring on Ayala, it will be a win for WBA.
Just seen that the other games are not going our way!!!! Watford winning away and a bigger gap opening up infront of the bottom 6.
I am back, I hope you don’t mind me having a couple of beers with a Boro fan, so what has happened in the meanwhile
8.45pm It looks like Rhodes is going to be an owl, Guedioura will become a Boro player – know nothing about him other than he is more of a playmaker than destroyer. Callum Cook to Crewe and it looks like Harry Chapman back to Blades, both on loans.
At the Riverside it is 1-1 after Morrison invoked the inevitability drive, Negredo levelled from the spot.
Road to Rockcliffe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIIuR-HjFho
5.15pm Word has it Guedioura is headed towards Boro rather than Hull. Yippee!
4.00pm Boro express an interest in Andros Townsend, Palace won’t sell to rivals Boro.
2.45pm Update from Sky that Guedioura is choosing between Hull and Boro. Won’t lose any sleep. Elsewhere it looks like Villas interest in Rhodes has ended.
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
9.00pm Gastongate still locked. Scores poor, Palace winning at Bournemouth, Swansea leading Soton, both by 1-0.
8.45pm It looks like Rhodes is going to be an owl, Guedioura will become a Boro player – know nothing about him other than he is more of a playmaker than destroyer. Callum Cook to Crewe and it looks like Harry Chapman back to Blades, both on loans.
At the Riverside it is 1-1 after Morrison invoked the inevitability drive, Negredo levelled from the spot.
Road to Rockcliffe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIIuR-HjFho
5.15pm Word has it Guedioura is headed towards Boro rather than Hull. Yippee!
4.00pm Boro express an interest in Andros Townsend, Palace won’t sell to rivals Boro.
2.45pm Update from Sky that Guedioura is choosing between Hull and Boro. Won’t lose any sleep. Elsewhere it looks like Villas interest in Rhodes has ended.
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
9.15pm The quality of our posts show their quality by clearing twice. Cough! Swans 2 Soton 1 after Southampton equaliser. Bamford on for Stuani.
9.00pm Gastongate still locked. Scores poor, Palace winning at Bournemouth, Swansea leading Soton, both by 1-0.
8.45pm It looks like Rhodes is going to be an owl, Guedioura will become a Boro player – know nothing about him other than he is more of a playmaker than destroyer. Callum Cook to Crewe and it looks like Harry Chapman back to Blades, both on loans.
At the Riverside it is 1-1 after Morrison invoked the inevitability drive, Negredo levelled from the spot.
Road to Rockcliffe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIIuR-HjFho
5.15pm Word has it Guedioura is headed towards Boro rather than Hull. Yippee!
4.00pm Boro express an interest in Andros Townsend, Palace won’t sell to rivals Boro.
2.45pm Update from Sky that Guedioura is choosing between Hull and Boro. Won’t lose any sleep. Elsewhere it looks like Villas interest in Rhodes has ended.
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
Well a point earned not two points lost, WBA will say the opposite. They had the most clear cut chances, including two off the post.
Traore less effective on the left to accommodate Bamford, who failed to keep his feet more than a few times.
Positives…..coming back to gain the draw, but nothing much else. That kind of display will not keep us.
Relegation beckons I’m afraid. For all our huff and puff and undoubted commitment we just never really look like scoring. In terms of going forward we looked like a one man team at times. How traore didn’t get his game for three/four weeks I’ll never know as without him in the team we would create absolutely nothing. Unless we can get gaston playing and in my opinion one less defensive midfielder on the pitch we simply won’t win enough games. Our run of fixtures coming up is horrendous and I can only see more misery.
If we judge it by AK’s very scientific “they’re not in our league” comment I think we’re slowly running out of fixtures. At least our deadline day dealings helped to strengthen the team……
9.45pm A bad day at the not OK Corall. A home draw but Palace won at Bournemouth and Swansea beat Southampton. Results didn’t go our way, neither did the our own.
9.15pm The quality of our posts show their quality by clearing twice. Cough! Swans 2 Soton 1 after Southampton equaliser. Bamford on for Stuani.
9.00pm Gastongate still locked. Scores poor, Palace winning at Bournemouth, Swansea leading Soton, both by 1-0.
8.45pm It looks like Rhodes is going to be an owl, Guedioura will become a Boro player – know nothing about him other than he is more of a playmaker than destroyer. Callum Cook to Crewe and it looks like Harry Chapman back to Blades, both on loans.
At the Riverside it is 1-1 after Morrison invoked the inevitability drive, Negredo levelled from the spot.
Road to Rockcliffe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIIuR-HjFho
5.15pm Word has it Guedioura is headed towards Boro rather than Hull. Yippee!
4.00pm Boro express an interest in Andros Townsend, Palace won’t sell to rivals Boro.
2.45pm Update from Sky that Guedioura is choosing between Hull and Boro. Won’t lose any sleep. Elsewhere it looks like Villas interest in Rhodes has ended.
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
And one more thing… Why do we keep playing strikers out on the wing. I said if we signed bamford to play the stuani role I would be gutted and fuming in equal measure. Well guess what he was out on that wing again.
He was terrible there for us in the championship. Why expect it to be any different now.
Maybe a point gained but I don’t see how a draw in a critical game can be seen as a positive in any way, particularly when Swansea, Palace and Watford all won and gained ground on us.
We were lucky to even get a draw and probably wouldn’t have got anything if we hadn’t been gifted a penalty. The defence tonight was unconvincing and yet again there was very little attacking threat. Why Downing was dropped is beyond me after his performance on Saturday and the continuing lack of goals will see us relegated. Draws are not enough.
On top, the transfer window has been a disaster with the team now no stronger than it was before the window opened and the most creative player wanting away. There has been nothing to enthuse the fans. Gestede and Bamford are uninspiring acquisitions and they won’t solve the lack of goal s problem. As someone said earlier, it’s beginning to look as though the management of the club may have decided to shelve any real ambition to “have a go”, hedge their bets by assembling a squad that they believe would do well in the Championship and just hope that it might survive in the Premier League. If so, how depressing is that?
If heaven forbid we are relegated (which I fear now is probable) it would be a massive failure and I hope those responsible for it, starting with Karanka, are held accountable and shown the door.
Karanka needed to be shown the door a long time ago. A few of us have been saying as much on here, many more have been hoping against hope for a turnaround (and I totally understand that) but reluctantly coming to the same view. I hope the chairman follows very quickly!
10.30pm Our best striker was opposition defenders with two shots on target, Sign them on, sign them on. Now got Jim White approaching critical mass on Sky.
10.15pm A record club transfer fee, well done to, er, Burnley. Is this a case for HMRC, they have no money, Dyche said it so it must be true.
9.45pm A bad day at the not OK Corall. A home draw but Palace won at Bournemouth and Swansea beat Southampton. Results didn’t go our way, neither did our own.
9.15pm The quality of our posts show their quality by clearing twice. Cough! Swans 2 Soton 1 after Southampton equaliser. Bamford on for Stuani.
9.00pm Gastongate still locked. Scores poor, Palace winning at Bournemouth, Swansea leading Soton, both by 1-0.
8.45pm It looks like Rhodes is going to be an owl, Guedioura will become a Boro player – know nothing about him other than he is more of a playmaker than destroyer. Callum Cook to Crewe and it looks like Harry Chapman back to Blades, both on loans.
At the Riverside it is 1-1 after Morrison invoked the inevitability drive, Negredo levelled from the spot.
Road to Rockcliffe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIIuR-HjFho
5.15pm Word has it Guedioura is headed towards Boro rather than Hull. Yippee!
4.00pm Boro express an interest in Andros Townsend, Palace won’t sell to rivals Boro.
2.45pm Update from Sky that Guedioura is choosing between Hull and Boro. Won’t lose any sleep. Elsewhere it looks like Villas interest in Rhodes has ended.
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
10.45pm It does seem that standing still is our current stance.
10.30pm Our best striker was opposition defenders with two shots on target, Sign them on, sign them on. Now got Jim White approaching critical mass on Sky.
10.15pm A record club transfer fee, well done to, er, Burnley. Is this a case for HMRC, they have no money, Dyche said it so it must be true.
9.45pm A bad day at the not OK Corall. A home draw but Palace won at Bournemouth and Swansea beat Southampton. Results didn’t go our way, neither did our own.
9.15pm The quality of our posts show their quality by clearing twice. Cough! Swans 2 Soton 1 after Southampton equaliser. Bamford on for Stuani.
9.00pm Gastongate still locked. Scores poor, Palace winning at Bournemouth, Swansea leading Soton, both by 1-0.
8.45pm It looks like Rhodes is going to be an owl, Guedioura will become a Boro player – know nothing about him other than he is more of a playmaker than destroyer. Callum Cook to Crewe and it looks like Harry Chapman back to Blades, both on loans.
At the Riverside it is 1-1 after Morrison invoked the inevitability drive, Negredo levelled from the spot.
Road to Rockcliffe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIIuR-HjFho
5.15pm Word has it Guedioura is headed towards Boro rather than Hull. Yippee!
4.00pm Boro express an interest in Andros Townsend, Palace won’t sell to rivals Boro.
2.45pm Update from Sky that Guedioura is choosing between Hull and Boro. Won’t lose any sleep. Elsewhere it looks like Villas interest in Rhodes has ended.
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
Karanka remains our best bet for survival in my view for various reasons but there’s no doubt that the trap door is widening.
I now have us five points behind a survival target of thirty-eight. That figure may not be required to stay up but thirty-three won’t be enough, so we’ll have to get at least two unexpected points and hope the teams around us trip over each other.
Very little on or off the field this month leaves me feeling that we’ll gain significant unexpected points. I’d go as far as to say that for the first time this season, were I forced to bet on our season’s outcome, it would now be on relegation.
And yet….
Far, far stranger things have happened. We remain competitive in almost all games and I believe we have enough – with a couple of tweaks and a bit of luck – to survive.
It’s going to go the very last game. Hopefully it will be more reminiscent of the Brighton match than the playoff final. Liverpool away, eh?
I hope it has been some help, deal sheets pending so who knows, Neymar seen at the Bluebell?
11.00pm Got the 31 year old midfielder from Watford, awaiting the completion of Rhodes deal to the Owls. Some good news, Sakho joins Palace on loan, the Liverpool non-defender should improve our chances.
Must stop moaning but after all the discussion about clubs not selling to other rivals in the top flight there must be concern we have beaten Hull in signing someone not wanted by Hull when Villa have spent three times the amount on a Brentford attacker.
110.45pm It does seem that standing still is our current stance.
10.30pm Our best striker was opposition defenders with two shots on target, Sign them on, sign them on. Now got Jim White approaching critical mass on Sky.
10.15pm A record club transfer fee, well done to, er, Burnley. Is this a case for HMRC, they have no money, Dyche said it so it must be true.
9.45pm A bad day at the not OK Corall. A home draw but Palace won at Bournemouth and Swansea beat Southampton. Results didn’t go our way, neither did our own.
9.15pm The quality of our posts show their quality by clearing twice. Cough! Swans 2 Soton 1 after Southampton equaliser. Bamford on for Stuani.
9.00pm Gastongate still locked. Scores poor, Palace winning at Bournemouth, Swansea leading Soton, both by 1-0.
8.45pm It looks like Rhodes is going to be an owl, Guedioura will become a Boro player – know nothing about him other than he is more of a playmaker than destroyer. Callum Cook to Crewe and it looks like Harry Chapman back to Blades, both on loans.
At the Riverside it is 1-1 after Morrison invoked the inevitability drive, Negredo levelled from the spot.
Road to Rockcliffe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIIuR-HjFho
5.15pm Word has it Guedioura is headed towards Boro rather than Hull. Yippee!
4.00pm Boro express an interest in Andros Townsend, Palace won’t sell to rivals Boro.
2.45pm Update from Sky that Guedioura is choosing between Hull and Boro. Won’t lose any sleep. Elsewhere it looks like Villas interest in Rhodes has ended.
2.00pm Peasepud in Perth reports Hull Daily Mail saying Hull signed Guedioura.
1.30pm Adlene Guedioura, midfielder from Watford. They have accpeted bids of £4m from Hull and Boro.
12.30 It is quiet, incoming Pedro Silva Torrejon in to the academy from Boca Juniors in a deal that has been bubbling. Jonno and Vic in video saying how quiet it is.
11.45 Yanic to Norwich, £7m. Andy Hinchcliffe says biggest problem his inconsistency. Over to Len.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club.
No mention of Ramirez.
11.10am Skysports at Leicester, reiterate they will not sell to Premier League club. No mention of Ramirez.
10.50am Academy striker Jakupovic leaves for Empoli in a permanent deal
10.30am Never mind who is coming in, what about the defence for tonight? Please take your boots along.
9.30am Elsewhere, Emnes off to Blackburn and Derby after Yanic. Leicester don’t want to let Ulloa go partly because they don’t want to sell to a Premier League club!!!!
9.10am De Pena on loan to Oviedo, maybe Gaston is losing his mate?
9.00am Little news on transfers but AK presser gets discussions under way.
Good point though it was in the end, things are looking decidedly ominous. Where are the wins going to come from?
AK has got to find a way to turn draws into wins or the unthinkable is going to happen.
On the transfer front, it seems to me that we may already have been planning for a return to the Championship. No matter what, I’ll still be there of course but I do hope they can prove me wrong.
UTB