| Middlesbrough | Birmingham City | ||
| Assombalonga | 10′ 41′ |
||
| Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
54% 17 7 9 7 |
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
46% 12 2 5 7 |
Britt brace blows the blues away!
Pressures of work and the thought of howling wind and rain didn’t exactly have me excited for this one; suffice to say my attendance was more in obligation than elation. Our surprise three win run now ended, reality meant we were now back in the pack chasing the 3rd and 4th play-off spots which as we know can be a lottery even on the final day of the season.
Steve Cotterill’s side hadn’t won a game away from home all season with just a singular point to show for their paltry nine goals scored since hope beckoned under Harry back in August. Boro had high hopes themselves way back in August with a glittery star studded collection of Championship jewels that had lost not only their sparkle but arguably for some their invoiced value. Walking up the Riverside Road I wondered if SG had or indeed was even able to take out GAP insurance for his summer spending spree?
There had to be some selection changes after Sunday in order to restore sanity and obviously Christie who was desperately missed had to return along with Johnson coming in for Tav who had taken a physical battering and George who had taken a psychological one replaced by Fabio. The weather was nothing short of horrible especially those of us in the lower sections of the ground with the rain pelting down leaving us drenched just from watching the warm ups.
Interestingly Boro’s warm up seemed to be focussed on shooting practice. Gone was the one two interplay passing and shooting and instead lining up like schoolboys for class, running forwards and taking turns to shoot. Maybe this was a sign that some basic thinking was being applied which essentially meant that if you pass and don’t shoot you won’t win games but if you have a crack eventually something will give or at least should by the law of averages.
The opening few minutes saw some Boro pressure and Birmingham’s game plan of sitting deep and not over committing. Understandable I suppose given the circumstances as they were the away side with a really appalling away record. It has to be said that this Birmingham side looked bereft of any idea and confidence, possibly the poorest side I have seen at the Riverside in a long long while. Jota who we courted in the summer was distinctly average in front of Nsue who had a decent game for the Blues but other than that there was nothing of remote concern. Downing who had been an object of desire for Birmingham or Harry at least in the summer was putting on a display to show them what they could have had in contrast to the ineffective Jota.
On ten minutes Fabio set up a move which saw Braithwaite floored and then Britt pick up the loose ends and feed Stewy who cut inside onto the edge of the D, fired a fierce shot at Kuszczak who bizarrely parried it straight up in the air only for Britt following in with a poacher’s instinct to head home. The early goal we felt would settle nerves and we would now go on to turn the screw. As bad as Birmingham were it didn’t quite happen that way. As hapless and as disorganised that Birmingham looked we somehow managed to give the ball away through sloppy passing or over-complicating the simple stuff almost inviting them to get back into the game.
Strangely Steve Cotterill’s side still sat deep despite going behind and genuinely looked clueless as to what to do next. We passed the ball around but we just didn’t look convincing, a lot better than Leeds definitely and you can only beat what’s in front of you but the ground for a night game seemed quiet and at times felt more like a pre-season knock about. We even gifted them a couple of chances one of which required a point blank Randolph block low down at the corner of his 6 yard box and another gift from Ayala which he managed to get back and put in a redeeming sliding block on the edge of his own box to spare his blushes from old boy Grounds.
The game was no classic and whilst we were not in any real danger apart from our own enforced errors the anticipated goal avalanche just didn’t look to be coming anytime soon. In fact it took a piece of bare faced cheek or sublime skill from Fabio to hook an up and under ball to Britt to bury any feint hope the travelling Blues support had to slot home from just about on the penalty spot making it two nil just before half time on 41 minutes.
The second half saw Maghoma come on for Davis and Cotterill (not Steve) come on for Adams. Maghoma and Jota then moved in behind the Striker and the pair of them looked lively and started to pull the strings as Boro seemed content camping in their own half protecting the two goal advantage. Things were extremely uncomfortable for the opening 15 minutes or so and it looked like it might be one of those Typical Boro nights when we throw away a two goal lead against a distinctly poor side indeed.
Having survived the opening onslaught eventually Birmingham looked to be running out of ideas which perhaps was just as well as we didn’t seem to have much innovation ourselves. Balls were being passed around with little penetration and indeed forward runs were often checked to pull the ball back and pass yet again with Johnson getting some groans. Ben found himself in the middle of the park, bringing the ball out from the back and instead of just getting rid or plain hoofing it decided to dribble past two blue shirts and lose possession only for Grant to step in with a high footed interception to clear up what would have been a straight through on goal two v. one on Randolph from the half way line. As it happened that was the end of Grants night as he was replaced by Forshaw presumably to rest him for Saturday especially as Howson had picked up a yellow which I believe may now have him suspended for Derby’s visit.
Concerns had been previously raised about Christie who looked to have twisted his knee badly and didn’t look to be running freely and as Forshaw warmed up it did cross my mind if GM would play him at RB. Bravely however Cyrus soldiered on perhaps buoyed by the banner of support from the Red faction.
Forshaw was immediately tenacious, disrupting play whilst Howson who had steadily set up moves and read intentions all night carried on as normal alongside having one of his better games including managing a 25 yard strike which sailed into the North Stand upper. On 71 minutes Bamford was then brought on for Braithwaite who was looking a little jaded and tired as the game wore on.
Paddy was clearly looking to impress on his arrival and added much sparkle, zest and zip, linking up well with both Stewy and almost with Britt. I say “almost” because there were some clever balls and movements but the pair of them needed more game time to read each other. The positive was that it put a smile on Britts face as he clearly appreciated the creative support. Bamford himself had a shot which just went narrowly wide of the post and also called Kuszczak into action diving at his feet from a nicely weighted ball from Stewy.
Downing then came off to a rousing ovation for Traore with only a few minutes left plus the four minutes of additional time. Adama managed a mazy dribble beating four defenders before the Lino adjudged the ball to have come off Adama for a goal kick. In the last minute of the game however as Boro cleared their lines Adama won a header twenty yards out in his own half, wriggled free and rampaged down the middle of the park drawing in defenders trying to block him and sent a through ball for Paddy who took it forward and then cut it across to Britt who nearly finished the night with his third only for Nsue who managed to cut in and clear it just before it reached him.
We won all three points in a must not lose game but in reality the opposition were really poor and but for late cameos from Bamford and Traore there wasn’t much to excite. Saturday and Derby will be a much sterner test. If I was marking them I would have to say 6/10, can do better. My MOM was between Fabio (who had a goal bound shot deflected), Stewy and Britt for both his goals but for overall contribution I think Stewy might have edged it but only just.
Boro hope to wipe away the Blues
Garry Monk’s team will try to shake off the Blues at the Riverside on Wednesday following a rather grey performance against the Whites at Elland Road that left a cloud of gloom hanging over Boro’s renewed promotion aspirations. The performance against Leeds failed to build on the three straight wins before the international break that many had hoped had finally turned the corner on a rather bumpy road to nowhere that had diverted Boro’s promotion chances. Despite those wins against struggling teams, the team displays were not particularly convincing in most parts – more solid and workmanlike than those befitting a squad professing to contain an embarrassment of attacking riches.
It’s been clear to expectant Boro watchers for much of the season that something is missing – whether it’s the creative spark or the confident drive going forward that gives a team its swagger – it’s not really evident. This is not something new, under both Karanka and Agnew, the essence of the team was one of caution first, expression later – almost an apprehension that the opposition are better and must be first stopped from being allowed to play their game. What about Boro’s game? Is there a real belief within the team, from the manager to the players (or even to the supporters) that all that unrivaled spending on an array of attacking talent before the season started had got us wondering how on earth could Monk decide on who to leave out.
Instead, the questions have increasingly started to become about which of our signings have started to show that they deserve their place. Perhaps they have been poorly integrated or supplied – some have been jettisoned from the matchday squad altogether and appear to be heading for a January exit, while others have failed to find their feet and have seemingly lost their touch and confidence. Building a team is perhaps not an exact science (or maybe it is) and it may well be that in the dash to sign up players in a busy market some key components got overlooked. Pace and power were the rebuilding buzz words but maybe guile was neglected from the summer shopping list. We know that even Karanka’s promotion winning team didn’t really function until the vision and skills of Gaston Ramirez suddenly made the team click around him – Boro lack such a player at the moment and really that should have been first on any smashing wish list.
| Middlesbrough | Birmingham City | ||
| Garry Monk | Steve Cotterill | ||
| P17 – W7 – D5 – L5 – F22 – A15 | P17 – W4 – D3 – L10 – F9 – A25 | ||
| Position Points Points per game Projected points |
6th 26 1.5 70 |
Position Points Points per game Projected points |
21st 15 0.88 40 |
| Last 6 Games Leeds (A) Sunderland (H) Hull (A) Reading (A) Cardiff (H) Barnsley (A) |
(H-T) 1:2 (0:1) L 1:0 (1:0) W 3:1 (2:0) W 2:0 (1:0) W 0:1 (0:0) L 2:2 (1:2) D |
Last 6 Games Nottm Forest (H) Barnsley (A) Brentford (H) Aston Villa (H) Millwall (A) Cardiff (H) |
F-T (H-T) 1:0 (1:0) W 0:2 (0:1) L 0:2 (0:0) L 0:0 (0:0) D 0:2 (0:0) L 1:0 (1:0) W |
Birmingham arrive in the North-East with their season not looking in particular good shape, having already given Harry the heave-ho two months ago after he failed to walk-the-walk despite his renowned ability to talk-the-talk. Steve Cotterill has taken over but with no real impact on the pitch – it’s clear scoring goals is their elephant in front of the opposition goal and with just nine this season they are going to have trouble winning games if the opposition score.
In recent weeks we’ve seen how club ownership has often left fans hostage to the fortunes (or lack of fortunes) of those who appear almost randomly decided to takeover the supporters dreams. In the mid-1980’s, a financially struggling Birmingham was sold to former Walsall chairman Ken Wheldon, who tried to get the club back on an even keel by undertaking the task of cutting costs and selling assets, including the training ground. Though despite the cuts, he still couldn’t get to grips with the financially troubled club and decided to sell it on to the Kumar brothers in 1989, though the ones involved in the clothing business rather than the others who lived at number 42. However, following the famous collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) in 1991, the Kumars suddenly found themselves bankrupt and Birmingham City was once again left looking for new ownership.
An advert in the Financial Times was then spotted by a young ambitious women in her early twenties, which lead to her putting an interesting proposal to her boss. The woman in question, is now probably better known from the television show ‘The Apprentice’ in which she is Lord Sugar’s latest sidekick, namely Karren Brady or Baroness Brady as she’s also rather grandly now known. The young Brady was appointed at the age of 20 as a director of those two slightly misnamed esteemed journals ‘The Daily Sport’ and ‘The Sunday Sport’, which were owned by the pornographer David Sullivan. She was appointed after he’d been apparently impressed with her ability to sell to him £2m worth of advertising in six months whilst Brady was working as an advertising executive for LBC. Then a few years later she saw that advert in the FT, which was looking for new owners of the club after it went into receivership. Brady then persuaded Sullivan to buy Birmingham on the condition she could run it and in 1993 at the age of just 23 she became the club’s managing director.
It was rare to have a women in such a high profile position in football and she claims it made her a target for sexism. In one famous story, as she boarded the team bus for the first time, a player apparently shouted “I can see your tits from here” – to which Brady responded “When I sell you to Crewe you won’t be able to see them from there will you?” and the over observant player was indeed promptly sold. That was a clear message to the players that they better understand quickly who was in charge. Though not all of the footballers at the club got on the wrong side of her – she famously married Canadian footballer and then Birmingham top scorer Paul Peschisolido – indeed they are still together and have two children.
The club itself was co-owned by David Sullivan and David Gold who made their fortunes together in the adult industry – in fact Welshman Sullivan was once sent to prison in 1982 after he was convicted of ‘living off immoral earnings’ but was eventually released after serving just over two months, following a successful appeal. Gold is the self-confessed son of an East End criminal known rather imaginatively as ‘Goldy’ by his fellow associates – one story that the former Birmingham owner is fond of telling is how, following a copper ingot heist from a Thames barge by his father’s gang, Goldy was supposed to be the getaway driver of the haul but fell asleep in the rather comfy cab of his lorry and was subsequently collared by the police and sent down. Prison left his family to live in “abject poverty” according to David Gold and he instead found escapism in football as an avid Hammers supporter. Gold even ending up playing for West Ham boys in the 1950’s with the offer of a professional contract but no doubt turned it down to pursue his early business career – which ironically lead to him making the wealth that ultimately made him the now club’s owner.
After 16 years as owners of Birmingham, Sullivan and Gold finally sold the club in 2009 to Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung for over £80m after the club was promoted to the Premier League. Yeung had previously tried to takeover the club two years earlier but had failed to deliver the cash in time to meet the deadline – an aborted bid which caused then manager Steve Bruce to quit the club as manager. He then acquired 30 per cent of the club through his company Grandtop International Holdings (which later changed its name to Birmingham International Holdings Ltd), which was based in the Cayman Islands, before making a second successful bid. Yeung arrived in London from Hong Kong at the age of 12 and trained to be a hairdresser before returning to Hong Kong to make his fortune in the real estate industry (as hairdressers apparently do). After the Asian financial crisis he then made an even bigger fortune by dealing in Penny Stocks in the Chinese autonomous territory of Macau – Penny Stocks are low price (usually under a dollar) high risk shares that are not generally traded at major stock exchanges.
However, in June 2011 he was arrested in Hong Kong and charged on five counts of money laundering – this caused the club to be left in financial limbo resulting in a transfer embargo being imposed by the Football League. The case eventually went to trial in May 2013 and lasted 10 months before finding Yeung guilty of laundering a total of HK$270 (around £26m). He was sentenced to six years in prison and was forced to put his company that owned the club, Birmingham International Holdings, up for sale. It was a long drawn out affair as Yeung tried to influence who could be appointed directors of the company and sold the shares gradually – Eventually, the British Virgin Islands based investment vehicle, the somewhat optimistically named Trillion Trophy Asia gained over 50 per cent of the shares allowing them to make an offer for the remaining ones. The men behind Trillion Trophy Asia are two Hong Kong businessmen, Paul Suen Cho Hung and Daniel Sue Ka Lok, who are also involved in real estate and specialise in turning around distressed Hong Kong assets – though whether the Birmingham players deserve to win a ‘million medals’ (as Harry might have said before he was sacked) may depend on if they can turn their season around and avoid the drop.
Football ownership has increasingly become a game dependent on the arrival of random rich men with the West Midlands clubs having pretty much fallen into Chinese ownership in recent years. The richest is Wolves owner Guo Guangchang, through his Fosun International Group, who reportedly has net worth of £4.4bn to make him ‘the richest man in the West Midlands’ – a phrase best spoken for full effect in a brummie accent. Then there’s the new West Brom owner Lai Guochuan, who bought the club through Yuni Investments from Jeremy Peace for a price reportedly between £150-200m and with personal wealth of £2.8bn makes him ‘only the third richest man in the West Midlands’ – adds brummie accent in incredulous tone. Finally comes the Aston Villa chairman Xia Jiantong, or Tony Xia as he prefers to be called now, who bought the club he apparently supported in his Oxford University days from Randy Lerner for £76m. Purchased through his Recon Group in order to expand his ‘sports portfolio’, Tony is sadly barely a billionaire with a net worth of just £990m, though he calls himself “more than a dollar billionaire” – coincidentally, many in the West Midlands also now call themselves Zimbabwean dollar billionaires.
Back onto the game and Garry Monk will want to win this game and preferably show that his team is progressing or at least give the Riverside faithful a performance to cheer. With this the second game of three in six days, it’s unlikely that he’ll have anything radical up his sleeve to alter the recent tactics. You’d expect Cyrus Christie to return and with Friend appearing to have been partly to blame for both Leeds goals in a less than adequate performance I’d expect Fabio back as a starter. After that, much will depend on what he feels he can do to freshen up a stale looking Boro on their last two outings. Adama, despite his erratic nature still offers forward momentum and would generally be expected to start loosely on the right – Downing could go left instead or even become the number ten with Braithwaite shifting out wide. Perhaps we’ll even see some rotation of places throughout the game to see what works. There could even be an option to see something more adventurous in central midfield – where maybe the forgotten Baker could return to a role I thought he’d eventually reside in. Though before we get too excited, the reality is that we’ll probably see very few surprises when it comes to team selection as Birmingham should be beatable with Monk’s favourites lining up again.
So will Boro show that they are no longer feeling peaky and play a blinder at the Riverside? Or will Garry Monk’s team appear off-colour as they leave the supporters with the blues? as usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will Emilio Nsue remind us that we may have sold the wrong fullback?
Rock and Roll 2 Blues 0
Riverside was (?) Rocking. Correct score, mate. UTB!
Some interesting results tonight but ultimately their outcomes mean that not getting a result tomorrow simply isn’t an option for GM. A draw or heaven forbid a defeat will reapply the pressure that was temporarily abated by the triple winning streak. I still think we will witness a Boro victory probably in spite of rather than because of as has so often been the case this season.
It would be great to see a Boro side finally clicking but if they do we will all be only too aware that its “only” against another struggling lower half side. Tonights results already applies pressure to Saturday and the visit of Derby. 6 points are now looking like a must have rather than a nice to have, anything less could see us in mid table obscurity Saturday evening.
“Interesting”! Some of the results were frankly quite bizarre. I’d love to know what the odds were for Fulham and Preston both winning. It shows that anybody can be tripped up.
Returning briefly to Sunday’s debacle, I wrote in advance that the important thing was not winning – nice though it would have been – but rather playing as a team that looked strong and cohesive and ready for the many games ahead. As we all know, Boro were the opposite. They had no attacking panache for most of the game and this only changed when Traore came on to terrify the Leeds defenders who had absolutely no idea how to deal with him short of crowding three to four men round him. This must create opportunities elsewhere. It could be said that Traore is not good enough to deliver a pass to take advantage of this but the last twenty minutes or so did underline how much better Boro look when they are attacking in numbers and with speed.
I wonder if Monk will look for a formation that enables him to throw more people forward rather than just pass side to side. One could argue that 3-5-2 with one defensive midfield player is much better suited to a home game of this style. Were he to go that way, I’d still expect Monk to bring Christie in to play as right wing back and maybe even bring in Clayton to replace Leadbitter who was pretty poor on Sunday. Other than that, left wing back is a bit of a lottery but the rest of the team needs to show real attacking intent. How about Traore floating in the middle alongside Howson/Forshaw and Downing with Braithwaite and Assombalonga up front together. Bamford back on the bench instead of Fletcher.
I don’t reckon that he’ll do this but it would be good to see an appropriate reaction to a poor performance. I admire Monk for staying with people who play well but the reverse is also true. What’s the point of having a squad like ours if you don’t use it to send a clear message that Sunday wasn’t acceptable.
2-0 win and back on track.
UTB
Any switch in tactical approach requires time on the training pitch, so with essentially just one training day before the Birmingham game it’s highly unlikely Boro will try something new. The only choices for Monk are probably different players in some of the positions and if he learned anything from the Leeds game then he must have noticed the dynamics of the team change when Adama is on the pitch.
I expect low-scoring Birmingham will sit deep and that will require players who can beat their man and play killer balls – a slow build up with plenty of passing in our own half will perhaps suit the opposition and frustrate the crowd, which in turn will make the Boro players edgy and prone to mistakes.
I’d like to see a ball player in central midfield for such games and maybe if Baker has got any future at the club then these are the kind of games he should be playing. We’ve also talked about the problem at left-back and perhaps Johnson is also a serious option given he ended up there at the end of the Leeds game.
SUGGESTED TEAM (4-2-3-1)
Johnson
Braithwaite
Forshaw
Gibson
Randolph Downing Britt
Ayala
Baker
Adama
Christie
I think the problem for Boro is if they don’t start on the front foot they rarely get onto it – plus there’s also been a tendency for Boro to take their foot off the gas once they score and that invites the opposition to get back into the game.
Much will depend on the team selected but if it’s just Christie and Fabio returning then it will be probably 1-0 to Boro with a laboured performance again.
Great leading article again Werder. I liked the team formation in your second post. It had made confused so let’s hope GM tries it and confuses Brum!😂
Tight game tonight with the blustery conditions not helping. 1-0 to us unless a typical Boro turn up.
CoB 😎
Got to trust the team in red. 4-0.
Up the Boro!
Another good read Werder, the key will be getting off to a start, hopefully with some tempo.
The eyes are back
0O
Oh no…
UTB,
John
OFB
May be legs 11
Or two little ducks 🐍🐍
It’s the 22nd,
There’s a train coming,
So for me it’s got to be 2-2 😃
PS : Get Monk out, I think the majority on here have said this in a round about way. You can always keep saying the next 4 games are crucial until there’s 3 games left.
I hope it’s not too late to learn from last season’s mistakes.
I for one don’t agree with get Monk out and I don’t mind who knows it.
Come on BORO.
I hadn’t twigged that tonights game had been shuffled back 24 hours thanks to meddling TV companies for Sunday’s game and so screwed up my meticulous diary planning for the week! So instead of staying in a very nice hotel this evening with a 10 minute drive to a meeting tomorrow morning I will be shivering at the Riverside, getting up at 4.30am for a five hour drive tomorrow morning and hoping the Motorway Gods are kind to me.
I did consider not turning up tonight and sensibly driving down later this afternoon for some pampering and R&R this evening but after Leeds I figured we couldn’t afford any further no shows. Hoping for a convincing home win and signs of progress. Am I confident? Am I heck as like.
I literally haven’t a clue what Boro will line up or look like tonight but I do know that I was seriously dithering over whether or not it was worth the effort attending. My innermost instincts lost out to my emotional entanglement but only just!
Regardless of what I read on here and elsewhere (and indeed what I rationally and irrationally post myself) the fact that I was considering wasting my Season card due to early shoots of indifference didn’t so much shock me but was a reality check as to where we are and where we perhaps are not headed, very sobering.
RR
At least all of us here at Diasboro are thankful of your dedication
I for one am also grateful as you are a hard act to follow with the match reports and mine would not have been as good!
OFB
Bob
Yours was seriously good, keeps me on my toes in case I slip and you take your chance and I drop to the bench!
Weather today in TS3, 45/50mph winds up to 5 then decreasing to 16mph by kick off, joined by rain from around 9 until early hours tomorrow morning. Just thought I would advise for those attending.
Come on BORO.
Hope thats not an omen for storm clouds gathering over the Riverside!
Very interesting article, Werdermouth, about Sullivan and Gold, didn’t know they both belonged to the criminal world. I must say now you’ve brought it to my attention they both do look like the archetypal criminal. I remember a programme on TV when Karen Brady became managing director at Birmingham, and at the time I admired her, but not now for her supercilious attitude on “The Apprentice”. However, that response to the footballer who made the inappropriate remark does deserve some credit; almost worthy to compare with some Oscar Wilde remarks.
Back to tonight’s match, and surely we should adopt a more aggressive formation for home matches, either 3-5-2 or 4-4-2. If we play our normal 4-2-3-1, I really would not be surprised at a 0-1 defeat. A more aggressive formation, and I’d settle for a 3-0 win. I expect the lowest league attendance of the season though and by some distance 21,188.
I probably should clarify that Gold is only the son of a convicted criminal and Sullivan was released after 2 months or so on appeal against his conviction for ‘living off immoral earnings’. Gold is now reportedly worth £450m and Sullivan £1bn – incidentally you may be interested to know that Sullivan has been a fund raiser and patron of Prostrate Cancer UK for nearly 15 years.
OK, sorry if I misinterpreted your article, so maybe an apology due.
It’s OK Ken, my clarification is just to avoid any potential legal ramifications – though Sullivan is quite open about how he made his money in the adult industry and is not embarrassed by it. Reportedly saying that he only wanted to give people pleasure and nobody died – before adding at least he didn’t make his money in the arms or drugs trade. Gold also seems quite nostalgic about his father’s East End criminal exploits and is not shy in giving that particular anecdote.
Werdermouth
Sounds like a good get out of jail card to me! 😎🤣
And now, from Belfast, it’s my Boro Goal Of The Day… a new feature I’ll try to maintain. Here’s a favourite of mine from December 2015… sixteen passes from kick-off before Mr Downing finds Mr Stuani. A very impressive team goal.
https://youtu.be/SJhUFKX9V_8
16 passes!
“Typical Boro” 😉
Typical Boro in that we would appear to have strong foundations for a good future, and then, as I think you yourself once put it, RR, someone reverses the metaphorical JCB into it.
I mailed Blues TV on Monday to ask if they could offer a Matchday pass, explaining as a Middlesbrough away supporter our only option to watch a single game requires us to take out a monthly subscription at £15.99. I also mentioned that they said in their FAQ that prices were based on the iFollow model – but they include single games at £5, which they haven’t included.
Anyway, they’ve just responded and you can see from the reply that they’ve fully taken on board my points…
Thanks for your email.
Unfortunately we only offer monthly or annual passes.
Kind regards
Not sure if I’ll pay £16 in what is clearly a rip off – it’s a bit like Birmingham charging away supporters the equivalent of three times the price of a game ticket. I just know if I pay it will be a boring 0-0 but if I don’t subscribe it will probably be the best display of the season!
Werder
Please don’t pay it.
As you say if you stump up the cash it will be a drab 0-0 (or even worse shudders!).
Instead follow the text updates and radio and have pleasure in kicking yourself as “Bold Boro Batter the Blues” in a 6-0 romp!
You’re going to pay the £16, I knew it.
Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
If it’s any consolation it’s costing RR and others more to watch the 00
Can’t see us scoring on a night with gale force winds and heavy rain!
Err I might have talked myself out of this…..
00 The eyes have it!
Werder
I second RR’s comments. I haven’t travelled all this way and spent shed loads of money for you to ruin my evening!! 😎🤣🤣
Sorry KP, I apologise in advance I’m afraid RR talked me into parting with £16 with his talk of a 6-0 romp. Whatever happens it can’t be as bad as my Brentford experience for my Rivrside visit – OK that was 2-2 so it could be a lot worse! Looking on the bright side, OFB said the food was good 🙂
BTW The odd thing with Blues TV is that I had problems registering and it kept asking me if I was sure I wasn’t already logged in – since I’ve never registered with them before that was impossible. Anyway after the third time of failing I decided to use previous login details from a different club and it came up with ‘Welcome Back’ and I was logged in without registering – so clearly their system is being run by a third party and they are sharing a database of user details, which must be in breach of the data protection act I reckon. I shall mail them about it when I cancel my subscription after the game since although it is just a monthly pass it will automatically renew unless you cancel within ten days – extremely bad practice and legally borderline from my point of view.
There will no doubt be a box somewhere that you ticked that acknowledged the personal data you entered will be shared with partners and other organisations “we think” will be of interest to you. Come May next year it will definitely be illegal.
Werder
I am not 100% certain but I believe our registration is with IFOLLOW and not necessarily individual clubs.
Met with Bob Tait at MFC last night and whilst we were treated to a visit to the media centre and taken pitch side just before kick off no progress on MFC TV this season! Disappointing news and clearly what happens next season will be governed by whether we are promoted or not.
It doesn’t surprise me that MFC have decided to wait and see what happens with promotion. In theory they could take the same approach next season if they remain unsure of which league they will play in until the final game as it will only leave them a couple of months to get a system up and running – hopefully they make some contingency plans.
BTW Birmingham are not part of iFollow and have their own independent system – judging by the marketing emails they sent to me that were very similar to those of QPR, I suspect they are both using the same third-party company for their streaming service and that is why I was already ‘registered’ to Blues TV – though still not sure on the data protection aspect of that as they were supposed to be separate entities when signing up.
Does anyone have experience with this website?
timesoccer.com
In the “upcoming” Boro Birmingham is there.
Haven’t come across that one before GHW interesting!
There are lots of sites which advertise games but you either find them disappearing just before KO or a dead link to nothing. Most are usually blocked here in the UK by service providers but VPN’s and other ways can sometimes circumnavigate albeit the buffering can increase rapidly.
Oops pressed ‘like’ by mistake. Will checkout website.
Thank you Werder for the “informative” headliner.
I do not think I will venture into the Brum site and pay 16 pounds, not after the recent no shows. I will however be ecstatic, if by some remote chance we win 4-0 and I miss it. More likely 1-0 either way.
Brum will block up the midfield like the early morning traffic out of Wynyard. Just cannot see any change to the system, and little change in personnel.
I would start with Adama, but always stood on the half way line never ever in our half. Cover for that in the team choice and somebody else, Britt?? close at hand. Nothing to lose as we have already lost tooooo much.
Also SD has to start producing more to keep his place. Pretty passing is not enough. We need a Ramirez….by January it will be probably too late to buy one and make any difference.
Excellent article Werder, really good.
For me this has a bum clenching 1 – 0 all over it with Boro sitting back in deep in their own half inviting Birmingham to try and score. Boro supporters should be issued with heart monitors. If we lose where do we go, no don’t even think about it.
UTB,
John
What if we sit back and Birmingham don’t venture over the halfway line!
Only Boro would do that RR!
UTB,
John
Elsewhere Niasse has been banned for diving. The good news it may discourage players to be uncertain on their feet.
The bad news it does no good for Palace but it does help Everton’s next opponents.
The argument about the time it would take and slow the game down is a red herring. With everyone milling about after the penalty is awarded there is enough time to for the fourth official to check video footage for anything obvious and relay it to the ref.
Before we get into the game and the post-match postmortem/jubilation – many thanks for the comments on the pre-match article on what is becoming a familiar picture in terms of random ‘businessmen’ looking at investment opportunities in clubs they have very little affinity for.
Mike Ashley?
Werder, how do you do it? Don’t you have anything else to do except pen terrific articles?
As for tonight, the weather forecast is pretty poor and I expect both the Boro performance and the attendance will be the same. I would love to see a positive, spirited, dynamic show that destroys Birmingham but I expect more of what we have been served so far this season and a dull 0-0 draw. The number in the crowd will be interesting as a reflection of how many fans want to come out on a wet midweek night to see the results of Monk’s work.
No idea about tonight. Dull 1-0 to us maybe.
Thanks again for another brilliant article Werder.
Wheres Traore , missed the bus to the riverside ,,,,
If he’s fit, surely he has to be on the bench if not in the team, just don’t understand the logic
Logic is not one of Monk’s attributes (mind you, I can’t think of many others either). Traore man of the match on Sunday but now persona non grata. Completely bizarre.
I thought he was on the bench otherwise we broke the rules when we brought him on !
Come on BORO.
SO WHAT DID WE LEARN TONIGHT
Downing was outstanding
Grant wa ok but Forshaw when he came on for him was much more mobile
Johnson is not championship class and hasn’t adjusted to this division yet. He should have scored if he had a right foot and kept tracking and moving the ball onto his left foot resulting in missed opportunities
Bamford gave a good cameo performance and was eager to score and always tracked back
I would always play Traore at home because he takes two men out of the game
Fabio had a great game and I can’t see George getting back into this team unless either Fabio or Christie are suspended or injured
Clayton wasn’t even on the bench but sat in the dugout at the back. Heard a rumour (unsubstantiated) that he had fallen out with Monk
A better perfomance against a poor team
OFB
Pretty unsurprising team selection as expected – I don’t want to worry KP on his Riverside return but the last time Johnson and Fabio started on the left was Brentford…
I know this is off subject, but does anyone know where I can find coverage of the Ashes cricket which starts at midnight? Sky cricket seems to be covering India v. Sri Lanka.
BT Sport, Ken.
Thanks, Andy. Unfortunately my subscription doesn’t cover BT Sport.
Don’t know if anyone else is watch Blues TV but at the moment I’ve got no sound on the feed.
Even the sound from the crowds were at very low level. But at least they had replays (not for the first goal, though).
Wetder, did you notice that they will renew your montly order automatically if you don’t cancel the order? I haven’t done mine yet. I hope it is easy.
Up the Boro!
Yes at first I thought there was no sound as even the pre-match videos could not be heard – I contacted BCFC support and they tried to claim I needed to update my browser and other pointless tasks – though I knew I already had the latest versions – with the usual ‘thanks for your email please let us know if there is anything else we can help you with’. In the end I connected the laptop to the TV and turned the volume to full so I had audible sound – it was definitely their problem not mine. Picture quality was good though.
I’ve just cancelled the monthly ‘subscription’ – you need to give a reason in less than 100 characters, which I wrote “Automatic renewal is bad practice it should be opt in not opt out” – You just need to go to your account settings at the following link…
https://birminghamfcpayments.streamamg.com/account/
Sorry gents about my comment on Traore. When the Gazette printed the team there was no sign of him on the bench. Now I find out he is !
Ken
We live in Derby and have Virgin Media. Murdoch and Branson fell out big time back in the days of Setanta. Ever since we have had the coverage from Sky’s competitors.
Great news as the Ashes are on BT Sport.
I was told by someone from Sky that I didn’t need 225mb internet connection and 80mb is enough. Nor do I need BT Sport. Short shrift was the response.
Anyway started second half slowly, buck your ideas up. Get a hat trick for Britt, bring on Bamford and the blue noses a bloody one.
UninspirIng but got the job done.
Fabio my MOTM.
Well, after a few days of doom and gloom it’s probably worth remembering that the two form teams in the Championship are Wolves and MFC, both with 12 points out of fifteen. Clearly the Derby game will be a bigger test but it sounds as if tonight’s performance was a lot better. I’m looking forward to watching it when MFC put it up on the site.
utb
I’ve just posted up Redcar Red’s match report which he delivered to me shortly after midnight (when I was already safely asleep hopefully dreaming of the next match preview 🙂 ) despite his planned 4.30am start and five hour drive this morning – so three stars to RR for his MOM performance!
https://diasboro.club/2017/11/21/championship-boro-vs-birmingham/#MatchReport
Just extra ordinary, RR. One wonder how much the younsters have energy and excitement to do all this for our blog 😉.A real Rolls of the blog.
Well done both, Werder and RR. Up the Boro!
Great report
I agree Downing was MOM
Downing the player or downing the beer ?…
Okay, maybe both ! 🏃🍺
Downing the player I was driving !
Mrs OFB had the red wine !
Yes OFB I knew you were driving, that’s why I had a beer for you. Hope you don’t mind it was by Brewdog 🍻 😃
When BamBam came on he looked impressive. A thought came to my mind.
At home we should have two strikers up front. Britt and Patrick would be a handfull for any team. The rest of the team should also include Downing and Breithweite. These are the players I enjoy watching at the minute.
I don’t know the best formation yet but should it be 4-1-3-2? Leads as a defensive midfielder, the Dane on the left, Howson in the middle and Stewie on the right? I don’t know but Monk should.
I like we have a goalscorer who has 11 goals after 18 matches. He is better than Bernie Slaven! This is getting exciting even we did not play very well yesterday.
I think we can only get better now. As AV said it is four wins out of five, nine goals scored and only three conceded and clawed back up into sixth spot. Job done.
Let’s enjoy the run now. The performances will improve, too. Up the Boro!
I had a chat with Ben after the game and asked if he would pass on comments to Paddy that we thought he made a difference when he came on
Thanks for another great report RR, how did you fit in?
Jarkko, you don’t have to play with ‘two strikers’ to be attacking. It is better if the man playing no 10 is an attacker getting alongside and beyond the frontman. It is better if there is movement and pace in the team. It is better if the midfielders push the team up the pitch.
A lot is about attitude.
Generally the most successful teams score more than they concede, that’s how you win games, get 3 points and climb the table. It’s a fine balancing act. Be more attacking, go for goals and you’ll usually concede more. Shut up shop and you’ll find it more difficult at the front end. At the moment Wolves are the only team to be significantly better than us at getting the balance right between goals scored v goals conceded, that’s why they’re top. The other teams who are also good at it are in the playoff places along with us, so the balancing act is a credible indicator. All the teams below us are worse at it. We’re not the best but we’re along the right lines.
The BBC Championship table graphic happens to show form over the last 5 games and it happens to be the one I view most regularly, it says we have the best recent form in the league along with Wolves. Again, we’re along the right lines. I know it’s not perfect, but it rarely is.
I wouldn’t say Boro have shown much “form” at any stage of the season. We’ve got results, so maybe the BBC should call it “results guide”. I know, I’m being a bit pedantic!
In thought the same Ken
RR
Another excellent report thank you and having been at the match would agree that we earned three points against a poor team who were largely bereft of ideas.
Once we got the first goal it looked as if we might put them to the sword and perhaps we would have done had not what looked to be a third, just before half time, been given rather than ruled out for offside.
Good performances for me from Fabio, Howson, Downing, Assombalonga & Forshaw who may start on Saturday if Howson is suspended.
I agree entirely with your summary, could do/should do better.
OFB
Sorry we did not meet up last night, I went to the Fenton Lounge straight after the match but table 6 was vacant and I couldn’t hang about. Perhaps we can meet up at another match – once I have saved up some pennies for another trip!
All in all it was a great evening/experience, food and service were excellent with all the staff friendly and attentive, all topped off with a pre match visit to the media centre and pitch side courtesy of Bob Tait from MFC. Icing on cake was three points and hanging onto a play off spot.
Sorry I missed you I was there !
I was talking to Jim Platt who has agreed to do an interview for Diasboro which I will send to Werder for posting when we have a slack period
I also had a chat with Alan Peacock who has invited me up to Carlton near Stokesley for q@a session and a pint
If anyone is interested in joining me let me know and I will arrange it
OFB
I passed Jim Platt as I was exiting the Fenton suite.
I haven’t seen him for years but recognised him immediately. Not changed much other than a bit heavier than his younger days but aren’t we all!
David Hodgson was a guest in the Riverside suite and did a question and answer session during which he responded that if he had his time again he would not have been persuaded to leave Boro for Liverpool.
Listed to second half this morning. Can’t manage to get up at 5:15 for the kick off. Maddo said that it was workmanlike with several good performances, but we should have scored more. Someday we will wallop somebody! Confused about Howson and his bookings. The FA discipline website has him one away from a booking with 4, as does Whoscored.com. They list 4 league bookings but the BBC match report said he was booked at Villa in the Cup. They have changed the cut off for suspensions it is now 19 matches so if he is on 4 and avoids a booking on Saturday he is clear until he gets 10 until the 37th game.
Good to get back on track with a win and put the poor Leeds performance in the past.
Four wins out of five is good form, but we’ll know better in three games time exactly how well we are progressing.
A win over Derby would be a great start to those three games, although I think that game is a nailed on draw, providing we perform well. Derby are a team with decent away form.
Back in Karanka’s day we seemed to beat the top sides and struggle against the poorer teams, we appear to have swapped that around, which needs to change. We won’t win promotion if we don’t beat those in and around us.
Nigel, I did a break down of Boro’s results against the top seven teams during Karanka’s reign on this forum two days ago at 9.42am. To summarise briefly:-
2014/15 —P14, W8, D2, L4, Goals 19-12, Pts26
2015/15 —P14, W8, D4, L2, Goals 19-9, Pts 28
As you say, our record against the better teams was excellent, in fact 2 points a match in our promotion season.
I thought we played well last night, Birmingham were poor – they hardly pressed at all which gave us so much time to play (couldn’t have been more different from Leeds) but we also started with a much better tempo.
Braithwaite and Downing are clever players and seem to be striking up a good understanding; Howson had another good game, he’s always in the thick of it and made some very good passes. Britt looked the clinical striker we hoped he be and Fabio had a really good game from left-back.
There was a slight tinge of disappointment that we didn’t score any more 2nd half, bit we could have done and it was pleasing that Birmingham barely offered any threat, so comfortable were we.
Howson was booked in the following matches:
Villa (cup)
Norwich
Hull
Leeds
Birmingham
I for one enjoyed the match last night, Howson was my MOTM last night a good performance with some very good passages of play from Boro. We did take the foot off the gas in the second half, maybe with the third game (Derby) in a week in mind but I never felt worried but then I am probably easier pleased than others, with 4 wins out of 5, 12 points out of 15, 3 clean sheets, 9 for 3 against (including the 2 – 1 defeat) and 6th in the table.
I for one have not forgotten the 7 years we last spent in this league (2009 – 16) and how topsy-turvey this championship can be and on any given day, any team can beat any other team in the league. It took us 7 years (and AK) to get back out of this league (in the right direction) where other “bigger” teams are still trying, with some even dropping down into the lower divisions. I am happy with Gary Monk as manager and I am willing to give him as much time as Steve Gibson sees fit, to try and get Boro back into the Premier league.
Come on BORO.
Come on BORO
Great Post and I agree with all of that
“on any given day, any team can beat any other team in the league”
Exactly. I don’t fear playing Sheffield United any more than playing Sunderland. Any game is winnable and any win is a good win.
When it’s as comfortable as last night was you have to be pleased.
Thanks RR. Good work.
Last night I heard a B. Ass duo dumped the Soul-less Blues in Muddy Waters and for a while said “Respect!” to Monk, feeling like Dancing In The Street… only for reality to dawn on me later. We weren’t all that special, were we?
Anyway. A little thought. I raised this point before, but we live in a tactic-heavy age where it’s considered a critique to say that all a centre-forward does is score goals.
Simple logic then raises the question: what else should a centre-forward do?
And, in Britt’s case, a 61% strike rate in the league is most impressive.
Which brings me on to my next point – the Yak hanging up his boots. I saw him once at the Riverside against City, in a 2-0 defeat. He was having one of those days where he barely moved and the ball kept slipping off his feet when he actually touched it. That said, you couldn’t argue with his goalscoring, could you?
Britt is always chasing the defender and scoring. Just the type of striker I like.
Last year I saw a Barcelona match at Camp Nou. Well, Messi was lazy, hardly sprinted and never chased the difender. He run only when he got the ball.but just walked 98 % of the match.
During the other 2 % he scored twice.
Up the Boro!
PS. I don’t support FC Barcelona. Was there only on business. There is more noise and atmoshpere at the Riverside than in a Barcelona derby match in the La Liga!
Britt Assombalonga is well on course to be the first Boro striker to score 20 or more league goals in a season since Bernie Slaven did so in 1990.
Just saying, like. BTW, where is Spartak? Up the Boro!
And Paulista Park is quiet these days !
He is in the Twitter and commenting the match afterwards in 140 words. UTB!
I know !
He’s a busy guy!
Perhaps Spartak has been spending the last couple of weeks redrafting his “Sack Monk and appoint Martin O’ Neill” hypothesis.
Simon
I think I was at that City match. They hadn’t won for months and we were due to play ManU away in the cup in a replay – the infamous match when Morrison launched Ronaldo and become a county wide hero.
The whole team seemed to be resting themselves in preparation for the cup game. I actually left early in disgust after 70 minutes, that was still 69 minutes after it was evident the team hadn’t turned up.
Big bid for Brit, from a desperate premiership club, do we take it?
Take the offer for BA because we’ve PB + Rudi who can do the business.
There’s also Wing in there somewhere waiting in the wings ?
Also Burnley did okay selling their main striker & central defender.
Yes but selling your top goal scorer what message does that give to the fans and the players ?
People calling tees demanding we attack more and stop the square passes,in the same breath , wanting Clayton back in?
Go figure?
I noticed last night we seemed to have more shots at goal both on and off target !
Do the stats support this ?
Werder / Ken?
Just a word to say how refreshing it was to hear the cheers from our fans for Nsue.
I hope Nugent, Albert, Rhodes and Reach get similar receptions.
Steely
They will from me, although Reach has been back before I think.
Nice to see the Juke getting a good reception when he came on as well.
Thanks for all the comments on the game last night, I have to admit to being absolutely cream crackered today and just arrived back home after having made the long drive there and back with a meeting sandwiched in between!
Before we get too carried away with our form I think it needs to be taken in context. Our wins (in no particular order) this season have been against Burton, QPR, Sheffield Utd, Birmingham, Sunderland, Reading Hull and Bolton.
A quick look at the current league table shows we have beaten the bottom six clubs out of our 8 wins, QPR are in 16th which for me is hardly any ringing endorsement of Boro’s or GM’s credentials just yet.
We beat Sheffield Utd which was great but we need to be consistently beating those around us as those games are 6 pointers in the race for promotion. Derby on Saturday will be a good benchmark for the rest of the season.
Going off piste a little bit I notice that Forest are just two points behind us. I wonder if they think the Britt deal was good business? His goal record could possibly have tipped the balance and had them in the Play off spots right now. Fine margins!
Excellent report as always RR and the dedication shown to get it done when you had other commitments and little time is amazing!
Well, happily I was wrong about the score. It was also a better performance than I expected albeit against a very very and it is always great to win. However, the overall impression was of a workmanlike display as someone mentioned earlier and it would have been nice to see something a bit more spirited and exciting.
Four future essentials from the game for me:-
– Downing has to be the first name on the team sheet.
– Monk has to find a way to get Bamford into the team.
– Assombalonga is proving a decent buy.
– Traore should start in home games.
Big game now on Saturday when we will really see whether the team is moving in the right direction.
And, yes, where is Spartak?
Should read very, very poor side…………………
Boroexile
Brum were a waste of the word poor!
I have criticised the performances of the Boro in the past based on Gazette and Redcar Red’s excellent reports, and have been quite scathing sometimes. However, it was such a dreadful night yesterday and I’m wondering whether the team perhaps should have been given some slack having played in such wild conditions.
More excellent pre and post match write ups from Werder and RR, keep up the good work.
I thought we played well overall last night and limited Brum to very few clear cut chances. What I am disappointed in (still), is how can our commitment and work rate be so much better than at Leeds? Not skill levels but basic effort. Was it because Leeds pressed us more? Maybe. Or are a better side than Brum? Possibly. But in this or any league if you don’t give it all you can, chances are you’ll come away with nothing.
Anyhoo can’t disagree with Downing as motm, however he was pushed very close by Fabio who had his best game in a Boro shirt I’ve witnessed. Ayala tackled anything in sight, Grant was a steadying influence and where was the Howson of last night at Elland Road! Again best performance in a Boro shirt I’ve seen so far. Brit looked like the goal scorer we all hope he can be and Braithwaite had some lovely touches and runs. Only downside player wise was Johnson. There maybe a decent championship player in there as he’s shown fleetingly, but last night he looked well off the pace and in my view seemed to be lacking in confidence.
I was pleased PB got some game time, looking pretty good imo, just lacking match practise. Was surprised Monk waited until the 85th minute before bringing Traore on, I felt he should’ve been on long before that for the ineffective Johnson.
In the end I thought we played most of the second half with one eye on Saturdays game as we were well in control, which was maybe the reason for not adding to the 2 first half goals.
Looking forward to Derbys visit and fingers crossed we can get a bit of an extended winning run under our belts.
One last thing, how good was Fabios pass for Brits second! If that was executed by some premier league “star” it would be on every highlights reel and rightly so as it was that good. More on Saturday please.
FAA
Have to agree. That was one of the best assists I’ve seen this season.
The sheer cheek of it was brilliant but to witness in real time but to see, spot and then play the ball with pin point accuracy was brilliant.
FAA if I was a football manager and was 2 – 0 up I wouldn’t use my last substitution until the 85th or later, if at all. Why because incase another player got injured.
Come on BORO.
Exmil
It’s a long time since subs were decided on by worrying about possible injuries.
I think the logic goes something like this.
If the other side are in total control of the game, then you are going to lose it.
Therefore make any substitutions you need to without worrying about later in the match.
I think Bamford showed enough energy and zeal to warrant inclusion from the off. His energy and pace along with trickery may just be the missing ingredient, the cement between the bricks of Braithwaite, Downing and Assombalonga that we seem to be missing. Tav isn’t there yet, Johnson doesn’t look to be the missing link, ditto Fletcher, Traore has it but unfortunately at both ends and is a great impact sub.This side needs a spark, something to join all the dots and link up play, Paddy looked like he could be that catalyst (and possibly the only one that could spell it).
Thanks for the reply Ian.
It was my first visit to the Riverside. I’d booked the tickets – plane and match – two months before. It seemed a sound decision as our home form was strong that year – one defeat from September to March, if I remember rightly.
Then came the powers-that-be’s decision to schedule our cup replay for the Monday.
Where I thought I’d be watching an at-his-Boro-peak Woodgate, ditto Arca and Viduka, I got Andy Davies, Dong Gook Lee and Jason Euell.
I remember one shot on target all match, Isaksson saving from Downing. He was my Boro MOTM that day for striving to create even though the odds were against him.
The team sheet shows up Southgate for his under (or mis) use of future PL stalwart James Morrison.
But I stayed ’til the final whistle. I couldn’t leave on my first visit.
Typical Boro.
At least it got better later in the evening when I popped by the Isaac Wilson for a couple.
Simon
early in the second half Downing played a give and go with looked up and no movement so recycled the ball. That happened three times in no time at all and was typical of our performance.
Well the games are coming thick and fast and there was barely time for me to reflect on the Blues victory as it was already time to start thinking about the next match preview yesterday. Derby should be a tougher prospect than bottom-six Birmingham and we may get an indication of whether of not Boro can hold onto their advantage in the play-off positions. So will it be upwards and onwards…
https://diasboro.club/2017/11/24/championship-boro-vs-derby/