Fans await guilty pleasures but Pulis is not that innocent

by Diasboro, posted in Uncategorized

Championship 2018-19: Week 26

Sat 26 Jan – 15:00: Boro v Newport County (FA Cup)

Werdermouth looks ahead to targets being hit and signed…

Few on Teesside would probably draw comparisons between Tony Pulis and Brittany Spears – not even during that time when she shaved her head when suffering a bout of depression brought on by seasonal affected disorder. Though the Boro manager has certainly affected the mood of the Riverside with a different kind of seasonal disorder that seems to stem from a continued failure to select an effective team to perform adequately at home. Learning after the event is easy but many of the Boro faithful are getting tired of hearing the same record of ‘Oops!.. I did it again’. While most of the public blame continues to be directed at the players from their manager, few observers are being hoodwinked and believe he’s not that innocent – yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (as the song goes) and then some. But that’s not the reason why Tony has gone all Brittany on us, it’s actually more to do with the word that has been used to describe the current atmosphere at the Riverside – it’s toxic!

Still, at least the Boro manager has noticed that the club’s home form is “of concern” and he’s declared this week that “We’ve got to fight like billy-o to turn it around and make the fans happy”. For those not familiar with the expression ‘billy-o’, it’s thankfully not pronounced ‘billy zero’ as in the Tony’s favourite number, nor is it related to billy-no-mates – the default name given to the individual chosen to be Boro’s lone striker.

The actual origins are disputed with some claiming it refers to the famous 19th century steam train ‘Puffing Billy’ – though in Boro’s case when trying to score that would probably be the Huffing-and-Puffing Billy. Others have quoted references to the 17th century old school puritan preacher Joseph Billio, who enthusiastically preached ‘hellfire and damnation’. Should Tony Pulis ever appear on ‘Who do you think you are’ and trace his ancestry, he may indeed be possibly descended from Joseph Billio but the preacher sadly had, like entertainment at the Riverside, long since disappeared into obscurity before the first use of billy-o appeared.

In fact the term billy-o is most likely a minced oath, in the same way ‘Jiminy Cricket’ was a euphemism for Jesus Christ and ‘By George’ was an alternative to ‘By God’. It’s thought that billy-o came into use at the time of the 1849 gold rush and was frontier talk for the devil – which possibly derives from imagery of Satan being depicted in goat form. All of which seems entirely appropriate given that watching Boro of late has been a living hell and the Riverside faithful appear to have been going through purgatory for what appears to be an eternity. Nevertheless, Tony Pulis may find that the devil is actually in the detail and if he wants to make the fans happy then it may involve being tempted by the unoriginal sin of no longer serving up goal-fearing soulless displays.

While the end of the January transfer window may be nigh, those witnesses who were at the Riverside for the visit of Millwall were probably not of the belief that what the team was lacking was another central midfielder – especially given that their manager decided he needed to start with five of them in front of four defenders. News that Boro are closing in on the 31-year old former Chelsea player, John Obi Mikel, after he agreed terms and passed a medical has been met with a less than enthusiastic response in many Boro quarters. It’s not immediately apparent what has attracted Pulis to the 6′ 2” Nigerian, though it’s hoped he can be a big player for the team.

At least Boro’s recruitment department have proved if a player is willing to locate in north-east China then considering a move to the north-east of England may not be too much of a stretch. However, he’s unlikely to prove to be the answer to Boro’s goal-scoring problems as in his ten year career at Chelsea he managed just one league goal – a scissor-kicked effort against Fulham back in 2013 apparently. His primary role for the Blues was to protect the back four, which probably makes him more of a replacement for Clayton both in terms of a defensive shield and as an attacking threat.

Given the supposedly budgetary restrictions at the club it appears odd that signing a likely high-wage earner in Mikel has been a priority for Pulis. Perhaps he perversely still sees conceding goals is more the source of the problem than scoring at the other end. We shouldn’t forget that at Game 18 when we sat second in the table, Boro’s against column wasn’t yet into double figures but ten games later we’re now up to 20. The Boro manager may have concluded that since our scoring record has remained more or less constant at on average one goal per game, it’s the doubling of the rate that goals are being conceded that has been responsible for his team’s dropping off the pace.

One player who the club are seemingly reluctant to sign, at least for any longer, is Stewart Downing. News emerged that he’s been left stranded like a batsmen on 99, one short of the magic number that will trigger a one-year contract extension on seemingly an improved deal of the £35 grand a week one he currently enjoys. He may in his defence argue that he initially took a pay cut to join Boro when he joined from West Ham and has kept himself in good shape in order to gain the long-term security of an extended deal. Though it possibly wasn’t the best idea by the the club to offer a lucrative contract extension to any player who will turn 35 in the summer – especially as the terms of the deal aren’t linked to what league he’ll be playing in.

After spells at Villa and the Hammers, Downing’s certainly has a penchant for playing in Claret and Blue, so he may be pleased to hear that Burnley are the latest of those colours to show interest and are said to be “monitoring the situation” – no doubt lining-up a comfortable seat next to Ben Gibson on their bench. While Downing has by no means been the worst under-performing player in a Boro shirt, his return to the club has split opinion among supporters, with some of the least impressed even offering to drive him to Turf Moor if an offer materialises – though thankfully for Stewie it appears Prince Philip is not among them.

However, Downing should possibly still be wary of taking a taxi just in case the hapless Duke has returned to the wheel and is looking for fares. You may recall, the 97-year old famously admitted to driving around London for 18 years in a black cab in order to blend in with the crowd – it was perhaps the perfect cover for him as erratic manoeuvres while making obscene hand gestures are generally expected from from London cabbies and usually go unnoticed. Although, seemingly old habits die hard and as recently as 2016 the Uber royal driver personally picked up and drove his guests, the Obamas, to Windsor Castle. Whether he got a decent tip is not known but he was snapped by the paparazzi at the wheel unbuckled and grinning, or possibly squinting, with an uneasy looking Barack in the passenger seat getting ready to practise the brace position. Though rumours that the Greek consort is being groomed by Prince Charles into saving the planet by driving President Trump to extinction as he makes a secret post-Brexit visit have been rubbished as ‘just the usual conspiracy theories’.

Talking of players wanting to end their career at Middlesbrough, Charlton Athletic striker Karlan Grant is the latest to be linked with a move to Teesside after scoring 14 goals in 27 appearances for the League One outfit. Before anyone rushes to point out the fact that he’s only 21, I should remind any helpful readers that recent history has shown us that a move to Boro for a promising striker often carries the risk of being career-ending as their goal-scoring prowess gets lost among the rows of immaculate banjos in the Hurworth cowshed. Bernie Slaven recently claimed that a striker wouldn’t view coming to Boro at the moment as a good career move – especially as a lone striker under the expert guidance of Tony ‘never mind the goals count the crosses’ Pulis.

Though if supporters want a demonstration that Boro really mean business (good or bad) in the January window then the Birmingham Mail have reported that “Middlesbrough have re-ignited their interest in Yannick Bolasie” after he returned to Everton early from his loan spell at Aston Villa. Given that Villa reportedly paid all of his £75 grand a week wages, re-igniting is the possibly the appropriate word – as in setting fire to a large wad of cash that will surely burn more than a hole in Steve Gibson’s pocket if the rumour has any substance. Bolasie is apparently not in Marco Silva’s plans but wants to stay and fight for his place at the Toffees (where ever that may be) – though that’s usually just code for “I’ve got a nice lucrative contract and I’m not taking a penny less than I’m entitled to”. As to why Bolasie was returned early from his season-long loan is not clear – though the possibility of sending season-long loanees back to Everton may be of interest to some on Teesside with regard to a certain Mo Besic given his largely ineffective second spell at Boro. Incidentally, the Telegraph suggested the Bolasie deal would be financed by moving Clayton, Leadbitter and Fletcher off the wage bill – which may explain the imminent arrival of Mikel.

Though enough of rumours and lazy journalistic column fillers, Boro return to FA Cup action on Saturday and a chance to indulge supporters in the fantasy that another goal-fest at the Riverside is literally only days away. While Boro’s Championship displays may have not even been one for the purists, the 5-0 thrashing of that other Posh Boro from down south will perhaps persuade a few on Teesside that this is where the real entertainment is to be found these days. Furthermore, our next opponents, Newport County, aren’t even League One fodder and are currently languishing in the middle of the fourth-tier table. OK, a few may be slightly concerned that they dumped a not quite second-string Premier League Leicester City out of the Cup in the third round – though that was back at their place in the quirkily-named Rodney Parade, which sounds a bit like a march in solidarity along Peckham High Street for down-trodden brothers.

Whilst a tie against Newport may not be seen as anything other than rather ordinary for many on Teesside – other than being the battle of the Transporter Bridges – it is indeed a special day for the Boro manager, who faces the club of his home town. Tony Pulis has been reminiscing this week of his upbringing in Newport, which almost seemed to slip into a Pythonesque ‘Four Yorkshiremen’ sketch as he proudly boasted “We had nothing but we had everything” – though oddly no mention of the shoebox in the middle of the road in which all a hundred and sixty of them lived or drinking tea from a rolled up newspaper.

Instead, he recalled that their family of eight grew up in a small terraced house and how he had to share a bed with his three brothers up until he was 15 – though hopefully not a single one sleeping sideways with a bag of cement for a pillow. Although, it could explain his fondness for closing down space on the pitch and having a tight back four or even his insistence that players keep rigidly to their position on the pitch. With his two sisters sharing another bedroom, his parents slept in a small box room and led a simple life where they seemingly made their own entertainment – pretty much in the same way as those who visit the Riverside do today.

Apparently, Tony Pulis is inviting lots of family and friends from Newport to watch the game at the Riverside and his wife Debs said it’s going to cost him a fortune. No doubt the Boro manager will be keen that his team put on a good show (as usual) and make him proud. Pulis will likely make some changes from his usual suspects and hopefully we’ll see more adventure with a chance for some of the forwards to get a game. The danger for the Boro manager is that his team fail to turn up and put in another low-intensity error-strewn performance that then get the crowd on their backs from early in the game. Therefore I’d expect favourites such as Wing and Tavernier to start, along with van La Parra – otherwise any signs of a return to the toxic atmosphere with a chorus of boos, or even chants of ‘Pulis Out’, would be extremely embarrassing for Tony on his big day.

345 thoughts on “Fans await guilty pleasures but Pulis is not that innocent”

  1. Another quality piece Werder.

    Had an easy time at work this week. Been on what should have been a two day course that the course planners managed to squeeze into four. Three half days and an hour and a half today to take a multi guess “exam”.

    Loved the Brittany Spears references except I had a worrying mental picture of TP dressed as a school girl thinking Oops I Did It Again after picking Besic and watching him run around to no effect mainly heading towards his own goal and giving the ball away at every turn.

    I’d like to think it will be a comfortable Boro win on Saturday but our customary tortoise style could turn into an uncomfortable 90 minutes if County do what the Other Boro couldn’t and turn pressure and chances into goals.

    I’ve no clue what team Pulis will go for but I would like to see at least Shotton(if fit), Fry, Wing, Tavernier, VLP, Assombalonga and Hugill start. Highly unlikely but who knows.

    As for Mikkel even on a pay as you play deal I still think any money he gets could be better spent elsewhere. Left back as cover or replacement for George,if he’s an improvement, and an ATTACKING central midfielder are where any funds in the transfer kitty should go for starters.

    On SD if it is only starts and not just appearances that count, have him on the bench for the rest of the season for me as although I’m a Downing fan another year and an increase on what he’s on now is a no from me. Another year on reduced wages I’d say yes.

    Besides if he stayed at the club it would be easier for him and Woody to take over the reigns when TP steps down.

    Don’t worry I’ve not a breakdown just an attempt at gallows humour.

  2. Another humorous article from Werdermouth. However didn’t the term ‘by George’ refer to George Hardwick? Just kidding, I meant to say George Friend.

    However on a serious note if we jettison Besic, Leadbitter and Downing perhaps Obi Mikel might be our Bobby Murdoch.

    1. A 21st century Bobby Murdoch would be fantastic Ken. I was only 12 when big Jack signed him but even at that early age I could see what a brilliant passer of a ball he was.

  4. Werder,

    The best yet. Excellent and there are too many good references to pick one out but the ‘Phil the Greek’ passage made me smile. Who knows what Mr Pulis will do and I don’t think he does. The thought of Bolassie and Downing taking £100k out each week, well, that makes your eyes water and if you want to drive the promising kids out that would be the perfect way, you could even name their shirts ‘No Hope’, ‘Little Hope’ and so on. Mind you Bob Hope couldn’t do much worse.

    UTB,

    John

  7. On transfers:

    Jhon Obi Mikel – reported to be “pay as you play” hopefully with the option of a permanent contract at the end of this season depending on promotion.

    Grant Leadbitter – it is reported that Sunderland could only afford 5k of his 20k per week wages and MFC will pick up the rest until the end of his contract on 30 June 2019.

    Stewart Downing – alledged interest from Burnley which would be the best solution for all parties as long as MFC are not paying any of his wages.

    Yannick Bolasie – I would certainly stay away from this one, he reportedly said he cut his season long loan at Villa to fight his way into the Everton side so why would he go out on loan again and at 75k a week, not worth the gamble.

    Come on BORO.

  8. Exmil

    Pay as you play sounds like Boro were negotiating hard ball style for a change.

    I’d keep Leads and get shot of Besic. Rather keep paying Grant £20K a week than whatever Besic is robbing us of each week.

    As said previous keep SD but not on an increased wage. If that’s the case hope he has a swan song at Turf Moor.

    In total agreement with you about Bolasie. I wouldn’t touch him with a stick covered in the proverbial. If he couldn’t “fight” his way into Villas first team what chance him doing it at Everton. Players with his lack of application couldn’t fight sleep!

  10. Werder

    I really enjoyed the post thanks

    “seemingly made their own entertainment – pretty much in the same way as those who visit the Riverside do today.”

    A classic that made me laugh out loud whilst sitting in the car waiting for Mrs OFB. People next to the car gave me a wide berth as they thought I had escaped from somewhere!

    It’s one of your best.

    Just bought a get well card for my friend Jeff Winter the former Premiership referee who is in hospital after suffering heart problems. Going to see him tomorrow and it just makes you think that you have to live every day.

    Hopefully we see a decent game on Saturday and I forecast ….

    Wait for it …….

    3 0 to Boro!

    Sorry it must be a rush of blood to the head !

    OFB

  11. Exmil re dates for the to be rearranged Brizzle City game.

    Feb 11-15 is a non starter as we play Sheffield United on the 13th.

    Feb 18-22 & 25-1 Mar would be my preferred dates as I fly back to Saudi on the 28th.

  12. In the last blog I posted JOM had scored 1 goal in 11 years at Chelsea. I’ve read on the MFC website he did in fact notch 6 in total.

    1 Premier League
    3 FACup
    2 Champions League

    While I’m non plussed with him signing as he’s now a Boro player and want him to do well I thought I’d put the record straight in the interest of being fair to the lad.

  13. It’s an odd one. I guess with the exception of Clayton who has performed his role admirably and Wing, our midfield has hardly functioned in any sort of creative sense this season. Even though JOM is a defensive midfielder by trade these days he is probably more creative and technically capable than anyone else we have outside of Wing. (I have no idea what’s gone wrong with Besic this season.)

    If we play 4/3/3 then a central 3 of Clayton, Wing and JOM and an attacking 3 of Tav/VLP Britt and Hugill is better than the present. It’s still very one-paced in the middle and it’s going to take JOM and VLP a fair few weeks to get properly up to speed by which point we could have slipped out of the top 6. Right now what we really need is someone who is playing regularly (match fit) has pace and naturally prefers to play wide. He also needs to know the Championship and what it takes to beat teams that come to sit deep. Anyone else is going to take too long to get up to pace. There’s probably no one available. If Gibbo had cash to splash you would actually be looking at someone like Adam Reach.

    1. Reach would be a bold choice for Boro, although I think he normally plays on the left where VLP prefers to play. Interestingly he’s only made 10 appearances for a struggling Wednesday this season and I think is possibly out of contract in June. Still he at least has a goal in him!

  14. I remember the 6th of May, the last league day of the 2016/17 season for 2nd Division clubs. I had just watched on Sky Sports a terrific comeback by Hartlepool to score the winning goal against already promoted Doncaster Rovers who would have gone up as Champions if they had won. The Rovers players were a little downcast to let a 1-0 lead slip by, whilst the Pools players and fans were jumping for joy to have escaped relegation, or so they thought. Suddenly news filtered through that Newport County had scored in injury time to beat Notts County and sent Pools down at the expense of the Welshmen. I felt so disappointed for Pools, and although having Welsh blood, as well as German blood, in my veins I hope that Boro stuff Newport on Saturday. Sadly it wouldn’t be any consolation to Pools, but another 5-0 win would amount to some form of revenge for me.

  15. Werder
    As my input is sporadic these days due to heavy family commitments, I owe you quite a few “the usual’s”, although that does not do you justice as you continue raising the bar with each new leader.
    In the absence of any acknowledgement from me, please take it as read that your efforts (and RR’, Si’s, OFB’s and Ken’s) are greatly appreciated.
    This blog has far surpassed it’s predecessor due to all your efforts and those of the regular contributors whose views I enjoy reading.
    Just wish I had time to participate more actively.
    UTB

    2. As Mrs OFB often says to me

      Just sit back and relax and enjoy!

      Err I’m talking about her making dinner 🥘 in case you thought I. Was talking about something else !

      OFB

  16. Reading the comments re.midfielders, their talents, or the lack of same.
    It seems to me that individual talent is a poor second best to method and teamwork. My case for Wing and Tav. Plus Fry as the central defender has always been based on the fact that Wing will always unbalance the opposition defence because he passes the ball forward instantly, without seeming to look, and as for taking a touch, it ain’t going to happen, ever. Tav. Thrives on this type of service, using it to round his man and go inside, being quite happy to enter the box and score. As for Fry, we must play him central with a powerful individual either side of him, leaving him to play the ball out of defence to Wing or Tav. Forget right back, or he will forget us. Hugil is a very good hold up merchant, being immensely strong, and not afraid to score.
    I do not understand any of the signings, or threatened signings, it seems to be strictly over aged, exposed, not very good players, the whole affair is just an extremely long playing record, i.e. We have suffered it all before, only the names change.
    The more famous, the more trophies won, the greater the disappointment, and this is always the case, not just us, when they are burnt out, there is no more to give, there is no level which would permit them to relive their golden days again.
    It is extremely poor of our management to deal in these burn outs when there is a whole world out there of young players, cheaper, more than willing to do or die for the chance to further their career.
    We as fans would dearly like to see our brilliant young striker and centre half get a taste of the action now and again..

    1. Ian
      Yes, in the transfer market you can be sure that your sins will come back to haunt you.
      As is normal, we fans without exception gave a little groan when we blithely flogged Reach for a few bob. I think he was one of the few large players we have produced recently. Fast, fearless, good shot on him, very young, had played in a few top games for us, and was not out of place in top company, not many miles on the clock. Hhhm! He should be easy to sell, and he was.

  19. You’ve done it again, Werder. Top marks for a brilliant read full of mischievous wit.

    Jon Obi Mikel. Like most others I can’t really get my head around this one. The only reasons I can find are either:

    a) We’re preparing to offload several central midfielders (not just Grant, he doesn’t need replacing given that he never plays)

    or

    b) TP is planning to play two holding midfielders, presumably Mikel and Clayton together

    On that second option, the hope would be that by playing two defensive midfielders, perhaps TP can take the handbrake off the front four and adjust the balance of the side. Who knows, we may even see Tav and Wing in the same starting XI. Sadly, I’m clutching at straws and don’t really believe that will happen.

    I don’t know how good a player Mikel still is and won’t write him off personally but I’m struggling to see what a player of his type brings to a side whose main issue is scoring goals.

    Well done to the Boro for getting him in on pay-as-you-play (though this does make you think that the offers he got elsewhere must have either been really bad or non-existent) but the whole deal feels a bit like Theresa’s Brexit: The best deal we could get but not quite as good as remaining as we are…

    1. Thanks Andy, it has been rumoured that Boro are looking to offload some midfielders and Mikel may be just a stop-gap option until we know the budget next season. Though I noticed he has been given the Number 2 shirt so it’s possible he’s been signed as a right-back 🙂

      Just as an aside and I’ve not heard anything concrete, but at the back of my mind I’m still wondering if Steve Gibson is preparing for the time in which selling the club becomes an option, whether it be half or all, as this is the third year in which I reckon spending has been less than income received. Despite the sales of players like Adama, Gibson and Bamford the noises from the club is that the club still need to raise cash in January to offset spending. Pulis has already stated that he made a £30m profit since his arrival so both statements can’t be true.

      Gibson will most likely move on at some point and enjoy his retirement while he has his health, money and time to enjoy it. Reaching 60 is often a catalyst for making major decisions – the guy who owns the company Mrs Werder works for reached 60 last year and has just announced last month that he’s leaving following completion of de-merger of all the separate entities into going concerns with a view to selling individual parts. Obviously, Steve Gibson wouldn’t make any announcements until after the event so it’s not something we should expect to hear about – though showing several years of profit on the balance sheet makes for a better selling price than running at a loss with increased running costs.

      1. Possibly Werder, though my suspicions were more that the wage bill is the financial concern.

        I can imagine we pushed the boat out on several players wages to bring them here. I can imagine that those brought in under Karanka and Monk – the managers who were financially indulged – as well as those who’ve been here a while – which makes pretty everyone except the Academy kids – on good, possibly unsustainable, deals as the club had no plans to be in the Championship this season, let alone next.

      4. Andy – Yes I’m sure the wage bill will be an issue next season once parachute payments end and Boro don’t get promoted. Though in theory FFP rules allow a club to make up to a £39m loss over three years, which includes an investment of £15m from an owner. Unless Boro have been sustaining an almost PL wage bill since relegation, then my back of envelope figures that I’ve previously calculated in terms of net transfer outlay would point to small profits. As I said Pulis has claimed a £30m profit since he arrived. In theory Boro should have a competitive budget next season if a few players are moved on and players like Braithwaite are sold on. It doesn’t seem like the financial restrictions being muted are pressing but it may rather be out of choice.

  20. Werder many thanks for your continued high standard article, again along with the sections that made me “chuckle”.
    Again part history lesson with the Billy-o reference. Love it all.

    As for the signing of Mikel, that does intrigue me given the abundance of MF-ers we have and especially like VLP he will not be up to speed for possibly some time?
    So assuming he plays and starts, or why sign him, who will he replace? Grant not in the squad, McNair only on the bench, so that leaves Clayton, Saville and Besic. I just cannot see Wing being benched with his recent performances. So unless TP takes a gamble on Mikel not getting injured when fit, is Clayton vunerable for a move.

    I guess money wise, if we could move on SD from our bench to Burnley’s?? that we ease the finances somewhat. We still need a LB and as RR said a RB, although I think TP will stick with Shotton and Fry.

    Bolasie is now match fit having played in most of Villas last ten games I believe. So does Mr Pulis still have cravings for him and moving on SD may allow that. What a thought, I would not have him gifted wrapped and free.

    1. Thanks Pedro – I’d be surprised if Downing doesn’t do a deal with the club as I imagine he came back to Boro to see out his career. As for Bolasie, I’d be even more surprised to see that deal re-ignited as last time round he wasn’t keen to come to Teesside.

  22. Great read Werder, very amusing. I particularly liked the matching of Pulis’ story to the Monty Python Yorkshiremen sketch and the image of Phil the Greek as a cabbie. Well done.

    Like almost everyone in here I am at a complete loss about our incoming midfield maestro…. I do hope he is not replacing Clayton who has been one of our more consistent performers this year. I guess we will have to wait till the window is closed and we see who we still have before starting to pass any judgement. I did like Andy R’s idea of fielding 2 holding midfielders to allow us more freedom to attack…….Not holding my breath on that one though.

    Typical Boro to turn up on Saturday and gift TP’s home team a valuable replay…..

    Boroughbridge 1 Newport Bridge 1

  23. Statement “The future of the football club has to be getting players who have potential so we can raise some market value with these players, too. We want players who want to develop and get better and probably lower the age group of the squad we have at the moment.”

    Not by TP but by Dean Smith at Villa. Does sound similar though.

  24. Positive Si says:

    Mikel has proven experience and credibility – more than that! – at the very top, and age shouldn’t hamper his vision and technique.

    Negative Si says:

    Not a long-term solution, and his availability may tell its own story.

    1. Si,

      Fair comments but the question, for me, is not so much about his animality but our need for a player of his type.

      Would the world’s best holding midfielder – say Makelele 15 years ago – make enough of a difference that we start scoring two goals a game? Not for me.

      There must be something more to it because, as it stands, another defensive midfielder is that last thing we need.

  26. To look at the positive side of signing Obi-Mikel, here is a player with vast experience playing regularly at the top level. I realise he may be lacking in match fitness, but at only 31yrs of age should be able to soon get in the swing of things.

    We have been lacking an experienced head in the middle of the park since Leadbitter’s demise. If he can bring some coherence to the play and enable the others to link up with the forward player(s) then it could be a very shrewd investment for the remainder of the season.

    It’s often said there is nothing better than experience in football and I would hazard a guess that the large amount he brings will be hugely beneficial to the likes of Lewis Wing and other youngsters at the club.

    I believe he can be a calming influence in midfield and drive his fellow midfielders on. Footballers are no different to anyone else and will relish playing with someone of his reputation and endeavour to impress him with their own talents.

    1. Hope you’re right GHW.

      That said, I think it’s urgency and energy we need in midfield rather than a calming influence. We’ve started games far too calm a lot of the time!

      1. In recent games the midfield seems to have been lacking in any kind of purpose, when players are in possession they appear to want to shift it to another player rather than take responsibility for moving it forward. This is particularly noticeable when the crowd are ready to jump on any wayward passing.

        Midfield General is a term from the past, but sometimes an experienced head right in the middle of the action can be a godsend.

  28. As Werder mentioned recently Diasboro has recently celebrated its second birthday and in that time the number of contributors seems to have increased dramatically. I don’t know whether Werder can give us a rough idea of how many different bloggers have contributed to this forum in that time. We seem to have lost the eccentric Spartak Boro probably hibernating in the Carpathian Mountains, but it also seems a long time since we heard from Forever Dormo who always gave us some interesting thoughts. I do hope he is still alive and kicking, as we don’t want to lose any of our flock.

    4. Ken,

      I think that Spartak no longer posts because he got tired of people renaming the region where lives from the White Carpathian’s to just the Carpathian’s, some folk get a bit twitchy over the little things.

  29. The tale of Mikel is akin to many a tale of a tactician improving, or attempting to improve, a player’s all around or defensive game at the expense of creativity or goal-scoring. See also: Joe Cole, Dirk Kuyt, Albert Adomah.

    Mikel, as I noted in the last thread, went out of the way to limit his game for the benefit of the team. That isn’t to say that the “new” Mikel (or the “new” versions of the above) can’t still be excellent at what he does while still creating, scoring or both – more that in making the player what they want him to be, the managers suddenly lose what they have.

  30. A big thank you Werder for another fabulous article. We here on DiasBoro are very lucky to have you week after week to come up with fabulous humour in your writing but also your serious views on MFC which also makes interesting reading.

    On a count of 1 to 10 my view on Boro at the moment is a lowly 4. Hopefully in the next few weeks that may rise. But I’m not confident.

  31. Yes, Werder, a terrific article as usual. I don’t know how you do it week after week.

    I hope that Tony Pulis dips into Diasboro from time to time because the articles by Werder and the match reports by Redcar Red would give him a clear and accurate assessment of what the fans think of the current situation at the club. He might even find some suggestions from other contributors about who and how to play that, if taken up, would improve results.

  32. Looking at the positives on here to JOM coming to town, and I agree with all of them, top level player, a CV that reads almost as good as mine to prospective employers, still only 31 with a few years left in the tank and the potential to be the leader of the pack and drive us on etc. etc. etc.

    I’m trying not to be negative here but, the comment that JOM could be an influence on the kids can only ring true if he either doesn’t replace any of them in the first team pick, or as is TP’s usual modus operandi, to not play them at all alongside him, because that’s the only real place where they will learn from his experience.

    This isn’t a swipe at JOM as he’s only going to do as requested if he can, but in the vain hope that TP will now realise that the kids are the cheap, beneficial and crowd pleasing way forward for the remainder of this season at least.

    There I go again corralling Wing in with the kids, at his age I was married, mortgaged, money strapped and miserable.

    Only kidding pet, now put that knife down please!

  33. So we signed Mikel, a World Cup captain from last summer. Not bad me thinks and he sounded like a decent chap in his first Boro interview. And he wanted to really come here.

    The media reaction has been positive as the 31-year-old turned down offers from a number of clubs including Crystal Palace, Roma and Wolfsburg in order to join Boro,

    Given the calibre of clubs that have spoken to Mikel this month, Boro’s success in luring him to Teesside is quite a coup. This is an anonymous opinion of the press.

    Interesting to see where he fits in. As much as I like Clayton, we have usually played better when he is substituted. He and Leads are the architects of windscreen wipers (did I write it right now?) from the Karanka era. We must get that away from our system now.

    Still needing one winger. And Downing’s future open. So still work in progress, I am afraid. Up the Boro!

  35. More thoughts on Mikels signing.

    Undoubtedly he is very experienced with a hat full of trophies but unless Pulis changes the way we play I don’t see how Mikel is going to influence things too much in the oppositions half, as I sure bursting forward from deep in your own half is something TP hasn’t really encouraged so far.

    We all know that Pulis sets up not to lose like Karanka so I’m at a loss to see how another deep lying centre midfider is going to increase our, what is quite frankly, appalling goals tally so far this season.

    Does TP see him as being such an upgrade that it will allow the “attacking” midfielders to push further up the pitch and at least be within shouting distance of the lone striker we, and to be fair, lots of teams employ.

    When/if he plays will it stop Besic from his constant turning towards his own goal or if he’s such an upgrade is it in TPs plans to go with two up front in the league?

    Whatever Pulis plans to do hopefully it will include a more attack minded, faster paced style of football.

    You’ve got to hope because without hope what’s left? Probably blind faith and I’m not one for that.

  36. I see more upsides than downsides to Mikel. On the downside he has played only 31 games in 2.5 years at a poor level Chinese side so there’s got to be a risk that his fitness could take too long to catch up to an upper EFL promo push. On the upside he was a free agent so maybe isnt denting our finances too much and he is a proven serial winner at the highest level. This cant be under estimated, you cant have too many winners around the place (same reason Lampard got Cole and Bruce got Terry). I doubt the rest of our squad have one medal between them so the air of authority a winner carries can often improve those around them. TP coached regularly against him in his Chelsea era pomp so has seen plenty of him. He could be the leader we need in the centre of the park, our midfield so often looks lost and he could be the one to give it direction. Lets hope so, all the best to him.

  37. I’ve been so engrossed with Diasboro, Cas Tigers and also the start of the 2019 European Golf circuit lately I’ve rather neglected other sports, so was astonished to discover that the England cricket team had been bowled out for 77 against the West Indies in the First Test in Barbados and are already 339 runs in arrears against the 7th ranked Test side in the World. Defeat seems a certainly in the first match of a 3 Test series. What on Earth is going on?

    1. Ken, I’m going out on limb here and before I post I can actually sense the Exocet’s heading my way, but what the hell, if anyone on here’s worth incoming, it’s you.

      Our problem is the openers, Jennings is about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike, and what Burns brings to the opening two has me baffled. I was always taught to be set when getting ready to receive a ball, he’s got more twitches than Alf Hippopotamus, how the hell can he be set when his head’s hanging over his left shoulder instead of his bat in regards to where the the line of the ball’s coming, he’s looking at the burger stand on square leg. Mmm, maybe he’s hungry.

      The following batsmen are left attempting to make up for what the openers are there for, to take the shine off the ball, wear the quicks down and set a base to work from, they’re just not doing it. Saying that, though, it was an overall pathetic showing for a team that bats down to number ten.

      Okay, fire away everyone, I’m waiting!

  38. On a non football related topic.

    A big well done to the 5 local council leaders and the Tees Valley (awful name) mayor for getting together and putting aside political differences and voting unanimously to buy back Durham Tees Valley (rediculous and awful name) Airport and the surrounding land and bringing it back into public ownership.

    Certainly there are risks involved and it’s a lot of money spread over a lengthy period but imo it’s just the type of investment that the region needs. Hopefully this will bring in further investment into the region which will be translated to more and better paid employment.

    Whatever the colour of the rosettes of all involved in this example of regional politics, they appear to have come to this decision for the good of the area and the residents who live and work both sides of the Tees.

    2. FAA
      Amen to that last paragraph.
      Party politics ensured that the bounty provided under the Teesside Development Corporation never reached Redcar and Cleveland (or Langbaurgh as I believe it was at the time).
      This is two days in a row I’ve had free time. Normal sporadic service will, however, resume tomorrow.

    3. The first steps must be to get an airline carrier to base a plane at the airport plus some more holiday flights but the people of Teesside and surrounds have to use the airport. It doesn’t matter who owns it if people wont fly from there.

      2. Ian, you’re correct in that we need a carrier to make Teesside Airport (shove the other name where the sun is in short supply) a base and viable, it’s not that people “won’t” fly from there, but they need and aircraft to do so.

      3. Jet2 currently fly from Teesside to Bulgaria

        Stobart who are the proposed operator for Teesside have last week bought the budget airline Flybe as a Jv with virgin airlines

        BEn houchen Teesside Mayor also talking to three other budget airlines

        OFB

    1. Simon, a giant and a gentleman, but it must surely have hurt him a tad to laud the 1966 World Cup winners from south of the border, he at least had the decency to report (fairly) on the game and not take himself off for eighteen holes of isolation as did the legendary (in some eyes, but definitely not mine) Denis Law, so as not to witness the old enemy’s place in history. I would like to think that he had the decency and professionalism to put behind him old prejudices to report on any sport on exactly what he witnessed with no holds barred, from what I read, he certainly did so with aplomb.

      Another other bloke from north of the wall that I had ultimate respect for was the late, great, Bill McLaren, the only time he got off the fence was when his beloved Hawick took the field, other than that he was an impeccable correspondent and a total joy to listen to and read in every game he was involved in, a true gentleman both behind and in front of the microphone.

      Sadly, they don’t make them like that any more.

    2. Yes, terrible news Simon. He was the greatest sports journalist of our time. He once covered a Boro game against Cloughie’s Forest. His brother William was no mean crime novelist either.

      Thanks to all for the good news about Dormo.

  41. At this mornings pre match press conference, TP has stated that MFC are not in for Bolasie (phew).

    One report has claimed that Mikel has been signed as an attacking midfielder, possibly as a No 10, which if I remember correctly that is how he started at Chelsea before being converted to a defensive midfielder, also I think he plays for Nigeria as an attacking midfielder.

    Welcome aboard JOM.

    Come on BORO.

    1. So that’s ta ta to Wing then, VLP’s kissed goodbye to Tavernier’s spot so we must be about to announce the signing of a 34 year old right full back to get rid of Fry, Zabaleta anyone? It’s all falling in to place.

  42. The JOM of four years ago was brilliant, even three years ago but the same could be said of Grant. The last two years will have seriously increased his bank balance but I’m hopeful that his desire to play meaningful football before retiring rather than more millions that he doesn’t need in the bank is his intention. If so then he could when fit and free from previous injury niggles could become inspirational for Boro.

    The cynical “Typical Boro” in me sees that when we have done this before and they very rarely work out and for every Murdoch or Merson we get a Parlour or Reiziger or a Valdes. I hope JOB goes on to become a legend in the way that we remember the former two for lifting our game but for that to happen there will be collateral damage and I don’t believe that Grant going to Sunderland is that.

    Downing has shown brilliant vision with his 40 yard pin point passes and ability to get the odd cross in now and again but his finishing is for some reason (like Clayts) at a Sunday Pub League level (after ten pints). The reality is that what we hoped to see when he signed never really materialised at all or certainly nowhere near the level we hoped for albeit a steady dependable 5 or 6 out of 10 every week.

    Clayts for me is our best and most consistent performer, the Millwall error aside. Not exciting but pretty much cleans everything up and as anyone on here knows who has kept a fish tank you need your scavengers in there to keep the tank overall healthy and clean. Besic has been a huge underwhelming disappointment which has pros and cons. Right now I wouldn’t pick him or have him anywhere near the team but last season he was far better than what we are witnessing although like the majority when we needed them to step up to the mark in the play offs he was weaker than Mavis Riley. Maybe this is what TP is seeing or planning for with JOM?

    Howson like Downing is a steady Eddie but just hasn’t hit the heights or gaols we all thought he would bring. McNair seems to be a conundrum wrapped in a very expensive enigma same goes for Saville. We think there could be something in there but not sure what exactly. It all adds up to a bit of a Midfield dogs dinner.

    I have deliberately left Wing out of that “appraisal” as most of us can see and know what he brings same goes for Tav both of whom I think should be in the starting eleven and picking the rest from the above group of middling footballers. VLP looks to be able to offer something but there is that doubt that he has the Traore condition of beating five players but then what including getting to close to his teamates instead of making runs although he can be forgiven that as unless he runs sideways or backwards with the exception of Wing he would never be spotted. Again is that where JOM comes in?

    Putting JOM aside we still need to fill the glaring gaps elsewhere in the side, namely a RB is a pressing concern unless Shotton is truly fit again and LB cover for Friend. If JOM he can bring some of those missing ingredients to the midfield and stay fit then he may have a synergistic effect in upping the effectiveness of others and we may see more goals and positivity. Having Friend as Captain at LB is not great in terms of communicating over distances so an experienced old head in JOM may help but there again shouldn’t Downing have been doing that?

    Perhaps its personality and both George and Stewy are decent lads but sometimes you need a bit of a Grant in there, someone who wears his heart on the sleeve with a winning mentality, could JOM be that profile? We saw from Villa last season that the likes of Jedinak and Hutton to name just two didn’t need coaching from the sidelines and were anything but apprehensive in stark contrast to our meek and timid showing over both legs. Maybe that is what TP is preparing for should we end up in the Play offs.

    I’m still unsure and uncertain over JOM bit he did seem a lot more committed than say Bolassie who I think has revealed his loyalty and commitment credentials. I just hope that JOM integrates with the squad and doesn’t become a “Billy big head” who I believe is related to “Billy no mates”, both distant Cousins of “Billy O”.

    2. Anthony Vickers has written a good article about John Obi Mickel in the Gazette. It seems that he occupies the Juninho position in the Nigerian team behind 2 strikers. Now I’m not suggesting he’s in the Juninho class as his goalscroring record is poor, but Bobby Murdoch didn’t often score either, but if Tony Pulis were to play 2 strikers especially at home he may well be what we need. Most of the fans on the Gazette forum seem to think he’ll fit the bill, so let’s wait and see.

      Fans also are in accord about Grant Leadbitter as a legend in his time with Boro, and hoping he does well at Sunderland even to the extent of gaining them promotion. I never thought the day would come when I’d read that they want the Mackems to be promoted, but such is the high regard they have for Grant, I share their hopes.

      Sad to hear the demise of Hugh McIlvanney, arguably the finest football journalist in my lifetime. Also Ioved listening to his Scottish accent. He was to football what Neville Cardus, John Arlott and Richie Benaud were to cricket, and in the field of broadcasting and reporting I can’t give him higher praise than that.
      RIP from one octogenarian to another.

  43. RR, you have reinforced my previous”outing” post in who we should be rid of with a beneficial credit to our finances and zero affect on what happens on the field, although Exmil seemed to think that what I was proposing would rip the heart out of our current squad. The only difference is that you didn’t mention Flint (the forgotten man?) and you seem to want Shotton back at RB, I’m sorry but he’s never lit my fire since he was touted, never mind seen with the permagrin Bauser in a welcome snap shot when signed, he’s a low level 2, high level 3 player, and that’s the best of him.

    The captain should be middle of the park and be one of the angriest gets going, he should be of the type that would take his mothers dinner and give it instead to his favourite dog, Ma gets the Chappie instead, and no biscuits. George’s is a lovely fella, but that’s the problem, a bollocking off him is akin to a pat on the back and well done mate.

    Wing can ping a forty yarder no problems, even from his hip without a touch, now that is a skill. In fact very rarely does he take a second touch when attempting the killer pass, because his football brain tells him that the second touch gives the defender a chance to read the pass, ping it in and you’re toast.

    JOM amongst others alone are not the answer, neither is looking at what they did in their heyday a reflection of what they can bring to our current set up, what their achievements were previously were brought about by playing alongside in linking in with another ten men on the park that were every bit as good, if not better than he was. We wouldn’t have won the Champions League with him and the best that we can muster from our squad regardless of the coach, just don’t expect this one man to turn our season around on his own, it just won’t happen.

    1. Shotton would never have been my preference for a RB but he has been part of a back line that didn’t let many goals in plus he surprisingly got up the flanks (even being nicknamed “Shottoninho”) and put balls into the box for our 3 to 1 outnumbered lone Striker.

      He also possesses that long throw, the best (and only one) in the club that did find the heads of Flint and Ayala to flick on and create opportunities in the opposition goalmouth. Much as I don’t think Shotton is superb at RB he does fit the model that TP is trying to make work and before his injury looked pretty decent and solid if perhaps unspectacular and a long way from the top pf our problem list. Since his injury we have suffered in form.

  44. PPinP

    Totally agree with your last paragraph. We could have Harry Kane up front or David Silver in midfield and we still wouldn’t score many/any more goals than at present.

    IF we played more to the players strengths rather than trying to shoehorn them into a system that blatantly isn’t working at home results and performances would in my view improve. The system is failing and it is up to the manager to sort it out.

    1. Away from home the tactics and system works brilliantly. At Home it stinks the place out and coming from a place where we call ourselves “Smoggies” that takes some doing!

      As good as TP has done away from Home his Home tactics and results are sackable.

  45. peasepudinperth why do you seem to always take things personally, you stated in a previous post that you would want to ship out a number of players and in reply I asked you to name those players, when you did it was a good portion of the first team squad.

    Everyone has their own view of different players, I for one, like Shotton at this level, I also think Saville will be a good player for our club, JOM is 31 and imho far from past it, he is still the captain of Nigeria and the country team manager sees the move to MFC as a good move. I don’t personally rate Besic, for the money he is getting but I know supporters that do like what he brings. I don’t think Tavernier is ready to be a starter in this league yet, maybe as a late impact player from the bench, Wing I would certainly start and playing alongside JOM could bring him on further.

    You may have totally different views to mine but it doesn’t make either of us right because if we all thought and felt the same it would be a boring world.

    Come on BORO.

  46. If John Obi Mikel has been signed by Boro as an attacking midfielder then I won’t be setting my hopes too high just yet – even if it’s purely based on his International form. Looking at his last ten years playing for Nigeria he has 4 goals and 9 assists to his name from 55 games – so he may get a couple of goals and 3 or 4 assists in a Boro shirt based on that record.

    Though signing players to be attacking midfielders is one thing – them performing as such is another as I believe Howson was signed as an attack-minded central midfielder and so apparently was Saville. Mikel no doubt has pedigree but he’s not exactly a Gaston Ramirez who will likely make the team tick as an attacking force. He will hopefully at least prove to be a leader on the pitch but I’d be wary of labelling him as ‘attacking’ in case supporters get the wrong idea.

    btw Do attacking midfielders normally get given the number 2 shirt? Maybe it’s a cunning plan by Pulis to fool the opposition – maybe he’s actually going to be our new right-back…

      1. Still a strange pick Exmil, Besic has 37 and was brought in as a first team pick.

        However I must admit that I do not remember the team numbers as they were given out at the season start. Were the Boro still hoping to sign a recognised RB and therefore kept the number 2 available?

  47. Exmil, please don’t think that I take comments personally, my responses are more from a need to respond to a criticism of what my comments were/are, maybe I’m too specific in feeling that I need to challenge every single point returned against the serve, let’s call it competitiveness and blame the line judge. Otherwise I need to curb my competitive edge and maybe smash a racket or two, you cannot be serious!

    All I was observing from RR’s post was that apart from the forgotten man (Flint), the only other exception possibly to his thoughts on who’s tenure was a bit thin was Shotton, otherwise we conferred, I think. I honestly don’t think that you could organise a parade down Linthorpe Road to support the retention of Saville, McNair, Besic, Downing, Shotton or Howson in the Boro squad, in fact I think that you’d find that the parade coming the other way would swamp you, I also believe that without that roll call we wouldn’t be worse off without them.

    Rightly or wrongly, they’re my thoughts and I probably spend too much time trying to justify them. That doesn’t mean to say that I’m inflexible or unwilling to bow to others opinions when proven right, I just need others to prove them.

    1. I am with you on Besic and Downing, the others while we are in the championship can do a job for us, some more from the bench or as backup for suspensions or injuries.

      Come on BORO.

  48. More sad news on the budgie front this morning as the one who fell sick last weekend passed away. Apparently the vet thinks the cause was kidney failure brought on by eating contaminated food. Interestingly the seed we buy is from the leading player in the bird food market, which is generally the only brand supermarkets stock. Quite shocked to hear that he rates this brand as extremely poor quality with far too much protein and sugar plus other harmful additives. It’s marketed under a name that implies it’s been designed to be very healthy and list various nutritional info – it’s basically industrial processed food with lots of colouring chemicals that he suggest will reduce the lifespan of your birds by half at best.

    The fact he knows all this but won’t risk speaking out publicly against this particular business is probably symptomatic of all the food scandals that frequently hit the headlines. It’s probably no coincidence that the population as a whole have never been more unhealthy and over-weight since food has been marketed as a trendy pseudo-entertainment rather than making something actually healthy and safe to eat. Big business is seemingly happy to make money by selling addictive unhealthy products that are making people sick because they’re too busy with modern lifestyles to turn down convenience.

    1. Werder, condolences on the demise of the feathery one, and I promise not to lower my post with Pythonesque quotes, but could you please confirm that it was neither blue nor born in Norway. If you want a replacement I’m more than willing to take a trip out in to the bush to catch you a replacement, but this one would not only be blue, but true blue. Being true blue he would also come with attitude, whilst wearing a singlet, ball hugging shorts and demanding why Germans only drink puffs beer that’s as warm as a Kangaroo’s pouch. The vet would also need a helmet, gloves, pads and a box when attempting to trim his claws, because Aussies don’t trim nails, they either use an angle grinder or a well honed axe, luckily the majority only have two claws left to go at.

      As for food, the whole system is reliant upon money men to make the most out of what is virtually a pigs ear, then they need the nutritionists to add what is regarded providence to wholesome food. You can’t even guarantee that what you see running around in a yard one minute, then meat the next is safe, because you haven’t a clue what the hell it’s been fed.

      Fat gets, and I’m sorry but that’s what you are (OFB is an exception), are a result of bad parenting or being the result of seeing what mam and dad do in regards to eating habits as correct and healthy, would you like that supersized sir?

      I despair when I see kids being dragged around shopping centres and the like, dragged because they’re so fat they can hardly walk unaided, whilst shoving yet more crap in to their cake holes. There again, mam and dad slob hardly know any different as they Womble by, eat away sunshine, more fries with that, sauce, no problem.

      I can only remember one poor lass at school being quite overweight, but it had sod all to do with diet, it was medical, and she wasn’t ribbed or taken for a focal point for jokes. We all seemed to be skinny buggers in them days with weight never even being a consideration, unless you couldn’t put it on of course.

      Unless you grow it yourself you can only guarantee 90% certain that what you have is good, but unless you go 100% organic you’re reliant upon provenance of your suppliers, which I’m not, Catch 22 I suppose.

      1. Thanks for the sentiments and I believe those “ball hugging shorts” you talk of are rather appropriately known as budgie smugglers.

        As for the reasons why people are so much bigger than they used to be is probably not simply down to lack of self control as I believe food has been made to become addictive. I may have mentioned this before but I think last summer the Guardian published a picture of people enjoying the heatwave of 1976 on Brighton beach and what was remarkable was that nearly everyone was slim. George Monbiot wrote an article about it and how we ended up where we are today with the obesity crisis. It makes interesting reading if anyone fancies a glance…

        https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/15/age-of-obesity-shaming-overweight-people

    2. I have a few dogs myself and can recall a conversation with “someone who knows” about these things telling me that Pet Food is made as cheaply as possible and as attractive to the buyer (rather than the actual Consumer) as possible. In other words if it looks and smells right, is packaged nicely then owners we will buy it thinking that we are doing the best by our pets. Reality apparently is that some of the stuff we buy we would be in shock and revulsion if we actually knew what it contained and where it came from. The problem for owners of course is how to tell the difference!

      Just this week we had another “Brexit scare” about Trade Deals with the USA and it would mean accepting US produced food for human consumption from currently EU banned genetically modified crops, bacon full of tapeworm and meat full of antibiotics. Sadly the world as we know it is less than honest and integrity seems to be at a very low level in various walks of life.

      1. Food production on an industrial scale is can of worms that probably less appetising than what’s that particular can contains – especially the pet food industry. Where do people think all those race horses end up – it’s not just in their ready-meal beef lasagne!

    4. I’ll have to watch what I eat then Werder, because the reason I was catheterised was because of the risk of kidney failure. Now this catheter is my best friend, saves me from having bladder accidents as I wasn’t mobile enough to get to the toilet in time, and is a lovely hand-warmer. However it needs replacing every 10 weeks and a couple of district nurses are coming next Wednesday to insert a fresh tube. Can’t say I’m looking forward to that experience again though.

    5. Werder I am sorry to hear the budgie didn’t make it.
      Re business existing to make a buck out of anyone and anything and to hell with the implications, twas ever thus and likely will always be so.

      1. Thanks Powmill, yes it was such a shame as he’d looked to be getting better on Wednesday after three days of medicine but relapsed on Thursday and didn’t eat much before sadly fading quickly during Friday morning and passed away sitting in my palm.

  49. Just a quickie about the Airport. The Labour leader Sue Jeffrey of Redcar and Cleveland was sending e mails as late as Monday saying that she was not going to vote for Ben Houchens plan. Suddenly a big u turn took place. I guess her boss Amanda Skelton put her right.
    I believe the Teesside International Airport will be a big success. Should have never been allowed to shrink by Peel. After all they are just property developers. Thanks to the Mayor not one house will be built at the airport. So great news for the area.
    All we need now is for Boro to get promoted to make 2019 a great year.

    1. I refer the honourable Gentleman to the last sentence of my above post about pets. Who knows what to believe or who to trust anymore but one thing for certain is that without an Airport Teesside would become a forgotten backwater which it isn’t far off becoming already coinciding with the Airport’s decline coincidentally (or maybe not).

  50. Back home in sunny Spain and getting back into the domestic chores after six weeks of hotels and family accomodation.

    Great Read again Werder and I particularly liked the BS references and the hell and damnation section both of which made me chuckle.

    I, like many on here, am perplexed about the JOM signing given TP’s assessment of the recruitment department and who and what the club needs to recruit going forward. This appointment seems to be the complete opposite of what he was saying only a week or so ago!

    Whilst past performance is not a guarantee of future returns it is only fair to give JOM a chance to see how he performs. After all, can he really be any worse than our existing pedestrian midfield and may in fact, as some have already mentioned, be the next Bobby Murdoch or Paul Merson; only time will tell.

    Hopefully “typical Boro” do not turn up tomorrow and spoil the TP family day out!

    1. KP, what TP said last week, last night or the last hour if you want, is down to a symptom known as Alzheimer’s, he meets knew friend every time he turns around.

      As for comparing JOM (or quite a few others come to that) with Bobby Murdoch is a slur on the great man’s memory, very few could lick his boots never mind be included in the same sentence.

  51. Let’s not forget that Bobby Murdoch was a free transfer, in the days when free meant “over the hill” or “ rubbish”. That he turned out to be a brilliant signing by Big Jack was great for the club. But it was a signing that wasn’t particularly welcomed at the time, with plenty of supporters describing it as a washed up player getting a last payday when nobody else wanted him.

    Sound familiar?

    1. I remember Alf Wood another over aged free transfer, non scoring striker.
      I WAS at anfield for the FA cup quarter in 77 I think, he had a goal disallowed as the ref said it didnt cross the line.
      That’s all I remember him for.
      Murdoch on the other hand………
      Probably best free transfer ever

  52. Braveheart, I believe that one or two of the five must have hated having to vote for Ben Houchen´s plan. Remember Sue Jeffery ran against BH and has complained about the result ever since. How could a Labour enclave possibly vote for a Conservative Mayor.

    it will be difficult to make it all work we all know that, but without a successful local airport it is very difficult to entice incoming business. A low cost airline will be essential I believe to make it work as will retaining KLM.
    As for a link to Heathrow, that I believe is pie in the sky for now, there just are not slots available, not until they build another runway in ????? years time.
    Would Gatwick be a possibility and be economical?

    For now though a great result.

  53. RR, a dog, and I’ve had a few and not only on a Friday night, will eat virtually anything that they can get their gums around, and again I’m not referring back to Friday nights there, because myself and not only lots of other dog lovers on here can testify to a tale where we had to drag the mutt away from a dubious food source. So what goes in to the pet packet usually isn’t down to the pet’s culinary taste, it’s more down to marketing nouse in advertising to the owner with gravy dripping meat that even I would eat never mind the bloody dog.

    My first dog was a Bitsa, bits of this, bits of that, but he would eat your Sunday dinner off the plate if you just as much went away from your chair to get the salt pot, I know he could do it because he proved it. Thing was, he was fed “Chappie” every day when he couldn’t nick my dinner, which was all we could afford seeing as it was the cheapest on the shelf, but he wolfed it down with relish.

    My point is, that entering with a trade deal on a food basis with the US would be a nightmare, it is still the only country in the world that endorses cattle being injected with steroids, so what you see on the packet may not be is exactly what you get inside but, you will always get those that will wolf it down with pleasure because it’s both plentiful and cheap. The only good thing to ever come out of the States was the BA Concorde return flight to Heathrow, but like my trust to anything from the US, that’s long gone.

  55. Unfortunately most of the poor processed foods we have are the cheap option. For families on tight budgets avocados and other such “trendy” eating is not an option. Before everyone jumps in with “ home cooking” for families on a minimum wage and working overtime to make ends meet time doesn’t permit it.

    Whilst I’m on my soapbox, those claiming benefits in work aren’t being subsidised, it’s the big companies paying crap wages who are being subsidised.

    1. Reality for most in places like Teesside and Newport is that it takes two wages just to try and scrape a living meaning that the old fashioned ideal of “home cooking” is nothing more than a pipe dream after a full days (or nights) work. For the rest actual work would be a godsend if they could but find it and afford to live on it even if it did exist. Still it probably serves them right for not moving their hedge Funds sooner!

    2. Without going in to the fine details, that is precisely what I was spouting on about, stack em’ high, sell em’ cheap, works every time because some of us have no choice. I also wouldn’t want to enhance the prospect of substandard food by entering in to an agreement with a country that not only tramples across all global agreements it signs up for at it’s will, but a country that would think nothing more of putting unproved supplements in to their own populations food source, never mind ours. Let’s build a wall!

  56. You can grow veg in your garden and if your on the dole you have plenty of time.
    How much does a packet of seeds cost these days.
    The time it would take to plant the seeds would be no longer than the time spent in line for the chippy.
    I have witnessed it on Norton Rd.
    Those in a flat would have to get an allotment though

    1. Ian

      I agree with you but he was/is radical but every now and then he made some sense. He was however a real pot stirrer and I’m sure he would be very uncomfortable to be with.

      I sometimes used to wonder if he was someone’s alter ego. I do take your point though.

      UTB,

      John

    2. Old billy, during the war there was a shortage of allotments and those that were in existence had waiting lists well into the 1960’s. We didn’t have lawns in those days, every bit of spare land was used to grow fruit and vegetables. We had raspberry canes well into the 1970’s, a blackcurrent, gooseberry bush and brambles which grew wild. Vegetable plots of potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, runner beans and canes of peas. We ate pretty well. The things we lacked were eggs but could get packets of dried eggs from America, meat where we relied on corned beef and spam, raised rabbits first as pets but later as food. I was an only child during the war years, Dad worked at Dorman Long in a reserved occupation as a plater. I didn’t see much of him because he was also a fireman with the Auxiliary Fire Service, but still had time to cultivate our garden from packets of seeds. He had to construct blackout shields for all our bay windows, no wallpaper in those days but with a sponge dipped in any old paint he could find stippled the walls to make them more attractive. He built a brick air raid shelter, and with little time he had left taught me my arithmetic tables before I even attended school, and afterwards used to knit me and my brother (born in 1947) jumpers even fairisle, could even do crotcheting. No wonder he was tired!

      I maybe didn’t appreciate him at the time because we always had RAF airmen billeted in our house and the older ones became almost like surrogate fathers to me. It wasn’t until the war ended that I really appreciated him when he took me to Ayresome Park. So the war years didn’t seem real to me, it was rather like cowboys v Indians. But for a working class family I never felt deprived. Sadly he was killed in a road accident driving home from work on black ice. What a hard life he had, especially compared to me. But that’s what fathers did for their Country and their families in austere times. Food rationing continued well into 1950s, so despite our moaning we should all be grateful we live in better times. Of course there is still poverty and many of us have suffered from he closure of the Steel Works, but for the majority of us life is so much easier than it was in the 1940s and 1950s, in my case because of a father I hardly got to know until I was 7 years old.

      RIP Dad, and also Mum who kept the home fires burning.

      1. My parents had the same work etic Ken.
        I feel sorry for those without work who are struggling and eager to find work.
        Today there are too many with their expectant hand out for money that is no longer supplied by the tax payer but borrowed for future generations to repay.

  58. If JOM is 75% of the player he was in his prime he will bring a much needed upgrade on what we have, we let go a 33 year old ,Leadbitter and replace him with a younger top class footballer.
    The secret will be if those around him are on the same page.
    I think he will give the players a real boost just by his presence ,and with two more decent signings providing they are better than we have now, we could have a chance.
    Hull have won six in a row, time we did the same thing.

  60. Interesting watching Arsenal vs Man Utd in the cup tonight. United played with a front three and surprisingly their two recognised strikers, Lukaku and Sanchez played out wide on the wings. The CF position was taken up by Lingaard who although was dropping back a little to collect the ball didn’t stray too far back and left the midfield defensive work to Pogba, Matic and Herrera.

    This meant that basically the central defenders of Arsenal had nobody to mark, and whenever United won the ball in defence they had three players already up front to pass it to, and exploit the counter attack. This also meant that the front three could apply pressure when Arsenal had the ball. So much better than a lone striker trying in vain to apply pressure by himself.

    I wonder if they will play the same formation in the second half.

  61. Fairly straightforward for United. They started the second half with Lukaku in the central position and Lingard out wide, it wasn’t working so Solskjaer took off Lukaku and Sanchez. Rashford and Martial went wide and Lingard back in the centre.

    The third goal duly came and shortly after Solskjaer took Lingard off to avoid a possible red card after he got involved with several Arsenal players. They then went to 4-4-2 and saw the game out.

    In fact it could have been a bigger win for United. Looks like Solskjaer is becoming the favourite for the full time position.

    Incidentally, looks like we dodged a bullet with Lindelof. Positionally inept and the biggest crime of all, turns his back on shots.

  62. Ian

    I agree with you. Differing opinions is what makes this blog but to me Spartak was always right, in his own mind at least and anyone who disagreed was subject to veiled personal abuse, usually wrapped in a poor attempt at comedy?

    GHW

    On the MFC app when the team is announced they usually always show the formation as 4 3 3. I look at it and think to myself ” that looks a decent attacking formation”. Then we kick off with 1 up front supported by a five man midfield 30 yards away from him.

    “Sophistication! Sophistication! Don’t talk to me about sophistication I’ve been to Leeds!”

    Brilliant comedy and with what I’ve observed on numerous visits to Elland Road and the city centre beforehand not far from the truth.

      1. Unfortunately it depended on the time of day and how many “ finger looseners” he’d had which determined whether or not he was abusive or not. An affliction that blights the internet.

  63. Tony Pulis won’t need a roll call of any of his squad who have influenza, because they’ll be in bed for at least 7 days and too weary to play football after that. Of course merely having a cold is a different thing altogether.

    1. Check aain Ian, I am sure you must have misread something.
      If one team has an outbreak of influenza and notifies the authorities it does not have enough fit players to choose from to fulfill the fixture and then it goes ahead and does fail to fulfill the fixture, that team shall be docked 3 points and forced to play the fixture again at a later date. Now imagine that in the revised fixture they do on to beat the other team on the field, yielding the curious result that neither team gains as much as point, effectively both of them losing the same match…

  67. Tony Pulis has said he’s still looking to bring in a couple of forwards with pace and power and that they nearly got a deal over the line last week. Whether that is related to another rumours that Wolves are looking to sign Pele (not that one) from Monaco and would like to offload Traore from the wage bill – with links of a return to Middlesbrough being mentioned.

  68. ST: 15:00
    ESPN+ USA [$] (geo/R)
    SportKlub 9 (serbia)
    SportsNet World (ca) / HD
    ViaPlay (denmark) / HD
    ViaPlay (finland) / HD
    ViaPlay (norway) / HD

  69. On the subject of JOM, Pulis has given Henry Winter an interview largely of the “four in a bed at 15, but I was never hungry” variety in today’s Times, but with a few comments on his footballing philosophy. This is the penultimate paragraph:

    John Obi Mikel this week cited his conversation with Pulis as one of the reasons that he decided to move to the Riverside, bringing more experience to Middlesbrough’s midfield. Pulis’s hunger to lift Middlesbrough to the Premier League burns bright. “I’ve six grandchildren and I’m getting to a stage when I’m looking at them and thinking, ‘Shall I spend a little bit more time with them?’ Not at the moment because they are too young, but when [they are] a little bit older.”

  71. Pretty strong line-up with Mikel making his debut and Shotton and Flint returning, Downing getting a non-extension triggering start, plus Wing in midfield and Britt and Fletcher up front.

    Randolph, Shotton, Ayala, Flint, Friend, Mikel, Saville, Wing, Downing, Fletcher, Assombalonga.

    Subs:
    Dimi, Batth, McNair, Clayton, Tavernier, van La Parra, Hugill

  72. I’d love to see Assombalonga and Fletcher playing wide with Wing in the “ Lingard “ position. With the emphasis on staying up the pitch and letting the rest worry about defending.

  73. I was about to post a copy of Hugh Mcllvenney’s piece on the last tragic fight of Johnny Owen, as an example of the great man’s work, but i see that Werder via Dormo had beaten me to it. Definitely worth a scroll back if you missed it, earlier on this thread.

    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/05/hugh-mcilvanney-johnny-owen-last-fight-vault

    🔴 I’ve put the link in your post as it will probably disappear from Dormo’s Twitter feed as new Tweets appear – Werdermouth

    1. Thanks, Werder. Very good quality link and also with a commentator.

      Not the best result for us but I am sure we will beat them away, when we usually play better.

      I have a new favourite. Mikel was class. I cannot remember to see such a classy player for Boro for ten years now. Pure class!

      Up the Boro!

  77. Not a particularly convincing first-half performance by Boro and they seemed to start on the back foot again and let Newport take the initiative. We’ve had a few chances but mainly from set pieces and it’s been pretty similar to the Peterborough first half and no shots on target – let’s hope the second half turns out the same. Thought Mikel has looked tidy and made some good forward passes – played a bit like a quarter-back in front of he back four.

    1. Sadly not Werder, that display was beyond description, my heart goes out to poor old RR that not only had to witness such garbage, he’s now got to pour his feelings in to a report, poor sod.

  78. Well a typical Riverside display from Boro and a lack of quality and composure with the ball and it was the Huffing-and-Puffing Billy that eventually ran out of steam. Newport deserved the late equaliser in the end and it at least gives the tie some greater meaning on what otherwise would have largely forgettable. I suspect we had too many players who weren’t quite match fit with Shotton, Flint, Mikel, Fletcher, McNair and Tavernier – Clayton also looked a shadow of himself when he came on. MOM was probably Ayala, though Mikel looked a class player and Wing at least looked a threat.

    1. Werder, a very lame excuse in pinning our draw to unfit players, if they’re not match fit then what the hell are they doing on either the pitch or the bench? Wing ran his socks off and JOM cruised by, class allows you that margin, but I’m going back to that old chestnut of Saville and McNair, TP’s very expensive last minute buys that just don’t fit in anywhere, and did and are costing us a bloody fortune. Don’t get me going about Shocking!

      No doubt Wing will be “rested” next game because he’s exhausted, and Tavernier won’t get anywhere near the team sheet because he didn’t come on and win the game for us, more of the same old, same old to come.

      1. I’m not trying to make excuses but Shotton and Flint are coming back from injuries, Mikel hasn’t played since November plus Fletcher and McNair don’t get much pitch time usually, with Tavernier out of the picture in recent weeks and he didn’t even make the bench last week. The players in general were not sharp enough and it showed. I can’t think of any excuses for the others unless they were suffering from man flu 🙂

    1. GHW, if we didn’t have a manager that thought the was an alchemist then we wouldn’t have needed a replay, but we do, and we have to. Eye of toad, wing (no comparison intended) of bat, let’s see if we can buy another tw

  83. Awful yet again. It could even make you a bit nostalgic for the days of Strachan.

    When will SG wake up and see that the club is going nowhere under Pulis. Promotion is a pipe dream, parachute money is going to disappear, crowds are in decline and we risk being stuck in the Championship or worse for a long time. The only hope of salvation is to “do a Solskjaer” and get a new manager in now who can select the right players and then galvanise the team by removing the shackles and letting them play.

    2. Remember when people said that under AK? All we need to do was to get a new manager who would “take the handbrake off.” So we did, and they did and we didn’t score any more goals. We did concede a lot more though.

      1. Deleriad, just because something may not have worked on one occasion in the past doesn’t mean it should never be tried again. Or would you rather watch what Pulis serves up every week?

  86. After winning these trophies…..

    Premier League: 2009–10, 2014–15
    FA Cup: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2011–12
    Football League Cup: 2006–07
    FA Community Shield: 2009
    UEFA Champions League: 2011–12
    UEFA Europa League: 2012–13

    John Obi Mikel has revealed he’s joined Middlesbrough FC; in order to complete the full set, by winning the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

    1. Thanks yet again, RR. Excellent report.

      I see that you have largely got through your anger and depression and have managed to achieve at least some degree of acceptance. The final stage of bereavement.

      All we can do now in these dark times is to take each day as it comes and entertain the magical thought that there may be a new relationship with our club available to us at some indefinable time in the future.

  88. Redcar Red,

    Thank you for the report of another display of predictable Boroby Boro.

    It’s a pity TP didn’t show the same attitude as the Newport manager. Utterly predictable result. I’m reaching the stage where I am about to give up. What the prospective and existing season ticket holders think of these displays I do not know.

    Thank goodness we weren’t playing Burton Albion again…

    UTB,

    John

  89. RR

    Thanks for a very accurate match report including the errors made by the referee who was terrible and I hope he is not appointed for the replay

    OFB

  90. I’ve turned from an existing season card holder to a prospective one for next season because if it continues like this I’m not going any more

    OFB

  91. TP’s comments after games are soul destroying. It is like he is on a another planet.
    I watched the match and to be truthful it was an awful performance. Man of the match for me was my mate Ayala followed by Wing. Newport deserved the equalizer.

    2. The problem about the equaliser was that everyone in the ground knew it was coming!

      If McNair had cut the cross out then we would have been safe. No Fry on the bench so I guess he must have been one of the players affected by flu this week and was off for a few days

      OFB

  92. The words over paid prime donnas come to mind from some quarters.
    Now I’m not one for claiming players don’t care ,but I’m wondering if they become bored or less motivated ,especially the ones were in the past they were top dog and it came easy.
    I recently saw two documentaries on utube, one about the day in the life of a sixteen year old Chelsea player, the other a period with the under seventeen England team during a tournament last year.
    These young men are treated like world super human beings, they don’t have to lift a finger, from morning until night everything is provided, breakfast lunch, schooling, health care,they even get to kick a ball around as much as they wish,unbelievable.
    Now once they get that pro contract at rates of pay they are already set for a time.
    But what I did notice is, I didn’t see any players laughing and joking as much as you would expect,
    It seems their lives are so controlled , eventually many will shut down and lose their natural ability to think and react,
    As we know most of these internationals will drop well away.
    If they don’t and remain in the game ,many just do enough to gain another contract , bluffing the fans.
    This is why recruitment is very important , ability ,yes ,but the right drive and character are just as important.
    How many Boro players since the first relegation came for the money only? I’m guessing too many.
    How do I know, players who are so called worth multi million pounds don’t lose to Burton and draw Newport, don’t give me stats, give me talent drive and ambition.
    Wing is showing them all up,because he didn’t go through the system of robotic privilege.
    Pulis as to take some of the blame,maybe his honesty is upsetting some ,but then if they don’t want to fight for their place, but are bored and live a good standard of living, football is in trouble.
    To finish, I am just amazed that many people within the game ,and within individual clubs ,keep making the same mistakes ,but keep their jobs.
    I seems to me ,people at Burton, Accrington, Newport, Fleetwood, etc must considering their restrictions ,be far better at their job than one certain club has.
    You just can’t make it up?

    1. gt, you’re so right. As it happens I was just looking at the match programme for the George Hardwick/ Wilf Mannion testimonial played in 1983. Bobby Robson managed a young England side against the Boro, and I have to say that I can recall only 3 of that England squad making their mark later in life for their clubs, never mind England. It seems that life was too easy for them. I do recall when Bobby Robson was manager of Ipswich Town taking some of his squad down the pit to show them how lucky they were.

  94. Great report RR on another dire performance.

    Your assessment of JOM’s debut was very fair and whilst I accept it was only his first game after a long lay off, is he really an upgrade on what we already have on the pitch/squad?

    I suppose only time will really tell but I am not building my hopes on him leading a charge for promotion with what he has around him.

    1. KP

      Just comparing JOM and Clayts who came on for him then I would have to say he is an upgrade just based on yesterday alone. Whether he can do it against WBA and Leeds etc. is another thing of course but you could see a calmness and confidence about him. Going back to Clayts as soon as he came on he was being barracked and booed by some small elements. His comments towards the fans last week were of course accurate but the timing wasn’t right with our relegation ladened home form which is all that 80% plus see week in week out repeatedly for months now.

      Clayts has been my MOM probably more times than any other and by some margin over the season but against Millwall he was poor and even worse yesterday. The abuse does seemingly affect his game but unfortunately its Chicken and Egg. Its a shame because he has been one of our more solid performers in this squad. Our lack of ability to be positive and attack teams isn’t down to one man on the pitch, its the one man on the touchline and thats were the “disenchantment” should be very clearly directed.

      Unable and/or unwilling to attack teams at home at Championship level is not a plan for success. Unable and/or unwilling to attack teams like Burton and Newport just lays it all bare and without any defence (no pun intended) whatsoever. After Millwall I tried hard yesterday to just report on the events on the pitch rather than the dull boring vacuum but the bigger story is the Elephant currently in the Riverside or should that be Dinosaur?

      TP will survive until the Summer and who knows his new January signings may prove as inspirational and influential as McNair, Flint and Saville, heaven help us. The big problem now is that even the likes of Clayton seems to have been dragged backwards (and sidewards probably) down to TP’s common lowest nullifying level..

      1. RR

        Good post

        Clayton has clearly lost some confidence as he very nearly repeated his mistake from last week on the half way line causing a goal scoring. Opportunity

        People who pay for season cards cannot show their displeasure at the performances by staying away and I can understand why they boo.

        Unfortunately it doesn’t help the fans or players by booing as at the moment the moment fans are being hypercritical and boo very early in the game

        With regards to. Clayton Pulis and the coaching team have been working with him to play the ball forward quicker and this may have disrupted his style

        Poor performance again yesterday its so painful to watch and we start so slow and stand off the other team for the first 20 mins amd let them dictate the play

        I thought Ayala and Wing were outstanding I wasn’t having a go at McNair just pointing out that the sub for RB position didn’t work by Pulis as McNair is not a RB

        I noticed AV gave Saville one star for his performance and said he was growing into the role.

        Well I and others around me couldn’t see it !

        OFB

  96. Thanks RR for your match report which for the home games just follow the same pattern. As somebody said, you could stay at home and just copy and paste.

    Well fortunately I had a prior engagement so missed the game and any commentary. In fact I did not know any results until I arrived home at around 6.30 pulled up the Gazette website and there on the front page the one all result. No surprise really even if it had been a defeat.

    When I looked at the starting 11 team a little later, which was more than strong and Hugill apart was something like advocated for on here at times.
    So just what is the problem? Are the players basically just not good enough or is there a deeper lying issue. Mr Pulis obviously does not have the answer and follows up these dire displays with the same old excuses.

    So where do we go from here. Leeds look as though there is no stopping them even with their injury problems and Norwich and Sheff Utd with their Primark priced players (nor disrespect meant here only a dig at MFC and what we have spent) continue. I still fancy WBA for the second spot and can we really maintain one of the play off places?

    Well the window finishes Thursday and then TP will have what he has and unless the Recruitment Department pull a rabbit out of the hat the squad will not have improved much at all, especially in the required area.

    1. I think we have one of the best squads if indeed not the best squad but when a Manager cannot get the best out of what he has at his disposal then the blame can only be in one place. Sheffield United is a brilliant comparison, there isn’t one single player in their squad that i would take over ours, not one.

      Most of the Blades are has beens, washed up and pushed out of previous clubs. Somehow Chris Wilder has organised them, enthused and galvanised them to be overachieving. Take their Strikers, Gary Madine, Leon Clarke, Billy Sharp, Leon McGoldrick, all journeymen players at this level. In Midfield Wilder has the likes of Duffy, Norwood and our own marvelous Marvin to select from. His main man centrally is John Fleck who has the heights of Rangers, then Blackpool and Coventry on his CV.

      One the younger ones in their Midfield is George Baldock, he of Tamworth, Northampton, Oxford and MK Dons fame. Take 29 year old Enda Stevens, a Villa Player who never made the grade and made a living at Notts County, Doncaster, Northampton and then out of contract ended up at Pompey before coming to Sheffield in 2017.

      Defensively Wilder often goes with Chris Basham, ex Bolton and Blackpool. Then there is Ex Makem reject John Egan who spent his illustrious career at the likes of Bradford, Southend and Gillingham. One of the youngest Jack O’Connell arrived via Blackburn and loaned out to York, Rotherham, Rochdale and Brentford before becoming a Blade. Most of their fees are “undisclosed” as oppose to being £5M or £7M or even £15M.

      A good Manager puts a team out that has synergy, belief, confidence, understanding and collectively better than the sum of their parts. A bad Manager achieves the exact polar opposite. I’ve drawn my conclusions, if it walks like a Duck, waddles like a Duck, swims like a Duck and quacks like a Duck etc.

      4. Good post, RR and as Pedro said: “When I looked at the starting 11 team a little later, which was more than strong and Hugill apart was something like advocated for on here at times.

        “So just what is the problem?”

        Answers on post card and sent to Rockcliffe Park. UTB

  97. Just wanted to clear up what I was trying to say with my latest posting.
    It looks like I’m all over the place, a little muddled to some.
    My concern is the game becoming so sterile and robotic, even the refereeing has become media friendly,
    Even senior players now look like some games they are at it,other games not, their lives seem so planned , so obvious.unless they are self driven ,what do you have?
    Back in the day ,if the team started slow, hadn’t got going,something had to change, and it was usually one of the impact players getting stuck in with a hard tackle to win the ball, lifting the crowd and waking up those who were strolling around, you can’t do that now, back then the crowd cheered and made a positive noise, today if that happened they scream get him off, and the media well nuff said about them..
    My point tho is , is this why we get so many nothing going on games?

  98. What did surprise me when reading Anthony Vickers Gazette articles and his “stars” issue, Wing, Mikel and Ayala I think, was the he gave 6´s and 7´s to the majority of the starting 11, Wing getting 8. Fletcher being picked out for a 5.

    Can somebody who saw the match explain after such a reported dire display, AV could happily dish out those high marks (in my opinion) to the players?

  99. Some great stuff on here again this morning.

    Agree with every word of RR on Clayton. A mature and fair assessment.

    Whilst agreeing with GHW that we have been poor at cutting out crosses at source all season, the events leading to Newport’s equalising goal did seem to be a particularly egregious example of that tendency. McNair was standing 5 yards away when his man received the ball. He made not the slightest attempt to move towards him to close him down. And when the lad, at his leisure, teed the ball up, Paddy couldn’t be bothered to stick out even a cursory leg. You couldn’t even offer the excuse that, in the final knockings, he might have been leg-weary. He had only been on the field as a sub when the second-half was well underway. It did seem to demonstrate though that the lad had been square-pegged, and didn’t even possess the basic rudiments of full-back play, for which he can scarcely be fully blamed.

    I seem to remember in the pre-season games that Paddy looked the part as a creative mid-fielder capable of weighing in with a few goals, a role which he never got a chance to fulfil once the season began. I would be less tempted to say that Paddy was a bad buy than that he has been criminally badly used.

    Finally, thanks to GHW for the Rumble in the Jungle link. It’s years since I read it, but it bought tears to my eyes, not only because of our knowledge of the consequences of that event for its participants, but for the passing of the poet who composed it. What an opening ! And what unforgettable lines.

    I’m off for a winter break in February. My only reading will be the works of Hugh McIlvanney, and I’m looking forward to the joy, tinged with sadness of course, that that will bring.

    We will never see his like again because the conditions no longer exist to make that kind of journalism possible. Short daily pieces to fill the spaces between the ads and the pop-ups seem to be the order of the day. Never mind the quality, just shovel it in. We know only too well how our own AV, much loved and appreciated as the begetter of Untypical Boro and, by extension, of this blog, was capable of really first-class pieces of extended writing given the time and space. Indeed it was the quality of his writing that inspired many of the contributors to this blog to keep that tradition alive as best we could. By producing high-quality journalism, he demonstrated that there was an audience for it. That that audience was able to sustain itself when AV’s working conditions proved to be inimical to his project was its final triumph.

    Even at this late stage, is there no one amongst the suits at Gazette Towers capable of recognising exceptional talent when they see it, and providing the environment necessary for it to flourish.

    The same question of course could be asked of the suits at the Riverside.

    Just because we are Middlesbrough that doesn’t mean that pragmatism and mediocrity have to prevail. In both football and self-expression we are unique. We are used to better. In fact we have produced much better ourselves, and over very many years. The quality of our own apprentices and indeed of this very blog are just the latest manifestations of this phenomenon. It would be useful if those whom we welcome here from outside of the north-east to help us would use this as their starting point.

    2. It’s long been a cause of irritation to me Len that our players are asked to do things alien to them and not to concentrate on the basics of the game.

      The prime objective of the full back is to prevent the ball coming into the penalty area, it’s all well and good encouraging him to overlap ( one for the oldies there) but if it leads to him being out of position then it’s asking for trouble. That the present incumbents are often watching the ball sail past them in to the danger area is a regular occurrence.

      We have bought promising players to the club and asked them to play a role that is just not their game. Take the case of Howson. He finds himself isolated out on the right, what he’s supposed to do there is beyond me. Subsequently he tries his best but can’t impose himself on the game, which is the raison d’etre of all midfielders.

      Saville is another case in point, bought for his performances at Millwall and then played in several positions other than his natural one. Downing is another one, tried in all kinds of different roles but his natural position is as a winger and sadly the years have caught up with him.

      Assombalonga is not a target man, but is a natural striker at playing on the shoulder of defenders and beating them with pace. Hugill and Gestede are natural target men so they need to be getting the ball in the box.

      We seem to be buying talented footballers and then not playing them in their natural positions. Footballers are just like everyone else, they are most happy doing what they are used to. At least with Van Parra and Obi-Mikel we have brought in players who will only be played in their natural positions.

      It’s a bit like using a screwdriver as a chisel, it may get the job done but it’s a poor substitute.

      Apart from the goalkeeper there are 10 outfield positions to fill, all specialist roles. At the moment we seem to have several candidates for about six of them and use stop gaps for the rest.

      I would like to see us recruit players to be used in specific positions that they are noted for. In these days of large first team squads that should be a viable option. Admittedly the manager can only put out a team from players at his disposal but if he is forced to utilise players in unnatural positions then it becomes safety first football, and therein lies the problem.

      Football is a confidence game, and confident players breed confident teams, something sadly lacking at the moment.

      Horses for Courses comes to mind. The blend isn’t right at the moment. I agree with RR, we have good players but to paraphrase Eric Morecombe, not necessarily in the right positions. This is the managers main problem, if you want a five eighth spanner but you only have an eleven sixteenth, you might get by, but only until it wears out.

      On a final note it was good to see a class player on Saturday in JOM. Like all too class players he was always available to receive the ball and more importantly always in space to allow himself time to assess all options.

      Just my ramblings, but football isn’t rocket science despite all the modern aspects of the game. Like a jigsaw, get all the pieces in the right position and you get a lovely picture.

      1. GHW, good post. Cloughie’s genius was in keeping things simple, choosing talented players and allowing them to play to their maximum effectiveness by concentrating on what they were best at doing. He wanted his teams to play attractive football that would fill the grounds and entertain the crowds. Keeping the ball on the floor, encouraging a passing game and not tolerating any dissent of officials were key components of this philosophy.

        As fellow Grove Hill lads, we well understood Brian’s respect for the game we all loved playing, and which continues to give kids around the world so much pleasure.

      2. GHW
        We were told that when Tony Pulis purchased the players to fit his style of playing, then we should judge him. Well in my opinion we were playing better in the last few weeks of last season (the playoff matches excepted) before he enlisted the likes of Flint, McNair and Saville.The sale of Traore was unavoidable and possibly Gibson too, but not Bamford nor Braithwaite who probably got cheesed off after being either sidelined or played out of position. It seems to me that in some ways he’s been similar to Gary Monk in buying players but not sure where to play them. Certainly the parachute money has been wasted.

      1. Boroexile,

        Exactly right. And RR. And Bob, Simon, and Ken. Indeed every contributor to this blog is worth reading, and there is no one on here who is disrespectful of others’ views. It’s a kind of miracle in this day and age, and a major reason why we all have the confidence to express ourselves no matter how out of step we fear we might be with conventional opinion.

        Long may it continue.

  100. Two great posts there, eloquent prose by Len, followed by GHW and his simple solution to our problems I believe. Of course some may say we will not resolve it until we remove the catalyst.

  101. Yes, indeed, Len.

    I wonder whether the civilised exchange of views on this forum, which is so different to the often vitriolic, abusive, foul-mouthed and ignorant postings on mainstream social media, is because many of the contributors here are, shall we say, no longer in the flush of youth and were brought up to respect others and live by values and standards that seem to be disappearing today.

  102. RR

    Another above and beyond the call of duty on the match report front. Thanks for your efforts.

    There have been some excellent, well thought out posts after yesterdays grind of a game. Those from RR, GHW and Len have, I think, caught the mood amongst Boro fans far and wide. I can see there is a big problem with the way we set up and start home games no matter who the opposition is as can everyone else.

    So why can’t the manager, who has said himself there are problems and is the only one who can change things on the way we approach games doing something about it?

    RRs breakdown of the Sheffield United squad does show how little we are getting back from the majority of our over priced and over paid (not their fault imo) players.

    Something needs to change but whether the changes come on or off the pitch is down to Pulis first and then Steve Gibson.

  103. An extract for you all right now. From Brendan Crossan of the Irish News, penned three years ago.

    “EVERY sports journalist wants to be able to write like Hugh McIlvanney. To describe McIlvanney as a sports journalist doesn’t do the man justice… He’s a literary giant.

    “Peerless in his field and the consummate producer of masterpieces.

    “Every time you read McIlvanney you come away feeling you’ve dined out on the finest cuisine… Last weekend, McIlvanney announced his retirement – well, semi-retirement – in The Sunday Times. Now 82, he will be making only fleeting appearances in the newspaper.

    “He wrote a brilliant semi-farewell column last weekend. It was more of a lament about a profession that has been overcome by a major technological shift.

    “‘Technology’, he writes, ‘has delivered many a boon to the working reporter but in sport, especially, there are penalties. The demand for instant information and comment for the internet… must eat into the opportunities for the ferreting around that I always found productive in the immediate aftermath of an event… I envy the present generation of sports writers their youth but not their operating conditions.’

    “McIlvanney is correct in his assertion. Journalism faces huge challenges… the industry has changed greatly (and) has become an unquestionably harder industry to work in. Journalism requires more stamina these days.

    “It still has its rewards; you just have to work a little harder to reach them.”

    Too true.

  104. A brief aside.

    We do dissect temperamental managers, rage-driven players, egoists and ranting, raving journalists (Karanka, Keane, Fergie, Dunphy?) for their flaws. I think “a reckless crank” is one of the lighter asides which has been aimed at Ireland’s “original contrary journalist”.

    Part of me begged Dunphy to me more rational, Karanka to be a little more open-minded and Keane to be less intense, to understand that Ireland *are* a small nation, that there are some things you just cannot say (no matter how righteous and moral you think you are) and that comparing the FAI’s training to that of the largest sporting empire in the world is hardly fair and just.

    Without those faults they wouldn’t have achieved what they did. And yes, the points tallies of 85 and 89 are still an achievement – our highest second tier points tallies of the decade.

  105. I was in Middlesbrough yesterday and from my hotel room had a good view of the light display at the town hall. When I got home I had to check what was going on. Apparently it was Paul Smith formerly of Maximo Park (neither of whom I was familiar with) as part of the town hall 130th anniversary celebration. I couldn’t hear the music apart from a thump thump but the display was enjoyable and it was better to be in the hotel than out in the rain. I also enjoyed a pizza, a pint of Boddingtons and a glass of Malbec.
    Re the match I wasn’t surprised by the result and, the way we played, were lucky to get draw though the last minute equaliser was cruel. I thought Newport missed easier chances than we had especially, as RR commented, the shot over the bar from 6 yards and a couple of headers wide from unmarked players. Considering his lack of recent play JOM showed an ability to pick out forward passes though before he was substituted it seemed even he had to start sideways passing as there was no movement in front of him. Towards the end of the game Britt and Fletcher made several runs attempting to get behind the Newport defence but there weren’t any balls played forward to them. We seem to have reached a low form of consistency at home and it is disappointing that TP does not seem to have a solution.

  106. One more post for now. Because I feel inspired.

    The theory of simply putting players in their most comfortable position is a tempting one to go along with, except… it kind of flies in the face of what at least two of the most successful managers in my lifetime have done. To a point.

    After United were trounced by Barcelona in the Nou Camp in 1994, Fergie had an epiphany. “The problem is, we don’t have a tactical game in England… At United, a lot of the players have their own profile and want to play their own way. It doesn’t work in Europe, as we’ve discovered. There has to be a better tactical discipline… they can’t just play their own game.”

    As more and more Eurocrats began to populate the Premier League, this became valuable domestically and in European competition. During the 1990s Fergie would experiment with formations and would expect players to adapt to a certain role for certain games. Even if that involved putting a young Roy Keane at right-back and Ronnie Johnsen in midfield.

    He held the greatest respect for Marcello Lippi’s Juventus. Juve weren’t what you’d call romantic, but they were extremely efficient, professional and adaptable. They could call upon a large group of players to do anything they wanted – Torricelli, Di Livio, Pessotto, Birindelli, even future Chelsea title-winning boss Conte. They may have been limited in technique, but if you called upon them to do a job, they’d do it. It’s documented that Fergie was infuriated, if not angry, by future Boro man Ince and past-and-future Boro man Pallister and their inability to listen to instructions. He had no such problem with a young Keane – and Berg, and Johnsen, and Phil Neville, and so on. It’s what separated United from Wenger’s first incarnation of Arsenal – L’Arse had a top-notch first XI and stylistically similar back-ups, whereas United’s reserves could be counted upon to win games tactically.

    Other clubs, and countries, caught on and followed. Some call it tinkering and square-pegging, and say that you should never change a winning side. Fair enough. But it should be said that Fergie never fielded an unchanged side all season in 1998-99 – and we know how many trophies United won. It was a means of fitness, sharing the workload, embracing tactics. Not everyone likes rotation, of course, but no one can deny how effective it is. It doesn’t mean you tinker unnecessarily – it just means you adapt accordingly.

    To the Emerald Isle, Big Jack, Mick McCarthy, and how long-sightedness and the cycle of football changed things.

    Injuries forced Jack to play Paul McGrath and Ronnie Whelan at full-back when the team played Scotland at Hampden Park in 1987. Mark Lawrenson – a stylish centre-half, played in midfield. Square-pegging? Madness? The players were stunned, the Irish journalists didn’t know what Jack was doing. But it worked – 1-0 to Ireland the final score, with Lawrenson getting the crucial goal.

    Perhaps he was already encouraging the players to adapt, to move beyond their comfort zone as a means of ensuring that the collective effort prevailed, regardless of what individualism can offer. He was, for the most part, great at synergy. Never mind how talented David O’Leary was, Mick McCarthy and Kevin Moran were his best proven partnership. Denis Irwin & Ray Houghton, Terry Phelan & Steve Staunton, Roy Keane & Andy Townsend, Niall Quinn & John Aldridge… and those are just a handful of the famous partnerships he encouraged. Synergy and versatility, all good.

    By the time McCarthy was manager and Ireland were qualifying for World Cup 2002, he could use over thirty-two dependable players – a choice that none of his predecessors had. The value of the squad system and tactics, there for all to see.

    Alas, some coaches are trying to be too clever as a means of imitating the best, without realising that you can’t just copy-and-paste even successful methods onto a different set of playing personnel – and that is when the team suffers.

    (Sources of info: Michael Cox and Colin Young.)

  107. I would hazard a guess that historically the most successful teams in any era or country are those that played a settled unchanged side with players doing what they do best.

    The most recent unexpected example would be Leicester winning the Premier League title. Practically the same team and formation playing week in week out.

  108. I like that thought, and the example. A few factors to consider, however.

    As with Rodgerspool 2013-14 and their very near miss, Leicester had no European football and therefore much better preparation for weekend matches than their title rivals did. It had not only tactical but physical benefits – Ranieri was quick to imply the importance of the latter.

    I believe they took Simeone’s Atletico Madrid as an inspiration – speedy, counter-attacking, solid underdogs in a time where if you didn’t play tiki-takanaccio or gegenpressing, you didn’t “fit” with the big boys.

    1. Probably reinforces the view that playing in the Europa League has a detrimental effect on the season for clubs with small squads to choose from.

    2. Simon
      It is important to remember, they won it by ten points, and they were a very good team to watch, still are in fact.
      I have just the suspicion that if they had said “let’s go” we have the team, and the money can be secured, bought three big stars, and hit the ground running (say the first four matches)they could have had a lot of fun for a few seasons, because they were good.

  109. The other factors were expectations and pressure – like Liverpool 2014-15 and Ipswich 2001-02 they were a pale shadow of a title-winner the following season (2016-17). Funnily enough, they weren’t battling the pre-season PL favourites either. LVG’s United were mediocre, Pellegrini’s City collapsed once the manager announced he was on his way out, and as for holders Chelsea… well, there was that little altercation with the medical staff to begin a downward spiral.

  111. Going back to overpaid spoilt footballers, here in Australia the most consistent team in Rugby league the Melbourne Storm have a policy with their new recruits young or old.
    They are sent out for two weeks work on building sites to demonstrate how life is and to reinforce how lucky they are.

    I remember the old days most footballers had second jobs and the days of being paid if you won and less for a loss. Imagine that ! Bet you would see a higher level of effort if that were the case now.
    Bet most of us worked 2 or more jobs to survive.

  112. Another story that I unearthed this evening. It’s an important one.

    https://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/news/17356881.autistic-stockton-football-coach-sets-goal-to-inspire-others/

    “Jacob Ross, who has Asperger’s syndrome, came top of his course in sports coaching and development during his time at college and is a Football Association-recognised coach… The 21-year-old from Stockton hopes to capture the imagination of others and has created a video encouraging others with disabilities not to write-off an athletic career.”

    Inspirational.

    Though I would be inclined to believe, as Chris Packham does, that having Asperger’s or being autistic is neither a hindrance nor a disability, but a gift. Unfortunately a stigma still exists, especially among children – but more and more people are becoming aware and open-minded towards the spectrum as I type.

    And I would know.

  114. Tony Pulis quote on Boro’s home form and lack of taking chances “I think it’s the way it is”. It almost sounds like he’s become resigned to the situation. Surely isn’t it now about time for him to change his tactics at home, and then he might be able to say “I think it’s the way it should be”.

  115. People have been complaining about footballers being spoiled, over-privileged kids since the 1960s. Money has been “ruining” the game for even longer. I don’t have much respect for people complaining about the youth of today compared to when they were young. Like this from 1771
    “Whither are the manly vigour and athletic appearance of our forefathers flown? Can these be their legitimate heirs? Surely, no; a race of effeminate, self-admiring, emaciated fribbles can never have descended in a direct line from the heroes of Potiers and Agincourt…”

    http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20171003-proof-that-people-have-always-complained-about-young-adults

  116. A couple of observations on youth. After the austerity of the mid 1920’s and then rationing during and after the Second World War, it is understandable that parents would want a better way of life for their children than they had endured, and so on and so on for future generations.

    I admit that I was lazy in my early teens. Mum would say ‘will you fill the coal scuttle, or will you bring the washing indoors’. My reaction would be on the lines of ‘do I have to’ but reluctantly did so. Then came National Service where discipline was strict. I would never have volunteered to join the Armed forces, but I’m glad I was called up because it made a man of me. Also it helped me from probably becoming a self-centred person into one who became a team member, as all of us were in the same boat, not really wanting to be there, but pulling for each other especially in the initial period of basic training.

    A few years ago I used to watch ‘Bad lads army’ on TV. Of course the participants got paid for appearing on the programme. Some couldn’t hack it, but unsurprising to me many actually signed on for the Army. You see all they lacked was direction and dare I say it discipline. When you learn the parameters of what is right and what is wrong you become better people. I’ve always found that people respond to discipline when they have learned those parameters.

  117. Reading Eric Paylors piece in the Gazette today….he is gushing about Downing. Dearie me Eric, you must have watched a different game than me. I guess you must be related to SD in some form. Your comments really are totaly biased. SD needs to move on….away from Boro. Well past it.

  118. I’ll echo several others in saying there’s been some very interesting posts of late.

    On the comments about the quality of our players compared to other Championship clubs, the only thing I’d add is that we’re looking at this from the perspective of individual players, rathe than a tram of players whose strengths and weaknesses complement each other. It’s no good having a very good squad of individuals if they’re all central midfielders with similar skillsets, for example.

    We may have comparatively good players but have an imbalanced squad, generally lacking in pace with only one recognised fullback.

    This, yet again, is a failure of recruitment and planning. The players we bring in should not only be good quality (or high potential) with the right mental attributes/attitude but also fit the manager’s style of play and complement existing squad members.

    It isn’t easy but the price of getting it wrong is about £100m a season, so it’s worth putting a heck of a lot of effort and expertise into.

  119. Andy, you are so correct in what you say. Whilst we all know recruitement is difficult and comes with many potential issues, I still believe MFC have failed badly over the last number of years.

    We have signed far too many players that have drained the clubs monetary resources whilst getting a poor return on the pitch from them. Yes we all make mistakes, but MFC appear to continue down the same loss making road.

    As you and many others have asked,…..why have we brought in all these MF-ders over the last three windows and now we are taking a (less risky) chance with Mikel in this window. All the others at significant fees and possibly wages.

    What exactly are Mr Bevington and Mr Gill doing. As is usual from MFC we get no statements, nothing about where we may be going from Mr Gibson. In fact he has been decidedly quite since his “ hope to smash the League” gaff.

  120. So the Gazette reports that Danny Batth might be off to Stoke on a permanent transfer, having had a clause in his loan deal which allowed his recall in the event of a permanent transfer bid.

    I’m not sure whether to judge MFC on this or not. On the one hand it seems stupid to allow this to be included and then not, if we thought he was worth it, close a permanent deal when the window opened, however, on the other hand if we intended him to be backup then such a clause is neither here nor there. It’s unfortunate however that the permanent bid has come so late in the window that if it works out for Batth then we have limited time to find a replacement.

    Anyway, I’m still waiting for even a tiddler of a rumour about two fast and tricky strikers to somehow fire us out of this quagmire of monotonous, erm, monotony that we seem to have found ourselves in. Preferably not Barry Barndoor or Steve Wayward.

    1. I suspect having that clause was key to getting him in.

      The question I would ask, though, as tat if he was available at around £3.5m as is being reported, why didn’t we buy him in the summer instead of Flint at half the price? Was Flint expected to be significantly better than Batth?

      1. Basically, yes. Tthe overwhelming response to Batth’s signature was “Why? We don’t need him.” He hadn’t been playing regularly. Flint on the other hand was rated one of he best CBs in the Championship, a massive influence on Bristol City’s success and a threat at set pieces. Flint also generally tops most polls for best buy of the summer. Personally I think Batth’s performed as well or better than Flint but I suspect when the deal was done this summer there would have been massive complaints if someone else had signed Flint and we signed Batth even if he only cost half the amount.

      2. See you point, deleriad.

        I wonder if anyone else would have paid £7m for Flint, though. Also, I suspect if Batth had been signed instead, he might be regarded as the best summer signing. At this stage, competition isn’t great on the front unfortunately.

      3. We can still match Stoke’s bid, and let the player decide. If we don’t then obviously the club don’t want him. That won’t do much for the players confidence so may as well let him go now.

  121. Bit by bit, football’s becoming a reality show. Or maybe it always has been.

    The players one identifies with or enjoys watching are those that show passion before the cameras or feel like “one of us”.

    If you’re Jordan Rhodes and Craig Hignett, for example, you too can be humble, nice and repeatedly hard done by and still score or assist goals given the right circumstances.

    I’d put Patrick Bamford in that category, to a point, except I’m aware he got little or no sympathy from the Burnley crowd, and even some of the Boro crowd, given the in-car tears and a privileged background. That, and recalling yourself from a loan spell rather than staying to fight for your place will not win you friends.

    If you’re John Aldridge or Cristhian Stuani, you can have it both ways. In the former’s case, say that you would happily give up your goals for Ireland’s team effort even though you’ve succeeded as a goalscorer for your club. And celebrate as if you’ve scored when a team mate does instead. In the latter’s case, don’t worry about where you play – be like the Italians and treat the game as if you’re lucky to have such a well-paid job. And when you score, celebrate with passion. Like against Brighton.

    I can imagine Rhodes, who almost never smiled when scoring for AKBoro, asking him, “How do I make this regime believe in me?”. He might have answered, “Jordan… you’ve got to play the game”.

    The reality of football is that we may respect those who don’t “play the game”, but how far will they get?

    An alternative, and probably better, view may well be this: it’s not necessarily about “playing the game” but opening one’s mind to the possibilities of football, and how it can develop a player or manager beyond the kind of success he is “used” to. Adaptation – one of the greatest skills of all.

      1. I once wore an old red and white pyjama top as a football shirt and even sowed a black number 7 on the back because that was the number that my favourite Boro player Johnny Spuhler wore. It never occurred to me that it looked more like Sunderland’s colours.

    3. It reminds me of Just William, a hero of mine in the 1940’s and outside lavatories where in those days you never thought of washing your hands after using them. I still often laugh recalling my best pal saying ‘just dropping bombs over Germany’ when he needed to go.

  123. Andy, you beat me to that one, at 3.5mil that is a snip compared to Flint. Of course we already have a back up CB in Fry, better IMO than both Flint and Batth. then we would need to go out and buy a RB for cover at least.

    Smoggy, have you not seen the Gazette leader yet, with MFC interested in the injury prone in Isaac Vassell from Brum. (first mooted by RR) Is he really any better than what we have and of course like VLP and Mikel, would not be up to speed. Noticed that nobody has shown any interest in Gestede yet, probably waiting until the eleventh hour to take him with MFC picking up most of his wages.

  124. That post about how football used to be. It’s a good one!

    Of course I still maintain that we should open our minds to Eurocracy and learn from the countries who win many more international and European trophies than we do.

    There’s plenty to be proud of in England, Wales, Scotland and on the island of Ireland. Yet in terms of Champions Leagues over the last decade…

    Spain 6, Italy 1, Germany 1, England 1.

    Hard to avoid.

    1. Not sure about that one. Spanish success is dominated by one club ( the richest in the world). We match the other countries with one. Where’s France and Holland? ( albeit France won the WC but England were a credible semi finalist)

      I don’t think the average fan is bothered anyway. The CL is a closed shop for the richest clubs with the rare usurper summarily dispatched. I would hazard a guess that most fans don’t care who wins it. In fact I’d go so far as to say that they watch the final as much like they do as the Super Bowl, a grand sporting event.

    2. Simon,

      Some of that – perhaps a larger portion than anything tactical or ideological – may be down to how the finances are distributed in Spain, ensuring that their best are very, very good at the expense of a more competitive league.

  125. Maybe I’m wrong but I can’t remember a time when Steve Gibson as come out and backed his manager,
    Be aware Tony. Gibson might not be the loyal man you think he is ,
    I don’t know but I think Gibson’s involvement might be deeper than we think,which includes signings ,and philosophy.
    The reason I say this,
    If I was chairman and my manager was creating the kind of club we’ve both agreed on,then I would be out there explaining to the fans what is going on and why.
    I would explain ,past mistakes, reasons for the money spent and lost, I would do this for the sake of my manager ,who can only say so much.
    Why not Mr Gibson? Maybe its because you dont have the answers.
    I for one would like to hear something, some clarification.

  126. Fair points, GHW. I just get the feeling that taking time to lay the foundations for sustained success might ultimately pay off if coaches are given the time and opportunity to do it properly.

    But this is the real world and that’s simply not possible.

    If the team plays dour football on the way to “laying the foundations” – something we know about all too well – the more emotional fans, who the club are simultaneously dependent on for atmosphere, will react negatively. We know that too.

  127. Talking of impromptu games of footy from past times, I recall our daily games when I was an apprentice at Dormans.

    We used to play on a piece of hard standing at dinner time with an old burst football. One day, my mate forgetting the surface we were playing on, went in for a slide tackle. It just so happened he had a full box of Swan Vesta’s in his back pocket. ( for younger readers that was a double size box of matches) much to everyone’s amusement they ignited!

    I’ve never seen anyone get to their feet so quick in all my life. He suffered a third degree burn to his arse, and still bears the scar to this day. Hilarious!

  128. Is Vassell from Birmingham really the best we can do? The prospect fills me with complete apathy and I would prefer to stick with the strikers we have with the exception of Gestede.

    As for Baath, let him go and play Fry in his best position.

    1. A 26 year old Striker who has never excelled or proved himself at this level should be worth around £6M plus to Boro. Throw in wages that are so significantly high that after he spends 18 months on the Rockliffe treatment table (and in between manages two goals in his time here) we then discover we can’t sell him for 20% of what we paid as nobody below the top ten in the Premiership can afford those wages.

      Sounds like a match made in Boro Recruitment heaven!

    1. If we knock out Newport and Man City, there is not many big teams left in the cup. Only one of Man Utd or Chelsea. The FA Cup is there for the taking. Just like when we played Cardiff in the Cup a few years back. What can go wrong? Up the Boro!

  134. Maybe TP should be knocking on Barnet’s door for a striker: my (now) home town team, Barnet, has just come back from 0-1 against Brentford at home in the FA Cup relay to lead by 2-1, both goals scored by Shaquille Coulthirst! 😉

    Oh bugger! Brentford have just won a penalty…

    1. Braveheart,

      I bang on about this but Pulis just doesn’t listen to me or even reply.

      never mind we can buy buy him back in two years for £10 million because he can score goals then we’ll bugger him up and make him into a bench-warming full back. Hang on does that mean Mr P will still be here.

      Darkened room calls. I’m coming nurse.

      UTB,

      John

    2. Harry had unfortunately become a bit of a perma crock and we will need space in the squad for signing some older overpriced mediocre perma crock (or at least unfit) footballers presumably.

  136. So Citeh at home. I hope Newport don’t get demolished as were our previous cup conquered.
    You could even think the team had a collective premonition on Saturday and subconciously let Newport equalise so we could get knocked out to avoid the humiliation that might befall !

    1. I think Boro will win at Newport especially as they won’t have toxic support moaning, groaning in the first 10 minutes, the away Boro crowd support the team, imho I think the players actually dread playing at the Riverside, on Saturday when Tavernier came on he look like a startled rabbit in the headlights. I think playing him at home in the present atmosphere will be detrimental to his development, no wonder players are looking for the “safe” pass as anything they try that doesn’t come off is jeered.

      People are saying why are Boro playing better away than at home, maybe because of the atmosphere is so bad even within the first 10 minutes at the Riverside. I never boo the team but if people want to boo leave it until the halftime and full time whistle not while the match is in progress, if the team are not playing well during the game, they need support not boos and jeers because that will only make it worse.

      To be fair to TP the eleven he started the match with was a strong attacking line up.

      As for Saturday’s match, it was a typical FA cup match with all the drama not just because it was Boro, look at other cup results and even tonight’s game which ended 3 – 3 was a brilliant contest between a non league side against a championship team.

      Final note, if a season renewal form dropped through my letterbox tomorrow I will have no hesitation in renewing, same for the season after and after etc.

      Come on BORO.

      1. Must disagree about the crowd and Tavernier, the fans aren’t getting on the backs of the youngsters. The frustrations are vented towards TP firstly and the playing style (poetic use of the word “style”) which is manifested in boos and ironic cheers at what goes on out on the pitch. The negativity is soul destroying when our senior pros seem less than capable of moving off the ball into receiving positions whilst just stood motionless waiting for an inevitable sideways or backwards pass hence the stick.

        Going back to Tavernier in particular, against Ipswich at the end of December he came on as a sub for Downing, took a few corners in quick succession that were real stinkers, all failing to get into the box let alone beat the first man. He was taking them in the NE corner but instead of getting moaned at and barracked he was getting shouts of encouragement and support from the crowd within his earshot. “Forget it”, “Don’t worry about it”, C’mon lad you can do this”, and sure enough when the next one came he put in a peach of a ball into the box. Indeed it was Tav himself who put that game to bed with a goal just minutes later.

        Boro fans are not stupid, they know exactly who and what is behind the disastrous home run which is undeniable relegation form. They know the boos are heard by TP and more importantly SG. They know fine well that Clayts or Besic for example are not going to suddenly pick out a forward pass to an advancing midfielder or Striker because their fellow midfielders are all behind them or at best level and they only have one Striker to find who is marked out of the game by a 3:1 ratio.

        Over the last ten home games we were in the bottom three in the Championship for home form above only Bolton and Ipswich. Leeds beating Rotherham on Saturday saw us swap places (albeit level on 11 points each) with them and we are now up to fourth from bottom without kicking a ball. Our Championship home form is so bad that we actually improved it by not playing!

        Unfortunately there is zero evidence to the contrary that our Manager actually knows how to arrest that form, turn it around and go on a Riverside winning streak. We have scored 14 goals at home all season in the Championship, only one side in this League have scored less, Bolton with 8 home goals. Even rock bottom Ipswich can equal our 14 home goals, no wonder the fans are turning and they haven’t actually turned yet, they are just getting started. Those tactics deserved to be booed and jeered, it is nothing short of dull, boring, mindless, ineffective dross that the numbers prove. Indeed if it were not for our three early home wins in August with the kids it would be even worse.

        For contract reasons TP will last until the end of the season I suspect regardless but unless there is a radical change in approach and outcomes the toxic atmosphere that is starting to bubble hasn’t even reached simmering point yet. The Riverside is becoming a pressure cooker but it isn’t the fans fault. Right now if a season renewal form dropped through my letterbox tomorrow I’d be hard pressed to choose which is the more desirable between it and Izal although I know which one would provide the greater comfort and satisfaction.

        1. RR

          Great post RR one could say soothing and thoroughly absorbing

          If your anxt and frustration so eloquently portrayed I’m your literary prose doesn’t make the rest of the bloggers sit up then I will just echo and say bluntly

          If It doesn’t change before next season I ain’t going any more !

          And that is a fact

          OFB

    1. Comment from Steve Claridge on BBC Radio 5 Live:

      A wonderful game of football, it could have been more than 3-3 with both sides having opportunities.

      On the night, that is the right result.

      Shaquile Coulthirst was a threat all night and he has pace and power, he was a willing runner and kept asking the question and deserved his goal.

      On the evidence of what we have seen, you should not see Barnet struggling. Consistency must be the buzzword, if they can play like that every week they should not have a problem.

      The free-kick for 3-3 was a wonderful finish.

      A few minutes later:

      Barnet goalscorer Shaquile Coulthirst has told BBC Radio 5 live that Brentford’s Ollie Watkins apologised to them for diving for the penalty which led to the second goal.

      They wuz robbed! How do these players manage to carry on getting away with it?!!! 🙁

  138. I know absolutely nothing about this Vassell but I listened to the recent Boro game v Birmingham, through their radio link, when he came on their commentators were absolutely purring about him , and how glad they wher he was back, basically saying how much better he was than the rest of them.
    What ever that means.

  139. Exmil when you wrote “As for Saturday’s match, it was a typical FA cup match with all the drama ” were you thinking of drama in terms of a Harold Pinter silence 🙂 OK, there was late drama with the last minute goal but I’m struggling to recall too much drama before that. While I would agree that booing is not helpful for the team and should at the very least be reserved for half-time and full-time, I’m not sure if it’s the fed up elements in the crowd who are spoiling it for the rest by stopping the team putting in scintillating displays.

    It seems to me that the players seem frozen through lack of ideas or options and are in many cases are either passing the responsibility on to somebody else with sideways and short passes or just lumping it forward in hope to a lone striker. The crowd is simply just frustrated at seeing tactics that are obviously just not working at home. While you may be part of a hard core who will renew no matter what, I suspect that is probably 10,000 at most and others will expect at least some pleasure from the experience of parting with their hard-earned cash if this is the standard of fare being offered – not great financially if Boro find themselves without parachute payments next season.

  140. As usual, the hectic beginning of the year continues and I’d be grateful if the UK parliament except my amendment to delay Brexit until I’ve got time to fully prepare for it – plus not sure where I’m going to find the time to air-drop parcels of fresh fruit and veg to the scurvy-ridden malnourished Englanders once I get my German passport. Though I think I may just take out an advert on the side of a bus showing pictures of fresh fruit to remind people what they don’t have to pay for any more.

    Anyway, I was working Sunday but have been catching up with the blog and as usual some great posts to supplement another excellent match report from Redcar Red – plus some good subsequent posts from him too. Also enjoyed reading Len’s post and lots of interesting ones from Simon to ponder too. So many thanks for all the continued great contributions and would agree that Diasboro once again proves online discussion doesn’t need to dumb down or be abusive.

    I think it’s become too easy for people in forums or social media in general to behave in a way that is totally unacceptable in any other area of life. In some ways it’s perhaps down to the example being set and seeking attention whether good or bad. You learn that quickly as a parent with young children and not to reward bad behaviour by either giving in to keep them quiet or giving them undue extra attention – plus sticking to punishments that are clear from the beginning.

    My problem with many of the comment sections online is that they are not editorially controlled as it’s probably not financially viable to employ somebody to do so – Unfortunately self regulation often descends into point scoring and grudges or trying to troll posters. Perhaps the good thing about Diasboro is that it’s a relatively small – it’s a village rather than a faceless city or it is indeed an online community.

    OK, enough of my ramblings, I’ll hopefully finish writing this week’s article later today and post it up this evening.

    1. Your point about size is spot on. In practice, online communities have a sweet spot where there are enough commentators to keep it interesting but not so many that people can feel unaccountable for their views. Self-policing tends to be the only way it works – professional moderators only work when the community consents as a whole.

      Online Boro communities have, on the whole, been able to achieve this. They can get bad tempered when opinion’s divided about the manager and they dwindle in bad times for the team because most of the more casual members don’t want to see their depression amplified online. You occasionally get troublesome posters as well regardless of how well the team is doing.

      If however the example set by the most frequent posters is healthy – as it is on this page – and bad behaviour isn’t rewarded then the community can prosper.

    2. Good post Werder.
      I do wonder and am surprised when I occasionally look into AV’s and his colleagues articles in the Gazette, that following comments are very rarely challenged or censored and there are some really poor ones. Grammatically and not well written, never mind the abuse.

      Do they not teach the written word any more at school?

  142. With two days left it seems more are leaving than arriving.
    Batth, Leads and Harry.
    I worry that incomings may now be panic signings just to keep the numbers up.
    The shopping list would have to be a right back, left back, right wing, creative midfielder (all with pace and no reverse gear) and possibly a centre back unless Fry is trusted there.
    Good luck getting that lot in 48 hours.
    How many windows have passed by without the creative midfielder arriving.
    Also, wasnt SD going to have a word with SG. Thats all gone quiet unless OFB knows anything

  143. I read other forums on football, rugby league, cricket and even golf some of them on the BBC website, and in all these people have different opinions which one would expect. However the BBC forums are probably one of the worst with football supporters of different clubs slagging off each other, rugby union fans and rugby league fans slagging off each other’s sport, and even golf fans slagging off Tiger Woods or Lee Westwood in vitriolic fashion. I don’t mind people having different opinions, but there appears to be a hard core of people who seem to think that their opinions are right and can’t accept any other opinion but their own, and have to use personal abuse as a way of reinforcing their views. The Gazette forum also seems to have its fair share of selfopiniated bloggers who always think that they’re right and get away with swearing by the use of asterisks in the F word without any control or censorship from the moderators.

    Now although we have diverse opinions on Diasboro, thankfully everyone respects opinions different from their own, and that makes it so different from other forums. Whether that is because we are all Boro fans at heart or whether it’s because most of us are of shall I say a maturer age, I don’t know. At the moment there is probably more anger at what is happening on and off the field at Middlesbrough FC, but everyone respects the right for each of us to vent one’s feelings without recourse to personal abuse or swearing, although we might feel like swearing at times under our breath. However this is the best forum I’ve ever witnessed or subscribed to with such excellent articles from Werdermouth, Redcar Red, Simon, Len, OFB, GHW and many others and we should be grateful for that. We’ve quite rightly praised the eloquence of the late Hugh McIlvanney, but remember the majority of our contributors are amateurs which makes their contributions all the more amazing. Also where else could one find discussions about non-football matters either?

    So in conclusion many thanks to Werdermouth for settling up this forum. I don’t know how he finds the time to do it with all his other commitments. As someone who has long since been retired I certainly couldn’t manage it.

  144. I see that MFC have allocated another 1,450 tickets to the 3,000 for the visit of Leeds. I might be missing something here but wasn’t the game brought forward to an early Kick Off on grounds of potential trouble and crowd safety?

    Again I might be missing something but as a major competitor for promotion isn’t giving the opposition more tickets counter productive? As we all know away fans from any club make three or four times the amount of noise than the corresponding amount of home fans. Main reason is being more hard core and passionate (euphemism for indulging in liquid refreshment and whatever else they unfortunately snort these days in the case of a growing number) than Mums and Dads with little Billy and his sherbet dabs or Granny and Granddad?

    From an operational perspective this will surely reduce our limited and diminishing Police resources to breaking point on that afternoon let alone the carnage of the likely aftermath. I know people should behave themselves but unfortunately they don’t and when part of a huge anonymous group the worst in human nature will always come out. Whatever extra income the club may generate will be swallowed up by the Police bill, additional Stewarding and that of course is based on the assumption that the game wouldn’t sell out anyway. TP’s inept home performances do without doubt make the prospect of a sell out that less likely but handing over the initiative to the League Leaders and in doing so upping the likelihood for acts of aggression off the pitch is bordering on irresponsible.

    Other clubs have a large travelling support that have very little “previous” misgivings between the Boro and them but some games do have an added potential to become inflammatory. A typical Pulis performance added to some choice chants about the likes of Marietta Higgs and Geoffrey Wyatt and you have the perfect storm especially as the Riverside is already becoming toxic. My conclusion is that this is just further confirmation (bias?) that the club really do not connect with the fans at times whether its ticket sales, football strips and of course bigger issues like recruitment. Its another massive disconnect except that this time they are quite literally playing with fire.

    I sincerely hope that it all goes off well and that everyone from both sides will behave but I know that society has those in its presence that will see this as an opportunity to add some spice (probably literally) to their weekends entertainment. To me it seems a very immature and irresponsible, thoughtless decision. Lets hope Boro win 4-0 and the four and a half thousand Leeds fans have the good grace to accept the defeat in a sporting and gentlemanly manner. Should it be the reverse then I’m not so sure that booing will be the worst that MFC will have to deal with.

  145. This memorable piece from Andrew Glover needs looking at. Penned in early 2011.

    The circumstances are not the same, but the sentiments still ring strong and true.

    https://ayresomegates.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/mogga-might-build-it-but-will-they-come/

    “Mogga might build it, but will they come?”

    “The wider fanbase has not adapted to life in the second tier. As the blog has pondered once or twice before, too many are still living in the past as far as reputations and expectations are concerned.

    “My generation gorged on the big names, the Wembley occupation and glory at Cardiff. We should have pinched ourselves a few times along the way.

    “Scrapping away in the Championship, perhaps playing second fiddle to the QPRs and Forests of this world is where we may be for some time yet. We have no divine right to success.

    “…My fear is whether too many (fans) have kissed goodbye for good. What happens if we do start next season well, are in and around the promotion places by the time the table takes shape in October only for the ground still to be desolate?

    “…The club must be aggressive in trying to retain current season ticket holders and entice new ones.

    “…The easy option of a price freeze on its own will not do this time around. The marketing department has come up with some innovative ideas in the past only for them to be shelved at the first hint of protest or be put back in the box because of disagreements behind the scenes.

    “Boro should break the mould to try and generate (bigger gates)…

    “Let us have the unreserved sections behind both goals so we can make some noise and give the ground the heart it is so sadly lacking. Be more imaginative on matchday pricing so the less attractive games and those on wet Tuesday nights are not played in front of sub 10,000 crowds.

    “Do something for those that think they should get in for free just because they have an ‘A’ patron number. Free cup games, a free shirt, meet and greet with the squad – just make them feel special. For some reason football fans need this nowadays, I’ve sat through plenty of Fans’ Forums at the Riverside where the point has been pathetically rammed home.

    “The club should go all out and put the ball in the fans’ court. If that doesn’t work and we never see the heights again there can only ever be one side to blame.”

  146. It looks like Danny Batth has now completed his move to Stoke along with Chapman to Blackburn and like as not Grant shortly. None of them have been starters so in theory not a major problem but it weakens the squad a little bit more and indeed those gaps that are already existing have not been plugged which is of greater and more immediate concern.

    I wish Grant all the best and bizarrely find myself hoping and wishing that he gets the Makems promoted. He was a great club captain and servant during his time here and deserves whatever success does come his way. Batth looked a decent player for most of his cameos but clearly had the odd rick in him which is likely why we ducked out of meeting Stoke’s valuation. I’m guessing his family is still in the Midlands area so Stoke is a lot more commutable for him from a personal perspective. Again I wish him well as he seemed to be one of football’s nice guys.

    Chapman’s move I think is the right choice for the lad at this stage of his career. At his age he needs to push on and clearly Mogga see’s something in him that Pulis doesn’t. What does concern me is when I look at Mogga’s recruitment record for Boro versus TP’s and it doesn’t make for comfortable reading. With only a few days left before the Window slams shut I’m just wondering if we can get any more late Gestede or Guedioura type deals over the line and I say that with tongue fully embedded in cheek. Is “Pacy and Powerful” now becoming the Teesside version of “Strong and Stable”?

  147. Was away from home at the weekend, missed the match, was told by my son in law of the result whilst enjoying a dinner with family. He was surprised that I smiled when told of the last minute goal, but all on this blog will know, and agree that it was no surprise.
    RR with his excellent reports, always stresses the futility of our tactics, plus the sheer mindlessness of some of the changes made during the games. On Saturday it was the omission of Tav from the off, followed of course by the introduction of the same Tav. With ten to go and the match won, and the whistle looming, which meant of course that we were bringing on a very good attacker, who we had starved of match play, with no intention of attacking, so effectively defending with ten men.
    We then let a desperate player run thirty yards unchallenged by defenders backing away, until he could put the ball into our box, yes, that would be O.K. Just what the doctor ordered, and it was.
    We are not suffering from a manager who cannot get his ideas across, he does not have any ideas, no judgement of players, no understanding of the transfer market. Baath has left. We got him fit for Stoke(at our expense) whilst robbing Fry of vital experience at his future job in life.
    We are going back to square passing (very slowly) formation standing about, victims of the bleeding obvious, always.
    We should long ago have cut our loses, and got ourselves a Euro manager.

  148. Redcar Red, do you honestly think an impressionable 19 yr old lad when going off the pitch to a chorus of booing, will think to himself “they don’t mean me” and do you think he hears individual calls of encouragement (which I think is great, which should also be afforded to all players when they make a mistake, not just “one of our own”) among the noise and possibly groans of 15,000 others.

    SavIlle mis controlled one of his first touches he had and you heard the crowd groan, mainly I think because of his transfer fee he has become the latest target. I don’t think Saville said I will only come to MFC if you pay £7m for me, so let’s not use it as a stick to beat him with, yes he did mis control a couple of early touches but overall I think he had a good game.

    Yes, the performances at home are not good, rather the finishing is not good but imho a bit of luck here and there in some of our home games would have seen a much better points total, let alone some of the refereeing I have seen this season, a point which you have mentioned a few times in your reports.

    I spoke to a couple of Newport supporters after the game and they said their manager stated pre match, if we can stop Boro from scoring in the first half or even 30 minutes, the crowd might start getting on their backs, he then went on to say he was shocked that the crowd started in the first 10/15 mins and asked me to confirm we were 5th in the league and not that far off automatic spot.

    As you have stated, TP is going to be here until at least the end of the season, so and the toxic atmosphere is directed at him and the management (who also will be here until at least the end of the season) so is there any point in carrying on this protest because the only thing I can see it affecting is the players performances.

    The manager picked Saturday’s starting eleven and once the whistle goes it’s mainly up to those players, I thought it was a strong side, so who wouldn’t you have picked to play a Newport County side.

    Come on BORO.

    1. Under Tony Pulis we know what sort of a match we’re likely to see unless by some fluke at the moment we score early. Perhaps some of us are never satisfied. One of the few instances Boro scored early this season was at home to Sheffield United. In fact we were 3 goals up after 25 minutes, but some fans were critical that we didn’t hammer them in the second half. A few times Boro have taken a 2 goal lead in the past, but fans have questioned why we have then just sat back instead of continuing to push forward.

      As for booing I think we all agree that it is counterproductive especially during playing time. But as I say we now seem to have no great expectations of being entertained. When I’ve been to see a play, a concert, gone to watch opera or the ballet, nobody has booed the performance if it didn’t live up to expectations. Rarely in fact has a performance not been greeted with rapturous applause at the finale. I’ve seen the occasional rare performance where I’ve been a tad disappointed, but I’ve never heard anyone booing. Having said that, most people don’t like something different, and many a classical composer has been hissed at when they’ve conducted something different, even Beethoven. I don’t suppose it affected him though, once he became deaf.

    2. Exmil

      If Tav didn’t hear the shouts of support and encouragement at those corners then he must have a serious hearing deficiency as I heard them clear as day sitting three times the distance he was from them in the North Stand.

      This is the same Tav who along with Wing changed the game on the opening day of the season at Millwall. If he can play in that cauldron of bile and abuse at The Den then he can play anywhere. Just yesterday that Club and their supporters at that same round were national news headlines again for all the wrong reasons.

      Using bad luck, poor finishing or poor Refereeing decisions for being unlucky to pick up points is scraping the barrel. Every side has bad luck, poor finishing and complaints of bad Refereeing as their fans see things through very biased tinted glasses. I doubt that Referees and their Assistants come to the Riverside to spite Tony Pulis with a pre ordained agenda. Indeed if it wasn’t for poor finishing we could have conceded another one or two goals against Newport.

      The “push” on Ayala for the Penalty against Millwall was soft but seen them given and seen them waved away, the Ayala handball against WBA was “luck” in our favour, the own goal by Bogle against Derby saved our blushes and was hardly bad luck on our part. Collectively that is plus four points that we were very fortunate to get at home. Without those decisions going in our favour we would be level on points with Blackburn Rovers in eighth. At home we have had things go for us and against us, the fact that we are left ruing offsides or free kicks is because we are rank bad, that is how desperate we have become under Pulis at the Riverside.

      A rare off day for a player or two or a poor Referee can ruin a game provoking a genuine “we was robbed” negative impact but to have a sequence of them going all the way back to September is inconceivable at best and when contrasted with the away results indicative of a massive problem. If its the fans fault then that has to be the poorest excuse I have heard in watching football for over 50 years man and boy.

      If Tav was terrified of coming on when 1-0 up against League 2 opposition but could handle the Den then something isn’t quite right with his temperament or perhaps more likely his Coaching. Personally I think the lad is fine and as our highest scoring Midfielder this season is doing better than most and has the least to be concerned about. If he does have (which I don’t believe) that sensitive weakness in him then why didn’t TP send VLP on who is older and much more experienced and worldly wise?

      Every single away Manager in every single game issues instructions to keep things tight and let the home fans get edgy and get on the backs of home sides. I recall it from back in the days of Bovril (or whatever that brown foul smelling muck was supposed to be). It didn’t turn nasty in the first 10 or 15 minutes against Newport, it turned nasty weeks ago and its going to get a lot worse if it doesn’t change.

      The supporters have supported and have been patient for months but as I keep saying our home form is now relegation form. Not Premiership relegation form but Championship relegation form which is so dire and negative that we couldn’t beat Burton or Newport. It isn’t and wasn’t just that one game, its now almost half a season of nauseating, continuous, boring, negative, surrender every single home game. That is why and at what the fans are booing at.

      Saville, McNair, Besic and arguably even Flint’s headers have now become victims of the Pulis tactical paralysis. Downing, Clayton, Howson and Friend are now under intense scrutiny. Probably only Fry, Ayala, Wing and Tav are immune to the anger and pent up frustrations. The fans didn’t cause this divide, repeated abject team tactics, performances and negativity propagated under Pulis at the Riverside has.

      The alternative is that the fans don’t turn up which is sadly what will happen next season. When gates again drop to 10,000 or less and SG’s cash is cascading out of his pockets just trying to keep the club afloat it will be the fans blamed again for not supporting the club. Everyones fault except the very individuals who are employed to actually perform in their various roles from the boardroom to the players on the pitch. The booing should be seen as radar, an early warning siren to the future of the club.

      1. Redcar Red,

        Very nicely argued, actually not even argued, just another voice eloquently placing their frustrations in writing. I agree with you. Different manager would do things differently and, we hope, better. Most importantly he would get the team to realise the potential that is there, play to player’s strengths and make Boro into a team.

        At times it’s so laughable that it is almost a Monty Python sketch waiting to performed or perhaps it is being performed. You know, this lad can unlock defences and score a few goals too so we’ll keep him om the bench to gather experience of being in the first team squad. It’s a bit like growing kids and ‘Sunday best’C clothes, worn three or four times then they don’t fit.

        It’s all a bit of an irony really. Does the manager suffer from risk aversion or risk avoidance? Any it’ll soon be the weekend…

        UTB,

        John

    3. Emil
      The problem is far more serious than a bit of bad form, lots of fans took the responsible line when he took a wrecking ball to the team just because we hit the top of the league after five matches.
      They still behaved well when he stood back and left out Wing and Tav. Plus Fry, as we butchered our chances in consecutive home matches against moderate teams (we did that three times).
      In cup ties, he let the youngsters loose and they won without too much trouble including one Prem side, then we had a cup tie against a very poor team with lots of injuries, no youngsters, and no victory.
      This is still going on, we met a very weak team on Saturday, no youngsters in and no victory.
      His constant buying of nothing players, carries with it the unspoken rule, if they should be any good, they are gone, if they are useless , they are ours, forever.
      We are unloading any player who is of value, Traore, Chapman, Baath, better pray that no one offers a few bob for Wing and Tav. or Fry, Clayton was a leading player, he is not now, I understand he is trying to change Claytons style of play, hhhm!
      How we can be fourth and a near certainty to miss the play offs(we will not talk about the automatics, the pain is too intense)
      All the above is the reason we the fans let this fellow know that he is putting up an all time black in the science of management, because the chairman is obviously missing it all, no, me neither.

    1. I’ll be very surprised if Boro don’t lose to both West Brom and Newport. Delighted to be proved wrong on Saturday, but can’t say I’m particularly bothered if we lose at Newport as it will probably save us from embarrassment against Manchester City. The home match with Leeds is much more important, but there again I sometimes wonder if it’s worthwhile being promoted under this manager to face more of the same we endured under Karanka.

  150. RR, Plato, John Richardson, OFB and all the others who are giving up their season tickets next season it is sad to lose supporters and we will miss RR match reports but I do not believe that there will only be 10,000 at the Riverside next season, no matter which league we are in or who the manager is and we will have to wait and see who is right. The first signs will be the early bird renewals.

    You all make valid points and, as everyone, entitled to your opinions but I still believe moaning, groaning, jeering and booing during play is counterproductive. By all means those who wish to show their displeasure by no longer attending Boro matches are obviously welcome to do so and I wish them well for the future but I am there for the long haul.

    Come on BORO.

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