The heat is on as fired-up Boro head to the Potteries

by werdermouth, posted in Uncategorized

Watching Karanka’s press conference yesterday he appeared in confident mood ahead of the trip to Stoke and there was little sign of a man under pressure – he actually made the point that he sets the example to his players by walking with his head up and showing belief in what they are doing.

His reflection on the Palace game was that it was simply an aberration brought on by the last minute news from the Team Doctor that Friend was not available and thus ruining the week’s game preparation – no doubt his mentor would have offered more severe treatment to such an oversight from a member of his medical team.

Though why Karanka thought it was better to completely change the shape of the team rather than use a makeshift full-back remains unanswered. Interesting when quizzed over why Husband didn’t get the shout his reply was basically he was not up to dealing with Townsend and it would have been an ‘excuse’ to select him – though how the player takes that damning assessment is anyone’s guess.

There is often a degree of news management with Karanka when quizzed about Boro’s current position in the table and where we may expect to finish. According to the boss “We are in the position I thought we would be” – so the bar he has set is 17th place and that is the message he wants to get across.

Though is this our realistic position and are we meeting expectations? I had a quick check yesterday on where promoted clubs finish in their first season – it’s not usually as low as 17th for two-thirds of the newly arrived teams as the average finish is actually 15th –  with many clubs finishing comfortably in mid-table and only one of the three promoted teams actually ending up being relegated. So whilst a promoted club would happily snap your hand off for 17th spot before the season started it’s not, or it should not be the measure or the target to aspire to.

Below is a table showing the finishing positions of the promoted teams in the seven seasons Boro were out of the Premier League.

Season Promoted Teams (Position finished)
2009-10 Birmingham (9) Wolves (15) Burnley (18)
2010-11 West Brom (11) Newcastle (12) Blackpool (18)
2011-12 Swansea (11) Norwich (12) QPR (17)
2012-13 West Ham (10) Southampton (14) Reading (19)
2013-14 Palace (11) Hull (16) Cardiff (20)
2014-15 Leicester (14) Burnley (19) QPR (20)
2015-16 Watford (13) Bournemouth (16) Norwich (19)

I defy any manager (even those prone to control freakery) to be able to finesse one position above the relegation zone – in fact even Karanka mentioned that Boro could have had 32 points based on performances, which could be interpreted as we’ve either under-achieved or were the victim of unforeseen bad luck – though he may be right, I can probably think of five draws that Boro could on another day quite easily have won: Stoke (H), West Brom (H), Burnley (A), Leicester (A), West Ham (A).

So in some ways he’s saying we are where he thought we would be, but at the same time countering that by claiming an extra ten points would have been a fairer reflection, which could be an attempt to move the jelly-like goalposts away from those holding the hammer as they try to nail them in place. Though this type of duality is often what you tend to get with Karanka (and perhaps he’s not alone in the art of spin among managers) – it’s painting the picture in shades of grey to avoid having his hands tied by his record, though I’ll leave it to others to determine just how many shades of grey are permissible before the relegation watershed.

The Boro boss is also good at deflecting a seemingly critical point about being overly defensive and turning it with a straight face into a compliment – “we are in this position because we have a good balance between our defence and scoring goals”. There seems to be little acknowledgement to questions posed of how Boro can change in order to improve our goals-for record and he dismisses the idea of needing to change by just reiterating “we must continue to work hard” – he’s in no doubt that he and his team are working hard (which no doubt they are) and “they will fight until the last day” – though thankfully no mention of beaches.

However, in an article in the Telegraph yesterday he is quoted on the same subject of addressing the lack of goals with “There are things we are trying to do… For two or three weeks, we’ve been training to play quicker and doing exercises on the pitch to get the ball to the box quicker and to get more players into the box. But when you change things from one day to the next, it’s difficult.”

This raises the question of why has it only occurred to the Boro boss in the last couple of weeks that something needed to be done to address the problem of our pedestrian approach to scoring goals – these points have been highlighted for months by pundits and analysts alike so it will not surely have escaped his attention. Maybe someone raised the point in Benidorm after plucking up the courage after secretly downing a Zombie cocktail before an informal pool-side meeting. Perhaps it was Negredo with his lounger 30 yards away from the others who professed to be lonely on his own, which made something twig.

He has also pointed to the improved performances going forward against West Brom and Everton as an indication of his belief that Boro will prevail against their relegation rivals. He said about the game on Saturday “We have to show from the first minute that we want to win… as three points at Stoke is really important” – and that last statement cannot be over emphasised.

To have a good chance of avoiding relegation, Boro have few realistic opportunities left to achieve the four wins that must be regarded as needed at this stage. We still have to play five of the top six in our 11 remaining games after Stoke and although we play four of our relegation rivals, three of those are away (Swansea, Hull, Bournemouth) – plus the rearranged game at home to Sunderland – that leaves two other games where we host Burnley and Southampton.

These run of fixtures are in contrast to Hull and Swansea, who both only have two of the top six to play in their run-ins – plus they have shown in recent weeks that they have found much better form. On top of that Leicester looked back to their former selves post-Ranieri, which means the task facing is Boro beginning to appear less comfortable and surely it must be time to put the emphasis on employing tactics that concentrate on winning key games rather than attempting not to lose them. In addition, the meek performance last week at Palace is even more galling given that they also must play five from the top six and up until that point had no reason to cheer.

Karanka has batted away any suggestion that he has set a target for the number of wins required and insists he only focuses on each game as it comes. But surely that is just rather damp flannel for public consumption as he must have at least privately identified games that Boro need to try and win – especially as he also stated yesterday that the difference between the Championship and the Premier League is that we were capable of beating any team in the second tier but now the gap between the top six and the rest is massive. Which means he believes five of our remaining games are unlikely to lead to three points – leaving a realistic target of winning four from seven.

The good news is that both Friend and Barragan have trained all week with the squad, which should mean Karanka can field near enough his strongest XI. I suspect Ayala will partner Gibson with the looming aerial threat of Crouch and hopefully Friend and Fabio as conventional full-backs. The next question is how many defensive midfielders Boro will deploy – if it really is crunch time then the answer must be two. It could mean 4-2-3-1 and personally I’d play Downing behind Negredo and Gaston on the left, primarily because the Uruguayan has more pace for the counter attack. We should start with Negredo up top and surely Adama on the right. Who will be the midfield two? Leadbitter would drive the team forward and perhaps Clayton will want to celebrate his new contract.

Make no mistake this is probably the most important game of the season for Karanka – if Boro fail to turn up like last week then the message to the chairman will be stark. With only two games against both Manchester clubs before the international break, the question must come to mind of whether Karanka’s Boro are capable of winning at least two of those three games in the six days that follow the fortnight off. I’m of the view that Karanka will be unlikely to hang around should we be relegated – so it may well be a short-term decision is the only decision on the table – though I suspect Steve Gibson, despite all the stodge to digest, will not want to to be rude to his regular dining partner and won’t ask the waiter for the bill until he has brought the just desserts menu.

It’s impossible to conceive that Boro won’t be fired up for their visit to the Potteries – the relegation wheel may be turning but I’m not expecting Boro to throw this one as Stoke seemingly have nothing meaningful to play for.  Come the full time whistle there will be a sigh of relief and hopefully Gibson won’t be left to ponder whether it’s Karanka who has feet of clay.

OK, as usual give your predictions of team, score and scorers – will it be victory on a fine Wedgewood plate for Boro or will Karanka be looking at a wedgie from the chairman as Boro misfire?

103 thoughts on “The heat is on as fired-up Boro head to the Potteries”

  1. Maybe it will be a head on a plate, who knows?
    The result Stoke City 2 – 0, I don’t know what my prediction was on the Exmil Challenge but I have feeling of foreboding about this.Where will our goals come from? Cheerful I know.
    Right, back to the darkened room.
    🔴 Just another reminder that you can see a special page with everyone’s Exmil Challenge predictions by clicking on the graphic link at the top of the right column that looks like the one below – Werdermouth
    predictions-banner-2

  2. Brilliant piece Werder.
    Time to reflect has past, quite some time ago. Nothing less than a result will do. A draw may prolong the agony. A win renewed hope. Delaying the obvious questions and answers that OFB may have.

  3. Excellent piece Werder. On the Result tomorrow my head says 0-0 and my heart yearns for a 0-1 to Boro. Whatever happens surely even AK now knows that only wins matter and no amount of spin, rhetoric or blame deflection will hold any water any more. He has gone to that well too many times. Tomorrow is the day he can resuscitate his ailing career or the day a DNR notice is placed on his Boro tenure.

  4. A great piece Werder.
    Boro on the cusp of what could turn out to be a season defining match.
    I believe that AK will go with Valdes and hopefully a flat back four of Fabio, Ayala, Gibson & Friend. Clayton and Leadbelter to be restored. Stuani to retain his place on the right with Downing and Gaston interchanging behind Negredo.
    I do not think we will overcome Stoke and sparky will be expecting a much improved performance from his side following their drubbing at the lane.
    Stoke 2-0 Boro.
    I do really hope that I am wrong but when things start to go wrong for our team, I have tended to find over many years of supporting them that rarely do we have a happy ending.
    CoB

    1. Kp
      I’m still amazed that our tried and trusted bloggers are picking teams without young Traore. Try to remember the last time we saw some goal threat, or goal action, or dominance from the team. It was induced by that young man, indeed, I think we may well have him to thank for a couple of draws, because he certainly caused the opposition to alter their game plan by his speed ad directness. Certainly Everton were glad to call it quits with ten minutes to go because they had had enough of him.

  5. Great pre-match, Werder. Are you sure you’ve never been a writer of some description (I don’t mean code)?
    I think Spurs’ demolition of Stoke last time out was particularly bad luck for us and I expect them to respond. Hopefully the same applies to us after the Palace debacle.
    I went for a defeat in the Exmil. Then head says home win, the heart the opposite.
    I’ll split the difference and go for 1-1.
    The return of Friend and the Ayala/Gibson and Leadbitter/Clayton axis appear popular and I go along with that.

    1. Thanks Andy, though I suppose everyone is a writer of some description 🙂 but I guess 99% of my creative writing has probably been on this blog and the previous incarnation – though you should have read my last piece of code, it was gripping!
      Also thanks to KP, Pedro and RR for your comments, much appreciated! Though I’m just hoping to read the Sunday papers match reports gushing over excellent Boro display.

  6. I will worry about the match tomorrow, tonight Mrs G has morphed into Dr G after her research was approved.
    The only consolation is she knows plenty about Academic Freedom and stuff all about Boro apart from post Xmas slump – that is only from the gloom that descends week by week.
    That doesn’t matter, I am over the moon after 6 years including a full time job, I love her to bits but keep it quiet.
    🙂
    Going back to Boro, how come anyone thinks AK can find a solution to post Xmas slump. The finest medics cant find a cause so why should a football manager do so.
    I was on a train to watch Boro a couple of years ago and sat next to a Uni student. She was doing a dissertation in sports science at Loughborough and going out with an MK Dons player. I suggested Post Xmas slump as a subject, never seen anything published.
    I don’t think she thought I was a strange old man, she probably decided it was easier to find a solution for the middle east crisis.

  7. We all spend a lot of time disecting what AK does and doesn’t do and we seem to me to ignore the responsibility that the players also have for the overall performance. Against Everton they were really good and against Palace they were lacklustre in a game that everyone knew was vitally important. Is that AK’s fault?
    I’m just hoping that we see a really fired up team effort and a lot more attacking intent. Clayton must be back to lock off the middle and I don’t mind if he is partnered by DeRoon (who I still really admire for his effort) or Leadbitter. Other than that, we know that they all have ability. I just want people playing who are 100% committed to the club and what it means. Frankly, I’m not convinced that Ramirez has the commitment for a massive 90 minutes and so I’m not sure whether he is better starting or coming on at the hour. Any thoughts from the brains trust? If we stay up is he still with us next year?
    I know that we’re good enough to win games like this and so, rather than predict, I just go with a supporter’s blind faith that it will all be ok.
    UTB

  8. Werder
    All right you started it I’m going for a 0 4 win with goals by Friend Stuani (2) and a Leadbitter penalty for a trip on Traore who was MOM and we are on MOTD first
    This is the first of a 7 game unbeaten run and we finish 14th
    PS
    I’m sure this mushrooms I had for tea tasted a bit funny !

  9. Great piece Werder.
    AK’s excuse of blaming a communication problem over the fitness of Friend for the no-show at Palace is pathetic. He is the manager and picked the team, formation and tactics. All three were seriously flawed.
    No more excuses please. He needs to deliver a result tomorrow or his position will be under further scrutiny and rightly so. However, his problem is that he has no idea how to set up the team to score goals and I can’t see anything changing in that respect tomorrow.
    So 2-0 to Stoke and Boro in the bottom three at the end of the weekend. I hope I’m wrong.

    1. And if we are in the bottom three the after match interview will be along the lines of:
      “This is what I expected so I’m not surprised that we have a fight on our hands to stay up. It is the first time we have been in the bottom three and for that we should be proud”

      1. Yes, that’s exactly what he would say.
        If the story about Negredo being dropped is true I would prefer Stuani up front rather than Gestede any day.

  10. Great piece Werdermouth. Sadly it is not difficult to predict that it will be the best thing about the match!
    Middlesbrough will struggle with the wind, the crowd, the physicality of Stoke, the set plays…and it will be the same old story. 2 or 3 nil to Stoke. They may just settle for one. Hopefully Karanka’s sacking will then be a lead story on Match of the Day.
    If he stays, I can’t see us winning another away match tbh, possibly scoring at Swansea and Hull but that will be it. We might squeeze another two wins at home.

  12. Good pre match write up Werder
    Not confident tomorrow and suspect it will be a 1 or 2.0 defeat.
    Who will be to blame for that? Groundsman, Tea Lady or the ball boys??

    1. Probably nobody will have told Aitor that the Bet 365 Stadium has open corners and is notoriously cold and windy. All the swirling breezes will have interrupted our long ball game (that we apparently don’t play according to AK yet only Burnley have played more long balls) and Gestede will take his impressive record to 37 games.
      So in essence it will be the fault of the wind albeit most of us will think its of the warm variety rather than the cold blustery version.

  13. Werder the Wordsmith…outstanding.
    So the medical staff are the latest scapegoat and his view that Husband was not up to playing a premier league winger, will do wonders for the team morale. Choked on me bacon sarnie when I read that Karanka claims he sets the example to his players by walking around with his head held high, must look like a right arrogant prat. His face and body language on the sideline would be enough to demotivate anyone, compare his demeanour to fat Sam’s last week, chalk and cheese. I really think he is delusional, shades of Napoleon.
    Anyone who thinks Stoke have nothing to play for then they too have lost the plot, because after being tonked last week they will be under pressure to redeem themselves to the Manager and supporters.
    So lets hope we see Valdes,Fabio,Ayala,Gibson,Friend, Leadbitter,( Foreshaw needs a rest)Clayton,Traore,Ramirez,Downing and Gestede…Stuani and Negredo as subs..
    UTB.

  14. Great piece again, the blog just keeps on getting better – about the only thing Boro that is these days.
    Its Deja-vu time once more. The last time we played at Stoke we watched the match live on the box with a Stoke supporter. It was a pathetic match and a miserable memory.
    Stoke had a long throw expert and guess what, that’s how they scored. Boro were asleep as usual.
    This season is going like last time so the best I can hope for is a draw. My gut feeling is that we will go down by an early goal, and then have no clue how to score, like headless chickens just running around aimlessly.
    Of course that’s not to say I don’t want, hope and dream for Boro to absolutely dominate and see 3 or even 4 goals on the board but even if we did score for sure AK would then pack the box and hang out even for 85 minutes to try and hold on.
    So in short nothing to look forward to this afternoon, only a true supporter is going to to watch – I suppose its payback somehow only I cant think what I did to deserve such a purgatory.
    So I will be watching and despite my optimism on the Challenge I fear we will go down to an early goal and our bottle of pink champagne will remain in opened yet again.
    Hope I am wrong as boy, do we need cheering up.

  15. Ian re your post at 8.42. Many congratulations to Mrs sorry Dr G on her doctorate. 😎
    I am sure that her success is in part down to the support and encouragement that you have provided. Well done to you both.
    Any chance you will both be rewarded with a Boro win! 🙂

  16. 1 or 2-0 to Stoke.
    There’s a niggle in the back of my brain that says with a tranche of first choice players returned, and with Friend and Fabio bombing forward from FB, it might give the lads a lift. I have what is probably a dream of us being more enterprising and expansive and nicking this one.
    That’s the heart. The brain says Stoke to beat a traditionally turgid Boro.

  19. It should have read:
    ‘Middlesbrough pin survival hopes on £6m serial loser Gestede’
    The most worrying aspect for me is that if AK simply switches one player for another playing the exact same tactics then for me he should go before KO as its the final straw.
    The problem isn’t Negredo, the problem is that we don’t create anything and all the unwanted stats prove that comprehensively. Negredo or Gestede or Stuani or Bamford or Rhodes or Nugent or even Viduka, Hasselbaink and Ravanelli would score beggar all in AK’s set up. The problem isn’t Negredo the problem is staring us all in the face but clearly AK hasn’t got a mirror in his office. Passing in our own half doesn’t and never has supported Negredo.
    AK may not have the calibre of playing personnel thanks to the woeful scouting and recruitment at the club but isolating your striker, playing most of the season with in effect 10 men is not an excuse. Playing Negredo for 10 games without scoring then telling Bamford after four bit part appearances he isn’t up to it is poor, blinkered, selective management. Then throw in the Husband scenario last week were he destabilised an entire team over one position, stood watching over it doing nothing and we are clearly witnessing some sort of meltdown in slow motion.
    Today for me is do or die, AK has to make a positive statement of intent. He needs to create his own “new Manager bounce”. Now is when he needs to come out fighting and not clutching his book of excuses and blather on about how confident he is whilst blaming everything and anything around him.

    1. RR,
      That tells it like precisely it is. A management and coaching style built on defence. Defence of himself. Still 2 – 0 for me and against the Manchester collective I can see this much vaunted ‘Goal Difference’ going up the pictures too.
      UTB,
      John

    1. The season is salvageable if the downward spiral is halted and reversed but carrying on doing the same things in the same way will keep us drifting aimlessly down the form table and more importantly the actual Premiership table. AK has got by thus far by other teams being worse than us. His problem now is he can no longer rely on other teams being worse as they have done something about it and improved their recent form.
      We have slipped from the point a game objective and meanwhile seen other teams radically change things usually via a new Manager. AK has to change things and he needs to start today, last week it was clear the players hadn’t a clue who was supposed to be playing where and doing what. That scenario wasn’t Management it was gross incompetence. Today he has to start to prove he has more in his Management locker than just defending and blaming.
      The time for talking and naughty stepping has gone, very few like the players last week are buying into it any longer. We are now into put up or shut territory. I don’t want to hear another Steve Gibson eulogy in June saying “we didn’t see it coming.”
      Today I want to see a statement of intent anything less is unacceptable.

  21. A good read Weder, well done, wish I could produce something of that quality.
    As usual, some interesting comments from all concerned and I will stick with my draw prediction. I just hope that I am wrong and we win 3 2 with a last minute Piece of magic from Negrado just off the bench!
    A defeat is not an option really although The post match comments will be interesting from AK.
    The AKRTS has come up with
    Valdes
    Fabio Ayla Gibson Friend
    Leadbitter Foreshaw De Roon
    Downing Adama
    Gestede
    The first one omitted Gestede as the default programme is Negrado but the first reboot can up with the error message” can’t compute – play with 10 men” and it was only after several hours of serious programming by Weder that it came up with Gestede!
    Think I might have to listen behind the sofa with my ears covered up………..
    UTB

  22. For those of you missing out on “Premium Boro” todays big insight is……..wait for it!
    “Stoke City vs Middlesbrough: Can you remember the players who’ve played for both clubs?”
    Dear me, and for this some folk are paying a £1 a week.

  23. Sorry to be a little ray of sunshine but I, for one, am really looking forward to a good day out watching my highly organised team perform well away from home in the land’s top league. And on a very pleasant day.
    There haven’t been too many days over the past 50 years when you could have said that.
    Opposition fans and neutrals won’t think much of the game, because we won’t allow the other team to play. Though the fact that we are successful in this regard will be used by some as a criticism of us: “We should have beaten them because they were rubbish”.
    How many times have we heard that this season, rather than given the team the credit they deserve. Any point away from home is a good one.
    I’d like to see both Ramirez and Traore start, with a midfield three of Leads, de Roon and Clayton. The rest pick themselves if fit. A lot will depend on Gaston’s attitude. I wouldn’t be surprised if he excused himself from duties over the next three games by getting booked. If he does or in any way fails to give 100% then he will have let his manager and all of the rest of us down very badly. But it will be AK who will be given the brunt of the criticism.
    I’ll go for a satisfying 0-0.
    What better way to spend a Saturday in March.
    Apologies again for enjoying myself.

    1. Len
      Don’t apologise for enjoying the day. Remember the old adage
      Sing as if no one was listening
      Dance if no one was watching
      Live every day as if it were your last
      So just enjoy yourself !!
      Interesting about Ramirez on Twitter Barragan tweeted a clip of him on the bus sat next to Gaston and they were laughing and joking
      A recent premier league interview by Guidaore he was asked who is the team joker and clown?
      He replied instantly “Gaston ”
      So I think the team are pulling round him
      Let’s see shall we !!!

  25. Like everybody else, I hope that we can pull out of our nosedive and survive in the PL. Then, like Stoke, WBA, Southampton and others have done, we could hopefully establish ourselves and progress. However not all of those achieved it at the first time of asking – and that is the point I want to make.
    Relegation would not be the end of the world. I’ve been to Yeovil, Rotherham, Walsall, etc. and, with all due respect to those clubs and ther ilk, I’m not itching to do those rounds again. But if it has to be it has to be.
    Burnley look like surviving this time, having bounced straight back from relegation. If I remember correctly this is their 3rd attempt in recent years to hang on in there. Similarly, Mogga’s WBA didn’t make the cut the first time but came back up later, survived, consolidated and are now an established middle-third PL club.
    My point is that middling-sized clubs like Boro do not have the financial clout to secure a top-flight place straight away. Much as it grieves me, like some other clubs, (while fighting against it with every sinew) we may well have to grudgingly accept relegation, safe in the knowledge we’ll have gained the considerable parachute payments.
    Handled positively, learning lessons as to what is needed once promoted, hanging onto our better players who are that much stronger for their exposure to the top flight and, in particular, using the parachute windfall wisely, we can come back up stronger and readier.
    If we do have to go down let’s see it as a chance to rethink, take stock, regroup and build for a better tilt at the PL next time.
    Having said all that, I’ll be just as gutted as everybody else …

    1. Ian
      The ship should be alright today as we will have three captains on the field.
      Gibson Friend and Leadbitter
      Congratulations to The Dr you must feel very proud.
      Have you bought her a nice expensive present for doing so well???
      Hope she reads your posts !

  28. Defeat is unthinkable but I’ve been saying that for weeks. Today is definitely crucial for AK and players alike.
    I agree with BP that all we look for is an Everton type performance from hereon, which would, at least, look like we’re “giving it a go”.
    UTB

  30. When a team is not well organised trying to play an unfamiliar system I think it does look as if there isn’t as much effort being made. Players aren’t sure whether to make certain runs, or realising that the game is too open and the opposition is getting into too many good positions, you tend to sit back and try to contain.
    I wouldn’t argue much with the team Jono has put forward in the Gazette, the back four restored should be more effective, though I would put Dani in rather than Espinosa because of Dani’s greater physical presence and capability. With the two best full backs, George and Fabio, there should be attacking intent and decent balls going into the box.
    Grant to play for a bit more creativity, vision and motivation, and Gaston hopefully back firing on all cylinders. Adama to threaten the Stoke defence, open up spaces by pulling defenders towards him, and force them to drop deeper to contain his runs.
    It sounds like Gestede may be in instead of Negredo, presumably because he has more movement, energy and aerial threat. But he lacks the Beast’s touch and cleverness, a pity we couldn’t combine the attributes in one body…

  31. Once again many thanks to everyone for their comments on the pre-match – glad you enjoyed it.
    I’ve convinced myself that today is the day when we will… just googling… apparently it’s called a win and is worth three points – it occurs when one team puts the round thing more times in the other teams rectangle-shaped thing than they put it in theirs – sounds complicated but should be possible. So all in all it could be good day out for Len in the spring sunshine after all!
    Though a lot will depend on whether Boro start with intensity and try to dictate the game – I think we’ve seen glimpses of what Boro are capable of but we need to move the ball a lot faster and get players in the box – a bit like what Karanka told the Telegraph they were practicing.
    It may actually play into Boro’s hands that Stoke may want to prove a point following the Spurs hammering as it may leave some gaps for Boro to exploit – particularly Adama but we must put the chances away.
    I’m going to go for 2-0 to Boro on the grounds the team will be under no doubts that they need to be 100% focused – though with Boro it’s unlikely to be more than 2-0 as a two goal lead usually means Karanka switches to game management mode. So I’ll go Ayala to get is up and running and one from Gaston to seal it.
    BTW what’s all this talk of Dr G – it sounds like Ian is married to a rapper 😉 anyway congratulations!

  32. Time for last year’s best centre back pairing of Ayala and Gibson to have an extended run I think. I also reckon that Leadbitter and Clayton must be the two MF with De Roon if we play 3 in the middle. Shame for Forshaw but I think his early season form has faded.

  35. Apparently it’s all kicking off in the club. Certain players banned from the squad. We’ll see if there’s any truth in it when’s the squad is announced. But don’t he surprised if certain players are dropped from the match Day squad. Heard from two fairly reliable sources.

      1. There’s only one Chairman at the Boro!
        I think most of us would have picked that team with the exception of Gestede but he’s shown promise up front the past few games
        It all depends on how they have trained through the week
        These rumours still keep circulating amd will do until either Downing or Karanka goes or both!
        In a football club as in any business there can only be one boss…..
        Let’s just do our part those that can attend the games and roar on OUR TEAM OUR BORO

  36. Steve’s musings almost mirror mine in that we do not the financial clout to fully compete in the first season.
    I still have a thought that Mr Gibsons plan was to try and survive without spending too much and if we don’t succeed, then it is not a financial disaster and with the parachute money, strengthen and come up next season with the firm aim of staying up.
    Today, I feel, will decide which way the odds go……….
    Let’s hope that the intensity is there from the off
    COME ON BORO!

  37. Here’s something I posted in the comments section for my last post, but will bump up…
    It’s nice to have heroes. It’s nice to have something or someone to believe in as you go about your work. AK and especially Patrick Bamford played a major part in making me happy twice over while I worked at a concert recorded for St. Patrick’s Day 2015 and on the day itself. (The Boro scores on those days, for the record? 3-0 and 1-0. Not bad at all.)
    One could argue that everyone is elevated by the heroes’ auras. We know, of course, that there are no Messiahs in football, but if we believe in our heroes, and the way they do things *works*, then everything is hunky-dory.
    The problem is, when everything goes belly up, how well prepared are we – and they?
    Take, say, Mourinho. A man who, in Smoggy In Exile’s words, has “the confidence and bravura to draw all under his magnetism. It works when he starts with a club, but football is full of personalities, and if you fancy yourself as the next superstar dripping with endorsements (Eden Hazard) then perhaps you get a bit stroppy when the manager takes all of the press attention.”
    In other words.
    The generally upwardly mobile nature of AK’s tenure has left him worse off in dealing with the inevitable setbacks. A victim of his own success.
    It happened to David Healy, after he scored 13 goals in Northern Ireland’s narrowly unsuccessful qualifying campaign for 2008. He created monstrous expectations for himself that he couldn’t match.
    It happened to Big Jack, with Ireland. His repeated outbursts at Eamon Dunphy’s genuine if untimely and extreme criticisms suggested perhaps, just perhaps, that he’d been surrounded by too many people who had told him how “great” he was. By the end of his reign, at Anfield, he looked lost, lonely and out of ideas, a figure of ridicule.
    Bamford? He is not the same player and we are not the same team that we were in 2014-15.
    And therein lies a pretty big problem.

  38. Len, Boro are in the best league in the World now. La Liga have two big team and a few other excellent. The Championship is above the Italian League already.
    I predicted a draw ar Exmill challenge but now I changed me mind. I will go for a 0-2 win – we need to have some. Luck and score a goal and two.
    Ayala (corner) and Ramirez scoring. The legendary Valdes is the MOM.
    Up the Boro!
    Ps. Congratulations to the Gill family.

  39. Also.
    The whole situation with Bamford (no doubt you all read about it) reminds me of this.
    In Italia ’90, when the Ireland team to play Holland in their third and final group game was announced, Tony Cascarino was on the bench.
    A furious Cascarino went to confront Big Jack. I’ll pass you over to Cascarino…
    “‘Give me one good reason why you’ve left me out’, I demanded. ‘In all the games I’ve played for you, I haven’t let you down once! You said yourself after the…’
    “But Jack wasn’t listening.
    “His face had turned crimson. ‘You were *expletive* cr*p!’ he exploded. And then he started reaming off a litany of mistakes, and I realised that nothing I could say would change his mind.
    “And for the next five years, as long as Jack had an option, that’s how it was. As long as Jack had the option of Niall (Quinn), I was second rate. And nothing – not my goal against England in Dublin, or my winner against Germany in the summer of 1994, or some of my great performances later at Marseille – (was) enough to change his mind. (Never.)”

  41. So still going with three central midfielders – hopefully with George and Fabio as fullbacks it will counter that a bit. Though noticed Downing is not in the matchday squad so don’t know if that is related to Paul’s earlier comment.

  42. I’ve just seen the line-up.
    I’m not sure why he thinks Gestede is any better than Bamford and I don’t like the 433, so…
    0-0 for me, or we lose 1-0.

  43. Downing was one of the players mentioned although to be fair negredo and bamford were the others and negredo is still on the bench. So reckon something’s happened but don’t know what.

  44. Tellingly, Downing and Bamford have both gone to AK to seek a reasonable explanation as to why they’re not playing. Unfortunately, that can also be perceived as openly challenging managerial authority. But – as I illustrated with the Cascarino example – AK is not alone in not taking kindly to being told what to do by his players. (And to be fair, no manager should be.)
    Morally? We sympathise with Downing and Bamford. Of course we do. Professionally? It’s different.

  45. Well Downing should have no right to question Karanka , he is as I have stated a few times well past it. That is also why Karanka wanted rid of him in January.

  46. Well that is the more or less we would all have gone for. So it is now done to intensity, keep it tight and take the chances you make. Well hopefully we will make sufficient. Expect de Roon to operate if possible further forward getting into the box.
    AK’s done his bit, now down to the players and hopefully again no injuries!!!

  47. I think all players have the right to knock on the Managers door and ask why I am I not in the squad/playing. If done in the correct manner and it should be accepted by the Manager also in the correct manner.
    Of course even with explanations there will be a difference of opinion. Bamford was a strange buy and SD has never reached a consistant level on his return. They always say, never go back.

  50. On a positive note it was only four months ago that we managed to get two or more goals in a game and we’ve done that three times already this season so it’s not all doom and gloom.
    Sorry make that three goals needed now. We’ve only done that once this season and that was our worst performance of the season!!

  52. That first half was pretty shocking and Boro left the pitch to loud Boos, Adama playing on the left so he could be ‘coached’ kept coming inside and has ended up trying to be a play-maker instead of a winger but can’t find any kind of pass – no service to Gestede and Ramirez quiet. Boro don’t seem able to string many passes together and it’s almost George against them. Stoke weren’t much better but have scored twice and hit the bar – can’t get much worse that’s for sure (can it?) – we need a miracle in the second half.

  53. Truly awful. We just havnt got going. I cannot see what the plan B will be at half time. Maybe two up front, but then we will be effectivley 9. The midfield is so crowded its difficult to get anything going.
    We are miles apart from Stoke, we are putting in a middling Championship performance at best.
    Gutted, really gutted.

  55. Absolutely woeful……we do not even look like an EPL team. Friend very poor after time out, but no defensive support from Adama or one of the midfield. Leadbitter does not have the legs now for this level and did I hear somebody say Gestede was playing??
    Now what is Mr Gibson thinking?

  56. Ramirez subbed for stuani. Please leave this club ak and never ever come back. You are an absolute numpty (and I’m being kind with my choice of words!)

  57. Elsewhere, a Vokes handball at Swansea results in a penalty. But, Vokes plays for Burnley, the handball was in the Swansea penalty area and the penalty was to Burnley.
    As a grown man I am going to be mature and refuse to talk about the Stoke match.
    La, la, la, cant hear.

  60. Harken, in the distance a rotund lady sings,
    A lone bell on a moutainside rings.
    It’s one of those things,
    Upon the paasing of kings.

  62. Well Ian you did not miss anything, certainly from a Boro perspective. What really hurt was the awful long ball tactics up to Gestede. He won hardly anything and when he did did it was normally just picked up by a Stoke player.
    Even the optimists must be resigned to relegation now.

  63. Well firstly I must apologise for inferring Boro would be fired-up for this game – they weren’t remotely. They were just completely bereft of ideas not a clue and it’s hard to see where the next win will now come from.
    Downing not in the squad, Negredo stayed on the bench, Gaston anonymous and hooked at half-time and Adama had a poor íneffective game. These four were supposed to be more or less our main attack this season and the new recruits of Bamford is deemed not match fit and Gestede barely a kick, plus Guedioura got 10 minutes.
    Not looking good is an understatement – it’s going to take a massive turnaround to avoid the drop for where I’m looking.

    1. It really pains me to woof that I predicted this scenario at least two months ago.
      It’s time to call a halt to all the excuses given for SG, AK, the players, the groundsman, the ball boys + the tea lady. It’s also time to call a halt from all the knowledgable people on this blog from doing the same.
      There’s a melodic sound I can hear which is getting louder & louder… yes, it’s the Fat Lady singing.
      Only woofing like 🐕

  65. Obviously what I said pre game was true with negredo not making it onto the pitch. I think he’s lost the players now and for me that means it’s time to go for ak. I said in November hull, Sunderland and boro to be the three relegated was a 33-1 shot was a cracking bet. It was us that we’re making the odds so long; not anymore. I reckon we’re almost odds on to be bottom. 19 goals it’s atrocious!!

  68. If you look now at the creative players he has been proven to upset or alleged to are there any players left to play? Oh yes, gestede, stuani and……. im struggling. Surely our lack of creative output must be the thing that rankles them most?

  69. As much as I admire Steve Gibson and everything he has done this was easy to predict three months ago. It was the same the season Southgate was in charge.
    I admire the support he gives our managers but sometimes being ruthless is the right thing to do.
    ‘Nero fiddled while Rome burns’ springs to mind.

  71. I still think that Mr Gibson is waiting for AK to either fall on his sword or commit an act of gross misconduct to avoid paying out on the contract.
    That must be the only explanation for not sacking him now surely.

  73. That was a surprise. I predicted the score but it was still a shock how limp and dysfunctional we were. I can only conclude that the the players are as disillusioned as us because there’s no sign of them playing for AK.
    We’re as good as down, aren’t we?

  74. On that performance the answer to ST’s question is yes.
    It is stick or twist time for SG – probably the latter given his propensity for loyalty.
    Sadly I too got the score correct.

  75. Looks like Karanka has lost the players and the fans and after the booing at half time and singing for him to go home back to Spain in the second half I can see how he couldn’t possibly resign or be sacked

  76. As for Ramirez I said he shouldn’t wear the shirt again last week that’s my view again after today
    Looks like he’s playing for Leicester not us

  77. Quote Karanka tonight ” “For a promoted team to fall into the relegation zone for the first time in March shows how well we have done so far”….you could not make it up could you.

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