| Middlesbrough | Aston Villa | ||
| Snodgrass | 75′ | ||
| Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
45% 13 1 5 16 |
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
55% 11 5 9 12 |
Prodigal Son punishes Pulis
Well this one was our new manager’s first game in charge in the Championship for nigh on ten years as he came face to face with Steve Bruce who has never beaten Pulis on home soil. All sorts of rumours about who would be playing went from the bizarre to the ridiculous, some thought that Pulis would rip it up and start again with a complete new look Boro whilst some more rationally thought that he would just gently tweak one or two positions and gradually mould the team in his image over a few games.
Adlene Guedioura’s name surprisingly kept cropping up on various forums which would be one heck of a shock given his lack of game time and questionable fitness levels. As Pulis seemingly picks players for the Team rather than individual skills and abilities stranger things have happened I suppose and I suspect may happen over the coming weeks.
The most likely change that most of us figured would be George Friend back in for Fabio purely because of height which is a characteristic of TP’s teams especially defensively. Albert Adomah’s injury in Villa’s last outing at Brentford meant that his dead leg may have kept him out of his return to the Riverside as Villa desperately needed to get a result as they hadn’t won in their previous five games and their fans were becoming restless with Bruce under pressure.
The eagerly awaited line ups at a damp and bitterly cold Riverside announced that Friend indeed was starting and that Fabio was nowhere to be seen but more surprisingly that Christie had also been dropped for Shotton with Ayala coming back in to partner Ben centrally. Incredibly Guedioura was on the bench despite not starting a game in almost 11 months. Albert of course wasn’t going to miss this one as he took his place on Villa’s left flank with his dead leg seemingly repaired.
The game started as a tense cagy affair with Villa sitting deep and Boro having most of the ball. Villa relied on Hutton and Albert in the early stages to get at Boro’s new RB Shotton supported by Downing and in fairness they both coped pretty well with the “Returnee”. Snodgrass on the other flank took some time to get going against George who responded well at least when Snoddy was actually on his feet as he seemed to spend more time rolling around on the immaculate Riverside turf like a Jack Russell with an itch. Hogan who was leading the Villa attack was anonymous throughout.
Boro’s back four seemed to be well drilled and looking more Karanka like in terms of discipline except without the sideways passing as balls were lumped forwards up field to find the head of Gestede which unfortunately they rarely did or when they did it was anyone’s guess which direction they would fly off in. Britt paired up front with him was (I’m guessing) supposed to collect the knock downs won by Gestede but not many as mentioned were won and running about chasing lost causes doesn’t really suit Britt’s game. Braithwaite was bright and lively and started a few forays and tried to cause Villa problems as did Stewy on the other side but that was about it as far as attacking effectiveness went. As well drilled as our new look defence seemed to be our attacking pair were tactically decapitated from the rest of the shirts in Red.
Neither side were great but Boro did have most of the possession in the first half and looked the more likely to well maybe not score but perhaps do something and therein lay the afternoon’s problem. Apart from Shotton’s poor man’s Rory Delap impersonations we gave Jaffa Orange’s a bad name in fact Eunuchs show more spherical intent than our “striking” pair despite a series of long balls, high balls, diagonal balls and even Shotton’s long throws. It was very poor fayre as games go and when the half time whistle went there was polite applause around the Stadium more out of courtesy to our new Manager than for what had been on display. There were some positive signs of more bite, grit and determination at the back and from the midfield and even Stewy was getting stuck in but on a few occasions we were almost the Architects of our own downfall as both Ayala and Ben were guilty of handing possession straight back to the black shirted villains and on one occasion Ben gifted Albert who fortunately took pity on his former team mate and spared his blushes.
The second half started around 60 minutes, I say 60 minutes as the opening 15 minutes were non-existent, like a sort of parallel universe out on the pitch or an episode of the Open University from 1972 in glorious black and white complete with kipper tie and dodgy side burns. Both sets of fans sat in quiet contemplation for that quarter of an hour, presumably thinking of their New Year resolutions. I have no idea what Boro’s half time team talk consisted of but it sure must have been comatosing stuff. It was disconcerting, nothing seemed to be functioning any more, the defence looked ill at ease at times as Villa now started to creep into it realising that they could leave their back door open with all their Bank cards and passwords on the Kitchen table and Boro would still probably try to pick the front door lock with a knitting needle.
Pulis obviously realised that it wasn’t working but bizarrely he took off Braithwaite who at least looked like he may create something and left on the anonymous Britt and Rudy who looked like they were total strangers. Adama came on for the Dane which lifted bums off seats with a few trademark runs that of course came to nothing not least of all because to keep up with him required movement and that’s something that our Strikers hadn’t been particularly good at on the day. As the game was winding down and we were pushing for something we came unstuck up top and Traore chased back 50 yards in a sprint that would leave Olympians in shame to prevent Villa’s debutant sub Hepburn-Murphy from scoring.
Further tweaks had been made when Bamford came on for Gestede who up until that point had succeeded only in making a great impersonation of a pogo stick albeit one with a bent spring and then the uninspiring Britt was removed for Fletcher. When Fletcher came on he performed a similar role as Gestede except with greater mobility and energy. Bamford ran more miles in his twenty minutes than either Britt or Gestede had attempted collectively all afternoon. It has to be said without the more cavalier wing backs our Strikers did suffer from a lack of quality service.
We did I think have two shots in the game, just before half time Gestede had blazed an attempt well wide and over and in the second half Howson blasted it over the crossbar from the edge of the 18 yard box into the North Stand. The deciding factor between two poor sides was ironically down to Albert who managed to get round Shotton and deliver a cross to the far post and as has been our modus operandi all season there were no defenders with Villa piling in and Snodgrass momentarily upright to head home relatively unopposed apart from a despairing George.
And so it was, Villa ended their five game streak without a win, Bruce finally won in the League at the Riverside and beating Pulis on his home turf in doing so. Boro? Well on that basis TP has a heck of a lot of work to do at Rockliffe before New Years day. If he wants a high tempo hard working side with everyone grafting and pulling together then he needs to have more up his sleeve at the sharp end than what was witnessed today. Its early days and new tactics will take time to bed in but effort and willingness is the minimum expected. Graft as TP himself alluded to during his introductory Q&A is a Teesside byword for Steel, it’s no use having graft at the back, steel in the middle and a dogs breakfast up front. I’m sure in time it will all come together but that day definitely wasn’t today.
I was questioning whether to award a MOM and honestly can’t, there were not many stand out displays. Stewy again was probably the pick of the bunch and got stuck in to his credit with Howson once again putting in an improving effort. For me Bamford when he came on emphasised what the Teesside public expect, running, chasing, closing down, busting a gut and a desire to win. Reputations and past glories I am led to believe count for nothing with TP so for that reason it will be interesting to see who gets the nod up front at Preston and more importantly how they are integrated into the rest of the team. My head welcomed the changes but my heart felt that it was perhaps too many much too soon.
Pulis not promising any miracles
as supporters hail their new messiah
Boro’s stumbling journey back to the promised land appears to have been given a boost with the arrival of the sure-footed experienced Tony Pulis at the club – though he has made it clear he is not the new messiah by declaring that supporters shouldn’t expect miracles as he “can’t turn water into wine”. I’m not sure where the new Boro boss normally buys his water but it may need pointing out that our sparkling squad cost us around £50m in the summer, even though it quickly went a little flat under Garry Monk’s after he became unscrewed trying to get a grip at the top. Unfortunately for the connoisseur, there have been few performances that could be described as vintage this season and many supporters have been unable to bottled up their frustrations at what has been chillingly served so far. The Riverside crowd will be looking to Boro’s new manager to at least make their glasses appear half-full rather than half-empty and ensure the team’s performances are full-bodied with no bad after-taste that sticks in the throat.
The appointment of Tony Pulis just a few days after Garry Monk was dismissed by Steve Gibson caught supporters a little by surprise. Normally, Boro followers have several weeks to trawl through the prospective candidates and either dismiss them as unworthy or hail them as an inspired choice – unfortunately many were still stroking their chins and contemplating if a nearly 60-year old man should still be wearing a baseball cap. Though for many pragmatic fans, the cap is not a deal-breaker and some off-duty fashion police casually wandering around Teesside this week suggest a non-custodial sentence of perhaps around six weeks community service would normally be an acceptable punishment for such a faux pas – especially given Middlesbrough has never been a fashionable club.
Though one of the main issues of doubt expressed was if his style of football would be entertaining enough for the Riverside masses. Admittedly they have been spoiled recently by Garry Monk’s one-touch tiki tacky sticky patchy football – albeit quite often one touch before losing possession on the edge of our own box. Then there were the expansive years under Karanka that had many on the edge of their seats unable to move with anticipation before willing themselves to fall off and bang their heads to numb the pain of boredom. It appears the time has arrived to once more re-educate the Teesside public in the aesthetics of football tactics and forget that the next Pep Guardiola who can work on the fraction of the budget has still not been unearthed by the Rockliffe Google operators. Happily for Boro, the aforementioned Google operators thankfully didn’t confuse Anthony Pulis, to give him his proper name, with the football manager Anthony Pulis, who is currently the head coach of US club Saint Louis and the son of Tony Pulis – hopefully that cleared up any confusion.
Departing manager Garry Monk seemed also genuinely surprised to be unexpectedly shown the exit last Saturday following victory over Wednesday – he claimed it was Boro’s best performance and a corner turning moment for his team that had so far appeared to be going around in ever-decreasing circles for many observers. To make matters worse, not only was the victory insufficient to keep his own job, it resulted in Owls boss Carlos Carvalhal losing his and then rather ironically him being subsequently installed as Swansea manager ahead of the ex-Boro boss, who was strongly tipped to take over at his former club – maybe he’ll now get the gig at Hillsborough instead?
Meanwhile all the hype and hyperbole that surrounds the appointment of a new manager shouldn’t distract from the business of gaining points on the pitch. Aston Villa arrive at the Riverside after suffering a dip in form recently, which has seen them drop out of the play-off places and below Boro on goal difference. There will be plenty of familiar faces in the dugouts on Saturday with Steve Agnew fronting up alongside Steve Bruce and news that Jonathan Woodgate has joined the coaching team of Tony Pullis. Also returning to the Riverside will be crowd favourite Albert Adomah who’s been in good form this season but many will hope he keeps his best moves for the pre-match warm-up. I’m sure there will be plenty of handshakes before and after the game but Boro will be hoping that Villa continue their bad form and the new era begins with three points.
| Middlesbrough | Aston Villa | ||
| Tony Pulis | Steve Bruce | ||
| P24 – W11 – D5 – L8 – F32 – A23 | P24 – W10 – D8 – L6 – F32 – A24 | ||
| Position Points Points per game Projected points |
7th 38 1.6 73 |
Position Points Points per game Projected points |
8th 38 1.6 73 |
| Last 6 Games Bolton (H) Sheff Wed (A) Millwall (A) Ipswich (H) Bristol City (A) Derby (H) |
F-T (H-T) 2:0 (0:0) W 2:1 (0:1) W 1:2 (0:2) L 2:0 (1:0) W 1:2 (0:0) L 0:3 (0:1) L |
Last 6 Games Brentford (A) Sheff Utd (H) Derby (A) Millwall (H) Leeds (A) Ipswich (H) |
F-T (H-T) 1:2 (1:1) L 2:2 (2:2) D 0:2 (0:1) A 0:0 (0:0) D 1:1 (0:1) D 2:0 (1:0) W |
Tony Pulis has described himself as a ‘football man’, which has probably not come as an unexpected admission, even by the less observant supporters on Teesside. I’m still not sure if it’s just stating the blindingly obvious or has some deeper philosophical meaning that separates him from many of his counterparts. OK, I suppose if he’d come out and said he was a ‘gardening man’ many would presume we could be looking at another Steve Agnew or someone lacking confidence in his ability to succeed in the job. I suspect at this level, the manager’s job is seldom advertised with ‘must be interested in football’ as it’s normally a given – hopefully we’ll get a bit more meat on that particular bone in the coming press conferences, along with answers to that other chestnut of what ‘old school’ actually means in practice.
Though it seems we’ll first have to get any particular bone that needs picking over well away from our growling chairman, since Tony Pulis apparently finally chose to join Boro after Steve Gibson was thus described as ‘like a dog with a bone’. Though what particular breed was not alluded to, perhaps a nice loyal labrador that’s getting a bit grumpy and impatient in its old age after many years guiding the blind faithful through the crowded thoroughfares of English football and gently past the pitfalls of ambition. Perhaps Pulis finally relented after Gibson’s last email “Hi Tony, just been messing around in Photoshop and thought you might be interested to see how you’d look in a Boro red baseball cap – btw I’ve also took the liberty of ordered some extra letter T’s and P’s for your training kit just in case – p.s. Just about to make that call I mentioned to Garry”.
Tony Pulis has already been busy trying to connect with the Teesside public and has emphasised his shared working class roots as the son of steel worker from Newport. As luck would have it Newport also has a Transporter bridge to add to the symbolism, although to increase the confusion Middlesbrough has a Newport bridge that doesn’t appear to be based on any particular one from Newport – he’d be wise to do his homework on his industrial architectural cross-references in order to avoid going a bridge too far. However, I’m still awaiting the ‘Ed Milliband’ style photo of Tony tackling an iconic 2,500 calorie parmo in front of the media pack just to prove he’s ‘one of us’ but he may keep that in reserve for any badly digested results in the near future.
Steve Gibson may have perhaps found a manager he can personally relate to and share the experience once again of taking Middlesbrough forward. Gibson celebrates his 60th birthday in two weeks time, which is just seven days before Pulis celebrates his – perhaps on the face of it nothing more than a coincidence but it will be a shared milestone between two men looking forward to the next journey with the feeling of wanting to enjoy a new challenge while they still have a feeling of unfinished business and the drive to take it on. You get the impression that there is already good chemistry between the two men and maybe after the last difficult 12 months endured by the Boro chairman it will be something of a re-energising experience to have someone by his side who knows what it takes to get a team working for each other.
Some of the issues around the appointment of Boro’s new manager, which have become problematic in fully accepting him as an appropriate appointment, are those that surround events relating to his previous exits from former clubs. These may at least encourage Steve Gibson to be clear with Tony Pulis regarding any bonus incentives offered to him. Coming between Pulis and his bonus is a bit like getting between a Hippo and water as he doesn’t take kindly to not getting what he thinks is due to him. In his earlier managerial career he had a major falling out with Gillingham chairman Paul Scally and the resulting court case over the settlement was reported in the Guardian – Scally had testified that there was an alleged blackmail plot by Pulis to obtain his outstanding bonuses after documents came into his possession that claimed financial irregularities on the chairman’s part. The case was eventually settled out of court with Pulis receiving £75,000 instead of the £200,000 he had sought and it resulted in an acrimonious feud between the two men.
In 2016, Pulis famously lost an appeal to a commercial court that saw him having to hand back a £2m bonus plus £1.75m in costs and damages to Crystal Palace. He was accused of “Fraudulent behaviour” by the judge in his representation of the events surrounding the early payment of that £2m bonus, which was awarded for keeping Palace in the Premier League. The problem was that it contained a clause that Pulis must stay at the club until 31 August to qualify for it but he subsequently left two weeks before that deadline.
Without going into all the details, it was claimed Pulis had persuaded the chairman Steve Parish to pay him the £2m early as he urgently needed the money – though he then left the club shortly after it was paid. The main reason for leaving by Pulis was that there was player unrest after a meeting about unpaid bonuses to them – the deciding argument in court seemed to be over whether that meeting had taken place before Pulis received his early bonus or after. Pulis claimed it took place after and made his position as manger difficult. Parish claimed it was before and Pulis only used this incident to justify his exit after promising to stay. It had also been reported in some newspapers that Pulis and Parish didn’t get on and that Palace had accepted their manager’s departure by mutual consent.
Though in terms of the spirit of the £2m bonus it could be argued that Pulis deserved to be paid most of that sum given he finished the season in 11th place and preserved their Premier League status – which probably secured the club around £100m. The purpose of the bonus was not that he stayed at the club until 31 August with the caveat the club also avoided relegation – it was definitely that the reward was based on Pulis keeping Palace up and he achieved that aim and then some. It appears from what I’ve read he may have been unhappy at the club and suspected from the player unrest that promised bonuses were not forthcoming. Perhaps he tried to ensure he got his first before leaving – as it turns out it proved to be a costly error of judgement on his part and a severe public blow to his reputation.
As for this new chapter in his career, Tony Pulis didn’t waste much time in getting his hands dirty as after watching his new charges huff and puff from the director’s box alongside Steve Gibson. As he headed to the dressing room for the half-time team talk he presumably asked the Boro chairman before leaving his seat – “Who’s that little guy playing left-wing?” and “Where’s Friend? Is he injured?” – since his first action in charge appears to have been to bulk up the defence by replacing Fabio with George, who incidentally he’d previously been interested in signing. It’s encouraging that he’s already working out what he wants and is already looking at aspects he would like to change. He strikes me as the kind of manager who knows how to build a team and more importantly get the group to add up to more than the sum of their individual parts. I suspect he doesn’t take nonsense from his players and he’ll gain instant respect in the dressing room – though many ex-players also regard him as very good man-manager, who will also get the best out of each individual.
It will be interesting to see who comes into the starting XI on Saturday and whether we’ll see a change in formation. OK, it might be early days to attempt anything too radical but perhaps we’ll see some differences in approach with set plays – I can’t imagine for a minute Pulis will be happy with the short sideways free kicks that are normally on show. Also I get the impression Tony will be lining up his players to check their physical attributes as his team are never bullied out of games. Rudy Gestede may be about to discover if he’s the new Peter Crouch – his neck may be about to discover whether his head is screwed on tightly!
So will Tony Pulis turn out to be Boro’s new Messiah or is he still being viewed as just a very naught boy by the doubters? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus how many Tony Pulis baseball caps will the the club shop sell before the game?
IMHO to get promotion we’ve a mountain to climb & TP’s the man proven to do it.
“Capped” Crusaders 2 Villains 0
You may love it! You may hate it! But still here it is.
‘Here Toto! Come here boy!’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
To all the TP detractors, methinks you doth protest too much.
Tony Pulis could have waited for the usual relegation panic and cherry picked a Premiership club to save from relegation. And if he is all about the money, could most likely have demanded a heck of a lot more.
This appointment is a major coup for SG, and could possibly be TP wanting to show he is not just a one trick pony. As for the complaints about dour boring football, do me a favour! When did Boro last parade expansive attacking play to the Riverside faithful?
Having spent time considering the appointment of Tony Pulis I’m now of the view that it may be one of the most important appointments in Steve Gibson’s time at Boro. I think for Gibson to have such an experienced manager who can oversee and take control of wider team matters will lift quite a burden from the chairman, who has found himself in recent times having to support younger inexperienced managers, who have struggled under the pressure and the sheer size of the task sometimes.
Tony Pulis will also be able to act almost as a director of football given his knowledge and it’s no coincidence that Gibson has also asked him to look at all aspects of the club in the way things are done. You get the feeling this is a long-term appointment and there seems to be a mutual admiration between the two men. They had a pretty similar upbringing and were born just one week apart and it looks like they are developing a close working relationship. Gibson was extremely keen to get Pulis and Pulis was also keen to work with Gibson – I don’t think we should under-estimate how important this will be for the club to have such a strong alliance that will leave no-one in any doubt that there isn’t a cigarette paper between both men.
This is how a club of Boro’s size will move forward and perhaps we haven’t seen this since Robson first arrived.
I’ve never felt like this since Big Jack Charlton arrived and yes people may groan and say foam hands etc but it’s how I feel.
I’m really looking forward to going to the game tomorrow 30k plus and the return of Aggers
GHW
That’s the main reason for my reservations. After years of side to side going nowhere and doing nothing in particular, I was hoping for something a bit better. But Pulis is here and hopefully I will be proved wrong (again!).
Someone on OneBoro has posted the following team.
Randolph
Shotton Ayala Gibson Friend
Downing Guedioura Howson Traore
Gestede
Assombalonga
The only bit I’m not sure about is the Guedioura. I expect Pulis to put Shotton and Friend at full back as he likes big guys there.
He likes Downing and has said so.
He has played the big guy at #10 in the past so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gestede play as the deep lying striker, with Assombalonga nipping about looking for the second ball.
Is Guedioura even fit? I had expected Clayton to start, as he is our most defensively minded midfielder. Adlene is over 6 feet tall though, so who knows.
Traore is fast and with the newly installed defensive fullbacks I can see him starting as he will attract a lot of fouls and a lot of free kicks into the box.
It won’t be pretty, but it may be effective. If we hit a winning streak, will anyone even care how ugly it is?
I suspect if we go up he will be better resourced in the Premier League than he has ever been, so could fill the team with hard workers, who have a shade more skill than he has been used to.
No Braithwaite or Leadbiter? 5 changes to the team that won last game. Can’t see that happenin. Still stranger things happen at sea. You never know!
GHW
Agree, furthermore the full explanation of the civil case is a lesson for all of us.
To collect a bonus that gives a date for leaving, then leave two weeks early (in the close season) comes under the heading of carelessness, a mistake that was swiftly punished.
It just occurred to me that he could have gone on the sick, (might have worked?)
However I think that we can put the story to bed now.
Forget all the abusive, and, frankly, dangerous words.
They do not apply in his case.
So where does Bamford IMHO our most creative player, fit in ?
Gestede IMHO is a one dimensional second rate striker.
If Bamford has taken his chance In the first half then he would have gone on to have a good game
IMHO he was trying too hard to impress Pulis and let’s not forget Pulis likes tall players and Bamford is over 6’0”” so don’t write him off yet
As in all reigns one has to start somewhere, and better to start with the team he wants on the pitch.
Changes can come later.
In this div. we should be pretty competitive, and a footballing side.
One good thing, we will not be bullied out of it.
Teapot
I don’t think we will see many changes, the most obvious is Friend for Fabio.
I expect Christie to start at right back but be less adventurous. He wont risk Traore yet.
Despite his relatively poor game Bamford played all 90+ minutes, it was Britt who made way for Gestede.
It will be tweaks and minor changes in role until after the Preston game, We then have a week and a half before a league match. He is a pragmatic coach and he wont want to disturb too much too early.
It isn’t my team, just one posted by someone claiming to be ITK on another forum.
However, from the little I know of how Pulis sets his teams out, I can see the logic in that particular 11.
Personally Bamford would be the first name on my team sheet every week.
Right! I will start again, having lost what might have been about 70% of my intended post into the ether, having pressed the wrong key by mistake…….
Tony Pulis, if he can get our promotion campaign back on the rails, will very much be regarded by most of Teesside as a Messiah, rather than just a Naughty Boy. Some may think that some of his exploits in the past are not ones we would like to have been embroiled in. I understand that and respect the view. Having said that, he is a pragmatic rather than a romantic appointment.
Success depends on the starting position of the beholder. If you are on the board, or even a supporter, of Manchester City, success would be playing good football, winning the Premier League (PL) comfortably and winning the Champions League (CL). Winning anything else would be nice, too, and I suppose getting into the last 4 of the CL would be acceptable THIS season on the basis it is a stepping stone for improvement next season. The board, and supporters, of Man U and Chelsea would LIKE to win the PL this season but realise it is already out of reach and therefore put progress into the last 4 in the CL as a priority, with a fall-back position that winning a domestic cup will be “acceptable”. Spurs and Liverpool would like to win some sliverware but also hope to finish in the top 4 in the PL, and hope to make progress well into the knock-out stages of the CL. Arsenal hope again to sneak unseen into the 4th spot in the PL to ensure another money-spinning European adventure next season.
For Brighton and Newcastle, those dreams would be seen as proof that the dreamer had been taking prohibitted substances, but a safe place in the PL next season would be seen as very acceptable. Leicester and West Ham would hope to finish in the rarified atmosphere much higher up the table, and good cup runs are the order of the day.
So, our hopes must take account of where we are. Boro is a club, just relegated from the PL, and therefore with parachute payments this year, and for a couple more, that would make most of our competitors jealous. Most people thought our squad was one of, if not THE, best in the Championship. We were favourites for automatic promotion. Sadly those high hopes were made out, on the basis of the first half of the season performances. We are in touch with the lower play-off positions but currently need to use binoculars to see the high-altitude automatic promotion places. We do have, though, the finances to acquire and to pay the wages of the sort of additional players the manager might think we need to secure promotion, though those resources are time-limited and their power will diminish to nothing in two and a half years (I think…..).
So for a team like Boro, promotion to the PL is the priority this year and probably every year we are not in that league. Attractive football would be NICE, but definitely subordinate to results and promotion. So this year promotion is at the apex of our Maslow heirarchy of priorities. Automatic promotion (not completely beyond possibility but very difficult from our current position) would be great, but promotion via the play-offs would be very acceptable indeed. In fact if the result could be guaranteed, winning the play-off final would be like winning a cup final and might be an even bigger thrill. But, let’s be honest, it’s now HOW your team goes up but WHETHER it goes up that is important. if we should achieve that target, the next aim would be to stay up in the PL and, hopefully, gradually to strengthen the squad so that we would be solid PL members. And maybe then we could dream of the odd cup every few years that I recall Steve Gibson musing about some time ago: to be part of the Glory Game.
So, back to the start: Tony Pulis is a pragmatic appointment. Getting a team promoted, and then staying up, is in his DNA. It’s his raison d’etre. It’s what he does. And if he can do it with Boro, I will be delighted. We can leave dreams about good football, about winning silverwear etc, to a later stage. The important thing is to get the train back on track. Romance can wait. Sometimes you just need someone to put a roof over the family’s head, clothes to wear and some food on the table. The nice car and holidays can wait.
Promotion from our current position, is far from easy. But we do have some things in place – a manager who will have clear ideas which are easily understood by his players, a decent squad which MIGHT be tweaked (I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few leave the club!), a Chairman and finances which would make necessary changes possible, and a supportive group of fans who can, and should, get behind the team.
Maybe the analogy “Naughty Boy or Messiah” isn’t quite right. But if he can lead us through the Championship desert and the Red Sea to the Promised Land, he might be Moses. (OK! OK! I’ve gone too far. Been typing too long. Not helped by losing the first attempt. But hopefully you get the point). I am starting to have hope and, as we all know, it’s the hope that kills us in the end. I suspect there will be reverses, but at least everyone at the club should know in which direction the whole shebang is aimed, and there IS room for hope as the New Year dawns.
Interesting post Dormo – dare I say pragmatic? I think the supporters would go along with functional football for a few years if it first gets them promoted, then second avoids relegation and thirdly consolidate in the Premier League. The problem generally comes once you start believing you belong in the top tier and expect to be entertained!
Cheers Werder another good leading article.
I would be surprised if TP makes many changes at this stage and expect the following team:
Randolph
Christie, Shotton, Gibson & Friend
Leadbitter & Howson
Downing, Bamford & Braithwaite
Assombalonga
I will be pleased to see Friend instead of Fabio as it increases the team’s height at the back and also means we have a natural left footer at left back.
Braithwaite will keep his place based on his goal last time out albeit in my view he was close to being left out based on his previous recent contributions or lack of.
I hope he will persevere with Bamford despite his poor display last time out as, a number have pointed out, he does not hide when things are not going for him.
We should win given our record against teams beneath us but this is tailor made for a “typical Boro” moment.
Given Villa’s recent record at the Riverside I think this will be a tight edgy affair and hopefully the new manager effect should see us manage at least a point and am going for a 0-0.
Crowd 30,003.
CoB 😎
Thanks KP, it will be difficult for Pulis to make any radical changes given he may have had only two full training days with the squad – plus he will still be getting to know the players so not sure if he’ll be able to ask them to do anything particularly different.
Double training on the days though
I might be wrong,but don’t we hold the record for most relegations from the Premiership.
Has it been because we attack too much and can’t defend?
00
Another great post Werder
Tomorrow i hope to be chatting to Allan Foggon.
Apart from my usual questions are there any that Diasboro bloggers would like to know answers to?
Thanks OFB, I got home later than expected yesterday evening after stopping off for what turned out to be the worst Chinese meal I’d ever had and then was struggling to stay awake to write the pre-match article but luckily the mono-sodium-glutamate kicked in and I was good to go. Though not a routine I’ll be repeating!
Pulis’ Capped Crusaders Send Bruce Batty….
Pulis Pacy Passionate Physical Passing Praiseworthy Players Performance Promise Promotion Providing Painful Panic Performance Pitchside
I’ll hope for Boro 2 Villa 1
As ever I don’t care who scores or how they do it, or what the size of the crowd will be, just as long as Boro score one more goal than the opposition.
Werder great post from you once more. Very entertaining.
All I am hoping for at the moment is for the match to go ahead and then another win that puts us on the upward curve.
As a number have commented, I do not think there will be too many changes at first. Possibly George for Fabio, which I for one do not think is a good swop. Yes the latter is not the best at defending, but then neither has George the times he has player recently and is cerainly not as good as Fabio going forward.
Will he fit in Gestede,……I hope not after his recent cameo non performances. He looks slower and more awkard than ever.
TP could stiffen the midfield with the likes of Clayton for say Bamford or Braithwaite.
But hopefully weather permitting we will know at 2.30 tomorrow and if there has been any instant influence by 4.45.
Thanks Pedro, I agree that I think George got dropped for a reason and that reason was he was playing well below his best – hopefully the weather won’t be a factor, I think it’s supposed to be 9 degrees tomorrow afternoon but quite windy.
I’d be astonished if Guedioura is anywhere near the first team just yet. He has apparently spent most of this season with a hamstring injury in Doha seeing a “specialist” in a nice resort. No problem with that as the lad hasn’t started a game since February for Boro so is hardly classed as a huge loss and his career history does suggest a penchant for that particular fitness Institute of choice.
I would reckon on a good few weeks of training and gentle rehab followed by a few outings for the U23’s before even getting a sniff of the bench. That said given a straight choice between him and the likes of Grant, Baker, Howson, Forshaw and Clayts and it doesn’t seem to be a difficult conundrum to solve.
Politically it may be that his face didn’t fit for whatever reason and that his Doha sojourn was simply a convenient form of intensive gardening therapy for which it appears that Clayts was also a potential candidate.
I’m expecting solid organisation and committed players.
2:1 to us lot.
Shotton at full back? Christie has a few of things in his favour.
Firstly, Shotton has settled in and is playing well at centre back, moving him to right back means two changes. Makes sense to leave him where he is as Pulis trusts him.
Secondly, Christie is a tall player so suits the Land of giants approach.
Thirdly, Christie is a dab hand at long throws.
Fourthly, even if Christie becomes more defensively orientated he can still offer something going forward.
I think it was thought So because Pulis played Shotton often as a right back when they both were at Stoke.
We have won two matches in a row and TP does not yet know the players. I would be shocked to see more than two or three changes.
Little tweaks here and there. And every week and we might see a different team in a month or two methinks.
Up the Boro!
Shotton was a long throw specialist under Pulis at Stoke
Watching Cardiff v Preston and it is a shocking match, 76 minutes and one shot on target.
How on earth are we where we are?
Ian
That is the perfect illustration of precisely why GM is no longer Manager despite national papers dusting off their A to Z’s to find out where Middlesbrough is this week and then expertly inform the unwashed masses of why SG suddenly became “ruthless” and got rid of a “bright young Manager”.
Never mind the fact he gave him the foundations of a top Championship side and £50m to spend which was more than any other Manager’s spend in the history of the Club and with that managed to achieve mid table mediocrity in a sea of dross.
None of the National Journo’s considered that if we were 4 points clear at the top or at least in second place that GM would still be Manager and TP would like as not be at Swansea or more likely still enjoying his Christmas festivities.
Ian
I have been saying all season that this is a poor league and of a much lower standard than when we were last in it.
The reason why we are were we are is because individually and collectively there has been a huge underperformance both by the team and the management.
TP will soon identify where the tweaks are required, because that’s all it needs in my view, and we should at least make the play off places under his guidance.
Interesting read on “Catenaccio” a style of play much admired by one TP.
https://thesefootballtimes.co/2017/03/06/how-society-and-politics-gave-us-catenaccio-and-total-football/
Great link, GHW. Many thanks.
Since AV may be in his bed, maybe I can mention that a WIN in Melbourne is still a possibility at lunch. If we can only get Smith out soon, they’ll be half way down the batting order and maybe less than 20 runs ahead, Oh, the drama! Mind you, it is like being 3-0 down in a football match with not enough time to get three of your own……
Looking forward to a biggish crowd at the Riverside in less than 13 hours.
I wonder if Brucey and Aggers will stop by at the Battered Badger for one or three after the game……. No band on lads, and you’d be welcome!
Over 30k tickets sold
The Battered Badger ; would their house ale be an Imperial Stoat ?…
Boom Boom ! (As one very famous fox would have said).
Quickly harking back to the discussion on beers, I lived in Belgium for seven years and it’s a beer-drinker’s paradise. Duvel tastes innocent, slips down so easily and hits you like a hammer. There’s a new version with 9.5% alcohol and there are some beers that are even stronger than that. This rather explains why there’s a well-known pub in Brussels called La Mort Subite which means sudden death! Quite a few of the Belgian beers are available here in Oz.
Moving on to cricket, I’m afraid that its now past tea-time and it ain’t gonna happen. Time to concentrate on the big game. Should be a great atmosphere and, like everyone else, I’m very curious to see what team TP puts out.
Another 2-0 would go down nicely.
UTB
I’ve heard he’s consodering making Downing Captain !
Now that would be s remarkable turnaround from the start of the season
Guediora back in the fold after his exile ! Sub
Friend Gibson Ayala Shotton
Howson Clayton Downing Braithwaite
Gestede Britt Traore
Are we playing “Rush Goalie”
Errrr might have got a bit carried away there !
On another point what makes Sheff Utd think they can take Clayton on loan?
Why would we do that ?
To a competitor ?
Can’t see it personally
…..and so it proved to pass in Melbourne! Went to bed at 4.20am – the eyes wouldn’t have it, the eyes wouldn’t have it! The form shown by skipper Smith is unbelievable. Consistent like George Camsell and Dixie Dean must have been those long years ago. Imagine what it must have been like! Hoping for a goal from your hero, only to find that he hits yet another hat trick. And will probably do the same again next week……
Well what could go wrong?
Pulis has never lost a home game against Bruce.
Bruce has never managed a win at the Riverside, with no goals in last 6 games there. Emile Heskey last goal scorer for Bruce in 2004.
Does TP do Typical Boro?
That’s a defeat then MW to start us off???
Top work once again, Werder. You have a consistency that Chairmen dream of.
I’m expecting the same team as vs Sheff Wed except George for Fabio (though the make-up of the bench may be interesting) and a spirited 2-0 win.
That would make three wins in a row and a new manager I think we can (almost) all get behind in time. A great Christmas, that would be.
On entertainment, do we think Stoke fans were not entertained when they we regularly beating Arsenal at home, bloodying the noses of the Premier League elite and comfortably finishing mid-table in the PL? Do we think Palace fans were not entertained as they rocketed up the league? Were West Brom fans bored when they finished just outside the European places last year?
We’ve been stung by Karanka’s all-out-defence last season. Pulis is organised and pragmatic but I don’t think it’s the same thing.
Long balls, if Pulis goes that way, are not necessarily dull – look how Leicester won the Premier League with longish balls over the top for Vardy. It’s XI men behind the ball, and slow sideways passing that numbs me. Hard running, grit and fast attacks are fine by me. As are wins.
Long balls over the top for Traore
Pulis never came close to winning the Premier League though, none of his teams got more than 49 points. He was a safety specialist, between 42 and 49 points.
I think he might get us up, but I’m not excited about the future under him at all.
I’m not suggesting TP will build a title winning team Teapot!
Simply that a direct style and entertainment are not mutually exclusive, as evidenced by Leicester.
A Manager’s tenure is typically three or maybe four seasons at very best. If TP gets us up either this season or next then we can have two or three seasons in the Premiership moaning about finishing 14th and about the style of football. A word or warning however that when SG was treating us to Ravanelli and Juninho etc. it cost a sum of money which in todays game is way beyond his wealth and in another stratosphere (and they also brought us back down).
Every decade or so there is an unfashionable side that surprises and over performs (at the moment Burnley probably look the most likely) and upset the greed is good “Glam” sides. Leicester done it and then sacked the Manager that achieved it not long afterwards. Before Leicester it was Blackburn in 1995 when Jack Walker’s money could afford the best, nowadays it wouldn’t fund a middling Championship side.
The reality is this, since its inception in 1992 the Premiership has been won by Man Utd 13 times out of all 25 competitions. In total only six sides, yep thats right only six sides have won the Premiership including unfashionable Leicester and Blackburn. The other three are Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal. If anyone thinks we can compete in the Premiership playing fast flowing entertaining football then it will simply never ever happen. When the likes of Liverpool and Spurs can’t even get a sniff with their financial clout and attractiveness to upcoming players in 25 years what on earth are we going to expect from Boro should we return sometime soon? Most of us on here won’t be around in another 25 years.
Blackburn are now in League 1, Leicester have been surviving since their title win and little else, restored to their rightful place just simply making up the numbers. The Swansea’s, West Hams and Bournemouth’s are never ever going to get anywhere while they try and play the beautiful game. That same reality will apply to Boro who may whilst surviving get a trip to Wembley or maybe even nick a Europa League spot the way unfashionable Stoke did. Any expectations other than that are completely unrealistic, something which I suspect has finally dawned on SG.
Just take a look at the top 6 sides in the Premiership table right now, I would guess 100% of us on here would have listed those same sides back in August. Man City have already won it with United or Chelsea as runners up. Reality now is who will clinch the 4th and coveted Champions league spot. That is all Premiership teams are playing for, who will finish 4th with Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal in their own mini league.
As for the rest the objective is to avoid relegation and simply try and finish as high up as possible collecting a few more million for each placing. The days of it being a competition are long over destroyed by a combination of questionable foreign investments and Sky with the FA having sold their soul.
Thanks Andy – though I’m probably not every chairman’s dream 🙂
I often think some managers have aspirations of playing football that’s easy on the eye but in practice never have the quality of players needed to pull it off – you end up frustrated as either moves break down through bad passing or crosses never get past the first defender.
A good review of the Premier League from Redcar Red and that is why I query what is the point of wishing Boro to be part of it. I’m afraid that is why wild horses wouldn’t drag me to watch Boro try to compete against the top sides in the Premier League because it isn’t a fair competition, but completely ruined by Sky. The nauseous comments by TV pundits and reporters seem to suggest in their minds that Football only started in 1992 and that anything before that is not worthy of consideration.
The finest teams since the Second World War and before the formation of the Premier League, in my opinion, have been the Manchester United teams of 1955/56 and 1956/57, the Wolves teams of 1957/58 and 1958/59 and the Spurs team of 1960/61 who did the double of winning the League and the FA Cup in the same season, a feat that everyone said was almost impossible.
What we now have is a misnamed Champions League and a Premier League where only a top 4 position is considered a successful season for about 6 or 7 clubs, and a position between 5th and 17th for the rest. I did suggest a few months ago that the only way that could change would be for the top English clubs to resign from the Premier League to become members of a European League of 18 clubs or even 32 clubs if they only played each other once with any additional fixtures arranged say in China, India, Australia, the USA and South America. Eventually that might even happen in the future.
There might, however, be another possibility, and that is salary capping with no team allowed to play with 3 foreigners in their eleven at any one time. Raise the points to 5 for a win or bonus points for goals scored with no points awarded for a goalless draw. Revolutionary? Certainly, but unlikely to happen. So we’re stuck with a system where at least half the teams in the Premier League play a boring defensive system.
The salary cap is widely used in the USA where there also is no such thing as a draw or a tie. Salary capping also works in Rugby League in Europe and in Australia.
Manchester City are regarded quite rightly as the most outstanding team ever in Premier League history, but only have a handful of English players on their books, whereas the former great clubs consisted of almost exclusively British players, but does that make City the best team ever? Call me an old fogey, but I’m not altogether convinced. What I will say though is that they have set the standard in entertainment much like the famous Harlem Globetrotters Basketball team of 50/60 years ago did. They may even revolutionise Football, much like the Yorkshire Evening Post predicts that the style of Castleford Tigers have revolutionised Rugby League in Europe, and have even made The Rugby Union sit up and take notice. The difference there of course is that Cas, with the exception of a few antipodean players, are made up of British players. Also RL has a playoff system where anything can happen in one match even to Man City.
The point I’m making is that having a salary cap can work, and might encourage teams to play a more entertaining system and still be competitive, which certainly rules out clubs like the Boro on past performances. Tony Pulis’s tactics will certainly make Boro hard to beat even in the playoffs in this poor Championship, but I wouldn’t find any enjoyment in watching them in the Premier League as things stand.
Redcar Red and KP
I know that, so do most fans.
Ian, RR and KP.
I had the misfortune of watching that game last night and it must rank as one of the most anti football games I’ve seen in nearly 50 years of watching the “beautiful” game.
One thing that struck me was the lack of negative comments from the sky commentator (?) and the expert summariser Andy Hinchcliffe. Wouldnt want them to be honest and describe what’s going on, or not, in front of them.
And some wanted Warnock in as manager. Do me a favour.
I’m going for Boro 2 – 1 Villa despite OFB’s Delphic Oracle of the eyes 00.
The team will be as last week except for George Friend coming in and I have a feeling that the bench will keep them guessing a bit. Well I hope it does.
Great article again Werder, an enjoyably informative and humorous read.
A very happy and healthy New Year to everyone too blessed, I hope, by three points today.
UTB,
John
Thanks John, and all the best for 2018 too!
Defensive organisation and attacking with intent are not mutually exclusive. Organisation provides the structure for a team to play football, if they pass backwards and sideways, play without tempo you get dull football.
I would add failure to commit bodies forward at the right times to that list.
Just bought my match pass from AVTV (that’s Aston Villa not Anthony Vickers) as they are not part of iFollow.
You need to buy your match pass (or Live Match Video as it’s called) from this page:
https://astonvillafcpayments.streamamg.com/account/register/step1
The match will be streamed from the following page:
https://www.avfc.co.uk/Fixtures/2010%20to%202019/2017-2018/English%20Football%20League%20-%20Championship/Middlesbrough%20vs%20Aston%20Villa
It shouldn’t be a surprise if Guedioura is back in the first team squad. Obviously TP will say, everyone starts with a clean slate.
Karanka, at least in the first half of his reign, was less self-conscious, hence we saw some lovely football – yes, I mean it! – in 2014-15. As time went on he became increasingly self-aware and narcissistic. The all-out defending in 2016-17 went too far even for him. What was worse is that glimmers of hope – half an hour v Sunderland A, Arsenal A, Bournemouth H, second half at the Etihad, Leicester A, and the goals, if not the performance, against Swansea – popped up to suggest he might still stand a chance. Then came GastonGate, FanGate and the infamous “I don’t know” press conference.
Pulis? Well, today I’m expecting a win. Because he feels like the right manager at the right time. After the year we’ve had, any kind of saviour, short-term or not, or run of form, temporary or not, will be embraced wholeheartedly. Especially at Christmas.
I look back to the last City Of Culture year – Derry’s own! – in 2013, where we’d won six league games all year going into the Christmas week. Within a week or so, three clean sheets, three victories, six goals and a new hero in Emmanuel Ledesma – Rejoice, Rejoice, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, indeed! – lifted everyone’s spirits beyond belief.
As Anthony McCarthy astutely observed at the time, we were getting a bit carried away, but after the year we’d had, could you blame us? To taste victory again, and solidity, under a manager who seemed to know what he was doing… it’s all relative. And at Christmas too.
Now we have two wins in a row and the maligned Ryan Shotton finally seems to have found himself – and a manager who understands him. Another manager who, regardless of past, looks and sounds like he knows what must be done and how to do it.
It’s reminiscent of Paul Jewell’s arrival at Ipswich, when he said something along the lines of “I’ll have to fix this mess.” He was soon able to bring in Jimmy Bullard from the top tier, on loan – and Bullard was on about twenty or thirty grand a week. My reckoning is if a manager sells himself well enough there’ll be trust in him from everyone, for a while.
It’s a short-term solution. Of course it is. But given our 2017 I don’t blame anyone for their new found enthusiasm in the slightest. And I expect it to be channelled into a win today.
Just time for a quick post before we head off for out NewYear bash and not sure what internet connection will be available or whether Mrs BBDs schedule will allow me time if there is any reception!
Great warm up as usual Weder and here’s hoping that the messiah delivers the goods and the 3 wise men bring the right present of 3 points.
I am hopeful of a1 0 win, team to be unchanged apart from George in although there will be more intent.
A Happy and prosperous NewYear to all on here, the blog is a fantastic way to chat and explore views in the virtual Navi. Special thanks to Weder Redcar Red and Simon for their time along with others who are far more active than me. Maybe next season after retirement will give me more time to comment on our progress in the Promised Land!
Have a good one everybody and UTB!
BBD
Gestede and Assombalonga up front. Shotton at right back. Looks like a 4-4-2.
Very attacking list of substitutes.
UTB
So Ayala back in central defence with Shotton moving to right-back, George in at left-back.
Downing, Leadbitter, Howson and Braithwaite in midfield
Britt and Gestede up front.
Sounds like a big Pulis team!
The world according to Pulis…
No. 1: Defenders defend.
Well I guess there’s no point in getting a new Manager in and seeing the same old same old. Shotton at RB facing Albert makes me a tad uncomfortable but TP knows Shotton better than anyone so in TP I trust albeit a little cautiously. Big surprise is Guedioura on the Bench instead of the Beach! Again lets hope its a masterstroke. Looks like a 442 with the big lads defending and I’m guessing Stewy in front of Shotton under instructions to disrupt Albert.
Just wondering now Aggers and Bruce have seen the Boro line up if they drop the inverted Wingers and play Albert on the right facing Braithwaite and Friend?
RR
Good luck writing the match report
I thought George was at fault for the goal unmarked header although Shotton should have stopped the cross coming over
Interesting to hear TP presser
He thought Stewey had a good game again and also Traore when he came on he said got the crowd excited which is good for a home game
Traore actually made a run back from the half way like at an amazing speed to produce a last gasp tackle and prevent Villa from a goal scoring opportunity.
Never in my whole time of watching football have I ever seen anyone run so fast hope you guys saw it on the stream it was awesome.
Pulis said to be fair to Steve who has spent a lot of money there has to be savings made and the squad is far too big.
He intends to move players out and bring in Academy lads to provide game time for all during training
He said it’s. Not good that you have more players watching than playing it’s not good for morale
So a poor day but another few days to put it right and move on
OFB
Sat here watching the warm up I suspect that TP has watched a few videos and concluded the main cause of our goals conceded this season have been as a result of our RB being skinned or out of position and our LB likewise out of position and giving away soft unnecessary free kicks just outside the 18 yard box.
Blind Pew could have sussed that one out.
I have subscribed the “iFollow” via Villa site.
But I do not find the link to see the stream. Why the web masters do not use the sites and see how difficult they are to access.
Subcribing was easy, though. Up the Boro!
It’s here Jarkko…
https://www.avfc.co.uk/Fixtures/2010%20to%202019/2017-2018/English%20Football%20League%20-%20Championship/Middlesbrough%20vs%20Aston%20Villa?matchdetails=1
A little disappointed by the line up, Gestede in for Bamford and Shotton shuffling Christie on to the bench would not be my choice.
Redcar Red, you are probably right about the full backs.
Excellent feed from riverside and fools fashioned attacking footy
Should read old fashioned
Well ok for first half… just dead is usless so bring on paddy bam bam. Other than that ok so far
Excellent feed from AVTV with commentary and replays albeit not much to see again.
We look solid enough but lacking creativity again! Need Bamford on and either Gestede or Braithwaite off.
CoB 😎
Definitely a TP team with Shotton at fullback and Gestede up front.
A big team for sure, fingers crossed for the second half.
Perhaps a first half that those who don’t buy into Pulis expected – Monk would have been criticised for that display I would have wagered.
Werder
A case of thud and blunder?
So far for me….Leadbetter / Braitwaite and Gestede very poor…..
Villa leading 1-0 after an Adomah cross was bundled in by Snodgrass.
#smashingtheleague
TP has some job ahead of him now. Big clearout needed !
Forget the thud and settle for blunder.
It has been as bad as it gets 2nd half.
Classic, Typical Boro.
Poor game, poor performance and new manager bounce did not last long.
Need a win at PNE.
Typical Boro especially as some of the results went in our favour eg Cardiff and Sheffield Utd losing!
Feeling deflated after a week which promised so much.
Unattractive football, one shot on target. Boro Swanson? And it’s goodnight from me!
I thought it was OK?!!!!
Square pegs in square holes…enjoyed the game ..no surrender just grind and playing forward. Like the long throws and direct approach.
I am not as sophisticated as some of our bloggers so maybe I lost some of the technical nuances but it looked OK for me – playoffs in May then….
Maybe you expecting too much too soon. Things can only get better.
Pretty disjointed performance, Gestede and Britt didn’t work as a pairing as feeding off knock-downs is not Assombalonga’s game. Braithwaite was again poor and this was probably a game that needed more guile to break down a well organised Villa defence. Perhaps a few players getting a start who were picked on size rather than ability or form. One shot on target for Boro probably says it all as we still appear to be water awaiting being turned into something stronger.
What knock downs Werder??
Looks as if TP may have a job on his hands trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear!
He doesn’t make silk purses.
No, I’m not a huge fan. But I’ll reserve judgment until after the January sales.
However, I’m not confident of us breaking into the top six though.
Just on my way home by bus…a novelty for me and time to read the blog.
Rubbish game and rubbish performance from Boro.
Next to be dropped will be Braithwaite and then Britt.
Creativity will not be allowed.
I did say George was past it didn’t I.
Are we there yet dad?
No, we have to turn the corner first.
Dad, I thought we turned the corner last week
It is just down here, be there soon.
Dad, I cant see any corner.
Lets play I spy, the word begins with C.
Crisps?
No, try again.
Cul de sac?
Err, no, it is corner, have a sleep and I will wake you up when we get there.
Well… I’m around the goalie & have ‘spotted’ someone who’ll score a certain goal. There’s the perfect pass…..⚽
Disjointed, not as much effort in closing down, unlike the opposition, don’t mark the man at the far post. Nothing different from the rest of the season by and large. Not blaming Pulis as we have been like this for months and he’s only had a couple of days in charge. Very poor.
Very strong comments from TP on MFC interviews is that the squad is far too big. He said he owes it to SG to do cut it right down after all the money that has been spent. Commented on that he was bringing some subs on that he did not reall know. I think he was meaning Fletcher because he said Steve paid over 6 million for him and he wanted to have a look at him. Reading into the comments there is going to be a lot out the door and Fletcher being one of them.
Big changes for the next game with more players he will want to have a look at.
I looked back at a post I made early on the 29th Dec 2017
”Another thought before we get ahead of ourselves.
In his statement, Garry Monk said he thought the team had turned a corner after the win against Wednesday.
Yes, it was an away win but they were in a poor run of form and much closer to relegation than the play offs. These have been the matches where we have gained points this season.
In the next match we beat a very poor Bolton, another typical result this season.
We haven’t turned any corner yet, when we moved in to the play off zone before it followed similar results.
Get four points from Villa and Preston would be progress, six points would be most welcome.”
All we need is four points, or even better six, from the Preston game. Is that allowed?
We still cant beat top half teams however poorly they have been playing.
What an anticlimax
new manager
new system
new manager never lost to Bruce
expentant big crowd
so what do we get- a poor performance
so dissappointing when other top teams stuttered
What chance a top 6 ? whats the chance of 3 points at Preston – unbeaten in 9 games ?
But we still cling to better days
Don’t worry we have a man in charge, that will quickly way them all up,
People forget Tony has been around Premiership players for a long time,and knows the kind of pedigree needed,right now like I’ve mentioned, we have a mishmash of championship and Div 1 players
Ones you don’t know from one week to the next how they will play.
A comfortable win according to Steve Bruce. Not sure sneaking a 1-0 from rank bad defending rates as comfortable but I have to agree that we didn’t trouble their defence. If we were still playing now, I don’t think we’d score. Pulis has his work cut out to get us into the promotion mix. He wants to have a good. look at the squad but, as Maddo intimated during the phone in, we don’t have time on our side in making up lost ground. I just hope that he finds a way to string a long run of wins together but that’s more a hope than an expectation.
Redcar Red has just filed his match report on Tony Pulis’s first game in charge, which was the start of a new era along with a few old errors…
https://diasboro.club/2017/12/29/championship-boro-vs-aston-villa/#MatchReport
RR has made a more impressive report than the performance of both teams deserve
I agree that the front two didn’t play as a pair and if we are to change our style then Britt ia not the right type of player as RR has reported
Personally I thought Braithwaite was poor and only showed I’m flashes amd we have a long way to go
Promotion this season ?
VERY DOUBTFUL
Well done to Rr for his report, I will leave others to comment as I only listened to the radio commentary
Once again RR I look forward to your excellent reports including today. The only thing I would say is I thought Braithwaite was very poor.
RR – you said we had most of the possession in the first half. Incorrect, we had 41%, and had managed to drag that up to 45% overall by the end of the match.
Teapot “statistically” Villa had more possession in the first half but Boro were by far the better side and more likely to get something out of the game and apart from a 10 minute spell were in control for pretty much most of it. Please bear in mind I write what I see on the hoof and not with the benefit of after-match analytical data, not that statistics tell the full story. I probably should have used Pressure or Control rather than Possession.
RR
I’ll go with that too. Statistics don’t always paint a true picture and your report gave the flavour and the essence of the game as a spectator.
OFB
Very true RR
On a different subject I had a nice chat and In2views with Alan Foggon this afternoon who is a really nice guy
This will go into the file for when we have a slack period which it isn’t at the moment !
Werder is burning the midnight oil just to keep up with the flurry of games.
Also Redcar Red is still churning out the match reports and remember bloggers this is totally voluntary and a labour of love!
Saturday I hope to be talking to Archie Stevens a guy who never took the credit for making so many of Bernie’s goals
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE
OFB
Just thinking amd reflecting about the game yesterday
I think it’s time that we called time on Leadbitters involvement with the club. As sorry as I am to write this I think it’s tome for him to move on and be replaced by a more creative player.
So where do we get the money for a new midfield general ?
Pulis has already said it is his intention to trim the squad.
Fabio,Leadbitter,Fletcher are some who would release monies from the wage bill and bring fees.
I would stick with Clayton and Howson as they bring energy and grit into the midfield.
It was disappointing to see our defence succumb to a goal due to our full backs Shotton for not cutting out the cross and Friend for leaving the space undefended for a clear header on goal.
Normally after a game I see the players milling around walking the corridors and chatting to fans signing autographs and meeting up with their families. Things seemed quiet last night and I wondered if they had been watching a re run of the game and looking where they had gone wrong for the goal?
I’m suprised Gary Megson hasn’t joined up with Pulis at the club as they have worked together for quite a few years. Woodgate seems to be helping out on a more permanent basis at present with the first team and it remains to be seen if this will stay for the rest of the season
Braithwaite is good in spells and lacks consistency which is why he isn’t playing premier league football. Hopefully our manager can get him performing regularly.
So what did we learn yesterday?
Nothing that we didn’t really already know
We need a creative midfield player
A good wide player and a left back
OFB
OFB
Watching the goal on the box last night the defending was a mess, both Shotton and Downing should have done better in picking up and closing Albert which they had done all game. Ben abandoned the structure to come out to close down the player on the edge of the box about to pass to Albert which is where Grant should have been which meant that Friend was then overloaded and picked up the wrong man in a 50/50 call.
Organisationally defensively very poor and I’m sure that Pulis won’t have been backwards in coming forwards in telling them what he thought after the game. Talking of moving players on and out Grant won’t have exactly endeared himself yesterday and as big a shock as it would be maybe January is the right time to cash in on Ben and bring in a more resolute Championship type defender that perhaps thinks less.
For whatever reason Ben has looked distinctly ordinary to the point where I think my mind is in the camp of maybe he wasn’t as good as we once thought he was or maybe he just doesn’t have his head in the right place. I’m hoping that with Pulis and his football philosophy he can get Ben back to where he was in an organised defence and a midfield shield in front when defending. I think Clayts should be on the bench at least and certainly before Baker and Guedioura.
With regards to Fletcher I would keep him over Gestede as the lad at least has potential. With Gestede I think we have a one dimensional jumper who heads the ball but in which direction is anyone’s guess. With TP’s preferred style of play I don’t think we can afford the luxury of pairing Gestede with Britt in fact going further I don’t think Britt’s style suits a Pulis team full stop. Bamford, Fletcher and Traore offered far more when they came on especially in terms of energy and running. Nobody closed down Sam Johnstone until Paddy came on and forced hurried clearances.
GM’s task was to build his team to support and make the most out of Britt’s qualities. He managed it to a degree but never ever looked close to finishing and polishing the job hence his departure. I can’t see anything other than Pulis building a side in his own likeness.
I’ll go along with all of that but it’s doibtful that we would get our £15m back!
I didn’t rewatch it as once Live was enough for me!
OFB
On the mark
It’s worse than we think
Tony ,knows the club at the pitch level is a nightmare too many involved who have never played or coached at the elite level.
I hope Steve G has said fix it, and Tony did allude to that he has.
We will not get promotion this season, unless clubs above us bottle it,
Villa have a good squad ,and beat us with their better players missing.
Maybe Tony might bring in some to kind of change the attitude with experience like a Charlie Adams, who can knock a ball forward with accuracy.
Not could fans.
From what has been said on press conferences by TP about looking at all aspects of running the football side of things I think you are right that changes will be made across all levels.
I think he is here for the long term and as previously posted will act as Director of Football no matter what some up amd coming coach may think it’s what our club needs. Reorganisation.
The Spanish experiment worked for promotion but it’s basics were flawed and now scrapped.
I don’t think we will see another European invasion at coaching level again
Bringing in untried and unproven coaches hasn’t worked.
So it’s back to basics with proven safe tactics a safe pair of hands and hopefully a shake up of our scouting department
There will be a statistical fall out by getting the ball forward earlier rather than our customary meander down country lanes.
The latter approach builds up the possession figures, unless you have really good players by playing the ball forward you have more risk of losing it.
Big Jacks team was branded as defensive with a front six of Murdoch, Sounness, Armstrong, Mills, Hickton and Foggon.
It was a case of defend without the ball, attack with it.
I wonder how long the Pulis honeymoon will last?
On another issue, I am not reading too much in to the absence of Clayton and Forshaw, yet! They were not in the match day squads in the run up to yesterday so Pulis can only base his views on what he has seen on the pitch and a tiny amount of training.. It sounds as if he will have a good look in the next week of so, any one sulking can pack their bags.
Apparently Clayton has been busting a gut in training to impress !
Or to get a move?
After a pause to reflect, I am left no wiser as to the thought going into the game plan.
We knew that they were desperate to avoid defeat, we knew that they offered little in the way of serious attacking, we knew that they would somehow get the ball in our area in the ten minutes before half time, and the ten minutes before the end of the match, this is routine behaviour of all struggling sides.
So tell me? Why did we concede five easy corners at the end of the match. Because they were only ever going to score by heaving the ball into our box and hoping.
We had watch that, knowing what was coming.
Werder and RR.
Thanks for the pre and post match posts, excellent as usual.
Same old same old I’m afraid as posted yesterday when I got in from the match. Our lack of efforts on goal was alarming but it did look as if we were trying to get the ball forward quicker, and not by the big hoof all the time, just a lot more than we’ve been used to of late.
Personally thought Rudi won a fair few headers just that they hardly ever went in Brits direction. Poor heading or lack of understanding? Bit of both if I’m honest. Again Braithwaite showed little flashes of what he can do but again not enough, as for Brit it was the same as against Bolton but this time without a goal, but in his defence I don’t think playing off a big forward for flick ons and knock downs is really his game.
Afraid I’ve got to agree with Bob re Grant. Unless there’s a dramatic up turn in his form I’d drop him from the squad. Imo he hasn’t got the legs to play in a midfield 4, which I think is what TP prefers and as great a leader he is on the pitch I’m afraid that just isn’t enough.
Apart from a couple of very stray passes early on I thought Shotton had a very steady game at right back. Best of the back 4 for me. Not at fault for their goal as I think he was 1 v 2 with Albert (who else) overlapping and putting the ball over for their goal.
Thought Bamford and Traore were an improvement on who they replaced in terms of effort, with Traore showing a bit of game awareness especially when he covered back to easily dispossess the Vill sub who had broken clear.
Motm? Well the best of a poor lot to pick from would imo be Downing closely followed by Howson and Shotton.
Dawn of a new era? Afraid we’re still scrabbling about in the dark although we did seem to be a bit more organised.
Well that was not an auspicious start to TP’s reign. Another false dawn and a dose of reality for those supporters who think that this team/squad can get us into the play-off positions.
I have to agree though with RR in that we controlled the game in the first half with very little threat from Villa. However it was not the same in the second half and once more the biggest problem we have is up front. We created nothing yesterday, in fact less than under Mr Monk. Then of course came the usual match day gift from the sleepy defence and midfield.
We all knew what style of play TP was going to introduce, but considering the squad that we have and him being an experienced Manager, I did not think he would have changed to his system as dramatically as he did against Villa, a tweak here or there but not to that extent.
MFC and Mr Gibson now have a major problem. This squad is too big, we have all said that and now TP has said it requires trimming. True, but harder said than done.
I posted previously that we would be lucky to get half of what we paid for our recent signings, made all the more difficult by their bloated salaries.
Where will TP start?? Will he have an eye on bringing in a couple of new players, loanees being the most economical or will he think that in reality this squad is not good enough to get us into the play-offs and start looking to next season. That is not what SG will want I guess, he will be still grasping to the diminishing possibility of the play-offs.
However it was patently obvious yesterday that we do not have the players to suit TP’s method and system, in fact as RR said, Britt, Braithwaite and a number of other expensive purchases could be surplus to requirements. How are we going to be able afford to move on some of the players that TP will not want in the medium to long term??
During the first half when we had control of the game it was just long balls forward with very little inter passing. Lots of Hollywood balls from SD, but nothing with pace and none that were defence splitting. Lofted corners, lofted balls from 20 or so yards out, all defenders balls, which is why Bruce said it was a comfortable win.
We have very little pace apart from the enigma that is Adama, no creativity apart from the very inconsistent Braithwaite, in fact a very unbalanced squad to suit TP’s system. For me another similar Manager to Mr Monk would have been an easier option for transition. But the decision has been made and now we have to live with it for the next 18 months at least.
I do hope TP can make it work, but with this squad…..I very much doubt it.
As an aside, did anybody else wonder about the attendance only being quoted at 29000 something. We had that against Bolton, without the larger Villa support and less empty seats?? A trick of the light??
RR
Disagree with you about Fletcher. Imo what we don’t need is a player with potential who I’m afraid looks a bit of a wet lettuce to me, but players with experience especially at this level. Not saying Rudi is the answer but if Pulis is going to play a more direct way, it’s him over Fletcher for me.
Bang on about no one closing the keeper down until Paddy came on. They had an easy out ball for well over an hour which was all down to effort, or the lack of it.
My view on Fletcher is that he is a tall lad and can jump like Gestede for what value it brings but that he offers far more on the ground in terms of pace, ball control and all round awareness. Gestede is what he is whilst Fletcher may improve, right now I think that Fletcher is the better of the two.
It was interesting that taking to Alan Foggon yesterday he rates Gestede as being a seasoned pro and quite a handful for defenders to cope with.
He didn’t really see enough of Fletcher to compare…
I’d agree with the “seasoned pro” bit but thats about it for me I’m afraid, I still haven’t forgotten Swansea.
Not an entry into the New Year blessed by three points, at least I got half the score right in my prediction, I said Villa would score one. Pity we didn’t get the two.
Back to being a work-in-progress but at least we have a manager a manager who knows where he’s going and what he wants from the squad. I wonder if they’ll be in the gym at 6am.
Preston to come and it’ll be a hard game, but aren’t they all.
A happy New Year to everyone.
UTB,
John
PS, thank you for the report Redcar Red.
UTB,
John
Am I really reading that some posters are advocating moving Assombalonga on? Without his goals we would be down with Sunderland and Bolton.
It’s hardly his fault we have a midfield incapable of creating goal scoring opportunities.
Agreeing with you, GHW -to a degree. The issue of midfield creativity has been an issue for sometime. But, TP was banking on the big lads yesterday and they failed to beat Villa.
I believe the problem was down to a suitable team as a whole to pull off the Pulis promise. I think TP has a style in mind but only half the players to successfully action it. Hence he’s looking to lighten the squad AND bring in players that will fit.
He can’t do that overnight of course, but he does have the time being a new manager for the Boro. This suggests that the recruitment last summer wasa hodge podge of buys bought at a sprint with little rational behind it. This would explain GM not knowing his best team (maybe there isn’t one) and TP’s attempt at change which became a bit meh!
Then, we have Traore! The young man is a mercurial phenomenon fed on rocket fuel. Any manager or coach worth his salt could use Traore’s ability and frighten the death out of any team in any division in England never mind Europe. The problem as I see it is that there aren’t any coaches worth their salt, sad to say. They are all ‘systems’ men who shudder at the very first sight of an instinctive player.
Conclusion for me would be build the team around Adama as a no.10 or sell the lad and give him a chance at a club that can appreciate his genius. Yes, I did use the word ‘Genius’.
Happy New Year to all and to all a Happy New Year.*
*Best written wishes to be accompanied by the sound of firecrackers going off and colourful explosions seen in the sky 🙂
You should have seen Traore run back to make the challenge
Live it’s the most exciting run I’ve ever seen amd he saved a certain goal
The thing is it’s like a lot of centre forwards
All he does is score goals !
AV said on video that he thought the partnership up front was working ok in the first half but the second half it disintegrated
Time on the training pitch and they are already having double sessions !
It’s what they need because they have underperformed up to now
Many thanks to Redcar Red for a match report far more entertaining than what it deserved – the game itself reminded me a little of when Monk went back to basics about six weeks ago and returned to a more Karankesque safety first approach after the team had been conceding bad goals.
I was actually pondering yesterday evening whether a Monk team buoyed by successive victories against the Owls and the Trotters would maybe have seen off Villa as they looked a bit hesitant in the first half.
The timing of Monk’s departure with three games to play in a week was always going to pose problems for anyone in charge and perhaps if the chairman had waited Boro could have picked up the points – However, that would have probably scuppered any plany to dismiss Monk and bring in Pulis. Gibson couldn’t have justified giving Monk the sack on the back of two or more successive wins and it’s possible if he’d waited even one more game he’d be snookered.
I guess we’ll never know but now it’s likely to be more upheaval and hoping this time it produces results – though maybe it’s going to be no more than 50-50 that Boro can re-adjust quickly enough to not have too much catch-up to play.
The general concensus around the club and in the stands was positive and one of optimism
I think what Boro lacked was a strong leader to pull it all together and now they have one
PS have sent you another file
OFB
Thanks for another well written and accurate report RR which I enjoyed reading more than I did watching the match!
I just wonder if TP is trying to do too much too quickly and we could end up being victims out of our own making.
I posted earlier that I believed TP only needed to undertake a bit of tweaking here and there to get the team firing on all cylinders. Instead we had both full backs changed, a switch to effectively a four/four/two, Bamford benched and Gestede upfront with Britt, none of which worked. Both full backs were involved in the Villa goal, as RR said, Downing and Shotton gave Albert too much space and Friend got caught between two attackers.
I don’t agree with OFB that Friend should be dispensed with as I believe that whilst he is not at his best as he is still ring rusty after his injury and needs more game time. If we are to persist with GF and RS at full back then they need to improve the quality of their ball delivery into the box.
We are still not moving the ball quickly enough and some of the crossing/passes were diabolical. This has been a feature going back to AK’s days when he himself said “when we play in our way” ie with a high tempo then we will win games.
I am not sure about Braithwaite, where exactly is he playing? He is not an out and out winger and as such tends to drift into the middle which then reduces the space available and enables the opposition to close us down more easily or to intercept attempted through balls.
As far as GL is concerned, I was a bit surprised by OFB comments but can understand where he is coming from. That being said, if we are to move him on then who do we have to replace him or who can we recruit that would provide the speed and creativity that is required in midfield?
If TP thinks the squad is too large and intends moving players on during the January window then he will need to make sure the ones that remain are up to the task or I see the play offs passing us by.
At the risk of incurring Spartakboro’s wrath and receiving a riposte, I would counter that numerous coaches have been involved with Adama since he joined the footballing fraternity and none, to date, including Steve Bruce, have been able to turn him into a footballer.
He is without doubt the fastest player I have seen but he lacks positional awareness, more often than not fails to produce an end product and I do not believe all the coaching in the world will correct those issues. If the rumours about offers for him pre-season were correct then we missed an opportunity to cash in. He is, to my mind, a depreciating asset and the sooner we move him on the better.
I have purchased my match pass for Preston but have not done so with any thoughts of a win, more likely a war of attrition where me might just snatch a point.
KP
Call me naieve (yes, I heard that!) but Traore needs a team built around his instinctive skill set NOT a coach who will mould him to fit the team. And there lies the problem. I reckon he’d make a great, yes I did say great striker in similar vein to Ian Wright/Jamie Vardy. Just a touch if mindset coaching for when he reaches the 18 yrd box pre-game and it would simply be a case of light the blue touch paper and watch the rocket take off – unfortunately the ‘systems’ men have their heads in boxes so they can’t/ won’t allow themselves to push the known boundaries. I think it’s the fear factor. Too many uncontrolable variables for them to consider.
Finally, how old is Adama? Quite young no? Yet, so many want to right him off – that saddens me.
Right means write 🙂
Started off on the Glenfiddich a bit early today lol.
The problem that I have with George is that he has been making a lot of mistakes lately that could amd have proved costly
I know TP likes him as he has tried to buy him in the past but In my view he hasn’t been the same player for the past two seasons
Regarding Grant I think this whilst he played some good diagonal passes yesterday his play can be a bit one dimensional and we are lacking someone who can play a killer pass
I’m sure that we could still get money for Grant and freeing up wages for another player on loan
Baker has to go he’s too lightweight for a battle in the Championship likewise Johnson
We’ve made some bad buys and short term we may have to keep them I see we are interested in a Dutch Left Winger ,who is surprise surprise also wanted by West Brom!
Although some have wondered about the big changes made I think they were necessary
The other point that has be made on this blog is Ben is not the player that he was and has been dreadful
RR,
Thanks, as ever, for an excellent report.
Kind of agree with Spartak and his view of Traore in as much as he needs a bit of one to one coaching when he reaches the opposition 18 yard box.
GHW
Brit seems to be one of those strikers who doesn’t do much apart from score goals, if he fails to score he contributes little and his previous 2 outings seem to point that way. As for selling him absolutely not. He may imo need to up his work rate and contribute more to the team but in this league he is a proven goal scorer. Something we will need in the New Year.
I think Britt is not dissimilar to the Rhodes conundrum. If the Manger has a set inflexible methodology that will be adhered to regardless then that means the players must fit that methodology not the methodology fitting the Players. The latter of which I think is what GM was trying to do but couldn’t figure out what methodology best suited his squad due to having too many toys to play with. Less is more as the saying goes.
Britt has proven goalscoring ability but offers little else, we either play a way that maximises that undoubted potency or do what ultimately happened to Rhodes. Both are great goal scorers at this level but neither fit with the Manager’s system. For me if we are going to play with defending Right and Left Backs rather than Wing Backs then that could give us more potential to play with creative wide players providing ammunition to the forwards. The ammunition of course is likely to be high balls into the box whilst Britt operates better with slide rule passes to latch onto. He can head the ball but isn’t the battering Colossus to out jump opposition CB’s with balls lumped up to him.
Gestede I’m afraid isn’t good enough to be that Colossus either. He can jump with the best of them but deft flicks and accuracy is something that I’m yet to witness from him in a Boro shirt. So in short I don’t think our front end at the moment fits with TP’s long term plan. You can’t make a Silk Purse out of a Pigs Ear so I would hope that he looks carefully at what he does have available and plays to strengths rather than blindly sticking to a fixed game plan at least until January and he can maybe ship out and bring in what he requires.
On Friend I thought he done OK yesterday. The problems for me are CB’s being dragged out of position because of a lack of Midfield defensive cover when out of possession which wasn’t the case under AK. With Christie and Fabio they kept letting opponents get past them and fire balls in and lose them at the far post. With Shotton and Friend I believe the intent is to stop that happening and largely worked up until Villa applied pressure in the build up to their goal and we seemed to lose concentration and focus. Friend in all that was merely symptomatic rather than the cause.
As we have a striker who only scores goals, how about we buy a creative midfielder who only creates?
We can back them up with defenders who defend, wide men who cross the ball from wide positions, and a goalkeeper who makes saves.
Cattermole?
He’s ageing now in football playin terms. He can be an effective playmaker. He had a problem with alcohol, s I’ve read – is he over that?
TP would be a man manager to be able to sort that kind of issue, but he would also know whether it is too serious to spend too much time on and perhaps poison the rest of the squad dynamic. Still, I think TP is going to rely on his heavy duty systems approach, so creativity will give way to long throws and set pieces. Argument for a creative player/play maker null and void.
GHW……Not under TP, He doe not do out and out wingers that get to the by-line. He uses long throwing FB’s for that.
If only it were that simple in the real world.
I see Alex Pritchard is back fit and playing again. Would be a good signing for us.
Fully agree about Pritchard, the lad can create, score and makes things happen but then again thats what we bought Howson for who at this level is more experienced and proven (in theory) and I’m guessing who he replaced at Norwich. Overall I’d still go for him but we need to ship out a few first.
RR, I do believe that Howson is improving and getting to be more influential. But overall we are still too weak in that area.
Yesterday, the four in that line, he was the most effective. SD flatters to deceive, Grant still has the passion but not the legs, Braithwaite the skill, but not consistently. Midfield is an area for a priority player to be brought in.
Traore tracking back at 100mph
t.co/nyfqqN5NdQ
Apologies to Werder and RR for not saying earlier, thanks for two well scripted articles.
The loss against Villa by-passed them a little. Sorry.
Thanks Pedro, but such is the hectic fixture programme over the festive period that even my articles have almost passed me by too – I sat down yesterday evening after posting up RR’s report and finishing kitchen duties ready to watch the football and suddenly realised there’s another game on Monday and Sunday evening is the new year celebrations with friends coming over and probably won’t be in bed before 2.00am.
Anyway, I started writing the preview for Preston while watching MOTD and finished it off this morning – I’ll post it up in a few hours before dinner and then we’re into another year!
BTW Thanks too to FAA and Boro Becky’s Dad for their earlier comments
Pedro
Under Pulis, Stoke used Ethrington on the left and Pennant on the right, not always at the same time. Their roles were to get down the touch line, turn the defence and put in crosses for the likes of Crouch.
The key to the approach is getting the defenders facing their own goal, harder to defend the cross.
Ian your second paragraph says it all.
The majority of our balls were floaters from outside the 18 yard box, and not from the by-line either. SD was the most guilty.
Ian
That approach is in contrast to yesterday when simple balls were being hoofed up to Gestede. Fast tricky wingers zipping past defenders and cutting back to cross from the byline for Gestede to head towards goal instead of flick ons mat be a different prospect. Whatever TP decides on its pretty unanimous on here that the supply, both quality and lack of it to the Strikers is the key. Maybe Traore has finally found his Manager, I can certainly see Adama becoming Boro’s Pennant (minus the tag hopefully).
I for one will be glad to see the back of 2017 which has not been a good year for MFC. During the calendar year out of 44 league matches we have won 12, drew 12 and lost 20, so have collected 48 points out of a possible 132. Here is hoping that 2018 is a better year for MFC.
Wishing everyone a happy, prosperous new year with good health.
Come on BORO.
My post at 5:47 was a reply to GHW and not a random sentence. Sausage fingers strike again!
Had a quick look at the MFC website and you can watch the full 90 minutes of yesterday or go for the 10 minute highlights.
Personally I’d rather do naked Field Gunning, (if you don’t know what I’m on about Google RN Field Gun Run), than watch that turgid excuse for football. And just where they managed to squeeze out 10 minutes of highlights is beyond me.
In case I don’t come back to the blog before midnight, a happy and safe New Year to all.
My dear friends on the Dias Boro site , may I wish you a Happy, Healthy, New Year.
As they say in Scotland ‘ Lang mae yair Lum Reek ‘
Just posted up next year’s match preview before I drink another beer and forget – here’s hoping for a better 2018 for Boro than 2017 and let’s see what lies ahead in the unpredictable world of football…
https://diasboro.club/2017/12/31/champpionship-preston-vs-boro/
I may be back later but I will take this occasion to thank Werder for providing my virtual Navi that looked doomed last January, for all his hard work that Mrs Werder must be baffled, she must think he has bats in his belfry. The amusing and researched articles are a pleasure.
Many thanks to Redcar Red for his great reports – many a professional journalist would be pleased to pen them. I take that back because they don’t start with ‘under the grey clouds looking across industrial Teeside’ and they actually describe the football rather than cut and paste cliches. Something for RR to work on, not!
To Simon for his talking points and ability to remind us of what we said in the past – gulp.
To OFB for his insights and the new addition of interviews. His nuggets are better than any the Gazette gave us.
And in the words of Leonard Sachs to the audience ‘mostly for yourselves’. The list is too long to mention but many have been around the blog for many years who I knew in my past such as Len and Clive, others such as GHW and Forever have been here, well, forever. Ken with his poetry, Jarkko and BoroPhil for endless positivity.
There are too many more to mention but that doesn’t mean you are not appreciated.
Happy New Year
And exmill for his challenges but I cant keep going.
Great Piece Again Werder
I don’t know how you fit it all in but it’s much appreciated
Hope Mrs Werder doesn’t get to know how much time you spend on this !
Let’s be positive and have a good second part of the season and promotion !
OFB
Or also known as Jarkko 2 !