It’s not clear how long Steve Gibson and Tony Pulis had to wait before they got to share that famous bottle of red but the Boro chairman has announced this Friday that there will be no more glasses raised next season. The decision won’t have come as a shock to most on Teesside as it seems the local media had been tipped off well in advance of any official club statement. So in the end, the argument that a seventh-place finish was a worthy achievement under the tough financial constraints, which possibly some automatic promotion winners could only dream of, was placed in the context it demanded. Incidentally, given the parody of Steve Gibson as Henry VIII in the ‘Man for all seasons‘ piece of a few weeks ago, today rather ironically coincides with the anniversary of the execution of Anne Boleyn.
It’s probably fair to say that football is ultimately a results-based business and Tony Pulis will know deep down that his team fell short of the expectations of both supporters and chairman alike. Nevertheless, as the year started, an automatic spot was still a distinct possibility, which the recruitment of “leg-beater” Rajiv van La Parra from Huddersfield to add much needed pace and the classy experience of John Obi Mikel was hoped would help achieve it. Indeed, come mid-January, Boro were only four points behind second placed Sheffield United and third-placed Norwich, with the thought that once the new recruits were match fit they would help the team kick on.
The 5-0 thrashing of Peterborough in the FA Cup was possibly optimistically taken by some as a sign that the shackles were maybe about to come off. Sadly, the next round against Tony’s home-town club Newport proved that not to be the case and the meek exit in the replay was perhaps a sign of what was to come in the league campaign. The football had been far from convincing but Boro had ended February by losing just one of their eight games of 2019 against in-form Sheffield United. Although, perhaps it was that 11th-minute injury time equaliser by Leeds that was to put an end to automatic promotion hopes.
Then a disastrous March began with a goalless draw against a struggling Wigan side that was then followed by four losses, which continued into April to make it six defeats on the spin. Boro had dropped down the table to eighth and even the play-offs were beginning to look gone. To their credit, Boro rallied and won five of their not particularly demanding looking last six fixtures. However, it was not enough and the damage had already been done with what was regarded as a too cautious an approach at home by many supporters. OK, Boro had been the victim of a few bad decisions and defensive injuries had left the team in makeshift mode. Still, it was scoring goals that had been the main reason why Tony Pulis and his team found themselves finishing outside the play-offs and whilst the manager was not responsible for the misses, he played a significant part in the overall failure of the team to trouble the opposition defences.
So now that Tony Pulis has gone and we await news of who will be leading the new regime at the club, here is part two of the season review and a summary of how the last 20 league games of the Welshman’s tenure panned out through the words of own Diasboro match reporter, Redcar Red and the post-match comments of Tony himself. What is evident is the sense of frustration of both men as the season and indeed promotion increasingly began to drift away from Boro.
| January… | W1 : D2 : L0 : F4 : A3 : 5/9pts |
26. Pride restored at the Park
| Pos. 6th (43pts) | TUESDAY 1 JANUARY 2019 | Pos. 5th (43pts) | ||
| Derby | 1-1 | Boro | ||
| Wilson (2) | 62% 8(2) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
38% 11(2) |
Hugill (52) |
RR: After an horrendous start, looking punch drunk and out on their feet for the opening twenty minutes or so Boro fought back bravely and arguably were unlucky not to have collected all three points in the end. There were some very strong and committed performances notably from Howson, Friend, Hugill, Ayala, Batth, Fry and Randolph back to his best kept us in it but MOM for me was Lewis Wing who was out on his feet come the final whistle. That sleepy start for which I’m sure TP will not be holding back from when holding accountability forced Boro to put in their best performance for months to maintain their credible away form. I would like to hope that it showed Pulis that the limitations he thinks we have are perhaps not as severe as he believes and with Tav and now VLP could actually be much better.
TP: We were disappointed to lose Aden just before kick-off, that was a massive blow, and I think we started like it. We were very much on the back foot at the back. They got the goal after two minutes but the response of the players was fabulous and I think we took control then for long periods and Danny Batth’s chance was the best of the game and he should score. The players have worked tremendously hard, especially after such an early setback. To give them a leg-up you think ‘blimey, this is going to be a long afternoon’ but they showed great character and the midfielders swarmed all over Derby at times.
FA Cup 3rd Round Five star Posh pushover
| SATURDAY 5 JANUARY 2019 | ||||
| Boro | 5-0 | Peterborough | ||
| Assombalonga (47, 70) Friend (50) Wing (62) Fletcher (87) |
64% 10(7) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
36% 9(1) |
|
RR: MOM was Lewis Wing who came on and changed the entire game but Grant was also worthy of a mention for his reading of the game and spreading the ball around. McNair had a strange game; he had a few wobbly runs that came to nothing but was always full of running and looked far better and coherent when he had Wing to link up with (as did everyone else to be honest). In a strange way I felt that Paddy had shown something there that could maybe be tapped into further, especially with Lewis Wing in front. An underwhelming first half which just didn’t knit together up front at all and then a second half that was light years away from it, yielding a scoreline that nobody was expecting at half time and as a consequence the fourth round now beckons.
TP: The application of the players was very good. In the first half, we played with five forwards really with Tav and Rajiv out wide. They all pushed on, and if anything, I’ve made a mistake doing that because it blocked all the spaces we were really trying to use. Bringing Wingy on, and then pulling him and Grant out to play a bit more, sucked them on to us, and then there more spaces for us to play in. I think the big thing is we’ve scored five goals, and I’m really pleased with the attitude and application of the players. We played really well, especially second half. But we’re playing against a League One side, we’re not playing against a top Championship side.
27. Britt’s Wing Man breaks down Brum
| Pos. 8th (39pts) | SATURDAY 12 JANUARY 2019 | Pos. 5th (46pts) | ||
| Birmingham | 1-2 | Boro | ||
| Adams (79) | 55% 15(4) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
45% 8(5) |
Wing (37) Assombalonga (82) |
RR: Today was always going to be a tough game, away to a side that had only lost once at home this season and who will reasonably feel hard done to. A game which started dull increased in tempo with Boro deservedly going ahead. The arrival of Craig Gardiner changed the make-up of the second half with Boro initially starting the half confidently then literally clinging on just before and after the Evans equaliser. Out of the blue Wingy again produced a piece of magic to set Britt free to bring home the points totally against the run of play. Throughout the game there was great defending from Ayala and Batth. Fry and Friend done their bit at both ends, Wingy was superb as was Hugill’s battling (or battering despite his glaring miss). Britt started quietly once coming on but then started to cause problems and deserved his winner. Saville had a great first half albeit faded a little in the second or perhaps stood firm depending on your view point and what TP was asking of him. MOM had to be Wing, there were some good performances from those in Red but when the extra magic was needed Wingy was there!
TP: To come in just 1-0 up at half-time was a travesty. We should have been out of sight. We were by far the better team. I know we should have had two penalties so instead of being one up, we should have been three up at least. In the second half, they played very direct and we had to defend – and we did that ever so well. They’ve got a great goal and there were one or two other scares. But it was a great goal from Britt, too – he gets his chance and he finishes – and I think we deserved to win. Winning so well away from home shows the character of the team.
28. Lions versus Pulis Pussycats
| Pos. 5th (47pts) | SATURDAY 19 JANUARY 2019 | Pos. 19th (21pts) | ||
| Boro | 1-1 | Millwall | ||
| Hugill (90) | 59% 16(2) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
41% 7(3) |
Wallace (21) |
RR: Millwall were robbed and Pulis got a point when he weakly and negatively threw away all three before even a ball was kicked. MOM was Randolph and then VLP in the second half but who cares because having to sit through that farcical, incoherent steaming mess of a team selection had me considering a season ticket for Roseberry Park (or St. Lukes to most of us on here) rather than returning to the Riverside any time soon. So to summarise Millwall had some balls, put up a decent and credible show and were robbed at the end after thoroughly deserving all three points. In between Boro passed it sideways, backwards and sideways again, nobody made any runs off the ball to drag defenders wide or create anything other than offer a modern alternative to Mogadon. Next season I suggest that Steve Gibson offers a free Nitrazepam tablet instead of a free pint. This wasn’t negative football in the Karanka sense this was worse, much worse this was hard core garbage.
TP: I’m disappointed at the first half. We started slowly and looked nervous. The players have to play with the freedom they do away from home. I think some of them are a little bit affected maybe by the support but supporters pay good money to watch their team and they have a right to say what they want. You have to accept that as a player or a manager. The players kept going second half, kept at it. That’s one defeat in six games now, we just have to be more productive and more positive at home.
FA Cup 4th Round Exiled Dolan delivers bitter Pill
| SATURDAY 26 JANUARY 2019 | ||||
| Boro | 1-1 | Newport | ||
| Ayala (51) | 58% 19(4) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
42% 17(5) |
Dolan (90+3) |
RR: A strong Boro side should have blown their weaker opponents away but once again the familiar home frailties came to the fore by sitting deep and offering no credible attacking threat in open play apart from Wing having pot shots from distance and set pieces, who was MOM for Boro. Unfortunately, a draw was the last result Boro needed as they now face a trip to South Wales sandwiched in between a challenging run of Championship fixtures. A final word of congratulations goes to Michael Flynn and his side as they came to attack play football and were full value for the draw and indeed unlucky not to have put away some of their other gilt edged chances.
TP: I thought Newport played with great spirit and togetherness and they deserve all the credit that hopefully they will be given. The big disappointment for me was that we didn’t stop crosses – it was almost like we were quite happy for them to stick it in the box and there were lots of occasions we could have got our bodies in the way. It’s the first time Mikel’s had his boots on for a couple of months. John is a quality player, wonderful person, and he’ll be good for us but we’ve got to get him fit.
| February… | W3 : D1 : L1 : F7 : A4 : 10/15pts |
29. Britt brace throttles Throstles
| Pos. 4th (50pts) | SATURDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2019 | Pos. 5th (50pts) | ||
| West Brom | 2-3 | Boro | ||
| Rodriguez (42) Gayle (63) |
67% 19(6) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
33% 14(5) |
Saville (17) Assombalonga (75, 83) |
RR: In Typical Britt style he looked languid and slow at times when he came on but then he has that incredible knack of scoring and not just once but twice. Wing was as ever magnificent, Saville had another good game, Shotton was rock solid in his duties and Friend and Ayala battled away but the scene stealer was Assombalonga who has to be the MOM for launching Boro back level on points with West Brom instead of facing a six point gap. More importantly perhaps was maintaining a three point gap between us and the chasing pack of Bristol and Derby. For a neutral the game swayed and changed, twisted and turned but despite the Baggies dominance in the possession stats it was boring Tony Pulis and his sides three goals who had the widest smile. Perhaps Boro hanging on to Britt in the window was a shrewd bit of business after all for all concerned.
TP: Being unable to add to the squad [in the transfer window] was a disappointment for everybody but we’ve got a great, resilient group. The thing we’ve got to do is play with a little more confidence and a little bit more freedom, like we did today, at home. It meant a lot [to the supporters] because there’s been a real negative feeling around the place in respect of us not bringing players in and I just wanted to say thank you for supporting the lads and that’s what we need, irrespective of whether we bring them in or we don’t. They have a great young manager – Darren is a fabulous lad. I wish them all the best, but I don’t want them to finish above Middlesbrough.
FA Cup Replay A Bridge too far
| TUESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2019 | ||||
| Newport | 2-0 | Boro | ||
| Willmott (47) Amond (67) |
44% 16(4) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
56% 13(1) |
|
RR: As Newport keeper Day collected another lacklustre Boro cross the fourth Official held up three agonising minutes but the reality was that if this Boro side had another three years they wouldn’t have scored, collectively they could have set a Teesside record in the Bongo club. Boro didn’t turn up, didn’t look interested or remotely bothered to the extent that it made me think they genuinely didn’t want any more cup games and certainly not against Man City. Was it a case of more important fish to fry and they or TP at least would rather Newport get some glory and benefit than Boro get demoralised and battered next round? At least the FA can’t take three points off us on this occasion for not turning up. MOM was 28 year old Robbie Willmott for Newport, there wasn’t a single Boro player worthy of any more than a 3/10 and that would be by far the most generous score. Let’s hope it was just a fitness training exercise with an eye on Saturday. The good news of the evening was that Joe Day’s wife was able to hang on until the final whistle as he sprinted off the pitch to be at her side which was more than Boro’s defence could manage.
TP: They were the better team, they ran all over us. It was men against boys. Forget the conditions, you have to match people and that’s the real disappointment. Give them credit, they were fantastic tonight and they deserve their win. The tempo of the game was really poor from us. I am desperately disappointed at the lack of real commitment. We were outfought and outplayed. We’ve been fantastic away from home this year. They have regularly turned up and put in performances but it’s different circumstances tonight and we never coped with it.
30. Sit back setback
| Pos. 5th (51pts) | SATURDAY 9 FEBRUARY 2019 | Pos. 1st (58pts) | ||
| Boro | 1-1 | Leeds | ||
| Wing (47) | 33% 9(3) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
67% 17(4) |
Philips (90+11) |
RR: The inevitable late equaliser finally came as Shotton managed a tired headed clearance to concede a corner, which resulted in an unmarked Phillips heading it in past Randolph and Clayts and Assombalonga who had retreated onto the goal line to send the away fans wild and sink Boro hearts. The game restarted but the whistle went within seconds and those three points suddenly now reduced to one. In balance and in fairness Leeds were worthy of a point but I walked away feeling that if only we had been more positive in our substitutions it could have been a different story. MOM was Howson but had Wing stayed on it may have been a close call and indeed Saville and JOM were also worthy contenders. A frustrating day but at least a decent game of football tinged with sadness and concern over Jack Clarke (who required lengthy treatment after collapsing on the bench) but finished off by the inevitable trouble caused in the town after the game with hordes of Police chasing around after Football Hooligans.
TP: In the first half we were the better team and our midfield players were fabulous. When we were attacking, we were having five or six players in the box and around that area, which was fantastic. We tired a bit in the second half, Leeds came into it as the game went on, and we certainly didn’t need to concede a goal from a set-play – something that’s really disappointed me.
31. Blunt Boro fall to the Blades
| Pos. 3rd (58pts) | WEDNESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2019 | Pos. 6th (51pts) | ||
| Sheff Utd | 1-0 | Boro | ||
| Stearman (61) | 56% 15(5) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
44% 10(4) |
S/O Ayala (64) |
RR: The determined and bold attempt by Wilder of switching to three up front turned the game on its head from the first half where Boro had ended it looking comfortable. Those three Strikers roughed up and upset the Boro defence. The irony was that the goal came from a Pulis style set piece (remember them from August?). A disappointing evening for Boro that culminated with Flint crocked and Ayala now banned and any hopes of an automatic spot all but gone. MOM for me was JOM for his first half showing, nobody for Boro put in any sort of performance of note at all in the second half. A real test now lies ahead for TP to rally his troops after two successive disappointments. Suspensions and injuries have now ravaged his back line and he will struggle to put out any sort of defence against Blackburn on Sunday. Those on the bench tonight won’t have made his selection dilemma any easier and indeed a few on the pitch didn’t cover themselves in glory either.
TP: I’m really disappointed with the goal. I think the linesman’s decision for it to be a free-kick is shocking. If they’re going to give a free-kick for that then the lad who scored the goal has pushed and jumped on Dael and the referee’s in a great position to give it and doesn’t give it. It’s a free-kick every minute of the day. It was such a big game tonight and we have a referee who’s only refereed eight games in the Championship all season. You look around and you’ve got other referees who are refereeing Premier League games and dropping down – that’s not the referee’s fault, that’s the person in charge and that can’t be right. That’s not good enough.
32. Boro Renaissance at Rovers?
| Pos. 14th (43pts) | SUNDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2019 | Pos. 5th (54pts) | ||
| Blackburn | 0-1 | Boro | ||
| S/O Williams (45) | 49% 5(1) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
51% 26(7) |
Assombalonga (19) |
RR: One nil and all three points was a very good result and after a great first half, then an optimistic opening ten minutes of the second half, it saw us hanging in at times when we really should have put ten men Blackburn to the sword. Twenty-six efforts on the Blackburn goal yet only one goal to show for it were both great and disappointing in equal measure. MOM was a tough one but thankfully for all the right reasons this time. There were some solid defensive performances from the three, Saville was full of tireless running and made things tick as did Wing along with Howson down the right. Fletcher did well despite his eagerness to score saw him make a few poor finishing decisions but there was no doubt his running led to both the goal and the sending off. Britt ran a lot more than usual, did some sterling defensive work and scored, Besic was calm and measured but the one who shaded it for me was Mikel, he was majestic in the middle, routinely broke things up, shielded his defence and set up attacks.
TP: I’m pleased. I don’t want to take the gloss off it because I thought we were very good today, but to get 27 shots on goal and just score one goal is something I’ve kept harping on about since I joined the football club. We’ve got to be more clinical in front of goal. We had really good opportunities to get the second one, and if you get the second one it’s game over and you can relax a little bit. What we’ve got to do is replicate the intensity we showed against Leeds for home games for the rest of the season and that gives us a chance.
33. Stroll in the Sun
| Pos. 5th (57pts) | SATURDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2019 | Pos. 18th (39pts) | ||
| Boro | 2-0 | QPR | ||
| Howson (2) Fletcher (32) |
45% 10(4) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
55% 9(4) |
|
RR: It ended two nil with Boro rarely looking to get out of second gear and almost disappointing after the swashbuckling start, which had graduated into overcomplicating things. But it’s a home win and three points are three points so job done. MOM was difficult since there were no poor performances and indeed some very commendable ones across the pitch. Besic was much improved though not without a few of those special Mo moments, Howson was excellent as was Wing. Saville stuck to his task on the left, Shotton was a colossus in the middle of the back three but Dael Fry looked like a young Franz Beckenbauer. He was winning aerial challenges with ease, dribbling the ball out of defence assuredly on numerous occasions and perhaps should consider having a go himself rather than passing it in the last twenty yards.
TP: It’s a great result. QPR are not as bad a team as some people think. They’ve got some good players and they played some good stuff at times. Besic and Jon Obi really controlled the game. They’re two good players, when they’re playing like that. I thought Dael Fry was the best player on the pitch. Once Ashley Fletcher scores the second goal, it was just a case of managing the game. Again, the end-of-term report, if you like, is that we’ve missed four or five really good opportunities. But we’ve only lost one game this calendar year in the league, and that was away to Sheffield United with ten men. The boys deserve a tap on the back for that.
| March… | W0 : D1 : L4 : F2 : A8 : 1/15pts |
34. Profligate Boro draw a blank
| Pos. 19th (36pts) | SATURDAY 2 MARCH 2019 | Pos. 5th (58pts) | ||
| Wigan | 0-0 | Boro | ||
| 49% 6(2) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
51% 15(1) |
||
RR: Boro had their chances but our finishing was woeful and not for the first time our strikers needed far too many chances to convert. A point was a disappointment as reality sunk in that this result pretty much made any hopes of a top two spot now a forlorn hope. MOM was undoubtedly Howson who was head and shoulders above everyone else in a Red shirt. We had spells of pressure in a scrappy game that we should have won but poor finishing was our Achilles heel as storm Freya was about to make the journey back across the A66 even more dramatic than our shots on target.
TP: I can’t fault the effort and the commitment. The quality of the chances we created was good but we didn’t take them. Four times we could have played people in but overplayed the pass and it’s that quality in the final third that we need to improve on, but it’s difficult to criticise them. There’s a long way to go in the season and we have got to give it our best. We’ve fallen short not on effort or commitment, but on quality.
35. Bees sting substandard Boro
| Pos. 5th (58pts) | SATURDAY 9 MARCH 2019 | Pos. 12th (49pts) | ||
| Boro | 1-2 | Brentford | ||
| Fletcher (6) | 37% 19(6) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
63% 14(3) |
Shotton (70 o.g.) Benrahma (73) |
RR: Brentford had beaten Boro on Teesside for the first time since before the Second World War and deservedly so. With three whole minutes of the ninety remaining Tavernier was introduced to add that pace and urgency that we had been missing all afternoon and who knows what on earth he was supposed to achieve with the game all but over. However, the lad did try valiantly and he did have a few link-ups with both Wing and Friend but his arrival from the bench was so late it was farcical. There wasn’t a MOM for Boro because that would imply that someone played well when in fact so many were well below par. It was a collective nightmare made worse by a ridiculous and negative tactical managerial decision in a crucial part of the game which handed the initiative to the visitors when they clearly already had it.
TP: We’re disappointed obviously but Brentford are a good side. We got off to a great start, then we should have had a penalty – one of three definite penalties. Refs have to get those decisions right and how he’s got that wrong I don’t know. He has a clear view and that’s three definite penalties in a home game and we didn’t get any. I think the results this weekend have given everyone near the top of the table a bit of zip but we’ve just got to get as many points as possible in the remaining games.
36. Ref Justice at the Riverside
| Pos. 5th (58pts) | WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH 2019 | Pos. 9th (54pts) | ||
| Boro | 1-2 | Preston | ||
| Fletcher (32) S/O Ayala (61) |
40% 22(4) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
60% 17(6) |
Gallagher (63) Stockley (81) |
RR: Tav had come on for Mikel with five minutes remaining as we threw caution to the wind but there wasn’t enough time or even energy left to rescue anything. Our futile persistent passing around the Preston box was rubbed in our noses by that deflected “offside” goal. Shooting creates chances and passing simply retains possession in non-dangerous areas. Despite destroying Preston in the first half we just didn’t possess that instinctive killer touch. Disappointing and unfair in equal measure but that’s been the story of a season of wasted opportunity. MOM would have been Howson who ran all night but it was he who put Ayala in trouble leading up to the sending off so I’m giving it to Besic despite the state of my undergarments.
TP: I think it’s a poor decision [Ayala red card]. He’s miles away from it and he’s got people between him an the ball. How he makes that decision, a game-changing decision, from where he is, is just astonishing for me. In my opinion he’s made a shocking decision tonight. Dani is disappointed because he slides in, he definitely sides in, but he takes the ball with one foot, not two feet. People will say it’s aggressive but it’s a game of challenges, football. They scored the goal from a free-kick that shouldn’t have been a free-kick. Even if we get Dani sent off at that time, at the other end of the pitch we have to be scoring goals. I know I sound like a broken record saying the same thing but again we scored one when it should have been four or five.
37. Pulis raises white flag at Villa
| Pos. 6th (57pts) | SATURDAY 16 MARCH 2019 | Pos. 5th (58pts) | ||
| Aston Villa | 3-0 | Boro | ||
| El Ghazi (28) McGinn (44) Adomah (88) |
61% 18(5) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
39% 4(1) |
|
RR: Again there was no Boro MOM, Downing was the best of a dire lot but to even contemplate saying that we had someone who put in the required effort to be remotely acknowledged as a performance of note was impossible. Three defeats in a row now and each of them with a bizarre story to tell and the fact that I expected and confidently predicted such a shambolic and humiliating display here at Villa Park weeks before hand is testimony to just how poor things are. Tony Pulis is very clearly a spent force and at this level has neither the nous nor the ability to get a side promoted. Today was a foretaste of exactly what will happen if we somehow managed to hang onto a play-off place which based on what I am currently witnessing I would rather miss out on than be put through any more of this dire negativity.
TP: They were three goals that were unlike us to concede. We haven’t given goals away like that away from home. There has been a flatness around the club since the defeat against Preston on Wednesday and for the first 20 minutes we still looked like there was a hangover – we didn’t get going at all. I’m really disappointed. Villa have had five shots on goal and scored three goals. That’s something that wasn’t happening when we were doing well.
38. Boro flapping leaves Canaries singing
| Pos. 8th (58pts) | SATURDAY 30 MARCH 2019 | Pos. 1st (81pts) | ||
| Boro | 0-1 | Norwich | ||
| 40% 17(6) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
60% 17(5) |
Hernández (54) | |
RR: The second half had saw Daniel Farke’s half time team talk up the ante and Pulis’s Boro simply couldn’t live with it. Bristol are now coming up on Tuesday night who have leapfrogged Boro this evening on goals scored as we slide ignominiously down to eighth. Without energy and intelligent playmakers on the pitch Boro will like as not struggle again. No VLP or Tavernier apparently required for Pulis’s Boro yet Hernandez and Buendia destroyed us (as predicted) with similar skill sets. The MOM has to be Randolph who made up for his early concentration lapses to save us from another three or four going in. The scribbled note seems to be just causing confusion when that sheet goes onto the pitch and gets passed around. Surely by now it’s clear even to Pulis that it’s the wrong communication method or there again maybe it’s the right communication method but its what’s written on the note that is the problem not unlike the team selection and tactics.
TP: We had very good opportunities to score. We need to finish the chances we are creating and we have been saying that since I came here. Goals change games but when we get opportunities we don’t put them away. We came back into it, we had three, great opportunities to score and, again, we have to score goals. The big thing is we dropped our heads when they scored and we can’t do that. It’s an eight-game season and if we win on Tuesday we go back into the top six and players have to relish the challenge. We have to really really hope and pray things start to drop for us. Let’s bring it on and I hope the players feel the same as me. It is there for us and we have to make sure we graft.
| April… | W4 : D0 : L3 : F7 : A8 : 12/21pts |
39. Robins go bob bob bobbin’ along
| Pos. 5th (61pts) | TUESDAY 2 APRIL 2019 | Pos. 8th (58pts) | ||
| Bristol City | 1-0 | Boro | ||
| Webster (31) | 54% 23(7) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
46% 14(5) |
|
RR: Maybe it was just me being lost in the moment trying to figure out why you would bring on a circular running midfielder and take off the only remaining wide player who can at least put decent crosses into a box now habited by three, yes sits down in amazement, three Boro Strikers? It did seem however that Fletcher was now sitting deeper (or wandering desperate to get a pass) so in part that meant that we did still have two strikers, well one who hadn’t yet missed his prerequisite number of sitters to record a goal and a WWE wrestler masquerading as Footballer. In between behaving like an errant ten pin bowling ball in the skittle like Bristol defence Hugill did manage to get a semi volleyed boot onto a last second chance that went wide to a unified backdrop of both sets of fans agreeing at full voice that Tony Pulis’s football is indeed very reminiscent of faecal matter. I did however hear one of the cleaners on the way out take umbrage to the impromptu singalong complaining that what they cleaned didn’t stink the place out that badly. I did hear someone say on the way out that its the worst run for something like twenty years but that may have been just how long it feels like TP has been here.
TP: We created five or six chances and even the free-kick we worked on this morning nearly came off. There is no way in a million years I can fault them for effort. We had 23 shots at goal tonight, 17 on Saturday. That is 40 in two games, I don’t think I had that at Stoke for a whole season, never mind two games. Darren made a couple of great saves but all in all, there was only us and we needed that bit of luck.
40. Dead Ducks Swansong
| Pos. 13th (53pts) | SATURDAY 6 APRIL 2019 | Pos. 8th (58pts) | ||
| Swansea | 3-1 | Boro | ||
| Grimes (34 pen) Routledge (38) Roberts (71) |
61% 16(7) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
39% 13(1) |
Saville (81) |
RR: With another late Boro attack ending with Fletcher fluffing his lines, it summed up how the afternoon had gone for Boro. Despite being 3-1 down, the game had been toing and froing but it wasn’t worth commenting on as the match was now very much an irrelevance considering the wider state the club now finds itself in [after six sucessive defeats]. Dael Fry slightly raised very late hopes with some positivity and Howson had collected a despondent frustrated yellow. The Boro MOM can only be Randolph without whom the score line would have looked an awful lot worse.
TP: I am really disappointed. In the first half our tempo and decision-making were awful. We should have had a penalty in the second half for a clear handball. Swansea were a Premier League side last season and this was the game I was more worried about than all the others. Five games to go and it is all to play for.
41. Boro blues for troubled Bolton
| Pos. 23rd (32pts) | TUESDAY 9 APRIL 2019 | Pos. 7th (61pts) | ||
| Bolton | 0-2 | Boro | ||
| 57% 13(2) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
43% 18(5) |
Fletcher (16, 28) | |
RR: There were many doubts if this game could actually go ahead and from the perspective of both sets of fans many more who probably wished it wouldn’t. However, a good Boro first half against a very weak and disparate Bolton side wasn’t built upon in the second half which was disappointing. So bad were the Bolton defence that Fletcher, Saville, Howson and Britt were tearing them apart with ease every time we went forward. The traveling army started cheering nervy Bolton passes in defence with a series of disparaging “ole’s”. So finally three points and in fairness the victory was never really in doubt but getting that losing streak off their back was important for Boro. Besic, Saville, Howson and Assombalonga all had good games but with two goals Fletcher earned the MOM award.
TP: I am relieved for the players as I don’t think they have deserved to lose six games on the bounce, irrespective of what people say. The difference tonight is we took two of our chances, whereas four of the six games we should have won and we didn’t. I thought we played really well in the first half – we controlled the game and looked a threat – and we had two or three opportunities in the second half. The most important thing is not worrying about other teams and other games, but making sure we do the business ourselves.
42. Stumbling Britt seals Boro victory
| Pos. 7th (64pts) | SATURDAY 13 APRIL 2019 | Pos. 9th (60pts) | ||
| Boro | 1-0 | Hull | ||
| Assombalonga (25) | 39% 15(4) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
61% 15(4) |
|
RR: Battered and bruised the Boro defence were hanging on, desperate for the whistle made worse knowing Britt could and should have had three or four goals to his name to ease the anxiety. Then a heart in mouth time as a late Grosicki free kick was tipped onto the bar by Randolph before being booted clear by Flint with the Hull players appealing it was over the line. Hull’s season is now all but over whilst Boro’s still stubbornly continues as they find themselves a point behind Bristol in sixth. MOM for Boro could have been Randolph for two great saves, or Howson for being switched around yet competently adapting all afternoon, or Besic for buzzing around up until he went off. However, for me it was Dael Fry who stood defiantly whether at Left Back or Centre Back and stepped up a gear when Ayala went off injured.
TP: I just think again it’s déjà vu. The chances we had first half, we should be scoring more than the one goal. If it’s just the one goal, it’s going to be edgy all the way through and that’s the way it was. I think we had seven chances today where if we beat the goalkeeper, we score. We are obviously pleased with the result. I’m really, really pleased, they had to dig in and they did dig in.
43. Early Bird Britt collects the points
| Pos. 6th (67pts) | FRIDAY 19 APRIL 2019 | Pos. 16th (52pts) | ||
| Boro | 1-0 | Stoke | ||
| Assombalonga (2) | 36% 7(2) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
64% 14(1) |
|
RR: Despite a very uncomfortable second half we had held on and earned the win the hard way. It wasn’t pretty nor was it entertaining for the most part but its points on the board that count now if Boro are to retain any hope of making the play-offs. MOM was McNair, it was his best game for Boro and he actually looked to be worth every penny paid for him last summer. Not his preferred role it has to be said but his composure and timing were impressive and he looked the most accomplished I’ve seen him play in a Boro shirt. Mikel was back to his best, Howson had another good game at right wing back and Besic looked up for the challenged before being subbed. Shotton did well considering he was on the left but McNair just caught the eye and for all the right reasons and maybe knowing he has a real opportunity of a run in the side gave him that extra edge of encouragement.
TP: I’m pleased with the win. We’ve played much better than that and lost games at this place. We’ve not been as fluent today. To have five players missing from the backline that we started with at the beginning of the season, it takes a lot of courage and determination from the players to go out there and play the way they played. They’re having to do jobs they are not used to. Like I say, I think we’ve played better in other games than we have but we just haven’t taken our opportunities and chances. It’s all about results as a manager, if you don’t get results you don’t hang around long.
44. Boro bottlers smashed
| Pos. 11th (60pts) | MONDAY 22 APRIL 2019 | Pos. 7th (67pts) | ||
| Nottm Forest | 3-0 | Boro | ||
| Lolley (39 pen, 85) Milosevic (64) |
54% 20(9) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
46% 3(1) |
|
RR: Getting beat away at Forest isn’t a disaster in itself but the manner of the way this Boro side was set up and then consequently failed in such miserable fashion to even threaten Pantilimon’s goal was a disgrace. Defensively we were down to the bare bones but our midfield was hopeless and a complete liability, our strikers had zero service as we sat far too deep from the off and Saville has never remotely looked capable out left. Boro’s black shirts were very apt on the day as it perfectly matched the mood of the travelling army. Randolph was the Boro MOM, which considering that we conceded three goals illustrates just how dire we were this afternoon. There have been far too many of these types of games under Pulis now, how many more do the fans have to endure?
TP: It was always going to be difficult – we’ve only got two real defenders on the pitch. We’re trying to put square pegs in round holes and it really caught us out today. I’m disappointed. We played with forwards on the pitch today, more forward-thinking players than I’ve ever played, and you want them to do a lot more going forward. We’ve still got a chance. We’ve got to dust ourselves down and we need all the players to be together and try and get a result Saturday.
45. Wing and a prayer
| Pos. 7th (70pts) | SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2019 | Pos. 20th (46pts) | ||
| Boro | 2-1 | Reading | ||
| Wing (31) Assombalonga (39 pen) |
38% 18(6) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
62% 12(4) |
Loader (11) |
RR: Just like the last few home games it was the Alamo revisited again as nerves were shredded, enduring what was hopefully the last of the Pulis era at the Riverside. It ended with a 2-1 victory that was far from convincing and anything but enjoyable (that last emotion had long since been aborted since August). MOM was a joint one between Howson and Wing, Wingy grabbed his goal but Howson was Mr Duracell all game and it’s impossible to split the decision. Incredibly, the tantalising chance of a play-off spot still remains up until the very final game of the season but most of us know that top six should have been the absolute minimum. Now we find ourselves rueing the lack of goals and goal difference that TP had been at great odds to highlight in his programme notes. Unfortunately, those stats don’t highlight taking Britt off for Friend at home to Brentford or the abject negativity against the likes of Villa, Forest and Swansea nor the shameful capitulations to Newport and Burton. No team spirit, no belief, no determination, no confidence, no positivity and negative demoralising leadership has led us to where we now find ourselves.
TP: We played some fantastic football, especially on the right-hand side. I thought Howson, McNair and Wing were absolutely fantastic down that side. I was really pleased for Wingy. We kept it as quiet as we possibly could – we didn’t want anyone to know he was going to be fit. I apologised to him because I kept him on for 90 minutes, and I shouldn’t have done. He’s been the find of the season. He’s got a good character, a good attitude and he wants to improve. That’s what will take him further. If Derby win their two games, they win their two games, but we’ve kept the pressure on them, and that’s what we wanted to do today.
| May… | W1 : D0 : L0 : F2 : A1 : 3/3pts |
46. Boro ground to a halt at the Millers
| Pos. 22nd (40pts) | SUNDAY 5 MAY 2019 | Pos. 7th (73pts) | ||
| Rotherham | 1-2 | Boro | ||
| Smith (86 pen) | 58% 18(4) |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) |
42% 12(4) |
Assombalonga (28 pen) Mikel (37) |
RR: With sixty-five minutes gone, Boro were 2-0 up and in a play-off spot as Derby were still being held 1-1 and Bristol were losing. Sadly, the news coming in from Pride Park after that changed for the worse and Boro were left hanging on to what they had. Boro fans were now left reflecting on all those games that we meekly surrendered over a season that had started so well then defended into despair. Indeed, MOM was the Boro Travelling Army. Boro had recklessly missed out on what was once a nailed-on position in the play-off’s, which was sealed after that calamitous run of six defeats in a row. Part of me was disappointed at today’s outcome whilst another part was relieved that this frustrating season was finally over and not spluttering incoherently and aimlessly on. Now put out of our misery but in truth we didn’t miss out today, our lack of goals, terrible home record, negative attitude and out dated tactics had sucked the heart and soul out of players and fans alike some months back.
TP: This has been a bigger achievement that last year really, if you’re selling who we have done, with the players that we’ve got and the players that we’ve worked with. Overall, although I’m desperately disappointed we’re not going to play Leeds over two games, I can’t be too harsh on the players. We’ve played clubs this year that have spent £50m or £60m, and they’re below us in the league, they’re not even in contention for the play-offs.
