In going for what seems to be the correct combination of character and talent, the new Boro manager is already winning Simon Fallaha over
My favourite Aitor Karanka signing was David Nugent. Not, it must be said, because there’s any concrete statistical evidence to prove it: it’s doubtful that Nugent, or Nuge, made more runs, completed more passes, won more aerial duels and made more tackles than any other Boro player in 2015-16. His goals per game ratio definitely wasn’t the highest either. But he was the shot in the arm that a team looking to overcome the tag of nearly men needed. Being born with the ability to score and create is one thing, knowing just where and when to pop up, on and off the pitch, to raise everyone’s spirits immeasurably within a matter of minutes or a split second is another. There are few moments in 2015-16 that match the gloom-to-boom of Nuge’s late, late winner against Hull, his crucial assist away at Bolton, and his heart-warming post-promotion celebration weeks later. Like so many players before him, Nuge had no reason to see Middlesbrough FC as anything more than a job, but he never acted like he was passing through or using the club. He was neither a badge-kisser nor egotistical, just a hired gun who called the right shots at the right place at the right time by being as true to himself as a player and as a character as you could hope for. One liked him. One wanted to hang out with him. One even wanted to be him. His skills were deceptively modest and imminently relatable, the kind that an everyman could aspire to replicate.
It is why I remember and regard Nugent more fondly than Alvaro Negredo, Mark Viduka and Fabrizio Ravanelli, regardless of their superior technique, pedigree and goal tallies: a “we’re too good for this” feel uncomfortably lings over the famous Italian, Aussie and Spaniard. It is also why, looking back, Jordan Rhodes’ short Boro career is looked upon with disappointment, because behind Rhodes’ staggering goal record rested a genuine persona of dignified humility. Rhodes was a more crucial part of the team than Karanka cared to appreciate because he was always human, always real. He was never too good for the club.
Nugent, and Rhodes, are the kind of players and characters that I am convinced Garry Alan Monk has his eye on as he settles into the Boro hotseat in the early days of this new era for Boro. People who, like Monk himself, may not be as local as Tony Mowbray or David Wheater, but will respect the difficulty and relish the prospect of a promotion challenge in the Championship while also inspiring and unifying communal spirit. Now, I would never claim to object, even today, to the presence of Negredo, Viduka and Ravanelli, or the team building of Karanka. At their best, regardless of how often that came, their skills and his teams really were something to behold, the finishing savoured, the solidity and passing admired. But alas, they were reflective of how, to borrow the words of Boro fan Chris Bartley, Boro’s soul was being eroded, little by little.
To use an example, the progressive elements and relentlessly positive statistics of AKBoro – which convinced me to plead for patience back then – were not enough, in many eyes, to cast a shadow over an eventually punishing legacy of sterility and narcissism. We’ve been there repeatedly: a few world class players thrown into a team of mediocrities, signing past-their-best stars with a “one final pay cheque” vibe to them, bringing in big names from Scotland on inflated wages, or insisting that all individuals subvert themselves to the manager’s collective: all, despite varying and even indelible degrees of success, without a thought to future or eventual consequences. Bryan Robson, Steve McClaren, Gordon Strachan, Aitor Karanka, you name them: we’ve often aimed high, and we’ve regularly been badly burned.
Which is what makes MonksBoro, which, to me, looks like a back-to-basics ModestBoro, so refreshing. Free of the effective but machinic stranglehold that grips not only teams of Karanka’s ilk but frankly a great deal of top-level football – see Jose Boreinho’s United – I sense greater liberty in Boro’s squad, the kind that is to be expected with a fresh start. The manner of his early signings – at the time of writing, Cyrus Christie, Jonny Howson and Martin Braithwaite – suggests that this is a man who likes the seasoned and dependable with a touch of the unpredictable, the sort of character-and-talent combination key to promotion.
If an equally seasoned and dependable forward, be it Britt Assombalonga or someone else, joins, we will then have four proven Championship forwards, along with George Miller, in our ranks, a fine blend of flair, instinct and usefulness. At least as long as Patrick Bamford regains his confidence and Cristhian Stuani, if he stays, is allowed to be the poacher we all know he can be. Perhaps playing Rudy Gestede alongside him will help?
What we learnt, the hard way, from Orta and Karanka, is while it is right to look for players with more skill (Negredo) and pace (Adama Traore) once you aspire to greater things, you have to be sure you’re signing the right kind of character. You would have thought we’d learned this from Strachan, Moaner McDonald and Bully Bailey – as I once illustrated, on-pitch statistics can be irrelevant in the greater scheme of things.
Our latest set of new names may not excite to the extent Negredo and Victor Valdes did, but what they lack in obvious glamour, they may well make up for in commitment and integration. These are prominent virtues of a successful start.
That said, I have two reservations. One is that we must accept that this is a serious period of transition. At the time of writing, the spine of Dani Ayala, Ben Gibson, George Friend, Grant Leadbitter and Adam Clayton, all of whom have been at the club for at least three years, is still with us – and three years should be the optimum period for any footballing spine to prosper. Some of those names, if they stick around, are young and hungry enough to continue thriving, but at least a couple are not the Championship force they once were or seemed. It might be time for Adlene Guedioura to earn his corn.
Secondly, this “modesty” is both an asset and a weakness. Do we wear our roots, our failings, like some kind of badge of honour? If we find it hard to accept the ugliness in the PL, are we forever destined to be the beggars at the banquet, the water drinkers among the wine lovers, grateful for the scraps from off the top table?
Once a manager plays with the big boys, or even competes to play with the big boys, he is bound to deal with strong characters who will not be so submissive to his whim. Sooner or later, as Karanka found out, not everyone will want to play to the manager’s tune. People will outgrow him. Trust once gained from the chairman will be trust lost before he knows it.
Unless, that is, he can grow with his characters rather than force them to conform. Can we trust in Monk to do so? It’s too early to say, but for now it certainly does appear that Monk is, without signing or being a local boy, as close to the essence of what Boro is about as we could hope for. He could be our managerial David Nugent, a man who is accustomed to and knows how to be promoted from the Championship.
Yeah, I think I’m already a fan.
Great Post Si as always
It’s pretty telling that Guediora and DePena were left behind when the squad flew to Portugal
I haven’t seen either of those players perform in a Boro shirt and to me they were pretty poor signings
We need a GK and another forward. Hopefully we get assambalonga which would show real intent to our competitors
I’m not too sure about Assambolonga, would prefer Chris Gayle. However I think Boro might rue letting David Nugent go. He was well respected by Leicester fans and I think he will do very well at Derby.
I always thought he was a proper striker who worked tirelessly and much preferred him to Rhodes who for me, despite his previous goal scoring feats at Huddersfield and Blackburn, also missed quite a few “gimmees ” and didn’t work hard enough in my opinion.
Is that Chris Gayle the Jamaican cricketer? Very high scorer!!!
Hi Ken, I thought Rhodes worked very hard under the circumstances , was treated badly by karanka and felt he was never given a chance at Boro , seems to have lost a bit of confidence because of it
Good article, Simon. You’re dead right: football talent and technical skills are not enough; the right character is at least as important.
Assessing a player’s abilities is the easier bit – you can see that on the pitch (although Boro’s recruitment department can provide years of evidence to the contrary). It is the judgement of personality that is much harder and takes a different skill set. Boro mostly got both wrong with last season’s signings.
And, yes, the more elevated any player’s talent and status then the more likely you are taking on somebody who feels he is doing you a favour. Buiding a team for promotion is one thing. The next stage, building a team that can establish itself in the top flight, is the big challenge because you need a smattering of time-served PL performers.
You can’t afford players at or near their peak, and they won’t take the risk anyway with a newly-promoted team, so you probably have to sign players past their best. How do you import them and get people of the right character who won’t upset the status quo?
Signing players past their best may get you survival but massive wages along with a sting of no resale value or overpaid indifferent relegation back to where you came from. Dyche didn’t do it that way and arguably nor did Watford or the Cherries albeit they did splash respectable amounts of cash.
The key in all of this is the word “Team”.
Nikeboro
Agree with you and Simon
Yet there’s more- to the story!
The personality of the manager is also totally important. And that why after the AK disaster appointment, GM is such an upgrade.
I recall Nugent shaking his head in disbelief at an AK substition during a game. Nugent is nobody’s fool, he’s a seasoned respected professional. He knew AK wasn’t upto the job and could only go so far. Thus, trust and respect were lost. Whereas, Monk is cut from an entirely different cloth and thus in the style of yesterday I, Spartakboro, are now ready to proclaim –
‘In Garry Monk we trust!’ (or at least Simon and I do!)*
UTB
*A managerial appointment by Steve Gibson- no less.
🙂
A fine article Simon, thank you. maybe those he left behind have had some interest shown, here’s hoping.
Traore seems to be performing a little differently and I think I detect a manager who allows players to think for themselves within the structure or plan rather than being told what and how to think.
Times are changing for the better but only time will tell.
UTB,
John
Agree with Bob, great post Si which illustrates our highs and lows, great moments and foibles all mixed together but crucially and hopefully lessons that surely must have been learned by now.
I think selling Nugent was a disastrous decision but indicative of how disrespected (at least that is how it appeared to me from the outside looking in) some of our Championship were. We were a Premiership side that lacked pace and the ability to nick goals against the run of play, Nugent has made a career out of his ability to sneak in and poach goals allied to an impressive level of pace.
Is Nugent Premiership standard? Perhaps not quite but certainly better than what was out on the pitch and would have offered hope and lifted the fans if he came on with 20 remaining (or more likely 5 remaining under AK). Putting on Nuge instead of a defensive midfielder or Stuani wide right would have had a far greater positive impact on all concerned but thats all irrelevant history now.
Guedioura was with the U23’s yesterday presumably because of his International duties overlapping but Braithwaite and Roberts joined up with the lads in Portugal so it seems a bit strange. By all accounts he didn’t cover himself in glory and lucky not to be sent off in their defeat. I’m sure Monk will have an open mind on all his charges (including Downing and Ramirez) but I doubt we will see Guedioura or De Pena in a first 11 Ramsdens Currency shirt again.
I hope Monk retains Stuani as I still believe he is our best Striker at the Club and that includes Braithwaite and Bamford who I suspect are seen as wide/inside type Strikers than a full blown lone Costa/Lukaku type Striker hence the Assombalonga link. That said Stuani again seems to have been played out of position only wide left this time in Portugal.
Given the opportunity to be the man in the box I reckon he could save us £15m plus in fees, wages and incidentals! A case of not seeing the wood for the trees (and no I don’t mean Chris Wood). That said I’d be a happy SC holder if we had Braithwaite, Bamford, Stuani and Assombalonga in the squad. Those 4 would be too much for this division and possibly good enough next season for the “lower Premiership league”.
Don’t forget Adama Traore, RR!
Absolutley Spartak, can’t believe he didn’t come into my thoughts. I reckon at this level he will tear 99% of the opposition a new wotsit!
Great article Simon. Agree with Nikeboro observations and, as ever, in tune with RR’s thoughts. I’ve posted on numerous occasions my admiration of Nugent’s footballing nous and 100% commitment, so I too was appalled at his lack of game time and his untimely departure. You can be sure he will pop up where it matters if/when he plays against us next.
I was never that excited by the signing of Valdes, I thought he was a has-been when he arrived and I never saw anything to change my opinion.
I am already much more positive about the coming season than I was when Agnew was still in charge. Although I still think we need some more players in. I’m being patient though, as I can see that he wants the right sort of player to ‘smash it’.
There is something fundementally out of order at this club,what it is ,is anyone’s guess?
It’s like the club has bi polar tendances ,considering the money spent on so called world class players over the years to solid divisional warriors since, we have still been relegated more times than anyone else from the premiership.
We finally go up again, and come January it all falls apart,and we sack the guy who probably was the only one who knew what we were, replaced by the media darling, who picked anyone and everyone,the players loved him also, that’s a red flag right there?
Monk ? , Done nothing yet, but he’s the man some say, I don’t know why he took the job at a club who signed , Guidiola, De Penna, Solo, the Swansea right back that lasted a week,
I can’t go on,
But don’t hold your breath when the season starts, I hope I’m wrong ,but I’m not convinced yet.
UTB
GT your instincts form the rationale behind my tartan robed friends logic when he refers to a certain owner as a great chairman but just not a very good one. There was genuinely nothing malicious in his opinion in fact more sympathy towards him if anything but for all the fantastic and indeed great things he has done for this club he does seemingly have an alter ego self destruct compulsion.
GT
I believe SG bought into the AK/Orta project 100%. However, the players came to realise AK simply wasn’t a manager they could trust or respect.
The ‘Charlton’ meltdown was the culmination of months of disharmony – it never healed.
Autopromo simply prolonged the torment until the Jan transfer window when SG pulled up the drawbridge & AK began bleating. AK was history just after New Year. Aggers was always going to be a standin.
SG &co had to have a clearout and new management had to be appointed, regardless of PR spin.
The club under SG has had vision but of the suck it and see variety. Yet, with the appointment of GM we have a manager ahead on the learning curve both in terms of experience in the Premiership & Championship. The coming together of Boro and Monk + his management team, I believe augurs well because for perhaps the first time we have real management potential AND sound financial foundations.
Just sayin like
Spart
I think your wrong ,we would not have gotten promotion if that was the case, if so Leeds nosedived under Monk, what happened.
My issue is, it’s not about certain individuals at the core of the playing side , ie.. coaches it’s the vision , who is saying what?
or interference from somewhere.
GT
I think you are partially right with the second part of your response to Spartak regarding “who is saying what” but with the first part we nearly didn’t get promoted we scraped through on GD and had it not been for a reckless challenge which finished Ramirez but brought the Seagulls down to 10 men we may not have scraped through at all. We saw what happened at Wembley the previous year so I wouldn’t have fancied that again. AK had a very good squad and in my humble opinion we should not have been in that situation on the final day.
With regards to Leeds, they had a poor to average squad, an owner who was mad as a box of frogs with a new guy arriving to try and stabilise the club with a young Manager overachieving with what he had to work with. As evidence I will cite Chris Woods, a journeyman Striker who had achieved very little notoriety yet suddenly started scoring for fun. As a club they simply ran out of steam and the problems behind the scenes were being masked by herculean efforts on the pitch way in excess of what their strengths on paper indicated.
Now that doesn’t mean that Monk will be successful at Boro but it does indicate someone who is capable of analysis and organisation working on a shoestring “make do” budget. With players of his choosing and the funds to provide them the challenge now is can he mould a side that will be successful? Time will tell but he does seem to have got down to the nitty gritty of what and who was festering at Boro and taken swift remedial steps.
RR
I do not think it needed the new manager to discover that a group of players rocked the boat, big time last season.
The fact that they are still there to be fired is very indicative of loose control at the top.
The fact that they are a group of old lags is even more shocking. ( and yes, it comes right down to the infamous Charlton match) it took some doing to pull that one off, the lone win in about twenty matches in their odyssey down to the fourth level of the league?
GT, I think I have to agree with Spartak’s brief assessment of the situation.
Of course there are a lot of other things that went on, but as a short and overall assessment I think it is very accurate.
I am one of those that is really looking forward to this coming season.
Powmill
Spartak only does brief coz his brain is limited and gets clogged up by detail.
Yes, I know the devil’s in the detail but its who I am and apart from an application of EST to the mush between my ears, then that’s how its goin to stay.
Like
🙂
EST: Erhard Seminar Training? 😉
Ok, delete EST (Electric Shock Therapy), insert ECT (Electro Convulsive Therapy – see One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest).
🙂
Powmill
I agree with you and I am looking forward to the season too.
I always get this feeling of anticipation before the start of a season and there is certainly room for optimism after signing new players. I just hope we hang onto Ben and Deroon..
It looks likely that Downing will go. I always liked him as a player amd he doesn’t Deserve all the vitriolic posts on Twitter. The move back didn’t work and only a handful of games where he showed his class.
LeAdbitter may go amd he has been a great servant of the club and deserves one last payday and move
I hope we sign a prove.n goalkeeper hopefully the lad from Sheff Wed and Assambalonga to score goals
I don’t plan on going to any of the friendlies and will look forward to the first home game on a Saturday evening
Hopefully a win and our oversees non teesside residents will be able to watch it
COB
Bob
Our non Teesside Residents will struggle to watch it as the club have concluded that not enough expat fans would pay the £110 subscription fee for the service to cover the cost the club would have to pay the EFL to provide the iFollow service.
Not sure how valid an argument that is as clearly clubs with smaller gates and fan bases have decided that it stacks up for them. For decades Teesside has been exporting its skills and trades around the world and this blog is a great example of this. Small minded mentality again or have they something more futuristic planned?
I think that this coming Championship season will be even more difficult to predict than previous ones. Going back over the years who would have predicted such teams as Swindon, Barnsley, Bradford City, Wigan, Blackpool, Hull City, etc would have seen Premier League football, not to mention Huddersfield and Reading being the Wembley play-off teams last season?
I reckon that any one of 16 teams could gain promotion next season. I also would be surprised if any team “smashed” the league as I expect the Champions will accrue no more than 85 points.
As for Boro, we could finish as Champions or not even reach the play-offs, it will probably be so unpredictable. If I was a betting man I would have us in the play-offs but not surprised at any position from 1st to 12th. What do fellow bloggers think, and who might be the surprise team? I’ll set the ball rolling with Sheffield United as Champions, Wolves 2nd with Boro winning the Wembley play-off final.
OFB
Nonsense!! 😉
Wolves? Sheff Wed? Nahhhh!
Sunderland to make playoff final and lose to Derby.
Hull City in play offs.
Boro crowned Champions on 92pts and only 7 losses.
Dark horses – Birmingham.
Just speculatin like.
Wots the odds on all the above comin to fruition – I dont do bettin as its against my leanings toward the Friends philiosophy/ethics.
🙂
Mea Culpa
That ones for Ken – too early int morn for me head!
🙂
Sparta
The great imponderable is the prize at the end.
If it was only about going onto the pitch and kicking a ball about, then form would play a greater part in the equation.
Last season we were at a great disadvantage with our fellow strugglers because they were on a large bonus to stay up (about ten million? To share out )
It was a no brainer for the clubs, they only pay out if they stay on the gravy train.
The chance of half a million clears minds wonderfully when it comes to taking one for the team, or having a shot at goal, or doing a bit of body checking, or even just running about a lot.
I think I am correct in saying that we were not on any such bonus.
Sorry, I still don’t buy the idea that AK was a mistake or a ‘disaster’. The Premier League promotion money alone is still driving us on, giving us hope of improving our status through the yo-yo method, which we have used previously.
We tried to spend our way up once before in the seven wilderness years and that got nowhere near succeeding.
Steve Gibson decided to take a different direction with the Spanish armada, and it paid off. AK took us from a struggling club to a highly competitive one, with a play-off final and then deserved promotion, though yes RR is right, it was tighter than it should have been.
Yes, AK’s man management was a serious weakness throughout, and precipitated Charltongate, It wasn’t a smooth route to glory, but we had the glory and savoured it.
In the end AK was picking fights with the backroom staff, recruitment and even the fans, so fair enough the wheels had come off badly by then.
But I still think he would have kept us up if only we had recruited more creativity in January; the rest of the team was fit for purpose in the mini-league at the bottom.
Now SG has taken another direction. This just tells me that SG knows he has to support the manager to the hilt while the guy is in place, but he does respond when the evidence shows that it is not going to work out. AK was working at first but fell short, the Aggers local backroom team fell short with a difficult hand to play, so now we are taking the best alternative direction that was available.
Mark
I think you’re paintin with gloss.
AK was a disaster for team management and rigid in playin strategy. He had no other way to operate.
SG got us promo inspite of AK. He successfully intervened during the Charltongate meltdown and bought in Rhodes for added firepower.
IMHO AK brought in ZERO players. That was Orta and SG. AK wasn’t a manager, he was a Head Coach. The Jan transfer window confirmed that.
Where’s AK now? Has he been snapped up by an ambitious EPL club? What about Champinship? No! Maybe he’s in Spain? No! He’s sitting on his payoff and twiddlin his thumbs coz it all unravelled.
The fat bag of cash belongs to SG coz he paid the transfer fees and at the crucial moments intervened. Promo is down to SG!
IMHO
🙂
Sparta
I think you might have jumped the shark?
The wilderness that we were in when we finally carried out the termination of the local hero( note, that term will raise its head again) did not have a well marked route to the exit.
The hiring of AK was the signal for a slack handful of rip roaring big matches, which were like water to one dying of thirst, followed at short order by an attempt at promotion (play off)
Followed by promotion.
The attempt to run a successful season in the Prem was dire, as was the bright idea of sacking AK and replacing him with a local hero(told you it would come up again)
The only escapes from the pit of relegation are by hiring a top gun with about fifteen to go, stand back and hope.
Not a good record by S G I’m afraid.
Mark, spot on. Karanka earned the club a fortune. And we are stull “enjoying” it with a record signing.
Up the Boro!
Didn’t realise Tim Krull is still at Newcastle, i thought he was a steady goalie , probably get him for nowt, a Dimi like signing?
I agree with the points about AK’s weaknesses, Spartak. And at least you think I’m painting with gloss, not whitewashing…
AK did himself no favours by turning on just about everybody before he left (probably the pressure getting to him), and that won’t make it easier for him to get the next job, although he may still be waiting for the right opportunity.
But the guy got us promoted, we had some great times, some great wins with him. There’s no guarantee that would have happened with anyone else, other teams have thrown money at the Championship and got nowhere. Let’s not totally trash him now.
I’ll stick to me guns on this one, Mark. Any ‘Head Coach’ who critises his team for winning 3-0 in the Premiership coz its not wot he told them to do, doesn’t deserve any plaudits.
Add to that he critises the club’s supporters home & away for trying to encourage their team and he’s dead in the water.
Plato et al.
The first attempt at promo was a disaster. They couldn’t even arrive on time.
The second successful attempt was down to SG’s interventions.
AK came with a set ‘Moriniho’ plan. The players were of little significance other than they followed orders to the letter.
Complete nightmare except for when the players were let off the leash as in the Man City cup game.
Question is would you have him back?
Other clubs don’t seem to want him. No one’s in a hurry!
Personally I think that Swansea quote was lost in translation.
Even RR admitted “we were not very good at all”.
But it was the wrong thing to do. The damage had been done.
Sparta
I do not think the coach booking for the trip to Wembley was done by AK.
It had and has all the marks of a club who would even fail to turn up to play a league game( I cannot believe that I have just written that, it is definitely over the top, no club has done that in the past fifty years, and if they did the chief executive would have to go.)
Such a thing could even get you relegated.
I’ve said many times on here that I don’t envy SG. No matter who is brought in as Manager/Head Coach, there is no guarantee of success.
He is also lauded in footballing circles as a good chairman because he backs his choice financially (one or two caveats on that) and gives them time. Unfortunately, he hasn’t always picked a winner but you can’t knock him for effort and his unstinting commitment to the club.
Kick off Aug 6
The week leading is when we make our predictions
Every division
Fa Cup
League Cup
Euros if you want
When the window closes you can revise your selections?
First prize … Brian Clough big head trophy , told you lot.
It makes me sad that so many are willing to urinate on AK’s legacy just because of Charltongate and beyond.
Yes, he threw a hissy fit. In a way… so what? There is such a thing as the heat of the moment, a particularly unprecedented moment at that.
It is not that what AK did was not wrong, it is that he seems especially castigated when there have have been many other heat-of-the-moment altercations, at Boro or otherwise, that have been, by comparison, blown over. Lest we forget, our whole team didn’t show up at Blackburn. But, like Charlton, what happened after that game was the catalyst that kicked a spluttering campaign back to life. The difference between 1996-97 and 2015-16 was, of course, that we got there in the latter.
I quote (from the memory, so it may be paraphrased) Mick McCarthy on the moment Roy Keane did the same thing in Saipan and then flip-flopped, deciding to stay…
“I have to be honest, I do not know what to do for the best here. I understand the enormity of the situation at hand but I am not trained to deal with it.”
My point? That you can’t point the finger. Charltongate was a combination of factors. Even the Football League Paper – and they were not pleased with what AK did – admitted that the undermining of managerial authority in the heat of a promotion battle, when he needs utmost support, is unprofessional in the extreme.
I wouldn’t point fingers at, say, Stewart Downing either, but I don’t think he did himself as many favours as he could have. And as I once said, I resented him assuming the mantle of Mr Boro when he once did all in his power to engineer a move at a time Gareth Southgate needed him most.
My modus operandi? Never let the bad overcloud the good, even if the bad should be taken into consideration.
But, as I said in my piece: “The progressive elements and relentlessly positive statistics of AKBoro were not enough, in many eyes, to cast a shadow over an eventually punishing legacy of sterility and narcissism.”
For some, however, they may at least be enough to cut AK a bit of slack. (19 defeats in 91 Championship games? 50 clean sheets in his first 108 matches? He must have done something right.)
But for others, right now, I fear they aren’t.
Spitting blood here in the Middle East as I feel really let down by the MFC – see their minutes at this link.
http://www.mfc.co.uk/sites/default/files/document/2017-07/MSF%20Minutes%20Meeting%206.pdf
As an expat who would gladly pay the 100PDS fee and spend a fortune in the club shop everytime I am home and pay through the nose when I am home to watch the club wherever they are playing, to be dismissed as worthless by the club and the supporters forum as not even worthy of a challenge to the club on theirstatement is a gross insult.
We were welcoming the introduction of paid streaming and cannot see how Boro not joining the scheme is in their interests. The Boro expats are everywhere and 100 pounds in nothing over a season so why dont they want to do it.
I think the Evening gazzette should get their teeth into this one what thanks for 40 years overseas loyalty? … and who the hell are MCF anyway?
Forgive my grammar and spelling, – a bit peeved thats all
Allan
I am also spitting feathers at this news albeit not surprised as I did post a response I received from the club about a month ago which seemed to indicate they would not be providing the service.
When I first spotted this on the EFL website my spirits soared as instead of listening to match commentary I would now be able to watch my beloved Boro week in and week out from afar!
Hopes now dashed. The club have not undertaken any research but made an assumption that the take up would not cover their costs to the EFL – how do the know if they do not ask?
I am appalled at the way I am being treated especially when so called smaller clubs eg Burton, Millwall, Cardiff are offering the facility.
I suspect that they are taking the view that we will only be in the Championship for one season so it is not worth the club taking the time and trouble to provide the facility – no thought for the supporters. We clearly only count if we pass through the turnstile or club shop!
Gutted and it has taken the shine off all the excitement over new signings for me.
Once I have calmed down I will be emailing the club to express my displeasure.
I wrote a longer post, which got lost – because it was too long. So I’ll simply say…
Now is probably too soon for a fair and proper judgement of Aitor Karanka’s legacy. The wounds are still fresh for those disappointed at steady progress – the fringes of League One to the Premier League is steady progress, no matter how it is achieved – ultimately undone by poor recruitment and player power, and those infuriated at a new, potentially exciting generation of talented players stifled by egotistical sterility.
“A great journey” or “talent betrayed”. No in-between, which is what it should be. And will be after we take time to reflect following the knee-jerk period.
Simon
Didn’t AK get the order of the boot about 5 months ago?
Just sayin like
Of course he did, Spartak. I merely bring this up because people were still hurting over Mogga either way after a year. Even that was too soon.
You yourself said he should’ve gone sooner, but he was one of our own…
Good foundations laid, solid brickwork up to first floor level despite some challenging weather conditions on the build then just when we looked to be getting somewhere and looking forward to getting the roof on and making the thing watertight some bugger reverses the JCB into it. Twas ever thus with Boro, if self harmers supported a Football Club then my money would be on the Boro.
We have had an incredible knack of building something and moving forwards only for the club to then shoot itself in the foot. You can apply it to Signings, Sackings, Managers, Nepotism, Ticket sales, Charltongate, Southgate, Shirts and even today the iFollow single digit salute to overseas smoggies. MFC have become masters at undoing their own destiny and they never cease to disappoint or their ability to throw spanners into their own works. On a positive whoever runs that department should have their salary doubled because its one of the few areas of the club that is run consistently and without glitches.
Bravo RR. Couldn’t have said it better.
How often did I allow myself to believe “AK doesn’t do Typical Boro”.
Turned out his Boro were as Typical as the rest!
Building something, moving forwards, something exciting or admirable (see: Tomlin’s magic, Bamford’s goals, Leadbitter’s thunderstrikes, some frankly excellent team goals, Anfield, the Etihad, Old Trafford, the Amex, etc, etc) seems to be building, then… boom.
The scaffolding is back up and its happening again, hod carriers, brickies all on site courtesy of Monk and Co. and the optimism that we will see Roary once more rise from the ashes!
At some future point though deep down we just know that something ridiculous is going to spoil it all. Getting beat by opponents is hard enough to take but self inflicted wounds will make it all the worse. What I don’t get is why? Why is it so hard to do the simple stuff?
I hope it is not a World War this time around, RR!
Last time around we were about to win the League (the then 1st Division) it was Adolf who spoiled it.
Now we have Trump and his friend Putin…
Up the Boro!
Are we being drip fed via social media and now the Gazette that Gaston may be on a rehab programme? Is it possible that whatever demons that were inside his head have been excised by the removal of AK and Aggers? It does seem increasingly suspicious that he may still be around come September as part of the “group” or is it mere window dressing to create a mythical harmonious fog so that potential suitors may be enticed?
Other rumours out there seem to suggest that something is happening with regards to Assombalonga today even to the point of bets off with certain bookies and a medical somewhere? Question is where and with whom, anyone watching the Tontine cam?
Yes, RR, the drip feed about Ramirez’ “reintegration” seems to be gathering speed if Tallentire’s article in the EG today is anything to go by. According to Tallentire the “great unknown is how the fans will react” if he is selected to play for the first team.
If he is selected it won’t matter how the fans react because his selection will demonstrate clearly that the club doesn’t give a toss what many of the fans think. However, my eminent fellow posters on this blog know by now how strong my feelings are about Ramirez and so won’t be surprised to hear that the reaction of this fan in particular will be extremly angry and disillusioned with the club management. I know that any protest I make will be fruitless but I will be compelled to do something and so I will stay away from matches until Ramirez is at least left out of the match day squad and preferably shipped out of the club.
OK, it might be cutting off my nose to spite my face but I have no desire at all to watch a team of which he is a member.
I wonder what those players who were disrespected and let down by Ramirez last season think about his being potentially brought back into the fold as if nothing had happened. If I was one of them I would be letting Monk know in no uncertain terms that I don’t want Ramirez anywhere near the team and I would hope that they are doing exactly that.
We shall see soon enough……….
And just as I finish typing this pops up!
https://thisisfutbol.com/2017/07/championship-2/assombalonga-to-undergo-forest-medical/
Fingers crossed whilst biting nails. 🙂
There does seem to be real momentum behind the Assombalonga story now – the Echo are saying he’s undergoing a medical.
It suggests the possibility of a Braithwaite – Assombalonga – Traore front line that would have real pace and power. Defenders would need jet packs.
It seem Boro have been bold by simply blowing Burnley and Watford’s bids out of the water, rather than inching higher with a series of offers, and it may have worked.
I think also it is a statement of intent which will encourage other players to see a move to Boro as a real opportunity. Might even influence Big Ben’s thinking.
Now needs to be followed by signings such as Ojo capable of setting up the openings.
(Perhaps the sort of attacking ambition we are seeing now would have helped last season…)
Bamford on the right, Braithwaite left, Assombalonga up top with Traore playing the No.10 role and we wouldn’t need a Goalkeeper let alone a new one!
There’s 46 games to go in the Championship, RR. It’s easy to see that with the names already on the books plus one or two more, that GM can rotate his front line every 2 or 3 games thus keeping fresh legs whilst avoiding injuries.
Lovin it me like!
If we retain Stuani and Gestede and bring in Ojo or a.n.other he can rest and rotate til his hearts content and indeed may have to to keep the group happy.
Middle looks strong with Howson, Grant, Clayts and Forshaw (Ramirez and De Roon?). Defence may need a tweak should Ben go and still needs one CB anyway and then the Keeper (lost count of how many links, Darlow, Johnstone, Randolph, Westwood etc.).
Suspect there will now be some outgoings, obviously Downing and probably Guedioura but maybe one or two who we would perhaps prefer to keep so we should probably brace ourselves!
Great article Simon, delivered with your usual panache.
If we bring Assombalonga on board, two questions.
1) Can we keep him fit throughout the rigours of the Championship??
2) Is there an Africans Cup or whatever this next January / February where we could lose him for 5/6 weeks??
It must be true, the Gazette boys have their Pritt Sticks out posting that Asspombalonga will become a Boro player (other glue dispensers are available).
Musnt poke fun, the Gazette wont post anything unless it is certain.
Assombalonga close, I can feel the excitement on the blog building.
It will/would be a great signing and give some credibility to the ‘smash the league’ objective.
Agreed!!!!
🙂
Indeed 😁
An new Spartak emerges devoid of skeptisism and prophecies of doom?
MFC website confirm Britt Assombalonga has signed.
CoB 😎
Great news.
I am beginning to bubble with a little confidence about the coming season.
I suppose, seeing a phot of him in a red shirt with 888 emblazoned on the chest, it was meant to be ….
COB
I can’t believe that the club is refusing to cooperate with the iFollow or a similar initiative. It really sends a terrible message to the whole Diasboro who have spent a lot of their lives desperate for any glimpse of their team from all around the world.
Any chance of organising a petition to see if anything can be done? In the meantime, I suppose that its emails to Mr Gibson,
UTB …. but very pissed off
Selwynoz
Totally agree and I have already sent an email expressing my disappointment and pointing out that this is not the actions of a business expressing a wish to be at the forefront of new initiatives.
Happy to put my signature to a petition.
If the club has an alternative offer to iFollow in mind then they should have announced it simultaneously. If for arguments sake under their web site revamp iBoro is going to be offered because the club has more control over it and makes more money then great but I suspect not.
The argument about it being one fixed camera is a poor one considering that those of us fortunate to attend are sat in our seats from one fixed vantage point and usually for the entire Season. The other argument about no commentary is a bizarre one considering the club seem OK about providing radio commentary and I would have thought the technology required to link the two would be within the capabilities of the average thirteen year old.
All in all very disappointing for ex pats who understandably had high hopes. On a day when they break their transfer fee record they still manage to shoot themselves in the foot, Typical Boro!
RR
As always you have hit the nail on the head – typical Boro!
I am still in dialogue with the club who are giving me a lot of spiel about how they now have control over their site and their offering and lots about being able to use one log in for all devices/applications which is minor in the scheme of things.
Their arguments/excuses are poor for a business of their size. At the moment I still do not know if audio commentary will be available in the future as they did not answer my question relating to it and I await a further reply. It is not available at present on the new site. I am hoping that I can pick up tomorrow’s commentary from BBC Tees via the internet and perhaps that will be available throughout the season but who knows.
Seems this could be a case of more is less and I will be furious if I can no longer even listen to the match.
So Britt has signed! This does feel like a watershed moment – we are signing a dominant player at a peak age who has delivered the precise role and the goals very successfully in the league we are part of, and he looks to have the potential to compete if we go up.
All this moves him beyond Kike and Nugent, and given that Britt is more of a threat with what he can do himself on the ball, beyond Rhodes. Even Negredo was at the veteran stage, and was not seeing us as key to an ongoing upward trajectory in his career.
In terms of goals, there is a Boro striker signing with a similar Championship strike rate – Patrick Bamford – and we could have them both in the same team…
So how long is it since we have brought in such potential to be a complete package as a Boro striker? If he can help get us into the Prem, and he performs there – big ‘ifs’ at this stage – could we be thinking Ravenelli? Viduka? Yakubu? Hasselbaink (but past his best when he came to us)?
Of course, all depends on Britt settling, starting well and staying fit…
I should stress that my comments are based on his exceptional Championship goalscoring record, and the snippets we can pick up watching the Football League show on Saturday nights – apart from that, I may be whistling in the dark.
His goals clips show he has good movement, and can finish well running onto through balls. He has some very well-placed shots in his highlights, which of course don’t show the ones he missed. Above all, he pops up in the right place in the box for the goal predator finishes.
We will know an awful lot more about his strengths and weaknesses a few games into the new season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDIq0TRiBL8
Gents, pardon my ignorance, what is ‘ifollow’?
Nigel
As Boro don’t have it this is the link to the Reading iFollow site which explains it all:
https://www.readingfc.co.uk/ifollow/what-is-ifollow/
Ta
Live streaming of all EFL matches for overseas fans for 100 quid each per season. The annoying thing is that the 100 pounds is per club supported, so even if Boro do not join the scheme the other overseas fans can, and watch Boro play them home and away but Boro fans cannot ! – I cannot believe that the EFL have made it finicially not viable in Boros case as they would have the camera up anyway – they would get 40 quid or so a season for the live commentary so the feeling is that the Boro can’t be bothered and doesnt value the expat contingent enough.
If they had provided the fiigures and made it known how many sign ons they needed to make it vaible then I may have felt better. But the most annoying thing is that the arrogant UK resident “old boys”brigade of the MSF didnt even challenge the statements in the minutes of the meeting – the same bunch of inward looking rear enders who didn’t want our representation on their glory seeking committee.
As you can see I am still seething . . maybe Gibbos email is not such a bad idea!!
Allan
Wot’s changed is the Boro and for the better IMHO – god’s willing SG has now struck the motherload at last.
Spartak is little more than a tiny but ever so slightly cognate speck of dust in space and time!
UTB
When we went down under Southgate I think we were literally shell shocked as a Club, Management, Players, Directors and Fans alike. The resultant panic induced fire sale was a consequence of having carried several over aged and over paid (and many departed) “stars” which had crippled the clubs finances and relegation was never ever factored into the cash flow forecast.
When the reality hit anything that could be jettisoned overboard was off loaded and hurriedly sourced budget replacements brought in and the rest as we now know is history. This time its different, we knew staying up was always going to be a big ask. Despite the manner of us not really giving it a go when relegation was confirmed this time around it was half anticipated and the clubs finances in a place where it wasn’t the beginning of the end.
The upshot of this is addressing the errors and mistakes that were made by jettisoning those that didn’t achieve or live up to hype or expectations in a controlled, planned and deliberate manner. More importantly the recruits seem to have been identified and sought out deliberately as oppose to panic buying on a budget income. From the recruitment of the Manager, removal of the Armada on the Tees to outbidding two Premiership rivals for Assombalonga this has a very different feel to things. In fact I would say it is the most structured and seemingly deliberate strategy I have seen from MFC in a very long time and that is despite the Shirts and Overseas Video links niggles.
SG, Bausor, Monk (and who knows even GIll) seem to know what they want and what to do to go about getting it. Whilst they have come in for severe criticism in the past (and justifiably) they also should take the plaudits for repairing the damage even though we haven’t achieved anything just yet. I’m also suspicious of just how much an effect and influence Orta may have had on things. Perhaps Gill and Bausor were knocking on SG’s door last year voicing their concerns?
It took me 3 years to understand your sense of humour and you expect everyone to change overnight…..? Nah—- youre setting us all up…. arnya.
Wot sense of humour???
🙂
Been away for a few days popping in to look when I could, bringing in Assombalonga got me thinking about why now.
The recruitment of AK was part of a project that had input from Kenyon (and even super agent Mendes). If I remember rightly brining in projects from abroad and selling them on, shrewd purchases at good prices to take the club forward.
Did it work? We got promoted so the answer is a qualified yes.
A key thing that we have debated is the type of striker we needed. As a pragmatic soul, to me it appeared everyone played some version of 4231, however dressed up it is as 442 no one plays two strikers, one of them is withdrawn and plays in the hole or as a ‘no 10’.
After Leicester’s resurgence last season, a Foxes fan phoned in to BBC saying that it was because they were playing 442. Robbie Savage said no it wasn’t, the heat maps clearly showed it was 4231. The chat went on for a couple of minutes, Robbie was clearly right but the fan had his own perception that no amount of evidence would change.
To play that lone striker role requires certain attributes, physicality and athleticism plus skill. It is a rare package. Everyone wants a Drogba. Paddy Bamford came back early to work on his strength and explosiveness so he maybe he thinks that is part of why he hasn’t made it in the premiership yet.
You also need players able to get in and around the striker, you need people willing to kick the round thing towards the sticks. The finger starts pointing towards recruitment, September time last year many views were expressed about the summer transfer dealings. Doubts proved correct.
Will this summer’s dealing be more successful? Looking promising but begs the question did we give it a real go last time around?
Watched Phil’s video from Faro airport and several comments stuck in my mind.
Monk is hard nosed, he is wedded to 4231, everyone has their job to do and must know their roles, defending starts when the opposition keeper has the ball, perform and you will play.
Phil also expressed the view that de Roon was too attacking when playing in the two, Howson shouldn’t play there. Basically the two should sit.
That again goes back to my view that the attackers need to be just that, attackers. Doesn’t mean they desert their duties, Phil’s comments suggest Monk will be as rigorous as AK but I suspect he will have better attacking weapons at his disposal and less obsession with possession.
Here’s hoping!
I think we need to mindful of the quality of opposition compared to last year and that our two defensive midfielders will have been told to keep it tight and don’t push too far forward in anticipation of the ball coming straight back at us with pace and skill. This season in possession I think that Howson will be encouraged to push up more and support the attack leaving just one defensive midfielder to keep guard.
Our wide men will also have defensive duties as before but as one of the two outright favourites for promotion their defensive capabilities will not be under the same scrutiny and challenges as last season. We may appear to have more freedom of expression and attack mindedness (and lets face it it would be nigh on impossible to show less intent than previous) and we have undoubtedly at least on paper improved in some areas but the opposition will like as not in most cases be sitting back and bus parking thereby giving perhaps a slightly skewed comparitive view of our tactics.
Having said that I’m looking forward to winning some games and scoring goals again.
Assombalonga = A GOAL BOSS MAN!
(Unscramble it, it’s true.)
Thanks to @BoroForm for that one.
We are being linked with 23 year old Bristol City Left Back Joe Bryan. Seems that for some reason we are looking for more Full Backs. It may just simply be a case of buy the best that’s out there for a modest fee and let them fight it out or is it succession planning for an expected departure?
Thought.
I thought three home games from 2014-15 against teams at the top of the Championship were great summations of the AK project: Boro 0-0 Bournemouth, Boro 2-0 Derby, Boro 4-1 Ipswich.
Now, the Si of 2014-15 would have thought: what’s the need for worrying? 7 points from 9 and an average of 2 goals a game against top Championship teams? What’s the problem? Let’s dig deeper.
The two wins exhibited a fearless streak in AKBoro where we actually played some slick, high octane, passing and opportunist football. Paddy’s three finishes were beautifully taken, Leads’ penalty dispatched with power and passion, and the passing movement that lead to Albert’s goal was a movement of exceptional intelligence.
Here comes the “but”. With teams at the top going all out to win, it is more a given that Boro would be given greater licence to roam than they would be against more limited teams who sat back, soaked up the passing and looked for opportunities to strike themselves.
AK clearly assumed Bournemouth would do the same, and sure enough, we tore out of the blocks firing… except we didn’t get the early break we needed. Adam Reach hit the bar and Tomlin’s magic ran out.
Then – in my opinion – Eddie Howe changed his tactics. In taking Bournemouth up that season, he did what Fergie would have done at United – smash the smaller clubs and batten down the hatches against the biggest threats. The Cherries contained and closed down our forays, and we no longer had an answer, leaving Aitor to think, “never mind, the whole season’s still ahead of us, we’ll ensure any kind of result and get it right next time. And at least we can go home with another clean sheet for my record”.
In short, it was overlooked by many at the time, but already Aitor had been shown up as having no alternative plan. AV tried to gloss over it by saying that two top teams cancelled each other out; Anthony McCarthy’s greater intuition revealed that one team nullified another who didn’t have much of a response.
Redcar Red
I was reporting Phil’s views after he had watched the current squad in action under Monk.
I cannot see why one of the two midfielders cant be more progressive and take the game to the opposition. The key is tempo, we dominated many teams in the Championship without putting them to the sword.
Think I pretty much agree Ian
Have some of that!
http://www.mfc.co.uk/news/mfc-clarifying-transfer-facts
The Gazette on the naughty step!
UTB,
John
That seems awfully harsh and a little unnecessary. Most outlets I have seen are quoting £14m, so the club should more correctly refer to media outlets in a general sense misreporting details, rather than targeting the Gazette.
If the club is really interested in setting the picture straight, why has it not also revealed the sums figures involved for the several deals where the fess has been “undisclosed”.
EG on the naughty step all twitter having a laugh about it
Read all about it on our premium pay service where we regurgitate old news or make it up
We could do with an article promoting Diasboro as the heart of the fans
Boro paying a record transfer fee for Assombalonga speaks volumes about the importance of getting promoted to the Prem and the financial benefits it brings. Is it not somewhat perverse that our record transfer comes when we’re a championship club?
Other championship club supporters must be seething when they see the relegated clubs spending fortunes to get promoted again and I would be too in their place. Although I’d be lying if I said I’m not delighted to be in the position.
I’ve just read the article on Assombalonga in the Gazette, we shouldn’t expect him to work hard apparently but we can expect 20+ goals a season, if he scores 20+ he can spend 89 minutes of each game sat on a deck chair for all I care.
He clearly wouldn’t have fitted into an Aitor Karanka side…………..
Any one giving odds on the EG issuing a correction/apology?
Pigs and flying come to mind.
😎
It seems that the Gazette reporters are as poor at arithmetic as they are at grammar and spelling.
I am getting the impression that MFC are moving more towards news provision themselves with their new website. Suspect that they have perhaps questioned why the are providing a third party the means to generate clicks and hits and “Premium” reports on things that they actually generate so why not report on it themselves. I could be wrong but there definitely seems to be changes afoot.
Why not I suppose but it could lead to a very slippery Trumpesque type slope. Great when everything is in your control and everyone jumps to your tune but life isn’t as black and white as that. On a simpler note however its just not the way to do things. A phone call would have sufficed and I am sure that AV, PT and Co. would have been more than happy to provide an update based on an “exclusive” interview.
In the past when the club have gone through sticky patches the local reporters have stood by the club and come in for a fair amount of ridicule for doing so not to mention flak. By all means they should put out facts and truths but in the absence of detailed information,misinformation, rumours and guesses always fill in the blanks. Its understandable that some of the Assombalonga details may be based upon assumptions and second guessing but why wait until now to “correct” the De Roon details. My dear departed Gran used to say to me its not always what you do but how you do it.
Even the BBC were quoting £14m yesterday evening, but I see they have corrected their web page to read £15m now…
I wonder if the Guardian are now going to be naughty stepped!
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jul/18/middlesbrough-sign-britt-assombalonga-nottingham-forest
Redcar Red
There appears to have been a trend of news items coming out in sources other than the Gazette.
It may be my imagination but they don’t seem to be on the inside so much nowadays. May be the move to Diasboro where we do much more scouting ourselves heightens that feeling.
Boro Premium, Boro fans misreporting for Boro fans?
MFC have taken over the website rather than using the standard EFL platform, maybe they are being independent, is it possible they are no lovers of Trinity Mirror Group and it’s reporting? The Gazette lads could be collateral damage
All ifs and buts, are we looking too deeply? By we, maybe I mean me!!
If they are going to come out and have what looks to me anyway like a petulant emotional swipe at someone then they should have released an accurate detailed Press Statement in the first place. No doubt something or someone has got under their skin but to lump in the De Roon thing as well as Assombaloga is not good PR. Smacks as very petty and like as not laying the foundations for when he is sold back to Italy for £10m. Not big and not clever as my old Gran again used to say.
Its not the first time the Club and Gazette have had a falling out and it probably won’t be the last time. It was notable however that the Echo quoted the £15m figure, different sources?
If the club want to take that stance going forwards then there are an awful lot of other questions just this last season about dealings and wages etc.that supporters would like to know about in as much detail. Perhaps we just have to hope that going forwards AV and Co. run more half truth articles in the hope the club responds with another factual outburst.
Meanwhile where have they buried Aggers and Leo?
Ian
Recall the exclusive interview that SG gave to the Times, last season? I thought somert was afoot. The nuances and all.
Its a slippery slope downward when you’re pushed outside into the cold.
I reckon somerts upset SG -he via Boro FC ain’t so complient anymores.
It used to be quite a mutually beneficial arrangement. Perchance SG has decided in the internet age there’s little benefit for MFC via the linkup.
Or maybees he simply doesn’t like the pop ups and told them so but they refuse to listen.
Also, once was a time when new record signin would be paraded before local/national press wearing team shirt whilst balancing ball on nose seal like. Not now -released on twitter, free for all to see.
Hmmmmmm!
Maybees SG simply moved over to diasboro when Untypicalboro was frozen by order of the management and the EG is no longer essential reading?*
Wot do you know, OFB?
*Knock once if you’re there SG & twice if you ain’t!
Ps. No more invites to the volley vont feast for the EG posse – let the media war commence.
Our former Blogmeister said that last season was difficult for the EG
Everything that was written was challenged and demanded to
Be changed by MFC (Karanka )
When I saw him last week he said that all the journos are busy writing articles continuously very time consuming
I suppose it’s quantity not quality and sometimes hard facts get in the way
I don’t blame the EG the MD a good friend of mine is a staunch Boro supporter and season ticket holder with his lad
It really the philosophy and strategy formulated by Miror Group and cascaded down
The Newcastle Journal has the same problems
Same group
In the age of Twitter, stories break in seconds and as a previous post a lot of bloggers on here are continuously checking sources for Boro rumours amd news
I suppose it’s a credit to this site that we seem to be up to the minute with the news and everyone chips in
MG instructing EG charging for premium stories on the Boro upset a lot of people not just the crowd and I for one do not subscribe
This is the EG response
http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gazette-welcomes-middlesbrough-fc-transparency-13348794
Redcar Red
BBC have it as £15m, Sky and Telegraph don’t mention a figure, the Sun has it as £15m.
AV will be tweating about right wing bias.
BBC were quoting £14m late yesterday evening Ian. They have changed it sometime since 21h35 yesterday.
Nottingham Post at 21h27 yesterday, £14m, updated to £15m since then.
Hertfordshire Mercury still quotes £14m
Daily Mail Online has £14m in one article (updated 21h33 yesterday and still showing £14m a minute or two ago), they also have a Reuters-sourced article from earlier this morning that does quote £15m.
Its probably fair to say there was some confusion and the £14m figure was the most quoted in the first instance. Those outlets that are fully switched on have updated their on-line reporting as the “correct” sum of £15m has become known.
Just read comment on MFC.
‘Misinformation’ no less. Looks like the furs flying and EG being accused of fake news.
Who will the goalkeeper be then and who will go? Definitely getting interesting.
UTB,
John
Ian’s limbering up for the goalie job. He’s tucking his shirt into his trackie bottoms as we speak.
Go for it Gilly! Let age not hinder you nor silver hair keep you from your rightful place.
Lol
🙂
Spartak
I think you have the ton, I was typing when it was in the mid 90’s.
Looks like Spartak has hit the 100!
Well done with the proviso that there hasn’t been an official press release yet and therefore 100 may in effect not be actually correct but nearer to say 110 or maybe even only 90. That does however call into question all those previous 100’s that Ian and GHW (allegedly) racked up so until we know the exact information can everyone please return their Trabbie’s to the virtual Car Park at Werdermouth’s and AV’s front lawn.
I can’t let this streaming go without a few more comments. The whole thing makes no sense.
I’ve worked in content distribution for many years and the whole point of streaming services is to take advantage as many times as possible of stuff that’s already been created.
Every game is already recorded for TV. It is more than likely that Boro’s opponents will have signed up for the service and so most of the time, the game will already be out there on the internet through their streaming service. Thus it seems to me that logically every game shouldbe available for pay per view even for people who haven’t bought a season pass.
However, for MFC, in this example there is no overhead and literally nothing to do. All they need to do is take a cut of our money when we pay. Thus, I hope that we will see some progress on access to games on a week by week basis even if the MFC gurus can’t be bothered to organise a full service. I also agree with whoever wrote that we should be told how many subscriptions MFC think is enough. I hope that they gave some logic for their position other than simply not being bothered.
Other than that, the transfer dealings seem to be going very well but the club has a real knack for being small-minded. I can’t believe that Steve Gibson approves of this but he really should step in before a lot of the good work is undone.
UTB stream on!
The story on MFC correcting the Gazette reporting of the transfer fee is interesting, is it really worthy of such a small error? £14m v £15m? It’s hardly a biggy, something else a foot there, I’m sure.
As for the comment on the de Roon fee that’s even more odd, given its old news.
This is how Monks Boro look to be shaping up so far to me, assumes SD, GR & MdR have gone;
Clayton & Forshaw holding infront of the back Four (Grant in reserve).
Braithwaite, Howson & Bamford as an attacking three supporting the striker (Ojo, Stuani & Traore in reserve).
Britt upfront (Gestede in reserve).
The onus is on the attacking three to express themselves, to attack, create and score goals . . . a budget version of the system Man City & Liverpool use and not just keep possession for the sake of it. The striker largely stays within the width of the box, thus within striking distance of the goal. There’ll likely be some unexpected comings and goings during the last gasp musical chair-a-thon on deadline day but it looks like a shape, or dare I say it, a plan, is coming together.
Redcar Red
That seems a bit petty to me.
Those 100’s were hard earned by GHW and myself especially in the old days on uncovered pitches, sorry blogs. They were very difficult to get with so few threads getting up to 100.
When all is said and done, what on earth does it matter, £14m or £15m? It is still a bucketful of spondoolies whichever the value and the MFC web-site has done nothing but demean itself and the club for the churlish and snide announcement.
MFC doing awfully well on the PR front this week when it should all be about the good news and positive aspiration this signing shows, instead it is about denying the expats a chance to see the team and throwing the toys out of the pram because the (once-)local rag (along with many more medial outlets) picked up on the wrong fee.
Sad, sad, sad
Strange how we all read things slightly different and then have a bias towards ones understanding.
The point I thought MFC were making was not so much the transfer fee, but the WAGES. There are going to be players who always will think they are worth more, and any clauses with regards to relegation do not help.
Assombalonga may now turn out to be the highest paid IF he performs and stays injury free. It would be interesting to know what % cuts players took dropping into the Championship. Has Gaston say, taken a big hit?
The club, as much as they want certain players, would I presume want to be careful not to upset the money-cart.
Streaming
MFC more concerned with bums on seats not on sofa’s or in pubs.
Ching, ching!
Trabbie (mine’s a skoda)
Not interested in a ton as I prefer the binary 101. Give it to the crippled shoe shine boy and get me an Au de Chocolade from Mendle’s instead.
🙂
I can see Spartak ending up as a Relate Counsellor here:
http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gazette-welcomes-middlesbrough-fc-transparency-13348794
Handbags at 20 paces, RR!
The volly vonts are definitely withdrawn from the menu. EG posse will be lucky to nosh on yesterday’s cold pie, chips and peas.
I reckon this is a dust up with the Boro PR posse.
Did you note (of course you did) that the EG slap back article didn’t acknowledge a specific journo(s)?
This is quite a fall out between what used to be two best pals. Maybe someone has been visiting someone else’s wife whilst the other was away.
Pure speculation of course.
Hope these malcontents stay on song and dont let their tiff cloud the main event of a title winning season.
Incredible that such an article was forthcoming from the club in the first instance. While we all feel angst, frustration and downright fury from time to time in our working lives knee jerk posts or emails rarely address let alone resolve or fix things.
A simple phone call or a tactfully worded email highlighting the “gap” and requesting that it be put right is all that was required. Now I’m sure that there is a lot more to it than just that but regardless its not a professional way to conduct things but it is MFC we are talking about and they do have “previous” when it comes to PR and Marketing. At a time when the club should be basking in positive spin and hype they decide to start a muck raking exercise, unbelievable made worse by the iFollow bad press yesterday.
I have never heard of a wage structure in place at Boro let alone one with “strict parameters”. I’m not doubting it of course but its news I suspect to most of us on here and along with Come on Boro and FMTTM we do probably represent the top 10% of Boro obsessed saddo’s. Is it evidence of another dressing room rumble before the season has even begun?
Last season if my memory serves me correct Newcastle had a somewhat indifferent start to their Season. They pulled things round of course but if Boro have an inauspicious start to the season or hit a rocky patch in the past it was AV and Co. who stuck by them, mediating and trying to keep us knuckle dragging pitchfork wielding peasants at bay.
Boro can pull up their drawbridge and be comfortable in the knowledge that they will indeed “smash” the league and don’t need any help or interference from anywhere outside of Castle Rockliffe but history is full of such bravado along with a few cautionary tales.
The following article seems to me to be spot on and highlights the area of the team which still requires close attention, even though we enjoy the ambition the club are showing.
We have learnt from the Nottingham journalist quoted in the Gazette that Britt’s goals are mainly scored getting on the end of things close to goal. The problem is going to be having the players who can make the openings and play the passes for him to feed off.
https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/middlesbrough-need-a-creative-midfielder/
Mark
Looked at video of Assombalonga scoring goals. One was a simple diagonal right to left defence splitting pass. The defender closest was three or four yards from our man. The result was he’s onto the ball, three or four strides and bang, perfection, the balls in the back of the net.
No need for a master of creativity. Just slip the pass through and Assombalonga does the rest. Like taking candy from a baby!
Sparta
We failed comprehensively to “slip the ball through” to the fastest player in this league during the whole of last season.
So we had better hope for a change this season.
Absolutely. I’ll not join in the euphoria until a playmaker is found, and I hope that won’t be Ramirez. Even if some supporters forgive him I won’t and I doubt retaining him will help team morale.
Redcar Red
There is rigid pay stricture and strict guidelines in place.
It is along the lines ‘Mr Agent, how much does your player want?’
I wonder if those same guidelines were in place with Stewy, Victor and Alvaro? I’m sure they were and no doubt the club will be at great pains to be transparent.
Meanwhile the Yorkshire Post should be getting a Broadside fired across their bows, they reckon Assombalonga only cost £13.52m which seems a very precise figure indeed!
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/high-price-ten-most-expensive-transfers-made-by-championship-clubs-1-8656195
Assombalonga wouldn’t have fit into AKBoro? That’s debatable. I think he would have adjusted to the workaholicism demanded of AK’s No. 9 better than Rhodes.
For all the complaints about AKBoro in the Championship, they were, many times over, a statistician’s delight. At some point they won more matches, scored more, conceded fewer and (surely) completed more passes than everyone else.
That, and Bam Bam got 17 goals in an AKBoro side.
Lesson? There will be negatives, but do not forget the positives. Balance. Equivalence. Fairness.
Now we move on.
Well some move on Simon!
🙂
He he Spartak. We do our best. I do my best. I just don’t like people painting managerial reigns as disasters when that frankly isn’t true.
Many post-1996 have jumped on board the systematic-stifling-of-the-Greatest-Generation train of thought when it comes to talking about the Charlton years.
I wonder if they thought that when the streets of Dublin were packed to the rafters on the team’s return in 1990.
It is wise not to overplay sentiment, but it’s wrong to say there’s no sentiment in football whatsoever. As Andrew Glover said, the game is nothing without it.
So, I’ve been watching since 6am, but no sign of a mega-million signing today – looks like yesterday was just a flash in the pan!
Typical Boro…
Against the packed defences we will face in almost every game next year, slipping the ball into the right areas may well require a player or two who know what they are doing, Spartak. I agree that the extra pace and dynamism we are recruiting should mean that our forwards can get on the end of more passes, however accurate they are, but who doesn’t love watching creative genius at work?
Pity it’s not Ramirez going to Birmingham – or anywhere else for that matter.
I agree with the comments about the club’s petulant press release against the Gazette. It does seem like someone at the club has an axe to grind. The tone is unpleasant and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
They should consider that the fans get a lot of information about the club through the Gazette. AV, Phil, Dom and Jono are fans as well, they want the club to succeed and they are in effect friends of the fans, friends we do not know (in most cases), just like those of us on this blog.
And the club have unwittingly made a rod for their own backs because now the Gazette guys can ask for full information and facts from the club about everything, and when the club want to ‘spin’ situations rather than be fully transparent, the Gazette can simply point to this graceless, gormless press release.
I agree. You would like to think that someone in the “communications” or “PR Department” of MFC would, on reflection, have preferred that response NOT to have been sent. But by then, it was too late.
I suppose people in that position should ask themselves what it is they are trying to achieve. And whether this message, or that message, is going to make the achievement more likely. It would have been perfectly easy for someone at MFC to pick up the phone and call the relevant journalists, and give them the correct information. No need to ruffle feathers or potentially offend people whose goodwill might be important at some future time.
Foot. Gun. Shoot!
Mark
It is just possible that axes to grind are not just owned by the gazette, AxesRus will sell to anybody.
Simon
I agree totally, people blame who they dislike for ills in this world. My previous post about recruitment tried to put a non partisan focus on recruitment in the last year or so, many parties have to take their share of the blame.
The same about the Stricken debacle. AV and co waxed lyrical about the forge where players were being created to replace Southgate’s wimps. In hind sight many said anyone could win titles in Scotland, well not everyone.
Mogga was the attacking football apostle whose teams scored ten goals less than AK’s.
If we have suitable attacking midfielders we will do well, if not we will be chuntering again before too long.
My first piece of 2015-16, for the Gazette, suggested that our destiny would not be decided up front, but in midfield. I wrote, “however potent your strike force is, or isn’t, midfield is a great source of goals and the primary source of invention.”
Bournemouth were as grateful to Matt Ritchie as they were to Callum Wilson. If not more.
What we need to learn from them, and Burnley, is how to move on properly. Ritchie, Danny Ings and now Michael Keane have all been sold at a very healthy profit and the fans will have surely done their utmost to accept their replacements.
If it happens to us, again, we should do the same.
Jarkko et al
When are people going to wise up and undrrstand AK was a disaster. He couldn’t even introduce the right substitution at the right time.
God’s teeth we all know of only one ‘Headcoach’ in 50+ years who was told to go home, shut the curtains and lie down on his couch for the weekend.
With SG’s intervention he would have been sacked, period, no questions asked.
Odysseus bragged about destroying Troy on his own. Poseidon quite rightly said that without his assistance Odysseus and his mates would be dead meat.
AK is not a legend. He’s not even a manager. His man management skills were of the lowest order. And, thankfully, he’s gone!
Happy days!!!
Delete ‘with’
Insert ‘without’.
Now I’m all upset & I aven’t even ad me cocoa.
‘We all need heroes!’
Really????
Sparta
We still have to live with the devastation left behind by a bunch of footballers who decided that they were not going to go along with the managers wishes.
They are still there, so watch this space, because players out of control will of course get rid of the manager, simples.
Having done it once, they will of course, do it again.
Speak for yourself Spartak. There is such a thing as heat of the moment.
Football’s full of foul ups. Like a whole team not turning up for a game in December 1996… yet those get overlooked. But I forgave them then, and I forgive now. It’s called fairness and decency.
Everyone deserves a shot at redemption. Why not take a bit of time, be happier and appreciate what was (19 defeats in 91, over 70 clean sheets, several memorable matches, funding in place for Monk to build a good future) as well as analysing what once wasn’t?
You will be happier. It is, as I said, called fairness and decency. Not gravitating towards the extreme.
Simon
Perhaps we should use the phrase ‘Heat of the moments’ to emphasis the plural, as there were many.
More than happy to speak for myself.
Gloss over the flaws doesn’t extinguish the flaws, it only hides them.
Happiness is a much over-rated state of mind, much pursued with great determination, but it’s nature is forever transitory.
I’ll add my reference of the day, it’s from Jared Browne. Paraphrased accordingly:
The weakness in Eamon Dunphy’s position springs from his propensity to gravitate towards the extreme. If he could have acknowledged the positives that Jack Charlton had brought to the Irish game (these were countless – Si), his basic criticisms of Charlton’s style of play (or lack of it – Si) might have been taken more seriously, as it rightly should have been. By maintaining such trenchant opposition to Charlton’s every move, Dunphy perhaps made it too easy for fans and journalists to dismiss him as a reckless renegade.
As Dunphy’s friend Patrick once told him, “You’re not Brazil, Italy or even France. The whole country is happy. It’s about results. And Jack is *getting* them.”
Like Aitor, his time ran out, but he was what Ireland needed at the time. And in Aitor’s case, so what if he threw a fit? It’s called being human, being in your first job, and coming from a culture where you’re not explicitly prepared to deal with such a situation.
Simon
Your spot on, appreciate it when someone gives you what you hope for ,I will always put Karanka up there with Jack,I’m not comparing, you can’t but he gave us what we needed.
Don’t bite with Spartak, he goes on the internet with an idea, then looks for big words or adjectives, to try and act above the Frey.
By the way Spart, you never seem to talk about football per say or the the Boro as a iconic teesside important entity.
GT
I refer you to my post yesterday describing an Assomlabonga goal as evidence of ‘talking’ football. And my reference to AK’s lack of substitution nous.
Still, I understand your use of ‘never’ as a adverb of extreme accusation.
Finally, I don’t ‘always’ use obscure adjectives in my posts, sometimes quite the opposite.
Still reflecting on the club’s press release, it reminds me of something Phil said in reporting from Portugal. He mentioned that he’d introduced himself to Garry Monk and explained who he was. Given that the Gazette is the main local paper, a main source of information to the local public, and is going to the considerable expense of employing four people to provide coverage, it seems that someone at the Boro PR department wasn’t doing their job. Or was instructed not to facilitate access by the Gazette guys.
I wonder how many other media outlets troubled themselves to sand someone to cover the Boro training camp? 0?
It’s also ridiculous to claim that you are determined to get the correct information to the public, and then say the Marten De Roon figures were wrong, when you’ve not bothered to mention it for a whole year. If you are going to throw mud, you need to be a bit cleverer than this about it.
The club produced an awful shirt last season presumably just to create an unmistakable kit that overseas Premiership watchers could spot. This season they have given us a shirt subordinating the identity of the club to that of the sponsor. And it seems they used the maximum size of advertising that league rules allow. Presumably if they could have given more of the shirt to sponsors, they would have done.
And walk-up prices went up very sharply last season.
Are we confident that everything is healthy at the club, and in tune with our sense of pride in the club?
I fully accept that my comments can be regarded as hypocritical. One minute I am saying that I’m excited about the signing of Britt, the next minute I’m moaning about prices or sponsors, when those things help to pay for new signings.
I am tremendously optimistic about much of what is happening. I have no problem with the design of the current kit, except for the size of the sponsor branding, which sticks in the throat.
I should also mention that I really hope SG has nothing to do with the things I’ve complained about, just as he obviously wasn’t responsible for some of the silly things Keith Lamb said which annoyed fans, for instance. (We know SG didn’t choose the recent shirts, for example.)
Mark
I checked out the MFC website earlier and there’s definitely somert afoot.
Now we have MFC exclusive ‘Read First Interview with New Signing Britt Assomlabonga’. The style of the website has changed to highlight ‘journo’ articles on all things MFC.
Further, where’s the great unveiling to the press pack of the new record transfer fee player – maybe you can see it coz I can’t.
Conclusion? A definite parting of the ways. Old friends now compeditors. EG posse out in the cold. MFC have gone independent.
How times change. Nothing is forever.
AV told on twitter:
Expat Boro fans: your views wanted on clubs refusal to sign up for iFollow matchday streaming service this season https://t.co/InRRsLflW4
I was looking forward to this service as the money involved was peanuts compared what the PL on TV costed.
I hope there is a solution. Please take part in the survey.
Up the Boro!
Jarkko
As I mentioned prreviously, MFC IMHO have concluded its not in the financial interests of the club to join.
That’s the acid test – how much do we earn and how will it effect oyher income streams.
Nowt much more to say really!
Jarkko
Many thanks for the link. I have completed survey as I am still incensed that a club of the Boro’s size are not making the facility available.
They have discontinued Boro+ and still not answered my question as to how I can now listen to matchday commentary.
I hope it will be available over the internet from Radio Tees and not cost anything which would be some way towards placating me but I would still prefer to watch even without commentary.
That’s interesting, Spartak – if that is the underlying agenda, the club’s press release was self-serving at best, and at worst, cynical.
Mark
Maybe both!
If it’s only available outside of the uk, then there’s no impact on their income streams. They just sit back and take their cut.
And here’s the SG response on transfers
http://www.mfc.co.uk/news/steve-gibson-we-want-to-be-as-open-as-possible-on-transfers
I note he mentions targets that we are supposed to be looking at which are innacurate who does or what paper does he mean?
So, OFB, two points:
1. SG is at the forefront of this issue
2. Suggestion that the first and only port of call should be MFC website for all things Boro.
Must be getting chilly at Gazette Towers!
When I have mentioned the Gazette and it’s moves to become more Trinity Mirrored it was merely a virtual shrug of the posters shoulder. Poked a little bit of fun at pop ups and advertising in the knowledge they have to raise finance to run the paper.
I noticed that they were not first with news but assumed they were on the inside and published the facts but the move to Middlehaven doesn’t seem to have forged a closer link to the club.
Something is amiss, there appears to be some form of fracture, it is almost like Lambie is back.
I read the minutes from the Forum and the thought struck me that isn’t that the type of group someone from the press would be part of? I can understand the Diasboro are only a tiny part of the fan base so wouldn’t be part of it but the Gazette is the source of much information for fans and a vehicle for communicating with the wider body of supporters.
Odd. It takes two to tango and by the same token, if there is a rift, both parties must have contributed wilfully or not.
Looks like MFC and EG have been divorced.
Perhaps the Club should employ AV and co?
BTW
Tend to agree with Simon that AK’s reign was not a disaster, it just ended like a lot of Managers’ careers do when the wheels come off.
I didn’t really buy into the dressing room cold war, every club has it’s moaners and groaners.but the Downing thing does have a smell to it,.
The first thing Monk did on his arrival was to tell him to find another club.
Was he tipped off?, Or did someone upstairs say ” get rid”.
Gazettelive showing photos of Britt in Nottingham Forest attire. Meanwhile on MFC we’ve got exclusive interview, 20 photos of Britt a d the players training together and video of last friendly.
Sad 🙁
Steely
I find myself scratching my head as to why a lot of short-term successful managers’ reigns end up like that. Flying too high, too soon is one reason. Look at our own Robbo, Roy Keane at Sunderland and Steve Coppell at Reading, and arguably George Burley at Ipswich.
I may need to read RR’s remarkable post from 2013 on such managers again.
For now, I’ll dig up a more recent one, from 2015. A bit of paraphrasing.
“Consider Roy Keane, who succeeded briefly then crashed and burned, and also Strachan, Pearce and Di Canio. And so on. Which indicates that a dictatorial (or controlling) style does have an effect, but there has to be ability, knowledge and skill behind it for it to be sustainable. Management then becomes three-dimensional, with more substance than style, and that is what differentiates the really successful managers (from the rest).”
Thanks, RR.
I see on the EG website that this is the club’s response to a question from the Gazette about Steve Agnew’s position:
‘The Gazette approached the club on Wednesday for clarification on Agnew’s future, asking a number of questions.
The club were asked to offer an update on Agnew’s “current situation”, whether he is still contracted at the Riverside, and whether Boro have offered him “an alternative role following the arrival of Garry Monk”.
In response, a Boro club statement said: “Further to your e-mail, for all information regarding Middlesbrough Football Club please refer to our website.” ‘
This seems to show that:
1. The Gazette are being frozen out. Although I’m not sure sending the club e-mails is the best way of making contact.
2. The club is to be the only source of information on club matters, and if they don’t want us to know about something, we don’t get to know.
Is this really how they want to run the club?
Similar posts, Mark!
Welcome to the new Gazette Live ice age – wooly pulley time for AV, PT & the EG posse.
I personally think that although there may be several issues between the EG and MFC relationship, the ‘Premium Boro’ so-called service being offered by the EG at a fee of £3.99 per month has quite a bit to do with it. Firstly, the EG get the majority of their information and tit bit from MFC (or at least used to), and then try and go on to charge the punters and Boro faithful money for it. Secondly, I think MFC can see (as we all can) the ‘service’ is basically garbage and MFC I suspect, don’t want to be associated with it. Finally, as many have said, it looks like MFC are gearing itself up to be a fully fledged journo-type website, with all new stories coming out of there.
Just a thought
Have to agree, Dalla!
The EG content, or that only supported by adverts, has been skeletol as of late IMHO. A clear tactic to drive punters to the Premium offers?
Maybees SG has got the hump.
It is what it is!
🙁
That is is a good point you make Dalla. It could well be the “Premium” service thing that has done the damage.
The downside of MFC providing its own journalistic content is that there would be no independent editorial control over that content. And while external editors and their journalists may not always be right, they do at least provide objective analysis and coverage and that is important in all walks of life, not soley for the local football club.
Carlos De Pena gone !
Hope he has a safe car journey to the airport !
https://www.facebook.com/MFCofficial/posts/1537192532968674:0
Completely agree with that Powmill.
It’s dangerous territory to have only ‘positive’ stories about MFC – especially as we have seen over the last year or so with some of the shenanigans going on there. Even though we don’t have the full picture of the various events – and probably never will- you can imagine nothing would have come out at all if MFC controlled editorial. Before he was muzzled, I used to enjoy AVs frank and honest reporting on issues, games, tactics etc. (even good old Eric sometimes). It seems those days are looking numbered even more now.
It all seems very odd between the Gazette and MFC.
Clubs that fall out with local papers tend to come a cropper, fans tend to turn to the local paper for their information.
The club seem determined to go their own way with their own website, not joining in with streaming along with other EFL clubs.
On the other side the Gazette have Boro Premium, if the club isn’t talking to them what on earth can they charge for?
The Northern Echo don’t seem to have a problem, maybe it is the Trinity Mirror Group that is the issue, maybe they don’t like Boro Premium.
Ian
The Northern Echo allow 10 article views a month and then block you, suggesting you subscribe to their site.
Just sayin like
Spartak
I was talking about the access to the club rather than us accessing the website but thanks for the info, should have been more specific
🙂
It seems fairly obvious now that there has been some kind of fallout between Middlesbrough FC and the Gazette.There have been several spats between them over the years, but I’m wondering what has caused the latest one.
First of all, is it a coincidence that this has occurred so soon after MFC’s installation of its new website format where MFC seems to be keen to be first with information?
Maybe MFC is concerned about the amount of speculation that the Gazette reports on transfers, fearing that such speculation might jeopardise its negotiations. But in fairness to the Gazette, its reporters are only recycling items from the National press.
However one wonders why the Gazette employs five football reporters on its staff, when as far as I can recall in the distant past Cliff Mitchell wrote all the articles on all things Boro as well as reviews and comprehensive match reports in both the Sports and Evening Gazettes. Eric Paylor retired as Chief Sports Editor and he seemed to be the person who was given gossip and quotes from MFC; nowadays I don’t know whether its Dominic Shaw, Philip Tallentire, Jonathon Taylor or Anthony Vickers.
Perhaps MFC is equally bemused and that’s why we rarely get interviews with Steve Gibson or Neil Bausor. Anthony Vickers used to write for FMTTM and can probably be described as an investigative journalist, and was a few years back nominated for a Football Supporters Federation (FSF) Writers Award, but as far as I can ascertain the others have not won any awards, for which I am not surprised considering their occasional grammatical errors.
What is the point of their giving video discussions (often preceded by a 30 second advert) when the points they raise are also followed in narrative form? Also, we have Adam Steel giving a reprise every day of articles already written by the aforementioned reporters, and one has to scroll the whole of his article to the end to read it in chronological order. Perhaps MFC doesn’t wish to be associated with repetitive reports, especially as some are speculative or inaccurate.
Although I do have a little sympathy for the Gazette reporters in having to find something to write about everyday, I do wonder whether we need a daily Gazette, for its non-sports news is also a recycling of National Press articles. Perhaps a weekly Gazette on a Monday would suffice.
After all he have Bob on this forum with his insider snippets of information and Redcar Red with his, in my opinion, comprehensive weekly match reports “a la Cliff Mitchell” far superior to the Gazette’s professional reporters.
Yea, who needs a daily Gazette?
All good points, Ken. The spat between the Gazette and the club seems to be continuing today. The Gazette asked the club some very reasonable questions seeking clarification of the position of Steve Agnew and received a reply saying bluntly that for all information about MFC the Gazette should refer to the club’s website.
All very silly and totally counter-productive.
I wonder what the late, great Bob Cass – his views on Big Jack’s short-lived spell as Newcastle boss are excellent – would have had to say about it all.
On a totally different note…
It is interesting to see who are Sky TVs favorites for broadcasting.
Here are all our championship rivals ranked according to the number of times they will have been live on Sky TV by 1st October in the coming season:
4 times Aston Villa
4 times Leeds United
3 times Nottm Forest
3 times Sheff. Wednesday
2 times Derby County
2 times Hull City
2 times Sheff Utd
2 times Sunderland
1 time Barnsley
1 time Birmingham
1 time Bolton
1 time Bristol City
1 time Burton
1 time Fulham
1 time Middlesbrough
1 time Norwich City
1 time QPR
1 time Reading
0 times Brentford
0 times Cardiff City
0 times Ipswich Town
0 times Millwall
0 times Preston
0 times Wolves
Is this a reflection on how uninspiring we were on TV last season I wonder? Or, is it the usual national media stance to ignore the Boro,
Here’s hoping our revised line up will begin smashing the Championship from day one in August and will be rattling in goals for fun and have the editorial team that picks the fixtures to televise kicking themselves they overlooked the mighty Boro!
Powmill,
We live in hope, there would be justice in that outcome.
UTB,
John
Powmill
I remember the national press and TV ignoring big Jacks team, lets hope we end up with a similar season.
I was intrigued about the communications concerning Steve Agnew, here is the Gazette wording.
‘The Gazette approached the club on Wednesday for clarification on Agnew’s future, asking a number of questions.
The club were asked to offer an update on Agnew’s “current situation”, whether he is still contracted at the Riverside, and whether Boro have offered him “an alternative role following the arrival of Garry Monk”.
In response, a Boro club statement said: “Further to your e-mail, for all information regarding Middlesbrough Football Club please refer to our website.” ‘
A couple of things spring to my mind, this is not communicating. By the wording, the Gazette didn’t ‘approach’ the club, they sent an email. If you send an email you get an email response!
If it was an email who was it sent to? Who sent the email? Was it via the dreaded ‘contact us’ on the website? I would be suspicious of such an approach. It would be sloppy, what on earth do the five of them do all day?
Pick up the phone or even better call in and speak face to face to someone. That is communication.
If they cant do that then relationships are pretty bad. It looks like people are not talking.
It may look like it but I am not sticking up for either side, I am reflecting on what I can read.
It seems, Ian, that there is nothing to report on Steve Agnew’s position. Maybe he has applied for a post elsewhere, and MFC doesn’t want to comment until he has obtained one.
He might even have been offered a position with MFC and has been given time to consider it.
Obviously the stance from MFC in future is “Mind your own business. We don’t comment on speculation. When there is something to report you will find it on MFC’s website”
All rather authoritarian.
Arrived back home yesterday and still in the process of unpacking everything but the kitchen sink that seemed to be inside our car – anyway just catching up on what’s been happening the last three or four days regarding Boro.
I suppose breaking our transfer record certainly shows intent – the fact that some lower-PL clubs couldn’t compete with us for Assombalonga may be a sign of things to come for newly relegated clubs without a debt to manage – unlike Sunderland who appear to need to be more frugal. Boro probably have a budget comparable to many PL clubs for certain targets and can concentrate on picking off the best impact players as they don’t need to spread their wealth on acquiring an all-round PL-quality squad.
Also interesting noises on the media front with Steve Gibson’s less than cryptic comment on the MFC website “There are occasions when ill informed speculation is very unhelpful…There has been much recent speculation over potential ‘Boro targets’, much of it inaccurate”.
It’s quite likely that he may be referring to a well-known local newspaper given the seemingly recent tit-for-tat response on the Agnew situation – but perhaps something was printed that was supposed to be off the record that the Boro chairman felt may have compromised a deal.
Of course, we are free to speculate on Diasboro on any possible deal as nobody will expect us to be speaking from authority on the basis of a direct conversation with someone at the club – but local football correspondents are considered to have a bit of inside knowledge and therefore must tread a little more carefully.
Though to be fair to AV and his colleagues they often held back on stories in the past and were beaten to the scoop that they were holding in their pocket out of duty to the club – don’t know if that has changed under the new Mirror Group regime but being spoon-fed by the club is not the only route for journalism. Besides, with online content now the media of choice for many, perhaps MFC have no real need for providing their information through a third party? They could just as easily hire a couple of writers to publish their own news as print media as a source for timely information is all but dead in the water.
Perhaps analysis, entertaining articles and collation of information is all that is left now for the rest – whether there is any real money in that to keep five or six full-time reporters and their support staff in jobs is perhaps debatable – whichever business model is rolled out.
Though we still need authoritative journalism to keep those who hold the power honest and open – and we must be able to ascertain that the news provided is not fake too. The risk is that all news is either spin from the source or uninformed opinion from someone’s smartphone – both of which will leave truth as the main casualty in the war of words.
Ian
I couldn’t agree more with your comment re Jack’s team. it still rankles with me to this day how limited was the national press and TV praise for a team that really did smash the league.
I remember Frank Bough on the BBC making very limited comments on one of our 4-0 away wins and then cutting short his comments to cut to loftus road where QPR had played a 0-0 draw!
I am disappointed that two of our local institutions, MFC and the EG, have fallen out and are seeing fit to air their grudges in public. They are in my view acting like kids in the playground rather than as exemplars for Teesside.
I do have some sympathy for MFC’s position regarding commentary by the EG on players wages, given that many of the squad will have had to take a pay cut following relegation. To then learn via the EG that a new boy appears to have been offered what is probably double what existing players are earning is likely to cause some disquiet in the ranks.
Clearly MFC felt it was necessary to correct what had been reported but the manner in which they chose to do so was in my view poor and does not reflect well on them as an organisation. A quiet word with the EG to put them right and the Chief Executive addressing the squad to confirm that MFC does operate to a pay structure and that what had been reported was incorrect and had been addressed with the EG would have been a more sensible and discreet way of dealing with the matter.
It now appears that there is open warfare between the two and that we will be heavily reliant on OFB contacts for inside info as the EG appears to be frozen out.
This coupled with the iFOLLOW issue is not reflecting well on MFC.
It occurs to me that the EG may have only instigated a poll relating to iFOLLOW as a consequence of their spat with MFC and that they intend to use it as a stick to berate MFC with. Had the fall out not occurred, I wonder if the EG would have chosen to get involved.
It will be interesting to see the results of the poll and if MFC takes any action – needless to say I am not holding my breath.
KP
I was going to mention the ifollow issue but the post would have read even more as picking sides with MFC, the post reads lop sided enough as it is but it was a genuine comment about communicating between each other.
On other matters, I see de Pena has left the club. Yippee. Considering all the hype and the last minute drama involving Juninho setting up his medical, this was a disaster of a signing. £3 million the EG said at the time (and wasn’t corrected huffily by Boro). What a complete waste of money! Was this another of Orta’s ‘marquee’ signings, another from his wonder book of world-wide contacts? In the interests of transparency, MFC, I think we should be told.
Clive
When the events of that day,( the signing) are reviewed, one is forced to believe that a lot of people in south America were well aware that it was the sale of the century.
At least ten people (all at the American end of the deal) went well beyond the call of duty.
People were racing everywhere calling in favours like Confetti from quite important folk. That plane was not taking off until he was on board.
Contrast and compare with the signing of a very important player.
Alas poor Carlos?
The trouble is while there was something there, we had neither the space nor the time to help him prosper, especially after what must have been a traumatising car crash.
A flash of skill and intelligence here and there – three assists on his debut! – but he was essentially Marinelli lite. Out of his depth.
Not an AK player either. Wasn’t built to track back as well as attack. My guess he was signed as a reserve playmaker that didn’t pay off.
Ah well. On we go.
De Pena was a bad buy and whilst it may not have been a Karanka signing it was considered that it was on the recommendation and implementation by Leo
The £3m paid for de Pena almost makes mister-nice-guy Gary Lineker look good value at nearly £2m a year for mainly presenting a football highlights show on the BBC – though he still has to supplement his income by presenting Champions League football on BT Sport. Personally I prefer Mark Chapman as a presenter who managed to agree to do a similar job for less than £250k. Though Alan Shearers pearls of wisdom are costing the licence payer over £400k each year – which probably works out at around £100k per pearl from what I’ve noticed.
Not sure if the BBC think the public wouldn’t watch the football unless it was fronted by a household name – personally I often fast-forward through the ‘banter’ when watching MOTD as it usually consists of pre-planned video analysis pieces decided before the game.
I can’t see how it’s value for money when it’s obviously the content which is the main attraction and the presenter is mainly reading an autocue and just offering a few obvious cliches and a few bad puns ripped-off from a discount box of 1983 christmas crackers. OK presenting may not be that easy but surely it’s not worth nearly £2m of essentially tax-payers cash.
Werdermouth, I notice when I’m watching football abroad, particularly on foreign stations in Portugal and Spain, there is no discussion either before or after matches even Champions League matches.
During the half time interval they just show adverts, and once the match has finished it’s just adios, more adverts, then the next programme. I do find that rather odd, especially as SKY and ITV almost spend as much time on the preamble and after-match discussion as they do on the actual live commentary.
If De Roon, Gibson ,Ramirez and Traioria leave , that would be a major set back,
You can’t replace them with anyone out there ,with the same impact.
Tonight’s team seems to be a luck at some, and some in the window for possible sale?
I think de Roon has already been replaced so as much as I would have liked him to stay i’m relaxed about him leaving.
Ramirez leaving would be a plus, he’s poison.
Traore? So far he’s contributed nothing, so if he goes that is what we’ve lost.
If Gibson goes that would be a big blow.
An update about audio and video on MFC.
http://www.mfc.co.uk/news/efl-commentary-and-live-streaming-update
This makes more sense than some of the earlier non communication. Why do they need it to become an issue before responding?
Give me the chance to pay and I will. Otherwise I’ll just stream it for free.
Ian
You beat me to the post as I have just picked it up from the MFC website.
Still begs the questions of why when they were planning the new website and wishing to offer radio commentary free of charge did they not know about the licensing restrictions – does not reflect well on the project management of the new website.
Last year for your Boro+ subscription you received audio matchday commentary and video content which was restricted to subscribers. Under the revised website subscribers will receive the audio commentary at a price but the videos are freely available to everyone so to my mind more is less and I am also being denied the opportunity to pay for match streaming.
It appears this all may be under review but why so late in the day and only I suspect because they are getting feedback that supporters are not happy with the initial decision and the way it has been handled.
Still not holding my breath that I will be watching matches as opposed to listening as in previous seasons. 😎
KP
Many times we come up with grassy knoll type theories, often it is just incompetence because being c*** is easier than being devious.
Elsewhere we drew 2-2 at Mansfield with Ramirez playing a good part of the game.
England women beat Scotland 6-0. Clearly there was a clash of kits because England played in their normal white so Scotland had to change from their traditional dark blue to some shade of pink. Doh! I suppose it is down to the fact both teams wear white shorts (or marketing)
I understand that the transfer of Stuani to Girona is almost done and could be completed by Friday
Downing confirmed as Birmingham player tomorrow
Middlesbrough are hoping to agree a deal with West Ham for goalkeeper Darren Randolph.
Garry Monk says he was pleased to see his squad get another 90 minutes under their belts as Boro drew 2-2 with Mansfield on Wednesday night.
Boro were 2-0 down in the game but fought back to level the score before the half time whistle and Monk says there were positives and negatives from the game at the One Call Stadium.
“I think you’re learning all the time,” said the manager. “You’re seeing players in the match environment but what’s most important tonight is 90 minutes under their belts.
“From a physical perspective that will do them the world of good.”
“As for the game itself, as you’d expect at this stage there were some really good phases in the game and others that we clearly need to improve on.
“But that’s where we’re at and that’s what we’re doing. Most importantly it was 90 minutes for a lot of those players and that’s a step forward on the physical side of it.”
Boro are back in action on Saturday when the team travel to Rochdale for the penultimate game of the pre-season campaign and Monk says he plans to field a different XI to that which started on Wednesday night.
“This week was always planned to have two 90 minutes so we’ll have another group on Saturday,” he said.
“That’s a big factor to build up the players’ conditioning and fitness and obviously the ideas that we’ve been working on.
“In all the games so far we’ve seen some pleasing things and others that the players and I are clear that we need to improve.
“It’s a new manager and players and there’s a lot to take on board. We’ve only been working for a short space of time and I don’t expect it to be fully clicking.
“There are some good things and others to work on but you’d expect that.”
Let’s hope that the team put in better performances than the MFC hierarchy or the Gazette,
OFB
Thanks for the info on the comings and goings. I was wondering if the SD to Brum had stalled but good to hear it is still on.
Not sure if the Stuani one is good or not. I suppose if we get our money back and it clears out another of the old regime then that is a positive.
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/15421795.Garry_Monk___There_will_be_more_incomings_and_outgoings_before_the_transfer_window_closes_/?ref=twtrec
Ken
Some teamwork is a good idea.
full-back Fabio da Silva is close to agreeing a deal with Brazilian side Cruzeiro that will see him return to his homela
I’d be a lot more optimistic, if we signed that top midfielder who can dominate games ,and create openings, I think SG, should release any incoming money from sales, for a top man even if you have to go crazy money.
I know it’s not easy ,now we are in this division,to get them but we have to try big time.
A Cairney Fulham, inquire about Wiltshire Arsenal status?
All I’m saying is it’s sticking out. Like sore thumb what the team needs .
If we have to go to £20m, do it!
COB
According to HITC Sport, Middlesbrough have lodged another bid for West Ham United goalkeeper Darren Randolph.
Middlesbrough are desperate to bring Darren Randolph to the Riverside as their new goalkeeper this summer.
Following the departures of two senior goalkeepers, this is a priority position that Garry Monk wishes to address.
Middlesbrough’s first choice stopper in the Premier League last season was Victor Valdes but the former Manchester United and Barcelona man has had his contract cancelled rather than staying with Boro in the Championship.
Deputy options Brad Guzan has returned to the United States.
This leaves veteran goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos (who recently penned a new one year deal), impressive youngster Connor Ripley and outcast Tomas Mejias as Boro’s options.
Garry Monk has identified Darren Randolph as the ideal man to solve his goalkeeper crisis.
West Ham recently snapped up Joe Hart on a season-long loan deal from Manchester City.
With Randolph losing his starting spot to Adrian towards the end of last season, the Republic of Ireland international has now potentially slipped down to third choice in East London, which is not ideal with the World Cup coming up next year.
Boro have seen a £3.5m bid rejected for the 30-year-old, according to reliable football journalist Dean Jones, but HITC Sport are claiming that they have returned with an improved offer.
Middlesbrough are now stepping up their chase for West Ham outcast Darren Randolph.
OFB
Are you pushing for a job with the EG – no you know too much and wouldn’t fit in! Tee hee.
KP
Careful or we may end up with Premium OFB or even worse Premium Diasboro.
Ian
I wouldn’t mind a premium OFB/Diaboro at least they would be value for money as opposed to other publications we should best not mention! 😎
Dominic Shaw and Jonathan Taylor naughty stepped, it seems. How bizarre.
How odd indeed – just saw the Gazette article explaining that these two are not welcome at Boro – I wonder what they did to upset the club? All Sounds a bit Trumpish when journalists are being banned without explanation – it would appear to be a lose-lose situation to have a public spat between your local club and newspaper.
I did question earlier why the Gazette employ four reporters. In the past Cliff Mitchell, then Eric Paylor seemed to have exclusive Gazette rights for information from MFC, and I must say I can understand that MFC would rather deal with only one person, be that Philip Tallentire or Anthony Vickers.
Perhaps that may be made clear in due course.
If Fabio and Stuani go I will be disappointed but not devastated. I feel both still had something to offer – one played in an awful season, the other rarely in the Rhodes role he’d have thrived in – but they’re not irreplaceable. That’s what you’ve got to consider – not so much “where would we be without/what we could do with their contributions” as are there reasonable and/or more prolific alternatives? For lower wages?
We’re worried about Ben Gibson, yet Burnley clearly had a back up plan in the event of losing Michael Keane. Sometimes it isn’t so much the coaching that needs sorting as the club.
Andy R
Yes, how odd.
http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gazette-not-publish-interview-middlesbrough-13358358
Dom and Jonno don’t seem rabble rousers, we do not of course know the reasons for the move. Rabble rouser AV was not flavour of the month in the past but I don’t recall him being naughty stepped, hauled over the coals at times by the MFC Staszi but not denied access.
Something isn’t right.
I don’t think Stuani or Stewy fit with the ‘pace and flair’ and ‘dynamic’ criteria the club are now pursuing, although both have some very good qualities. We simply have too many strikers if we are only playing one up top, so it makes sense to release Stuani.
In Stewy’s case he would still be useful if we fail to bring in one or two specialist wingers, let’s hope Ojo wants to come to us.
It seems clear that Howson is seen as one of the holding midfield pair, rather than the no.10. I think it’s reasonable for GM’s to accept Ramirez’ word that he wants to play for the club and give him a fresh start as long as the player is approaching things in the right way. The problem may arise as the transfer window progresses and clubs work their way down their lists of targets, and someone puts in an offer that Ramirez likes. That’s why we need to recruit a playmaker as an absolute priority.
Werder
Whilst it seems very odd I would not expect MFC to come out and say in public why the Gazette two are banned. The Gazette released that in to the public domain.
A bit like the response about Assombalonga where we thought an email was not the best way to reply, until you read the actual words you didn’t realise the ‘approach’ looked to be an email.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t an unpleasant situation and I would not expect a club to take umbrage with the local paper in such a manner. Surely something could be sorted by simply talking to each other.
I am hard pushed to see how anyone could take offence with Dom and Jonno, maybe one said something out of turn but both of them? I cant think of any of their videos that would provoke such draconian action.
If they said something ‘off air’ we don’t know about there must be means of communicating displeasure. We have all been guilty of saying something that seemed harmless only for it to be taken wrongly and cause offence.
There appears to be a stand off.
Given the previous statement about ill informed speculation being unhelpful by the chairman, I presume the two situations are probably not unrelated. It will at some point be sorted but as a rule the more public the argument the longer it takes to repair relations – The Gazette are possibly in danger of biting off the hand that feeds it but then again being seen as the controversial outsider may actually be a plus in this day and age. Though Steve Gibson must also be cautious about straying into the territory of fake news accusations – media management should be almost invisible to be successful.
OK about this actual football stuff… what’s happening then?
PS
We should be talking about football not two organisations that should be talking to each other.
Ian
Seems pretty simples to me, Ian.
MFC have made business decision to bring MFC info inhouse. New website is constructed. All team and team training photos coralled. Interviews with major personalities controlled an monitored. Online content ie. video, radio etc. to come under direct control of MFC. There will be limited opportunities given to third party media interests incl (maybe esp the EG).
This ain’t no knee jerk reaction but previous planning has taken place.
What’s the purpose? Your guess is as good as mine, but a schism has taken place and IMHO there’s little chance of a reconnciliation ( Relate counsellors hat on there). The ships have sailed having a parting of the ways.
As usual, PR is not MFC’s greatest strength, so not surprisin they’re making a bit of a hash of it ref. the two EG journos and how its all going public like.
Still no doubt more spats to come as they squabble over the MFC meat and gravy.
Volly vonts look like they’re permanently off the menu. Maybees EG staff would rather bring their own sarnies and themos of tea now anyhow.
For me, well loyalities are split. The biggest issue for me was the Mirror Trinity group were prepared to see our online fan forum shut down. So, the EG gets zero sympathy from me.
I support MFC!
Good post Spartak
But
This issue has been going on since the end of last season and has now been made public
OFB
Indeed, OFB!
I refer you to the point I made regarding prior planning and prep by MFC, which of course concurs with your knowledge that the ‘event’ has been developing over sometime.
All in the runes!
UTB
The club’s blacklisting of Dom and Jono is appalling. Basically, the club are reducing the ability of two journalists to pursue their livelihoods, and are giving no reason for doing so (although it’s hard to imagine any acceptable reason for doing this).
It is all the more baffling when both guys are clearly sincere Boro fans, and it must be very hurtful to them. I know the club turning on me would be a terrible thing that would really hurt me.
It’s hard to escape the conclusion that Dom and Jono have written something at some point which the club didn’t like, although goodness knows what that could have been, and that excluding them from club press conferences and staff interviews is some sort of act of revenge. If that’s so, it’s an attempt at censorship.
Well done to the Gazette for making it clear that they will not accept individuals on their staff being singled out for this sort of spiteful treatment.
It is small-minded, disgraceful, and brings shame on our club.
Rumour has it the issue is regarding the EG asking about the SA situation and then going public.
This has been going on for weeks I do know that
If I’m jumping to conclusions, well that’s what happens when organisations take high-handed decisions without offering any explanation for them.
It seems that Stuani will be on his wayback to Spain by the weekend and there certainly would appear to be reduction in the payroll taking place. On another topic just what is going on with the EG and the club? Didn’t Newcastle have a similar spat with The Journal a few years ago?
The new Club website communicates better than the old version did and is far more news biased, have they hired a journalist? On the EG scenario although the paper isn’t what it was, in my opinion, the town club falling out with the town daily newspaper would appear to be totally counterproductive for all parties.
Never a dull moment.
UTB,
John
Dalla
Could be, I wrongly said email about Assobalongs – it should have said Agnew, it may have been about Steve Agnew, who knows.
If it was such an email then we all know how difficult it is to get the correct tone
Whatever happened someone has taken umbrage at MFC, journalists taking an outraged stance is nothing new, they believe everyone should be regulated apart from the press of course because they have no vested interests in good stories.
It is all nonsense but the club has done itself no favours.
It’s hard to think what Dom and Jono could have said to provoke this MFC reaction. After all, when did the EG last reveal anything or say something incisive or controversial?
I agree with others’ observations, very much backed up by the email reply to the EG, that there are signs that the local rag is being frozen out as a prelude to MFC being the sole source of Boro news.
If so, I find this move worrying.
Even though the EG was hardly controversial or investigative in its journalism, there is a need for some independence in reporting. I always considered that the local reporters had to be too pally-pally in order to get access, which felt like the club ‘had them in their pocket’, but at least they offered a degree of objectivity.
That won’t be the case with MFC reporting: party line only. I expect rigorously censored pre-digested pap to emanate from the club. Boro Pravda.
On the other hand, with EG on the outside, that could leave the paper with a much more exciting role. If that happened, they will no longer need to curry favour and go ‘up to the big house’ cap in hand. The EG will then be able to cut loose, be the rabble-rousers and feed off the goss.
Could yet be interesting.
That’s an interesting take on it, Nikeboro, perhaps the club are shooting themselves in the foot and will live to regret setting EG free to say what it likes.
Certainly as regards the Agnew thing, when the EG ask what’s going on, and the club refer them to the club website which says nothing about it, yes it’s designed to put two fingers up to EG, but it also it immediately suggests to everyone that the club has something it doesn’t want to admit to.
So I’d guess Agnew has not been offered a role he wants to accept, so he is at home on gardening leave, being paid handsomely for doing nothing of benefit to the club. If that’s not the case, the club only have themselves to blame for people thinking it.
The Agnew angle is an interesting one, when Robbo was dismissed he was put on gardening leave. If Agnew is in the same place I cant see any reason for not saying so.
There’s nothing worse than a void to spawn rumour and innuendo.
The club have done themselves no favours in their actions but the biggest beneficiaries in the short term could be the Northern Echo, along with other papers they seem to have access to stories and interviews (as indeed do the Gazette who have chosen not to exercise that option in the current circumstances).
I don’t believe it is all one way, something must have triggered MFC’s actions, they were willing to talk to other Boro journalists so they are not freezing out the Gazette.
As I have posted before I cannot believe Dom and Jonno have done something wilfully to create such a backlash. They are hardly Bernie or Vic before he donned Uncle Eric’s cardie for goodness sake.
Someone has to pick up the phone and sort it out, either side will do. Gibbo and Eric Paylor would be a perfect combination.
Just posted a long post re Gazette v Boro which appears to have disappeared so i’ll have another go, if it re-appears apologies for repeating myself.
A spat between Gazette and Boro is not a good place for us to be. Us fans need a healthy relationship between the two its a vital part of the supporting experience
Whatever the issue it needs resolving pronto and in private.
We are about to embark on a season which I think we’re all excited about and where the aim is to ‘smash the league’, no small undertaking.
Disharmony spreads like a cancer as we all saw last season and we don’t need it.
I respect both organisations, Boro & Gazette and I trust the problem can be resolved quickly.
As for the idea that an organisation can report on itself, that wont be happening in my house, any organisation which chooses to report on itself is a dangerous one. I rarely read the Boro website because there can be no impartiality there.
For what its worth I don’t think exclusive self reporting is a Boro aim, I don’t sense any megalomaniacs within the Boro set up.
🔴 Your long post ended up in Spam Filter for no apparent reason other than it’s there – since it looks like you’ve managed to pretty much replicate your words I’ll leave it in the ether – werdermouth
Boro offered to give a Gary Monk interview to another EG reporter which did take place.
However the EG decided not to print the interview
This will not be sorted out soon unfortunately
OFB
Missed you bit about it going for weeks, stories have been appearing in publications before the Gazette for months not weeks, does your sixth sense (aka ears) tell you that DomJonnogate is just part of the issue?
Afraid I can’t break confidences on this one
Don’t care about Trinity Mirror!
Their website is awash with pop up ads and permenent ads. Since the Premium concept came into being the main stream content has been pithy.
You’ve got to pay for pithy Premium, which is a bit of a nonsense given recent events mean EG has blocked itself out of any exclusive info.
So, we’re moving on up and moving on out as the song goes.
Not forgetting there was little or no apologies from anyone at EG or consultation for the demise of Untypical.
So there!
Spartak
Don’t forget it was me that warned all bloggers of the change !
I didn’t just think about it !
I had good info from a reliable source
A Journalist is only as good as the news and stories they produce. If nobody bothers to read their work or find it remotely interesting then they are on a slippery slope. The Mirror group has destroyed huge parts of the Gazette, baby out with the bathwater syndrome if ever there was one. The ridiculous Video blogs are cringe worthy, awkward and embarrassing to view so I don’t. I don’t blame the local lads for this as it is very clearly a template that has been enforced from on high. I’ve said before that they are now like hamsters on a wheel desperately trying to generate and create newsworthy momentum. Trinity Mirror are dragging newspapers down to the lowest common denominator and are almost but not quite yet on a par with the Sun for garbage, distanced only by the thinnest of Hillsborough wedges.
Absolutely none of this is the fault of Phil, Dom, AV and Co. its a situation that they didn’t originally sign up for but have now found themselves in and as mere mortals with Mortgages to pay they can like it or lump it. They have been castigated in many places for being the clubs puppets or mouthpiece, now those same idiots are castigating them for being rubbish at their job and well done the club for dumping on them. Not on here I hasten to add but the level of stupidity is almost incredulous upon reading viewpoints elsewhere.
Thankfully we usually try and keep the debates on here to a reasonable level of thought and pragmatism (not always admittedly). My guess however is that that opinion may not necessarily be shared within the Riverside corridors of power. Having said that MFC cannot generate enough news and stories to feed the overly heavy Gazette’s team of Boro reporters, two of whom should be more than enough in my opinion.
The Club meanwhile seem to have seriously upped their Website and to me appears to want to generate their own News site. Something which I haven’t registered for as something just didn’t and now certainly doesn’t sit right with me. If they want to become a latter day Dennis Waterman and write their feem tune, sing their own feem tune then good luck but it won’t work. Why? Well put simply it will very shortly appear to be propaganda tool (pun intended) as soon as a few bad results occur. Credibility will go down quicker than a budget plughole unblocker. AV got huge amounts of stick for being in SG’s back pocket allegedly, can you imagine the nameless MFC web “reporter” defending why at 0-3 down at home to Burton Garry Monk was right to take off Assombalonga for Leadbitter with 15 minutes to go?
Whilst being in SG’s pocket and the club’s puppet mouthpiece may have been a bit strong and unfair now those alleged close ties have been severed (indeed savaged may be more appropriate) this leaves Journalists with free reign to uncover stories that will generate readership clicks:
“Boro wave goodbye to a long standing defender/midfielder/striker” take a look at todays latest pics from Rockliffe
or
“Boro outcast reveals what really went on in troubled dressing room bust ups”.
In trying to “control” what and the manner of what is reported MFC may just have opened Pandora’s box. Ironically the Gazette and the Boro public may now get the type of reporting and Journalism that they really want to dine on. Free of implied restrictions everything is now fair game. If I was a betting man a fight between seasoned qualified Journalists with a grudge against an amateurish PR spin department with a feckless history id a no contest, I know who my money is on and I’m sure there are lots of stories yet to be told and lots more that will now become fair game!
(Mark(@Boronurk)) “Basically, the club are reducing the ability of two journalists to pursue their livelihoods, and are giving no reason for doing so…”
(Spartakboro) “All team and team training photos coralled. Interviews with major personalities controlled an monitored. Online content ie. video, radio etc. to come under direct control…”
(Nikeboro) “…signs that the local rag is being frozen out as a prelude to MFC being the sole source of Boro news.”, “…MFC reporting: party line only. I expect rigorously censored pre-digested pap to emanate from the club. Boro Pravda.”
[Other posters’ opinions are available]
I think I am beginning to see the picture. MFC is busy getting itself prepared and in the appropriate shape for an imminent takeover by some obscure (in the western world) Chinese state sponsored monolith.
AV tweeted
Quote
It’s about unacceptable reporting restrictions…
Unquote
I’m also no fan of Trinity Mirror but I am a fan of the Evening Gazette and the guys on the sports desk in particular.
Middlesbrough forward Cristhian Stuani is in talks with three Spanish clubs about moving back to La Liga, TEAMtalk understands.
The 30-year-old has been with Boro since 2015 having arrived from Espanyol, and has scored 16 goals in 66 appearances – although most of his time on Teesside has seen him play out-wide.
ADVERTISING
Now Boro boss Garry Monk has given the green-light for his departure and a number of clubs have made approaches.
TEAMtalk understands there has been interest from China, Russia and his native South America – but he is keen on moving back to Spain, where he spent six years before joining Boro, with loan spells at Levante and Racing Santander prior to his move to Espanyol.
And we understand former club Espanyol are in talks to sign the Uruguayan, while newly promoted duo Girona and Leganes are also keen. Stuani’s Middlesbrough departure is expected to sealed over the weekend.
COULD Connor Ripley be coming back to Athletic?
John Sheridan admits he would “jump” on an opportunity of bringing back the outstanding Middlesbrough shot-stopper, given the chance.
Athletic are understood to have submitted to Boro an offer for Ripley (24) at the end of last season and since then, there has been some contact between the clubs over a player whose deal at the Riverside Stadium still has a season to run.
Ripley went with the first team to a week-long training camp in Portugal but, along with several other senior players, did not feature in Middlesbrough’s friendly at Mansfield last night.
New Boro boss Garry Monk is reportedly in the market for a new number one, with West Ham’s Darren Randolph the latest name linked.
That could freeze out Ripley, who last appeared for his home-town club in a senior game in January, 2012.
“If Connor is not playing at Middlesbrough then I am sure there will be a chance,” said Sheridan.
PLAYING
“I am sure he will love to come back if he is not going to be playing there.
“But I don’t really know. We have to look at one or two things. But if there was a possibility of Connor coming back then I would jump on it.”
Ripley kept 18 clean sheets for Athletic last season, famously saving two penalties in one game from Millwall’s Lee Gregory and proving himself the best goalkeeper in Sky Bet League One across the campaign.
Last week, Sheridan turned down the chance to take Leeds goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell on loan following a trial and at Curzon Ashton on Tuesday, fielded rookie Niklas Bolten between the posts.
As well as two new goalkeepers, Athletic’s manager also has on his shopping list a new holding player to play in a ‘three’ in midfield.
“I have to make sure it is the right goalkeeper and financially as well it has to be right,” Sheridan said. “We have to work around things.
“We need a holding midfield player and I could see that again at Curzon – a bit of a general who can stand in the middle of the pitch, make it look simple and read the game to keep things ticking over.
“It’s also about what formation I play. I am not comfortable playing with just two in the middle of the pitch as I don’t think I have the players in my squad to do that. It doesn’t worry me, as I have very rarely played with two in midfield since I’ve been here.
“I am not panicking. The chairman has been great so far and I don’t think we are too far away.
“I have got Dan Gardner and Courtney Duffus to come in and the squad is looking quite strong at the moment.”
I think most of us on here are a fan of both to some degree or other but what an absolute amateurish unprofessional way to deal with a situation. When both parties have loads of positives to focus on bigging up the manager, the signings, the squad, the new season some absolute tool finds something to court controversy.
United we stand and yet instead of building on the positive, jingoistic “Mighty Boro” vibe we have decided to pick open sores and wounds. If its someone in the club trying to flex new muscles or make a name for themselves then I would have them hastily removed. There was simply no need and no value in what the resultant fall out has been. If it was SG himself then as the head of the organisation I really despair if true, hopefully not.
Reality is that other forums are now being derisory towards the club and its chairman in a week when we have just broken the clubs transfer record. It may have been deliberately timed thinking that the positive signing hype would have everyone on the clubs side but it appears that MFC has now just reared its ugly head again.
RR
Difficult for EG to run ‘spoilers’ when they don’t have access. If they come over all critical they’ll get an online tsunami of ‘traitor’ posts.
It would of course been better for all if they had worked it all out over champers n voly vonts at the Riverside, but too late now.
MFC are a stubborn crew and wil not shy away from turning the screw tighter.
A Winner
Look at the financial foundations. Who loses most EG or MFC? Peeps will get their Boro dose from the Northern Echo football dealer.
I have tweeted this to the Boro @Boro The dispute that is going on with MGN Gazette is not beneficial to either party. No emails no posturing get round a table face to face
The other thing is the Gazette have publicised all the good work done by MFC foundation is this going to suffer because of a dispute
The other thing is the Gazette have publicised all the good work done by MFC foundation is this going to suffer because of a dispute ????
York City Academy striker Gabriel McGill has joined Championship outfit Middlesbrough for a “sizeable” fee.
The sixteen-year-old son of football club chairman Jason agreed a two-year scholarship with the Teessiders in a move that will generate substantial funds for the development of young players at Bootham Crescent.
McGill had actually been poised to sign a scholarship deal with York, until Boro’s significant offer was accepted. However, those funds received will be used to boost City’s Academy.
Meanwhile, an agreement was simultaneously reached to develop links between the two clubs at Academy level. Boro will also play a pre-season friendly at Bootham Crescent next summer.
“I am leaving with mixed emotions but the offer and the opportunity is difficult to turn down,” McGill told York’s offical website. “I know it has been a hard decision for my Dad too. As a parent, he wants to make me happy and, as chairman, he wants to do the best for his football club.
“However, I can honestly say that he has done the best for everyone in this situation,” he added. “I am really happy to be signing for Middlesbrough but there is also a bit of sadness that I won’t now make my debut for York City.
“I have supported this club since I was three-years-old and it was always my dream to play for the first team.”
Read more: http://www.york.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=497994#ixzz4nNjfTU6d
Bob
This can’t be true as it didn’t appear on the MFC news site first and as for that “sizeable” fee, shoddy Journalism at its worst I’m afraid. I hope I see a protest announcement decrying the misinformation or lack of it. Where is the transparency, transparency I say or is it because I can’t handle it?
By the way I wonder what the hold up is on Downing, haven’t seen anything about it “officially” yet loads of speculation on numerous news websites. Misinformation and scurrilous rumour mongering, ban them, ban them all I say, orf wiv their eads!
BCFC want Boro to pay part of his wages and Downing won’t take a drop on wages
All talking round a table at present
Spartak
Disagree entirely on this one.
News is only information that people will be interested in reading for whatever reason. Trinity Mirror have Journalists all over the UK who are well connected with football clubs. That is another 91 potential “sources” plus most updates appear on social media (including here) well before any official announcements (cites Assombalonga). I won’t mention the “scandal” that the parent group attained notoriety for. Taking on a business with an annual T/O of over £600m is not going to be a roll over and play dead scenario. Trinity Mirror is the largest British newspaper, magazine and digital publisher.
The simple truth is that once something becomes “illegal” it simply goes underground but doesn’t disappear, in fact its usually the opposite its desirability and value is increased. There will also be the sacred brotherhood of Journalists who will no doubt be aware already of what is going on and why and probably in far greater detail than anything that has seeped out to date. Of course a few locals may wish to take short term advantage but as has just been shown it is cyclical and would be wise to heed that.
I don’t believe based on past history that MFC have either the intellect or capability to take on Journalists at their own game, they struggle enough trying to sort out a football shirt at the best of times let alone run the club based on last season alone. I’m sure there is blame on both sides but I’m a great believer in sticking to what you do best and MFC’s new website isn’t going to pull up any tree stumps anytime soon. Will MFC build a Mexican Trump style wall around Rockliffe?
We can’t get our daily dose from the Northern echo without subscribing so that definitely isn’t going to happen. When Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Club almost died in ’86 the Gazette would have still survived.
The Club has relied and indeed needed AV and co. to keep putting a positive spin on things in bleaker times when the crowd figures for example appeared shall we say “questionable”. If the Gazette is no longer of value to the club then fair enough but I think the Club needs the Gazette more than the Gazette needs the club. This blog (and others) is testimony that you don’t necessarily need up to the second news to generate interest. What has now changed however is that the tone of the news and opinion pieces are without the implied shackles.
Will we get “transparency” on the Downing deal from the club for example if not is it beyond the realms of possibility for a Journalist to do some digging? There would have been no value to the Gazette to conduct such a piece previously as it would have been counter productive. Of course its all about timing, its foolhardy to produce something when the mood isn’t right but as the saying goes, revenge is a desert best served cold, consequently for MFC’s sake they better had “Smash” this league.
Keeping us all in the dark about Aggers and Leo for example only works if nobody asks pertinent questions or goes looking for answers.
I come back to the key point in all this, journalists, including those from the Gazette have access to the club.
The Dom and Jonno exclusion just baffles me.
I am a bit like Fred Trueman ‘I don’t know what’s going off out there’
I understand OFB cannot say more and respect him for that. I have been in the same position down here in Derby with bits of information.
If there is a Dom and Jonno “issue” then it doesn’t take a genius to raise an objection and then call a meeting to straighten things out over what is and is not acceptable and why.
I can see no reason why the Gazette wouldn’t agree to it unless of course it was ridiculous if indeed a discussion has occurred. Therein lies the problem, its very clear something has gone off but no one outside the inner circle knows what so the guessing and speculation has commenced along with mischievous filling in of the gaps. There are no winners in these scenarios, put simply, us oldies on here know that with experience you don’t get yourself into those situations in the first place.
Who says the Gazette don’t want to talk ?
It takes two to tango !
RR
The proof of the puddi is in the eating!
The next three months or so will determine the mood music. If Boro are doing well then the EG will by necessity have to blw a chorus of triumphal trumpets (that’s articles to you and me). If it darkens as we head towards shorter daylight hlurs then a degree of rabble rousing may appear.
The Trinity Mirror Group is no collection of mutually supportive breathren. It’s a media monster who will never hessitate to cut away weak links. This is a local dispute between two entities who are hardly recognised in the big smoke. The importance is merely in how much revenue can be created. If that falls below a certain level then the axe will not be slow in appearance.
Capitalism at its finest.
Which is why with all bets off the Gazette would have free reign and increased necessity to write what they feel will get them the most clicks. The different papers in the group all speak and all share information, even as I type the Brum Mail is sharing a non story on Downing “sourced2 from the Gazette boys on why the “deal” is stalling.
Could it be that Stewy quite rightly wants his two years remaining Boro salary up front as a signing on fee in lieu of a transfer fee? Question now is who pays it, Boro because after all he is contracted to them or from a Boro perspective Birmingham because they are getting him for nowt? I’m sure all of this will have been discussed, explained and agreed upon prior to Stewy talking to Arry. 😉
Could it be…..
Wanderin into speculation there, RR. Reminds me of ‘our sources tell us…’ all highly dubious if you dont mind me sayin.
Could it be….. that MFC want to slap a confidentiality cause into Downings transfer so he can’t blab.
Your guess is as good as mine.
What a stonker of a story ‘Gazette exclusive -Downing spills the beans SHOCKER!’
Spartak
Darn it I should have started with “a nervous well connected source at an exclusive sandy resort on the South Coast has hinted that…….
Far more credibility than all this speculation malarkey, just click when you see the header. Maybe they couldn’t get Stewy’s Labrador to sign the papers, nudge nudge.
🙂
EG lost me when they got rid of the pink edition, still have some from way back,when AV was reporting on Billigham and the like.
Seriously though, they didn’t help matters last season with their Hyeena like attacks on Aitor , all that does is distabalise fans and some within the club and their own agenda.
It does put the owner under pressure to do things, and as it turned out, not very good.
As far as I’m concerned , the EG is becoming irrelevent.
I’m beginning to think the Gazette is irrelevant too.
I am sat far away from Teesside so to me the relevance of the Gazette has diminished over time as the Mirror Group has standardised it’s offering. I don’t subscribe to Premium Boro and am becoming less inclined over time.
The blog going just completed the process. I am becoming indifferent to the coverage, I can find what I need on here, Newsnow, snippets from the Echo. I know the Northern Echo is subscription but I only use it occasionally.
Despite all that I would like the Gazette and MFC to be on talking terms so I can turn my nose up at Premium Boro.
I don’t think MFC are trying to be the sole mouthpiece for the club, articles appear elsewhere, they are willing to talk to certain parties at the Gazette.
It is frustrating nonsense.
Ian
I have copywrite on the term ‘nonsense’, so please refrain from ots useage with my Daily Mail permossion.
🙂
Utter bunkem, or nonsense to you and me 😉
I’ve posted a couple of times how, if you use a laptop or tablet and Internet Explorer, you can bypass the ads, pop-ups and any subscription for ‘Premium Boro’ and read the content. You don’t get the podcasts and most of the pictures, but the you can read the articles. This works also for the Northern Echo and, as I have said previously, the Guardia, Daily Mail, and most other newspapers.
I smiled as I read on the WestHamWorld site that a “reliable journalist” is claiming Boro have done a deal with the Hammers to buy Randolph. I wonder who that might be….
If its a “reliable” Journalist then it can’t be anyone from the Gazette then clearly! (removes tongue from cheek).
Its in the Daily Mail now so it must be true 🙂 £4.5m allegedly, speculatively, figuratively speaking or thereabouts give or take a million or so of course and that may or maybe not include, add ons, agents fees,etc. so it pretty much could be anything I guess because I don’t really know and wouldn’t want to misinterpret or worse still misinform in this new era of transparency.
How much did that lad from York cost again?
Dalla..I must have missed your commemt on how to bypass all the rubbish ext…is it possible to repeat the info …thank you
Braveheart
I am not a techy as it were, but it is very simple. When you are on the internet, Click on the ‘Tools’ button in the top right hand corner; select ‘Internet Options’ and a dialogue box opens; click the ‘Security’ tab – the default level will probably show ‘Medium-High on the slider – set this to ‘High’ by simply sliding the blue slider; then click the ‘Privacy’ tab at the top of he dialogue box, then click the ‘Advanced’ button – you will probably have ‘First Party Cookies’ and ‘Third Party Cookies’ set to accept – change these two to ‘Block’ and press ‘OK’; then press ‘Apply’ and the ‘OK’;
Then go onto the EG website and that’s it. Many websites require the use of cookies so to use site that require them, simply reverse the above. It’s simple once you’ve done it a couple of times (I think Werdermouth call what I’ve described as disabling JavaScript)
No more adverts, or pop-ups and no subscription fee. I didn’t know the Northern Echo was apparently subscription, but I can read all of their football content. Personally, I always do the above before I read any newspaper on the internet. Hope this helps. By the way, ‘Premium Boro’ is really, really not worth a button. May be even less now given the MFC situation.
I think that Northern Echo changed their policy as I can read all of their football content ,too. It changed about the same time as they switched to the current format on they web site.
I think this spat between Gazette and MFC is ridiculous. The Gazette is not the worst paper and quite often speculate less than others do. And it must be the most common resource for info for older fans of the club.
As an outsider I haven’t noticed anything abnormal in the Gazette’s web pages recently. They know their business.
Up the Boro!
Thank you very much
Me too
At the end of the day (to use a much loved football cliche) whatever the Gazette’s Dom and Jon said or did was so earth-shatteringly damaging to MFC that no-one outside the club seems to have any idea what it was they did.
To the outsider it appears to be a petty squabble and It’s probably something that should have been just simply ignored or either politely rebuked face-to-face – it just appears that the club have made ‘einen Berg aus einem Maulwurfshügel’ as the famous German saying goes…
Though on principle I’m against blacklisting journalists for writing something that an organisation didn’t like – it may be annoying if inaccurate but we presumably still want a free press. So it’s far better to publicly state your case than freeze out those you disagree with – you don’t want to be in the same box as the likes of Trump if you can avoid it I would suggest.
Weirder
I would suggest that the journo’s know the inside story of every dodgy thing that the club/players have ever pulled, and furthermore there are some amazing stories which were killed by the local rag in a real spirit of self sacrifice.
In view of this it may be a good thing that they are now free to tell it like it is, there are plenty of people who have all the details, including quotes, ready and willing to spill the beans.
I can remember the entertaining stories that came out after the event and via the national press during the Robbo years. Quite wonderful.
The Trinity Mirror Group have always had a reputation for (shall we say) being economical with the truth and sensationalising stories which it thinks the public “have a right to know” and are one of the forerunners of the “gutter” press.
Now I’m not saying that the Gazette has or ever had that reputation, but one wonders what pressure its journalists are now being put under by TMG to find a story by investigative means, and it seems that MFC have taken the hump.
MFC probably feel that speculation damages its intentions, and will reveal all when (or if) speculation becomes fact. I can see the sense in that, but as has been said by contributors to this forum, perhaps MFC’s stance should have been made more diplomatically.
If someone would like to succinctly explain the problem with the streaming service and MFC reluctance to join then I will pass it on to relevant people
Not promising anything though I’m only the messenger !
Is there anybody out there who fancies starting an independent local newspaper in Teesside? MFC may be willing to subsidise such a venture.
We have one it’s called
Diasboro !
Re earlier post by Powmill-Naemore and a reliable journalist
It can only our own Diasboro journalist OFB!
Randolph obviously fancies playing his football in a proper football stadium.
Another piece of the jigsaw soon to be in place it would appear.
Ripley on his way and Dimi on the bench.
Would have liked Ripley to be given a chance but I guess GM thinks otherwise, so I wish him well.
Ripley that is!
Although I also wish GM well, of course.
I see Scott Wilson from the Echo has a piece entitled “Middlesbrough reaping the rewards of astute ownership as they prepare for promotion push”.
Maybe its just me but I cringed with embarrassment when I seen the headline (didn’t read it as I’ve apparently read 4 articles in the last 30 years or something of that magnitude). Maybe the content made more comfortable reading.
So it’s “astute management” is it?” As I recall the UK’s newest nuclear submarine is called “Astute” and according to those in the know it is “slow, leaky, rusty and full of design flaws”. So calling MFC management “astute” couldn’t be more apt!
Am I the only one who doesn’t understand the new management’s apparent lack of interest in Connor Ripley. He has proved himself to be an excellent prospect in a tough division and yet there are now suggestions that he is going to be sold. I don’t understand it. He has to be a better bet for the future than Dimi, notwithstanding the sentimental attachment that we all have towards him.
If Randolph or some other potential number one comes in, I would expect that Meijas goes and that Ripley is given the chance to fight for the number one spot. Dimi is a great stopgap and this final contract is a justified reward for his service but we have to look towards the future.
In fact, its great to see Monk and his team having a really good look at the youngsters. If we can get serious game time out of Chapman, Fry, Soisalo and others, so much the better for the bank balance and the future.
Regarding the MFC/EG spat, I would hope that they can get themselves sorted out. We all know that, even in the best of circumstances, the MFC site can never be expected to be more than a source of up to date news and some general background plus a load of video material that, to be honest, will be the only real reason for signing up to the site.
There has to be an external voice that raises questions. At the moment it looks as if that is just as likely to be DiasBoro as the EG. The only risk is that we will get OFB banned from the ground because he is such a great source of info.
Anyway, its hard not to get excited as we appear to have made a number of very good signings and acquired a manager who wants to attack. What more can we ask for at this stage. Monk does, of course, have the luxury of building on the excellent defensive structures that AK implemented and I am certainly not going to fall in line with the ‘AK was crap’ line. He just wasn’t right to be our manager in the Premiership.
UTB
Who said AK was crap? A disaster, yes, but crap, no!
Selwynox
No, you’re not the only one who doesn’t understand Monk’s reluctance to give Connor Ripley his chance; I’m with you on that.
In my opinion Dimi can only be third choice as back up. Yes, we do need another experienced goalkeeper for competition with Connor, but what is it that Boro’s managers seem to have against our current keepers? First we had Karanka not liking Jason Steele, then both he and Agnew not deeming Dimi suitable for a Premier League team.
So now Dimi, almost having a season’s sabbatical, is rusty and a year older, and our manager apparently doesn’t rate Connor. Oldham were fighting relegation last season, and I would imagine their defence would have been overrun at times, and yet this lad had a remarkable record of clean sheets.
For goodness sake, the lad deserves his chance!
werder
wrote a long comment about Ripley and MFC/EG that seems to have vanished. is there some e-quarantine somewhere that holds these blasphemous thoughts?
🔴 That’ll be the infamous Spam filter – I’ve despammed it and as usual can’t see anything obvious to upset it – werdermouth
Wots the skinny, Werder?
I mention journalistic independence, HoP MP’s & two groups supporting two Middle East countries & puff pastry the post disappears.
🔴 Sorry I’ve got no posts from you waiting for approval in any of my folders – perhaps darker forces skimmed it out of the ether and maybe you’ll get a knock on the door in the early hours by two men holding a specially designed hood to wear on your long journey to a secret location – werdermouth
Is it true Spartak has been taken to a shady copse by the banks of the Tees where there were two recently dug mounds a now third has now been freshly dug with a hastily written sign erected “SAP” (Spartak, Agnew, Percovich) as a warning to keep away?
On Selwyn’s point about OFB getting banned, don’t worry the nom de plume is just a cover. Bob is really very tall, athletic physique, tanned with a chiselled jaw and gives that Clooney bloke a run for his money, they will never spot him.
I didn’t know that we had met to describe me so well!
Damn my cover is blown…..
As for getting banned I have always tried to be fair and impartial
If this thing with the Gazette had blown up a week earlier I was with the suits at Rockliffe I’ll now have to wait until the next home game to express our opinions of getting round the table
I’ll be back!
Rendition will not dissuade me. The truth MUST be told- an imperative.
🙂
Love your posts Spartak
I should mention that OFB bagged the 10,000th post since we started a little earlier – so congratulations for that milestone! Release the balloons… 🎈🎈🎈
I bet that’s not what MFC would like to release but despite Theresa’s best efforts Bob hunting is now banned as a sport in this country.
Even in Scotland ?
Did I not know that ?
Thanks for that I think the balloon has already gone up!!
Original Fat Bourne
Identity?
300 for OFB according to my browser – well done old chap!!
OFB
He was ‘Bourne to be alive!’
5 points – Name that singer!
Patrick Hernandez
Simples
With the 300 nailed clearly a case of Old Fat Bourne Supremacy.
Maybe you could give the suits and Gazette an Ultimatum, then we would have some Legacy.
I suspect in Bob’s case (and many others of us on here) it may be more a case of the Bourneville Legacy!
I should cocoa
I see we are allegedly linked with an interest in Jordan Obita from Reading. It is on the HITC website so I take things on there with a pinch of salt as it is mostly regurgitated from other sources but with Fabio seemingly wanting to go back to Brazil it may hold water. At 23 there is good potential but Reading have yet to improve his contract and give him an extension which ends next season.
http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/07/21/report-middlesbrough-fulham-hull-and-birmingham-enquire-about-re/
I suspect it is more who is available and who needs a LB rather than genuine Boro interest. More than likely “leaked” from his agent accidentally over a glass of Chardonnay. No mention of fees or wages so that could be a deal maker in the eyes of MFC perhaps?
Where’s Aggers?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2587/3762052013_1b112099be_o.jpg
“Check MFC Website”
Nope, not there!
Is he one of the puppets inside the red and white stripey tent?
I think he could be the bloke at the very bottom of the picture, central looking at his watch wondering if his times up yet!
“Another 6 hours and I can come out of hiding”
Redcar looks busy.
UTB,
John
Walking his dog, whilst the players are training at Hurworth…..
It would be nice if the club could confirm whether, having arrived at the club, the new manager has met or even spoken to Aggers. There are whispers that a meeting had been planned for yesterday but, if that is correct, why the wait? Who is in charge here?
Difficult keeping an eye on this blog; just spilt my coffee as Lee Westwood sinks an eagle from the fairway rough. Think I’ll have to concentrate on the Open until he and Rory finish their rounds.
Oh, but hang on Poulter will then be due to tee off!
Focus, man! Where’s yer head?
🙂
What’s all this about golf on a football blog…. it’s just not cricket old man!
Hey, less of the “old man”, I’m not 80 till January.
I can see Aggers on the picture, isn’t he the one leading the Gestede, sorry I meant donkey, giving kids a ride the beach. I always said Gibbo would have a role for them on Teesside.
Just as well it isn’t Seal Sands.
Ken
What are you going to day at 8.30, watch the golf or concentrate on Yorkshire in the T20?
Well, what a problem Ian. Unfortunately the cricket isn’t on TV, the golf won’t finish till about 9pm, and Super League is from 8pm.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Life ain’t easy!
Ken
Sorry, make that 6.30pm
I’ll follow it on’t internet then.
There may be commentary on Radio Tha Knows – aka BBC Leeds.
Breaking news, MFC stewards move to jobs in London.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40679075
Nice one, Ian.
I must say I am staggered those council officials …….. No! I will leave it at that.
OFB
Next time you meet the suits, please tell them to get their fingers out and sort this EG fiasco as quickly as possible. We need everybody pulling together this season, not petty squabbles going on.
Clive
Nobody will talk that’s the problem !
If people just respond by email and don’t speak face to face no amount of writing can alleviate the problem
I spent a few years in dispute resolution and in the end everyone has to compromise
OFB
I can see why GM wouldn’t want to risk making Ripley no.1, he’s building a team for a ‘smash the league’ promotion push, taking a risk on a young inexperienced goalie is probably a risk which doesn’t need to be taken.
Giving him a chance isn’t a wise option, if he doesn’t take that chance then where are we? Maybe the plan is for Ripley to be the no.2 keeper this year, I could see merit in that idea.
As for Boro being an astutely run club, of course it is, anyone looked at Sunderland or Hull recently to name but two?
Nigel
It was the apparent sycophantic manner of the article and its ingratiating nature in lieu of what is presently going on with the Gazette that was the point rather than whether or not SG and MFC are astute (I haven’t met many self made millionaires who aren’t astute and a whole lot more besides). I just found the timing of it a bit cringeworthy and somewhat brown nosing, of course it may just have been accidentally coincidental.
MFC aside the Gazette has been damaged locally by its forced adoption of the Trinity Mirror blueprint both in appearance and in its content (pages upon pages of Mirror produced “filler” dross). The Northern Echo on the other hand is still a genuine local North East paper run in the NE for the people of the NE and in particular the Darlington, Teesside, South Durham, N Yorks folk. I can see that SG may have more leanings towards them now especially after the Century Radio (3 legends) v BBC Tees switch a few years back.
Since tha moved to North Midlands, Ian, does tha say “me duck” or still say “mate” or “pal” ?
My Lancastrian friends think I sound like a Geordie cos I say “pet”, but I put that down to watching too many repeats of “Auf Wiedersehen”.
I suppose that all Yorkshireman know that the President of Zimbabwe Mugabe is “e ba gum” backwards.
Ken
Plenty of me ducks but not from me. They look askance at me when they say hello duck and I bob down!
I don’t use mate or pal much either, I think that is because I have worked all over England so have got out of using terms like that. Still have a Teesside accent.
I must admit I hadn’t thought of Mugabe as an anagram.
What does intrigue me is that you are right, Derby is in the north midlands but is called the East Midlands, The East Midlands stretches way over towards Cheshire.
Parts of it are to the west of some the West Midlands such as Coventry.
Staffordshire is in the western half of the midlands especially the northern part but is adjoined to the East Midlands and the West Midlands which is in the south.
Did you follow that.
Much easier being born south of the Tees therefore belonging to the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire
Just spotted Leo in RR’s Where’s Aggers picture, doing some goal-keeper coaching near the red yacht on the left.
I think I’ve spied Aggers himself, middle close to the right edge, practicing for his new role at the club on match days, vending ice cream…
Well Stuani has now officially departed for Girona but the fee can’t be revealed due to some sort of privacy clause (seriously what is there that has to kept “private” and who put the clause in and why?).
I’m disappointed as I would have loved to see what he could have done as a Striker because a Winger he certainly wasn’t. Good luck to him as he joins up with Espinosa.
Ken
Yorks beat warwockshire bears by 29 runs.
What was so special about Cristhian Stuani?
Well, for one thing, except against West Ham, every time he scored we achieved something big. Or won.
A right place at the right time kind of guy with a worldie in him. He was everything Rhodes was and more.
Too bad we never saw enough of that.
Of course, I wish him all the best. And to me, he’s probably best out of it – I felt for him, as he seemed right at the centre of the Big Nasty Aitor vs Poor Ickle Jordan argument. (It’s never that simple.)
Sorry Simon I know I have had a few glasses of rosado cava but you have lost me with the Stuani v Jordan reference – can you clarify?
I wish Stuani well and as I posted earlier it is probably a good deal if we get our money back (who knows with a confidentiality clause) and removes another of the Spanish speaking experiment.
My understanding was that he was liked by a large proportion of Boro supporters but we never heard any interviews with him (presumably because his English was limited) and he has so far not taken the opportunity to say farewell. At least the likes of Negredo took the time and trouble to do so.
Sorry, KP, I’ll elaborate.
It’s an inkling on my behalf – that he was never appreciated to the extent Rhodes was. Even after Rhodes was gone, he was booed after coming on to the pitch to replace Adama. Perhaps Adomah vs Stuani, because Stuani was forced on to the right repeatedly, was the real issue?
Dimi vs Valdes, Nsue/Fabio vs Barragan, Adomah v Stuani, Stuani/Negredo vs Rhodes… that kind of thing. Divisive opinions over “fan favourites” and “manager favourites” that, to my eyes, got so extreme they spilled over into toxicity.
Barragan & Espinosa weren’t up to it, but they didn’t deserve the vitriol they seemed to be getting.
I’m not sure vitriol is ever appropriate, but I think as supporters we have the right to criticize a professional footballer who seems incapable of taking a legitmate throw-in. Could even forgive a mistake, maybe when the player is trying to push it, to get as much distance or whatever, but then to repeat the mistake again, and again, and again? It is, after all, a basic skill of football most learn very young.
Mr Barragan – take a bow.
Thanks Simon I now understand where you are coming from albeit I had not appreciated the extent to which some fans had allowed their feelings for individuals to become so extreme.
It perhaps is a bit reminiscent of the “chicken run” which those of us who attended Ayresome Park all those years ago experienced.
I’m really confused as I don’t recall any Rhodes v Stuani vitriol or bad feeling from the supporters at all. I was one of his biggest critics but it was as Stuani the winger not Stuani the player. The lad done his best but he was a square peg in a round hole which was entirely the fault of a blinkered and bloody minded Manager.
Stuani bizarrely was not considered or given a chance as a striker and Rhodes was never considered a Winger (which actually made sense). I know the reasoning about him playing wide for Uruguay but getting back and defending under Karanka and the difference in team mates around him makes a difference as does the actual competition you are playing and in that role Stuani was flawed in the Premiership. Not his fault as I doubt Ben Gibson would have fared any better as a winger in the Premiership.
Any boos were not for Stuani himself but for AK’s choice of substitution from memory of which there were a few more boos as his reign continued and ridiculous ineffective substitutions were made to negatively cling onto GD. Stuani cost us games when he was brought on against Leicester for example or away at Derby in the Championship when he first arrived. He couldn’t tackle a Yorkshire Pudding and didn’t posses the pace (or skills) to fly down the flanks but give him an opportunity on goal and he was as composed a Striker as any I’ve seen at the Riverside. For me (and I think most fans sat around me) Stuani will be remembered as a wasted opportunity.
This brings me to my next issue, something I raised earlier – we will not move on as a club until we learn to move on. It’s the flaw in every football fan, and pundit, I think – cling on to our favourites while failing to accept that transition happens at every club and must be dealt with for the greater good of team unity.
Burnley lost Ings, Trippier, Gray and now Keane, but look to have happily accepted their replacements. Bournemouth lost Ritchie but moved on. Why can’t we?
The club have agreed a deal in principle with West Ham United to sign goalkeeper Darren Randolph, subject to a medical and personal terms.
The Republic of Ireland international will travel to Rockliffe Park on Saturday in anticipation of finalising the move.
The 30-year-old will bring a wealth of experience, having made almost 350 career appearances since making his debut for Charlton Athletic in the Premier League 10 years ago.
Randolph, who had a number of loan spells during his time as young player at Charlton, has since been with Motherwell and Birmingham City, before joining the Hammers.
The Irishman, who has 21 caps for his country and played in every game in Euro 2016 for the Republic, made 22 Premier League appearances for West Ham last season.
Randolph looks set to be the sixth new face to be added to Garry Monk’s squad this summer. He will follow Jonny Howson, Cyrus Christie, Martin Braithwaite, Connor Roberts (loan), and Britt Assombalonga into the club.
We should never have sold Albert 😉
Stuani like most of the other players from outside the UK, was one of the ones the EG didn’t accept or support, maybe because he didn’t have the laungage skills and seemed aloof.
not so?
It could be one of those reasons the club have had enough, of negative press,and mean to move in a different direction.
I think part of the problem was that Karanka did decide who was interviewed and who was not. Also the club did not introduce the new players to the press. I just wonder why the club did not use the free press more. Strange way of running a commercial business – especially so as the club needs the supporters and need to sell seasts on the stands at the Riverside.
Up the Boro!
Karanka was too autocratic and dictatorial.
He employed a press agent and gave interviews to the New York Times and was on Sky TV as a guest.
The purpose of this was to promote his own abilities to make him a saleable commodity in the football world.
We needed his discipline when he came to Boro but allegedly went too far for example stopping the Boro support staff from arranging trips out for the Boro Players Children!
OFB
It seems Fabio would like to return to Brazil, and Cruzario want him but can’t afford him?
This could be an opportunity for Boro to look at their squad and get a bargain,
They have a forward I liked who I noticed in the last U21 world cup Judivan ,he can play wide or up front, he’s taller but has a Aguero type body,and uses it,
The only worry is, is that he’s been out with a ligement injury,and I’m not sure how serious.
We could bring him in to look at,
Nothing to lose
Disappointing for Connor, it will be interesting to see if he is loaned out again to continue building his experience, or whether he will be kept with us to allow him to compete for the jersey. The second option would show that he is actively being considered as a potential starter at this level. Time is on his side. The signing of Randolph, if it happens, seems like a safety first decision because the guy has played well in the Prem, so could do a job now and be valuable cover or first choice if we go up.
The Connor, Dimi, Tomas Mejias threesome may simply be considered not strong enough in terms of strength in depth. It’s possible for two keepers to be injured.
I will still look at EG even if they and the club continue the stand-off. It’s still interesting to read the opinion pieces, and the EG may be better if they can’t fill pages with fairly meaningless player interviews (along the lines of ‘It’s always nice to win / bad to lose’). For example, Dom picked out three players who did particularly well at Mansfield, and that seems useful information which has relevance for the squad in the coming season.
The fact is that when clubs deny access to local journalists it inevitably means that the club’s reputation suffers, because outsiders will automatically assume that the club has problems it wants to cover up, or that someone senior at the club has developed a personal grudge for some reason. Disputes with the local paper can end by turning a club into a laughing stock.
If they do it as stupidly as by telling a journalist he is not welcome to interview the manager while another journalist is OK, making it look personally vindictive; or by referring an issue to their website which says nothing about the issue, it is absolutely awful PR for the club, making them look arrogant and cynical.
I’m guessing that EG may have printed speculation about a club transfer target, and this made it harder to sign the target??? I know SG has said recently that is a concern for him.
Mark
We must remember that MFC have not denied access to the Gazette, the Gazette published an MFC interview with Assombalonga for example.
There is the bizarre situation where two of the n, where n is large and tends to infinity, Gazette journalists have been denied access. From the outside the fact they are Dom and Jonno baffles me.
I don’t expect MFC to go public and say why, I expect MFC and the Gazette to sort it out.
Why is this important? Because it prevents stories getting distorted, the situation is daft and from the outside shouldn’t have happened but the Gazette have not been banned.
That doesn’t stop us wondering what MFC are up to.
Ian
Liked the comment “it prevents stories becoming distorted”
When two parties who’s interests are mutually opposed get together they intend to distort the news.
So the row is good news for the fans, the local rag will always be fully informed long before the club itself hears about, (take your pick) punch ups, sexual goings on, financial manoeuvres in the dark, blunders, of any sort, by anybody.
The list is endless.
Nice message from Stuani.
From what I have read he was no trouble at all, got on with his job.
How on earth do we let Stuani go instead of Gestede? He has never played in his rightful position, but still had goals in him, and has never given the club any bother off the field unlike his fellow countryman Ramirez.
Whilst on the subject of Ramirez, I personally would pay off his contract and get rid. In my opinion even before his transfer request, he was so overrated. One always had the feeling he would do something ridiculous and get sent off which I think overshadowed his irregular signs of occasional brilliance. With his past when playing for Southampton and Hull City, not worth the risk of signing him in the first place in my opinion.
Am I being naive, but why are we looking for a number 10 at all costs? Why shouldn’t we play a system that suits the players we have? Are we now going to do the same with Bamford as we did with Stuani by playing a natural goal scorer out of position? It rather looks like it to me.
I would forget 4231 and play a system which embraces the players we already have; Assombolanga and Bamford as twin strikers with Braithwaite and Traore (or hopefully Ojo) as wingers. It may sound old fashioned but I recall that Billy Day (or Arthur Kaye) and Eddie Holliday didn’t do too badly, did they?
You are not wrong Ken, and through the fog of nostalgia as I remember they were quite exciting to watch too.
UTB,
John
That’s fair comment, Ian. It would make more sense if the club came out with something like: (if transfers is the problem)
‘The Gazette has prematurely released information about certain transfer targets which has made it more difficult for the club to complete the signings. In view of this, no member of the club staff will speak to the Gazette about transfer targets until the current transfer window is closed. We will then discuss new guidelines for transfer targets with the Gazette.’
Then everyone would know the issue and would probably sympathise with the club, and no individual journalist would have been blacklisted.
At the moment the club have put themselves in the wrong, leading to speculation about what is happening within the club, and theories about why they might be doing this which don’t reflect well on the club, such as to commercially advantage their own new website.
For sure, the image of the club is a long way off the very high regard it had a year ago, and that’s a pity for all of us.
Wild guess, Mark!
How’s about MFC shared some juicy info with the two journo’s with the understanding that they keep it to themselves until issues were sorted and didn’t.
Am I close OFB?
Just speculatin like!
Stuani
His English writing is very good!
He’s got comma’s and full stops in all the write places,. And he don’t use ‘And’ at the beginning of a sentence.
Top bloke I’d say- now why as GM sold him?
Lack of speed perhaps, can’t place him on the right or left wing? Got not one but three main strikers who have proven 20 goal scoring ability at this level.
Difficult decision that one.
Still, loved his goals against the Mackems and the Seagulls.
Happy days
UTB
I think 4-2-3-1 can be seen as very attacking minded formation. The one we saw under Karanka is different to the one used by Wenger at Arsenal.
How do we call the “three” in there? We often go for “attacking midfielder” but there should be also a word like “midfielding attacker”. The problem is that the new system does not fit in to the old words we are used to.
Secondly, as my friend often reminds me, the formation (4-2-3-1) is totally different thing than tactics. He has been coaching for a long time and is often annoyed that we – supporters and even some young players – mix these two words.
For example you can have two holding midfielders in the formation and ask them just to defend and keep their position when their team have the ball. Or you could tell one of them always attack when you have the ball.
So formation often does not say how we play under Monk. Interesting times ahead, me recons.
Up the Boro!
Yes, I don’t actually think transfers is the issue, Spartak, because at the time of Monk’s press conference we weren’t really very active on signings. Something went on before then presumably.
But the PR people at the club must know that this situation is a PR disaster and the only people who benefit are the other 23 Championship clubs.
Its possible something sensitive was released that the club didn’t want out in the public domain. If it was down to Journalistic interpretation and opinion then shame and disgrace on MFC.
If I had a strop or hissy fit every time someone said something unpleasant about me or expressed an opinion on me I don’t think I’d have much time to get on with what is important in life. Water off a ducks back, deal with it, man up and prove people wrong with your actions not words.
It appears that the “spat” was prior to Assombalonga arriving. From chronological memory it was the Irish edition of the Sun that first claimed Assombalonga was going to Boro and how we had outbid Burnley and Watford. It was then picked up by other agencies and social media. The Gazette then repeated what seemed to be the general consensus, poor journalism maybe but they were hardly isolated or the source.
The Club didn’t make any immediate official announcement (compare with the Randolph story) so with the lack of “Transparency” from the club on the matter what did they think was going to happen? What happened was exactly the same as every other Football transfer since time immemorial, the papers print breaking news not yesterdays stories. The 24 hour old MFC website story came after the entire nation had printed or tweeted the Assombalonga signing.
Like the iFollow farce the club released that it wasn’t taking part, then a few days later announced what they were going to do. Heavens above it doesn’t take a PR genius to work out that you announce both at the same time to say you are not doing iFollow but instead are doing a fantastic Boro website thing as an alternative.
The tagged on bit about De Roon was ridiculous, trying to announce new openness and transparency whilst giving out information kept hidden, concealed or not countered for 12 months is hypocrisy of the highest order. Then we had the “substantial” fee for the York lad and the “privacy” clause regarding Stuani just afterwards and I’m not even going to speculate on Downing. Even the Espinosa £4m (probably Euros) story “leaked” out just days previously, lets be honest we had all thought that he had gone on a free or worse!
The Gazette meanwhile needs to up its game. It has been in decline for a while and made worse by the Trinity Mirror stranglehold. All it ever prints is doom and gloom stories revelling in drug dealing, twocking, GBH and muggings along with PC worded crimes against local females. It is no longer a vibrant local newspaper and it deservedly receives scathing criticism on Social Media sites. The Newspaper industry is in a state of flux, no longer needed in their former capacity as news and stories appear and fade in the space of a few hours let alone time to let the ink dry. Its a tough challenge right now for them and they don’t always get things right but the last thing that is needed on Teesside is the embarrassing childish and unprofessional mud slinging we have witnessed between two major local influencers.
There are usually three sides to every story, one version from each of the offended parties and the logical reality, usually somewhere in the middle. They both need a good old fashioned hard and stinging slap around the back of the head. Lets hope someone does it and with some vigour sooner rather than later.
Excellent observations I think most of us would agree.
Great Post RR
Have you spelled “state of flux”! Correctly or should it be something else ??
PS
The spat wasn’t about Assambalonga
It started towards the end of last season apparently
I will repeat a true story I have posted before about dealing with the press.
After a long day in the field against the West Indies in the Caribean (sorry, it is cricket) the local journalist wrote along the lines ‘Andrew Caddick running in to bowl with his ears flapping in the breeze’.
Mr Caddick who was certainly endowed with a splendid pair of ear lobes took umbrage and found the local journalist. He demanded an apology in no uncertain terms.
The next day, in his next article, the Journalist duly apologised for Andy Caddick having big ears.
Get on with the business of running a football club and reporting for the fans.
Do not forget it is Dom and Jonno on the naughty step not the whole Gazette. Whether that is fair or not is a different matter.
http://c.newsnow.co.uk/A/894926351?-11183:811:0
A story from Daily Mail highlighted in NewsNow.
Gist of it is Boro have rejected a third bid of £18m plus £3m from West Brom for Ben Gibson.
The club are determined to sell to a top six side and Gibson who played 38 consecutive games in the top flight wants to extend that run.
Sorry to interject with footie news.
An excellent farewell from Christhian Stuani which I have just seen following AV’s Retweet. I wish CS all the best back in La Liga.
The Gazette lads including Dom and Jonno have been accused of being in the Clubs pocket and being no more than mere MFC puppets. Have to say that I didn’t particularly disagree with that thought and I don’t think it was helpful (and that’s before hindsight) to either the Paper or Club. There was very little objective criticism (in my view which I appreciate is possibly a little terser than many) when AK’s negativity was sapping the soul and heart out of the club and any hope of Premiership survival.
Once AK departed, there was a massive reporting sea change and every aspect of his tenure was suddenly fair game. At the time I assumed perhaps incorrectly it was in line with the Clubs wishes to deflect from SA’s attempts to rescue the sinking ship. Subsequent analysis and dissection of Orta was only reflecting what fans had thought for some time but no media dare speak of it.
What is disappointing for me is the massive “U” turn, was it blind faith or was it falling in line with the clubs wishes, either scenario wasn’t great. It appears they (Dom and Jonno) may have expressed views that went too far in the eyes of the club in the post AK era.
Just an aside after the banter yesterday from Powmill-Naemore calling me “old man” which I accept in reality is a correct description.
I recall an amusing story that the late Richard Whiteley told on Yorkshire TV Calendar programme. He was interviewing a lady aged 104 who I think at that time was the oldest living person in the country, and asked her amongst other things to what she attributed her longevity, and if she was happy to reach such an age.
Her reply was that she was extremely happy now that she had managed to get her daughter into an old people’s care home.
I guess a mother never stops worrying about her children.
Ken. I wasn’t calling you an old man as in a man that is old, but in the pucker tone of colonial old Etonian Engilsh. Hindsight corrects me that I should probably have said that “… it’s not cricket old boy.”. Humble apologies.
Better than being called old fat man !
Powmill, I knew what you meant and didn’t take umbrage; my response was meant light heartedly. You’ve no need to apologise.
Gaston Ramirez’s agent: “I am convinced Gaston has to leave Middlesbrough. Real Betis will try and sign him”.
Werder /Simon
As this blog is now well established and we have some great articles and posts that deserve to be features.
Should we do a welcome to Diasboro blog a come and join us invitation which we can post on twitter and Facebook ?
I Know that a lot of people are retweeting when I post a blog on twitter and I’m sure if they knew how easy it is to join then they would
Perhaps an idiots guide how to get in touch and log on would help ?
Thoughts from all of you think this is a good idea!
OFB
http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/harry-redknapp-confirms-middlesbrough-bid-13371881
Could be linked to the Downing deal
The media spat is likely the combination of a many things, not least that this landscape is changing hugely.
The EG Boro coverage has not been up to much for a while now, it is largely opinion pieces and speculation that you can find on any good blog. It adds nothing extra and can be amateurish indeed (the video chats fro example are car crash TV, often petulant and smug and lack any basic training in the reporters even looking at the camera).
Not long ago, there was just one Boro reporter, Eric Paylor, who covered everything and did it very well. He wasn’t the best writer but got the stories and had integrity.
The two blacklisted journalists add very little but the nature of today’s 24/7 paper is that they will be pushed to find a story all the time, even when there isn’t one. Hence they likely speculated on something the club didn’t like and thus the ban. The club had had enough of them in effect.
And why shouldn’t the club hold the high moral ground? It is not in thrall to the EG and owes it nothing, and via the MFC website, has its own house publishing platform. The EG circulation is falling fast and as a publisher, it has little purpose in today’s media climate. The trite line the paper adopted in refusing all criticism of AK once it was obvious he was failing lost it much credibility too. It is not for a newspaper to push the PR line for anyone but it shamefully did.
So MFC doesn’t need the EG anymore, it really doesn’t. If it has a story to break, there are its own in-house platforms which retains ownership and can be monetised too. And if it wants a different, a and wider, slant the nationals and wire agencies can be called in. And they won’t be interested in peddling the low level stuff the EG boys do.
Boro TV and in-house match streaming all show where the future lies and it is not with local newspapers who are little more than an irritant which is what the EG has become, a collection of entitled bloggers and not much more.
But, if the Gazette has the balls, it can fight back and make an actual contribution to journalism and write the constructive and searching journalism we can expect about our club. It doesn’t need to be nasty but a degree of impartiality, while retaining the passion, would bring back some credibility and offer a worthwhile news source and service to fans.
Whether the current 4/5 Boro writers can do it, I don’t know, but the paper should give them the chance. Because the way the media is changing, not many people need them anymore in the current state. And the club knows that more than anyone.
Richard
A very interesting post
Would you mind if I let the EG see it ?
I wouldn’t use your nom de plume !
I tend to agree. Some of the articles are quite frankly embarrassing, the video ones especially. I haven’t much knowledge of other Trinity Mirror newspapers, but the Daily Mirror was only ever useful as fish and chip paper, and can’t even be used for that nowadays.
Maybe MFC got fed up speaking to of the Gazette multitude – I use multitude because it means many. Having decided that they needed to have a couple of contacts, they had a balloon debate and Dom and Jonno were the unfortunate souls pushed out of the basket.
That’s what I thought, Ian. A case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.
Ok
I have had a chat which is not attributable to anyone and let’s just say the situation could be ..
EG aware of what is being said on blogs (beware ! ) and twitter.
There are as many supporting blogs and twitterers than those opposing
This situation is not confined to out local paper the Newcastle Journal a sister publication has similar issues with twitter and posts
Don’t expect premium to be dropped it’s doing too well for that
OFB
OFB,
Please do. I do feel the paper needs to rethink and take the lead.
It should be offering a professional, informative and challenging service and we just don’t get that. It will be a risk to adopt this approach but arguably a bigger risk not to.
There is too much much money in the game now for the clubs not to want control and constant speculation on wages etc will just be an irritant they don’t need.
And really, column inches aside, what does such journalism add. It’s time for the EG, and probably many other local papers, to up its game.
An intelligent and well written opinion, Richard – if you don’t mind me saying so!
I agree whole heartedly.
Absolutely. Maybe even an actual story.
I suspect that there are many in Gazette Towers that don’t necessarily disagree with the comments on here (or some at least). The problem and the decline as I see it coincided with the puerile lookalike Trinity Mirror conformity which will not have been remotely open for discussion. Looking through NewsNow we see all the Trinity group sister papers with exactly the same problems of ad heavy content and videos of questionable quality. The Gazette are taking stick which is not their fault but that of a jackbooted style of ownership.
I have worked for good companies that have been bought out by bigger organisations who insisted on uniformity before finding out the true values and strengths of the organisation they have just acquired. Long term (indeed often short term) sales and profits decline along with morale and a blame game starts which is never ever the fault of the new investors. To point out and worse still prove to the contrary is never a good career move. You can probably guess that I have had personal experience of this and yep I’m the one who called it like it was and paid the price on more than one occasion and would do so again and again but that’s me. Trinity Mirror it appears have a cost saving blueprint of a few local pages which is the bread either side of their cholesterol inducing group sandwich filling of bland corporate non-news aimed at the brain dead.
In such circumstances employees do indeed have a choice (yep me again!) but it is always compromised by putting a roof over your families head and food on the table and that is a very tough call. The fact that papers are struggling and being swallowed up by large groups like Trinity Mirror means that options and the wisdom of expressing your true opinions are not best advised. Indeed I would think that the local Editor of such a Newspaper has as much influence and editorial control as a performing Seal in a circus, the whip is cracked by the Ringmaster and we don’t get to see what happens when the curtain drops. I think MFC should consider that and a bit of reflection and understanding called for when shooting messengers.
Done !
A timely wake up call at Rochdale then.
I’m not a big fan, but maybe using the squad we have,4 4 2 might be our strongest formation,
Although I’m still waiting for class midfielder that dominates games?
Good post Richard. And I’ll give you an interesting point of view in return, from (yes) Eamon Dunphy, on three of his inspirations:
“Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Wolfe and Norman Mailer dispensed with objectivity to tell the story as (they) saw it. These men weren’t striving for sagacity or to be judicious. They were endeavouring to tell their own truth, to take you, the reader, on an amazing journey to the heart of the story. You weren’t a ‘punter’, you were a companion, a co-conspirator.
“…For Thompson and Mailer, sarcasm, humour, exaggeration and profanity were essential tools of the trade. You wrote the way people talked and thought. No gilding of the lily. No objectivity. Well, not too much.”
Randolph has agreed a £4.5million move to Boro where he has a deal worth £27,000 a week according to the Daily Mail. Just sayin like as apparently MFC are claiming that its £5m with no mention of wages, just wondering if a public reprimand is forthcoming?
Now of course I don’t expect MFC to fire off a warning shot across the Daily Mail’s bows but it does highlight what a ridiculous way it was to address the original issue.
On today’s showing it was shall we say less than impressive. Its too early to be alarmed by it but there did seem to be a lackadaisical laissez faire type of attitude. Maybe its just about fitness but for me winning is as much about attitude and mentality as it is ability at times and there hasn’t seemed to be much mean, lean and hungry passion for winning in the Friendlies to date. Turn up at Molinieux with that attitude and the spat with the Gazette will pale into insignificance very quickly but for all the wrong reasons.
Can someone verify or not, that the club Stuani signed for are owned by the same people who own Man City.
GT
Indubitably. but I’m sure its all legal and above board so long as the clubs are not in the same league or countries at least. It is tactfully referred to as a Worldwide stable of “partner” clubs.
I believe but could be wrong that Pepe Guardiola’s Media Sports agency bought an 80 per cent share in Girona back in 2015. New York City FC, Melbourne City FC, Yokohama F. Marinos and Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay are all “partners”.
Man City loaned Pablo Maffeo to Girona last season and he helped them to promotion to La Liga. Coincidentally Pablo is also represented by Pep Guardiola’s brother, who’d have thunk it?
Conclusions, pencils and paper at the ready!
The signing of Randolph immediately reminded me of this clip.
https://youtu.be/h0GLVc4f02k
Although he’s got no one called Mortimer who he can be “Trading Places” with.
(The gag, of course, was that Eddie Murphy took the Duke brothers’ money and here, he was giving it back.)
Randy, morty, give it up!
Redcar Red
Are these the same people who sneered at Murdoch papers by any chance?
Just asking (Spartak trademark) like.
Pre season has not proved a resounding success, one win, two draws and a defeat against lower league opposition, maybe the tiff between MFC and Trinity Mirror is burying bad news about performances
I am away from the middle of next week until season start, maybe that is a blessing in disguise.
The EG are reporting that Harry Redknapp has said that Boro have made an offer, which has been rejected as too low, for centre back Ryan Shotton.
This suggests to me that the club are preparing for the departure of Ben Gibson.
I am becoming uncomfortable with the large turnover of players and that we may not be keeping the core of the team together which achieved promotion.
Pre season games have not set the world alight and we still in my view do not have a play maker(s) who can unlock the packed defences we will face.
At this rate we could be in danger of ruining another striker’s reputation through not providing him with the service he needs!
Yesterdays defeat even though a “friendly” is not a good sign. Maybe the typical boro feeling is back already. Where is the drive motiviation and killer instinct?
Maybe the players that were left ofter AK clear out are just not up to it.
I reallly hope that is not the case.
OFB
Apologies, I had missed the fact that our premier reporter in the north had already communicated the Shotton link – need to pay more attention! 😎
I get the feeling we are going to be a pre season game short.
The line ups for the last two matches have been pick and mix, an assortment with few clues to the final line up.
It is still two weeks to go but I would have liked to see a first team developing by now, of course it is never helped by players coming in late to the squad even though we have got players in quite early by transfer window standards.
The team next week will tell us the likely starting line up for Wolves, you just hope we are not under cooked.
There is one thing we do know, the FA Cup showed us last season that if you don’t play your first team against lower league teams you are easily turned over. I don’t know the teams we have played well enough but if they put out first teams that would be a bit of comfort.
Wouldn’t surprise me that they organise a behind doors friendly against Newcastle or similar
Clutching at straws?
Maybe
400 not out! congrats Ian.
And Gilly sneaks one in at the back post, whilst the defence was sleeping.
I shall not be impressed if Ben G flies the nest two weeks afore the season starts.
Wot we gonna do, bring back the Redcar Rock?
Spartak
I suspect you are probably right on this one – no doubt you have consulted the runes. 😎
KP
The ‘runes’ are in their box in the cupboard under the stairs, only to be shown the light when the season starts – hence I jump to no conclusions over the results of ‘friendlies’, Ben Gibson’s nose duly recognised.
I think that would be a great name for a theme pub in the Boro, ‘Ben Gibson’s Nose!’ But NOT a Weatherspoons.
We seem to have not yet addressed the No.10/creative spark as of yet which will be a critical factor in opening defences. We know that Ramirez is as good as any in that role in this league but we also know that he couldn’t give a flying fig about Boro. If plan “A” is to rely on a repentant Gaston then the likes of Gazza and Bestie are a strong indicator of what happens to repentant footballers before they go off the rails again. Its not a case of if but when and that is before any bridge building even commences.
The defensive situation rang an alarm bell for me when we where linked with Shotton. For Shotton read Barragan, a liability that is a backwards step, a lower Championship, upper League 1 defender at best. Just hope its not a bodge job as a “wage reducer” for the Downing deal. Not good enough for a side that wants to get promoted let alone smash the Championship.
The pack shuffling will be interesting to see how long it takes to settle things down. A new Keeper, a new RB like as not two new CB’s (Ayala hardly played last season and Chambers is gone with Ben also likely to depart) leaving only George from the rock solid backline that was our shining light (no anagrams please).
In Midfield things haven’t changed apart from the arrival of Howson who is a positive contributing upgrade at this level in that he shoots on target which is something that Clayton and Forshaw (and Guedioura) can’t manage if their lives depended upon it. Set pieces with Clayts? Hmmmmm yesterday was another concern for me, clearly a work in progress (I hope).
Further up field we have Bamford, Britt and Braithwaite with Traore and possibly one of the youngsters breaking through but it looks a bit unbalanced and disjointed so far but still early days. I hope we don’t see Braithwaite becoming a left sided version of Stuani. Speaking of Stuani I would much rather have kept him and shipped out Gestede yesterday was further evidence of his inability to do anything other than jump and head a ball.
Still time to settle things but still quite a few unanswered questions.
RR
Great Post as usual
Apparently Braithwaite played in the number 10 slot yesterday or more like a withdrawn no 9 and did pretty well before tiring
I have a feeling Ben will stay until at least Xmas bit we are short of centre backs amd need at least one
They are also looking at the lad at Swansea that played for GM at Leeds last season
OFB
The pre-season games can’t tell us much when half the team aren’t even there, they seem to be simply a fitness-building exercise. Things will need to come together better against Augsberg, when presumably our best fully fit eleven will appear.
The signing of a keeper and bid for a centre half show that gaps are being filled with players GM is confident in to do the job, and most areas are starting to look pretty strong.
But I wonder if we’ve really got our heads round the high likelihood that Ramirez will be leaving, Stewy is almost gone and Traore struggles to set up chances? Ojo is said to have chosen Fulham in a NewsNow link this morning.
There still seems to be a failure to identify and pursue realistic targets of creative players who can put their foot on the ball and pull the strings, and the clock is ticking. These players need to be through the door and working with the squad if we are to start the season with a coherent attacking threat.
On the other hand, RR’s verdict on Shotton is not very encouraging… And he’s right to point to Dani Ayala’s injury problems. Presumably by now GM has a view on Baptiste and Fry, and whether they are adequate back-up at centre half, and within the club they will probably have a figure in mind they would accept for Ben.
Middlesbrough look ready to test Swansea City’s determination to hang on to Kyle Bartley.
New Boro boss Garry Monk has been linked with another move for the central defender, who he signed on a season-long loan for Leeds last season.
I think we need Bartley in to replace Chambers. he is a good strong stopper and has potential to remain in the side if we do go back up. Day and night between Bartley and Shotten.
Figures! Figures! Figures!
Do I not like that! Sliding back into the money counters habitat. Stinks to high heaven of sleasy money making, which purposely(?) misses the point that MFC are a football team in a football world.
I know! I know! It’s the brave new/old world of the moderen era football paradigm. And its shit! The focus should be on smashing the league not letting one of yer home grown best disappear down the road to a 2-3 tier team. I wouldn’t even like it if it was a Pallisteresque 1st tier team.
Enough of flogging off the best silver when you patently dont have to. Ben should fight for HIS hometown team and show loyalty to his extended community and the Boro supporters.
I think he will stay and fight
He looks like. A fighter with his broken nose yesterday !
Thought Shotton was outstanding against us at the back end of the promotion season when we played them.
Thought I’d better write a new blog this morning before someone starts eyeing up a 500 again. I’ve been looking at whether some of our Category One academy players might or even should break into the first team picture this season…
https://diasboro.club/2017/07/23/does-the-wind-of-change-also-need-a-category-one-storm/
Amd of course we would love to keep Gaston because he’s such a lovely lad ?