Monk refuses to pander to league smashing expectations

Whilst it may have been the briefest of briefings at just under six minutes, Garry Monk dropped a bombshell in his Preston pre-match conference yesterday that left many who were there stunned – in answer to a seemingly innocent question from a none-Gazette journalist he calmly announced that ‘smashing the Championship was not possible’. Yes the chairman’s dream is over before he’d barely had time to allow his alpha-wave inducing extra-cheese parmo to kick in. Instead, the iconoclastic manager simply said they ‘want to do well’ with a deadpan delivery deader than dead buffalo on a can of Carabao, which belied the enormity of what he’d just said. Though what possessed him to crack under the intense media scrutiny at only question two is unclear and it no doubt will set pavlovian alarm bells ringing at the club as they nervously begin to anticipate the early warning signs of a Karanka-esque style meltdown.

It seems those carefully crafted chants together with the 30m long banner proclaiming ‘We’re gonna Smash the League’ that the Red Faction have so painstakingly produced will need to be binned – to be replaced instead by the hastily penned ‘We’re gonna do well! we’re gonna do well! EI-EI-EO We’re gonna do well’ which will thankfully be more in tune with Monk’s sentiments. All of which means the issue has been finally put to bed and we can now all concentrate on not by how much we should win the league but by whether Boro are on track to be possible contenders.

As Monk learns to deal with the forensic grilling from the media pack that are normally reserved for zoo keepers with a potentially pregnant panda in their care, he will perhaps regret not holding out for a freedom of information request before spilling the beans on his lack of a plan to smash the Championship. Incidentally, it’s reassuring to see our democratically elected friends north of the border using their full legislative powers to ascertain the possible expectant nature of a panda – the Scottish people will no doubt sleep safely in the knowledge that they are being governed with such diligence. Though perhaps it probably won’t be too long before Boots see the market opportunity and start stocking the ‘Freedom of Information Home Pregnancy Kit’ so that ordinary people can be similarly informed and avoid an unnecessary faux pas when they are unsure whether the neighbour across the road has just overdone it with the Ben and Jerry’s.

Despite Boro still not firing on all cylinders, particularly in the engine room, there are indications that there is a very good team gradually being assembled and tuned by those at the club. There can be few complaints at the skill in which the unwanted have been moved out and replaced by players that meet Monk’s more dynamic requirements. Neil Bausor and his team have performed almost faultlessly in obtaining good value for those that needed to be moved on and have used their financial muscle astutely to secure their main targets. On top of that the manager and his coaching team seem to have helped transform players like Gestede, Bamford and Adama into more rounded individuals that work well with those around them. Whether they have been enthused by his more pragmatic approach to playing the game is a possibility but we now see players on the pitch with a smile on their face. Though to be fair the regular sight of Negredo’s countenance last season would have made most people unwilling to express anything other than pain and suffering out of respect to his grief at being 50m away from his nearest team-mate.

Such is the strength of the Boro squad that has been assembled, Gary Monk has the kind of selection problems that most managers in the Championship lie awake at night wishing they could only dream of. His near enough second string XI put in the kind of performance last Tuesday against Scunthorpe that would have left some wondering if his main priority was indeed to smash the Carabao Cup and lift the iconic Bufflo-skulled green ribbon adorned trophy – providing the organisers remember to bring it back from the top of a Beijing sky-scraper or wherever the shiny object is being flaunted in front of cash-rich Asian businessmen of course.

So the problem now faced by Monk is whom amongst his two teams should he select for his First XI? We can start from the back in making that judgement, primarily because it’s easier. Randolph is an easy pick and there is no reason not to continue with Ben and Dael either, as Fry has looked assured in every game. Christie has some defensive issues but they are outweighed by his attacking ability and he also has a dangerous long throw that Barragan would have given his right arm for (the loss of which would probably have had limited effect on his overall throwing ability). Fabio put in his usual energetic performance in midweek and seems to offer more than Friend – but despite George’s lack of end product he has shown signs of improvement and it may be premature to bench him just yet.

It’s in the midfield where the real decisions need to be made, Forshaw has not looked anything like the player he started last season as (when he was even being touted for an England call-up) and he seems to still have a Premier League hangover and suffering from incurable square-pass syndrome. The new recruit of Howson has also not seen him really impose himself on a game yet and is not quite fulfilling the dynamic midfield role required from him. Chelsea loanee Baker has looked better with each game and his performance in midweek with his well-taken goal indicates he’s ready for a start. Also starring midweek was Leadbitter, back to his dominant best and by most accounts ran the show – Boro need this leadership in the middle of the park and although doubts over his age and fitness have been muted, he’s still only 31, which is not exactly ancient. Besides, losing a bit of pace is not a bad thing if it encourages a player to seek out a pass rather than go it alone.

Clayton seems integral to how Monk wants to play with him dropping back to make a back three when the fullbacks push forward and also covering a run from any of the centre-backs. However, set-piece duty is not his forte and one wonders if he only got the job because he mastered the hand signals – though to the uninitiated observer many of the gestures appear to be a portent of what is come – the single raised hand (sorry guys), the two raised arms (easy catch for the keeper) and my particular favourite the holding of the head with both hands (this is going to be embarrassing). At least with Leadbitter and particularly Baker on the pitch he can ‘share’ the load and concentrate on his covering duties.

Attack is an area where Boro have an embarrassment of riches and a lot of pace and power to boot and discussing the merits of each candidate would probably be an article in it’s own right – so I’ll stick to my preferred option, which I’ve probably changed my mind about twice while typing this sentence. If Adama plays anything like his last two appearances then he’s going to frighten defenders to the point they won’t stray far from their box – plus he’s his own warm-up act for the crowd too. Assombalonga will score and should have scored a hat-trick last week but for the occasion – so no point in not picking him at home to a beatable team. Also if Bamford’s fit then he’s shown he has the potential to be our new Gaston with plenty of tricks and flicks to open defences to add to the power of the other two. Gestede could easily have been among the three but then it depends how you play as to who you leave out instead. I don’t envy Garry Monk the decision on who to select but basically every manager in the league will envy his problem.

As for our opponents on Saturday, well Preston have started pretty solidly and their four games have only seen three goals with two 1-0 home victories over two of last season’s playoff contenders in Sheffield Wednesday and Reading – they also lost 0-1 away to Derby thanks to a penalty and drew 0-0 away to Leeds. Their manager Alex Neil appears to have organised his team pretty well and Boro will need their fire power on song if they are to claim the points. Their last game against Reading saw them with just over 40% possession but they still managed 21 goal attempts with 8 on target – compared to Reading’s 7 shots with only a single attempt hitting the target. So they seem to create chances but are difficult to break down and Boro and their supporters may need to be patient and definitely not complacent.

Garry Monk confessed to not having looked at the table yet as it was still too early – that trend of not looking may well continue if Boro fail to beat Preston as they will most likely be in the bottom half and a potential 9 points from the summit. We’re not at the must-win stage yet but a win should see Boro in a playoff place and enjoying the international break and plotting how to negotiate some pretty tricky away games on the resumption of the season – with three away trip at Bolton, Villa and Fulham in the next four games.

So will Boro show their true colours and continue to crank up their goal machine at home as they scare the points off the opposition or will we be a pale reflection of ourselves as The Lilywhites prove to be the ghost in our machine as we are haunted by missed chances. As usual give your predictions on score, scorers, team selection and attendance – plus will we see a new hand gesture from Adam Clayton!

98 thoughts on “Monk refuses to pander to league smashing expectations

  1. And live from Twitter
    My Mate was playing golf at #rockcliffe snap chatted me a private helicopter just landed at the place! #fridaybauserday #newsigning #boro 😀

  2. Both our targets are at not very accessible places by rail or road so it could be either ?
    Or president trump seeing how a real hotel is run ?????

  3. An excellent leader article yet again.
    How long can it be before a bidding war breaks out between the Gazette and the Northern Echo to poach the splendid feature writers here on Diasboro? Let’s hope we can hang onto our top performers until the transfer window closes.
    Although of course everyone has their price, and if our valuation is met…
    I’m all for slapping a huge price tag on Werder right away, and RR’s match analysis has to be up there with the best. Then there’s the trips down memory lane with Ken, or Simon’s breadth of reflection, or Ian’s Midlands specialist knowledge…the list goes on and on…

  4. Thanks Werder, that’s another good starter for 10.
    I’m intrigued to see the starting eleven for this match.
    Ayala is clearly fit again, so if Fry starts that will give us one good indication that GM is selecting based on merit. The next indication will be if he does take Forshaw out of the firing line, but who to replace him with. It seems that Leadbitter put in a true leaders performance on Tuesday, but it was hinted at that he tired towards the end. Perhaps Baker should be given the nod, keeping Leads on the bench to give the team a rocket up the proverbial if it is needed in the second half. I think I would be happy with that.
    Howson I’m not sure about. Who was it that did the analysis that actually showed he was being more influential than it appears. So leave him in the starting lineup.
    As for the rest, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it…. at least not yet, so my staring lineup would be:
    Randolph
    Christie, Fry, GIbson, Friend
    Howson, Clayton, Blake
    Bamford, Assombalonga, Gestede
    Bench: Dimi, daSilva, Leadbitter, Traore, Fletcher, Downing, Tavernier
    I’m confident going into this one and expect us to run out winners 4-1 after an early scare sees Preston steal an unexpected lead.
    28,432 punters.

        1. And I think that in the next round of the Caribbean Cup that Monk will take on another of the Blakes 7 Characters by changing the Boro team.
          Who do I mean?
          Vila Restal

  5. Let me make this clear – we are not a selling blog! None of our star writers are for transfer. We don’t need to sell. There maybe one or two new posters arrivin before the window closes, but if not we are more than happy with the squad we have, thank you – even Ian 😉
    UTaboro

  6. Excellent article Werdermouth. Boro do seem to have some selection problems but of a positive kind, personally I’d go largely for if it aint broke don’t fix it, the only real change coming/needed in the midfield.
    Werder,well done on the naming of the new bar at the Riverside, ‘The Barragan Arm’.
    A Boro win for me but I think PNE will be awkward customers, a couple of first half goals would be great but I’m going to plump for Boro 2 – 1 PNE and just over 30,000 watching in the sun and a nervous last ten minutes.
    UTB,
    John

  7. Forshaw, at his best, is an exceptional passer. But he lacks thrust. My guess is that he’s another confidence player, one who depends on everyone around him playing to the same wavelength and playing well. This, I think, is why he was so prominent while we’d only lost one match on the road until December 2016. After that, well…
    My other guess is that De Roon was a popular choice because he was always visibly effective in some way, or trying to be. As Len said, he was a statistician’s delight, even outscoring the other midfielders. He was probably the epitome of our ex-boss – “how can you question me when I clearly try so hard and care so much?” – forgetting that he’s not the sort we look to most for creativity and inspiration.
    Logic suggests that our best choices for the midfield “three” now are Clayton, Howson and Baker, with Leads and Downing in reserve. I’m thinking that a 4-2-1-3 may work very well, with Bamford and Gestede either side of Britt and Baker or Downing behind them. Trying “wild card” Adama in the hole shouldn’t entirely be ruled out either – every team needs that element of unpredictability. Either that or him and Fletcher can be game changers.
    Possibilities a-plenty.

  8. Good article Werder – and you beat me to it. I was about to write a blog on much the same lines and with much the same choices as yours.
    Nobody has mentioned how well Guedioura did on Tuesday. He was creative and dynamic, suggesting he warranted at least a place on the bench from time to time.
    As others have noted, Howson has been rather disappointing, especially for those of who saw his display against us at Wembley. I wonder whether he would benefit from being rested? A lot depends on his personality but perhaps he need ‘a nudge’.
    I agree with the positive assessments of Fry. He very much looks like a stalwart of the near future. However young, inexperienced players rarely make it as a regular straight away – they usually excel for a few games but then fade and need a rest before coming back in for a longer spell. That’s pretty much the route by which Gibson became established and I suspect that Dael might need a breather shortly.
    Friend is still not back to his level of the promotion season. He had a traumatic time in the PL and has yet to fully recover his form. Apart from defensive lapses, Fabio was surprisingly good last year and is undoubtedly gutted to have not had a sniff so far. His form on Tuesday probably has earned him a chance in the team and It may well be that being dropped could produce the desired response from George.

    1. Great minds etc… BTW I think you probably meant Marcus Tavernier who played on the left against Scunthorpe rather than his now under-23 team-mate Guedioura (Watford lad) – if so I agree that he deserves to be on the bench as he’s pretty composed for his age.

  9. I have told my agent I am happy to be a squad blogger and don’t mind rotation, the Robbie Mustoe of posting.
    If I may say this in genteel company, I will be our ‘John Terry’, without the loutish connotations, making the odd contribution and be there in the photo at any awards – (kisses MFC 1986 badge),

  10. Blakes 7! Great programme, good one Spartak.
    Werder, great piece as ever, I particularly like the little bit of humour which you are so good at building in.
    As for(not) ‘smashing the league’, I guess Monk is doing a bit of expectation management. However I’m sure the Chairman has made it clear that promotion is the goal given the money invested. All the indications are that the squad is capable, a wi tomorrow followed by an away win would settle us down nicely I would have thought.

  11. Powmill
    The quote has been taken out of context in a Journalistic miss translation.
    I was asked by some journalists what my intentions were. Quite rightly I said any role, any time, whatever Werder wanted me to do.
    The journalists, I believe they did a comedy programme on TV in the past – Trigger Happy TV? I think they were called Dom Jonno. They didn’t have any MFC press authorisation. Not unusual I believe. Seemed nice lads.
    They asked me if I would want to be like John Terry, do what I could for Diasboro and appear in any photos of the blog if won any trophys – I corrected that to when, I expect us to smash the awards. Of course I would be happy, great to be alongside Werder, RR, Simon and sundry bloggers.

  12. OFB
    ‘Helichopters!’
    Picked up by one 50km from the Guatamala border and flew out to an island off the coast of Central America for my 21st birthdays, no less. And no I didn’t pay for it.
    Not bad for what was a kid from a one parent family livin on a council estate in Dormo.
    There’s more… to the story!
    Flew by helichopter across the county border into Armagh in the early 80’s. Helichopter wouldn’t set down so we had to jump, gear n all. Buzzin!
    Couldn’t jump off the chair in the kitchen now without cripplin me knees.
    ‘The days that we have seen.’

    1. Never saw any action like that bit did North Sea and Irish seas in them
      Worst one was Argentina when we chartered Naval Chopper for offshore aerial pipeline survey and the pilot thought he was top gun flying 2 m above sea level
      Absolutely terrifying
      He thought it was funny !
      Respect to all the guys who have flown or fly into action in them

  13. I think the result tomorrow will define our season. A 3-0 win and we’re off and running, but a draw (or heaven forbid) a defeat would mean much more work to be done. Preston have only conceded once so far this season and will probably prove to be difficult opponents. I’m going for a 2-0 win with a gate of 26,223.

    1. A defeat would probably deter any possible new players signing for us as well!
      Gary Monk said to me last week that when he had players arrive to possibly sign one look around Rockliffe convinced them Boro were a premier quality club

  14. Ken
    We have to turn potential in to points, every time we don’t do that mnakes it that much harder for the rest of the season.
    The problem with being 9 points behind the leaders is that they have to drop points to allow us to catch up as long as we win. The difficulty is that when we play those clubs they do not have to win, a draw keep status quo, other bands are available.
    The mantra of the point could be useful at the end of the season is tosh of journalistic proportions.
    Tomorrow we need to win, that is paramount. Then we need away points and sharpish.

  15. Haven’t heard from Martin Bellamy lately. Wonder if you’ll be at the Riverside tomorrow or at Wembley supporting the Wigan Warriors. Any way, wherever you are Martin, hope you have a double win to celebrate.

  16. Hull had a strong 4-0 home win last night but, according to the Guardian, only had 42% possession.
    Sounds odd.
    This is the moment for Boro to step up. The team is coming together and we’re playing good opposition. A 2-0 win would be great. Bamford and Britt.
    On another topic, how does it work with the transfer window ending during an international break. Do people leave for medicals. It’s all a bit messy. Transfer window should be June and July.
    UTB

    1. BBC says Hull had 61% possession, though still only 7 shots with 5 on target – and Villa only drew again too.
      BTW Just noticed the Guardian has got the 58% possession graphic bar in Hull orange but on the righthand side rather than the left, which may explain the discrepancy.

  17. Don’t think Tavernier will be involved today as he played 90 minutes for the Under 23s last night. Looking at the Stats on http://www.whoscored.com it might be a bit of a bloodbath both teams top of the fouls conceded per game and total yellows. Their match forecast- their will be a high number of cards and that Preston will score direct from a free kick. They also state that Boro are very weak at defending through balls as has been pointed out on here.

  18. This looks like a pivotal game for GM’s new Boro. Of course they need to win first and foremost, but there also need to be signs of development in the attacking performance.
    Ideally, we will show that we are able to consistently impose a threatening pattern of play on the opposition. Lewis Baker will hopefully deliver part of the answer for this, Howson needs to continue his slow progress towards being a more authoritative presence, and George needs to recover top form. The general team gelling and clicking needs to continue. Christie and PB have shown well so far in making attacking moves work, others need to join the party more consistently.
    In Britt, Rudi, Ashley Fletcher and Adama we have plenty of attacking pace and power, but not great skills in ball retention or guile. This makes it easier for an average team to gain equality with us by relentless pressure and harrying. (E.g. against Wolves we simply couldn’t retain any possession in their half until PB came on.)
    Grosiki – a wide man with ball-playing qualities – assisted twice and scored for Hull last night. Lewis Baker and Martin Braithwaite both need to turn out to be effective creative players for us, and hopefully a Jota-type addition will strengthen the squad soon.

  19. I find it harder to enjoy the games when we are expected to smash, or at least get promoted.
    It’s as if the points are the only thing that matters.
    I would take a 1-0 from a dodgy penalty at the moment.
    Nerves are frayed and we are still in August.
    Typical!

  20. When Werder was over at the Northern Echo they also said Stewie will have a role if he stays beyond the window close. Monk is happy with his effort and commitment, they have a good relationship and things change in football,
    On to today, Preston had an initial 1198 tickets with up to 2600 available. I don’t think they have sold the initial allocation and tickets are available to purchase this afternoon from the away ticket office.
    I guess there will be under 1000 from across the Pennines.
    Will the Bank Holiday weekend affect turnout? I would be happy to see over 24,000 Boro fans again.
    You sense it will be a tense match, I think 1-0 to Boro with compulsory nail biting. Bamford to net his first of the season.

  21. Nice article on the Boro website about Wilf Mannion and Tom Finney in probably the most important Boro v. Preston game ever played. I remember the occasion, if not the match itself, very well being just two days before my 11th birthday I had been so excited that not only would this be Mannion’s first match of the season following his self-imposed exile, but also at the prospect of how George Hardwick would compete against my first view of Tom Finney. Normally I used to pay to enter the old boys end, and climb over the wall into the east end, but because of the bad weather, and possibly a birthday treat, Dad took me into the west end under cover.
    At the time I hadn’t realised the importance of the match, but the Evening Gazette and the Daily Mirror had been speculating all week about the possibility of Mannion playing. Now with hindsight I see that Boro were fourth from bottom at the time, and the 1-0 win lifted us up two places. It was only my second season of watching Boro, but in fact had only seen one match in my first one. Although we had lost 1-6 to Preston in September, and writing from memory here, I believe that 9 of the 11 matches that day in the First Division had ended in draws, I was fairly confident that we would win having beaten Bolton 5-0 and Villa 6-0 earlier in the season.
    Well we did win, but it proved a false dawn, because after failing to win in the next five matches we found ourselves bottom of the league for the first time, and despite winning a couple of more games were still bottom by mid April.
    Now you’re going to like this. As my late friend Paul Daniels used to say “Not a lot, but you’ll like it”, the next match on Easter Monday we were losing 1-2 at home to Newcastle at half time before our second highest crowd of the season 44,037, but won 3-2 with two Hardwick penalties. I didn’t see that match but believe it was the first time George had taken a penalty.
    I did see Boro’s final home match though against Sheffield United when a young Joe Hartnett scored a hat trick in a 3-1 win which relegated them as well as Preston, so it was “job done” and a precursor of better things to come. The next season Boro finished a creditable 9th, and the following season led the table by three points at Christmas before, after a season ending injury to leading scorer Alex McCrae, we only won four more matches and finished 6th. But that’s a story for another day.

    1. Yes, typical Boro. Maybe we should call Boro matches “Tales of the Unexpected”. But hang on, didn’t ITV run a series called that, so maybe we might be in trouble infringing copyrights or whatever.

  22. I don’t wish to be critical about the Gazette’s Jonathon Taylor, but if Boro sign Jota from Brentford, I’m sure someone will tell him that the letter J ,although pronounced the same as in English if he were Portuguese, in Spanish is pronounced rather from the throat as “Ho Ta”. Not easy for the English to pronounce, but think of the final two letters in a Scottish Loch, and one is almost there.
    I know, nobody likes a “smart arse”, but just trying to be helpful.

  23. Ian… good comment . I had wondered how long it would be in the coming.
    Well the wedding has started so footy is off unless I can sneak away and watch on my phone. At the groom’s house waitng to drag him off to his wife’s village and to make sure he doesn’t bottle it. All the women are done up to the 9s. Live band complete with goat bagpipes to escort us.
    And of course food and booze.
    UTB

    1. Allan, I’ve actually got a CD of ‘Ivo Papasov and his Bulgarian Wedding Band’ called ‘Orpheus Ascending’from 1989 and there are some brilliant haunting tracks on it with my favourite being ‘Mamo Marie Mamo’ sung by Maria Karafizieva. It’s not beyond the possibility it gets played at some point during the party! Anyway, enjoy the day and hope you have a great party!

    2. HAve a great time having a wedding whilst working overseas is a memorable experience enjoy !
      I’m looking forward to my food and booze and then the Boro!!!

  24. Apropos the Spanish pronunciation of j, I remember when we bought our first house in Wellspring Close. The vendors were moving to a new house in Marton and we became good friends.
    We had been to Ibiza in the summer. They came round and brought a bottle of red wine. Got chatting and found out she was a Spanish teacher, what is more her mum was Spanish.
    Stop tittering because you know what is coming.
    Rioja, we had some in Ibiza. No prizes for guessing how I pronounced it She just shook her head.

    1. I remember working in Spain amd learning Spanish
      My Spanish secretary who was a middle aged Spanish woman married to a Spanish baron always put up with my mispronounced words until one day I mixed up cajones and cehones
      One word means a gentlemans dangly bits and the other one is Spanish for a filing cabinet
      She collapsed in tears of laughter one day when I told her (in Spanish!) to put away the documents in my bollozzzzz!

  25. Could be a difficult match for us today. Preston have being playing contained football and will continue to do so, making it difficult for us.
    We will have to be patient and make sure we keep the door closed through the middle (are you listening Mr Clayton?). How we do will I think be down to our midfield, which has not been great to date. I would expect therefore at least one change, even, possibly two from the Burton match.
    Not a must win game as it is only August, but six points behind already certainly piles on the pressure.

  26. Preston Puzzles
    In defence we have not looked in any great trouble, then sudden lapses of concentration have gifted goals to opponents, and if we include the late disallowed Sheff U goal, we could be on only four points now. This is ridiculous given how well we have matched up to our opponents generally.
    In addition, the ‘goals change games’ effect has been a double whammy because of our missed chances, including one straightforward finish in each of the Wolves and Forest games. So we have given heart and belief to our opponents in a few key moments during the two games we lost.
    More key moments will arise in our favour if we get to grips with the set-piece problem, which should be a free hit at the opposition, but instead is a lottery of poor delivery and misconceived special moves, with only the occasional effective balls.
    I agree that it will probably be a tight game, but if we get ahead, one of these games three or four goals will be going in.

  27. Well an unexpected line-up for Monk with what looks like 3-5-2 – as Friend plays and also do Fabio and Christie – central midfield of Clayton, Howson and Baker with Assombalonga and Gestede up front. Adama not even in the squad and Bamford on the bench along with Downing, Leadbitter, Fletcher, Ayala and Roberts. Raises a lot of questions and we could see a pretty packed midfield with Boro looking to feed the front two from out wide.

  28. Werder
    4-3-1-2 ?
    Where does Fabio fit in? Right midfield? Centre?
    I think GM’s analysis suggested beefing up midfield and NOT includin Speedy T as he would be an extra to far.
    Looks like there’s going to be quite a rumbustuous game ahead, hence Bamford on the bench.
    Welcome to the Championship!

    1. It’s by no means certain what shape he’s going for, 3-4-1-2 is more likely if Fabio and Friend play but it could even be 4-4-2. It’s a bit of a gamble playing with 3 centre-backs when you’ve only got three at the club plus George. Though it does sound like Monk’s preparing for a midfield battle and perhaps wants Clayton further up the pitch. We will have to wait and see come kick-off.

    2. I think it will be a back five defending and a back three attacking. Its interesting that a few of Tuesdays side have come into the reckoning. Keeps pressure on and shows no favouritism, so far at least.

      1. RR
        Don’t know how you’re going to write a match report after that pot mess of a game
        Worst one I’ve seen for a whole amd I’ve seen some bad uns!

    1. No jokes please referring to personal body odour, thank you!
      🙂
      Forshaw not even on the bench is a big surprise, to me at least.
      You have to say this will be a hugely different style of game to last Tuesday night.
      Aka – In yer face!

  29. I don’t know if this selection somewhat plays into Preston’s hands – we were wondering that how does Monk choose only three of our forwards given our riches in that department – instead he’s only gone for two forwards and gone more on the defensive – perhaps more a sign that he doesn’t want to lose this game rather than trying to win it.

  30. Boro haven’t really created much in the first half and Preston have had the better chances – if Monk wants to change things then he may replace Friend with Bamford and possibly Howson for Leadbitter and revert to 4-3-3. Baker has looked comfortable and had taken over dead-ball duties from Clayton who is also having another good game. Assombalonga looks dangerous when he gets he ball but it’s not often enough. Don’t think Monk will wait too long before deciding the game needs to be won.

  31. Leadbiter should have played from the start.
    Am I wrong????
    He could have been subbed with 15-20 to go bringing on Fabio when oppostion legs were tiring.

  32. Out with family but got a withering half time text from JP and wasn’t being withering about me. Caught up with the team and stats and astonished to see 54% to Preston, 11 shots to four in their favour, none on target vs three for them, 8 corners to 2.
    Good grief, a shot on target after 8 minutes.
    Is it as bad as that? Read through the posts about the line up.
    It seems an awful mess.
    Five minutes to hold on. I said it would be nail biting.

  33. Yes Ian it was a mess and not enjoyable to watch or listen to as the commentary was provided by PNE’s local radio.
    They continually reminded viewers that we had spent over £40M on players and that one alone had cost £15M which was more that PNE had spent on the whole squad. It was difficult to counter the commentary which pointed out that PNE were showing more determination, fight and fluidity and closing down much quicker than us.
    Any neutral watching would have thought they were the team who had spent all the money and were playing at home. All in all we were lucky to get a point but as you have rightly pointed out that is not enough and we are falling further and further behind the front runners.
    Work in progress has been mentioned but on today’s display it is back to the drawing board. I am not sure that if we do get Jota that one player will be the answer to all our problems which are numerous.
    I wonder if the favourites tag has gone to some players’ heads and they believe they just need to turn up and they will win!
    To many poor performances all round and a lack of cohesion/urgency in mid field again – a worrying pattern is developing and what is more worrying is that we did not play like a team who knew one another!

  34. Very underwhelming performance from Boro – no real urgency. Bamford and Downing provided some guile when they came on but neither Gestede or Assombalonga looked on their game and we rarely looked a threat. so not much to sustain us for a two-week international break – especially with three away games out of four to come next.

    1. Gestede didn’t win many headers all afternoon and didn’t look like scoring
      We should go back to
      Leeds amd say yes £6m amd you can have him

  35. Well that was not very inspiring, lumping the ball up the pitch is not going to let us “SMASH” this league. George was particularly poor and twitter sphere full of rumours that forest gump sorry Adama has spit his dummy out……all in all very poor.

  36. It has been mentioned before on this blog, we need a leader driving force in the centre of the pitch. One that rallies the players to greater achievement.
    Leadbiter has that which is needed against a team that fights to the last. He played not, so who do we turn to? No one is stepping upto the plate and showing leadership.
    Sorry to say this but GM is ultimately responsible because its his job to know this. I suggested Lee Cattermole. I was disagreed with. Ok, fine, but if GL isn’t going to play we have a deficit and it shows today.
    More… the team that did so well Tuesday night is not so much the team today. It needs sorting otherwise its mid-table/play-offs for us coz every team in the league is goin to do a Wolves Preston style game against us.
    Now, here’s one to stir the hornets nest – what about Downing as captain at number 10?
    UTaboro

    1. Yes, agreed, GM is ultimately responsible for what happens on the pitch and after five league games we haven’t given a decent performance yet.
      I am not a fan of Monk and today in my opinion he got the team selection wrong. If he wanted to play Fabio he should have played him in place of George who is completely off form, I don’t understand why Traore wasn’t even in the match day squad, Bamford has been one of the best players so far this season and was left out of the team and the formation was a mess. The players looked completely lost and overall we were awful. Preston were by far the better side and by my reckoning that is the third game out of the five played where we have been clearly second best. The team that beat Scunthorpe would have stood more chance of winning today than the team put out by Monk.
      Leadership on the pitch is certainly one of the ingredients lacking but for me the biggest problem is the players’ attitude. Where is the passion? Where is the competitive drive? Where is the physical confrontation? Where is the will to dominate and to win? It is all too soft and tentative and the team looks lacklustre when they should be busting a gut to make a statement of intent to the rest of the league. Monk needs to spend a lot of time over the next two weeks on motivation so that a team with a totally different attitude takes the field at Bolton which is now looking like a game we have to win if the alarm bells are to be quietened.
      Overall, while it may still be early days, it has been a hugely disappointing start to the league campaign and if things don’t improve dramatically we will most likely finish in the bottom half of the table and that would surely be seen as a disaster.

  37. Bob
    We were lucky to get Nil.
    Clayton MOM again. Fry, Fabio ok but the rest non existent. Bamford did at least try to get into the box and make things happen. Let’s hope there are some decent incomings next week.

  38. We have our good home 0-0s, like Bournemouth in 2014, and bad home 0-0s, like today. But either way, they’re a problem. Ian superbly addressed this issue after the Bournemouth match. Much of what he says still applies. I’ll paraphrase it a little, while blending in my own thoughts.
    It’s never a point gained that proves most crucial, regardless of timing, opposition or circumstance. It’s points lost that do. You cannot dress up dropped points at home.
    And what of the fans who, say, swore of AKBoro after a series of dour displays but were attracted back by the squeaky clean look of MonksBoro, or ModestBoro? A win, even if we didn’t deserve it (“Deserve’s got nothing to do with it” – Unforgiven) would have sent the fans home more content and given us something of a buzz going into the break.
    What an armchair pundit thinks matters less than what the fan who is there thinks. It’s easy to say, don’t panic, early days, Monk will get it right, but if he wants to continue spending like he has the fans must start turning up more often – and for that both results and performances must improve.
    It’s frustrating enough knowing we were lucky to escape with a draw today and that we have a lot to learn. It’s worse for those who were actually present.
    Onwards and, er, hopefully upwards.

  39. Too many managers have an idea how they want a team to play,it’s usually based on what they have seen successfull teams do,
    However o good manager will mould a team with what he has at his exposal ,and add bit by bit,
    What Monk did today came from a thought , not reality , that’s a concern.
    Gestede is a problem , it’s not his fault , he’s a combersome forward with limited skill, he can be awkward to mark,but he has now become the focal point of attack and it’s very poor, the players stop playing and just hoof it forward , when you get desperate.
    Osombolonga is a box striker playing him wide ,doesn’t work if you insist on playing keep ball, yes you want possession but not to the point of using players to your advantage.
    We should do a Leciester win the ball one pass and get the forward on their bike, we have speed , Adama, Fletcher, Assombolonga.
    Just my view
    COB

    1. GT
      Your first two sentences hit the nail on the head.
      I fear the number of player connotations possible is leading GM to confusion and his opposition analysis is making it worse.
      The game Tuesday was simple and effective against limited opposition. Today PNE had the bit between their teeth and confidence in their managers instructions and fellow players.
      When is a team not a team? When they fail to work as a single unit. That’s the manager’s* responsibilty!
      Just sayin like.
      *Where’s the assistant manager?

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