| Bristol City | Middlesbrough | ||
| Bryan Paterson |
51′ 54′ |
Magnusson | 75′ (og) |
| Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
49% 15 7 0 10 |
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
51% 7 1 5 13 |
Rockin Robins give Boro the bird!
The team news saw Forshaw and Howson paired in the middle with Traore getting a rare start and Dael Fry getting the nod ahead of Shotton. Bristol normally play with tempo and use their height to good advantage so it was going to be another test for Monk’s men. Our inability to beat teams above and around us once again meant that this game had extra pressure on our Manager.
Traore lined up on the left for Boro and was soon involved in blocking a ball played down the wing. Almost immediately he linked up well with Britt and won the opening corner of the game. From the corner Bristol broke with Reid and a Dael Fry header spared our blushes. This was a warning that would go unheeded and eventually be our downfall.
A long through ball over the top of the Boro defence saw Bobby Reid in on Randolph with the Robins first real threat shepherded by Ben Gibson to safety. Howson then had to nip in at LB to block an immediate second attack with the ball fortunately taking a deflection for a Boro throw in. On twenty minutes a slip from Christie when he was trying to launch an attack allowed a break which saw the ball fizz across the face of the Boro goal as the pressure started to mount. Moments later the best chance of the game fell to Bristol when we defended a free kick and a shot from Pack just outside the 18 yard box was cleared off the line by Britt.
Bristol were growing in confidence, gaining a head of steam and Boro had some resolute defending to do. Forshaw was getting involved a lot and a rare threaded ball to Britt was cut out by the Bristol defence. Boro won another corner but Forshaw was penalised by the Ref and the opportunity gone. At the other end Bristol had a throw in accompanied by the Icelandic clap for Magnusson who has a Delap type distance on his throws but with more useful height. Fabio cleared and then as the ball was coming back at us he gave away a ridiculous free kick twenty yards out for a blatant shove. Not the cleverest of tactic from the Brazilian considering that Bristol are one of the tallest sides in the division and set pieces are bread and butter for them. In the last minute of the half Downing squared the ball across to Fabio who hit it hard as Fielding scrambled to get down and deflect the ball away in Boro’s only shot on target of the game.
No changes for either side at half time as Bristol continued to break with pace and crucially precision passing. Traore lost possession and Fabio deserted his LB role then Bristol through a series of fast slick passes of the type we would love to see from Boro saw a cross from the unattended right flank to the far post for it to be headed home by former alleged Boro target Bryan. Boro tried to get themselves back into the game via a confused and muddled free kick on the edge of the Bristol box from which the Robins broke again, even pausing to allow for reinforcements and carved us open again to make it 2-0 in as many minutes. It was a repeat of the second half Derby implosion all over again.
Gestede was brought on for the ineffective Braithwaite on 56 minutes and on joining the action flicked a ball on for Fabio who skewed his cross much to the derision of the home support. Bristol were sitting and picking their moments to simply slice through us. Stewy put another cross into the Bristol box which like most all evening seemed to be sponsored by Flymo as Fabio was laid prostrate in what looked to me like a recurrence of whatever it was that troubled him earlier in the season.
On 66 minutes Johnson came on for Downing with Traore swapping flanks to the right with Gestede supporting Assombalonga up front who had been looking even more isolated since the start of the second half. Boro looked scrappy, lacking structure and second best to 50/50 balls. Once again we were watching us pass the ball around in front of the opposition as our possession stats rose but with no idea of forward or penetrative activity. A corner from Johnson on seventy three minutes summed up our evening as he hit a daisy cutter when Gestede was looking for something greater than ankle height.
A speculative punt of a free kick was easily headed clear by another former Boro target Flint back out to Forshaw who lofted the ball back into the box for Gestede who was unceremoniously upended. The melee presumably distracted Magnusson who headed into his own net. Boro now looked somewhat rejuvenated sensing that they might just nick another. Bamford came on for Fabio with Johnson dropping back and Paddy into the Braithwaite role.
With ten minutes to go Paddy picked out a great ball to Britt but there was just too much pace on the ball otherwise our top scorer would have been clean through. With three minutes of normal time remaining Traore was pulled down and Johnson lined up the free lick with Fry, Gibson and Gestede waiting in the box for the delivery which was knee height and failed to beat the first defender. Assombalonga was wrongly adjudged to be offside when Howson played a ball over the top from deep in the Boro half as we desperately tried to get an equaliser.
Christie who had an uninspiring performance by his own hitherto standards then managed to get himself booked for a shoulder block after being turned at pace. Just as Boro looked to be out of what few ideas they might have had Adama broke from his own half beating three players before Smith took him down for a Free Kick just outside the Robins 18 yard box. Bamford took the free kick passing it back to Howson who then played it wide to Christie and our last opportunity was gone in another negative backwards pass. Even Bamford now seems to be infected with the passive passing virus. Forshaw was our best player today but in reality we just were not good enough to beat a functional, disciplined and hardworking Bristol side that pressed and passed forward at every opportunity, pace and power once again costing us the game.
So here we are in December, six points off that last play off spot and I witnessed absolutely nothing that showed improvement in organisation, attitude, ability, tactics or belief. The Tractor Boys are up next and I fancy the wily experienced McCarthy to walk away with all three points next Saturday at the Riverside. 13 points off a relegation spot and 14 points off an automatic promotion spot. It is up to SG if or when he acts but I have seen nothing for a while now that makes me feel that we are a work in progress and that things are falling into place, more like things are dropping off and falling apart.
Boro need to shape up at Bristol
Boro travel to Bristol for Saturday’s late afternoon televised Championship ‘main event’ in what is quite probably a must-win game for Garry Monk’s inconsistent promotion hopefuls. As we approach the halfway point, the Robins are bob bob bobbin’ along quite nicely in the play-off positions having spent less than a quarter of what Boro threw at the market. Following the resumption of hostilities after international break, Garry Monk’s promotion vessel seems somewhat in the doldrums after two defeats in three games took the wind out of their sails. His accident prone team are shipping goals alarmingly and still don’t look like shaping up into contenders of a similar fashion to that of those Bristol cruisers.
The Robins have not fallen away as the promotion race has heated up and lost just one of their last six games. Their less expensively assembled attack has already notched up 30 goals and Boro could find themselves three wins behind the Bristol outfit if they lose at Ashton Gate – plus quite likely falling down a tightly packed table. Surely this is a game Garry Monk’s team need to win if they are to keep in touch with the play-off pack. Automatic promotion is a boat that the Teessider’s have almost certainly missed with Wolves already five wins ahead after nearly half the season gone and Cardiff pretty close behind. To catch them up, Boro would need to emulate their impressive 75% win rate and then hope they dropped to our less impressive 40% one. In fact Boro need to up their points per game to nearly 2.4 (which essentially means 4 wins out of every 5) for the rest of the season just to reach the 2 points per game average.
| Bristol City | Middlesbrough | ||
| Lee Johnson | Garry Monk | ||
| P19 – W9 – D7 – L3 – F30 – A20 | P19 – W8 – D5 – L6 – F24 – A18 | ||
| Position Points Points per game Projected points |
5th 34 1.8 82 |
Position Points Points per game Projected points |
7th 29 1.5 70 |
| Last 6 Games Hull (A) Preston (H) Sheff Wed (A) Cardiff (H) Fulham (A) Sunderland (A) |
F-T (H-T) 3:2 (0:1) W 1:2 (0:1) L 0:0 (0:0) D 2:1 (1:1) D 2:0 (2:0) W 2:1 (1:1) W |
Last 6 Games Derby (H) Birmingham (H) Leeds (A) Sunderland (H) Hull City (A) Reading (A) |
F-T (H-T) 0:3 (0:1) L 2:0 (2:0) W 1:2 (0:1) L 1:0 (1:0) W 3:1 (2:0) W 2:0 (1:0) W |
Whilst we generally admire the long-term nature of Boro’s approach when it comes to the running of the club and making appointments, perhaps we have misjudged the recent nature of football and the shorter-term goals in which it now operates. Given the disparity in the financial rewards between the top-flight and the second tier, Boro have a very limited time-frame in which they must achieve their goal within the budget constraints. It is almost meaningless to imagine there is such a thing as a long-term strategy that can exist in a consistent form for more than a season or two. Any club must radically adapt to the cost of failure as the options available get reduced year on year – the majority of players who can play at a higher level will move on as the market pulls the levers and the window of opportunity that presents itself is either taken or lost by those who have them. For example, should Ben Gibson, if he wants to play at the highest level, contemplate turning down offers in the summer unless he’s absolutely convinced that Boro are going up? His form peaked under an ultra-defensive coach and he indeed he may beginning to wonder if his stock is still high enough to get him back onto the gravy train.
Are the club hierarchy actually actively measuring progress or even questioning the apparent lack of it? If so, other than results, what is that measure? You could easily argue even measuring performances under Monk would maybe be less satisfactory than points or position would be. Presumably it must soon becomes a question of whether the manager or head coach is demonstrating that he is capable of delivering the desired outcome in what for Boro is a two-year time period. After two seasons the option probably becomes either a one season gamble of front-loading the resources before the need to make severe cuts to stay within Financial Fair Play (FFP) or a new two to three year plan back on to average Championship spending where Boro are no longer able to force the market.
The puzzle for many looking back is that Boro’s transfer strategy in the summer appeared to be out of sync with the actual time-frame we had to work within. The mantra was the tried and the tested – but having tried and tested most of them they don’t appear to have passed. Also the signing of young up-and-coming players who needed more experience and pitch time doesn’t seem to fit with what is actually needed to achieve our short-term set goal. We can ask when was it exactly that Ashley Fletcher was supposed to make an impact? £7m is a lot of money to invest in a project who is not able to get game time and develop – he just doesn’t seem to fit into the urgency of the task. Though that price range for Boro has been the going rate for projects in the last year or so – Adama, Bamford and Gestede were signed for similar fees but deemed not ready to play and nearly a year later are no nearer becoming first choice players. In fact is more likely they never will be as time progresses. As for those in the £3m price bracket – well Shotton has at least proved to be of similar value to Guedioura and de Pena.
We don’t know if the squad assembled was specifically designed to suit Monk’s requirements or was part of a more general collective shopping list that the chairman deemed necessary to make the team more attack-minded in view of last season’s failings. Though many are still unsure of what the manager’s footballing philosophy is – he seemed to go back to basics around six weeks ago to make the team more solid and has shown little to suggest he needed the large number of attacking players that Boro eventually signed. In fact when Monk first arrived at Boro he was rather coy about what his style of football is and preferred not to put forward a label but simply said that he’d “leave his style and philosophy for others to describe as the important thing is to win games and that is the purpose of how he trains himself, his staff, players and club” – he added that his footballing philosophy sat on top of that ideal and he believes the key is to get the crowd engaged and the players engaged. It’s not clear if that statement can now be interpreted as meaning he doesn’t have an overall idea on what methodology he wants the players to adopt – it may not be important but this season may have shown he knows more about what he doesn’t want than what he does.
Unusually for Boro by recent standards, they failed to use the loan market effectively – the only two to arrive have become almost anonymous with Baker gone from the first team picture and Connor Roberts unlikely to get a game unless Christie is out. This lack of action may put off any future recruits from opting for Boro but it may be the only route open to the club in January to persuade creative players with something extra to join the party.
The feeling among many supporters is that there isn’t a coherent strategy on the pitch and Boro are still a collection of individuals rather than a team. The initially surplus Downing has become a key player for Monk but you could argue he still has no end product with I believe no goals and just one assist to his name this season. It’s a stat made more stark if you think he’s probably taken over 50 corners this term – what has happened to the idea that a set-piece is a goal scoring opportunity at Boro? So few now expect a goal from a corner that I wonder why the supporters still cheer when we get one. The irony about Downing’s stats is that he’s keeping Adama out of the team because it’s deemed he doesn’t have an end product – though Traore actually has two assists in 50% less minutes on the pitch. Either way not exactly inspiring figures from either man.
The main problem that was not resolved in the summer transfer windows was one of creativity – Boro still have a mainly one-dimensional defensive central midfield and nobody to supply the strikers. Assombalonga is a fish out of water outside of the box – though that particular analogy is perhaps a little strong as a fish out of water is normally a dead fish, maybe more a penguin out of water or even a seal – he just needs someone to feed him a bucket-load of fish and preferably not red herrings.
The season hangs in the balance and we have learned more about its failings than its successes – central defence is no longer reliable and the full-backs have become more like attacking wing-backs without protection. Our central midfield are the former defensive shield who look puzzled by the additional responsibility of passing the ball forward – to the extent that they serve neither purpose. Braithwaite blows hot and cold but mainly blows while Britt runs around waiting for the ball. None of the attacking wide options have so far delivered with anything like the consistency required and the result has been Boro have only had enough in their locker to see off the failing teams at the bottom of the table.
When Captain Monk set sail in August, we were told by those who built the good ship Boro that the state-of-the-art design was unsinkable as it embarked on its journey back to the new world of the Premier League. However, with winter approaching and despite heading towards the iceberg of all frosty end-of-season receptions, there appears no sign of changing course in this titanic battle to gain promotion. The Boro manager hasn’t quite got to the stage of rearranging the deck-chairs yet but when he does he may consider using some of those which were there before he arrived. Steve Gibson has probably been made aware that there may not be enough lifeboat payments from the Premier League to allow the club to survive too long in the icy waters of the Championship – at some point he may have to wrestle the wheel away from his relatively inexperienced captain if his dream is to stay afloat.
So will Boro keep their season afloat and steer a course through the troubled waters at Bristol? Or will the promotion pack sail into the sunset after a listless performance from Garry Monk’s press-ganged crew? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection. – plus will first mate Rudy be back up in the crow’s nest to catch a glimpse of the promised land ahoy.
Werder
I see rough seas ahead and come Sunday we may be holed under the waterline and be listing to port.
Mrs G is visiting friends and I will be alone with a few beers and a bottle of Talisker acting like a siren luring me on to rocky shores.!
The engine room canna take any more Captain because we haven’t got one. Boro to drift onwards with their underachieving squad.
Bristol City 3 – 1 Boro and the Christmas lights start going out on Teesside.
Sorry to be so pessimistic…
UTB,
John
John
After that rudderless second half performance last week I don’t think you’re being too pessimistic. Hope we are both wrong though.
It’s not e ven a case. of which Boro will turn up. We know which one, the rudderless one. We need someone to do some salvage work.
UTB,
John
Robins 1 – Caped Crusaders 2
Werder
Thanks for another great article which is both realistic and in the main depressing.
I have a dreaded feeling that come Saturday evening we will be well a truly sunk and in need of a lifeboat rather than a parachute.
Robins 2-0 Boro
CoB do an untypical one for once and give us some festive cheer. 😎🎅🏻
I’m always wrong with my predictions……….
Bristol City to win.
Usually I’d say “any win and I’d be happy” but after the dross that was Sunderland (H) I’m reconsidering. I just want a performance that makes us all proud, gives us the belief that we have, after all, something to build on.
In the meantime – here is the quote that inspired my last Talking Point. It was originally written in early October.
“My biggest issue with MonksBoro is that I don’t think Garry Monk has decided what he wants us to be yet.
“Are we a high-pressing, swift-transitioning attacking machine? A tight-backed, counter-attacking unit? Or a bully-beef, take-the-game-to-’em expensively assembled bunch of swaggerers?
“I was musing to myself that dissatisfaction must be high if AK is slipping back into the minds of posters, particularly after last season’s debacle, but I’m afraid he slips into my own thoughts too.
“I liked Championship-version AKBoro. And the reason I liked us so much was because we had an identity. An identity which, in my opinion, resonated exactly with much of what I consider Teesside and Teessiders to be. Obstinate, obdurate and rarely obliging.
“I don’t consider these bad qualities, they are actually quintessential to what defines us as a region and our history. Teessiders are some of the most straight-forward and straight-talking people you are likely to meet. We look at life through the prism of what it means to us: hard industry, hard blokes and hard work. We can be the most self-depreciating people on earth, but if anyone south of Grantham services dares tell us that we live in a crap-heap, our chests harden and we will not stand for it.
“And that is where I fell for AKBoro. AKBoro were like “real” Boro. We were giving you nowt for free, and if you wanted three points, you’d better damn well better work for them. If you wanted to beat us, you had to give us your best shot and see what you got. And, better than that, AKBoro specialised in a type of win which made you cackle at how we must have annoyed and frustrated the opposition.
“Scoring inside five minutes at Carrow Road and then standing straight-backed for the rest of the match, repelling everything that came at us, and walking away with three points? Check. Win at Hillsborough? Check. Last minute goal to put the kibosh on a promotion rival, in this case, Hull? Check. Time and time again, AK Boro fired my black humour and made me chuckle at how uncompromising and hard we were. At how obstinate, obdurate and rarely obliging we were.
“But what, then, are MonksBoro? MonksLeeds sounded like AKBoro, hard to beat, grinding out wins. But MonksBoro? Is there a sub-conscious, or even conscious attempt to set themselves apart from AK Boro? Does he see an opportunity to mould the team and way of play he’s always wanted?
“Who knows. And I don’t think Monk has decided either. I only hope that when he does, it will be a MonksBoro that can get the blood pumping in my veins and can make me laugh after ten minutes of a blustery Tuesday night game that we’ve already put to bed with an early goal.”
Thanks, SmoggyInExile.
Thanks Simon for the quote, and for the excellent talking point piece which I really enjoyed and was a quality piece of writing.
As for the above quote, probably the most damning thing to say is that I don’t think my opinion has changed, and neither has my comprehension of what Monk is attempting to do with us. Sadly, i think this is one of those times when there isn’t a good fit and parting ways is the best option.
Another great headliner Werder beaten by KP’s comment that it is depressing too.
Reading your article and then trying to take in all that is true….well I am glad to use a safety razor and not a “cut throat”.
The comparison article in the Gazette, with Wolves says it all. Nuno has had a system from the start and stuck to it just like AK. Signings, FIVE loans, probably with decent sized fees, but less risky, and a couple of frees. Ruddy and Bennet regulars.One 15mil super star.
What did Boro get,….a shed load of miss matched players, a couple well over priced with probably 50% return if lucky.
A shambles of a transfer window, wasted money with poor future returns if needed.
Just who is responsible for all of that???
Tomorrow we are all hoping against hope for a result out of the blue, against the odds. What will get. Who knows. Picking the lottery numbers would be easier.
Didn’t Boro screw the Wolves game up on the first day of the season with an outbreak of stupidity/amateurish play?
And so we continue.
UTB
John
Another excellent piece Werder.
As Monk’s hand remains on the tiller I fear that the team tactics will be on the same tack as ever and so will we see the same bilge and the Boro completely scuppered.
3-1 to Bristol City with Assombalonga the scorer, a result that leads to a serious mutiny by the fans.
Another great piece Weder, some of your word play is wonderful. Liked the Gibson stock and gravy train bit!
Think it sums up where we are and I fear that Saturday could see our season sinking down the plug hole with no amount of turning the screw and full steam ahead making a difference.
Mr Monk is not the Admiral we hoped he would be and the crew are all at sea rather than all hands on deck.
I wish it wasn’t like this and I had such high hopes that we would bounce straight back up on the crest of a wave but the dreams were sunk below the waterline.
Anyway, enough of the sailing stuff, I am going to have a wee dram to numb the pain!
As for tomorrow, we are out at friends so will not be able to watch which is maybe no bad thing in the current climate.
Going for a 2 1 defeat with another sending off. Ever the pessimist I know but 50 years of following Boro tends to have that effect!
Great piece as ever Werder (We’ve come to expect nothing less!), although you can add me to the list of depressed individuals.
Positives are becoming difficult to find. We need a few “coupon busting” results PDQ or Christmas is going to be very bleak for the Boro faithful.
I think this captain is sailing very close to the rocks and we mast make a barrier reef to keep afloat.
Perhaps there is someone in the back room? It may be Mandy Life-boats who can help us to swim using large orbs as we don’t appear to have any if the last game is a pointer of where we are.
Our keel, the spine of our promotion ship is damaged, perhaps broken and cannot be repaired unless major surgery is carried out and soon.
The SS Great Britain the first iron clad steam ship that lies in dry dock. In Bristol shows that we can as a nation build for the future with new ideas and skill. Both those things bereft in the current Boro team.
If we lose tomorrow (and I hope I’m wrong ) there could be dramatic sea change with storm clouds fast approaching …..
Wasn’t that ‘Mandy, fly me’ by 10cc. I think there were sharks though.
UTB,
John
My concern is an outbreak of apathy. The walk up fans stop walking, the season ticket holders decide Christmas shopping isn’t so bad after all, those who attend come along for a chat with their mates sat around them.
I remember those days in the Holgate end as we drifted, went to the pub beforehand, off to the ground to watch the Chuckle Brothers. Unlike the cinema we were guaranteed a laugh.
Now there is no humour, in those days we expected nowt and duly got it.
December is itchy bum time for managers, games come thick and fast, and then there is the January window looming?
Does a team stick or twist?
Where should we be?
And if not , what does SG do,?
I’m back kicking a dead horse again, I know we’ve been over and over it again and again.
But it just sticks in my throat ,that Monk can’t use Traore were we get the best out of a player the rest of the league are petrified of.
To stick him in a dedicated position is crazy. Put him up front off Britt have them switch positions at times, knock it over the top Traore s speed will get him to even bad balls,
It’s the only way he will thrive.
Not confident. I fear an embarrassing g drubbing in front of the cameras. 4-2 to them, with us not waking up till we are 3 goals down.
Here’s a link to a Northern Echo article..
Garry Monk subjects his Boro players to a ‘video nasty’
Here’s another link to an article in the Northern Echo…
Ben Gibson admits to a frank exchange of views as Boro look to turn things around
Thanks for posting the couple of links Braveheart. It is all well and good GM pointing to individual and avoidable errors. Part of the problem is how the team is set up to play. Sideways and backwards passing invites pressure leading to more situations that mistakes can (and will) happen.
I almost didn’t manage to fit in a pre-match this week but found a few hours yesterday – so many thanks for the comments on the article and apologies for adding to the general mood of depression. Maybe I should have left in the part where Patrick Bamford was standing on the bow of the good ship Boro, flying with his arms out-stretched singing Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ or Maybe not!
Anyway, hopefully Boro will lighten the mood later with an unexpected win at Ashton Gate and fingers crossed a few other results go our way too. Villa drawing with Leeds last night was probably the best we could have hoped for but Cardiff’s win has probably put to bed any dreams of automatic promotion.
I think the problem for Boro is that they need to score first and preferably early and then follow it up with second before half-time – well at least to settle the nerves for all concerned. It feels like many players are struggling with the pressure of expectation and have become over-cautious – that’s why I like Adama and Tavernier, they try to play with freedom of mind and appear to enjoy their football. I remember in the early season when we saw Bamford, Gestede and Assombalonga together on the pitch playing with a smile on their faces – this is the attitude we need to rediscover – the players should forget the what has gone before and try to express themselves as in theory there should be enough in the squad to win games.
I’d expect Fry to return to partner Gibson and was a bit alarmed to read this morning Bernie was suggesting Shotton gets the nod. There seems little option with the fullbacks so it should be Christie and Fabio. Maybe we should go with that early season combo of Bamford-Gestede-Assombalonga in a 4-3-3 and play a midfield of Downing-Leadbitter-Howson. Though I’m not expecting to see anything new from Monk as he’s probably still clinging to the hope that he can get a repeat of the the first 30 minutes of the Derby game and cut out the errors – maybe we will – I hope so!
Prediction: we need to win so I’ll go 2-1 to Boro – goals from Fabio and Gibson in a rare one from a corner.
I go along with Bernie here. Flint is a big danger from set pieces, an inch taller than Gibson, and two inches taller and with a lot more experience than Fry. Boro bought Shotton to partner Gibson in the event of Ayala being missing, and this is his opportunity. Fry is one for the future, but I feel too inexperienced to tussle with a brute of a man like Flint.
I’m not good at predicting scores where Boro are involved (actually whoever is?), but I can’t see our getting a point tonight. City to win 2-0.
Ken
Disappointment down under as England lose 6-0 in the World Cup. As with Boro, individual mistakes cost you dear.
The opposition score and you keep spilling chances, end of story.
Disappointment indeed, but we were not made to look second best and had the Aussies reeling in the second half.
Looks like being double disappointment against the Aussies at cricket also. 209 for 4 on a results pitch doesn’t look too good.
The Robins are well known set piece specialists. With that reputation, what price Boro to concede from a set play? Bristol have a CH, Flint, who regularly scores. That ample warning pretty much guarantees that he will score today. Hopefully he scores from a set piece with us conceding just one goal to satisfy both predictions.
Will we see a reaction from the Boro to the Derby debacle? It’s that kind of never-say-die spirit that is the mark of successful Championship campaigns. Before it all went so badly wrong, I was encouraged by the good football we played for much of the first half last week. Will we see the lads build on that at Ashton gate? Is there a chance that we will witness a spirited fightback with some sustained fluid football that gets us back on track? Can this be the start of a renaissance that pushes us up into the top 6?
I’m not holding my breath. I think it’s more likely that we will lose again and sink into mid-table. Bristol are a physical and direct team and I suspect Boro will wilt. I fancy City to score at least a couple, quite possibly form set pieces and, with our dysfunctional midfield, it’s long been difficult to expect Boro to score any.
My guess is that we’ll see more of the same: ill-disciplined fatal errors from a poorly-defined, imbalanced, disjointed team that lacks identity – are we a high-pressing team or one that defends deep and counters; are we a defensive outfit or a gung-ho attacking one?
My gut feel is that we will, at best, be in 5th place by Christmas and more likely just outside a play-off place. Bearing in mind that our traditional Xmas-Easter slump has yet to come, we will do well to be mid-table by March.
Ever the insightful realist, Nikeboro.
How I still remember you bringing me down to earth in August-September 2015 when six goals and seven points in three away games would have many a fan turning cartwheels.
Keep ’em coming. 🙂
When we were looking for a CH to add to our ranks I believe Boro were looking quite seriously at Flint
This was when Arry was prevaricating at Birmingham about Shotton joining us satimg he needed a replacement before he let Shotton go.
In the end it was Arry who went and Shotton came to us. I haven’t seen Shotton play much but I don’t think he is high on the choice of players to start in the first team
We seem to have wasted a lot of money on average players and I’ll include Fletcher and Guediora (who?) on that list
I have a feeling that this game will be a turning point and we will win 2 0 with goals by Braithwaite 12 minnand Assambalonga 54
Come on Boro!!!
PS
That’s when you need three exclamation marks……
OFB
I sincerely hope you’re right OFB. As has been pointed out, we have a run of key games coming up and our record against the better teams is appalling so far this season.
Come out of these games badly (again) and we will be adrift of the play-off places before Xmas. On the other hand, a healthy haul of points from the next 4 games will have us well placed in the top 6.
So I hope you’re right Bob and Ashton Gate sees a turning point for us. I will stick to my pessimism to safely avoid disappointment.
IM Chillin!
With a nice cold glass of white wine (or two)
Probably Flint would have been the better CB option than Shotton. I wonder why Mr Monk prefered Shotton?? May be he thought we would not win enough corners to take advantage of Flint´s height.
#Boro XI vs Bristol City: Randolph; Christie, Fry, Gibson, Fabio; Howson, Forshaw; Traore, Braithwaite, Downing; Assombalonga. #Borolive
Adama is in! GTs got it !
I hope you don’t know that from an unnamed source
OFB
Is this a great selection or yet more tinkering?
Damned if he does damned if he doesn’t.
Playing Traore on the left wing doesn’t work
Yes OFB, spot on. Great to see Traore in the team but why oh why play him on the wrong side. What’s wrong with Downing on the left and Traore in his best position on the right?
Based on the first half (or indeed general logic) Garry Monk needs to swap Downing and Adama – given Downing hasn’t scored playing on the right it’s unlikely that cutting inside is his strength – likewise Adama doesn’t have a shot to speak of and looks like he can’t get his bearings on the left. Therefore it doesn’t make sense to have these two players playing on their wrong side as what is it we are expecting them to do that they never normally do? Forshaw has looked pretty decent and has tried to drive forward – if only he can regain the form that had him being touted for England then Boro would have one of the best midfielders in the league. Braithwaite has been quiet though – if Bamford is on the bench then I’d make the switch sooner than later.
Rich,
Agree. Traore’s a match winner. First name on the team sheet for me.
Boro to win.
Go on. I’ll risk a 0-3 .
UTB
Tho he should be freeish or on the right
Ian, that is the problem, we are never happy!
I am now hoping that Adama will run rings round them, not get sent off and win a penna or two!
Still working on a defeat so I won’t be disappointed- it’s the hope that kills you in the end!
Going out now so will only be checking periodically when I mysteriously have to keep going to the loo! Mrs Bbd doesn’t take kindly to my football habits!
UTB
There’s one habit I’d like to change !
Happy with the Boro – now there’s an idea. It’s this kind of innovative, radical thinking that keeps me reading this blog.
Sign Brendan Rodgers as manager
Lady Boro just tweeted saying “it’s not pretty!”
Mind she could have been referring to my photo on Twitter !
20 mins gone and Boro looking vunerable especially down our right. Fry getting pulled to RB all the time.
Not much from our front runners apar from Britt clearing off our goaline
Bristol winning majority of second balls and by-passing our midfield. Howson absent.
Another stunning second half start from Boro… shakes head
WOW. He’s gotta go
2-0 down. No attacking edge. Monk decides that it’s time for Time for Plan B – Gestede comes on.
this needs a miracle
Adama on the right is a loose cannon, on the left he is just absent. Not all his fault.
This is turning in to a shambles.
Fabio down, he was running through treacle trying to get back just before their second.
So Adama finally gets moved to the right and makes his first telling contribution within minutes with 70 minutes gone – go figure…
A goal back, appropriate it was an own goal.
As you say Werder, traore looks better on the right.
Rocket science there, Ian. Still, leave it to the professionals, they know best.
Yes but they don’t know what they are doing.
UTB,
John
10 seconds to go, dangerous free kick, 3 forwards on the pitch and……..we pass it backwards. Whistle goes, end of match.
That summed up Boro’s season in a nutshell – clueless!!! (deservedly three exclamation marks)
Naughty !!!
Agreed!!!
The tale of the tortoise and the hare. We’re so laboured in attack apart from Traore. The passing far too slow and I can’t see Boro beating any team that has pace. City were so much superior in all departments and Boro flattered by the score.
Ugh! Frankly we weren’t worth 2-1. We never loked like creating a goal. Every corner or free kick was just awful. Is there nobody in the squad who can hit a dead ball. Traore was getting squeezed out on the left and Downing had room on the right. It took until the 70th minute for Traore to be set free and he created more in those 20 minutes than anyone else did in the whiole match.
The passing was awful be it from th back or from midfield. Howson and Forshaw together is clearly not the answer to any conceivable question. BAmford looked comfortable on the ball. He has to be given a shot instead of Braithwaite who had a non-existent game
Where to from here? I honestly don’t know.
That was depressing
I retired to a darkened room with a nice glass of wine and talked to my wife
It was more enjoyable as usual
The only thing is persuading her to come to the Riverside with me on Saturday. How do I do that ?
Walks away to finally sit in front of the TV and watch Strictly Come Dancing with her.
A broken man who supports a broken team
OFB
…. and I had to get up at 4.15 in the morning to watch it!
That is suffering.
UTB,
John
Yes but he’s gone back to
Bed and we’re still suffering
A complete tactical failure today – two ineffective wide players on their wrong side failed to provide any service or threaten the goal. Fullbacks playing as wing-backs leaving holes with nobody to fill them. No cutting edge from the £50m attack and got back into the game with an OG – one shot on target in the whole game.
Six points off the playoffs and only three off 15th place – the season has evaporated and there’s more chance of Steve Agnew gelling his hair than this Boro team gelling – can’t see anything from this season and the Riverside faithful better start practising humming ‘In the bleak mid-winter’ for the festive period.
So was it hair today gone tomorrow?
I suppose that’s the bald facts a parting of the ways?
Nothing gelled today
Let’s look on the bright side this cant go on for much longer there will be change
Watched the game on a dodgy stream , don’t know what was worst the stream or Boro. What an utter shambles again. Players seemed distant and not sure what they were doing. A lot lot of them looked peed off. Whatever GM said to the players this week fell on deaf ears. Where do we go from here , I have to say that I think GM has lost the dressing room. I honestly believe it is now time for him to go. Once again a massive clear out already is needed .So we need to get someone in but who ? That is the difficult question. I would like to see Brendan Rodgers but there is no way I believe he will leave Celtic.Just don’t know what to think at the moment. just reeling from another dreadful performance. Time for a very strong drink !
At least we scored a goal away from home.
But who is Magnusson?
Up the Boro!
He was the mastermind who finished what we started…
Magnusicant!
As I have said many times on this blog Monk is taking our team nowhere but downwards.
We were awful again today – players out of position, a non-existent midfield, shaky in defence, toothless in the opposition’s penalty area, awful substitutions (why Johnson before Bamford), and players who look lost and disinterested. Bristol City were superior in every area and 4-0 would have been a fairer reflection of the game.
We are heading for deep trouble and it is absolutely clear that Monk has no idea how to stop the rot. Come on Steve Gibson, take responsibility, get shot of Monk and get someone in who can harness the resources and talent available to create a football team that knows what it is doing.
Brendan Rodgers?
If you think he knows what he is doing, he had two left wingers,and a left back on the bench,
I’m still laughing
I’ve advocated patience and sticking by our manager but enough is enough. I instinctively dislike knee-jerk reactions but this isn’t knee-jerk: there’s an established pattern here and it’s not good. The manager does not appear to know what to do and so, unsurprisingly, nor do the players.
Team well coached and well scouted vs a team still crying out for any hint of creativity despite millions upon millions being spent. Its a sickener to think that there is real value out there if you have the right people finding the players and the right ones harnessing them. What Bristol (or many others) would do with the money we spent on Guedioura, Traore, Fletcher, Braithwaite and Shotton. When you are in a champo team and you spend 5m+ then you expect somewhere approaching the finished article. We have Fletcher and Traore who have produced very little even by a lower standard and Braithwaite who can look classy 40 yards from goal but not where it matters.
Definitely time for a change now, it seems like a similar situation to when Alex Neil took over at Norwich and we all know how that season ended for them. New ideas needed to at least instill some creativity if not results. To get dire performances and results, especially to those who should be our rivals, is a cocktail of pure dross.
Player with all the time in the world to cross to an unmarked player on the far post x two.
It’s becoming farcical…
I never thought I’d say or type these words:
Time for Tony Pulis
Please not Pulis. An older man in a baseball cap and white trainers is somehow a bit disconcerting.
However you dare so!
I wear a baseball cap and white trainers!
I look really groovy baby !
Isn’t that what they say these days??
Takes cap off removes white trainers and slowly puts other clothes in a pile
Walks slowly into the seas at Redcar shaking his head…..
As I often post, the table never lies. After 20 games we are 15 points behind Wolves and 14 behind Cardiff. We are getting to be well adrift of a play off place. Those are the stark facts you can see in the paper.
On an emotional level it is deeply disappointing. We were so pedestrian I expected a man with a red flag walking in front of our attacks. You don’t need blistering pace if you play with intent. Press and move.
Adama is fitful on the right, play him on the left and it was like playing with ten men until he was moved to the right.
The belief seems to be draining out of the players.
Steve Gibson must be spitting feathers.
To think I eschewed Arsenal v Man United on the other channel to watch this tripe. Bristol City fully deserved the points. They were better than us in every department.
Boro’s performance was summed up for me by our totally useless set-pieces. City’s second goal sprang directly from our own free kick just outside their box! Downing, Howson and Braithwaite all stood over the ball and contrived to pass it straight to the opposition, who broke and scored. Complete shambles.
With Gestede on and looking for high balls, 3 of Johnson’s four corners were played along the ground, direct to red-shirted defenders!! Two of Downing’s crosses earlier in the game had gone exactly the same way.
And even Bamford got in on the act. In the last minute, with Boro desperately looking for an undeserved equaliser, he had the chance to launch it into the box. But no, he passes it backwards instead and the chance is lost.
And in the first half we tried one of our ridiculous short corner routines, and as against Derby, it failed miserably.
Who is teaching them this rubbish? I can’t believe these ‘routines’ have been practised on the training ground.
This team has no heart, no guts and no fight. It can’t defend and it doesn’t create chances. The midfield was hopelessly overrun today and we had at least two players out of position. Just two shots on target today, one of which was an own-goal. We have now beaten just one of the top 15 sides all season, which is frankly unacceptable.
I’ve just posted up Redcar Red’s match report …
https://diasboro.club/2017/12/01/championship-bristol-city-vs-boro/#MatchReport
Ian, there is little point in Steve Gibson spitting feathers when he is the man responsible for appointing Monk. All he can do now is accept that he made a monumental mistake and put it right. But will he?
Boroexile
You can still spit feathers even when it is your own appointment, he didn’t expect things to go this way, it is his money so he is allowed to be hacked off.
Automatic promotion is probably 60 points from 26 games, basically we can only afford a couple of defeats for the rest of the season. It is not impossible but as likely as Lord Lucan riding Shergar down the Trunk Road.
RR excellent report as usual. It must be hard to write about the current dysfunctional Boro.
The really worrying statistic in your report is that we are now closer to the relegation places than the automatic promotion spots and we are rapidly sinking closer to the former. I fear that with Monk we can all now perrmanently forget about promotion and on current form start worrying about the prospect of relegation, something unthinkable at the start of the season.
Had a storm here overnight and reading the reports glad we did. Got up to watch the recording, kick off here was 3 a.m, only to find that the recording stopped after 13 minutes. Even in that short time it was obvious that City were a quicker team. Something has got to be done or we might be in a relegation battle.
RR
Thanks for doing that report I switched TV and Radio off and thought after calming down that is read your great report.
Monk has to go and that is not a knee jerk reaction
OFB : The penny has finally dropped.
I think the lack of anything positive to take from these recent games will be focussing minds at the Riverside. It doesn’t look to me that Monk has the support of the players. They appear to look very dysfunctional, almost resigned to their fate as though they don’t believe in what is being asked of them.
I suspect that he may be gone before Ipswich but if not he will like as not be invited to consider his position by the South and North Stands. If GM survives and is in charge for that Ipswich game he had better pull out all the stops to ensure we see the final finished £50m product with all the bright lights, chrome and tinsel sparkling but I think its well past that point now.
I know a good place to stuff the tinsel !
The free kick at the end summed it up for me.
Clueless
Now 10.40 pm and had time to reflect . Agree with OFB….I realise now that GM has indeed pushed the self destruct button…..as the crowd would sing ‘ you don’t know what you are doing ‘
SG ‘ we will smash the league ‘ must now be giving him nightmares..
Selwyn,
I recorded the match and watched it this morning.
The advantage to this is you can fast forward the tippy tappy play and back passes. Problem is it shortens the game to 30 minutes.
Ditto
If even I can tell that BristolCity were getting a man over at the back post & exploiting the gap between the Boro defence & midfield why can’t that goon Gary Monk? #Monkout
Just watched Coutinho score from a free kick against Brighton with a free kick when the defenders all jumped as Coutinho drove the ball along the ground. Cheeky? Yes, but I saw Peter McKennan do the same for Boro against Arsenal with the last kick of the first half to put us 1-0 in October 1949. I remember the instance well because a few minutes before, he had had a free kick saved as he floated the ball over the wall from a similar position. So when Boro were awarded another free kick the Arsenal defenders were expecting McKennan to repeat a similar shot but were aghast when he cleverly hit a thunderbolt of a shot along the ground as they all jumped expecting to block or head the ball away. I can’t recall ever seeing anyone scoring a goal from a free kick with that tactic since, but I guess it must have happened sometime. Unfortunately Arsenal equalised in the second half to earn a 1-1 draw.
McKennan, a Scot from Airdrie, was a specialist with free kicks and went on to score 15 goals in 33 games that season. Strangely he was transferred to Oldham Athletic at the end of his one and only season with Boro, and the next season we converted Johnny Spuhler, a winger, to be our centre forward the following year.
What a great weekend , watched the cricketers mess up again then the Rugby league ,with a neutral ref we may have won !
Back up at 4.30 for the worst of the lot lefties on the right and righties on the left.
Players still playing like learner drivers, slow and steady while others are zipping past
. A truly shambolic embarrassing performance highlighted by the constant references to the money we have spent, thank God for beer !
Smash the league ? more like smash the telly !!
What kind of successfull manager has this cub had the ones who took it by he scruff of the neck , instilled discipline ,and focus.
Big Jack, Bruce Rioch, and Aitor
None of them were loved by the local media jock sniffers,
Certainly Aitor wasn’t?
Can we agree Jose Mourinho ,is a successful manager no matter if you hate him or not,he wins.
If he tells you I have a coach you must hire, he will bring you success.
So you do, he sorts things out and you get promotion, he might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but anyone’s boss always will have enemies.
You buy players in January over is head, then sack him.
I’m done Gibson is scared of promotion,
He’s a phony!
Gibson wants promotion, as the Premiership is self financing.
But do the players? Hardly any of them would feature in the Premier League.
Once again we conceded goals because the full backs didn’t do their jobs.
We need an experienced manager to get the whole squad back to doing the basics.
Yes GHW, …how many times did we see Gibson and especially Fry pulled out position to cover the FB slots. That was why Albert suffered, his first task was to fill the gap leaving his sides CB always in position.
This lot are all over the place. Midfield being the worst.
To fellow Aussie-based exiles, I was fully expecting to watch the recording that was set to happen but my Boro-conditioned brain opened my eyes at 4.15am and I felt that it was a sign that I was supposed to climb out of bed. So much for superstition and action at a distance.
I have had a few hours to ponder and, leaving aside teaching our lot to pass to each other or take free kicks and corners, there seems to me to be one obvious tactical option that would fit our players. Given that we are leaking goals round the sides on counter attacks and yet still seem to look at our best when we throw players forward, surely it is blindingly obvious that we should play with three at the back. That creates a wider last line of defence and, with a Clayton or Leadbitter set in front of them, means that we will have less chance of being outnumbered when we lose the ball.
Whether the other players play as a 3-4-3 or a 3-5-2 is really semantics as it just involves one player pushing forward a bit. It also seems clear that Traore has to be given a chance to run from the right or central channel, particularly away from home. At home, maybe he needs to be an impact player. Not sure.
So, I can see an attacking lineup of Gestede and Assombalonga up front supported/prompted by Bamford with Christie and Fabio as wing backs plus one other who would be Traore away from home and maybe Downing or Howson at home. The defensive setup would be three centre backs – pick three out of Shotton, Fry, Gibson and Ayala – and Clayton or Leadbitter shielding the back three.
Would that formation do any worse?
UTB
WHAt about Braithwaite ?
Sell him!
He’s a class player but he’s not producing the goods at the moment. Maybe we need to give someone else a go.
Third at home to ninth and the result was 2-1. Nothing unexpected. We are settling into a mediocre rut and soon the lower teams will also fancy their chances and the slow slide downwards will begin leaving us around 17th as the spread sheet predicted.
Although I am not happy, it looks like we will have a comfortable season and coast along unless and until SG wakes someone up.
Unable to build a team from his Christmas hamper of good players I think that GM and his management team, using the word management loosely, are utterly clueless. They have learnt nothing. They are unable to do anything to even start rectifying the problems.
They are not even able to rectify the the glaring problems, problems that are so basic that local league teams would be able to see them.
Mr Monk it is time for the dissolution.
UTB,
John
The weekend gets no better typified by the cricket in the last couple of overs just before the break. Inside edge just past the stumps, short ball played just past the fielder placed at leg slip, short ball edged and dropping to two fielders behind the wicket only for one to knock it out of the others hands.
But that is closer than we seem to be getting, I suppose you could say the test team are playing for run outs whilst Boro are playing for own goals.
The football? I don’t know where to start.
I take that back, the place to start is at the top. There seems to be no belief in team, that smacks of players not fully buying in to the way we are playing.
The process has become more important than the outcome. Are we focussing on clever rather than basics? Has it become more important to have a nice place to work rather with interesting sessions than drilling the way we play?
I don’t know the answer but I can see the results on the pitch.
I normally leave the judgement on the manager to Steve Gibson, I talk about the charge sheet for managers, it consists of a list positive and negative points. In Monk’s case I can think of little on the plus side, possibly because I cant see what happens at Rockcliffe.
It looks close to the end to me but what does Steve think?
‘I normally leave the judgement on the manager to Steve Gibson.’
And there lies the crux of the matter, Ian. The accummulated judgements by SG over the decades as to managerial appointments are IMHO suspect. Am I repeating myself? Sorry!
Spartak…..that is a fair question. We all make mistakes. Sometimes you have a budget and you can only choose within that range. (Ian uses the bargain basement phrase).
However as we are in the Championship where we have been for most of the last decade……AK had a reasonable budget and Mr Monk, virtually a blank cheque. A fair comparison can be taken there I believe.
‘Jock sniffers!’
That short phrase has my face all contorted and I’m unable to re-arrange at all for some reason.
Will the said miscreant please consider my sensitive disposition before posting as I haven’t had my Sunday morning Porrage Supreme as of yet.
I thank you!
Havnt been on here for a while,totally fed up with Boro this season. I havnt missed a game but yesterday I had to force myself to go down to Bristol and it was the wrong choice I should have done a ten hour shift at work instead it would have been more enjoyable!!
Despite Gibson’s patience with his managers I can’t see Monk lasting much longer. Get a new man in, install a much needed game plan on the pitch and do a Reading from a few seasons ago and come from nowhere to promotion!
Wolves and Cardiff have opened up a six point gap and to think Neil Warnock was desperate to come here! Monk can’t be allowed to waste anymore money in the transfer window,I shudder to think what expensive projects and rubbish he will buy!
Only Fabio defensively looks half decent and he wasn’t meant to be first choice. Monks managed to turn Ben Gibson who had aspirations of a place in England’s World Cup squad from a 30/25m player into a generous 5m one.
On the pitch we are a yard slower than the opposition,second to every ball and rarely win anything in the air. We can’t string more than two passes together and time after time give away possession cheaply. Our corners,free kicks are a joke and must rank the worst in the league. After spending nearly 25m on Britt and Braithwaite we are now pinning our hopes on Gestede who was ridiculed by a huge chunk of fans last season(not me i like him) as our saviour.
Too many players signed in the summer at over inflated prices,more expensive projects who arnt ready to slot into the team. We are almost at the halfway stage and Monk is still nowhere near knowing what his best team is or if he even has one.
Steve Gibson needs to swallow his pride,admit he’s made a mistake in appointing Monk and give the fans an early Christmas present a new manager and preferably one who has experience of getting a team promoted from the championship!!
No more talk of AK either!!
My choice as it was back in the summer would be Nigel Pearson,did well with Leicester in the championship,has a soft spot for the club and certainly would kick some players backsides and wouldn’t accept these half hearted wimpish performances!!
Looking back to Monk’s appointment, Werdermouth headed his article on 13th June with this headline “Monk’s appointment greeted with almost universal joy“. No reflection on Werdermouth, for he was correct at the time. However the tide has turned especially from Boro supporters blogging on the Gazette website. At the time Nigel Pearson seemed the only alternative as far as fans were concerned, although many voiced their dismay at that suggestion. His name is now cropping up again despite contractually he is unavailable, as is Brendan Rogers. Some fans on the Gazette website are suggesting Tony Pulis, bizarrely only until the end of the season, and then reappraise the situation in the summer.
My question on this is why would the likes of Rogers, Pulls or even Karanka now want to be considered as stopgap or permanent manager at the Boro? I fear that now there are few managers with Championship experience available and that SG will not make a decision until the end of the season. In the meantime the January transfer window will give us some insight into SG’s thinking. Will he sanction more expenditure on new players and gamble on Boro gaining promotion via the playoffs? Or will he veto any transfers until some of the existing players can be unloaded? In either event I doubt he will dismiss Monk until the end of the season, even if then.
I know I and others have said this before but Mr Gibson has to take some action.
What I am not sure. Even Mr Monk’s supporters on here must be disillusioned after this game.
Spartak
You could say previous managers had a bit of leeway because they had something in the plus column or had to use players in situ without a chance to change things around. You could argue that Gibson is too loyal, a rare thing in modern football but he is what he is.
In the current situation, Monk has been given the tools to do the job but there is no evidence of any progress or team building. It is slightly different on this occasion.
If he stays and turns it round then great, I just cant see any evidence of him doing so. I would love to be wrong.
Well what can one say about that!
A well organised, disciplined group of journey men players who move the ball quickly from defense to attack, take their chances when presented, play as a team and are well coached and motivated.
Against a group of individuals who look disjointed, disinterested, play tippy tappy football at snails pace and create little by way of chances/shots on target, who appear to be coached by someone who has a nice personality, is a good talker and presenter to the media but seem to know little if anything about organising and motivating a team.
I despaired as soon as I saw Adama lining up on the left and Dowing on the right. Adama was like a fish out of water and whilst Downing again saw plenty of the ball he did not make any positive impact on the game with his crossing and corners all being for the benefit of the home defenders.
If I can see what is/is not happening, then why can some one who has spent his life in the football industry and supposedly has numerous coaching badges, not come to the same conclusion. The changes when they came were as usual too little and too late.
During the week GM stated that he had shown the team a video of all the goals conceded and pointed out that the main cause was individual errors but did not mention anything about team selection or the manner in which the team plays, eg slow starts lack of drive etc.
Last night he stated that the performance was unacceptable, so again blaming the team but not accepting any responsibility himself. Sounds to me like he is trying to get his excuses in early before a meeting with SG which in my opinion needs to happen sooner rather than later!
As others have alluded to hear, we need to get back to basics with defenders defending and not leaving great big uncovered gaps behind them, which means that we need midfielders and attackers who can do what they should be doing.
We need someone who can turn the rabble into a team – but who??
Spot on KP
Not Pearson as has been suggested on here
OFB why do you dislike Pearson?
I’ve met him and he does demand respect from those around him
However I think his tactical views are blinkered and does not posses the ability to change formations and teams during a game
He also has upset a lot of players and has had quite a few fights with the media !
It’s just my personal view
Pride…may be that is a problem to Mr Gibson.
None of us like to admit we have made a mistake. Some never will, some take longer than they should, the smart people especially in business, and Mr Gibson has been very successful one cannot deny that, recitify the mistake early, even if not admitting the mistake.
However, just who are these successful Managers/Coaches that are available right now?? Mr Monk would not have been my choice, and still is not, but to be fair to SG, there was not a long line to choose from at the time. There are even less now.
Although it is frowned upon, could we poach somebody? Would they come? Just look at the problems and ultimate choices of WBA, Cyrstal Palace, Everton, Leicester and WHU. There are a fair number on this blog that would not have wanted any of those Managers to come to the Boro, even if they had wanted to. Which probably in the main they would not.
So give me the list to choose from please fellow bloggers, and apologies OFB, not that website link, that does not count.
Pedro
‘Cometh the hour, cometh the man.’
John 4:23
Allardici has gone to Everton. They were struggling. Allardici by his sheer presence and credibility turns them around just by havin him sit in the stands watchin.
What if we do the same with Big Nige ‘I can take care of myself’ Pearson. Then see what reaction we get from the players, like!
Thomas Tuchel is on that site and he’s a good manager
My own choice would be Brendan Rodgers from Celtic
Use the money whilst we still have it and give them £1.5 mill and him a £3 mill bonus if we go up
That would be vfm
OFB
OFB……do you really think Tuchel would come to the Boro? Won´t he waiting for one of the bigger Bundesliga Teams? May be Werder could answer that one.
Same goes for Rodgers. Boro not a big enough team. He will wait until he can do no more at Celtic and a big-ish EPL team come calling. Only my opinion OFB.
My recollection of the reason for Southgates sacking, even though we were close to the top, was the inability to beat the teams around us.
If that is the yardstick the GM must be on borrowed time.
I have never seen a team at this level that don’t even understand the basics that we were all made aware of on the school playing fields.
The late free kick beggers belief, are they really professional footballers?
Is it the players choice though? Under Karanka and many other Boro managers everyone (maybe even the keeper) would be up in the box waiting for the delivery. The players are obviously under instruction from the manager to play it short at all times. I’m sure that given the choice the players would put the ball in the box given the circumstances, but if it didn’t pay off, they’d be watching a replay of it at Rockcliffe on Monday and being told that it was an ‘individual error’.
It’s the same with a lot of the goals that we have conceded. They may be down to individual errors but why are those errors being made? It’s because of how the players are told to operate. How often did our full backs get caught out of position under Karanka for instance? The players we have don’t suddenly become bad over night. Imagine watching the video of the Derby game and thinking ‘I was only stood there because that’s where you wanted me to be boss’. That’s perhaps why we got the reaction we did yesterday.
I wasn’t a massive fan of Karanka and I wouldn’t have him back. That said, Monk has inherited a defensively solid side, eradicated that solidness and simultaneously failed to make us more effective as an attacking force. We look worse with every passing game. The guy looks clueless. It’s all well and good saying that the performance is unacceptable Gary, but what about your role in that? What are you going to do? I’m increasingly starting to believe that Pep Clotet was the brains behind the duo.
Old Billy
Out of our 23 points only 2 came from top half teams – I think.
I sat down to write feeling that I had lots to say. However I have such a torrent of thoughts that I just can’t frame them into coherent sentences. Probably best to be succinct and say: this is a mess, GM must go.
Or be more succinct using just two letters?
Spartak
A big problem with Nige was that he fell out with the local press…………
Having slept on it I am convinced that Monk’s tenure at the Riverside is over. SG may stubbornly (foolishly) stick with his man but the fans won’t. With Aitor there was a sizeable group on the terraces on his side Garry Monk doesn’t enjoy a similar support mechanism.
Each report I write I’m struggling for new adjectives and last night I found myself using the same recycled ones over again, dysfunctional, confused, belief, ineffective, sideways, backwards etc. There is no progress, no plan and no shape. Things now are even worse than the summer, going further I would say that comparatively things are worse than when we were imploding (apologies for the over use of that word again) in the Premiership the rationale being that we had a weak Premiership squad but a strong (strongest arguably) Championship squad.
We need a Manager who instills his authority and that is something that I’m not convinced SG would want or would be comfortable with.Hiring up and coming Managers with potential should have been something the Club will have left behind years ago and moved forwards from but for reasons best known to himself SG isn’t comfortable with hiring experience. Perhaps he feels threatened or that he will lose some control and influence which isn’t uncommon with small minded inward thinking family businesses. Unwittingly SG himself may be the cause of his biggest headaches.
To me the blindingly obvious solution is Tony Pulis, his track record with clubs of a similar size ticks more boxes than anyone else in the market unless Gary Gill comes up with some relative unknown from foreign shores the way Watford do and Hull did and now Wolves. Problem is that if Gary Gill recommended someone to me I would ask to see his trash list first.
Now I know some purists will scream Noooo!!! to the very thought of Pulis but being realistic we will never compete at the top table playing open, expansive, stylish, slick football unless SG invests £1bn into the club or finds a new owner who will. Pulis works and he achieves the objective albeit not as exciting perhaps as say ermmmm Big Jack or Aitor?
It’s a good argument ! Well put forward I’ll second that.
Perhaps the ones on the blog who are saying don’t change the manager keep Monk don’t realise what the atmosphere is like when you are sat next to Boro fans and I think he’s definitely lost the crowd.
I’ve never been a fan of those who boo their own team but it’s becomimg common place at half and full time and Perhaps Gibson needs to realise this and take action
If I remember RR……didn´t SG say never, never the likes of Pulis
Pedro
I believe he did or was at least rumoured to have said something along those lines. With the benefit of hindsight where would the club be now had he appointed him? My guess is finishing between 10th and 15th in the Premiership for the last “X” years with us lot (and I include myself) moaning that it wasn’t good enough.
Brendan Rodgers would never leave Celtic in a million years!
He’s regarded as a god up there,why would he swap them for a mediocre mid table championship team
Money
I am surprised at the outrage on here at our underwhelming first half of the season. A wry smile is the appropriate response to our entirely predictable failure to meet the laughably inflated expectations of some of our fans.
The seeds of the mediocrity we’re now witnessing were sown in the car crash that was the second half of last season. Getting relegated from the Premier League is nothing to be ashamed about for a club of our size and status but to fall away so dramatically and without so much of a whimper was unforgivable. The post-Karanka situation was hopelessly mismanaged and a vital opportunity to galvanise the team and prepare the club for the task of getting promoted again was missed. No team that goes down in the pathetic way we did gets promoted the next season. The stuffing was knocked out of us, we were mentally shot with a divided dressing room tearing itself apart. In that rarest of rare beasts, an illuminating interview with a footballer, Stewart Downing described the atmosphere in the dressing room last season as the worst he’d known in football by “a million miles”. You cannot go from that to the kind of bond,unity and togetherness that is the pre-requisite of a championship promotion.
I actually feel some sympathy for Monk who inherited that mess and was then tasked with, not only getting us back up, but “smashing the league” with a new brand of exciting football. This brand was to be conjured up from a squad still largely made up players who thrived in the defence obsessed tenure of Karanka. That was stupidly naive and hopelessly unrealistic. So now, after numerous failed attempts to integrate new signings in an exciting new attack-minded system we have gone back, tail between legs, to Karanka’s good old 4-2-3-1.The sideways passing, ponderous build up play and isolation of the front man that we’d previously enjoyed remains but with the added twist of a complete lack of defensive organisation. Our muddled, arrogant thinking has produced the worst of all worlds, we are now dull to watch and easy to play against. A busted flush only capable of beating the worst this league has to offer.
Next up are Ipswich, who are most definitely not in that category, and will be positively licking their lips at the thought of playing such a dysfunctional mess of a team. How wonderfully ironic it would be if the final blow to this failed vanity project is dealt by that arch pragmatist Mick McCarthy – a no-nonsense, strong willed manager who can organise a team. The East Anglian Karanka. Just the type to do well at Championship level and who won’t have even entered Gibson’s head as a replacement for *whatever the last bloke was called*. Not good enough for the new Middlesbrough. Pragmatism is dead. Does not compute. New ideas, fresh thinking, mid table. All remnants from previous regime extinguished. Burn after reading. All that’s left is a postcard – ” Having a “smashing” time in the Champo Aitor, wish you were here”.
Welcome back!
To be fair that was exactly what you predicted before a ball was even kicked this season – the inability to find a way to move forward with the resources at our disposal has made me wonder if Boro do actually need another two transfer windows to clear up the mess and start afresh. Maybe Monk is just the interim innocent Mowbray to the next man’s shrewd Karanka in this particular scenario?
Nice one Paulista
A top appraisal Anthony of the situation, I agree wholeheartedly. Sometimes I get the impression that SG has delusions of grandeur, thinking Boro are a cut above many clubs. We’re all eternally grateful for what he has done in the past, but a little humility wouldn’t come amiss. The following poem would be a good guide for him, the manager, and some of the players:-
When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the World makes you King for a day;
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgement upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
For he’s with you and clear to the end,
And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
For you may be the one that gets a good break
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a fake
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.
It’s increasingly difficult to see any evidence that Garry Monk will be able to turn the current squad into a team capable of mounting a serious promotion challenge. The question is whether he has enough experience or ability to bring in the players he’s lacking in the coming transfer window and shape them into a winning team. He’s had 20 games nearly half a season with the current squad and there is little sign that the failures have been mainly down to the players and not his tactics and organisation.
Something is missing and the level of the performances beyond simply skill and ability must throw into question that Monk is the kind of manager who can turn the situation around. It’s less than one month before the January window opens and if Boro are considering a change then it has to be soon, otherwise any new manager won’t be able to assess the current squad to see if it meets his needs.
The playoffs are still possible but any new manager will need to perform at the 2 points per game level just to get there now – Boro will need to aim for a total close to 80 points and that means essentially 50 more points from 25 games. It’s impossible to see how Garry Monk will be able to deliver that this season – which means if he is the man to achieve promotion then he would be given two more transfer windows by the chairman and that seems too greater risk based on his current record.
Not sure who is the best man to take over but perhaps someone a little older with more stature is needed for the task at hand. Big Nige and Tony Pullis are perhaps strong characters but perhaps too strong for Steve Gibson to handle – Ronald Koeman would be my suggestion but he may be looking at a return to the top-flight.
Werder,
I don’t know about a serious promotion challenge just turning them into a cohesive team would do me right now. I don’t think he can do it and I have a sneaking suspicion the players don’t want to do it for him.
At best we are mediocre at worst appallingly dreadful. If there were/are signs that Boro are building something that would help but the next home game should be filling him with dread. No doubt the PA will drown out the fans.
I think it is going to get worse.
FA Cup to come and Boro to lose to some non-league side anyone?
UTB,
John
Who can we get to take over from Monk if he goes? Well, if we are to have any chance of promotion we should steal Warnock from Cardiff, simultaneously derailing their promotion plans whilst giving a handy boost to our own.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s nowhere near my best choice, but it’s a choice of convenience and it serves two purposes at once.
Paulista has a point, a quick glance at the tables shows we have 10 points more than Hull and 15 more than Sunderland.
The key difference is we have invested substantially in the squad, it is the lack of progress or signs of it that is the issue.
The match yesterday against Bristol City will linger in the memory, but for all the wrong reasons. The main feeling after the game was one of cynical acceptance that our team is just not good enough, as currently selected and playing..
We may all be deluding ourselves but plenty of us (and other pundits not tied to Middlesbrough) thought we had the Championship’s best squad at the start of the season. If we DID have the best squad of players, then we have either been massively unlucky, or we have no spirit in the dressing room, or no organisation on the field, or we do not use our players to best advantage and have poor tactics. I do not subscribe to the “unlucky” school of thought. The other possibilities, or a combination of them, seem much more likely.
“We could’ve been a contender….” as Marlon Brando said…..but in fact we play like Bums. (One for you there, Simon).
On the plus side, it was much more pleasant after the game having a decent chat about footballers from the past (and other subjects) with three ex-Scotland players who, between them played just under 1,300 games for their clubs (the vast majority at the highest level), in which they scored just under 200 clubs goals, as well as playing 94 games for Scotland.
Football 0 Football Chat 5.
SG appoints men into the manager’s job who will not question the executive set-up. AK alluded to it and was out the door soon after. Mogga said he realised the ‘situ’ two weeks after he joined (begs the question as ti what prior research potential manager’s carry out on the club. Martin O’Neill didn’t even hang about for the volly vonts.
The rot starts at the back – or in this case, behind the scenes.
Thanks to RR for the report, depressing as it was and my admiration for those that made the long trip down.
I am not sure where we go from here, only Mr Gibson can really influence a change if he feels that is required. If i was in hus shoes then i would be feeling very disheartened indeed. Given a new manager a load of money which would appear to have been wasted as the man in charge cannot get them to perform.
Does he stick and hope that by some Miracle ( and it is Advent) on Ayresome Street things will improve. Or does he cut his losses to bring in experience (if anyone will comebof course) to try for promotion.
To be honest, i think our season is over now as we keep losing to our rivals when we should be winning ar home and drawing away. Sloppy mistakes keep occuring and not being addressed which isone of my concerns.
Given that we are we are, andva change of manager is too late, reluctantly i would say stick with GM until the end of the season with no new players in January, saving it for the new man in summer.
Whilst the premiership is the holy grail, i am still of the opinion that SG has not got the inclination to spend the massive amounts required to keep us there and at best we will be a yo yo club again. Tbh, that would be fine for me as long as we compete and give us excitment.
UTB
Apologies for typing, only one hand as other one in pot after i decided that ladders were for falling off not climbing!
Isn’t it the snakes you come down?
You have my sympathy I hate ladders, my now deceased father in law had a wooden set and kept repairing them. I was going to a bit of painting on his bedroom window, I looked at the ladder and asked if it was safe.
They are fine he said in his Arbroath burr.Three rungs up and it was like Tom and Jerry as each rung broke in turn on the way down. Luckily I wasn’t hurt but I took a saw to the ladder and turned it in to kindling.
No, not an electronic reading deviice but wood to start a fire with.
If Boro’s support has turned against Monk and it appears it has then he’s toast.
If we play 90 minutes against Ipswich the way we played the opening 13 minutes against Derby but win rather than lose by three clear goals then GM just might cling on by his fingertips. The chances of that happening however are quite frankly zero in my opinion. I think the Players look like they have had enough as well.
I am more depressed today than this time last year when I knew we were going down. How can this be after all the euphoria regarding Monk’ s appointment and the summer spending spree?
Have to agree with those who are saying that this is looking like a repeat of the Strachan era.
God knows where we go from here.
Karanka getting mentioned a lot by bloggers today on social media !! Most agree that Monk should go.
When you say ‘mentioned’ I hope their selective memory syndrome isn’t playing tricks with their minds – didn’t someone just mention we ended up with a terrible split dressing room with bad spirit under his meltdown management – why would it be any different second time round? especially given that the mystique surrounding him as the ‘special one’s apprentice’ would be gone and he’d start from day one as a flawed individual who many would find difficult to have faith in.
I agree with RR on Tony Pulis.
I think our needs, aspirations, his experience, the size of club and his overall CV are a perfect fit on match.com. I’m swiping right but I fear SG may swipe left (one for the younger ones there)!
Lets go for the predictable tried and tested this time around plus SG will sleep easier at night as will his accountant and bank manager.
And of course
So say all of us !
It’s interesting that over the last few months and after meeting various former players of the Boro that none have endorsed the tactics of our manager
OFB
Bob
I’m astounded to hear that he actually had (sorry has) some tactics. Very little discernible evidence of any from where I sit. Maybe I misheard his “Focus” (because he certainly has) and “Attention” referred to Attention deficit.
When the second tractor goal goes in I anticipate a chorus of “Are you Strachan in disguise”.
At least we can suffer together !
I feel sorry fo you having to write an upbeat report on the game on Saturday
You never know it could finally click bit somehow I domt think so
Monk has had several international breaks to get his team to gel and after each break we look like strangers
Desperate times call for desperate measures! And if needs must for Tony Pullis.
I am still of the view that SG will not act until a play off spot is mathematically beyond us. Even then he may give GM another season.
Whilst SG he may have stated in public that the intention was to smash the league, we are not privy to what he discussed in private with GM when agreeing a three year contract.
As far as a replacement is concerned, I think we need the experience, discipline and nous of a TP. That being said what do I know, I was in favour of appointing GM and look where that has got us, back to the Strachan era!
None of this is a surprise.
When you finally (after years of torture) get a manager who actually knows what he is doing.
Quick summary of pleasures experienced under his command.
Very few goals conceded, plenty of wins, rubbish players jettison’d, decent players brought in, happy to go to great teams away from home knowing that we had nothing to fear, club making money by selling players for high prices, real attempt to go up (beginning to think that players were too clever to win the play off) went up, no goals in the team, still great defence(until office boy took over)
Went down as favourites to come back.
Signed Mr who?
Said buy who you like(oh, and sell who you wish)
The road to perdition, yes?
Well we have had quite a few posts since I posed my question which I assume has left lots of head scratching.
Apart from a couple of non starters in my opinion, Rogers and Tuchel, sorry OFB, there has not been a list as long as my arm being shouted out.
As Ken said there are few available, in fact I would go as far as saying there are none available certainly in the Championship. You are then scrabbling around looking at Werders choice, Koeman, who does not come over very well, but did well at Southampton. Could we actually afford his 3 year salary?
the favourite today appears to be Pulis, who I certainly do not think SG would entertain. To outspoken for him.
So it is only day one, may be we get lots of names we all have not thought of tomorrow. Somebody from League ! perhaps, which could be too risky.
Whilst I am sat on the fence at the moment,it would appear that there are only two to choose from, if indeed they were interested. I do not think SG will twist at this time and will wait and wait to see if a minor miracle happens.
It will be the crowd eventually that gets Mr Monk the sack if this dross continues.
SG did not say we would smash the league.
I seriously doubt the signings were hand picked by GM.
The present squad is not good enough to attain automatic promotion, regardless of who the manager is.
I believe he said “we want to smash this league” but I could be wrong!
Exactly. “Want” there’s a big difference
There certainly is… 15 points and growing!
I was brought up being told ‘I want never gets’ – though it’s not necessarily bad to have aspirations. I think Steve Gibson must have thought that Boro could build a team with the resources at our disposal to ‘smash’ the league as he put it – but that was always going to be a massive ask in one transfer window where once you start splashing cash other clubs up their prices to take advantage of it being a sellers market.
I don’t think for one second that Ben Gibson talks to his uncle about anyone or anything going on within the dressing room etc.
If S Gibson is at the games,he can see for himself, how clueless they look.
But it might be time to sell Ben if not for his own career,but to alley any misguided fears some people may have .
I hear regularly bloggers on the Gazette forum thinking that in the long term that the Premier League is where we belong. This got me thinking whether historically Boro do deserve to be in the top flight (obviously not going by performances over the last two seasons). Well statistically Boro’s record in the top flight since its inception in 1888 shows that indeed Boro are the 18th highest points scorer. This is a list of points accrued by the top 20 clubs assuming all wins prior to 1981 are awarded 3 points instead of the original 2 points up to the end of last season:-
1st Liverpool 6,669 (18 titles 4,058 matches)
2nd Arsenal 6,581 (13 titles 4,058 matches)
3rd Everton 6,542 (9 titles 4,442 matches)
4th Man.Utd 6,210 (20 titles 3,702 matches)
5th Aston Villa 5,897 (7 titles 4,070 matches)
6th Man. City 5,025 (4 titles 3,542 matches)
7th Tottenham 4,901 (2 titles 3,318 matches)
8th Chelsea 4,888 (6 titles 3,320 matches)
9th Newcastle 4,762 (4 titles 3,350 matches)
10th Sunderland 4,560 (6 titles 3,302 matches)
11th West Brom 4,034 (1 title 3,070 matches)
12th Blackburn 3,702 (3 titles 2,720 matches)
13th Bolton 3,692 (2,802 matches)
14th Sheff. Wed 3,552 (4 titles 2,582 matches)
15th Wolves 3,375 (3 titles 2,422 matches)
16th Derby 3,303 (2 titles 2,468 matches)
17th Sheff. Utd 3,173 (1 title 2,356 matches)
18th THE BORO 3,068 (2,438 matches)
19th Leeds Utd 3,061 (3 titles 2,060 matches)
20th West Ham 3,038 (2,396 matches)
Of course some clubs have featured in the top tier and therefore played more matches than others (West Ham, Sheffield Utd and Leeds United have spent less time in the top tier than Boro). If points average per season in the top tier was the criterion, Manchester United would be 1st and Boro 20th. Only nine of the top teams are currently in the Premier League.
However, it might be said then that Boro’s rightful place should be in the Premier League, although I doubt that is any consolation at the moment.
I should have mentioned that these statistics came from a survey in The Guardian up to the end of the 2012/13 season to which I added the next 4 seasons.
The fans thinking Garry Monk should leave and Steve Gibson making the decision for him to leave are totally different matters.
As has been pointed out, if Monk is to leave then we need a replacement, the list is not endless. We are struggling for names, no doubt the club has more.
AK is history, a non starter. I think folk are thinking that he got us promoted, We certainly played better than we currently are doing and were more solid but that is past. Don’t go back.
Any change is risky, Steve Gibson has to make the judgement call.
Unless something drastic happens I cant see anything changing.
My view is that Monk wont take us forward. How long before a change is made is another matter. It may be that automatic promotion has been written off and time will be given to mount a play off challenge.
Another couple of bad results may prompt a change.
My thoughts as well Ian
IAN
One more? Two? Three?
How many games to find out that enough is enough ?
The Gazette guys including our former Blogmeister are pretty scathing and that’s unusual as they are usually positive !
Let’s be honest if you have a problem in management you always have a back up plan with a pre determined list of people you can slot into place.
We may not have many names on this Blog to offer as a replacement but I would like to bet Peter Kenyon has identified replacements and that preliminary talks have been discreetly started…….
OFB
Lets be honest if we had no Manager and Woody as a bizarre example stepped in temporarily I doubt if he or indeed even the Tea Lady could do any worse. Grant and Stewy could take temporary charge if needed because unless a seismic change of volcanic like proportions are seen against Ipswich GM. Right now I’d take Aggers, AK, Strachan or Schteeeeve for temporary charge rather than stick with the incumbent tried and failed.
Here’s a curved ball, SG makes Oxford and offer they can’t refuse for Pep to rejoin GM? Not one I would support but not totally unfathomable if SG doesn’t want to admit making a mistake and true to his principles of sticking with his man.
As I’ve said previously they fell out last season so I think that’s a non starter
The above should read
“unless a seismic change of volcanic like proportions are seen against Ipswich GM is toast”
AT least he’ll know on which side his bread is buttered
Ian
It is far worse than that.
We still possess a group of players who successfully rocked the boat when we were dancing to the prem. One of them is back in the team. This is not the action of a management that knows or wants to know how to run a top class football club.
We, the fans, panic when we are going to be relegated, the management should be above such knee jerk reaction.
We were going to go down( if we went down?) as favourites to come back up
To take a wrecking ball to the team and the club was not clever.
We are quite capable of settling into mediocrity for the next ten years.
But that is only if we sort out our present mess, if we don’t all bets are off.
This team is not suffering a loss of form, it is having a nervous breakdown, nothing less, witness the comical free kick routine (not funny) witness the opening minutes of the second half(all of them)
Witness the dead ball routines (all of them)
Witness the shambolic attempts to score round the six yard box.
Witness the total lack of shots on goal, and I do not count the ballooning over the bar, the constant going for the near post, or the heading straight to the keeper.
It is not too outrageous to say they are not trying, shocking, I know, but these teams rolling us over are nothing special, Derby anyone?
I liked Karanka. Everybody knows that. And even I wouldn’t want him back. Nor, if he had any sense, would he come back. Werder has put it right: “the mystique surrounding him as the ‘special one’s apprentice’ (us) gone and he’d start from day one as a flawed individual who many would find difficult to have faith in.”
Not that I didn’t enjoy the ride while I could, but my Talking Point on Cult Managers says it all much better.
One thing he did, more than right, was build on the Mogga legacy by strengthening the foundations already laid – and he did that exceptionally well. The romantics may not have liked the Antonio Valencianisation of Adomah, for example but for the sake of the team and the overall achievement of the collective it made perfect sense.
What has Monk built on? Really? For example. Gestede and Bamford came in to his set-up with half a season’s settling in time under their belt – and have been, with due respect to Braithwaite and M. Johnson, a far better supporting pair to Assombalonga. There is too much of a desire, I think, to eradicate the memory of the horribly split dressing room and meltdown management, as Werder, again, put it – without remembering, acknowledging and appreciating what actually got us to the Premier League to begin with.
AK’s time may be gone, but the good aspects of his legacy, like Mogga’s, ought to live on.
AS I’ve said before Si I still think Karanka was great as a manager before he turned into a cult
The trick, for any “cultist”, is not to believe too heavily in his own hype. If he does he’ll be less prepared, or not prepared at all, for when everything backfires.
Ken, thanks for the statistics and it backs up what someone said a while back about time in top flight. My experience since 1967 ish is of Boro being second tier with occasional forays into the old first division. Apart from the 11 season run relatively recently, we never stayed up for long.
I think that the historic performance reflects the fact that we have longevity as a club, hence in the top flight for a long period in the early days.
What would be interesting is the stats since say 1960!
BBD….start with 1954, I think it was when we came down from Division 1 with Liverpool.
Now compare the two teams stats.
To Bob, and everyone:
As critical as I have been of “cult managers”, they’re also the ones who tend to achieve the most. Look at Big Jack – loud, brash, self-important, walked into a dressing room like he owned it. But the Irish squad picked up on that, believed in him and started to go places.
Pulls?! Yer jokin arn yer?! Park 10 men behind the ball and hope for a breakaway. Been there, done that, and look where it got us. No thank you.
Pulis is used to working with “less glamorous” clubs with small budgets. He has gone through sticky patches but that comes with the territory when you manage outside of the top 6 clubs but he also has a record of never being relegated as a player, coach or manager, I would certainly like some of that street smart savvy right now.
The 10 men behind the ball is somewhat wide of reality and more urban myth perpetuated by the darlings of the press with their lips firmly attached to the rectal areas of Manchelskiarsepool when he has spoilt their Monday Night Football by not getting ritually tanked and humiliated.
He is defensive undoubtedly but unless you want mauled by the Manchelskiarsepools of this world that is what is required to survive. The key difference is that unlike AK he knows that ultimately it is points that guarantees survival not GD.He also has experience of promotion which compared to what we have now is a huge imbalance on the scales of capability.
So who then Clive??
49 Clubs have featured in the Premier League. That means there are currently 29 clubs with aspirations to one day return there.
For some it would appear they have had their day in the Sun and a return is highly unlikely. For others it is, and will remain their ultimate goal to return. The competition is intense and if you get it wrong your absence is prolonged. The longer you are out the likelihood of getting back in is diminished.
SG can’t afford to faff about, once the parachute payments run out so does the means for your return. The chairman is supposed to be a hard headed businessman. It’s time to take off his Boro tinted glasses and act now to facilitate the clubs return. Unfortunately for GM that means his P45 should be in the post.
But don’t shed too many tears, he will receive ample remuneration.
so did Karanka and Agnew
The best and biggest chance of a return to the Premier League is the season after relegation, with its parachute payment which, in financial terms, can blow most of the Championship opposition into the water. The next season, the chances of promotion are considerable, but still diminished from the year before. After that, other teams come down from the Premier League with an (even bigger) parachute payment at the same time as our parachute payment reduces, and the prospects of promotion recede further. From year four, just forget it….and expect a lengthy period before even a DREAM of promotion becomes realistic.
THIS was our best chance. Next season the chance will be rather less. That may be why any delay in making a managerial decision becomes critical. Do you suspect that a wrong decision as to the manager has been made, yet cling to the hope of a sudden upturn in performances, and therefore allow the manager to spend another £25M or even £40M war chest on seeking promotion? Or do you realise that spending that amount, at that time of the season, is like chasing the gamblers’ dream and probably a waste of money that might be better spent by someone who is more likely to be here in a year’s time?, “I have lost my savings but I am confident I will win this time. So, I will put the house deeds on this turning up red….”
On the one hand, if a wrong decsion has been made here, then giving the manager more money is like throwing good money after bad. On the other hand, if you change now, then at least the new manager has a few weeks to look at his players already here, and it would allow him the opportunity to spend the money on the players he thinks he needs to get the ship sailing in the right direction. We can’t expect to spend the money in a few weeks, AND have more money to spend later if things continue as they have been in the recent past.
Our ship is aimed at the rocks but we have not yet hit them. If we wait until we do hit the rocks, so that the hull is holed, then there will be nothing we can do to avoid damage, people will drown and some people who might have been about to jump ship, will have found a new home,
When meed to change Monks losing habit
If he isn’t taking a pew on Saturday we can assume he had a priory engagement
Let us pray
Man overboard
Take Coventry City for example who were promoted to the first tier in 1967 and remained there until relegated in 2001. That’s 35 consecutive seasons in the top tier followed by 18 years outside of it. As they are now in the 2nd Division it will need at least three promotions to regain that status, so at least that’ll be 21 consecutive seasons outside the top tier.
Only six clubs have had continuous membership of the Premier League (Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham). Apart from Coventry, four other clubs of the first Premier League season have since been relegated never to return (Oldham Athletic 1994, Sheffield Wednesday 2000, Wimbledon 2000 and Leeds United 2004). Two of those clubs (Wednesday and Leeds) have spent the majority of their time in the first tier, so as GHW says it is not easy to regain that status.
That is the bizarre thing about football managers, fail at your job, get the push and a load of money to boot. Then move on to the next club to “save” them where others have failed. Do owners not see that they failed at a previous club and the cv is damaged?
Doesn’t happen in my world of work, if I failed to hit my targets, then I would be given the heave ho and find it difficult to find another role as one of the questions in interview would be, how did you do/are you doing in your current/previous position. There is always a degre of scepticism if someone is not employed.
Back to the cult managers, these days the power has shifted to the players so that it is very difficult for authority to be exerted on over paid prima donnas who don’t give a damn unless they can buy another super ar with that weeks wage!
I have advocated a bonus scheme where the fans vote when leaving the game on the performance of a player, no effort, then a 5 out of and no money, might make them put in a shift!
Rant over
In my humble opinion Tony Pulis would be the worst possible appointment for MFC. As I have said before on here I find his baseball cap and white trainers very disconcerting attire for someone of his age. But vastly more importantly the High Court suggested that his behaviour in his dealings with Crystal Palace were fraudulent. The link below explains the case.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/11/28/tony-pulis-accused-fraudulent-behaviour-high-court-judgment/
Do we really want someone like that as our manager?
I’m more interested in the final paragraph of that piece, “Pulis did a remarkable job at Palace when he took over from Ian Holloway in November 23 2013 on a two-and-a-half year contract as he guided them away from the threat of relegation” and I’m guessing thats what the Palace fans at the time were more concerned about.
What the article tells me is perhaps a certain type of mentality is required to be successful in Football management. Harry seems to have courted controversy, as has Allardyce.
I seem to recall that even our very own El Tel once attracted the attentions of the Panorama programme as well as the Serious Fraud Office. The scandal of Juventus didn’t prevent Antonio Conte becoming their Manager. The alleged “away” behaviour of Beckenbauer, Terry, Cole (Ashley) and Giggs hasn’t seemed to affect their careers.Likewise Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou all “simultaneously” blotted their copybooks with something far more serious yet still continued playing.Then we had Kolo Toure with his “diet pills” mix up, bless.
The behaviour of Oliver Kahn was once described by Uli Hoeness as “making him vomit”. Then there is Maradonna’s “problem” and I don’t mean Pepsi. Rio’s 8 month ban for his “missed” drugs test. Edgar David’s, Frank de Boer and Jaap Stam’s alleged involvement with Nandrolone. Remember Mark Bosnich’s challenges over his choice of Coke and then our very own magic man Merson and his “different recollections” with Arsene plus I seem to recall him spouting undying love for Boro and then off in the next breath.
Laurent Blanc rightly or wrongly attracted unpleasant claims of racism but remained as France Manager. We are regularly updated on “Wayne’s World” and then the creme de la creme surely is FIFA banning Mohammed Bin Hamam and Jack Warner when it was revealed that they had tried to bribe Caribbean members who could vote for Bin Hamam in an attempt to unseat Sepp Blatter. Oh yeah, Sepp Blatter……….
Unfortunately in Football as in all walks of life there always has been and always will be unpleasantness but if we restrict ourselves to those who are squeaky clean then neither El Tel or Merson to name just two would have ever graced the Riverside (the consequences of neither of them being involved in our history at the times in question are unthinkable).
As I see it Pulis was due a £2million ‘survival’ bonus after guiding Palace to safety in the Premier League. They unquestionably survived, he earned it, had Aggers kept Boro up and earned £2million on the back of it we would have considered it peanuts for another year of Premiership cash.
Just to be clear my heart fully endorses Boroexile’s sentiments and agrees but my cold business head over rules my emotions.
Yes, alas that’s the state of the world today and why the football gravy train will eventually derail. Sad isn’t it when the ends justify the means regardless of the nature of the means.
Looking bleak isn’t it. Hard to see Monk turning it round – doesn’t look like he’s on the right path and if anything, things are getting worse. The tactics, formation and game plan are all misfiring and it looks like the players are confused and don’t really understand their jobs. Not a good combination!
I think it’s interesting to look at who we would get next if Monk does go. Not who we want – who we think the club would appoint. I have a friend who’s a Wednesday fan; he said in the summer that he thought there were better managers out there than Monk but did I trust the club to identify them, analyse if they would be a good fit for the Boro and appoint them? I thought about it. Karanka was, to an extent, a left-field appointment, so fair dos. Beyond that, the last five managers have been, to a greater or lesser extent, an obvious choice. Out of work, or a link to the club, or both. So… I reckon we’d approach Pulis, but ultimately we’d end up with Pearson. What do others reckon?
As a side note, it occurred to me last night that the Gazette stand-off has really hurt the club and the manager. Whatever they think of the paper, it’s the main (only) source of Boro news for a lot of people, myself included, particularly in the Diasboro, and the absence of interviews means that there’s no chance to explain tactics, selection (who’s asking “Why’s Clayton not playing Garry?” “Is Rudy injured?” No one!) and aims. In turn, I reckon that’s ensured a big distance between the manager/club and a huge section of the fanbase, plenty of whom weren’t that enthused by him to start with, which has meant there’s no residual goodwill if and when things go as well as they have. Which makes perfect sense in hindsight but I was still a bit surprised when it dawned on me.
Traditionally the local Paper has backed the Manager and been a good positive source of PR for the Club in difficult times much to the detriment of the Journo’s personal reputations with claims that they were in SG’s back pocket.
The plan was that by now we would be doing a Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Gazette would be a derailed side act and a very sad one at that. Pride comes before a fall and right now the Manager would probably have had the Gazette spinning a positive “be patient” slant. The absence of a meaningful relationship has meant that GM never had the Gazette PR machine to build any emotional relationship with the fans and understanding of any mantra to buy into. Consequently to this day GM remains a distant and probably misunderstood character. Fine if we were actually smashing the league but under the circumstances he needed all the help he could get.
Here’s an excerpt for you from The Sunday Times. The piece was titled “Gareth Southgate: Tougher Than You Think” and penned by David Walsh in early October last year. (Walsh is a friend of Gareth’s, so objectivity is not to be expected.)
“His mistake was to move straight from the Middlesbrough dressing room to the manager’s office. It was too much, too soon, attempting to nurse a Premier League club through a period of financial instability. Ravanelli, Juninho and Boksic had come and gone, leaving the supporters with illusions of grandeur and the club with more than £80m of debt.
“Southgate got the wage bill down, he built a new young team that wasn’t brilliant but it had potential and it was affordable. They got relegated and then 13 games into life as a Championship team, owner Steve Gibson sacked him. On the evening the chairman delivered the bad news, Middlesbrough were in fourth place, one point off the top of the table.
“Gibson had succumbed to pressure from the club’s supporters, who didn’t have the patience for the team their young manager was trying to build. They would eventually wait seven years for Boro to return to the Premier League.”
Make what you will of that. Patience is really only viable if you can see something salvageable, something developing or something about to change for the better, and if you can’t – as with, I think, Monk – then, well…
It was Venables who SG wanted to take the reigns but he convinced SG that Gareth was the man or so the story went at the time. As Gareth is the current England Manager it has to be said that El Tel’s recommendation had some merit and wasn’t entirely wrong but football is a results business and it was probably the right appointment but at the wrong time and in the wrong place.
Who knows, GM may at some point be a top 4 club Manager but right here, right now?
Changing a manager can get to be a habit!
It’s not a Monks prerogative ….
Simon
Look at my post about managers. gates transfers were a joke. How does a new model square with Mido, Alves, Dong Gook etc and departure of academy players match up with the article.
How on earth was what he did affordable?
Walsh is very selective about his facts. I’ve noticed this. But I sense he only writes that way about Boro and Gibson because of his anger at the manner of Gareth’s treatment at the very end. If being sacked after a win isn’t bad enough, try having Keith Lamb tell you to your face that Strachan had been approached weeks before. Not that it’s not common practice in football – Roy Keane was approached by Ipswich while Jim Magilton was in charge of them – but to admit it in person, and publicly? We gave the national press the ammunition they needed to have a go.
I don’t think Southgate bought those players, more likely they were thrust upon him
I still don’t know about Gareth. At first glance, two midtable finishes, three FA Cup quarter-finals, one point off the top at the end of his reign and five games unbeaten against Arsenal looks good. Looking back at 2006-08, however, neither season was as comfortable as you may think. Despite a sound midfield, an initially deadly attack that weakened over time (Mido and Aliadiere were no substitutes for Viduka and Yakubu) and a solid defence, at least on paper, in both seasons we really only just escaped the dreaded drop, not guaranteeing safety until the penultimate match in each case.
I have always maintained that beating Man City 8-1 on the last day of Southgate’s second season in charge was both the best and worst result Middlesbrough have recorded since 1986. The best is obvious, but the worst was because it kept Southgate in a job he should have been summarily sacked from after that hideously embarrassing capitulation to Cardiff City in the Cup QF that showed the world just how inept he was as a manager. 2-0 down after a third of the game and he couldn’t do a thing to change the tempo or the tactics. Boro failed to record a short on target int he entire match. In an FA Cup in which Boro were one of only two premier league teams remaining at the QF stage! There was never a better chance to win it and Southgate masterminded an abject surrender. England, it should be noted, are heading exactly the same way under his tenure.
And there I was not feeling too bad and you mention the Cardiff debacle!! Lol!
BrightonBoro, I agree with you entirely regarding the Boro/Gazette stand off, its damaging to the club.
It needs sorting.
The Cardiff Embarrassment reminded me of something I wrote in October.
Which I’ll expand on.
Have we really created anything sustainable from Southgate to Monk? Or perhaps even Robson to Monk? Every regime that replaced the previous one has felt, to varying degrees, that the previous managerial tenure was a source of ugliness that needed to be eradicated before the club could start moving again. (Mowbray to Karanka is an exception, not the rule.)
But even when the problems are “repaired”, the underlying issues, whatever they are, remain the same.
In 2008, in the UntypicalBoro comments section, Nigel (was it Reeve?) summed up Boro as a club lacking in self-belief. Comfortable as underdogs. Uncomfortable as favourites. Nearly a decade later I wonder, exactly, what has changed.
“The club – that is, players, management, and most importantly fans – have the ghost of one hundred years of failure behind them. We are geared up for failure, mentally.
“Therefore, when success appears on the horizon, such as the Cardiff match with the prospect of winning the FA Cup, we freeze. There was a lack of belief among the crowd that day as well as the players…
“(But when) Manchester United turn up, there’s no expectation to win. Therefore no pressure.”
Result? Afonso Alves finally gets off the mark – twice! – in an excellent performance which is never seen again.
But when Reading, who had lost eight in a row, show up, what did Boro go and do? Lose.
When I went to the Riverside for the first time, we played a City side who’d lost five in a row. What did we do? Lose.
There’s tons of other examples where there is a tendency to write Boro off and think “doom, doom, doom” before the club magically restores hope.
Aitor’s reign was full of these. So was McClaren’s. So was Mogga’s.
As Nigel continued to say, the infrastructure of a successful top flight club was, and once again is, there: academy, training facilities, cash (once again), stadium, you name is. McClaren even won a trophy.
But the hardest nut to crack when changing mentality, as he said, is culture. We’ve often come a long way to find out how far we are from taking the next step we so desperately want the club to take. What we need – and Nigel said this – is something sustainable which transcends any chairman or manager.
I remember the days when it was easy to envy Bolton’s four straight top eight finishes and Pompey’s FA Cup victory.
Once Big Sam and Harry left, we all know what happened to both clubs.
Going back to Boroexiles comment above about Pulis, thinking about those Bolton and Pompey examples maybe it is the psyche of the manager that carries the Team. A slightly rule bending, shape shifting, del boy who gets the job done for the spondoolies?
And yet, in Pompey’s case, the spending spree lay the building blocks for falling down the divisions and financial ruin.
They’re now 8th in League One, with ex-Boro lads Burgess and Main in their ranks.
Simon, good post. Culture comes from the top of any organisation, public or private. Maybe time then for a change in ownership and a change of management team in the club. Yes, I know, easier said than done and there would be a danger of frying pans and fires but culture change can only be accomplished that way.
The Cardiff game was just that generations “Leyton Orient”
Remember it well. Travelled up from London for the match and you could feel the tension in the crowd as soon as you walked in the ground.
We just did not believe we could get to a semi final and sure enough the anxiety transmitted itself to the team who could only draw and then lose the replay at Brisbane Road – typical Boro!
Or Jack Charlton’s era “Birmingham”
Wolves in Semis, gHW? UTB!
Simon, the lack of self belief I think goes wider than just the club. It afflicts many facets of Teesside life. Which given Teesside’s industrial decline over the decades is not a surprise.
I’m not sure what the answer is for Boro, Steve Gibson has done everything in his power to bring success.
But success becomes harder to achieve as more and more foreign billionaires buy themselves an English toy football club to play with.
Right now, I think Monk has tried to change the Boro style of play too much. An evolution from Karanka’s defensive low risk football to a more expansive style may have been better.
I’m not sure what Boro’s ‘style’ is right now. I’m also not a big believer of changing the manager when things get tough, but I think Monk has had his chips.
That’s pretty much how it is these days, for example as I wrote in the Birmingham preview the West Midlands clubs all have billionaire Asian owners – the richest is Wolves Chinese owner Guo Guangchang, who reportedly has net worth of £4.4bn. They are also quite smart rich people who made their money in Tech companies – Steve Gibson can no longer compete with that potential of investment.
Which i why i think SG has also decided that he doesnt want to compete and/or cant.
The question for the supporters is then would they rathrr have a billionaire foreign owner and do a Chelsea or Man City to buy success or have SG and remain a local owned club with short periods of success interspersed with mediocrity?
Maybe the younger generation got used to the glory days of Europe whilst this long term almost retired fan saw that as the exception and we are now back to Typical Boro which my late Dad instilled into me 50 years ago!
Werder
There may be billionaires at those clubs but the owners can only put so much in, the FFP rules still apply and Gibson uses those to the max.
The rules on FFP are a bit different now as they are calculated over three years instead of season by season. I did post a while back on what Boro’s potential maximum budget could be that stayed within the limits of FFP.
Boro probably made around £20-30m in profit last season (based on a Gazette piece that AV did on Boro’s spending last season – he estimated all in we spent £100m, which is roughly the same as our PL prize money so our matchday income plus sponsorship money should have been profit)
From the previous three years, each Championship season allows you to make a loss of £13m and each PL season allows £39m – So if we think Boro maxed-out on the £13m in their last promotion year then the club can post a loss of £52m this season (£39 + £13m). When you add up all the income streams and parachute payments Boro could potentially have spent almost a massive £190m and not exceeded the FFP barrier.
Of course Steve Gibson shouldn’t have to spend his own money if he doesn’t need to – we’ve seen already that spending money in the Championship doesn’t equate to value and £50m should have been enough to produce a decent team at this level. Though it did mean that Boro could have easily spent an additional £80m last season and stayed within FFP – potentially well above that if the club had been prepared to front load their spending in an attempt to stay in the top tier. We may see some of these richer billionaire owners prepared to take that risk if they go up.
Potential Budget 2017-18
Available loss: £39m + £13m = £52m
Parachute payments: £45m
Player sales: £40m+
Profit carried forward: £20-30m
Revenue streams: £20m
Total: £177-£187m
Looking for a manager?
The guy at Shrewsbury has been a success were ever he’s coached ,won things in the lower leagues and got teams promoted .
Before you say Shrewsbury” what”
Wilder at Sheffield U similiar, know how to organise and win.
We will be playing them next season.
The rumour mill has started early this morning…..Monk has left the club ! We shall see.
GM’s half time team talks must be the worst we have known for a long time, his team actually comes out more jittery and vulnerable (confused) for second half’s. When playing teams at the top (Sheff Utd aside early days) we have never looked like seriously competing against any of them.
Those two reasons alone are or should be enough to convince SG what the fans see and feel. On this board there is usually some disagreement and strong debate about if or when the Manager should go (Southgate, Strachan, Mogga, Karanka) but it seems pretty unanimous this time around which is pretty damning considering that we are not even at the half way stage of the season. To galvanise the fan-base with that level of unanimity so quickly takes some doing!
The rumours of his demise may be slightly premature but there are now too many “stories” leaking for his tenure to continue.
RR,
It’s a pity he can’t galvanise the team in a positive way instead of the fan base in a negative way.
UTB,
John
Redcar Red
What is alarming is that the blog is not made up of pitchfork wielding, knuckle dragging fans.
Goodness knows what the mood will be like on Saturday.
Like I said previously if GM survives until Saturday nothing but a 5 star Platinum Plus performance will save him from the fans wrath. If the fans have to do SG’s job for him then it doesn’t augur well for anyone, the fans, the players, the club, GM or SG. It is a very negative situation that the Club and SG in particular cannot allow to happen as the damage will be more severe if it does come to that.
There is always the hope that we will see the real Boro “gel” on Saturday and enjoy a festive performance to send us all home ecstatic. Reality however is that the pressure in the build up to the game (already started with the “extra” training) and the anticipation levels for one slip, mistimed or heaven forbid a backwards pass will put unreal pressure on the home side.
Can you imagine Mick McCarthy’s team talk: “pressurise them, close them down for the opening ten minutes, keep them penned in their own half, make them nervous and the fans will do the rest when they unravel at the seams.”
We have seen nothing all season other than little 10 or maybe 15 minute passages of play that yielded hope and therefore on that prognosis cannot see any reason that extra training, more videos and rollickings will alter anything, that ship has long since sailed. GM has neither a plan or a clue and is now forced to make it up as he goes along winging it. There are already signs that the players don’t believe or trust what is happening and I’m sure SG sees the exact same. I suspect that there will be talks and conversations over the coming days to see who will blink first. Neither party will want GM in the dug out come Saturday as it serves no purpose to either party’s credibility. The only thing to be decided I suspect are the terms, the hows and the when.
It is interesting to see the back page of todays Gazette. I don’t recall seeing anything as blunt and as direct towards a Boro manager in cold black and white from them. AV, Dom, Jonno and Co. are certainly not holding back and in fairness with good reason. Loyalty went out of the window in the summer and SG now reaps what he has sown with regards to being able to influence and keep things under control. Ironically it has perhaps made their job easier knowing that its likely to sell more papers in the process. All in all not a healthy situation but its been said too many times on here previously that the ridiculous stand off should have been dealt with better and sorted out by now.
On the lookout for the perfect Christmas present for the Boro fan in your life?
https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/find-the-perfect-boro-gift-this-christmas
Maybe its just me but I couldn’t find it on there ;-)?
Its hard to imagine Gary Monk surviving until Saturday, if he is still the manager the Riverside I suspect will be tensioned filled. One mistake from a player or god forbid we go a goal down and the pressure cooker will explode.
On the other hand I’m not sure there’s much point sacking a manager without his replacement lined up. That would just leave us in limbo.
Who’d be a footie chairman eh?
As for the Gazette’s approach, ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’.
Never fear Nigel, there is always stand in Steve waiting in the wings! I presume we are still paying him?
On second thoughts, be afraid, be very afraid should that happen on even a temporary basis!
Given what we have seen, then maybe Downing & Leadbitter could do a better job and get the players geed up!
I watched the Gazette video with Jonno, Dom and Vic. To be totally fair they sounded like us without calling for Monks head.
Jonno made the point if he does have a rejig, Monk is asking the players he cold shouldered to dig him out of the mess. That is an interesting thought.
At the end Vic made a plea for all of us to stick together and that nothing would be served by sticking the knife in. He also said the players need to stand up and be counted.
If knives are banned I wonder if pitchforks are ok?
I think Monk will be in place come Saturday but Monday is another matter if things go wrong. Perform as we have been and ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ may get an airing.
If the stadium turns then Gibson may have a decision to make. I wonder if he will be there or await reports from Bausor and Victoria Gibson.
If I were SG and it’s his club and money, then I would make sure I was present to see what unfolds.
As others have said, go a goal down/ start badly, then the Riverside will not be a good place for GM.
Better to see events first hand and make a decision then rely on others. If it goes badly, then I could see an announcement on Saturday/Sunday morning.
BBD
I was only wondering if he was away on business, I think he will want to be there.
I see!
Will we see white smoke from rockliffe today.
After all there is no smoke without fire.
The rumours seem to be spreading like wildfire.
SG has been burnt again and needs to quench the latest flare up.
Are we witnessing the dying embers of Monks tenure and can Boro once again rise from the ashes. ( ashes not a popular word here in Oz).
Have the players fanned the flames.
The riverside furnace on Saturday may be his funeral pyre.
He has extinguished any hope of promotion and it’s a week too late to call fireman Sam.
Well he is still here and there have been no additional names put forward to replace him in the event he goes.
I thought he would be given at least until Saturday.
So only Koeman and Pulis so far???
Thomas Tuchel
Sad from the Gazette “journo’s”. After years of toadying around SG and the club they suddenly find the ability to report in an honest way and voice what the fans think.
OFB
Without naming names, do you know what’s going on?
Sorry no
That makes two then including GM!
Old Billy,
Plus the Boro team, plus the Boro team. And the supporters. Have I missed anyone?
UTB,
John
Sorry forgot Garry Monk there.
UTB,
John
I’ll have a word on Saturday
Apparently the players had two days off and had arranged to
Go Xmas shopping on London and were with their wives
Didn’t have their mind on the game and Monk went ballistic and called them in for full training Xmas shopping cancelled
What I’m earth are we paying these players to do
Although I didn’t like Karanka methods of dealing with the players families jos objectivenesd wouldn’t have allowed a situation like Saturday to have developed
OFB
Sorry for spelling did it in back of car on way back from york !
Here’s a great quote.
“I was a man on a mission when I started at the Sunday Indo. I wanted to write what I knew about the clowns running Irish soccer, in so far as I could within the laws of libel. The cosy relationship between the Blazers (in other words, the FAI men – Si) and the journalists covering Irish soccer was part of the story. In exchange for the kind of snippets of information Louis Kilcoyne (former FAI president, who died in 2012 – Si) offered me to stay onside, most of the hacks refrained from rigorous appraisal. Players were a soft target when things went wrong. You never met them and they were not providers of stories.”
Now we see why, like him or loathe him, Eamon Dunphy stands out among journalists. Never shunning pariah status, standing up to “cult heroes”, and taking the consequences.
His central weakness, in addition to sabotaging arguments by going ridiculously over-the-top, is that he’s great at dissecting myths and legends but in doing so creates myths and legends of his own.
He sounds like a well known most cynical Boro supporter 😉
Yes, Spartak, he does. 🙂
I like him already- he’s not related to the Ryans of New Ross, Co Wicklow by any chance? My late grandmother’s maiden name on my mother’s side. Visited there myself in 2000 where a plaque on a house described how the Finians chased the Brits down the road and out of town back in the day. Grandma chose to marry an ex-Scots Guards sergeant and settle in Co Durham, which ultimately led to the birth of a well known most cynical Boro supporter 🙂
Caught sight of the back page of the Gazette in article on NewsNow. It didn’t make pretty reading.
The club may not speak to the Gazette but they can read, it wont have gone down well but that is hardly the Gazettes fault.
I don’t even take it as revenge, there was no glee in the video I saw.
When Monk was talking about unacceptable and apologising was he talking about the player or himself? It might have better if he called them in to training and stayed away.
I was on a training course and the person leading the training set us a task. The next day she gave us a rocket for doing the wrong thing.
The head of training got involved and the most genial chap amongst us stood up and said we cant all have got it wrong at the same time.
She was moved off the course.
Is there a lesson in there somewhere?
Hi Steve, SG speaking, what yer doing Saturday. Put yer golf clubs away I need you at the Riverside.
Bring Woody with you, I’ve left a tracksuit for you in the tunnel.
Try and get them playing as a team. Don’t do a presser after the game unless we win.
Your mate Stewy is still here.
We’ve got a new keeper and his ribs are fine.
Just don’t let them play back passes and can you ask them to get corners over the first defender.
If you can get the midfield on the front foot the jobs yours.
Steve – put your trowel down me lad. Your herbaceous borders are so well tended you could enter them in Chelsea. No, not Stamford Bridge, the other one.
Anyway, dust down your 16/17 Adidas puffer (sorry – can’t get a new one with SA on it without a 12mth pre-order) and get yourself to the ground Saturday, there’s work to be done. Try to give the North Stand a wave – they like that, but don’t bloody bother if we’re 2-0 down.
For a minute I had a shiver until I realised it was Steve not Schteve.
You shouldn’t unshiver at Steve instead of Schteve – they’re both as bad as each other!
Dave Parnaby was talking at the Riverside a few weeks ago about Steve Agnew
He said he was one of the best football coaches he had ever worked with and a really nice guy
Now I respect Dave Parnaby’s opinion as he was responsible for making our academy a world class facility and for producing scores of footballers who have made a professional career in football
In other words he knows what he’s talking about
It could be that Steve is actually in a glass fronted cabinet at Rockliffe with a sign on the front reading
“IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS”
OFB
Very good although i dont think SA is s long term solution. Not sure who is mind!
Us footie fans are never happy. Perhaps the answer is a collective from this blog to manage the team – Im sure we could do a great job!
Ok bags checking out the hotels and meals for away matches !
“Let’s be honest, Garry. It’s not working is it? The players aren’t happy. We’re not happy. In truth, we should probably never have hired you without Pep Clotet.”
“So… what do you want to do about it?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63B-HPgEnsI
When ‘Steve’ was suggested I thought McLaren!…..jeez,
Completely forgotten about Aggers!
OFB…..you keep putting up Tomas Tuchel. Questions (I am not trying to be clever here)
Do you think we could afford his salary, after all he is a big-ish name.
Why didn’t Everton, WBA, or some of the other EPL teams go for him.
Does he speak English
Do you think SG may think it could be another AK, only with German speaking players.
I am also not sure we could afford Pulis or Koeman. What is Mr Monk getting and what would they want?????
If we could afford £6m to7m or whatever it was for Fletcher, plus another £3m each for Shotton and Guedioura then we can most certainly afford Pulis!
TT does speak English and was approached by Everton Southampton Sunderland and West Ham
Boro have a reputation of paying top salaries for the right player and we attracted Bryan Robson and Steve McClaren when other clubs wanted to sign them
We just have to aim for the top !
I would think that TT would. Set his sights on a club who have a champions league place and could end up at Arsenal
OFB
One comment about Pulis/Allardyce. When asked about the way his teams played big Sam said that English managers don’t get the chance to play at big clubs and top players, they have to make with what they have on relatively limited resources.
He has a point, often they are managing clubs clinging on. There again Monk was given a big budget.
On to the cup, ball number 26 in the draw.
Elsewhere, can Boro old boys do us a favour as Brum play Wolves.
Why am I expecting that Ball 26 will be drawn shortly after Ball 24…
Some excellent posts which pretty much sum up the underlying feelings of a small majority/large minority of the Diasboro.
Been keeping my thoughts to myself as I didn’t want to appear to having too much of a knee jerk reaction, but what the hell was that dogs breakfast of a performance supposed to be!
Now I’ve been a bit of a wait and see man amongst my Riverside oppos but that was the straw that broke the camels back. Pack your bags Monk and get out of our club. He really must have the gift of the gab to have had the chance to manage in the premier and champo, as he appears to be nowt more than a fraud imo.
I never thought I’d have to say this but it’s worse than Strachen! That’s how bad it is. Yes the players collectively and singularly aren’t doing it but I’m afraid on the career path he chose the buck firmly stops with him.
My home AND away season ticket holding mate is one of the most positive pro Boro people I know and even he wants him gone. He text me sat waiting on the coach before setting off back to Teesside on Saturday and even in a text the dissapointment and despair was palpable.
As to a replacement if he does go, I genuinely haven’t a clue. Does SG go for a known face, take a chance on some lesser known lower league manager or go down the foreign route? I’ll have a think about it but I really don’t know who I’d go for.
Good point, RR at 6.13pm..
Money spent might be spent wisely, on good players at a sensible price and with a likely profitable resale value, whilst in the meantime getting players better than we currently have, or able to fill a gap in our squad. Players who can add to the team, improve it and make it more likely we will be successful on the field.
Or it can be spent unwisely. That could include players bought at a significant over value or whose wages are so high we could never offload them, ones who are not good enough or never will be good enough, and who will have little resale value. Players who have no chance of settling in, whose careers show the baggage they bring with them, players whose unsettling effect on the team actually diminishes the squad rather than improves it.
I suppose we could spend some time going through the incomings and outgoings of our club over the last 2 or 3 years, but (1) I have a life and (2) I already know which side of the balance would hit the desk first.
The saying “spoil the ship for a half penny worth of tar…..” comes to mind. If money needs to be spent to fill a genuine shortcoming in the club, then it makes no sense NOT to spend the money, or to spend money on 2 or 3 players who are fairly cheap on their own, but whose combined fee (and wages) for three inadequate players would have been better spent on one genuinely good player who would have been worth the money.and could make a difference.
If you talk to people who have dealings with professional football, they will all tell horror stories about recruitment. About the lack of what in other fields, and when spending similar sums of money, would be regarded a due diligence. About lack of proper research about the players, their histories, their families, their injury records, their “habits” – about what they would like, at this stage in their careers, as possible employees. That might be fine if, as a rich top-tier club, you are spending a million, or a few million, here and there, and can happily take the gamble, but not fine for a club without billionaire backers if you are paying 5, 6, 10, 12, 15 millions for those players. It is not fine for a Middlesbrough FC. And proper research doesn’t mean checking up a player’s ratings on some games console or watching some videos on YouTube.
Obviously it isn’t possible to predict precisely how player X or player Y will perform if brought to your club. But a bit more work on it should at least tip the odds in your favour, surely?
Back to the point RR made above. On his figures, Fletcher, Shotton and Guedioura cost £12 – 13 million. There are other players you could lump onto that list. I realise players for some reason cost more than a manager. But, bearing in mind their wages on top, I would have thought that amount of money spent on a good manager would have been money better spent. He might even improve the players we already have on our books. That would not so much be expenditure, as a good investment.
Good Shout Dormo
FA cup
BORO v Sunderland
Come on BORO.
Another banana skin waiting for us!
Well, Wolves are cantering at Brum after a Grounds error. There again we won in a canter against Brum.
If they win they will be 18 points clear front of us, if we lower our sights 6 points shy of the play offs.
Miserable isn’t it, come on Brum.
Summing up today’s Boro related comments on Social media / Gazette and this forum etc the feeling is that Monk should go . Is SG waiting until the weekend , given that GM again has read the riot act to the players and cancelled one of their days off . Is he waiting to see if their is any response from the players . Saturday has now become the biggest game for Middlesbrough and GM so far this season .
TP ?
TP?
May be wrong, but we will see. Time for bed, said Zebedee…….
Night night
If GM survives until Saturday it will be amusing when MMP has to add pitchforks, lighter fluid, hay bales, effigies, scythes and pagan symbols to his warning announcement about pyrotechnics carrying a minimum 3 year Stadium ban. Mind you the way we play now pyrotechnics is no longer a relevant issue so its not all bad.
When do you fancy talking to Alan Peacock ?
Could probably make this Friday Bob if that works?
Sorry no can do I need to see him on Saturday to
Finalise first
Can you give me a couple of dates maybe one between Xmas and new year as well as I know it’s difficult to fit in on a busy schedule
He’s a nice guy and I’m sure you will enjoy it
OFB
Bob
29th or early in New Year?
OK I’ll ask him…
🔴 It’s probably better not to publish your private email address on a pubic forum so I’ll forward it to RR for you – Werdermouth
We certainly don’t strike any sparks. Boro are the duff, flickering Christmas tree lights and the transformer, GM, is heading for the bin.
UTB,
John
Yorkshire…..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42187205
So GM survives the day!
Christmas shopping down south with their families? whats wrong with the Hill Street Centre and Doggy Market? who approved this after the yuletide log served up against Derby? Isn’t football supposed to be the focus?
Maybe the shopping was done before the game as we gifted them two presents, the players looked Christmas crackered and GM made to look like a right Christmas pudding.
Well if I were SG I would go shopping in the pre-Christmas sales, for a new manager, and in the January sales for a few new players.
Pass the egg-nog
SG been shopping and Pulis a Xmas cracker (apparently)
Let’s look at our summers signings.
On the positive,
Asombolongo, you can’t argue with that one, and as showed his worth.
On the i don’t know?
Christie third on Derby’s right back option,that doesn’t mean he isn’t decent player, but it depends on your standards, is he inconsistent?
Howson
A steady championship player, takes his money goes home.
Fletcher
Some skills, needs to realise if he wants it or not,he must bully other players out of his future.
Done nothing, an absolute waste of money,will end up in lower leagues,
Johnson
Didn’t need him, that’s not his fault.
Shotton didn’t need him,but we don’t even know,one game in a bad run.
Randolph
Made saves he should, some a little Hollywood,but we overpaid?
The point is and I’ve said it, it’s a mishmash,who is running what?
Gary Gill has got to go, do your homework,it’s no good if if you fall in love with a player ,if it’s only one good game in five.
By the way , a good manager with standards ,can deliver.
Did Karanka make Tomlin a better player?
I can’t see Monk,doing that to anyone,
Where is the proof, this should be our manager,based on his history.
Nuff said,
If the axe falls then please let us get a Manager who has a full licence and not on learners plates.
Strange things can happen with a bit of a rev up ! Look at the cricketers !
Please give us an early xmas present.
🙏🏿
Cricket is going a bit better, oddly, when Australia didn’t enforce the follow on I thought that was a brave decision to bat under the lights with a new ball – English conditions.
To be fair the Aussies often bat again rather than asking the opposition to have another. There is a bit of sense with only three fast bowlers.
So the England teams are in with a chance after a few bad days, can the same be said of Boro?
Listened to Tripe Supper and as Vic said about Monk and the fans, you cant put the genie back in the bottle. Monk will need a good run to try and win the fans back, not just a good run but back to back wins with the odd draw. basically must wins until the new year.
I have been giving some thought to whether the stand off with the Gazette is affecting the situation. I don’t think it is, fans are not daft. The shockers at Bristol and Leeds, the collapse at home Derby don’t need the Gazette asking questions to know things are not right. 23,000 are turning up to home matches week in, week out, they are telling it how it is whether the Gazette boys get free scran or not.
Long ago I started picking up the news from other sources, not having the Gazette cosying up makes no difference. I read on here and check News Now, I check the Gazette and Echo. Makes no difference to me..
Ian, Aussie arrogance, or Aussie confidence? We’ll find out tomorrow.
Ken, I fear it will need a miracle for England to win this test. Not enough runs in the first innings having let the Aussies get past 400, Still if Root can get a big hundred and Moeen and Wokes chip in with 50s then who knows? Still can’t see it though.
Nudges a single to fine led
plays another through gully
A buzzer and an overthrow sees him home 300.
You couldn’t do that on the “Old Blog”……..
What a load of bails
Forever
Doing it with cricket terms makes it all the sweeter. Not my fault the fielding side are like our full backs!
Mr Monk canceling the players day off may not of gone too well. Why should I suffer, it wasn’t my fault, it was his and his.
If there is just the slightest of division appearing, this could widen it. That is unless the boss can get everybody including himself to accept the need for change and immediately.
Saturday may be the last time and opportuinity for some to put things right infront off the home fans.
Pedro
You are right, there is always the danger that getting them in to training and bawling them out may have the adverse effect. I suppose it depends on the individuals.
If done in the right way it can provoke the right response but don’t ask me about the right way!
In the first in what is planned to be a series of profiles and interviews with special guests, Original Fat Bob asks the questions and gives his personal view of Boro goalkeeping legend Jim Platt…
https://diasboro.club/2017/12/05/in2views-jim-platt/
I’ve seen it written on this blog, and heard it said many times, in respect of supporting the Boro that it’s the hope that kills you. This has certainly been the case since I have followed the Boro.
In the late 1940s it was the hope that we wouldn’t be relegated, but it was a near thing in the last two years of that decade. The early 1950s were a surprise because we actually led the First Division at Christmas but there was little expectancy that it would last and sure enough we were relegated in 1954.
Throughout our Second Division years with Clough and Peacock banging in the goals in the late 1950s and early 1960s there was hope again that we might get promoted, but of course it never happened and never ever looked likely to happen. We always hoped we’d have a good Cup run, but in TWENTY years we were knocked out of the Cup TWELVE times in the 3rd Round and only twice reached the 5th Round, so not much hope there then.
Now if you thought that Strachan was our worst ever manager or that Monk is clueless, what about Horatio Stratton ‘Raich’ Carter, second only to Wilf Mannion as an inside forward, but in my opinion the worst Boro manager in my lifetime. Sure enough, after his earlier success as a manager with Leeds United and Mansfield Town, he took Boro down to the Third Division after losing (despite a hat trick from Dickie Rooks) 3-5 at Cardiff in the last match of the season.
With Stan Anderson and an abysmal start to the 1966/67 season hope had completely evaporated after 2 wins and 2 draws from the first 10 matches with Boro third from bottom. Gradually with John ‘give us a goal’ O’Rourke, Arthur Horsfield and John Hickton scoring 64 goals between them, an amazing post Easter run of 5 wins and a draw resulted in promotion after a last day 4-1 win against Oxford United before an official crowd of 39,683 (although some spectators claimed the attendance record of 53,082 had been broken). Hope restored now for a second promotion? Well it did take another seven years, but we got there under Jack Charlton and what’s more our FA Cup form improved. We played Manchester United in three consecutive seasons, took them to a replay each time, and actually beat them once.
After twenty years outside the First Division, hope sprung eternal. Eight years in the top tier, always in contention that first year but should have reached the Semifinal of the FA Cup in 1975 and especially 1978 and 1981 with home ties in the Quarter Finals against Orient and Wolves. Eventually it all went downhill with relegation in 1982 following under Bobby Murdoch but then the worst four seasons we’ve ever encountered came under Malcolm Allison and Willie Maddren. However, I wouldn’t say either these two or Bobby Murdoch were worse than Raich Carter because the Boro had sold their Crown Jewels since the Wolves Cup defeat which ultimately led to liquidation. Hope now turned to prayers.
Bruce Rioch was brilliant and from a military background. He was strict, especially about the players’ dress code when representing the club. Discipline certainly worked with this young team, but it may have been harder to maintain with an older squad. In any case Colin Todd was always there to put an arm round their shoulders when necessary. Boro stormed through the Third Division, and led by captain Tony Mowbray looked like getting the one promotion place on offer in the Second Division. Come the last match of the season at home to Leicester City hope was now turning to expectancy, but Boro lost 1-2. Typical Boro, and now some doubts surfaced about the playoffs. It was surreal to be facing Bradford City with some of the neutrals having great sympathy for them following the 1985 fire disaster. If it hadn’t been Boro playing them, I must admit I would also have liked to have seen them promoted. As we all know, Boro won and went on to beat Chelsea on aggregate in the final.
Back in the First Division after six years, and looking fairly safe following a 2-1 win at West Ham with only five games remaining, but typically Boro lost at Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 in the last match when a draw would have saved Boro (who till then had never been in a relegation position) and relegated Wednesday instead. We almost suffered a second successive relegation the next dreadful season when four successive defeats preceded the final match of the season against Newcastle – a “must win game” (where have I heard that expression before and since?). If I remember correctly Newcastle needed a win to gain promotion but only if Leeds lost at Bournemouth or Sheffield United lost at Leicester, whilst even a win for Boro might not have been enough to save us because if Bournemouth were to beat Leeds we were doomed. The prayer mats were certainly out that day, hope or divine intervention? As we now know Boro beat Newcastle 4-1 and for probably the first time in living memory, Leeds did us a favour by winning 1-0. Thus Bournemouth were relegated instead of Boro, Leeds went up as Champions, and Newcastle finished third and lost to Sunderland in the semifinal.
Colin Todd had superseded Rioch and in his second full season guided Boro to a creditable 7th, but chairman Colin Henderson wanted a change and appointed Lennie Lawrence as manager for the next season and had Boro top of the league by November but by mid April had slumped to 7th, but five wins in the last six matches amazingly got Boro automatic promotion on the last day of the season. For once in my life I was unaware of the drama that was befolding at Molineux – the attempted desecration of the pitch, the sending off of Nicky Mohan, and the fight back of being a goal down with ten men until the last twenty minutes. Why? Because I was at Wembley watching Cas losing for the first time in five Rugby League Challenge Cup Finals, this time to Wigan. So mixed emotions for yours truly.
Of course Boro only survived two seasons in the top flight before the arrival of Bryan Robson, promotion again, and then the Riverside Revolution. We all know what happened after that – the signing of World stars, the three point deduction, two Cup Finals and a relegation, storming back into the Premier League, the abysmal defeat to Tranmere Rovers in the League Cup in 2000, the EUFA Cup comebacks from the dead, the regular appearances in FA Cup Quartefinals one of which we lost at home to Cardiff when we were joint favourites with Portsmouth to actually win the Cup, the appointment and ultimate sacking of Southgate, Strachan and Mowbray, promotion under Karanka, relegation under Karanka, and now the dissatisfaction of our performances under Monk.
The post war history of the Boro in one blog. The parents of supporters of my generation used to say “the Boro will always let you down”. But that’s not altogether true. In my time highs and lows have occurred in equal proportions. Boro have always been a mercurial team – remember a 0-4 home defeat to Aston Villa when a supporter threw his season ticket at McLaren, then Boro astounding Mourinho’s Chelsea 3-0 seven days later and then later outplayed West Ham in the FA Cup Semifinal but lost, and we even reached the EUFA Cup Final in a season when our league form was mediocre.
Typical Boro!!!
It’s the hope that kills you!!!
We’ve all heard those sayings over the years, but now we also have a generation of fans some of whom have been spoilt since the Riverside Revolution, whilst some of us have experienced far worse seasons than the current one. I’m not for one minute saying we should not be disappointed with Boro’s performances this season, but it’s not the end of the World. We may not even finish in the playoffs this season, but might quite conceivably storm the league next season. That’s often the type of thing Boro do.
It’s the hope that kills you? I think a new phrase should be coined – it’s the expectancy that controls our thoughts. From expectancy to despondency in four months? Surely not. Come on Boro!!!
Sorry. In the 9th paragraph I should have said “unfolding” instead of “befolding”.
Unfolding
Do you think Monk reading the riot act has any effect on players who are rich, self obsessed and blase about life.
Players from the old days who had to work for a living must look at todays players and shake their heads.
Remember in the day when you got paid if you won, half for a draw and nowt if you lost.
Just realised that when blogging recently, about the stats re. Number of goals scored and relegation.(the likelihood of).
I completely omitted to mention the more deadly stat.
That would be the relationship between shots and goals.
Our team, unfortunately, are very poor, regarding being in the box , ball at feet, as yet another chance to pass to an equally hapless team mate.
Do not confuse our habit of blazing it over the top (of the corner flag, naturally)
We are talking about a perfectly serious aversion to shooting, we have a thousand ways of not troubling the keeper.
Reading that any of the successful teams has twenty-thirty shots in a match makes one realise that we are on the road to nowhere, as trying to score any goals out of four shots? Is not going to work.
In smoggy North East England came a man who tried
To light up all things football at the Riverside
His remit was to smash the league and not get drunk
A country boy from Bedford named Garry The Monk
His tactics, organisation skills all there to see
Promotion to the Premier League a certainty !
Go go
Go Garry go ! go !
Go Garry go ! go !
Go Garry go ! go !
Go Garry go ! go !
Garry The Monk !
He used to manage Swansea but he got the sack
And later Leeds United didn’t want him back
So Boro’s Stevie Gibson took him under his wing
Convinced by all his spiel and all the riches he’d bring
The Middlesbrough supporters were onboard aswell
All saying just one season of this Championship hell
Go go
Go Garry go ! go !
Go Garry go ! go !
Go Garry go ! go !
Go Garry go ! go !
Garry The Monk !
But after half a season things weren’t going right
The team was all dysfunctional and serving up tripe
Alarm bells were a ringing from all over the town
Consensus of opinion was that Monk was a clown
But maybe Stevie Gibson being the man of reason
Will let him tinker on until the end of the season
But I say go
Go Garry go ! go !
Go Garry go ! go !
Go Garry go ! go !
Go Garry go ! go !
Garry be good !
And for Dog’s sake go !
Diasboro’s got talent !
I’m looking forward to the Masterman awards at the end of the year to see who gets what !
Can’t see it happening, but i’ll be much happier if we start to Win A Lot.
If not then a message to SG on the Dog & Bone :
Get a manager with Pedigree chum.
Forgot to say the words were to Chuck Berry song Jonny B Goode.