| Queens Park Rangers | Middlesbrough | ||
| Ayala Friend Adama |
24′ 34′ 85′ |
||
| Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
58% 13 2 3 11 |
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
42% 12 5 2 7 |
Road Runner Rips Rangers apart!
With QPR creeping back into some sort of form and now looking for three wins on the bounce after having recorded just a singular defeat in the last six games, this afternoon wasn’t going to be a walk in the “Park” against resurgent Rangers by any means. The Hoops seem to be getting their act together post-Christmas after a disappointing start to the season under TP’S old mate Ian Holloway. Safe to say that Holloway will have been well prepared for the style to be expected from a Pulis side but whether or not they could cope with Adama Traore’s pace and trickery infused in such a set up will have been the biggest question on the minds of both sets of fans before KO. With stories of a few Boro players being struck down this week by the Flu virus which now seems omnipresent across Teesside the hope was that our key players were fully fighting fit.
After his piece in the Gazette this week it’s clear that old boy Alex Baptiste won’t have had a good night’s sleep last night and will have warned his teammates what to expect from the revitalised speed merchant. That concern hopefully will have raised some Rangers doubts and worries including Ian Holloway who knew he would be facing a tightly drilled backline but a lightning quick player who if paired correctly with a Boro Strike force could make all the difference in what was expected to be a tight affair.
The team announcements saw Holloway unsurprisingly go with “same again” meaning Baptiste on the bench thereby avoiding “trial by Traore” and Tony Pulis seemingly acknowledging the lack of attempts on target over the last two games dropping Gestede and Braithwaite to the bench with Britt and Paddy given starts and hopefully an opportunity for them both to impress their new Boss. The Boro bench seemed very top heavy with forward players, Gestede, Fletcher, Johnson and Braithwaite all in reserve which perhaps indicated that TP maybe wants to take a look at as many bodies as possible depending on how the game panned out, or conversely that was perhaps all that remained fit after a Flu virus this week at Rockliffe.
The game started with Paddy and Traore on the flanks with Stewy central behind Britt leading the line. QPR were much the livelier in the opening five minutes with Boro looking edgy and scrappy and a weak pass from Friend allowed Robinson to unleash a screamer which saw Randolph flying to see the ball fortunately go just wide. The next five minutes didn’t see much progress for Boro apart from a Stewy cross and a Traore won free kick which came to nothing. The rain sodden Loftus Road pitch seemed to suit the home side far more than Boro as we struggled to build from the back with George guilty of a few poor balls.
Shotton won the ball and set up Boro’s best move to date in the game involving Stewy and Grant to set Traore on a run but his shot didn’t quite match the quality of the build-up play. TP clearly recognised that his side needed a shuffle and switched flanks between Paddy and Adama early on in an effort to find a breakthrough. Traore was looking lively but Paddy was yet to make an impression in the game with Britt limited to little to no service. A Traore/Shotton combo then saw Traore attempt to shoot but cut back and ending with a Stewy shot deflected over for a corner. Grant took the corner and as the ball sailed across the box via a Gibson flick on, unmarked Dani Ayala powered in with a trademark far post header to open the scoring on 24 minutes.
A minute or so later QPR won a corner in an effort to restore the balance from which Traore and Downing immediately broke attempting to add a second as Rangers vulnerably opened up attempting to get back into the game. Another Boro corner saw the ball bobble around the QPR box as Boro had now well and truly found their feet in the game. Traore was on fire and Friend who had previously looked anxious was now back to his nut-megging best. Incredible what a goal does for confidence as the Boro fans chorused “shall we sing a song for you”?
Boro appeared to have been working on set pieces in training as we were witnessing far more thought, planning and creativity than of late, in fact for a very long time indeed. Boro were bossing the game, Stewy set George free, he drifted in from the left flank and let fly a 25 yard screamer which may qualify for goal of the season. The ball had been switched from the opposite flank by Howson via Downing centrally finding our flying LB who routinely rounds players for fun but inevitable always scuffs his final goal bound effort. He more than made up for his nervy start with this cracker just ten minutes after Ayala’s goal, Defenders 2- Strikers 0!
George’s strike initially seemed to me to swerve or perhaps even glance off Britt’s back en route. Britt himself had a half-hearted penalty appeal moments later which would have been harsh on Rangers just to let his Manager know that he was hungry but this game was all about our defenders along with Stewy, Howson, Grant and of course Traore.
In another spectacular Traore run he just about destroyed the entire QPR side on his own feeding Bamford who unfortunately had just strayed off side just before his finish hit the back of the net. QPR looked to be on the ropes with Boro strutting their stuff looking the far more likely to net again. A Conor Washington chance saw Randolph smother the danger just before half time as a warning to Boro to keep their focus. The half time whistle went much to the relief of Holloway and the home fans. Ayala had been imperious, Gibson looking far more confident, Howson and Grant making things tick, Stewy was everywhere as he seemed to have a permit to roam but Traore was breathtaking.
The second half saw QPR switch to four at the back from three CB’s and started the half fired up with Smith and Bright also being sent on for Bidwell and the ineffective Oteh. Matt Smith had the home fans screaming for a penalty minutes after the restart as the big unit went down in the box challenging Randolph. Holloway had obviously fired his troops up during the half time team talk as they pushed hard to get a goal and get themselves back into this game. Traore tracked back, rescued us and then via Howson and Stewy we went forward but Adama had sprinted back up the pitch looking to receive the ball again in an incredible sprint which left an astonished Stewy no time to react and find him.
Matt Smith went down in the box once more as he ran into a Boro defender as desperate penalty screams again echoed around Loftus Road. Traore again broke seconds later and a despairing Robinson cynically clattered into the back of our speed machine as a third goal would have ended this as a contest. Rangers were fighting to get back into this but Boro were defending defiantly and picking them off with quick breaks and forays. A long Shotton throw in inside the Boro half was headed backwards by a Rangers player only for a grateful Britt to collect, cross for a Stewy strike which then stung the back of a Rangers defender deflecting wide in the process.
A free Matt Smith header from a corner under pressure from Bamford thankfully saw the ball fly over Randolph’s bar, a warning if ever one was needed. Just after that Smith header Assombalonga was replaced by Gestede as TP decided to give the Queens Park Rangers back four a different proposition to deal with and I suspect also someone to give Smith an aerial challenge when defending set pieces. A few minutes later Clayton was then brought on for Bamford who had chased and ran but it hadn’t been his best game in a Boro shirt and had looked a little rusty in parts but still received a good appreciation for his efforts from the travelling army. Downing went wide left as Clayton stepped in alongside Grant, Howson had pushed up just a little bit as TP decided to tighten things up for the remaining quarter hour.
The tempo of the game was dipping; Boro defended what they had, QPR were slowly running out of ideas whilst TP was urging his troops to push out thus avoiding the mistake at home to Fulham. Another Boro attack courtesy of Howson bringing it out of the defence saw Gestede played in who rounded and slid the ball under the keeper only to see it cleared off the line. Matt Smith in the next phase of play saw him pathetically go down yet again but the Ref was having none of it, probably realising that for a big bloke he seemed to be pushed over far too easily. Joel Lynch then had a good chance for QPR but saw his strike saved by Randolph who had been in great form all afternoon. Like a bagatelle the ball was then down the other end of the pitch again but Gestede had a gilt edged header cleared by Smithies.
In a sublime “I was there” moment to linger in Boro recent history, Adama “hooked” an overhead one two with Rudy, set off on a run and deservedly scored his first Boro league goal sliding the ball past a despairing Smithies as just reward for his afternoons efforts. The jubilations of the Boro players on the pitch matched those in front of the travelling Boro fans as he was simply swamped in a sea of joyous Red shirts. With only three minutes of normal time remaining Cyrus Christie was given a brief run out on the flank with Stewy making way to rapturous applause that still hadn’t died down from Adama’s goal.
There could only be Adama for MOM but George’s strike was awesome, Ayala was brilliant, Howson influential alongside Grant but the day belonged to Adama. A special mention has to go to TP and Dave Kemp who are shaping and organising this Boro side in stark contrast to the first half of the season in what was the best and most complete performance since their arrival. Today was about a full 90 minute performance and not just a 45 minute offering of intent. That all changing “corner” is perhaps coming in to view and in all honesty there has been very little of the “Hoof ball” in evidence, far from it.
Pulis hopes Boro show their class
at old-school reunion with Holloway
Boro travel to Loftus Road on Saturday as Tony Pulis looks to get his somewhat stuttering start to his managerial reign back on the right track after suffering two home defeats in his opening three Championship games. The Boro manager goes head-to-head with close friend Ian Holloway and fellow exponent of old-school methods, where neither man will be expecting favours on the pitch as they try to outwit each other. However, I suspect the problem both men face is that they will know each other too well to tactically out-manoeuvre each other and the game may boil down to which of the players can perform on the day.
Many Boro supporters called foul last week with claims that Boro were undone by two blatant penalty decisions being called the wrong way by a former Sunderland season-ticket holding referee with a motive, no alibi and several thousand witnesses – though there are no proven suggestions of impropriety on his behalf and unless a different kind of whistle blower comes forward then it will be put down to just bad officiating. However, it is reassuring to know that the man in charge at QPR is Oliver Langford from the West Midlands with no known club allegiances (other than rumours of a red and white striped pajamas under his pillow) – nevertheless, his record in 17 Championship games includes eight penalties awarded and just two red cards so it may offer some opportunities for post-match scapegoating.
Perhaps the real culprit against Fulham was inability of Boro’s forwards to take their chances in front of goal, particularly Rudy Gestede. Whilst the big Benin forward has his strengths, most notably being big, he does in theory offer more for a Tony Pulis style of play in terms of holding the ball and bring others into play than the other options available. Following Saturday’s disappointment, there were even some noises that Gestede may be considering a career change after he started being referred to as ‘fifty pence’ – though before heading to Twitter to announce a future as a rapper awaited, it later transpired it was a name given to him by those who questioned the shape of his head following the random nature of his attempts to find his team-mates with his aerial prowess.
The penny eventually dropped that being confused with the rapper 50 Cent was a mistake easily made in the devalued currency of social media rumours – nevertheless, while his American counterpart famously survived an attack from a former bodyguard of Mike Tyson’s after being shot nine times at point-blank range, I’d be grateful to people with more time on their hands than me to discover if Googling ‘having nine shots hit the target’ is something that returns the result ‘Rudy Gestede’ on the first 20,000 pages. Still, he’s probably not the first Boro striker to be confused with a rapper – remember Eminemnes who arrived straight outta Rotterdam, plus who were the alter egos of the likes of Row-Z, Kanye Shoot and The Notorious B.I.G. Lump that all took the rap up front as they tried to keep it real – though seldom in the Madrid sense.
| Queens Park Rangers | Middlesbrough | ||
| Ian Holloway | Tony Pulis | ||
| P27 – W8 – D9 – L10 – F28 – A23 | P27 – W12 – D5 – L10 – F35 – A27 | ||
| Position Points Points per game Projected points |
14th 33 1.2 56 |
Position Points Points per game Projected points |
9th 41 1.5 70 |
| Last 6 Games Burton (A) Cardiff (H) Millwall (A) Ipswich (A) Bristol City (H) Birmingham (A) |
F-T (H-T) 3:1 (1:1) W 2:1 (0:0) W 0:1 (0:0) L 0:0 (0:0) D 1:1 (1:0) D 2:1 (1:0) W |
Last 6 Games Fulham (H) Preston (A) Aston Villa (H) Bolton (H) Sheff Wed (A) Millwalll (A) |
F-T (H-T) 0:1 (0:0) L 3:2 (1:2) W 0:1 (0:0) L 2:0 (0:0) W 2:1 (0:1) W 1:2 (0:2) L |
QPR currently sit 5th in the form table over the last six games and 15th over the last ten, which may indicate they are an improving side under Ian Holloway. Whereas Boro are 10th in both the six and ten game form table, which probably indicates we’ve been consistently average in our performances and indeed we only sit one place above 10th after 27 games thanks to goal difference. This is the problem facing Tony Pulis, he needs to create a team that can win two out of every three games that remain just to make the play-offs – 2 points per game will now yield just 79 points, which is one less than Fulham achieved last season to make sixth spot. As for those still fantasizing about automatic promotion, well winning 16 of the remaining games may just about do it with 89 points – perhaps better make it 17 wins just to make sure.
The game on Saturday renews old acquaintances between Tony Pulis and Ian Holloway, who first met up in the Bristol Rovers youth team and have remained close friends ever since. Pulis recalls their days of being subject to strict discipline as young players and the task of cleaning the boots of the senior players was designed to keep them grounded. He viewed their days at Rovers as being instrumental in shaping their outlook “We learned our trade at a football club with really, really good people, who had old-fashioned values,” before adding “I truly believe that it’s because of the way we were brought up back then that we have managed to go on and achieve what we have done in the game”.
This was in the days before many young footballers arrived on the scene expecting to be treated as up-and-coming stars of the future, where a sense of entitlement has developed over the years to the point where it’s not unusual for young players to become millionaires before they’ve even nailed down a place in the team. The pay of course back then was no different to those apprentices who stood on the terraces – though recent concerns of having too much too young lead to clubs like Liverpool announcing a few years ago that they aimed to cap the wages of their under-17s at £40,000 for the first year of their contract, presumably so they’ll learn the lesson of hardship like all the other 16-year olds on Merseyside subject to the £4.20 an hour minimum wage.
It was actually Ian Holloway who recommended Tony Pulis for the Crystal Palace job after he quit as manager of the Eagles claiming he was exhausted after only 5 days off all year and had lost elements of the dressing room, mainly the new arrivals who hadn’t bought into his methods as the club dropped to second-bottom in the Premier League following promotion five months earlier. At a press conference when Holloway was unveiled as Millwall’s new manager a few months later he was asked if he still had his house in London and replied that Pulis had subsequently moved into it instead: “I had a flat in Langley Waterside in Beckenham and Tony has moved right in. I am not sure if he has got my old car, but he’s not having my woman, I can tell you that!” – though he quickly added “he’s got his own [woman]” before the gathered tabloid hacks started getting ideas from his old-school banter.
Holloway has always been good value for the media looking to fill column inches and he claimed: “If I had a fair crack at being a Premier League manager with a budget as good as some of these managers, I could do that. But I’m going to have to get there first – I’m not one of these foreign fellas who gets a job because he’s known Jose Mourinho for 10 minutes. I’m not being funny, but that normally gets you a foot in the door, doesn’t it?” It’s not entirely sure who he was talking about but he added “I did try to go to Jose’s training ground just to say, ‘I spoke to him once’,” but he claimed the special one only said ‘Get out of my way!’ – though given Mourinho’s recent spat with Antonio Conte he appears to be less old school and more kindergarten in his managerial approach.
With almost three weeks of the transfer window having now passed, Tony Pulis has managed to move out his first significant player with the £4.5m transfer of Adam Forshaw to Leeds. The midfielder had been seldom seen this campaign and it appears it won’t have any significant impact on the available options open to the manager. However, there were rumours Forshaw’s move to Leeds almost hit a snag when it was discovered during the medical that he may have dominant peripheral vision syndrome – a disorder that leaves sufferers prone to only see what is happening on their extreme left and right, which usually manifests itself in footballers by causing a propensity to only make sideways passes. There was perhaps a legitimate concern that the condition may be contagious and the West Yorkshire club were possibly minded to contact Boro to determine whether any other players who’ve played alongside him have displayed similar symptoms. Anecdotal evidence suggest there may have been quite a few outbreaks in recent years, though thankfully the visual impairment can be treated if caught early enough. Forward-looking therapy has been shown to reduce the symptoms quite considerably but it’s often a long and arduous process with the risk of relapse when placed under pressure.
The potential £4.5m fee of Forshaw has set a benchmark in terms of valuation for those still coveting other Boro players and it’s probably put Adam Clayton beyond the reach of former boss Aitor Karanka, who this week denied Forest had made a derisory offer of just £2m for the Boro midfielder. We shouldn’t forget that value should also be viewed in terms of what appears to be an inflationary marketplace and whilst making a profit on a player may tempt sales, replacements will undoubtedly not come at bargain prices in January either. Interestingly, Boro have not utilised the loan market to any significant effect this season, particuarly since in previous years they had represented quite proportion of regular first-teamers. Surely some of the bloated Premier League squads must possess players who are capable of doing a more than a bench-warming job for Boro – particularly at the sharp end where for all the money spent in the summer it hasn’t made the team looking any more of a goal-scoring threat. Also out of the picture this season is Marcus Tavernier, who joined MK Dons on loan – many had expected the young winger to build on his few appearances but perhaps he needs to be playing far more regularly at this point in time if he is to progress to a potential starter.
It remains to be seen whether Tony Pulis can mount a serious promotion challenge this season as he seems to downplay any thoughts that Boro will look to bring in any significant signings this January. At the moment the transfer window is being touted as a means to try and move on those players surplus to requirement in the eyes of the new boss and unless the club are secretly plotting behind the scenes, there has been little to indicate the arrival of game-changing players in the ilk of Gaston Ramirez.
However, Monk was ejected and replaced by Pulis due to fears our promotion chances were slipping away and it would seem a meaningless exercise to then to regroup for next year on the back of such a decision. Perhaps the scale of the task in creating a balanced team has meant the new manager can’t get his ideas working properly on the pitch – though it’s still early days despite the two home defeats that only yielded a single shot on target. It may now be a case of muddling through and trying to just pick up points and hope Boro finish as one of the best six teams – defeat against the Hoops may mean needing to jump through them to achieve that goal.
So will Boro players be top of the class at the old-school reunion on Saturday? Or will Tony’s team fail to make the grade to leave some players facing detention after the game? As usually your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus which players will be facing the threat of being expelled in January?
I have two tickets this weekend. One for QPR vs Boro. And the other for Young Frankenstein at the Garrick theatre. I hope only one serves up Comedy Horror!
Super Hoops 1 Basket Cases 0
Kudos Werder, you just get better and better.
Many thanks GHW – though they seem to be getting harder to write.
Sat in an airport departure lounge in the middle of Germany right now with a large glass of pilsner reading Werder’s pre match warm up and if TP’s charges perform half as well we will come away with all three points.
Therein lies the rub. Half,or 1/2 be it pilsner or TP’s Boro it just doesn’t fulfill for some reason. Perhaps if they were on performance related pay SG could save a 45 minute fortune and TP maybe wouldn’t need to look at the loan market.
Bearing in mind our “difficult” home record of late I’m going for a 1-2 to Boro with 14,368 subdued Londoners outsung and out supported by the travelling army.
Thanks RR – is your glass half-full or half-empty? Have safe flight home!
The third is now half empty but strangely enough feel very optimistic about tomorrow. Looking forward to it, must be all this super strength Pulisner I’m Downing copious amounts of.
Marvellous read Werder. Many thanks.
QPR 2-3 Boro was one of my fondest memories of the AK era – and I didn’t even see the game!
I was out reviewing an excellent production of Dido & Aeneas that night. I switched the phone off entirely during the production because (1) I was on duty and (2) with Boro’s promotion on a knife-edge, I didn’t need the nerves.
When I reached the car, turned the phone on and saw the score my heart lept. It was then a case of putting the phone down, counting to three and screaming a massive “YES!” Del and Rodney style.
The second win of six in a row. Might have been seven but for a certain Michael Keane but c’est la vie.
(Burnley celebrated that equaliser like it was the second coming because they knew they’d stopped us in our tracks again. It was a case of scraping over the line from here on in. Although, in fairness, Brum aside we never went behind, and we knew all we needed was a point v Brighton before the game began. Scraping or not, promotion is promotion is promotion…)
Excellent read Werder. I particularly liked the rapper RowZ. I’m going to brood a bit longer before predicting the wrong score.
UTB,
John
👀
OFB,
Wasn’t it the Daily Mirror that had a comic strip in called The Perishers? Every year the went on holiday and the two kids gazed into a rock pool and the two crabs that lived in there used to say ‘the eyes in the sky are back’.
Don’t know where that came from, well somewhere in the memory I suppose.
I think QPR 1 – 1 Boro or, alternatively Hoops 1 – 1 Band.
UTB,
John
John
You’re right it was the Mirror I used to read it when I was a kid
It was wellington who looked into the pool and the crabs said
“The eyeballs in the sky”
OFB
Oh and Marlon and Maisy and baby Grumpling !
It was the best thing in the paper. Always looked forward to the crabs and the holiday rock pool stuff.
Thanks OFB, my memory let me down on Wellington. I have some annuals somewhere in the loft but that will take months to find!
UTB,
John
Another good article by Werdermouth, although the references to rappers are above my comprehension. It must be getting increasingly difficult to continue writing previews week after week. I know from experience the research that goes into producing articles, especially for someone who unlike me has a full time job, so it must be a labour of love for Werdermouth.
As for my memories of the Daily Mirror comic strips, they go back to the immediate post war years with likes of Garth, Ruggles and of course Jane who usually was shown in a state of undress (a forces sweetheart to match Betty Grable). All the cartoons were shown on the right hand side of a page that included thoughts of a pair called ‘The Old Codgers’. As a child I often wondered what in fact an Old Codger was; well I DO KNOW NOW!
Thanks Ken – Don’t worry about not being up on your rappers I don’t know many 80-year olds into Hip hop (more likely just hip op). I tried to stick to the most widely known rappers but for your benefit (and others) I can briefly fill you in that:
– Eminemnes… was of course Eminem (aka Marshall Mathers) and is probably the most famous white rapper – incidentally his mother once sued him for $10m claiming slander in one of his records, though she was only awarded $1,600 in the end.
– Straight outta Rotterdam… was a reference to the biographical gangsta rap movie ‘Straight outta Compton’
– Row-Z… was the famous Jay-Z (Jay-Zee) and is the husband of Beyoncé
– Kanye Shoot… was naturally Kanye West and is married to Kim Kardashian and is one of the biggest selling artists of the 21st century
– The Notorious B.I.G. Lump… refers to The Notorious B.I.G. himself or ‘Biggie Smalls’ who sadly was a New York rapper who was shot dead at 24 in a drive-by shooting
Ken,
Jane always seemed to be wearing suspenders, stockings and French, er, knickers. I was very impressionable. Come to think of it I still am. Or want to be. Medication nurse.
UTb,
John
Here’s a list of the strikers signed by Tony Pulis during his time with Stoke and West Brom;
Sidibe 6ft 4”, Fuller 6ft 3”, Kitson 6ft 3”, Beattie 6ft 1”, Kenwyne Jones 6ft 2”, John Carew 6ft 5”, Peter Crouch 6ft 7”, Rondon 6ft 1”, Lambert 6ft 2”, Rodriguez 6ft 1” and Zhang 6ft 1”.
The attributes and commonalities are obvious, without exception and set in stone over a 10 year period so it’s safe to say he’s not going to change his approach any time soon. A lot of those buys were club records and big money at the time; £8m for Jones, £10m for Crouch, £12m for Rondon and £13m for Rodriguez, so he sees a big man as his main priority and builds around him. Britt is 5ft 9” by the way. There’s some decent performers in there so he can spot a big man. However, he did pay £6.5m for Zhang, his last big man buy, a 20yr old from China whom he immediately loaned out so maybe he can come here on loan and be Dong Gook II, erm, maybe not.
Nice bit of research
Billog
The thing about strikers(and a lot of other positions on the field) is that players who look to be Mr average from the stands are, in reality, 6Ft. 2in or more.
Interesting that you should record Brit as 5-9, with a poor leap, does not leave a lot of hope for headers on goal. Which is being born out on a weekly basis.
My biggest concern at the moment, is, are the majority of the squad motivated to get promotion,
I don’t see a team really putting everything in to win games,I see decent championship players do what they can, win some lose some most have been through it,
If we got promotion what happens to half of them?
We need an overall of the squad,we need young motivated talented ambitious players,alongside experienced players who are self motivated ,who demand the best out of themselves.
Why do the top players win things every season it’s because they have an inner strength that no matter what they have the will to compete over their opponent,
Where do you find them and that’s the thing, sometimes you find them playing in a poor team,they are still fighting when the team is 4 – 0 down.
Some find with a good eye , Maherez at Leicester was turned down at ST Mirren after a trial go figure.
They are out there some in full view ,others you have to dig them out .
I don’t have much faith in our scouting Dept but maybe TP knows that and things will change.
1 – 1 tomorrow.
COB
Greatness Werder truly Greatness is bestowed upon your writing !
PVS ❤️
Peripheral Vision Syndrome !
Am looking forward to my second game of the season tomorrow at Loftus Road.
I was there when we put five past them during the brief 90 minute highlight of Stricken’s reign,
The next time I visited we weren’t so flash, and we lost by a couple.
I expect a battle tomorrow and a two one victory for the visitors.
Interesting stats on the forwards heights. Does anyone know how tall Bamford is?
six foot one in old money, so not small.
One thing I will say about Bamford after every home game even if not in the squad he goes outside to all the fans and chats with them has a laugh, gets,photos taken with them and signs autographs. He is a really nice lad.
Yes I’ve seen him doing that before so does Ben Gibson
Six foot one reasons not to let hime go, then.
Another belter from Werder.
In the office and the internet is slow, it is provided by the company shows some of the premiership matches. An engineer came out a while ago and talked in Unwinese. Upshot of it was we shouldn’t reboot the hub.
Down it went again and we called up the techies who said have you tried rebooting?
I was tempted to put on my ageing football boots and Dickie Rooks the damn thing.
Back to the footie, it looks like it is as you were on recruitment, Pulis is right, no point bringing in players no better than we have.
I will in to the local supermarket and get some bottles, I wonder if RR’s Pulisner is available in Tesco?
I would be happy with a draw….
Brilliant piece Werder……….I can defiantly see how they get harder to write, as your standard is so amazingly high, something very difficult to achieve.
Just ask the Boro, who have failed miserably to achieve any consistency, other than being mainly poor.
TP has not had the new Manager bounce we all hoped for and I think tomorrow will be another disappointment for the travelling fans….which will I believe quite high. No prediction, but I cannot see us winning, a draw at the most and more or less ending our top six hopes.
Thanks again, Werder, for the Preview. A leisurely read at home as the weekend winks at me…… Smell of slightly smoked salmon and prawn stir fry gently wafting through from the kitchen….. Listening to BBCTees and the “farewell interview” with Adam Forshaw…..thinking of going to the Stabbed Stoat for a pint or three and maybe a peek at the Championship match on TV.
I hadn’t realised that Forshaw had been so inured that he needed treatment including epidurals to play in the second half of last season, so it is perhaps no surprise that, being so much less than 100%, his time at Boro will seem like a let-down. Clearly not his fault. I hope he does well, but hopefully not at Boro’s expense.
He might have become inured to his situation, but he was also INJURED !
I had to head out shortly after posting up the preview so I’m grateful to see on my return that many of you enjoyed reading the article – so to avoid filling up the comments section I’d just like say thanks – especially to Braveheart, John, OFB, Ian, Pedro and Dormo for their kind remarks – very much appreciated!
Another really interesting preview. I hadn’t realised that Ian Holloway and Tony Pulis were so close. It should suggest a pretty tight game. Big issue is to find some way to convert our possession and the good positions created into shots on target and goals. To be honest, we need a win and I’d be happy with a long throw going in off somebody’s backside.
Talking of old comics, one of my favourites was The Fosdyke saga. What a cracker that was. “Tripenstein. Sensitive enough to play in the concert halls of Europe and strong enough to knock them down afterwards” “Fang, the killer Pekinese”. Anyone else like this one?
Boro 1-0
UTB
Selwynoz
Agree. the strange thing is, it is possible to watch the last two home games and say, in each case,” not a bad display, we had them on the ropes for most of the match, they had no answer to Traore, we missed at least three chances, and it’s a pity that they chiselled out a goal from somewhere.
Later one realised that we certainly had three knock in’s(in both matches)
That we had made no attempt to put the ball in the net.
That they deliberately waited until the last ten minutes to park themselves in our goalmouth, and to try to scrape a goal from somewhere, and on both occasions it worked, one a dive to win an Olympic gold medal, the other an unguarded far post got it’s just deserts.
Have we any idea how to get plenty of shots on target?( on target is quite important)
Why not bring Bamford on to provide the ammunition?
Oh hang on he has !
Friendinho
Boro haven’t drawn a match since 14th October at Barnsley; nine wins and eight defeats including Cup matches, so I reckon this one has a draw written all over it. However, although I’d relish a win, in this instance I’m more concerned that Pools win tomorrow. So 1-1 Boro, and 2-1 for Pools.
Another great piece, Werder.
It compares well when put against the Gazette’s preview. Phil’s piece, posted yesterday afternoon, poses the questions
A) Is the Boro’s game on TV?
B) What time does it kick off?
C) What are the probable teams?
The answers are A) No
B) 3 o’ clock
C) Same as last week, except that Forshaw will be in the team.
Quite a scoop.
Look to your laurels, Werder.
Thanks Len – they’ve certainly set the bar at a height that has left me in limbo with that one. Though to be fair to the Gazette writers, they’re under pressure to produce quite a lot of content under their new model and the time involved in putting a lengthy article together is probably prohibitive and we now only occasionally see these type. It’s a different form of writing and I’d guess they’d probably like more time to get into subjects too.
There was a TV series of Jane, starring the delectable Glynis Barber, formerly of Blake’s 7, and latterly of Dempsey and Makepeace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBTQ-4FkCP0
Chris,
Back to the darkened room.
UTB,
John
The Boss has just asked what I was watching on the computer.
Came to see what it was, saw Glynis Barber and told me ‘that’s enough excitement for one day, find a live stream of QPR v Boro, calm down and get your blood pressure down’.
UTB,
John
Blake’s 7 used to be my favourite programme and I remember as a 15-year old rushing home to catch it from an after-school Computer Studies O-level course I’d signed up to.
I was an avid fan of Blake’s 7. The design of the technology Was fabulous. I suspect having a bunch of Shakespearean trained thesps on board give some possibly undeserved gravitas to the scripts.
Clive James hated it.
Captain Hurricane and “Raging Fury” comes to mind. With Maggot Malone of course.
And the Wolf of Kabul, with his trusty sidekick Chung and “Clicky-Ba”
Louis Crandell, The Steel Claw.
Plus Tim Kelly and The Eye of Zoltec.
The Victor, The Hornet, The Hotspur and The Valiant. Loved all those comics, Thursday couldn’t come round fast enough!
Oh, my God! I have regressed a good 48+ years….!
I remember them all. Capt Hurricane….. I think GHW must have been stalking my pile of comics. Good times. Simple and harmless times. How did we end up here??
And Battler Brittain ?
Don’t forget The Adventure.
UTB,
John
Werder re your review, I’ll just say “ditto” to everyone’s comments above.
Re the game today.
Let’s hope for a Comic Strip adventure as the Famous Five (plus five plus one) go on a Beano at Loftus Road. I look forward to our Valiant heroes performing like Tiger(s). A little Roy of the Rovers magic would just be Dandy for the Boro to be the Victor on the day. Its sure to be an Action packed Cracker in which our Boy’s Own the pitch and the rampant red Lion will soar like an Eagle to Smash! the Micky Mouse Weekly(s) in hoops before them, while 16,354 Londoner’s can only Marvel at the superheroes from just south of DC (that’s Durham County to you and me).
2-0 to the boys in red.
Great Piece!
As long as it’s not a Comic
Performance ……
Thanks Powmill – let’s hope Boro are up for the Battle and make a Valiant effort…
That would be a pretty Wizard result, Powmill.
Alf Tupper, tough of the track. Do a days work, eat fish and chips then run a four minute mile. the Victor was my favourite.
Elsewhere, I also liked the Broons and always got the Rupert annual.
Glynis Barber, sigh!
Ah, Rupert Bear, Bill Badger, Willie Mouse, et al. Didn’t like those terrible crafty twins Reggie and Rex Fox though.
Watched Derby against Bristol City last night.
There was an incident last night that would tax the VAR, One for the refs amongst us. Jerome was tackled in the area and made a huge meal out of it throwing his arms and head upwards and nearly dislocated his spine with the arch in his back.
The ref rightly booked him for simulation but here is the sting in the tail, he was actually fouled.
Is it possible to give a penalty and book him for simulation?
In rugby union I have seen referees give a penalty for an offence and then reverse the decision due to the reaction of the players.
Ian
It is possible to give the foul and penalty for the offence and note these words
“If In the opinion of the referee a player is guilty of ungentlemanly conduct then a caution shall be administered “
Which could of course make for interesting debate.
After your previous posts I suppose today’s match will have you in suspenders ?
OFB
So yes a penalty and a yellow card to the player fouled
Great preview Werder.
Not many old style managers left now, most are in the championship, Warnock and McCarthy spring to mind.
Looking forward to the game and the tactics of both managers.
Flat cap 1, baseball cap 3
Ayala, Traora and Grant
Thanks Old Billy – I suspect all the badges and courses that you need to be a qualified manager will tend to homogenise the style that many now adopt, particularly in the top two divisions.
Another masterpiece Werder. I am in awe of your talent.
As usual, I am hoping for a win but expect a draw at best.
Very kind of you Steely – much appreciated.
Another fine warm up article Werder – I did a LOL with the PVS line!
You really do put the professionals to shame and who needs the Gazette. I know you said it’s getting harder to write but no sign of writers block that I can see. I just hope that you don’t lie awake at night composing.
Anyway onto the match today. I suspect it will be a hard slog and not that pretty to watch or listen to. Mrs BBD has dictated that we need to go out this afternoon to look for stuff for a bathroom so I will be left having furtive looks on the phone.
The BBC stats will probably show 48% possession, 2 shots, 1 on target, 4 corners, 4 bookings and the final score 0 0.
I think TP will set us up to be defensively minded and try(try being the operative word) to get Them on the break. Always providing our players can keep up with Traore and get into the box and said Traore can get a good final ball in which Gestede doesn’t miss.
Wish I could be more optimistic but………… As others have said, it’s the hope that kills you and I am still hoping for Play off place.
Cheers BBD – thankfully some ideas still pop into my head at the last minute but having now previewed nearly all the Championship teams (plus all the PL ones last season) I now need to think a little harder on which angle to take.
Hotshot Hamish and Billy’s Boots were enjoyable in Tiger (?).
But I much preferred the sci-fi of 2000AD as a Saturday morning pre-match read.
Ro-busters, Strontium Dog and of course, Judge Dredd are brilliant and very British creations.
In a late 1980’s strip called Zenith, many of the Steel Claw era characters were ushered back to brief life to fight a multi-dimensional conspiracy.
2000AD was launched with a rebooted version of Dan Dare. My dad put me right on that one, and pointed me to the fabulous artwork of Frank Hampson. It’s glorious stuff.
2000AD was also my favourite comic of choice – great stories and as well as the ones you mentioned there was the story of the Volgan invasion and one that went back in time to dinosaurs I think – I used to have several hundred at home but I think they got chucked out when my parents did a clear out. 🙁
The Volgan story was Invasion, whose hero Bill Savage was drawn to resemble Stanley Baker, of Zulu fame.
The first episode had the PM Margaret Thatcher being shot on the steps of St Paul’s cathedral, but was airbrushed before publication to a generic hostage to avoid offending anyone.
The dinosaur story was Flesh.
I share your pain at losing your comics, mine also took a long walk a long time ago. It’s an expensive hobby buying the anthologies of reprints. Honestly, they’re for my son to read.
The Mekon !!
Superman being able to weld stuff together with his eyes was pretty impressive.
He would have got a job at Smith’s Dock no problem.
Pulis needs to make the Riverside his fortress of solitude.
Monk had them playing like Clark Kent and must have had Kryptonite somewhere in the dressing room.
About 10 minutes ago @jonathanontaylor1 posted a message about Leo Percovich and linked to the GazetteLive website. A message of thanks from Leo – forever in our hearts – and I defy your eyes to stay dry after you watch it.
Just so Dormo. How sad the world is.
A moving video message from Leo.
Today I notice that all Premier League matches this weekend will be holding a minute’s applause in memory of Cyrille Regis. Well deserved, but I prefer a minute’s silence in these circumstances to be very moving. It’s just a shame that in this day and age such a poignant moment would likely be spoiled my some morons in the crowd.
Leo,s video put everything into perspective.
To find time to pay tribute to Boro fans shows the mark of the man, it must have been so difficult to do.
Just an awful situation. My heart goes out to him.
Just in case anyone has trouble finding the link for the QPR live stream here it is:
https://www.qpr.co.uk/fixtures/first-team/2017/qpr-v-middlesbrough/
Well you have to say TP is giving his forwards a chance………assuming they are provided with some???
Yes Interesting to see Bamford and Britt replace Braithwaite and Gestede – it’s their chance to stake a claim
I suppose I should give a prediction – I’m a bit more confident to see Bamford get a start so I’ll go 3-1 to Boro with goals from Howson, Bamford and Ayala
Who needs attackers when defenders are more likely to hit the target!
Couldn’t resist Ayala as first goal scorer at 29/1.
Had a daft $5 on him.
Happy days.
All we need now is a Pulis masterclass. Shut the door and take the points.
Well after a slow start Boro eased into the game and Ayala scored again after a flick-on from a Leadbitter corner – then came a collector’s item with a 30 yard swerving rocket into the top left corner from George Friend – absolutely unstoppable shot. The QPR commentator said after declaring it was his first goal of the season that he should shoot more often – if only he knew! Adama also looking dangerous on the left and Bamford also linking up well. Boro also looking solid in defence and it’s looking very comfortable for Tony Pulis’s team.
If we keep it right for 20 minutes then Clayton can come on and do his stuff.
Ayala has been MOM so far, apart from his goal his defending has been first class. He has got his head on everything
Hope I havnt jinxed him for the second half
Traore given MoM on BBCTees, after a first goal and an assist.
Great result and so pleased Traora got a goal at last.
, that will do wonders for his confidence.
Pulis style was evident in the second half, don’t lose what you’ve got.
We are finally seeing what we were all taught in the playground.
It doesn’t have to be complicated.
The most pleasing aspect was we gave no free kicks in or around our penalty box. I am sure this is a Pulis initiative and long may it continue.
Today our class started to show.
Well that was probably one of Boro’s most convincing performances of the season and capped off with an Adama goal – he burst between two defenders into the box after a flick-on from Gestede and slotted home a cool finish. Who’s have thought a screamer from Friend and Adama looking like centre-forward? Also Ayala put in a commanding performance at the back and Howson also played very well both defensively and bringing the ball forward. Looking encouraging for Boro under Tony Pulis.
BTW Karanka’s Forest won 2-0 at Wolves and Fulham thrashed Burton 6-0.
Touching message from Leo, all our thoughts are with him and all other fans who have lost loved ones.
Best present from us was the win at QPR.
Touching indeed Ian. Forever was right, I was fighting back the tears.
Sounds like a great day at the office today. We need a few more like this to force our way into the top six.
Here’s to The Shape Of Pu!
Sheer delight for Boro’s “A” Team and Adama looks like a New Man with his Runaway and goal the Cherry on top in a Perfect showing.
Are we all Thinking Out Loud of Wembley again?
What we need now is steel consistency and belief.
We can still do this.
Just seen the highlights on Sky and it looked good. Delighted to get my prediction wrong, almost got the possession bit right though.
A screamer from George and Adama took his goal well having showed skill in flipping it for Rudy to knock down. Even got a good cross in for what should have been another goal.
TP does appear to be getting the best from the team which makes one wonder what GM was doing at the start of the season.
Await the full report with interest although if we continue with this then the play offs are back on again (mustn’t tempt fate as it is typical Boro here).
If some of the teams above cam implode a la Cardiff then who knows………..
UTB
And now that we are in the nervous nineties, time for a certain IG to make an appearance!
Great result today, i’m looking forward to watching the highlights.
Hopefully we’re on the cusp of a string of wins which will place us firmly in the top six!
An other good performance from Traore today it would appear, it looks like i may have been very wrong about him, I certainly hope so.
You’ll like them, Nigel. Some smart passing from Howson and good footwork from Britt to be found in there.
Gestede often looks like he’s not far off being a good Championship forward but as we found under AK, people will get sick of the “one chance taken” or “one fewer mistake” away from “coming good” excuse. Especially if it repeats itself again and again with nothing materialising.
At least Adama’s chance was taken. And what a goal it was.
I made the comment after Fulham, about taking Traore off.
TP must have thought the same thing this week, keep him on and don’t let the other team relax.
Nobody should ever say ‘ I told you so’ but I’m saying it, with bells on.
When one thinks of the number of times Traore has given the ball to someone in a scoring position in or around the box, and drawn a blank. He is far more likely to score when going into the box with the ball ( or get a penalty) than any other player, his feet are faster, his touch is surer.
Let’s hope that he gets a lust for goals.
By the way, the cry from the media has gone up,” he should be at one of the giant clubs”
And they wonder why football is going down the chute.
Talking to a QPR fan in the pub before the game, he admitted to attending out of duty rather than desire. ‘We’re a meh team’ he explained. ‘Too good to go down, too poor to stay up. We’ve no flair, no money and no enthusiasm.’ It was a fair and honest assessment of his team, one of the seemingly never ending hurdles which must be over come on the way to the season’s end.
At Loftus Road the conditions weren’t great. Grey clouds hung over the ground, delivering a constant drizzle onto the sodden pitch. Fortunately I was at the back of the lower tier with over head protection, not exposed to the elements like the Boro faithful in front of me. The team sheet held no surprises though the line up did.
We were defending the goal in front of us and QPR tried an early range which whistled past our post. Attempting to provide a midfield link to Britt, Downing was initially lost in the number 10 role, and Bamford equally lost on the left wing.
Too much thinking from Pulis methinks, and credit for him to recognising his mistake. For within ten minutes Bamford and Traore swapped wings which immediately saw an upswing in our performance. Traore was immediately on a run and winning a free kick to left of goal, which was wasted.
QPR are a team of stocky and swift players, a functional side full of endeavour but bereft of inspiration. And they couldn’t cope with Traore who constantly took the game to them. Traore walks like the Terminator and runs like the Flash. His pressure led to a corner on the left on 24 minutes. A couple of flicks and Ayala was at the far post to head home. A well worked corner routine. Who’d have thought it?
Five mins saw more Boro pressure and another corner saw another front post flick, but this time it came to naught. A minute of close passing heard some ole’s broke out and derisory ironic comments about long ball football. And the crowd had fun with the Hoops number 2 who couldn’t take a clean throw in, and cheered when another foul throw gave us possession.
Friend had been trying hard but not having a great game, let fly from distance. It was a suitably gorgeous howitzer, surprising the fans as much as their keeper. He ran to his manager to celebrate and that was the end of the game as a contest.
Though QPR briefly rallied, a spell of their pressure was relieved by a brilliant Traore run which ended with the ball in the net but was flagged offside. Their only shot on target was from a searching through ball which number stretched to connect with. Randolph was down comfortably to deal with it.
The second half threatened to be an anti climax, but also offered the possibility of a goal in front of the Boro faithful. Traore was immediately into action and his run led to a good cross and panic the box. QPR tried to apply some pressure and our keeper plucked a string of crosses from the air. A speculative range finder safely sailed into the home crowd and a wicked low shot flashed across our bows. Later a penalty appeal was waved away and that was the extent of their fight back.
60 minutes in and Downing played a lovely ball for Traore but he didn’t anticipate it. Clearly he is still in a learning curve, but it was a small blemish on an otherwise impressive display. Another run for Traore and it took three players to bring him down.
Good work from Britt saw paddy bursting a gut to get in the box and Downing had a vicious shot charged down.
With half an hour remaining, experiencing feeling comfortable about the result and performance was discombobulating. Certainly we’re not world beaters, not yet, but if this is a mid-table side we are comfortably superior.
As they won a corner, a lady Teesside interloper of immodest age was escorted from the pitch by four burly stewards. Paddy was hooked on 71 minutes for Gestede who ran through and bested the keeper, but his dawdling shot was cleared off the line.
Into the last ten and Gestede powered a great header goalwards from a Traore pass and brought a great save from their keeper. Then in another excellent combination, a Gestede knock down saw Traore run on to power home and was mobbed by his team mates.
On the final whistle the players came over to salute the fans and Traore left the pitch to sound of his name ringing in his ears. It’s hard to tell how good we are as QPR were indeed meh. However we are organised, disciplined and in Traore a weapon who is as unplayable as he is unpredictable. Howson and Grant were effective all game and it was great to see Clayton come on as a late final sub. Hopefully this is a sign he’s not going anywhere. Ayala was immense and Ben was solid.
Man of the match. Traore.
Just like felt after seeing the match in the iFollow of QPR.
Happy days, like. Up the Boro!
I’ve just posted up Redcar Red’s match report on today’s victory…
https://diasboro.club/2018/01/19/championship-qpr-vs-boro/#MatchReport
I was fortunate enough to get a ticket just on the halfway line. It makes it much easier to see the complete picture.
Boro set off at a steady pace, no heroics or urgency just good old fashioned percentage football. It was good to see the full backs playing as full backs and forgetting this overlapping nonsense.
Howson was planted in front of the back four, which makes sense as he is more mobile than Grant so can move around that area quickly. When Clayton came on Howson and Leadbitter switched positions for some reason best known to the manager.
It’s well documented on here that I’m not Downing’s biggest fan, but he was good today. Admittedly he only stood around in the centre of the pitch but his passing and link play was exceptional,
Spare a thought for Assombalonga, he was heavily marshalled by two very physical central defenders yet the ball was still aimed up to his head. He makes excellent runs through the channels but unfortunately we don’t hav a player capable of threading a pr code pass through to him.
Bamford was very weak and made very little effort to force himself into the game.
Which brings me to Traore. An absolute joy to watch. If he can play like that every week he’ll generate a monster fee for the club , because to be honest there’s no way we would be able to hold on to him.
Sorry for the iPhone spelling but you get the gist
As much as I love Redcar Red and Werdermouth for the work they do on this blog, I hate grammatical and spelling errors more.
So, having removed all of my swear words.
Lesson one. It’s lightning not lightening.
I know I’m a [edit] w0mble.
Very kind of you to point out that ever so small oversight in the match report that Redcar Red managed to put together within hours of the game finishing – plus how lucky we are that you’ve even kindly made it into a lesson and done your best to avoid swearing too. If you have any thoughts on the other thousand words and points made then perhaps Redcar Red may appreciate them too.
btw I deleted the word ‘c0ck’ from your post as I hate the use on the blog.
Great report, RR, and also from Chris and GHW.
Many thanks, much appreciated.
Traore had me completely converted after Bolton, so his form is no surprise to me.
Could we now please have a moratorium on the idea that the lad is lacking a brain? It’s insulting, based on a long-standing stereotype that belongs to another era, and not something that anyone would dare to say to the lad’s face. Can we now just simply relish his talent and understand that he is playing the game at twice the pace of everyone else, and ten times faster, and at a far higher level than was ever achieved by any of his spectator critics.
I don’t think any criticism of Traore was based on a long standing stereotype Len or at least most certainly not on here perish the thought. Apologies if I have misinterpreted your meaning however.
For me the improvement of Traore under a mature experienced Manager is something that is interesting. Many have tried and failed him previously and simply given up, the lad had undoubted ability but it appeared that he didn’t have the nous to know what to do with it collectively and nor did those at La Masia, Villa plus numerous Coaches who have all tried and repeatedly failed him.
His problem was an inability to read the game and to integrate into what his team mates were doing and thinking. He stood and waited for the ball instead of making runs. Worse still he would actually run towards his own player in possession of the ball like a schoolboy rather than anticipate receiving the ball by running into open space thereby making himself available. The where, when and how to tackle was also something that let him down badly. He undoubtedly possessed raw natural skills and speed but it was all disjointed and disconnected. TP seems to have recognised that his HT leads were all in the wrong sequence and the result is there for all to see.
Ben Gibson was having a poor season by his own standards and is now getting back into form, likewise Friend, rusty and left out in the cold. Ayala is playing better than ever and seems to be enjoying it which I think for some reason was lacking under both AK and GM. Randolph now seems to be getting back to his top form prior to that fateful International break. Shotton is unrecognisable and Howson now looks like the player that we all thought we had signed.
Thats far too many players showing individual improvement to be down to just good fortune, clearly TP and DK are making significant progress not just in terms of tactics and organisation but crucially psychologically and long may it continue. It was interesting to hear Adama being interviewed after todays game and it did seem that the lad now understands very clearly what is expected of him. I am sure it helps that the side as a whole is now more structured and disciplined making personal integration easier.
TP’s style of encouraging what his players do well and improving their shortfalls rather than the reverse is a very basic principle in coaching and development which calls in to question the value of all these required coaching badges and certificates. As a player I know which style I would want to play for, have faith, confidence, belief and thrive under.
Your last paragraph is a hint as to what my next Talking Point will be about, RR. Good report as always.
RR
Many thanks for preparing an insightful report which makes the reader think about the game rather than just accept the result amd the way it was performed.
I too think that the present manager and coach is responsible for the improvement in the performances of the individual players who seemed to be slowly deteriorating match by match under Gary Monk
One thing TP does is change things on the field if he sees something is not working for example yesterday moving Traore and Bamford exchanging sides.
Traore has had Extensive coaching over the past few weeks taking homework back to his pad to watch DVD of players who can play on the wing but also know how to defend and male room to receive a pass.
Traore has always been a.m. enigma and has split opinion of managers and a lot of former players I have spoken to have said they thought he was a nightmare to control as even he didn’t know what he was going to do at times.
I don’t think he will be going anywhere as TP has recognised that Traore could be the wild card to get us into the play offs.
For those who haven’t seen him live then all I can add is that he is one of those players who gives the crowd pleasure in his abilities and is a showman and a crowd pleaser.
If only we hadn’t been beaten by Villa and Fulham look where we would be now.
SG has recognised that if this season was to be saved then drastic action had to be taken. The fact that it was taken just before Xmas may have seemed harsh but personally I think GM should have gone at least a month earlier.
So a playoff competition may be in the future against Fulham for revenge, against Villa and Steve our old coach amd possibly against AK who would surely be better prepared for a second Wembley play off final
OFB
RR
Anyone who loves a footballer could spot Traore’s talent after about two minutes watching him.
Any analysis of his contribution showed a remarkable number of assists ( not converted, of course, by colleagues who largely stood and watched as he played them in) no wonder they joined in the talk of ‘ a crazy dribbler’ it hid their shortcomings.
Just a thought, after a wonder show at QPR It took two defenders to score, and Traore himself to score the goals in the match.
The goal he scored (control, beat two players, enter box, put ball in net, is something our forwards are not very good at.
Just saying.
Glad the window is closing soon.
RR
It may be significant that our championship promotion back four(minus who?) is at last back onto the pitch on a weekly basis. We will leave alone the question of who permitted them to be given the chop, and bought replacements for them. after all the task was promotion from the Champ.
When one thinks of the blunders( very expensive) perpetrated by those at the top.
Really, ( shakes head)
I agree with Len that Traore has improved his end product (mainly passes and centers) already during Monk’s time. He has passed some nice stuff all season but perhaps not so constantly.
I think the player was still learning and maturing when he signed for us. Gentlemen, please remember he is just 21 years old now. So no way a finished article.
So I agree with Len, please respect the player who has been MOM for the past few matches . Looks like Tony is getting consistency out the player but perhaps the player is getting more experienced and confident by a game.
We are definitely seeing a player that could be as exciting to watch as Tuncay or even Juninho. There is hoping.
Up the Boro!
Jarkko
A bit better than Tuncay, and a lot of the players in England I think.
Remembering back to round pegs in square holes, would it not make sense to play Downing on the left, Traore on the right, and Bamford and Assombalonga/Gestede in the middle?
Just noticed a comma preceding an and… 😉
Maybe it’s an Oxford comma….
I’ve noticed that if your tablet or laptop software has US English as a default word format that the Americans use a comma before an and.
Tut tut not the done thing you know !
Great win today and delighted to see Traore score.
I have been a big supporter of his ever since his first appearance and despite the criticism he received from many people including his then manager.
If he stays with Boro I believe he will become a legend to rival the little fella but I think he will move at some point to a massive club and become recognised worldwide as a tremendous talent.
I hope so, but no moving away too soon before we have got ourselves established at the top table.
Boroexile
Too true, but let’s get promoted first, then sell him to the greatest for an amazing amount.
Teapot – you’re out of order.
Well, he wasn’t lightening the mood.
The apostrophe police are coming…
UTB,
John
I couldn’t possibly comma (nt)
Well we all used to be part of untypographical Boro !
I think I’d have to agree with Redcar Red that there are a number of players seemingly flourishing under Tony Pulis’s management – it’s been mentioned by a number of his former players that Pulis is a great man-manager and will look to get the best out of individuals – plus his organisational skills in terms of defending and set-plays has already looked to be paying dividends with every week on the training pitch.
If you see how he’s been greeting players when they are subbed it shows how he’s trying to make them feel they’ve done well and it’s a tactical decision to remove them. Adama is improving with every game under Pulis and is now getting into positions and making runs off the ball we previously haven’t seen in the last 18 months. Getting his first goal for Boro will add further belief, not just for him, but for his team-mates who have sometimes decided against passing to him.
It was interesting during the game to watch him off the ball as he was doing many things I hadn’t seen him do only a few weeks ago – when Boro got possession he started making runs into the space to make himself available and even berated team-mates when their passes weren’t accurate enough to find him. He also has shown far better judgement when tracking back and has done some good defensive work too.
His goal was perhaps the culmination of everything that has changed in his play – he played the ball to Gestede and then anticipated what would happen and burst into the box before finishing coolly like he’d done this kind of move before. His joy was only exceeded by his team-mates and is clearly a popular figure in the dressing room.
Just to add thanks to RR for another 99.9% perfect match report – plus thanks to Chris for the addition of another excellent report from the ground and further good observations from GHW at Loftus Road too.
One amusing thing I noticed while watching the game online was following Friend’s terrific strike, the camera switched to a section of the Boro supporters celebrating the goal and there was NeverGiveUpOnBoro laughing in disbelief of what had just been witnessed – if two players who hadn’t scored for 2 years are going to start knocking them in then we’re only heading in one direction!
On the subject of nitpicking grammar, really ? I am in awe of the posts on this site and like most of you it forms a very important part of my day.
We have such a great cross section of those who live and travel from here and there. Each an individual and not a boring regimented robot, bit like our football !
So express your self in your own unique way and long may you contribute to this gem of a site.
Viva la difference or as my old Dad would say stop putting on the airs and graces !
Great result today and great reporting…Warts and all.
Excellent pre match piece by Werder and post match report by RR. Keep up the good work chaps.
I listened to the game on Tees as I purchased the live audio package before decamping to Saudi. Now all I need to do is sort out a way of watching the games on ifollow.
It really did sound like an excellent all round team performance with no weak links from back to front. It’s quite a turn around in the way most if not all players are performing much better to varying degrees since the arrival of TP, which suggests that the ability has been there all along but Garry Monk was unable to get those performances out of those self same players. Certainly the players themselves have to shoulder some of the responsibility but for me the manager is the major reason for those failings.
I’m sure we’ve all had managers who were had poor leadership skills, were weak, disorganised, disinterested or just plain useless in our time, then that will be picked up on and will make for a poor working environment. And there in lies the difference with TP. He has none of those faults as far as I can see as well as having one major advantage over our last 2 managers. Experience. Like most positions of influence it counts for a lot imo.
Looking forward to watching the highlights on the Boro website.
Thanks FAA – perhaps Allan can give you some tips on the vagaries of the Saudi internet system so you can get back to watching the games.
Werder
You’re right we were in shock after Friends thunderbolt, we couldn’t believe it especially as two minutes earlier he had the crowd groaning at one of his efforts!
Fantastic result yesterday considering
“Friends finished”
“Ayalas a liability”
“Traore a headless chicken”
“Gestedes a donkey”
“Pulis is a boring long ball merchant”
If you believe social media of course 😉
It’s always great to hear from someone who has seen the match love to tell it how it is.
It always gets me when someone comes on Radio Tees amd starts complaining about the team. The punchline is when asked
“did you see the game?”
They reply
“ Oh no I’ve never been or seen them for years”
Of course they do like to say to their mates
“ I’ve been on the radio I told them what was wrong with the Boro.”
Bob, I love the Boro, too even I did not see the match live. UTB!
I agree Jarkko but the point I’m making is the so
Called fans who only criticise the players and club and never have any intention of going to watch them
Not like you a true naturalised smoggie !
A smile inducing result and a couple of rare collector’s piece goals. Excellent preview Werder and an excellent write-up from Redcar Red with Chris and GHW lightening the load with alternative views of the game.
I watched the highlights of the Chelsea game last night on Sky and although we all cursed the referee in the Fulham game the referee in the Chelsea match didn’t give to absolute nailed on penalties to Brighton and the offences happened within yards of him, one right in front of him. If a panel reviews the performance of a referee and does nothing with him there really are two sets of rules.
Anyway, back to Boro. As someone previously posted are we approaching the corner? Certainly the team work seems to be improving and George’s goal, he should have that framed. If one of the ‘axis of four’ in the Premiership had scored it we would be seeing it every five minutes.
Now to find the highlights or do I watch Glynis Barber again?
UTB,
John
John
Looks like this promotion race is going to keep us all in suspenders !
Jarsue
There are two sets of rules.
The outrageous behaviour of the Arsenal manager( which stretched into the next day, and included a refusal to retract his wild remarks) is par for the course.
All the managers of top clubs make a big show deliberately to let the refs know better than to do it to them next time.
The present situation is that all the top clubs go onto the field knowing that they will not concede a last minute penalty, but the opposition might.
That is an incredible advantage over a full season.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest Saturday night spectacular ‘What do you do with a problem like Adama?’
To mangle Annie Lennox ‘footballers, doing it for themselves’.
The problems were highlighted by Redcar Red.
You cant make a player think, how many Psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but it really has to want to change.
Yes, coaches make a difference but it is up to the player. There have been games where he showed what he could do followed by barren spells.
Len rightly points to Bolton, you could equally point to evidence showing poor thinking about the game, the lunge at Villa for instance.
There is one hell of a player within Adama, it seems to be coming out.
If it does we will be in for exiting times.
Tony Pulis: “[Traore] can be frustrating at times, but I’m telling you if he works it out then he could be anything. You look at the top clubs in the Premier League and they’ve all got that electric pace and no-one’s as quick as this boy is.
“He’s starting to work it out a bit now and hopefully the penny drops. All we’re asking him to do is what he’s good at, which is to run forward with the ball and run forward without the ball. When he does that, as you saw today, he’s unplayable.”
In the past I’ve likened Redcar Red’s match reports to be on a par with those of the late Cliff Mitchell. I may have made a slight error there; I now realise RR’s reports exceed Cliff’s. To produce unbiased reports so accurately and quickly is worthy of greater accolades. His headline use of unhackneyed alliteration, the fact that he doesn’t exaggerate what he sees before him, and the speed in which his reports reach this forum in my opinion puts him on a par with some of the best sports reporters in the land and we are very fortunate to have him. Deadline Midnight doesn’t come into it; RR’s match reports are published within a couple of hours of the final whistle. I just don’t know how that is possible and I take my hat off to you sir.
Here in Portugal I haven’t access to radio reports or television highlights of Boro’s matches until they are produced on the MFC website, so I’m unable to assess yesterday’s performance, but give more credence to the reports of RR, Chris and GHW than the sometimes rather hysterical reports of the Gazette reporters, who I realise might exaggerate the performance because that’s what their readers may wish to read. Therefore I’ll reserve judgment on whether Boro have turned the corner yet after so many false dawns.
Nevertheless it does appear that TP and his coaching staff including Woodgate have identified the team’s weaknesses but also have observed players’ strengths and in a comparatively short period have improved the overall performances. The defence looks much more stable now, and at last Boro have become much more effective in attack from dead ball situations. There seems to be much more awareness and confidence of what is achievable, but it’s so apparent that to score the first goal is paramount.
I have been one of Traore’s critics in the past, but now have to admit that with expert coaching he has become an essential part to the team’s performances. Obviously what he has shown on the training ground is now being transferred onto the field of play. It’s obvious how much the other players respect him and how much the fans love him. Maybe by cutting down the playing staff TP and the coaching staff are able to give him more attention. I’m willing to admit now that I had probably wrong perceptions about TP’s system of playing. He obviously has much greater experience as a manager than most of today’s young brigade.
Our away form is now approaching that of Karanka’s Championship sides, but most of those performances have been against mediocre opposition. What is now needed is to improve our finishing against the better teams especially at home. I’m fairly confident now that we’ll finish the season in a playoff position, but whether we can gain promotion by that means remains to be seen. Let’s not go overboard yet, but the prospect does seem more promising now.
Ken. Get the “Forza” football app on your phone or computer.
https://www.forzafootball.com/apps/
Highlights of the game are made available within 2 hours of the final whistle.
Thanks, I’ll try that, but one of the major problems here in my apartment is that connection to the internet is spasmodic at times with so many people trying to get online at the same time.
I was going to come on here and right something similar with respect to your final paragraph. The Gazette seems to be getting carried away as far as I can see, as we have won 2 away games and lost 2 home games under Pulis. Not counting the cup match. We may be getting better, and we may not be. Time will tell, but I’m not sure we are good enough to finish in the top 6, yet.
Thanks for the plaudits Ken but personally I don’t think I’m fit to lace the great Cliff Mitchell’s boots. Much appreciated all the same!
Don’t undersell yourself RR.
Ken
I think that’s a pretty accurate summary of where we are as a club now
OFB
Sorry but no one has mentioned the Pools.
In the biggest newspaper in Finland, there was a half page story about the Pools vs. Wrexham game today. It said there were about 3 000 Boro fans at the Vic for the save-Pools game. And reference to the 1986 match at Pools, too.
So very, very good publicity about Boro fans there. There was also a picture of two pools fans in the paper. I must admit that I cannot read about Pools that “often” in the local paper in Finland.
So about 2 480 at Loftus Road and 3 000 more at Pools. And at the same time. Magnificent, I must say.
Up the Boro!
It’s such a pity that Pools lost yesterday. As things stand they will have difficulty avoiding relegation even if they survive losing points through liquidation.
Liquidation could mean reforming under a different name in a league 3 or 4 Divisions lower than the National League. It happened to Darlington and Hereford United among others.
From the bits I’ve read about the Hartlepool situation it appears it’s been the usual story of financial mismanagement that has got them in this precarious situation – the blame has been laid at the feet of former chairman Gary Coxall who messed thing up – but surely there must have been people at the club who should have kept a closer eye on proceedings. Someone will need to pick up the pieces and sort the mess out but maybe going into administration will be the only way to clear the debts.
Thanks to Werder and RR for great pre and post match articles again.
I watched the match live via QPR TV and apart from the transmission dropping out on three or four occasions, requiring me to reboot the laptop, the quality of picture, commentary and replays of the action were very good.
It was refreshing to note that the QPR commentators were, to a large extent, unbiased and complimented Boro on their work rate, organisation and general play. One of them even mentioned that we were hard done by last week by not being given a penalty and by conceding one which should not have been given. I dare say that local rivalry may have coloured their view!
Pre match I was of the view that we would lose at QPR based on my numerous visits to Loftus Road over the years during which we failed to garner even a point! I was also concerned that we may still be a long way from turning the corner. In the end I was very pleased with the result and the fact that we competed for a full 90 minutes and never really looked troubled.
I am now wondering if next week’s FA cup game is a good distraction or not and whether it would have been better to continue to build on the teams league performance and their pursuit of a play off place. Our next league game is against Sheffield Wednesday who will have benefitted from a weekend off before they arrive at the Riverside on the Tuesday.
On the subject of Adama, I have been one of those who have questioned whether he has a footballing brain. I would never be so insulting as to suggest that he did not have a brain.
My concern, as shared by others, was whether he had the ability to see a pass, able to move into the right areas, able to anticipate the play and understand what those around him are expecting from him. Additionally, does he have the ability to produce an end product either by making or scoring a goal on a consistent basis.
It is good to see that TP seems to be getting more out of him than others have in the past. I still feel that it is early days in their relationship and too soon to wax lyrical about him after a few encouraging displays. He has now made 50 appearances for Boro and only just scored his first goal. I hope that he does go on to prove that he can perform at the highest level but am still wary that he may go the way of others before him, Wildschutt and Caryol to name just a few.
I would during my working life, when I was producing lengthy and detailed reports to senior executives on the performance of the business and commercial centres of a major high street bank, have been of the view that grammar and spelling were paramount. Now, in my retirement years and as a contributor to a discussion forum with some of the best friends I have never met, I take the view that, does it really matter?
Thanks KP – Yes the QPR commentators were pretty non-partisan in their comments and did give a lot of praise to Boro players – they particularly liked Howson and of course Adama, who they claimed ‘was too good for the Championship’. Though just before the match started it was amusing to hear the commentator thinking he was just speaking to his engineer and rambling on if only they could hear him and telling them he’s pressed the right buttons etc and he still can’t hear them – Then he did a spoof introduction saying ‘the Boro team is Randolph in goal with ten defenders in front of him in a typical Pulis formation’ – so perhaps 3-0 was a bit of karma for our ‘ultra negative’ manager!
After reading the detailed and enjoyable accounts of the game, I am mildly surprised that so many bloggers seem to have reservations about Traore.
In my view he is a great player who has been waiting in the wings.
He has shown ample evidence of his genius in a poorly performing team, a team without any intention of running off the ball, slow passing, no dead ball skills, and not much intelligence in their general play.
TP is obviously alive to his abilities, and is invigorating the whole system of play.
Yesterday was the first dividend, and the emergency of a great player.
It’s all good for the club, we get promoted, we keep him, or we get an enormous fee for him, what’s not to like?
As encouraging as Traore’s evolution under TP has been and as much as we all want to regale in his undoubted skills and pace he has struggled to deliver at whatever club he has been at to date. If Barca gave up and in the end Villa threw the towel in having seen him up close and personal then I’m pretty sure there was a very good reason for that and reasons that were identified (or not) by seasoned experienced professionals at the very top of their trade (certainly in the case of Barca).
Blistering pace and incredible dribbling skills are not enough to make him a brilliant footballer. There are loads of football skilled circus acts around the world entertaining fans at half times with incredible ball control. His decision making and awareness to date have been his drawbacks, he won the game at Bolton but lost us the game at home to Cardiff and we were lucky his Villa sending off in the opening seconds wasn’t more costly. As brilliant as he can be he can also be frustratingly inept the next minute which of course is exactly why he is at Boro and not Barca.
He gave Sessegnon probably the toughest game of his career last week yet as Fulham fans pointed out Sessegnon has scored twelve goals in fifty two appearances many of which have been played as a LB and he isn’t 18 until May this year. In fairness to Traore the style of play under AK was anathema to his abilities stuck in a sideways, backwards passing, slow, monotonous team. With GM even now I don’t think any of us have figured out what sort of side we were and thats including the players! None of that helped Adama in any way shape or form.
Only a few short weeks ago he was sat on the bench at best and when he did play he could make a startling and unexpected impact on the opposition but his own players sometimes wouldn’t pass to him and as quick as he was there was no end product hence the Forrest Gump jokes. It was only this season and the latter stages under AK when he had to coach him on the dug out side of the pitch that he started to put crosses into the box instead of continually running into nothingness. I have no doubt that there will be offers for him this month but my preference would be to undoubtedly keep him. Prior to TP arriving my view would have been get our money back at best and move on.
We all hope we are witnessing the birth of a great world class talent and suspect that the player himself realises the wisdom of his new “Gaffer” and how much he has improved in a very short time. If his metamorphosis continues at the rate it has over the last four weeks (contrasted to his last four years) he could be on a meteoric rise to super stardom. At this stage however its still very much a “could” rather than “will”, the game is littered with the debris of many great young starlets who never made the grade or who made the grade and imploded.
Adama is finally showing signs of becoming a complete footballer but there is still some way to go but every game under TP shows improvement which I think comes back to my point in a previous post about Coaching badges and Qualifications. There are I suspect Coaching parallels with Ofsted and education in this country with their box ticking conform or fail system with no accommodation for those with unusual skills or talents falling outside of preconceived “norms”. An old fashioned school teacher will always achieve far more with their pupils than a conditioned, pre programmed Robot.
Another great post Redcar, first class
RR a brilliant and in my view a very fair analysis of the anathema that is Adama Traore to date.
I agree with the bulk of your post, RR, but not the bit about Ofsted. I speak from personal experience as an inspector. Many teachers still think they have to tick all the boxes, but Ofsted long ago abandoned any sense that teaching – or schools generally, for that matter – have to conform to a model. The philosophy now, quite rightly, is that if it works, then fine. You can teach any way you like provided it works for the kids and they achieve as they should.
Great match report, by the way, as ever!
On wider football issues, I was surprised to see Watford sack Marco Silva as they currently sit 10th in the PL – though just had a look at the form table over the last 10 games and they are bottom with just 5 points out of 30. Watford are a club who don’t seem to worry about replacing managers and they have said basically since Everton tried to turn his head the performance of the team has basically tanked and they don’t think his mind is on the job.
I was one of many who were frustrated at Traore’s inability to read the game but agree that he has improved tremendously under TP.
The next difficulty to address is getting bodies in the box to take advantage of his good work and turning chances into goals.
Steely, that to me is still an obvious failing, not getting support into the opposition box areas.
Unfortuanatly that is a weakness that may not be resolved until the summer. Lack of pace within the squad.
Plato
The reservations about Traore have been about end product and overall contribution to the team.
Those are valid points but he is improving rapidly on both counts. If he continues to do so he will become a bit of a hero.
I don’t think it is just Pulis, the other coaches he has played under are not all idiots and will have tried to coax more out of him.
Maybe TP has burdened him with less technical stuff and that has helped but most of it is probably down to Adama.
Let’s think about Traore.
He seems to be a “Marmite player” – people either love it (or him) or hate it (him).** There are people in the Ploated Pheasant who insist he will never be a player as long as he lives, that he can run like the wind but has no football brain and that, as a number of coaches have said, he is the sort of player “who will get you fired”. They say he has no end product, that little flashes are seen but they come to nothing. He doesn’t run into the space where the ball might be played for him to run on to. That he doesn’t seem aware of what is going on around him, and that he is often someone on the fringes, as the game plays out around him.
On the other hand, top teams have players who can operate at pace, and Traore has pace like we have never seen before. He has not only fast legs, but fast feet, and he has the tricks that go with that. What he has not shown, until recently, is the ability to put that extreme pace into use, with the football, during games. We all know about his Premier League “flashes” (eg away at Arsenal last season) and individual high spots (eg away at Bolton this season), but then we have been brought back to earth with a bump, such as in the second (?) minute sending-off at Villa, or yet another rampage forward which ends up with Traore tripping over the ball or kicking it out of play rather than to a team mate.
However, in recent weeks there seems to have been a sea-change. It might be down to the fact that he feels he may have the confidence of the manager and coaching staff, in a way he has not experienced before. He has been started and has had extended periods on the pitch rather than being brought on with 15 minutes to go. Confidence is a big thing in sports and in life generally. It can hardly be a positive thing to run onto the pitch knowing that the manager has no faith in you, is going to be b*ll*ck*ng you from the sidelines and then making barbed comments to the Press.
Much better to be told exactly what the coaching staff want you to do, and then being given the opportunity to put that into practice. To have encouragement, an arm put around the shoulder, and to see their genuine pleasure and congratulations when it all comes off. To feel that you will get the opportunity to do that again, and maybe better.
In the last few weeks we have seen Traore given time on the pitch. We have seen him run at the opposition with the ball, at great speed. He has passed the ball and has started to make chances for team-mates. And now, at QPR he has scored a goal. So the end product has started to flow through the pipeline and, hopefully, there will be much more.
Traore is, as I have said to mates before (and maybe even bored people on this Blog), the sort of player who, when the ball comes to him, causes home fans to move to the edge of their seats in anticipation of what might be to come. People hold their breaths. Attention is focused on what is going to be played out in front of us. To give an analogy for those “of a certain age”, it is like watching Ian Botham or Viv Richards going out to bat: people otherwise very happy to cuddle their pint glasses seem, all at once, to reach a joint decision to vacate the beer tent and pay attention to what is going to happen in the middle.
Football shouldn’t ONLY be about the grinding out of results, though there are times when that is important. It is a sport, an entertainment, and following it can be an expensive pursuit at a time when there are many competing directions in which the supporters’ hard-earned money might be spent. Players, even at Championship level, are paid salaries beyond the dreams of most members of the public, we are told the games this week or next week are part of “Super-Douper Sunday” or whatever superlative the advertising executives have used this week, and we hear the clubs are interested in our “Match Day experience”.
So, when an entertainer like Traore can cause everyone in the ground to sit up and take notice, that is significant. It’s one of the reasons we go to the games. We are hoping to see that bit of magic, that explosive turn of pace, which changes a game. Why do people many years later talk about “that 55 yard cross-field pass by Hoddle”, that piece of trickery by Best, or Cruyff, the cameo by Gascoigne or by “lesser players” such as the Rodney Marshes, Tony Curries etc. Now, let’s be clear, I am NOT saying Traore is up there with those players, though we can always dream he might become one. But remember that even when playing at his peak. Gascoigne wasn’t regularly dominating games for 90 minutes. He was doing little things, a little flash of inspiration here, a magical run there or a pass threaded through the eye of a needle which led to a goal, which turned a game. And we remembered that flash of inspiration long after the rest of the games had gone from the memory. It’s one of the big reasons we watch football.
Traore has speed which causes the eyes to open in amazement. He has started to use that speed constructively. He has flashed balls across the penalty area, the beautiful pass from the outside of his right foot which put Gestede through to score against Sunderland in the FACup, now he has scored a goal……. Well, it is a good start. Nobody is saying that we have hit the jackpot yet, but there are signs to justify hope.
If you were a defender, the last thing you wold want is an attacker running at you with the ball at pace. If he puts the ball past you, there is NOTHING you will be able to do to catch him. So, do you foul him to stop him getting past? A yellow or even a red card? And then if it is a yellow and he runs at you again….? And if he has the ball centrally and up front, and he is running into the penalty area? It’s all getting a bit worrying, isn’t it, from a defensive point of view? In my view, you want to be doing what you know the opposition DOESN’T want you to do. I don’t think many defenders will be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of lining up against Traore.
He is clearly still, at 21 years, a young and inexperienced player. He has much to learn. If he DOES learn, and can put those lessons into practice, then things start to look very good indeed for the future. Coaches are there to coach, to train and teach players. You can’t coach raw speed, and Traore has that in abundance. Let’s harness it! Where was Jamie Vardy at 21 years, or Ian Wright, or Peter Beardsley (actually, at 21, I think Beardsley was playing for Vancouver Whitecaps)?
Obviously if Traore had footballing ability at the same level as his speed, he would be unattainable even now for a club like Boro. He would never have left Barcelona. But Manchester \United, managed by that “Know Nowt” Sir Alex Ferguson let Pogba go for a million pounds when he was a young player there, only for Man U to end up buying him back for, what was it £95M? So what do any of us know?
I think what we can say is that Traore MIGHT be an absolutely outstanding speed merchant of a player. If it turns out well, our club might reap some of the early benefit, and then pocket a BIG fee. We should enjoy the ride whilst it lasts and be thankful that others, who would have drummed him out of the club, are no longer in a position to do that.
** Strange, that “Marmite” thing because, although it is said that mankind is divided between those who love it and those who hate it, I fall into the middle. I’m not that keen but would hardly describe myself as a “hater”.
Nice article Dormo, well thought out and written.
As for “Marmite”, I am not that keen, but could eat it. In fact I was once told that (a tip possibly for KP) if you eat it, it helps keep Mosquitos at bay. Have to say I did not like it enough to try, kept to Jungle Formula.
Presumably just half of the mosquitos – i.e. the ones that hate marmite – though is that outweighed by attracting more that love it…
Prefer rum to foil the mosquitos!
Forever Dormo
You are so write (that is a deliberate Freudian slip by the way – see Teapot’s misuse of ‘right’ for ‘write’ at 9.54 am). There’s nothing like speed to get bums off seats. Ask Martin Bellamy (if he is old enough) to remember the sight of Billy Boston, or Martin Offiah speeding along the wing for Wigan RLFC in their heyday. OK they both had that finishing touch, although Offiah couldn’t tackle, but what a thing of beauty to see the speed of the man and he certainly had a final product. In my opinion it’s not the skilful players who excite the crowd; it’s the speed merchants, and if they have an end product, then it’s akin to nirvana. Perhaps now Adama has that in his armoury!
Ken, Billy Boston is just too far back for me, although I’ve seen him at games and at the hub he used to run round the corner from our Wigan office.
“Chariots” was amazing and one of his runs always had the fans off their seats. For me, a RL wi get in full flow is one of sports best sights.
FD
Absolutely loved that post and it summed up my feelings apart from one.
I love Marmite !
OFB
Forever Dormo
There seems to be the beginning of a legend springing up about Traore.
In order: Great clubs (having many kids on their books) reject them very quickly.
They included ” a right to buy him back” clause when they jettisoned him.
He is a rocket propelled freak. up to a point morriarty, he can also beat several opponents (with considerable ease) .
When creating a gilt edged scoring chance, it is a help if your non mobile colleagues finish them, otherwise you have failed (again)
There are several lists which he tops with ease
Beating the defence and carrying the ball along the dead ball line towards the near post,( the only player on the list) number of conversions from this position by a team mate nul
Carrying the ball from a defensive position and giving it to a team mate in an attacking position.
Dribbling four (or more) opponents successfully. (sole entry)
Being twice as fast as the average top player.
Even the bottom fishers in the Prem know they have no chance.
He will go to one of the big clubs
I really enjoyed the game yesterday and there is no doubt TP has got them organised. I was pretty relaxed as QPR did not look like they were ever going to score (it’s been a while since I have been able to say that!) no matter how long they played and I thought Ryan Shotton was fantastic mopping up many a header. I agree with Redcar Red I am not getting carried away with Adama’s performance yesterday as his was one of quite a few good individual performances yesterday. There were a couple of times he sprinted inside towards more defenders looking for a pass on the break rather than the acres of space on the flanks that he could have exploited. TP does though seem to be getting the best out of him and it was nice to see all the players congratulate him on his goal which gives a sense of the team spirit!
Well said I also noticed Tje te spirit seemed to be on a high and it goes a long way in making a group of players into a winning
Team!
I noticed even the players on the bench who were warming up on the touch lime mobbed George after his thunderblaster !
OFB
There definitely appears (I know appearances can be deceiving) to be a huge change from only a few weeks back when Ayala as one example almost looked to be getting himself into trouble with Refs borne out of frustration I think to what seems to be now a united camp with a team ethic.
One thing that occurs to me is that I am very slow typist. Takes me ages to type something like the post above. Then, after pressing “send”, it is clear that several other posts, maybe about the same subject have appeared on the Blog. So you wonder, have I just repeated what everyone else has said….?
I had better get on with reading those posts which have appeared as mine was being typed, to find out!
Dormo, just buy a second mobile phone! I can imagine you in the local using flexibly two mobiles at the same time. Just joking, mate!
I have the same problem as I must write in another language than my mother language. Up the Boro!
Same here Dormo.
Forever
I have the same problem.
RE – Traore
Maybe Mr Pulis is telling him what he is doing right and helping him build on that positive note rather than telling him what he is doing wrong. All AK’s touchline coaching seemed to do more harm than good and to the detriment of the team.
The business of swapping sides to his ostensibly weaker wing in one half smacked of ‘you idiot, you need me on your back so you get it right’. A strange managerial attitude to say the least.
UTB,
John
Ken
I was just typing that Traore reminds me more of Billy Whizz – Jason Ronbinson to people who don’t follow rugby, with his blistering acceleration and ability to wriggle out of challenges.
I stick with my view that it is in his own power to become a top player.
Great post, Dormo. One of many on this thread, with the discussion of Traore being outstanding. A credit to the blog.
KP in Spain, just to put your mind at rest, Sheffield Wednesday do not get a free weekend because of our cup match against Brighton, as they play their cup match against Reading on Friday night, alright they play 15 hours before us.
Come on BORO.
Thanks Exmil. I had missed the fact that they are still in the cup. 15 hours more rest should not make a difference and hopefully we can start winning league games at home under TP’s tenure.
I do not count the Boxing Day win as part of his reign albeit I know he did impart some of his wisdom on the day.
I guess that is why the 100 metres is the premier athletics event.
And I have never even tried Marmite. Not sold in Finland as I have never seen it.
Can it be used with Parmo? Must try next time in Boro. Up the Boro!
I love Marmite, me. (correct grammar………….?)
Nope. Should be: I love Marmite, me, like!
I’ve thanked RR, and I want to thank Dormo too.
My next Talking Point will feature notes about pacy players like Adama and how they are at odds with a system that values control, comfort and results over adventure and entertainment.
Some argue football was transformed for the better from mid-1997 onwards, when the Wengerlution took shape and Eurocratic coaching, as you’ll see me call it, slowly became in vogue.
Two more generations of Eurocrats later, I’m suddenly not sure this transformation *has* worked out for the better.
More when I get the time.
Very kind, Simon. And I look forward to your article in due course.
Simon
Don’t forget that Pulis has always liked a pacy player. Pennant and Etherington spring to mind as supposedly non Pulis players.
I think he picks what he has and tries to use them to best advantage.
Pragmatic.
Ken,
I had the pleasure of watching Offiah at St. George and he like Traore always got the fans straight up on their feet. Speed certainly thrills.
If you want to divide opinion then try Vegemite !
Umpired a school cricket game when Offiah was playing against the team I coached in Ipswich He went to a boarding school, in Suffolk, set up by the LEA for underprivileged c London children. At 17/18 he was already a big unit , bowled very quick and hit the ball a mile. I was really glad I was umpiring and not having to face him, never mind tackling him on the rugby field.
Simon
We may also be seeing the natural evolution of the game as defensive systems and alignments change to cope twith the close passing that Wenger and others have brought in. Good defence is now winning out and there seems to be a definite shift to pace in attack/counter attack as being the best way to overcome the carefully programmed setups. Hazard is a perfect example. I watched on Saturday as he turned through two defenders and then burnt ithem off with a ‘Traoré-like’ blast of pace. Maybe not quite as fastt but still quick. Similarly Koop seems to havv created a similar philosophy whereby all attacking is done at extreme pace.
I missed the QPR gam due to the 2am kickoff but am looking forward to the replay on MFC. However, it’s clear that Traore is both a weapon and a wonderful distraction and something fo us to use to the maximum this year. If he carries on like this and we get promoted then maybe we can keep him. The alternative is a really big fee.
Anyway, hats off to TP and SG for getting things right.
Question – is the cup a distraction or another way to show how much we are improving and bolster the spirit in te group, the clubb and thn supporters?
UTB
The cup is a great Talking Point topic too! Personally I’m all for great cup runs. Some of the best AKBoro memories I ever have are the triumphs in Manchester and the heroic penalty loss to Liverpool.
Sadly, nowadays, it would appear that PL survival is more important than glory.
Simon, From a wider point of view, I totally agree. The cup is magic and I love cup runs. However, my question was intended to be more about this season given what we need to achieve to put ourselves into a promotion spot.
Does Pulis play his best side or take a chance to look at the other players round the edges of the squad. Does Traore start or is he put in cotton wool for a week? These are the kind of questions I’m thinking about.
UTB
Pulis played his best team last round. And players love to play and win. So I don’t see the cup games as bad or distraction this season. Actually Pulis will learn a lot about the team he has in the Cup, too.
If we play well against Brighton it will only help us in the league, too. Up the Boro!
As a Kid growing up I loved the FA Cup in fact to the point where if I had the choice of Boro winning the League 1 title (Premiership nowadays) or the FA Cup it would have been the Cup every time. All that glamour of a trip to Wembley, TV cameras beaming it live around the world made it a wonderland even in black & white on a TV screen not much bigger than an iPad (other tablets are available).
The game has changed over the many intervening decades and what was once a sport is now a coldly calculated marketing machine aimed at generating big bucks for the few at the general expense of the many. The FA Cup was cheapened by the FA themselves by allowing Man Utd to play in a Mickey Mouse cash tournament in South America which just put the tin hat on its demise.
I would be ecstatic of course if we won the Cup but would much rather we won promotion and I know deep in my heart that I shouldn’t think that way let alone feel that way. The way the FA have structured the game now the financial welfare of the club is far better served by being the Christian thrown to the Premiership Lions for entertainment. That is of course so long as they don’t shut up shop and actually survive by depriving the said Lions of their rightful media sponsored kill.
I suppose I wouldn’t mind two trips to a Wembley Final come May but if forced to choose and given the choice of only winning one of them would be a very difficult one.
Redcar Red
I know how you feel about the FA Cup. I loved the whole build up from early morning to the presentation and highlights later. However the year we reached Wembley after relegation had been confirmed at Leeds, I hadn’t the same enthusiasm. Pity really.
I found more enthusiasm for Cup Finals generally even in Rugby League when played at Wembley. I remember taking my wife and both my parents to the RL Final in 1969. My parents had never seen any form of rugby before and I had to explain the rules to them during the match, but we all just loved the occasion that my wife and I booked our tickets straight away for the next year where Cas won again. My father always wanted to go to Wembley and I was so pleased for him because sadly later that year he was killed in a car accident on black ice aged 57.
It would be 3 trips to Wembley as the semi s are played there as well
Three trips indeed Bob!
Even the Semi’s have been ruined to help pay for the commercial folly of the Stadium. Things seemed so much simpler, purer and enjoyable in black & white.
The FA Cup Final. They were shown live over here in Finland already when I was a kid. So at least in the early 1970’s – could have been 1960’s, too.
That was the sporting highlight of the year. I always dreamed to see Boro at Wembley. When I played football with my brothers in the garden, if the ball was kicked from the grass, it was called ‘Wembley’. We were supposed play on the part of garden that was sand and for car back then, mind.
I did see Boro vs. Arsenal live on TV in the FA Cup, though. I think we beat them 3-0 but it was an earlier round of the FA Cup. Happy days. I remember it was a sunny day at Ayresome Park – I think I saw the game in colour but that could be imagination. Cannot remember when we got the first colour TV.
Let’s hope we reach the semis this year. Up the Boro!
BTW, I bought tickets to the home match versus Leeds Utd. East Lower, block 40 and row 6.
Next I need to wait when they start to sell Birmingham away and Barnsley home.
I think we might finish above Sheffield United, Cardiff and Bristol Rovers. But that doesn’t mean automatic promotion. I suspect Villa, Derby and Wolves to fight for the top two with us.
Life is good after a 0-3 away win. The third away win in a row Let’s enjoy the season and hope for the best. Up the Boro!
jarkko my seat is in the east stand block upper block 38, so we might be able to meet on the concourse.
Come on BORO.
Delighted to see you, ExMil. Aren’t you in Twitter, too? If so we can use its Direct Message.
Of course I have quite a many people to see during the week. I will start with Jim Platt at our hotel before the match …
Then I have to see Dormo and HalifaxP, perhaps Mikael Soisalo at Rockcliffe perhaps, etc.
Of course Navvi is an possibility before the Barnsley match a week after Leeds Utd.
Up the Boro!
Redcar Red
I know we have different nuances on events but the FA didn’t ‘allow’ MaunU to play in a cash tournament in South America, it is far worse than that.
ManU were not that interested, it was a FIFA competition and it was the FA who were desperate and pleaded for them to go so the FA could try and toady some votes for a World Cup bid. ManU couldn’t be in two places at once and field two full strength teams so something had to give.
ManU ended up with a dodgy time in South America, fixture pile up at home, a second string in the FA Cup and the blame for the FA’s desperation to creep at FIFA.
The FA’s actions were cringe worthy not least allowing ManU to take the flak for the whole affair. And the FA suits had a nice trip out of it. Utterly shameful on the FA’s behalf.
Few remember how it came about especially if there is a big club to blame.
I’ll give them one thing to their credit the “FA” managed to aptly name themselves!
For those in doubt the first letter is very predictable, the second one well we all have one and I will leave it there.
Probably best covered up.
More sad news this morning after the recent passings of Tommy Lawrence and Cyrille Regis, the great Jimmy Armfield has joined the ranks of the departed. Another legendary footballer gone and one who I remember fondly from my youth. Thats the problem with getting old, everyone whom you once admired, respected and even worshipped through your life keep leaving us. RIP, Jimmy the game is a sadder place without you.
Sad indeed. I remember him as a match summariser on BBC Five Live which was broadcast on the BBC World Service here in Portugal. I seem to recall he was a member of the England 1966 World Cup squad although I don’t think he played in any of the matches.
The odds for Clayton joining Leeds to reunite with Forshaw have dropped. I would be surprised if TP would countenance that as Grant picks up Yellows at one heck of a rate and we will need cover.
We have also been linked with Bradley Dack at Blackburn and the Hibs lad McGinn last week and whilst they may make good buys I would be surprised to see them step straight into a Boro starting eleven. With Marvin Johnson we have seen that the step up isn’t always an easy one.
It can be argued that Clayton isn’t usually in a starting eleven for Boro these days but my hunch is that TP is more interested in the here and now than further down the road and any incoming would have to offer something significantly better than we already possess. Figures of over £4M are being bandied around for both those lads which isn’t cheap and represents a significant gamble considered that they are unproven at Championship level compared to say Forshaw.
Redcar Red
We have seen in the past that when you pay decent money for players managers want them in the team, you could say to justify their acquisition, and given them more chance than existing squad players.
I suspect TP is more like AK and whoever they are the players have to justify it on the training pitch first.
That brings me on to a comment by Baptiste about his time at Boro. The worst trainer in the squad was Bamford because he was always trying something. Out of context but an interesting revelation none the less.
After watching Bamford on Saturday, he should consider putting in a lot more effort into his game.
He was being continually berated by Gibson and Ayala. I doubt he’ll feature much in the future after that display.
I actually just read that Baptiste interview in the Gazette and it was a very interesting read. The bit about Bamford being the worst trainer was because although he was always trying something in training it rarely came off.
Also interesting was that Leadbitter was always looking out for everyone and checking they’re OK – plus would get other players focussed on the pitch if they were struggling – that’s as good a reason as any not to consider moving him on.
Plus he rated Adama as almost impossible to play against as you have to deal with him in a completely differently manner to any other player – normally you should go tight on him he said but if you do he’ll just use his strength to turn you and be away – but if you don’t go tight then he just breezes past you.
Werder
I am a big supporter of Bamford but it would be easy to see how he could give the wrong impression. Whether that is a true reflection of himself is another matter.
We all know what Paddy can do and at the moment he has lost his way but if we look at Gibson, Shotton, Friend, Ayala, Howson and Traore etc.under Pulis if anyone can get him straightened out and focussed its TP.
The front tip is where we are struggling, Bamford, Braithwaite, Britt, Gestede and Fletcher are all short of what we need at the moment. There is too much class and quality in there for it to remain dormant much longer. Nobody has nailed a starting Striking role but its there to be had, question is who and when?
I’m probably a member of the last generation to value the FA cup.
Given the option of two Wembley games to win, it would be the cup.
A cup victory remains glorious forever. A league position is fleeting.
This dichotomy between League and cup lies at the heart of the discussion of what defines success for Club Boro.
It’s possible an outlandish Leicester-style run to premiere league victory is possible. In this best of all possible worlds all things are possible.
Such Panglossian views aside, I’d suggest sustained premiere league mediocrity and occasional cup success would do very nicely. Especially given our resources compared to the self appointed elite.
To be the paupers at the table gleefully and mockingly helping ourselves to the silverware while they helplessly look on in disgust, would suit me just fine.
This isn’t about knowing our place, it’s about defiantly gatecrashing the banquet and being convinced of our right to do so.
I suspect Pulis won’t make many changes, maybe rest Grant and Paddy, and start Gestede. I can’t imagine the players would want to risk losing their place. Strategically resting Grant’s legs would allow Clayts to start. I believe Clayton still has an important role to play this season.
Chris
Leicester are a better side than all the pundits realised, their winning the league title was no fluke, they won it easily.
They lost two of their most influential players immediately, and played below their true form last year.
This season, they are a very good side, playing brilliant football at speed and a delight to watch. They have no difficulty with any of the top five and two more good buys would see them in the leading group next time.
I meant no slur on Leicester, at least not for the manner of their league victory.
I agree with your description of their football.
I was using their win as the exception that proves the rule the league is divided between Manarsechelcity.
Jarkko you are just in front of me for the Leeds game,me and my son who you met at Derby on New Year’s Day a few years ago are block 40 row 8. It’s his 28th birthday that day too
Nice. See you both at the match.
I usually say hello to AV at the haft time. He is in the upper and usually very busy before and after the match.
But see you there, too. Up the Boro!
Something to enjoy, especially for Plato:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwEfrrABuUU
The break out with Stewy from the back at around 1.19 when he points to where he wants it for the return pass for me was a telling sign in his development over the last few weeks.
RR,
I’m surprised that QPR weren’t wearing their away strip brown shorts. They looked terrified of him. How many yellow cards did he generate for QPR?
UTB,
John
Have a look at George’s goal
t.co/NHuIP74PDc from Middlesbrough FC’s Tweet
Download the Twitter app
https://youtu.be/BNCmWm5HwQg Adama Traore
Today the media has been remembering Jimmy Armfield and his great service to Blackpool and the wider footballing community. Over the weekend however we lost one of our own, Billy Day who provided the ammo for Brian Clough and Alan Peacock. Born in the Boro, Billy was a right winger who as a former Army sprinter would possibly have given Adama a run for his money!
In his prime he managed 18 goals in 12 appearances in a Boro shirt from 1955 to 1962. During his National Service the Club used to fly him in from Germany and then back out again such was his ability and value to the team.
RIP Billy!
RR,
As a child I remember seeing him play, Edwin Holliday too. My father used to work in the Centre South stand and park a friend and I at the front of the stand to watch the game. Bewitching stuff to see. Aster, supporter in the North Stand bellowing out encouragement like a Sergeant Major and a lot of banter. I have always felt he was never fully appreciated. Was Bob Dennison the manager then.
I remember one game, Clough, Day, Holliday, Bill Harris et al., when the terrace filled-up as the game started and as the pubs emptied. A particularly inebriated but sharp character on the terrace was dishing out colourful encouragement and criticism to the Boro players and a gentleman at the front of the stand asked him to moderate his language.
The terrace wit replied that if you are offended you shouldn’t bring f—– tarts to a football match. No answer from the stand. However when I got home, and after the silence of checking the results on Sports Report we had tea. At the table table I asked “dad, ‘what’s a f—— tart’ “ever so politely. Whack, up to your room.
After that curiosity was more carefully judged.
God bless Billy Day.
UTB,
John
Ken,
I remember one game when Boro were having an ‘off-day’ shall we say Then in a quiet moment out boomed the voice. ‘Boro will be issued with walking sticks after the match. To help speed them up.’
Ground bursts out laughing. It was all to do with the timing and delivery.
Funny how things stick in your mind! I must have been about ten years old.
UTB,
John
Part of the famous Boro forward line – Billy Day, Derek McLean, Brian Clough, Alan Peacock and Edwin Holliday. The last time I saw him was at Redcar Races in his capacity as a bookie.
RIP Billy
Jarsue
A few weeks ago I asked the question if anyone remembered Aster. Glad to hear that you did. Aster was a black West Indian and certainly had a booming voice, a lot of which was directed at Delapenha sometimes in flattering terms and other times rather less so. He also used to refer to him as ‘our kid’ though he wasn’t really related to him. Happy days.
A few things:
1. Great Traore videos. That’s why we love the game (sometimes).
2. FA Cup – Man Utd were required by the FA to take part in that Intercontinental Cup in South America in a failed FA bid to curry favour with FIFA and in the hope of getting the World Cup Finals back to England. A completely wasted effort as we all know now how corrupt the system was.
3. When I was young the FA Cup Final was about the only club game you could guarantee to see live on TV. There were the Home Internationals as well (and I miss those, too). The season built up to the last game, the FA Cup Final. Books, comic stories and films were never about winning the League but all about the Glory, that one tumultuous day at Wembley where your team might win the Cup and the players be immortal.. Boro players excepted, of course, because in those days the rules of football were written as though Middlesbrough FC wasn’t allowed to take part in the latter stages of the Cup.
4. As has already been suggested, if you win the FA Cup, that glory can never be taken away, In a hundred years time, your team is still on the list of FA Cup winners. However, if promoted, as we were in 2015-16, that can be taken away again by relegation in 2016-17 (as actually happened to us!). So Wanderers have won it 6 times, Old Etonians twice, the Royal Engineers twice, Old Carthusians have, and “lowly” teams like Bury (twice (1899-1900 and 1902-03) all before the big two Manchester Clubs or either of the big 2 Liverpool clubs, and before Arsenal won their first Cups. Barnsley, Burnley, Bradford City, Cardiff City and Charlton have all won the FA Cup, and little Wimbledon and Wigan (only 5 years ago in 2012-13) beat the mighty Manchester City before crashing down through the leagues. So, it is a competition with romance in the way the League title is not – unless you happen to be a Leicester City fan. But if we have to wait 1,000 years for that to be repeated, I reckon Old Etonians and Bury again are more likely to trouble the FA Cup engravers first!
Forever Dormo
You’re right, there was always glory in winning the FA Cup. One might say that Boro entered, but never actually competed, certainly before the Second World War. The furthest Boro reached were Quarterfinals in 1888,1901,1904 and 1936. Even Redcar reached the Quarterfinal in 1886 beating Boro on the way before losing 0-2 to Small Heath Alliance (now Birmingham City).
Boro’s record since then has been better with Quarterfinal defeats in 1947, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1981, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2017, Semifinal defeats in 2002 and 2006, and of course the one Final defeat in 1997. However for a club of Boro’s standing it is poor record.
Forever
I am glad it wasn’t just me who remembers the FA’s role in the ManU situation (see post in reply to RR above)
A shambles by the suits.
The rumours about us being interested in McGinn the Hibs Midfielder seem to be bubbling away nicely to the point where I’m wondering if there is now some substance in them?
On a separate note I feel we need to look out for another winger and I’ve noticed that Celtic are sniffing around a 19 year old left winger, Luka Adzic from Red Star Belgrade. I have no idea what he is like other than he is 6ft 3″ apparently (ticks a Pulis box for sure) but Celtic do have a knack of getting their hands on Eastern European stars and selling them on for decent money when their stock improves. Now considering our “Scouting” success rate I think I would buy him sight unseen when contrasted with Glasgow Celtic’s “Scouting” success rate in foreign climes!
I’ve just been checking on Boro’s remaining League fixtures for the rest of the season and checked our performances against those teams the last time we played them which in most cases was in Boro’s promotion season, excepting Barnsley (2013/14), Norwich (2014/15), Sheffield United (2010/11), and of course Hull City and Sunderland who we played last season. Those matches produced 12 wins, 2 draws (2-2 at Birmingham and 1-1 at Derby) and only 3 defeats (all 0-1 defeats at home to Bristol City and Nottingham Forest, away at Cardiff City).
If we repeat those score lines of 38 points and 26 goals against 11, that would represent a total for the season of Played 45, Won 25, Drew 7, Lost 13, Goals 64 against 38, Points 82 and that excludes the away match at Burton Albion who we have never met before away from home. Now if we can assume a win there against a team with a dismal home record, that would mean an accumulation of 85 points with a favourable goal difference of at least 27.
Last season Reading finished third with 85 points and a goal difference of only plus 4. Even discounting a win at Burton 82 points would have been enough for fourth place. I make no predictions, but leave it to others to meditate over those figures, but be warned it was Huddersfield in fifth place who earned promotion via the playoffs.
If we were in doubt that football has become a game for the rich – Alexis Sanchez has joined Man Utd on a 4.5 year deal ‘earning’ £300,000 a week, a contract which should bank him around £70m in wages alone.
Chris
Given the choice I too would go for winning a cup, FA or League, over a promotion. In my time following Boro we’ve had 7 promotions and none of those equaled the ecstatic celebrations of winning in Cardiff. Yes that was an historic first and I’ll take those memories with me til my dying day, but to me one off games such as that can compress a seasons worth of hope and excitement into 90 minutes (plus added and possibly extra time).
I understand for club owners and chairmen the money in the top flight can be he main priority, but to a lifelong supporter it’s about winning cups and trophies.
A couple of years ago on holiday in Crete I was talking with some southern Manure supporter about all things football. When we got round to England’s chances of actually winning another World Cup, I said I’d want Boro to win the FA or League cup ahead of England winning another World Cup given the choice. Queue look of disbelief on the face of the armchair supporter of the most successful team in English domestic football history. He really couldn’t grasp why I would think that.
Caught up with the QPR game on the MFC Website and I was very impressed with the performance. After 10 minutes we took control and there was only going to be one winner. Totally professional and organized from back to front which imo has to be down to the manager. Good to watch and still no hoof ball as plan A.
Liam Kennedy writing in the Hartlepool Mail has been damning not only about Pools display on Saturday, but also about the attitude of the players considering the fact that their wages have been guaranteed for the rest of this month. He also states that the overwhelming support of a large crowd from the whole region deserved a much better performance.
On the playing side only striker Jake Cassidy escapes his wrath having no support as a lone striker. It would appear that Pools have a similar problem in that regard as Boro have encountered in the past. However I have noticed that in their last four matches when they have scored first they have gone on to lose two of them at home and drawn the other two against Gateshead over the holiday period, a complete opposite to what happens to Boro when taking the lead.
It is difficult to see what can be done to alter the situation given that Pools have lost key players and are not able to recruit new ones, but maybe manager Craig Harrison needs help which out of work Ronnie Moore (the manager who helped the club perform a Houdini act in 2015) is willing to give, might alleviate the problem. After all, like Tony Pulis, he has a vast experience in football management, and maybe could do a Terry Venables for Pools.
In any event a win tonight away to relegation rivals Chester could perhaps kickstart a revival, but it would need a vast improvement in attitude and performance for that to happen, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed on that.
Morning Bloggers
As suggested I have been in touch with Harry Pearson and here’s his response
Thanks for getting in touch. I’d be very happy to do the Q&A but I have to confess that, though I’d still call myself a Boro fan, I kind of follow the club from afar these days. I go to football every week, but nearly always to Northern League (took a week off and went to Victoria Park on Saturday, great to see so many MFC fans there), so I don’t have much insight into the current team. If that’s not a problem then please send the Q&A over.
All the best and up the Boro
Harry
So if there are any questions you would like me to ask please post them up on the blog
OFB
OFB
With Harry it his memories and the verbal pictures he paints that are memorable.
Best non league ground and why.
Hardest player
Best player
Best manager
Happiest memory
First match
Worst memory
Best Boro game
Best Boro player
Funniest moment
The list is endless, I still go back in to the link and read his old articles
Forever Dormo asked “Let’s think about Traore”, and compared his development as a 21-year-old with some other notable players. Well, I’ve done the same and looked at what Gareth Bale and Christiano Ronaldo were doing at 20 – 21 yrs of age. It certainly wasn’t all plain sailing at that age for those two either so there’s room for optimism with Adama.
Bale at 21 was suffering with a number of serious injuries during his early years with Spurs and when he wasn’t injured he was being dropped for very mediocre performances. Benoît Assou-Ekotto, no world beater himself, was keeping Bale out of the Spurs side and when he did play he went on a run of 24 league appearances without actually being on the winning side. But his fortunes eventually turned when Ekotto was out through injury and Harry Redknapp decided to play him in the FA Cup against Peterborough. He finally ended a game on a winning side, stayed largely injury free and went on to make strides towards being the World player known today.
Ronaldo at 21 was being banned by UEFA for a “one-fingered gesture” towards Benfica fans and being sent off in the Manchester derby for kicking City’s former United player Andy Cole. He was also regularly clashing with Ruud van Nistelrooy who took offence at his showboating style of play. Following two training ground fights Van Nistelrooy allegedly told Ronaldo to “go crying to your daddy”, a reference to Ronaldo’s relationship with assistant manager Carlos Queiroz. Then came the 2006 World Cup and the winking incident that got his club teammate Rooney sent off. Following that he actually asked Man U for a transfer, lamenting a lack of support from the club, but they turned him down and arranged special one-to-one training with first-team coach René Meulensteen. This was his turning point, things improved on and off the pitch. He won the Premier League with United, collected a string of awards and the rest is history.
billog72
At that age Fergie was getting fed up with Giggs end product, sometimes it was fabulous, at other times it was safer for spectators in the six yard box.
I believe Bale was so undervalued in his early days at Spurs he was offered to us.
Naturally we turned him down.
My choice of Harry Pearson’s finest moment among many, is going off piste in a Newcastle match report and describing the difference between Ruud Gullit and his opppsite number, possibly one T. Pulis.
If OFB can ask Harry for the link to post on here, I recommend every one read it. I’d post the link myself but can never find it.
Compliments of Harry
No problem. It was Dave Bassett.
CHARISMA AND THE SCENT OF LANOLIN
CHARISMA AND THE SCENT OF LANOLIN
http://harrypearson.blogspot.com/2014/06/charisma-and-scent-of-lanolin.html
Brilliant! I’ll never get bored of reading this.
Everybody tuck in and enjoy yourselves…
http://harrypearson.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/?m=1
I asked Harry Pearson on Twitter if his books are on sale at Waterstones of Captain Cooks Square. He replied he is thinking so but he cannot be sure as he lives 1,5 hours away from Boro.
He also mentioned he visited Finland last summer.
I must buy a book or two for a read back at home when I am in Boro in March.
Up the Boro!
Yes, but I love visiting a book store while at Boro, too. UBT!
Yes Jarkko support the bookshops to keep them open, his books are brilliant, you will enjoy them.
On Brighton I hope we beat them, I remember the petulant way their coach ? carried on last time we played them.
2-1 UTB
Werder could you have a look at the email I sent you please
Cheers OFB
Morning everyone, Simon has been busy into the small hours finalising his latest Talking Point article that looks at whether Boro have left behind the concept of ‘Eurocracy’ in the appointment of Tony Pulis…
https://diasboro.club/2018/01/24/have-boro-left-eurocracy-behind/