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Hull City		Middlesbrough
Grosicki ▮ Hector	72′ 83′	Braithwaite Assombalonga Leadbitter	13′ 36′ 85′ (pen)
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	61%  6  4  5 12	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	39%  9  6  5 12

Tricky Boro serve up a Hulloween treat

The match build-up was short and sweet following on from Saturday’s victory at Reading. That would hopefully a good omen in keeping a winning mentality alive on the night when traditionally the boundary between this world and the world of the deceased thinned. GM would likely seek to revisit the soul of Aitor Karanka once more in keeping a clean sheet whilst offering hospitality to the ritual of goal scoring festivities.

An early Downing interception off his derriere saw Braithwaite pounce but ruled offside straight from the KO. The game had started at a frantic pace as Hull had a Penalty claim turned down with Ayala relieved to see the Ref ignore Tiger pleas. Once the ball was cleared Fabio was spotted laid out injured for some unknown reason but we have seen a few of these mystical Fabio injuries of late. A couple of minutes later Fabio rescued us after Randolph palmed away a shot but immediately went down again and that concluded his evening. George had continued warming up and came on in place of the Brazilian.

Just after the restart Boro caught Hull on the break, counter attacked, went up field and Braithwaite made space for himself, drilled a shot into the far corner to make it 1-0 on 13 minutes. Hull responded by attacking Boro and once again had a Penalty claim turned away. The ball went back up the other end with Howson pinging another cross in which just escaped Assombalonga. Up to this point Hull had the majority of possession and looked intent on taking the game to Boro but the early goal once again put the advantage in the hands of Boro who were content to keep things tight and difficult to break down.

Britt was hauled back after a Randolph clearance but the Ref seemed oblivious to the challenge just as he was breaking through. Hull were looking very suspect at the back as they pushed forwards and likely to be caught on the break again. Frustration started building as the home fans saw their side struggling to break down the stubborn Boro rear guard. A Hull free kick saw Ayala then Gibson head the danger clear before eventually going out for a goal kick. A fiercely hit Tavernier cross into Assombalonga nearly resulted in a Hector own goal, slicing the ball in a desperate clearance just past his own post on thirty minutes.

A high ball in to Irvine was anticipated and cleared by Ayala who was looking back to his best, the ball went forward and Kevin Stewart looked to go over the top on Assombalonga much to the annoyance of the vocal travelling army. A quick Downing cross field ball to Friend then to Tavernier resulted in a corner which Downing ran to take as four Red shirts jostled the Hull defence with Daniel Ayala catching the Referees attention as the whistle went. Then almost as soon as the game restarted a Cyrus Christie cross flew in for Assombalonga to head the ball back across to briefly go joint top of the Championship scorers with 8 goals to his name and 2-0.

Ayala found himself receiving further attention from Referee Tim Robinson with Grant being called across to explain to Daniel that he needed to calm himself down. In fairness to Ayala despite the two goals at the other end he was Boro’s MOM in the first half such was the dominance of the resurgent CB. Straight from the Kick Off Boro set themselves out looking the better organised and comfortable in the game, rock solid at the back, lethal going forward and were unlucky not to make it three nil just before half time. A heavy landing for Grant after winning a header saw him wince and struggle to his feet, the last thing Boro needed was their talismanic Captain injured but fortunately he huffed and puffed and was able to carry on just in time to hear the whistle followed by a cacophony of boos for Leonid Slutsky’s side

Hull made a change at half time for the restart with Stewart going off for Dicko, a midfielder for a Striker as they had to go for it to get something out of this game and went 424. An early free kick conceded by Christie was a test for Boro’s defence as Grant screamed instructions which echoed around an eerily quiet half empty KCom Stadium.

A Tavernier strike was deflected out for a corner after a good set up by Britt to feed the youngster. A second Hull substitution was being prepared as this time Tavernier was back defending as the ball ended back in the Hull half and then out of play. The sub saw the arrival of danger man Grosicki who had been a real thorn in Boro’s side the last time we met here. Tonight however things looked a lot different as Boro looked less desperate than Steve Agnew’s do or die outing.

Ayala inevitably found himself in the Referee’s book for another hefty challenge under presumably a totting up process. A Dicko shot straight at Randolph probably should have been the opener for Hull as they broke away after a Boro foray. It was Boro’s turn to then have a series of chances in quick succession started by Downing and involving Howson and Assombalonga but somehow the game remained at 2-0. Minutes later another Cyrus Christie cross tempted and teased the Boro forward line to no avail and then a Downing ball into Gibson saw Boro come close again with a McGregor save. The game was becoming open with Hull now desperately going for it but it was the Boro who looked more likely to get a third.

A deflected cross off George Friend saw the ball come off Randolph’s crossbar for a Hull corner, Assombalonga cleared it setting Howson up for a break but a heavy touch just saw the move break down. As Slutsky warmed up his final Sub of the evening another Penalty claim from Hull was ignored by the Ref. After the arrival of Diomande for Campbell who had just got himself back from a long term lay off on Saturday Boro went close again as the game was at a tipping point. Hull were either going to get themselves a lifeline or Boro were going to nick a deserved third and put the game out of sight.

With less than twenty minutes remaining, GM repeated his Saturday switch with Tavernier making way for Johnson. As soon as the game restarted that man Grosicki peeled away and hit a ferocious shot leaving Randolph no chance and Boro suddenly had a wake-up call. The Tigers now had their tails in the air as another cross came in that was cleared out for a Hull corner that was in itself cleared by Britt for another corner. Boro struggled to clear their lines but Grant found a breaking Britt whose touch betrayed him and Hull came back at us as Boro now looked to be rocking for the first time this evening.

Approaching ten minutes remaining Garry Monk’s response was to warm up Ashley Fletcher. Grosicki had made an impression on his arrival and just left an impression on Cyrus Christie with his footwear as Britt made way for Fletcher. A decision that was a strange one as Britt had been clearing his lines at corners and of course a potent attacking threat. As the game restarted Howson clattered into Meyler and picked up a Yellow for his troubles. Ayala won a header to clear the resulting free

kick out to Fletcher who was held back for a free kick this time in Boro’s favour. Fletcher was then brought down by the errant Hector chasing the lad who had obviously taken a leaf out of Britt’s book on Saturday going down with relative ease but they all count. Grant collected the ball and wandered away from the drama as the Chelsea loanee Hector was dismissed presumably for an off the ball incident or verbals. As Grant composed himself oblivious to all the histrionics another Thunderbastard was unleashed as the ball ripped the back off the net in the opposite side to Saturday, 3-1 and the Hull fans headed for the exits.

An Ayala slip near the end increased pulses in the away end and a Gibson clearance was required shortly after to maintain the two goal cushion. A pacy Downing free kick was punched away by McGregor for a corner and the delivery saw a melee of confusion in the Hull box before an offside saved the Hull blushes. Throughout the second half Downing had looked ten years younger as he ran at the Hull defence causing them a series of problems. Hull won a consolation corner in the dying embers and that concluded proceedings as the final whistle went and Boro had bagged themselves another three points on the road.

A strong defensive unit combined with attacking prowess saw Boro look relatively comfortable this evening apart from a sticky ten minute spell when Grosicki looked to be our nemesis once again but fortunately his strike didn’t prove decisive in the end. Six points from two successive away games sees Garry Monk respond to the doubters including myself that maybe he can select his best eleven and instil tactical know how and belief as he now plans for Managerless Sunderland on Sunday.

Night of the living dead

Tuesday evening’s Halloween fixture sees the first encounter between two clubs hoping to come back from beyond the Premiership grave. As Boro linger in the dark abyss of the Championship, Garry Monk is this week preparing his team to enter the depths of Hull as they continue to seek redemption from their slide down the table in the hope of re-igniting their season. The burning ambition of automatic promotion that Boro’s saintly chairman has attempted to bankroll is now beginning to be realistically downgraded to the purgatory of the play-offs at best. Expectations were that if enough money was spent it was going to be a matter of by how much Boro won the league – it seems the devil is in the detail.

With no wins from their last five games, there was a collective sigh of relief for the wailing souls on Teesside after finally recording a much needed victory at Reading. In recent weeks, Boro had been guilty of making bad decisions and giving a defensive horror show, which appears to have led to a tactical change in emphasis from Garry Monk, who said after Saturday’s victory: “To put ourselves back on track, we’ve got to strike that right balance between defensive and offensive play. That’s the way to try to build again and we know that, as we get more confident, we have the players to offensively do very well.”

Boro had just 32 per cent of the possession at the Madejski Stadium and reverted to playing more of a counter-attacking game – with many making the observation that the ghost Aitor Karanka  seemed evident in the performance. The fact that this ‘new’ game plan proved successful will probably mean we’ll most likely see it being the modus operandi for the next few games at least – if not indefinitely. Monk seems to suggest he’ll switch back to attempting his intended more expansive style of play once the earily drifting good ship Boro has been steadied and put back on course to start climbing the table. Though would he actually do that? If Boro start winning games by playing in let’s say an essentially more Karankaesque manner then why would Monk contemplate switching back to playing in a way that has so far failed to deliver results? It wouldn’t make sense to risk changing a successful methodology – if Boro start consistently winning again then there would be no need to consider reverting back to an alternative strategy – nobody needs reminding what the prime objective is this season.

Hull City		Middlesbrough
Leonid Slutsky		Gary Monk
P14 – W4 – D4 – L6 – F26 – A23		P14 – W5 – D5 – L4 – F17 – A12
Position Points Points per game Projected points	17th 16 1.1 52	Position Points Points per game Projected points	12th 20 1.4 66
Last 6 Games Forest (H) Barnsley (A) Norwich (A) Birmingham (H) Preston (H) Reading (A)	F-T (H-T) 2:3 (0:1) L 1:0 (0:0) W 1:1 (1:0) D 6:1 (3:0) W 1:2 (0:1) L 1:1 (1:0) D	Last 6 Games Reading (A) Cardiff (H) Barnsley (A) Brentford (H) Norwich (H) Fulham (A)	F-T (H-T) 2:0 (1:0) W 0:1 (0:0) L 2:2 (1:2) D 2:2 (0:1) D 0:1 (0:1) L 1:1 (0-0) D

As Hull languish in 17th place, I was surprised to discover that they are actually the Championship’s leading scorers with 26 goals – thankfully for Boro they don’t have the best defence to match that record and have conceded almost as many as they’ve netted. Their last six games have brought two wins, two defeats and two draws with that one standout 6-1 hammering of Birmingham that included six different scorers. It’s perhaps encouraging for Boro that their last two defeats have come at the KCOM Stadium. Incidentally, their ground has been renamed from the KC Stadium simply because the sponsors (Kingston Communications) have rebranded themselves to be known as KCOM.

After losing manager Marco Silva to Watford, Hull City appointed former CSKA Moscow and Russian national coach, Leonid Slutsky as their new boss. He famously took up coaching at the age of 19 when his playing career was prematurely ended after he fell out of a tree trying to rescue his neighbour’s cat and did serious damage to his knee. Here’s the unfortunate story in his own words…

“She [the neighbour] asked me if I could climb the tree and get her cat for her. I’d never climbed trees in my life, but I couldn’t say no. I still can’t: it’s a weaknesses of mine. It’s hard for me to say no to anyone, and downright impossible to say it to those close to me. So I went out and started climbing, my heart racing. Later on someone told me poplar branches get really fragile in spring. But I was skinny then, not a hog like I am now. A branch broke, I grabbed the one above, but it broke, too. I fell down on the pavement from three stories up, landing on my knee, then falling face down. My diagnosis was: open multiple fracture of the left kneecap, fracture of the nose, concussion of the brain. That injury put football out of my reach. I was in the hospital for a year. They told me I may never bend my knee again. I worked my joint long and hard. I tried playing football again but it didn’t work, not really. I don’t think I could have played above the amateur level.”

Still, the fact that Slutsky ended up as his country’s coach ultimately means, like the cat, he eventually landed on his feet. Though it may go some way to explaining how the former Russian coach has ended up as manager of Hull – the owners simply asked and he couldn’t say no! He’s essentially back to rescuing another cat, albeit a much larger one in the form of a tiger – though he’s definitely out of his tree if he thinks who won’t end up being the fall guy for the unpopular owners who are renowned for selling their best players.

Chairman Assem Allam is a divisive figure among the Hull faithful, especially following his plan in 2013 to rename the club Hull Tigers. Supporters opposed to the change organised under the banner ‘City Till We Die’ and matters weren’t helped when Allam said “They can die as soon as they want, as long as they leave the club for the majority who just want to watch good football.” The supporters responded by chanting “We’re Hull City, we’ll die when we want” at the following game – which I guess gives a whole new meaning to die-hard fans. Though the FA eventually rejected the proposed move to change the name on the grounds supporters hadn’t been widely consulted.

Many supporters of Hull are still unhappy with their owners, especially after they scrapped season tickets for a membership scheme in 2016 and continue to protest and demand they move on. There was a protest by several hundred fans on Saturday when they hosted Forest, who are aligned to the Hull City Action For Change (HCAFC) group with balls thrown onto the pitch after 19 minutes and four seconds, to mark the year the club was formed – hopefully they all kept a keen eye on the stadium clock for that rather precisely timed operation as woe betide anyone who went a tad early and ruined the symbolism.

However, many Hull fans called the protest an embarrassment and blamed the resulting stoppage had aided Forest who went on to win the game 3-2. They also deemed the protest against the owners pointless as apparently neither Assem nor Ehab Allam are thought to have  attended a game since the end of the 2014-15 season.

On to the Boro team for Tuesday, it may well be that in pursuit of stability, Garry Monk will stick with much of the same team that defeated Reading. It’s hard to see any changes in defence or central midfield – although Leadbitter didn’t last the course on Saturday, his leadership is a vital component in driving the team forward. Howson also probably had his best game for Boro and made the well executed assist for the winner – it seems Clayton has probably lost out because of his game lacks much in the way of incisive passing. The question may be whether Tavernier did enough to warrant another start or if Johnson is set a recall instead – I thought maybe the young academy graduate perhaps missed having Adama distracting the opposition on the other side of the pitch. If Boro do go for a more counter-attacking game plan then the blistering pace and strength of Traore can be a useful outlet.

It’s an unexpected problem that Boro have struggled to score against teams away from the bottom of the table and have managed only two goals against the seven teams they’ve played in the top half. Especially given that the club have spent nearly £50m on forwards in 2017 alone (Bamford, Gestede, Assombalonga, Braithwaite, Fletcher, Johnson) plus another £6m on Adama. That’s an awful lot of investment that as yet hasn’t seen too much return – but in reality only Assombalonga has had any consistent time on the pitch from that currently less than magnificent seven. The good news is that Britt generally scores against teams at the bottom, he’s only missed out against Brentford as he’s notched up six goals against strugglers Reading, Barnsley, Burton and Bolton.

So will Boro continue to show spirit and lay to rest the spectre of under-achievement as they monster the opposition? or will Hull get an early ghoul as they ghost through our zombie-like defence to leave the travelling fans witnessing another horror show? A usual you predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will the young Tiger’s fans be tricked into wearing scary Grant Leadbitter masks as he treats them to another screamer…

Reading		Middlesbrough
		Leadbitter Assombalonga	14′ (pen) 74′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	68%  9  2  3  8	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	32% 10  3  3 11

 

Brilliant Britt seals Royal ascent

Thirteenth away to twentieth would hardly be billed as the Championship Match of the day despite last Season’s Play-off Finalists against last Season’s Premiership side who had spent more this Summer than many Championship sides had in the last decade. Underachievement was the key word in the build-up meaning both Managers were coming intense scrutiny and criticism from their own fans with odds shortening on their personal survival never mind their respective Clubs. The omens looked distinctly gloomy for today’s loser and even a draw would like as not do neither of them any favours.

Stam had a few more Players available after a mini injury crisis whilst Monk had a plethora of riches at his disposal with only Gestede unavailable. The former Man Utd defender had received criticism for shuffling his pack to cover gaps, Garry Monk shuffles his pack seemingly to accommodate his huge squad thereby for different reasons both sides had looked unsettled and unfamiliar with their tactics and team mates. The Boro line up was announced with no Fletcher, Clayton, Baker or Shotton in the squad and as “rumoured” on here beforehand Tavernier making his first league start. Great for the lad but a gamble for GM who would be lauded a tinkerer yet again or bold in dropping new signings for one of our own depending on a half full/half empty state of mind no doubt ultimately skewed by the end result this afternoon.

Braithwaite got proceedings underway but Reading soon had a corner off Grant within the opening minute. Fortunately the phase of play ended with it going out of play for Randolph to collect for a goal kick. Early part of the game saw Reading teenager Sam Smith involved in a lot of their game plan, like Tavernier Reading fans have a lot of hope for the lad. Boro were fairly deep for most of the opening ten minutes sitting deep not troubling Mannone at all but perhaps the ghost of Aitor has paid GM a visit, making us difficult to break down.

GM had taken residence on the edge of his coaching area watching as Christie picked up a loose ball from young Smith which ended in a Downing cross which evaded Braithwaite’s best attempts. Christie again broke free just seconds later with a ball played into Britt who was tugged down in the box by van den Bergh for a soft penalty this time in our favour on 14 minutes resulting in Britt then going tete a tete with Grant with the Captain’s armband pulling rank on who was taking it. Mannone attempted to delay the penalty; building up pressure on the skipper but calmness personified Grant unleashed a long awaited Thunderbastard into the top of the net!

We had discussed about a Grant Thunderbastard earlier in the week on here and although this wasn’t the 25 or 30 yarder we dreamt of one from the Penalty spot will do nicely. Once Boro had taken the lead the Royals were visibly deflated after a bright and promising opening ten minutes. A Christie throw in from a panicked Mannone clearance saw both Reading Centre Backs, Moore and Ilori clash heads resulting in them both laid out and Ilori in particular suffering a very nasty head gash. Both players were staggering around dazed with Liam Moore also suffering a bad cut. With both medical teams on the pitch Ilori was eventually stretchered off looking concussed. If Reading had injury problems before this game and this was the last thing Jaap Stam needed. What looked a comical collision initially from a Boro perspective ended with the sad sight of Ilori receiving a warm reception from both sets of fans being stretchered off down the tunnel.

Blackett came on in place of Ilori and just as play restarted Braithwaite had another Boro penalty claim as Boro tried to take benefit from Reading being down to ten men, reshuffling their defence as Liam Moore was presumably being stitched up in the home dressing room. Smith came close for Reading as they switched play but Ayala was alert to the danger and did enough to put him off. Incredibly Gibson and Ayala then clashed heads in the Boro box albeit with a slightly less dramatic outcome than that of the two Reading Centre Back’s. The stop in play allowed time for Liam Moore to re-enter the fray after a ten minute absence that saw Reading gallantly push for an equaliser.

Sam Smith then beat the offside and got behind Gibson but the move ended when the eventual cross was plucked out easily by Darren Randolph. Braithwaite was next to be brought down by van den Bergh who was struggling to contain Boro’s Assombalonga and Braithwaite. Things were getting feisty after a Tavernier foul then saw McShane frustratingly take down Assombalonga insinuating that Boro’s top scorer was “looking” for fouls. The game went down the other end and Gunter rounded both Fabio and Tavernier got his cross in but fortunately for Boro it came to nothing. Assombalonga then went down suspiciously in a challenge with Moore requiring the Ref to speak to the players in an effort to calm things down. Downing and Aluko were next to be involved in a dispute as Stewy was pulled back but unseen by the Officials.

A tackle by Howson saw an appeal for a Reading penalty ignored from which Boro broke leading to Assombalonga and McShane continuing their battle for which McShane received a yellow for his frustrations. The Ref then spoke to McShane and Gunter ordering them to calm things down with the Irishman in particular boiling over. A peach of a Downing corner fizzed in and saw Ayala going for it but Moore got to it putting it out for another corner. The following corner saw the ball come off Gibson for Reading to almost break away. Then just minutes before the end of injury time Paul McShane was awarded a free kick after colliding yet again with Britt Assombalonga. He reacted by theatrically celebrating the Ref’s decision and in doing so done himself no favours at all with Ref Oliver Langford. It looked like an imminent red card could be coming his way in the second half if Stam couldn’t calm him down in the dressing room which the Royals certainly didn’t need after losing one defender already and having another bandaged up.

The second half restarted with no changes from either side, Reading forcing an early save from Randolph and then Assombalonga going into the Ref’s book at the other end for clipping van den Bergh when trying to close down. Fabio then gave away another of his dangerous free kicks out wide on Gunter allowing Reading to throw bodies into the Boro 18 Yard box. McShane screamed for a Penalty as he went down and Tavernier cleared only for it to come straight back at us for Ayala to clear this time putting it out of play. The following throw in saw an effort fortunately hitting Randolph’s side netting all originally caused by Fabio giving away that nonsense free kick.

The game was by no means a classic but as already mentioned the 13th V. 20th billing summed it all up. The result was going to be far more important than the means for both Managers. The second half seen Reading having most of the possession pressurising for an equaliser with Boro sitting deep just as they did in the opening minutes of the first half. In an enterprising break by Howson the Ref pulled play back when Boro wanted to play on and the move ended with a goal kick for Reading coming off Assombalonga’s shin. In an effort to add some more energy (and cover for Fabio), Garry Monk then brought on Marvin Johnson in place of Marcus Tavernier who hadn’t looked out of place on his League debut.

The arrival of Johnson didn’t subdue the waves of Reading pressure with Howson clearing and then Smith coming close after taking too many touches with Fabio clearing the danger this time all amidst more Penalty claims from the Royals as Boro were looking more desperate in clearing their lines. Gunter was running riot and asking Boro all sorts of questions requiring a Howson block again. Stam then brought on Barrow for van den Bergh as he sensed Boro rocking with twenty minutes to go.

Boro subs were warming up with the hope for us that Traore would perhaps come on to help spring a counter attack and ease the pressure but as it was it was Forshaw who was stripped ready for action. Christie then broke assisted by Downing enabling Assombalonga to get a shot in which came to nothing and that was as close as Boro had come in the second half to date. Boro’s defensive rear-guard action wasn’t as composed as Karanka’s but it was just about holding out. Then another Boro break came on 74 minutes with Downing’s initial attempt blocked Howson picked it up, getting to the by-line picking out Assombalonga who climbed majestically in the middle of the six yard box heading home his seventh of the season to make it 2-0!

Before the restart Forshaw made his delayed appearance replacing Grant. It wasn’t the sexiest substitution but GM obviously felt we needed some freshness in the middle of the park to counter Barrow’s earlier arrival. An Ayala header in the six yard box was then cleared off the line by McShane as the two goal cushion eased Boro fears and demanded more openness from Stam’s men. Forshaw played a ball out that led to Johnson having the opportunity to almost make it three. Adam had only been on the pitch a few minutes but was determined to make his mark and give Garry Monk a future selection headache.

Kermorgant recovering from a lay off had come on for the Royals and went close in the dying minutes. Braithwaite then made way for Bamford more as a means of eating up the clock with only stoppage time remaining and almost immediately clattered into the bruised, battered and bandaged Moore. In the last minute a clearly over enthusiastic Paddy lost possession instead of retaining by passing to Stewy and nearly let Reading break causing some consternation for himself with Ayala and Gibson who looked to be getting back to their previous levels of understanding.

It was an effective workmanlike performance, picking off the Royals utilising the power and accuracy of Britt. For Stam, the head clash didn’t help him but in truth Boro looked to have a slighter higher level of competence in reserve and looked the more likely to be able to up the stakes if needed. It was exactly what was required for GM, a solid display with a clean sheet and three points. Not particularly convincing and certainly nothing dramatic at all but something to hopefully build upon and get the season back on track.

Man of the Match for me was Britt for winning the Penalty and then scoring the second but Ayala, Christie, Howson and Downing all deserve special mention as does Forshaw for his cameo in taking a grip in the middle of the park

The pressure’s on the under-achievers

After their midweek Dorset reserve fixture in the EFL Cup, Boro head down to Berkshire to play against a team who are also coincidentally sponsored by Mr Caraboa’s Thai energy drink. This game had initially looked to be quite a tough prospect on paper when the fixture list was published, but The Royals haven’t as yet shown the same imperious form as last season or indeed any real class for a club of their Championship breeding. All of which means Garry Monk’s lowly men will be hoping they can humbly return home with a modest three points for the common cause after clocking up close to a thousand miles on the road this week.

The buzz word at Thursday’s pre-match press conference was commitment and the Boro boss said everyone was determined to be committed and show determination and commitment on the pitch to prove they were committed in their determination to reach the level they’re capable of – even Ben Gibson had shown his commitment to the club by signing a new five-year deal as Boro were determined to hold onto him for the foreseeable future. Although such positivity is welcomed, it’s hard to determine if Garry Monk had put a little too much commitment into getting this message across in those rather upbeat eight minutes.

Reading		Middlesbrough
Jaap Stam		Gary Monk
P12 – W3 – D3 – L6 – F11 – A14		P13 – W4 – D5 – L4 – F15 – A12
Position Points Points per game Projected points	20th 12 1.0 46	Position Points Points per game Projected points	13th 17 1.3 60
Last 6 Games Sheff Utd (A) Leeds (A) Norwich (H) Millwall (A) Hull (H) Brentford (A)	F-T (H-T) 1:2 (0:2) L 1:0 (0:0) W 1:2 (1:1) L 1:2 (0:0) L 1:1 (0:1) D 1:1 (0:1) D	Last 6 Games Cardiff (H) Barnsley (A) Brentford (H) Norwich (H) Fulham (A) QPR (H)	F-T (H-T) 0:1 (0:0) L 2:2 (1:2) D 2:2 (0:1) D 0:1 (0:1) L 1:1 (0-0) D 3:2 (1:1) W

Despite expecting to be leading contenders in the promotion race, all eyes on this game will be focused on an under pressure manager who needs to start winning games with his under-achieving team sitting in the bottom half of the table. Yes, Jaap Stam is feeling the heat after struggling to find the form that saw them finish third last season before ultimately losing out to David Wagner’s Huddersfield in the play-off final on penalties. This season, Reading have averaged just one point and slightly less than one goal per game, with their 1-0 win just after the international break at Monk’s former team Leeds being their first since the end of August. It hasn’t helped that they’ve been without last season’s top scorer Yann Kermorgant so far this campaign, who netted 18 times in helping them to third spot – the Frenchman is due back from groin surgery in early November in time to celebrate his 36th birthday.

Though Stam is remaining defiant and claimed he was joking in a recent interview when he said “If people think they can get a better manager that’s better for the team, then they need to make that decision, that’s fine – but I don’t think there is.” OK, he probably needs to work on his punchlines if he’s to get that gig at the Edinburgh festival should football management ultimately not work out. Though if humour isn’t his main strength then his realism should keep his sanity intact as he also went on to state the first law of football management “It’s about getting results. If you don’t get results people start talking about the manager and ask is he good enough? Can he change the team?” Questions that have been echoed on Teesside in recent weeks and as still no definitive answers have been supplied by performances.

However, the former Man Utd defender is philosophical about the pressure and just claims “It’s one of the risks of being a manager – and if you’re afraid of it happening then you don’t need to go into the job, go out and do something else. You might do some fishing – that’s nice as well.” Though as to what kind of fish a floundering manager reaching the end of the line may wish to land is perhaps a question for another day – though I expect the Dutchman won’t be contemplating letting Monk off the hook on Saturday.

Any talk of fishing will have no doubt pleased Reading owner Narin Niruttinanon, a football mad Thai businessman who made his fortune thanks to some more heavy-duty fishing supplying his rather lucrative tuna canning company. He has since sold a 75% majority stake in the club to the Chinese commercial property duo Dai Yongge and his sister Dai Xiu Li, who made their fortune with an empire of underground shopping centres in China that were converted from air-raid shelters – presumably so consumers can shop till either they or the bombs drop without needing to worry if ‘The Donald’ and Kim Jong-un have launched more than insults at each other. All of which is perhaps a cause for reflection for those who advocate Steve Gibson should consider selling to wealthier investors in order to compete at the top table. While the Boro faithful may sing that he’s one of their own, the Reading fans are instead probably just left with singing ‘Dai Yongge is one of our owners…” The risk is that the your local club will most likely just end up as a commodity and a vehicle for groups of random investors looking to gain introductions to like-minded people in the directors boxes up and down the country.

Money appears no guarantee of success and indeed having it can be used as a stick to beat anyone who fails to make it count. Any manager under the cosh will not make matters less painful by banging their head against the wall in frustration. The Reading manager seems to fall back on what Garry Monk has often repeated in answer to critics wondering when things will improve by simply stating that everyone is working hard. Though one presumes working hard is a given under any circumstances and no coach would admit that the group has not so far been putting in the required effort – it’s essentially a cliche. It’s this realisation that a coach or manager is limited to just improving his players performances that Stam concluded “Everybody knows that we need to step up and do better in certain situations. In good times the players were making the right decisions, but now it’s working against us. We can only turn it around by training and working hard.” This is essentially a promise to do better, which again is another cliché not worth stating and something obviously needed if the situation needs improving.

The question is more ‘how’ can you do better? Coaches will generally employ known strategies to halt bad or indifferent runs and try to break down the game preparation process and check each stage has been rigorously carried out to the same standards as when the team were previously winning. However, in Monk’s case he’s not got that reference point of when things worked for him at Boro. Instead he’s still embarked on the process of getting his ideas across so that the players buy into his methods and execute his game plan effectively – in theory it’s easier for Stam because his players saw that his methods previously worked.

Team selection is perhaps key for Garry Monk but it’s unlikely we’ll see too many surprises this weekend. Those who were not in the Bournemouth squad will be favourites to return as starters – that means Randolph, Gibson, Christie, Leadbitter, Braithwaie and Assombalonga. Presumably Ayala will continue in central defence and Fabio’s performance against Cardiff should keep him ahead of Friend. It’s also possible Howson will get the nod to partner Grant given Clayton played the full 90 minutes on Wednesday. Downing should also expect to retain his place but Fletcher has looked well below par and will perhaps make way for Adama, who reminded us in midweek that he’s a threat when he’s on his game. Though hopefully Monk avoids informing Traore by text message that he should prepare for Reading on Saturday – otherwise he may miss the bus again as he settles down at home with his copy of Basic English for Dummies.

Quite why the question of finding a winning formula has as yet remained unanswered by the players and management at Boro is unclear given the options available, maybe there are just too many choices to keep focusing on making the team a coherent one. It’s not yet apparent whether the problem is the execution of the plan or whether the plan itself is capable of being executed effectively – are Garry Monk and his staff even asking the right questions or have they themselves made the right decisions? Only time will tell and many supporters are already of the mind that not only has the manager’s honeymoon period long since ended but a quickie divorce is now needed to end the relationship. The strange thing about football is that it often takes some random moment or slice of luck in a game to suddenly turn the tide and instill belief.

At the end of the day, football is a results business where individual records are normally defended in a language of cliches – there are very few carefully thought through long-term strategies in existence that aren’t ditched on the whim of a short-term hunch triggered by emotional feedback. The relationship between how expectations and achievements are being delivered within the ticking time-frame of falling off a financial cliff are what cranks up the pressure on modern managers – Garry Monk is perhaps fortunate that the Boro chairman’s patience with his managers usually exceeds his lofty ambitions for the club – but he should be wary that this patience is not exponential and he may find himself on the wrong side of the curve sooner than he anticipated in what is essentially a two-year financial window of opportunity.

So will Garry Monk finally play his cards right as his team snaps out of its indifferent start to bridge the gap to the top? Or will a poker-faced Jaap Stam make The Royals flush our lingering promotion hopes down the pan? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will we see commitment and determination in the post-match comments not to use cliches?

Bournemouth		Middlesbrough
Simpson Wilson Afobe	49′ 75′ (pen) 83′	Tavernier	56′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	55% 14  4  4 11	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	67% 12  6  3 15

Cherry pickers plunder plucky Boro

A pressured Garry Monk headed south with his options shorn of three players for various reasons. Both Ryan Shotton and Marvin Johnson had previously played in the Carabou Cup for Birmingham and Oxford before signing for Boro thereby rendering them ineligible. A shame for the pair of them and Boro as they could have seriously benefitted from some much needed game time. The third absentee Rudy Gestede remained side-lined courtesy of his bizarre dead leg although edging his way back to fitness and full training within the next couple of weeks. None of the three would likely feature in a best 11 although what that best 11 would look like in any given week is now open to much Teesside debate and banter. As it happened we were no nearer identifying what that best 11 would look like with ten changes being made to tonight’s line up from Saturday with Ayala the only remainer. Eddie Howe made eight changes to his Bournemouth side that beat Stoke on Saturday.

The Cherries started the livelier and an offside flag on five minutes spared Boro blushes as a floated in free kick saw Mousset’s header chalked off by the Lino. A corner a few minutes later saw the ball go wide of Dimi’s goal. The opening ten minutes saw all of the action in the Boro half as Bournemouth probed and Boro absorbed heavy pressure in the drizzling south coast rain. The next ten minutes didn’t change much as another glanced header went past Dimi’s post and a shot on the turn from Wilson also went wide much to the relief of the travelling 1,000 or so hardy Boro souls. Boro’s first real foray came on twenty minutes but fizzled out quickly as Clayts exercised an “accidental” clumsy challenge to prevent a breakaway counter attack.

A Boruc kick out was then charged down by Traore and as a consequence of the rushed clearance the ball broke for Boro and Bamford I think put it out wide for Traore to cross but Boruc redeemed himself and caught the cross mid-flight. This sparked Boro into a bit of a fightback for all of 30 seconds and almost immediately as the game tilted the other way a parried Dimi save fell to Fraser who should have scored but was way off target. Boro’s formation looked like a 4132 or a 4213 in attack, Roberts, Ayala, Fry and Friend at the back with Clayts, Baker and Forshaw in the middle and Traore, Bamford and Tavernier up front. A Baker free kick on the half hour saw the ball cleared out from the Bournemouth box to Clayts who hit a daisy cutter from 25 yards out but as his typical of his prowess it went wide. Boro were however coming into this game just as Tavernier went down after taking Mousset’s studs on the top of his ankle allowing the sides a breather. Watching on was Martin O’Neil obviously in attendance to watch Harry Arter! Just after the restart a Robert’s pile driver seen Boruc spill with Bamford closing in but the keeper managed to clear the danger.

As the rain eased off so did the Bournemouth pressure as Boro were not exactly dominating but defending from the halfway line instead of their 18 yard box. On 38 minutes Fry mistimed a challenge and left a trailing foot to concede a free kick and a yellow card for his troubles. Fortunately Fraser’s free kick heard the whistle go immediately for a shove on Ayala who went sprawling in the Boro six yard box. Five minutes before half time saw Boro’s best spell with a penalty claim on Tavernier after Clayts had played a 35 yard cross field ball to Roberts who strained to reach it to get a cross in. Seconds later Clayts and Traore combined to rob the ball off a sleepy Bournemouth midfield and Traore raced through on goal but his shot from the egde of the box closely attended by three defenders started to spin and skew away mid-flight to go wide. A scrappy end to the half saw Bournemouth almost sneak a goal as Friend failed to shield the ball out of play and Fraser managed to get the ball back into the Boro box with three Cherries wanting a bite but Dimi got down to smother the danger. That was the end of the first half action.

After the restart a sloppily conceded corner by Forshaw led to Bournemouth taking the lead as Jack Simpson opened his Cherry account with a left footed volley unmarked in the middle of the six yard box as the ball just dropped to him. Boro tried to clear their heads quickly and regroup but Ayala conceded a free kick for a waist high leg challenge 30 yards out on our right. Dimi collected the ball and set Friend on the attack as Boro poured shirts forward but after a few mishit crosses Bournemouth cleared their lines with Baker forced into giving away a free kick in order to prevent a Bournemouth charge. A Bournemouth player then went down as they attacked but Bournemouth played on as they looked for a second but as the clock ticked onto 56 minutes Traore picked up the ball in his own half, broke centrally leaving three defenders for dead and played a telling ball through to Tavernier who looked as though he had taken it too wide but fired it hard and low past Boruc to make it 1-1.

Four minutes later Wilson chased an Arter ball played over the top to go down in a heap after a coming together with Fry but the Ref wasn’t having any of it. Tavernier then closed down and ran with the ball on the left feeding Traore on the right who crossed it back into the box but this time Tavernier’s shot was tame. Bournemouth then regained a foothold, applied most of the pressure but without really troubling Dimi. Mousset went off replaced by Jordan Ibe in the 69th minute as Eddie Howe was first to blink in an attempt to add more energy.

As Stewy was warming up Traore was double tackled earning a free kick on the half way line from which Boro eventually earned their first corner which was woefully and predictably over hit setting Bournemouth up to go down the other end winning a corner of their own which then saw Fry pull back Simpson for a Penalty which Wilson sent Dimi the wrong way. Boro clearly still haven’t learnt how wasteful and how dangerous their habits of over hit corners are. 2-1 down and Downing now came on for Tavernier with 13 minutes left on the clock.

Boro started to wilt quickly after the penalty and with Bournemouth camped on the edge of the Boro box a series of slick passes saw Wilson get behind Fry and cross to Afobe who couldn’t miss from 6 yards out to make it 3-1. Monk then threw on Fletcher for Baker presumably in an attempt to hoof balls up the pitch for him to knock down but it never happened as Fletcher went wide right for some bizarre reason. The result just saw the lad struggle to control balls and run into tackles that were cleaned up with relative ease.

Howe responded by putting Ake on as he saw his chance to finish this game within the 90. A Downing corner a minute later found Fry but his header sailed well over the bar as Boro visibly waned. Downing forced a save from Boruc late on and then raced to take the resultant corner which after a bit of head tennis saw a Clayton half volley easily saved by Boruc. A brief unplanned interlude courtesy of a solitary pitch invasion was the prelude to Bamford having a speculative shot from outside of the box which went wide.

The result wasn’t meaningful in the scheme of things but the disappointment continues and the nature of the goals were frustratingly typical of the season to date in that they were of a very soft nature. A positive is that the likes of Friend and Roberts got some much needed minutes under their belt and Tavernier looked a better option than some others but apart from Adama’s bursts there was nobody who stood out to stake a serious claim come Saturday. Bamford didn’t do enough to stand out and when he came on Fletcher hadn’t improved from Saturday’s performance with an inability to control the ball so on that basis neither nailed a start. MOM has to be the Travelling army who turned out in numbers on a wet Tuesday night at the opposite end of the Country. This result wasn’t one to either praise or hang the Manager by but that’s now six games without a win and the longer that stat goes on it will be included by those with knives to sharpen in the coming weeks.

Boro look to fizz as season heads south

It’s time once more for the next stimulating round of the caffeine-based fermented juice sponsored trophy that Mr Caraboa has kindly paid the Football League to adorn with green ribbons so that we don’t need to call it the EFL Cup. As we wait for our intended promotion season to spring to life with all the verve of a dead water buffalo’s skull, Boro instead set off on the road to Wembley before making a sharp right towards the Dorset coast and heading to the UK’s favoured destination for people of a certain age looking to enjoy their days between hanging up their boots and popping their clogs.

The actual first known historic recorded mention of Bournemouth was in 1406 by a Christchurch monk in a medieval manuscript, who referred to the location as ‘La Bournemowthe’ (which may possibly have been mistakenly just down to the predictive calligraphy of the day). This uninhabited geographical area was where the mouth of a small river that drained the heathland between the towns of Poole and Christchurch was situated. Old English etymologists among you will know that the word ‘bourne’ essentially means small stream and Bournemouth got its place in history thanks to a large mysterious 18-foot fish being washed up on the beach, which was then drawn to the attention of the Canon of Christchurch, who duly took a sample and recorded the event.

Anyway, enough of this irrelevant tale of how an isolated monk struggled to identify hapless washed-up creatures suddenly appearing out of their depth – the Boro manager and his team head to the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday evening hoping to negotiate their safe passage through to the next round against top-flight opposition. Given that Boro’s Monk may feel he has bigger fish to fry will perhaps determine which particular players from the best squad in the Championship are taken out of the misfiring line and thrown into the frying pan. Though if Boro can’t get the message that they need to perk up their season at the Vitality Stadium in a competition sponsored by an energy drink then one wonders what other subliminal cues are needed.

For the long autumn trip to Bournemouth, it’s possible Steve Gibson may be tempted to lay on the rather draughty open-top bus he’d been keeping safely stored away for the anticipated May promotion parade – just so the players and staff can ‘enjoy’ the same same shiver down their spines as the chairman currently does when he glances at the league table to see how his summer investment is maturing.

Despite Bournemouth being the first town to introduce CCTV, this game is an untelevised midweek away fixture with a prohibitive 12-hour round-trip for die-hard supporters. It will mean there will be few witnesses from Teesside to adjudicate on whether Monk’s team is once more guilty of another criminal slow start. However, I would suggest the players preload before the match with as much complimentary fizzy energy drink as is made available to avoid another flat lethargic opening – naturally this advice obviously excludes Adama, who in such circumstances would presumably metamorphosize into an overgrown hyperactive child pumped full of sugar and artificial additives on a mission to emulate an oversized bowling ball as he attempted to skittle over every opposition player on the pitch.

Though, to be fair, the Caraboa Cup has seen some of Boro’s better performances this season, which ironically has been down to selecting players not deemed by Monk to be main contenders for a start in his Championship First XI. In previous rounds, both Downing and Leadbitter were given chances to impress and then subsequently did, which earned them a place in Monk’s plans that had so far eluded them – though Bamford’s brace and overall performance in the last round failed to persuade the Boro manager that he deserved his chance to start in the league. Also despite youngsters Lewis Wing and Marcus Tavernier impressing, they didn’t encourage their manager to think that they were ready for the next step – cynics may suggest that all they probably need is an over-inflated price-tag thrown at them to prove they are valuable members of the squad.

As Eddie Howe’s team languish in second bottom ahead of goal-shy Palace, he will presumably have his eyes focused more on Premier League survival. The Cherries managed a rare win at Stoke on Saturday and this EFL Cup game is sandwiched between that and Chelsea’s visit next weekend. I’m sure he will utilise his squad but it’s not one with great depth packed full of household names – in fact quite a few are barely household names in their own houses. It may well mean that Boro have got a reasonable chance of progressing if they can get their act together.

It’s widely expected that Garry Monk will use the EFL Cup to give his fringe squad members a game, but I’m not sure that is what is needed as we reach the end of October with only a string of disjointed performances since the last round to show for that approach. Firstly, there seems little point in playing the youngsters against Premier League opposition if they can’t even get a game in the Championship. Secondly, giving squad members a run out to avoid them becoming rusty doesn’t seem a priority if some of those currently being given a start also look in need of games to sharpen them up. Thirdly, perhaps this is the kind of game where the manager can rest his ‘undroppable’ players without making the obvious statement that they have failed – isn’t it time to discover how something like a front three of Bamford, Downing and Braithwaite fare – or what about that widely used 3-4-3 formation that has become the trend among thinking coaches, which I suspect may be a better fit for the type of players Boro have.

Incidentally, I think 3-4-3 would solve a number of issues that Monk has so far not found solutions to. It would allow Christie to concentrate more on what he does best and find his attacking flow again. It also avoids this splitting of the central defenders to cover the full-backs and stops the need for a central midfielder to act as a pseudo centre-back to cover the missing one – it may all sound clever tactically but it hasn’t proven effective so far and unless you have the right players who are drilled accordingly it seems to be a recipe for misunderstandings and defensive holes. It would also allow for better progressive ball-playing central midfielders – perhaps someone like Baker is going to be a better playmaker than a ponderous Clayton or an indecisive Howson once the defensive cover behind them removes some of the jobs occupying a large portion of their brain. Playing with wing-backs would offer the chance of Johnson being a pacey left-footed option too – basically it creates positions for some of the players who are not quite suited to some of the roles they have been tried at.

Monk needs to decide which players are mainly impact players and who have the football brains and ball skills to be comfortable interchanging along the front line. My view is Assombalonga is primarily an instinctive box player, if you give him a role beyond that he’s struggling both with movement, first touch and passing. Boro have not built their team around servicing him and have instead tried to convert him into a player he is not and won’t be anytime soon. Fletcher looks increasingly out of his depth and has lost confidence with each game – I can only see a front three of Braithwaite, Downing and Bamford that can play the way Monk appears to want to, with perhaps Baker being the attacking midfielder.

Maybe even having a settled back three would allow our central defenders to get their composure back – as who among them has looked comfortable with the current defensive tactical arrangement? Ben Gibson’s value must be losing a million quid a game with each unconvincing defensive display and at this rate he could end up being talked about in the same breath as David Wheater rather than someone like Jonathan Woodgate or a future England regular.

So will Boro finally find their identity at Bournemouth and show the supremacy of their squad or will Monk and his players be heading back to Teesside to receive an ultimatum from the chairman. As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus who deserves their seat on the top deck of the promotion bus?

Middlesbrough		Cardiff City
		Ralls	84′ (pen)
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	59% 11  2  8 19	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	41%  8  3  2 12

 

Traore gives Monk the Blues

This is the time of year when previous Boro Managers have had their employment status terminated albeit they had all enjoyed much longer tenures than the present incumbent. Sitting in the opposite dug out was one Manager who many had touted to be tempted away from South Wales prior to the arrival of Monk to add some spice to the day’s proceedings. A slow starting Boro falling prey to the wily ways of Warnock was a scenario many had feared before KO with doubters growing by the week that Garry Monk still doesn’t know his best eleven or what formation in fact best suited them. A resounding result this afternoon would provide some much needed kudos; a dispiriting performance however would see amateur Joiners across Teesside scrambling for the final nail in their hastily assembled wooden crates.

Early Season false hope of five clean sheets in six league games gave cause to think with our newly signed pace and power we could become a real powerhouse in this league. Those dreams had dimmed of late with Boro without a clean sheet in their previous five games and alarmingly conceding eight goals in the process. Cardiff had experienced a recent mini wobble themselves after drawing and losing their last two league games but overall had impressively won four of their last seven away games. Today was going to be a real test but one that Garry Monk’s Boro now had to perform and deliver in.

Brilliant sunshine during the warm ups soon descended into a dark gloomy and cloudy overcast day just five minutes before the Kick off as the rain started to come down changing the atmosphere inside the blustery Riverside. A very average Cardiff side looked anything but the second placed promotion favourites as the game overall was a fairly non-descript affair. Nerves were on display as Christie, Ayala and Randolph managed to make an innocuous series of backwards and sideways passing into a gift wrapped opportunity for the Bluebirds to take the lead as once again Boro started edgy and half asleep. Their performance didn’t get any better than that. First half chances were almost zero as Fletcher struggled to make any impact and his first touch seemed to be an art form that has hopefully temporarily deserted the lad. Under the circumstances and the pressure on the Manager it was a surprise to see him starting especially with a few sterile performances of late yet GM stuck by him. I’m not sure what the reasoning is when other poor or average performances have quickly resulted in the chop for others. At this rate the poor lad is a whipping boo boy in the making and its will be very unfair on the lad if it continues.

There was nothing in evidence to see what or if any improvement or progress was being made anywhere on the pitch. Downing was my Man of the Match and believe me that was an award that was very difficult to make yet was subbed for the second game running when he was the only creative force in Red. He made way for Traore who looked worryingly disinterested during the touchline warm up. That to me was a huge alarm bell seemingly unnoticed by the Manager and his Assistants, maybe not so surprising perhaps as the Manager and his assistants don’t appear to have noticed much during their three month stay on Teesside. As it happened Traore was later guilty for a

ridiculous challenge which ranked right up there with his Villa sending off handing Cardiff all three points courtesy of a penalty. Now I accept you can’t blame the Manager for a rash challenge or an individual’s poor decision making but this was a cumulative effect of things over the entire afternoon.

There were free kicks that were passed sideways and backwards, inviting pressure and putting us under pressure when we should have been launching an attack. There was so much uncertainty at the back that somehow Garry Monk has made Ben Gibson looked like a shadow of his former commanding self. Ayala just looks terrified although he did compose himself a little bit as the game wore on. Randolph has gone from a commanding assured presence to someone who is as anxious and uncertain as the rest of his back line. Shambolic best describes what was once a fine Championship defensive unit undone only by the Premiership’s finest. Midfield was once again tinkered with today and Howson now found himself recalled this time alongside that great understanding he has with Grant Leadbitter. Howson was later on the object of boos and derision as when trying to launch an attack he was limited with options and dithered until he surrendered possession and put us back under pressure.

Cardiff were poor on the day but we were so disconnected and “clunky” to borrow a phrase form our former blogmeister they were never under any real threat. Pace and Power? Yer jokin aren’t yer! We pass slowly, we roll the ball out slowly and put ourselves under pressure and defend desperately without any structure. We had one moment of class in the first half when we passed the ball slickly out of defence from the left and passed it slickly and quickly up the pitch. That is the only time this season I recall this side doing anything with pace and power. At corners we launched to the far side of the box but had nobody placed to collect the regularly over hit ones. When defending corners we still had nobody up field and struggled repeatedly to clear our lines yet again.

As predicted when I saw the line-up Bamford came on in the second half for the lacklustre Fletcher although it could have been Assombalonga just as easily as like Gibson. GM has managed to make a prolific goal scorer look decidedly poor. Braithwaite looked to find clever balls and played with confidence alongside Downing, Fabio also had a decent game but other than that there was little to inspire or give the dwindling home fans any optimism. The claimed 24,000 in attendance had little reason to think that this team is going to gel or click any time soon or indeed ever.

This season is now becoming a wasted opportunity and a very expensive one at that. The Chairman got the Manager he waited for, wanted and backed to the hilt but what has since materialised is something now rapidly gaining Strachan like momentum. Dire, dismal and disconnected, it can’t go on any longer. Pass the Diasapan please Bob!

Fear and loathing in lost Teesside

The football journey of Boro followers is rarely a smooth one and there’s a growing fear on Teesside that the planned promotion party may have to be rescheduled for a later date, though many are still loathed to give up on a quick return and are beginning to advocate that a change in management is required.  On the background of this, Cardiff arrive at the Riverside this weekend, where there’s been a marked rise in Savvatophobia, or fear of Saturdays, in what has now become the latest in a series of crucial games.  For many supporters, Garry Monk’s very future itself is resting on these three pivotal points, which at the moment is not as stable as that metaphor actually sounds.

The superstitious Triskaidekaphobic among you may not be expecting game thirteen to be the start of a revival in Garry Monk’s fortunes – perhaps some are already anticipating the pre-match meal could be something of a last tripe supper for Boro’s latest messiah and from that viewpoint the picture beginning to be painted of the season has perhaps similarities with Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic biblical depiction of the famous event, which is widely regarded for it’s technical use of a vanishing point to give it perspective – though from the perspective of Boro supporters many are not impressed by the vanishing points at all!

Middlesbrough		Cardiff City
Gary Monk		Neil Warnock
P12 – W4 – D5 – L3 – F15 – A11		P12 – W7 – D3 – L2 – F17 – A10
Position Points Points per game Projected points	11th 17 1.4 65	Position Points Points per game Projected points	2nd 24 2 92
Last 6 Games Barnsley (A) Brentford (H) Norwich (H) Fulham (A) QPR (H) Aston Villa (A)	(H-T) 2:2 (1:2) D 2:2 (0:1) D 0:1 (0:1) L 1:1 (0-0) D 3:2 (1:1) W 0:0 (0:0) D	Last 6 Games Birmingham (A) Derby (H) Leeds (H) Sunderland (A) Sheff Wed (H) Preston (A )	F-T (H-T) 0:1 (0:1) L 0:0 (0:0) D 3:1 (2:0) W 2:1 (1:0) W 1:1 (0:1) D 0:3 (0:1) L

It’s been refreshing to have a media-friendly manager who can talk the talk but for some it’s now time he started walking the walk too. Though in the verbal dexterity department he’s got a long way to go before he reaches the heights of the Cardiff manager – who’s a man that never looks uncomfortable in front of a microphone and can easily filibuster the gathered hacks into believing either a win was down to his tactical genius or a defeat was simply beyond his control. In fact, there’s a touch of the Harry Redknapps with Neil Warnock and you suspect if the pair ever decided to undertake a day trip to Blackpool to draw in the odd breath of sea air, then it’s likely all the donkeys on the beach would just be left with their front legs come the end of the day.

Nevertheless, if Neil Warnock knows how to do one thing then motivating players is perhaps his biggest asset and he’s got Cardiff quickly out of the blocks this season as they won their opening five fixtures. The Bluebirds progress has flapped a bit since then with just two wins from their last six and two defeats on the road – the heaviest being at Preston when they lost by three. For many Boro fans, a visit by Cardiff brings back memories of our disappointing home defeat in the FA Cup quarter-finals back in 2008, but our recent league record against them is quite good with seven wins from the last ten meetings

Monk will be hoping to continue that run against our South Wales opponents but has so far not convinced many in terms of performances that the Riverside has become the fortress he desires. In fact the Boro manager has started to look a little embattled lately and there are early signs of a siege mentality developing – so he could probably do with that fortress to retreat into. The general view is that his team should shaping up by now but we shouldn’t forget that it took time even for Karanka to establish his method of playing.

Karanka joined Boro in mid-November in the 2013-14 season and his record in his first 20 games was W7 D7 L6 F19 A14 – including a run of 7 games without scoring. That works out at around 1.4 points per game, which is pretty much comparable with where Monk is currently at. Aitor’s next three games were also winless and it wasn’t until his 24th game that he started to manage anything like the consistency needed and won four on the spin before losing the next two and ended the season with two more victories.

Of course it may be argued that Monk has had far greater resources made available to him so he should be doing better. However, that is subjective to whether the quality of the signings is accurately reflected by the fees paid. In terms of attacking resources, Braithwaite has only just returned from injury and looks as if he will be an important player, but Assombalonga has looked more limited given his league-smashing top-dollar price-tag and former Barnsley loanee Fletcher has also so far looked somewhat overvalued as a pricey £7m young prospect with potential still waiting to be unlocked.

Big Rudy Gestede has been a long-term absentee since his deadest of dead legs and is due to return shortly, whilst Bamford has also failed to find a place for himself in the team for reasons as yet not clear to outside observers. Then there’s Marvin Johnson, who has magically stepped up a league from Oxford and again has potential but his displays have been erratic – talking of which – let’s not forget Adama, who personifies the word erratic and still appears more of a wildcard than someone who will be an integral part of the team. The fact that the free-to-leave Downing has found himself back in favour perhaps underlines the failure of those around him to convince.

Some of the main signings in other areas have been midfield ‘playmaker’ Howson, who again hasn’t been especially convincing so far – then there’s Christie at right back, who seems to plays more like a wing-back in terms of defensive performances – also arriving was Lewis Baker, who has good feet but he’s not necessarily always good at deciding how best to use them – plus Ryan Shotton, who on his last and only outing has appeared to have cemented his place as a concrete fourth choice centre-back. At least Darren Randolph has proved to be a success between the sticks, so some money well spent there.

Still surely a better team than Karanka had to start with? Well he had Shay Given in goal and a defence that included Woodgate, Gibson, Ayala, Rhys Williams, Seb Hines and a reliable George Friend, who were joined by Kenneth Omerou on loan from Chelsea with Jozsef Varga as a decent solid right-back. Then there was the combative midfield trio of Leadbitter, Butterfield and Dean Whitehead, who were supplemented by another promising Chelsea youngster in Nathan Chalobah. His creative midfielders comprised of Adomah, Ledesma and Carayol with a revolving door of attacking options that started off with Emnes, Jutkiewicz, Kei Kamara and Curtis Main before being shuffled with Danny Graham and Lee Tomlin arriving in January. Whilst it’s still early days for Monk’s squad, it’s arguable that there doesn’t appear to be a massive difference in the overall quality Karanka had at his disposal based on what we’ve seen so far. What Monk has is a squad with a greater depth of quality but as yet the pieces have not fitted together adequately.

So has the Macrophobia, or the fear of long waits, when it comes to promotion made many impatient with Monk’s failure to hit the ground running. He’s been adversely compared to Karanka as taking too long to get the players organised but maybe many have forgotten that the former Boro manager essentially had twice as long as the present incumbent has currently had before his methods started to pay dividends. Perhaps even those who were never fans of Karanka’s style of football are preparing to put their Thaasophobia (fear of boredom) to one side as they yearn for the steady proven stable methods of past promotion campaigns. For many it is time to reach over and press the ejector-seat button as Monk has clearly failed to prove he can take Boro up this season – but could Karanka have passed a similar test after just 12 games? Despite the high stakes, I doubt Steve Gibson will want to reinvent himself as a chairman that is known for being impatient and press the secret red panic button under his desk. I suspect things would need to get a lot worse before he even considers his manager’s position.

Garry Monk seems to have had a rethink in terms of team selection for last week’s game at Barnsley – Ayala has become Gibson’s third partner in as many games, plus the selection of Leadbitter and Downing appear to show a return to experience. Whether the unexpected slow-coach Adama’s previously undiagnosed Bustrophobian condition (fear of buses) forced his hand is not known, but what is clear is that club discipline is non-negotiable if you want to avoid anarchy. Though in my experience, you should normally add an hour to any pre-arranged meeting time with Spanish friends as the actual time agreed is usually the point at which they head to the bathroom to prepare to get ready. However, having said that Daniel Ayala managed to take his seat on the coach, even if he had secretly planned a bit of a siesta around 3pm.

Perhaps the Boro manager is busy rooting out squad members who play with fear, it’s possible Bamford may be showing early signs of Athazagoraphobia, though that may be insensitive towards more serious sufferers like the lad from Watford, whose name escapes me at present – it means the fear of being forgotten in case you were wondering, which I suspect is a footballer’s worst fear.

So will the players overcome their Kakorrhaphiophobia (fear of defeat) and play with confidence to get Garry Monk’s promotion aspirations back on track? Or will Cardiff give Boro another early scare as the defence once again becomes paralysed by the fear of that bouncing round object hitting the net. As usual, your predictions for score, scorers and team selection – plus feel free to confess to any other phobias that you may be suffering this season.

Barnsley		Middlesbrough
Fletcher (og) McGeehan	3′ 9′	Braithwaite Assombalonga	7′ 60′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	33% 11 3 4 10	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	67% 21 6 7 11

Bright Barnsley start undermines Boro

This morning’s table raised dimming hopes once again that bruised Boro could haul themselves back into contention as serious promotion contenders following Cardiff’s defeat against Birmingham last night. An away win this afternoon at Barnsley followed up with a home win next Saturday against those same Bluebirds could reduce the gap to the Championships early leaders to just two points. Of course other clubs would be seeing the same opportunity but if ever GM needed a break then this was as good as it would get thus far into the Championship campaign. Barnsley had reasons for optimism with four home wins in the last five against us so the odds were slightly in the Tyke’s favour.

Earlier in the week Heckingbottom had admitted that Barnsley couldn’t compete with Boro’s pulling power and potential with regards to Ashley Fletcher so surely with upwards of 4,500 of Boro’s best cheering them on today this had to be the day when it all clicked. Ashley was given the nod from Monk and was starting, presumably in the hope that he would come back to haunt the Tykes.

A warm breeze courtesy of a distant and by now defunct Atlantic Hurricane uncharacteristically warmed Oakwell. Boro fans reenergised from our Brentford no show were hoping that same warm breeze would be the only source of hot air today after being put in our place midweek regarding tactics and formations. Downing was restored to the starting eleven after being in the stands for that Brentford embarrassment. Most tellingly perhaps was the restoration of the Grant and Clayts duo, presumably intended to add some no nonsense stability in the middle of the park. It appeared that there were consequences after the ineffective display against the Bees with Traore, Johnson and Shotton all missing from the match day squad with Ayala starting in place of Shotton meaning that another successful Boro Championship partnership was restored. Rumour was that Traore had missed the team bus.

Barnsley started sprightly (or Boro started slowly again) with two corners in the opening minutes. From the second corner a ball came into the Boro box and the Tykes went 1-0 up courtesy of a unintentional glancing Fletcher headed own goal. A scoring return for the lad was certainly one of GM’s wishes but not in his own net. That second corner came as a result of Boro not being able to play their way out of defence after the first corner.

Ayala who had conceded that first corner now flicked on a Christie throw in for Braithwaite to hit home to make it 1-1 after seven minutes. Just as Boro apparently settled into their stride Barnsley broke and unbelievable defending in the Boro six yard box saw Boro 2-1 down immediately with Randolph uncharacteristically rooted to the spot for the cross as McGeehan took his opportunity.

This wasn’t as bad as Mogga’s last visit here but Boro looked anything but organised and controlled as they played in what I thought was a 442 despite many of us assuming we would line up 433 with Monk’s initial selection. As it was I think we were actually playing 4321 whilst Barnsley settled into their 4321 shape, seemingly comfortable in their set up. Boro in contrast were a mixture of parts both good and bad. Ayala as we know can be deadly in attacking set pieces and so he was but contrasted by Assombalonga who yet again struggled to control balls and of course putting ourselves into trouble for the first goal by not having an outlet from a corner.

As we applied pressure Barnsley slipped up in defence allowing Fletcher to break who played in Braithwaite who fumbled but the ball went out to Assombalonga whose control was typical and he blasted it well wide of the target. Seconds later Britt hit a 25 yard screamer which deflected out for a corner which Downing then hit to the front post from which Barnsley broke, leaving a melee in the Tykes box involving Assombalonga and Williams. Boro then had another quick corner which was poorly hit, resulting with Barnsley breaking and Boro blocking. We were struggling to break through the Barnsley resistance and it didn’t look like we had the organisation and belief to remedy things.

There was a lot of effort from white shirted Boro but we were looking all over the place with no obvious shape and defensively looking very poorly organised. As the half time whistle loomed that daunting walk to the tunnel which signalled the decline of Mogga was now beckoning for Garry Monk. Grant meanwhile rifled in a last minute effort to try and save Monk’s blushes but like many of our attempts this afternoon not really convincing. The biggest positives in the first half were Grant firing up those around him, Downing supply of balls into the box and Braithwaite looking a class apart.

A mixture of mumbles and groans rather than outright boo’s and to the fans credit “Boro we love you” was the response from the travelling Parmo Army as the players made their way off the pitch at half time. In reality that was more than Garry Monk’s Boro deserved. Despite the two week break this side didn’t look like there was any definitive game plan or even remotely working to anything close to a plan. We had possession and we attacked but we looked very poor at the back again. The once notoriously tight defensive unit is now porous and susceptible and is a growing concern.

The upcoming second half forty five minutes were going to be a major defining point for Garry Monks season. Slip further behind and his credibility will take another major hit, draw and it’s simply not good enough only a win would do. No Substitutions as the sides came back out with GM going same again. The second half started fairly inconspicuously until Fabio gave away another of his trade mark rash free kicks for an unnecessary challenge on Hammill. Fortunately for us the resulting free kick didn’t punish us this time.

For all our possession Barnsley didn’t look too troubled and as sixty minutes ticked over GM needed to think about his options. Cyrus Christie this time gave away a free kick which resulted in Leadbitter clearing it out to Downing who fed the up til now underperforming Assombalonga who slotted the ball home to make it 2-2. Boro suddenly sprung to life and an ensuing hectic period saw a Downing shot get the away fans off their seats and the home fans squirming. Barnsley then broke up the other end and in a spell of pressure Fabio put the ball out for a corner which interestingly saw Downing remonstrating how the Boro defence was organising itself. Boro broke up the other end from the Corner only to see Braithwaite lose the momentum and the optimism fizzled out. This was now end to end stuff and the tempo of the game had suddenly racked up several notches as Barnsley wanted the win but Boro now had their tails up with Downing being influential for Boro.

A brilliant move started from Fabio to Downing then playing it into Assombalonga then back to Fabio but the Brazilian’s effort flashed wide. Immediately afterwards Fabio dropped to the ground much as he had done previously against Brentford. Like then it looked like cramp but it seems to be a recurring theme for him which I suspect is perhaps symptomatic of an underlying problem. A series of defending comedy gold from Barnsley this time nearly let Brathwaite through and then Thiam went up the other end nearly putting us back under the cosh.

George Friend meanwhile had warmed up for the struggling Fabio as the game was opening up and tired mistakes starting to take their toll. Pearson then took out Braithwaite and took a yellow for his troubles which allowed George to enter the fray on the pitch where he started off his Boro career all those years ago.

Friend’s arrival couldn’t have been timelier as he almost immediately cleared a Barnsley attempt as it ricocheted off Randolph’s post. Bamford was readied next to come on as Braithwaite looked to be tiring. Boro pressure was building and we were knocking on Barnsley’s door and Downing was central to everything that Boro were producing with Grant pulling strings behind. Bamford finally came on but bizarrely it was Downing who made way for Bamford. That was a substitution that didn’t make a lot of sense to me at all unless Stewy was carrying some kind of a knock. I’m not sure tactically what advantage GM thought that was going to provide as removing our most progressive creator seemed totally counterproductive.

Barnsley made two subs of their own with Barnes and goal scorer McGeehan going off as Heckingbottom tried to freshen things up for his tiring side. Assombalonga then gave away an unnecessary free kick and if he was in any doubt about its recklessness Grant certainly let it be known what he thought of his challenge. The minutes were now ticking away and Barnsley started to clear balls via route one as Boro tried to snatch the winner. Bamford and Fletcher were trying to work some magic as the fourth official held up the board indicating three minutes of additional time left. As the minutes turned to seconds Barnsley had a final attack that ended with Christie being fouled from which Randolph eagerly got the ball back up field but the move petered out with a series of unimpressive supposed head injuries from Barnsley as the final whistle sounded.

It ended 2-2, Boro’s now traditional poor start plus an inability to clear corners without inviting pressure straight back was to prove our downfall. The latter stages of the second half saw Boro push and probe but the shape and organisation just wasn’t there from the off. It was a game that ultimately disappointed and raised even more questions about GM’s pack shuffling methodology and tactics. One word summed it up for me, unconvincing. There appears to be a lack of belief or understanding amongst the Players. At this stage of the season a draw simply wasn’t good enough and certainly not acceptable for a squad of this calibre so the big question after twelve games is what is going wrong and why?

Monk unlikely to find the Barnsley
chop on Gibson’s menu

Boro are looking to prove their promotion pedigree isn’t of dubious lineage against the Tykes on Saturday in a fixture that most remember as the last straw that dogged one particular previous manager in Tony Mowbray. The former inspirational captain was well and truly in the dog house at the exact same stage of the season after a defeat at Oakwell four years ago to the then bottom club. Whilst Monk may dismiss any attempts to see too many similarities with his team’s trip to Barnsley, he will be aware that after the failure to gain victory in his two previous home games he can ill-afford another disjointed poor display.

To be fair, that defeat in 2013 at game 12 left Mogga’s team 17 points behind top club Burnley and 10 points off a play-off spot in a season where the target was a top-six finish. However, Monk’s team won’t be equally off the pace should they suffer a similar result this weekend – but if they find themselves anything like 3-0 down at half-time in hapless homage to Mogga’s under-performing team then Steve Gibson may find the flashback all too illuminating. Though it was perhaps the Boro supporters reaction at Oakwell that convinced the chairman that Mowbray’s time was up.

Barnsley		Middlesbrough
Paul Heckingbottom		Gary Monk
P10 – W3 – D2 – L5 – F13 – A15		P11 – W4 – D4 – L3 – F13 – A9
Position Points Points per game Projected points	18th 11 1.1 51	Position Points Points per game Projected points	11th 16 1.45 67
Last 6 Games Millwall (A) QPR (H) Wolves (A) Aston Villa (H) Preston (A) Sunderland (H)	F-T (H-T) 3:1 (1:1) W 1:1 (1-0) D 1:2 (0:0) L 0:3 (0:2) L 1:1 (1:1) D 3:0 (2:0) W	Last 6 Games Brentford (H) Norwich (H) Fulham (A) QPR (H) Aston Villa (A) Bolton (A)	F-T (H-T) 2:2 (0:1) D 0:1 (0:1) L 1:1 (0-0) D 3:2 (1:1) W 0:0 (0:0) D 3:0 (1:0) W

After losing three of their opening games to some of the early season teams who were quicker out of the blocks (Bristol City, Ipswich, Sheffield Utd), Barnsley gained some respite by thumping Sunderland 3-0 at home before just picking up just a solitary point in another run of tough fixtures against Preston, Villa and Wolves. Their first away victory at Millwall just before the break gave them another much needed three points to move them three clear of the drop zone. The fact that their last five games have yielded just one point less than Boro over the same period is perhaps more of an indication of how Garry Monk’s team have been under-peforming given the disparity in resources. Though it’s always a brave decision to employ a manager with a name like Heckingbottom since if the club ended up in last spot as it would give both sets of supporters carte blanche to chant his name slightly incorrectly.

Barnsley gained promotion to the top-flight for the first time in their history in 1997, which was the year Boro were relegated thanks to our three points deduction. Whilst Boro may have been the team with the Brazilian players in that season it was the supporters of Barnsley who started the chant “it’s like watching Brazil” as their team went up playing entertaining football – apparently some Brazilian fans were tempted to return the accolade by chanting “it’s like watching Barnsley reserves” following their humiliating 7-1 exit at the hands of Germany in the last World Cup. Sadly, the Tykes time with the elite lasted just one season as they finished bottom and were duly relegated as Boro passed them again in the other direction on the way back up to the Premier League.

It’s still early days in Monk’s tenure and perhaps it would be unreasonable to expect the task he was given to have been successfully sorted at this early stage – however, the question mark for the doubters appears to be one of visible progress. With a quarter of the season gone there’s no sense that the Boro manager has yet got to grips with how he can create a balanced team from the resources at his disposal. In fact, it appears the pack of players have been shuffled around too frequently to allow any meaningful partnerships to form and develop. So is it time the players upped their game and lived up to their billing to prevent them being dropped or is the juggler himself in danger of being sacked?

If pre-season favourites Boro continued to slide down the table then it’s possible the writing could soon be on the wall for our promotion aspirations. Even the offer of a stylish ball-point pen that sounds similar to one of Barnsley’s more famous sons, Michael Parkinson, wouldn’t make that message any less palatable for Steve Gibson to read – though given the Boro chairman’s previous on not seeing disastrous outcomes coming, perhaps the former chat-show host will also be claiming that he should have gone to Specsavers should the lack of progress remain unseen.

Hopefully, Garry Monk will have had his mind focused by Boro’s recent abject home display and he will have been working hard in the break to ensure the correct calls are made in the coming weeks. Right now he may be nursing a few wounds to his reputation but there’s nothing like winning games to heal them – so I’m sure most supporters will be hoping the Boro manager is a quick healer and he avoids picking at the scab of unnecessary experimentation. Which brings me almost seemlessly onto the likely advice of another famous son of Barnsley, Arthur Scargill, who would no doubt tell Monk that gaining victory was all about having dependable strikers – though I suspect his preference would be for leaving wounds unhealed as he’d definitely not be in favour of scabs regardless of whether they remained unpicked!

Although Boro have spent big on striking options for this campaign, so far it appears we haven’t seen the goals being banged in for our bucks. There were signs that Martin Braithwaite can be the kind of cool finisher that is needed, especially as Assombalonga has rarely seemed calm or comfortable as Boro’s spearhead. The £15m man has not looked anything particularly special given his top dollar ticket price and seldom gives the appearance of someone likely to change a game – indeed his first touch may often be a barrier to linking up with other forwards. On that basis my preference up front would be to pair Braithwaite and Bamford (who, while we’re on the subject, has also largely remained unpicked) as both have good movement, good feet and a cleverness about their play – Assombalonga is looking more of an instinctive six-yard box finisher who needs service and unless Boro find a way to feed him then he’s not the kind of player who can survive on scraps for too much longer.

Perhaps the biggest issue for Boro is how they provide service for this expensively assembled strike-force. It’s been a long-standing problem that the central midfield functions mainly in a defensive capacity and is less effective at instigating attacking moves. The preference for players in these positions is normally to play short safe passes that essentially slows the ball’s progress up the pitch – most of the forward momentum seems to now rely on laying off the ball to our fast but unpredictable runners who then need to beat several opponents before they can service the strikers. The other option is usually an ambitious long ball that relies on perfect execution to land in the spot that isn’t being covered by opposition defenders. The overall problem is one of static players passing to other static players as they probe for an opening that has long since been shut.

When Garry Monk arrived at the club the blueprint was to change the emphasis from a containment based approach by bringing more dynamic players to the club who were comfortable on the ball and were capable of quickly turning defence into attack. At the moment it seems this transition from a more defensive style of play has yet to find either a system or the right blend of personnel to make it happen. This is where the Boro manager is currently at and he maybe should now know which players are most suited to this aim. We knew it would take time but the club operates in real time and the longer it takes to find solutions the less chance that finding that solution will bear fruit this season.

The time has probably come for Monk to decide on which players will best serve him and if he doesn’t know soon he may not get the chance to eventually find out. He could perhaps seek inspiration on deciding which players to pick by glancing at Barnsley’s club badge and observing their motto ‘Spectemur agendo’. Whilst this may sound like a Harry Potter spell that will allow Boro’s promotion hopes to ghost back on the agenda, it actually means ‘judge us by our actions’ – which in the case of the players it should be extended to ‘and not by our reputations or price-tags’.

So will the Boro players cast a spell over the Tykes and regain their magic touch that has deserted them of late or will Garry Monk be forced to admit that there’s no magic wand as promotion becomes the word that must not be mentioned. As usual give your predictions for score, scorers and team selection – plus will our strikers decide it’s time to return to work?

Middlesbrough		Brentford
Brathwaite Fabio	68′ 76′	Barbet Watkins	29′ 72′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	51%  8  3  3 21	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	49% 14  2  7 13

Busy Bees boss bereft Boro

I have to admit that way back when the fixtures came out Brentford at home didn’t stand out as a must win game. Fast forward a few months into Garry Monk’s reign and the fact that today was not only a must win game but a must win convincingly game set the tone for this afternoons proceedings. Brentford arrived at the Riverside fresh from a victory themselves after a disappointing start to their season keen to keep their new found momentum going. Boro on the other hand had started and spluttered then sprung to life and spluttered again at home to the Canaries.

Garry Monk for the first time in his Riverside career was facing questions on his competencies, selections and tactics. New Boo boys have emerged, underwhelming Striker return rates, defensive frailties becoming the norm allied to slow starts the order of the day and the points per game ratio achieved versus investment potential have stunk the Riverside out. Cheeky Chappy interviews that once endeared GM to the waiting masses have started to wear thin, the “love in” was on the wane pre kick off.

The team selection saw Dael benched and Braithwaite starting in place of Baker. Shotton came into the backline to get his first start of the season, the logic presumably being that a seasoned CB alongside Ben would tighten things up, provide composure and steady things at the back. Braithwaite was always seemingly intended to be a regular starter rather than a benchwarmer so his inclusion was probably indicative of his fitness level back to 100% after his lengthy lay off.

As the teams came out the bright sunshine dimmed as dark clouds came in over the Riverside, little did we know what an omen that would prove to be. Immediately after the kick off Fabio picked up a loose ball, went flying down the wing, bizarrely passed to Johnson on the wing except he wasn’t there and the ball went out for a soft throw in and that was a sign of things to come. A mere hiccup we thought except that the Bees were buzzing, hungry, chasing, closing, playing fast football, swarming forward, supporting their attack, they were supposed to park the bus! Boro were pushed back, defending like Keystone Cops with some of the most disorganised chaotic and comedic attempts to repel attacks since Andre Bikey graced the Riverside Stadium way back when. In fairness to Bikey as the game progressed he would like as not have been MOM had he been playing because there was certainly no one else in a Red Shirt that would qualify.

Watching the game I was trying to mentally note key moments but lost count of the disastrous and incredible scenes which continuously unfolded before me. Christie as we know is great going forward but suspect at times defending, today was no different with Brentford enjoying a fair amount of freedom on his flank relying on the wayward Traore as cover. Adama had one of his off days which culminated in an attacking move in which the ball was played through for him to run onto but he had brain freeze, switched off, standing motionless three yards behind play probably distracted by the big bright lights on the East Stand opposite.

On the left Fabio seemed to struggle and was being out fought as Johnson in front of him was largely anonymous and looked a little out of his depth apart from a few cross field runs. The exciting dribbling skills and turn of pace now seems to be a one game cameo. As a result both flanks were being attacked and we had little in our armoury to hold the line. In the middle of the back line was Ben with Shotton. I only wished someone had introduced Ryan to the rest of his defensive team mates as he looked as confused positionally with them as they were with him, not helped by the fact that our RB and LB were being given a torrid time and being overrun in turn. After 15 minutes I was thinking that this slow start will settle, things will bed in and we will start to put on a show. Little did I suspect then that things not only could but actually would get worse. It was X rated, no it was more like an underground XXX movie that I imagine is only shown on extremely dubious websites on the alleged dark web place (wherever that is). If Channel 5 has any decency tonight they will put Boro’s defending on there in an effort not to upset Teesside viewers and cause irreparable psychological damage.

In the seventh minute Clayts brought down Mokotjo for what looked like a penalty but Ref Paul Tierney ignored the appeal in what was to be an eventful day of poor officiating, so bad in fact nobody was even bothered to sing the “We have some  ………. Refs but you are the worst”. The Boro performance was so abysmal that any sleight of the officiating would have been embarrassing. Boro themselves had a few penalty claims, one a stonewaller on Baker in the second half that was waved away and a curious incident when Christie broke through in the last minute but when clear in the box to cross he seemed to have the merest nibble on his ankle to send him sprawling. Had either been given it would have been an injustice on the scoreline which actually flattered Boro in achieving the draw.

Anyway back to the game itself and as our backline scrambled around clueless not helped much by Howson and Clayton lying deep and clattering into challenges but not coming away with the ball. On the half hour a free kick was awarded for a soft foul on the left hand edge of the Boro box in a dangerous position (stop me if you have heard this before). The free kick was gently floated in, almost wafted in fact it was so graceful and the big Brentford defender Barbet rose in the middle of the 6 yard box, unmarked to do what Britt clearly couldn’t on Tuesday and place a header away from a Keeper. 1-0 to the green shirted Bees and I have to say they thoroughly deserved their lead.

No doubt we would come from behind because under Garry Monk we are now very good at that except we didn’t. We were even more awful, total strangers, no set up, no organisation, no shape and no leadership anywhere made worse by the fact that Grant was on the Bench alongside George and Stewy and Ayala were presumably in the West Stand upper. I don’t think that even during Strachan’s darkest days or even when Gareth had lost it have I seen a team so disjointed, rudderless and hopeless. In balance fair play and full respect to Brentford as they came, they attacked and played decent football.

Britt was running around but not really making anything happen again. Braithwaite done reasonably well considering his long layoff but being honest he wasn’t great but not being great was an upgrade on his team mates at least. As the half time whistle went the Boos rang out loud and clear, can’t say that I booed, I think I was in a state of disbelief at what I had just witnessed. GM needed to do some sort of miracle team talk if he was going to extricate himself from this one. As it was he hooked Adama but it could have been any of them including the normally reliable Randolph who seemed at sixes and sevens with his defence and at one point stood and stared at the ball in the middle of the 18 yard box whilst Shotton, Ben and a.n. other in a Red shirt also stared instead of booting it clear. It had been pure purgatory to suffer. The tweak at the back with Shotton in for Dael had become a car crash with multiple casualties.

In the middle of the first half the Brentford LB had been stretchered off and as they had no recognised LB on the bench you would have thought that Christie and Traore would have destroyed them but no it just wasn’t to be despite a midfielder shoe horned in.

When the second half started on came Fletcher whose long legged frame ran and ran and chased but couldn’t actually control the ball or make any real impact. All afternoon Boro over hit their corners, left nobody up field when defending Brentford corners meaning that they couldn’t clear them as the ball simply kept going to a Brentford player and came straight back at them. Bentley in the Brentford goal would clear his lines by hoofing it up field and setting up another attack while Randolph rolled it out to Ben who was quickly hassled into passing it like as not to Shotton or Howson or Clayts who again were quickly chased, surrounded and closed down often conceding possession under pressure but still we persisted rolling it out.

Bamford had been brought on for Johnson and with around twenty minutes left a ball into the Brentford box from a free kick saw a session of head tennis before Ben Gibson nodded it out to the edge of the 6 yard box where Braithwaite smashed it home, it was 1-1 and Brentford had been robbed. Joyous and euphoric along with disbelief rained down on the Riverside as the Home fans raised their game and now had something worth supporting. With their tails in the air and confidence levels boosted Boro then went and allowed Brentford another goal almost immediately as they carved open the Boro defence with ease and with a trickling ball across the entire Boro backline Watkins tapped in what in my opinion what should have been the winner.

Baker arrived for the tiring Braithwaite and incredibly the comeback Kings done it again Lazarus like. Howson broke into the Bees Box after playing a one two with Fletcher and crossed to Bamford who had the ball nicked off his toes but carried on in the same trajectory to Fabio who rifled home with his trusty right foot, 2-2 and that remarkably is how it ended.

Today showed frailties way beyond anything that SG would have remotely countenanced when signing those summer cheques. The sheer inability of players to have any understanding of a game plan or ability to control the game was a shock. I missed Tuesday night but those sat around me said that it was as bad as today. If so and the abject failure to address it this afternoon made worse by tinkering with the CB pairing is of major concern. There were many utterances after the final whistles which are not printable on here but of grave concern is that GM was being considered as useless without Clotet and would we be better off with the return of Aggers or even AK? Smashing the league wasn’t supposed to be like this!

Boro hope to avoid being stung by Bees

After failing to be on song against the canaries, Boro will want to avoid being stung by the Bees this Saturday – otherwise the Boro chairman may decide it’s time to have a little chat with his young manager about the birds and the bees. Though whether any advice on such delicate matters will give Garry Monk a greater understanding on making our meagre points haul multiply as we go forth remains to be seen.

Brentford had a slow start to their season and only picked up one point in their first four games – though two of those defeats were against early pace-setters Ipswich and Sheffield United and their only point was at home to current seventh spot club Bristol City. Since then they have steadied the ship and have only lost one of their last six, which was away to the Owls – but they seem to have become the draw specialists and have conceding just four goals in the last six outings. It may be interesting to note that although they languish just above the drop zone, they have actually scored the same number of goals as our multi-million pound strike force – make of that what you will but the words for Boro’s is starting to sound like under-performing.

Middlesbrough		Brentford
Gary Monk		Dean Smith
P10 – W4 – D3 – L3 – F11 – A7		P10 – W1 – D5 – L4 – F11 – A13
Position Points Points per game Projected points	9th 15 1.5 69	Position Points Points per game Projected points	20th 8 0.8 37
Last 6 Games Norwich (H) Fulham (A) QPR (H) Aston Villa (A) Bolton (A) Preston (H)	F-T (H-T) 0:1 (0:1) L 1:1 (0-0) D 3:2 (1:1) W 0:0 (0:0) D 3:0 (1:0) W 0:0 (0:0) D	Last 6 Games Derby (H) Bolton (A) Reading (H) Sheff Wed (A) Aston Villa (A) Wolves (H)	F-T (H-T) 1:1 (0:1) D 3:0 (1:0) W 1:1 (1:0) D 1:2 (1:1) L 0:0 (0:0) D 0:0 (0:0) D

I suspect if the club are contemplating any further banning orders then the word ‘smash’ is probably up there with the likes of ‘Dom’ and ‘Jonno’ – it must be a word that stops Steve Gibson in his tracks whenever he hears it as the fingernails down the blackboard on which it was hastily scribbled shred his nerves. It’s possible the Boro catering department has no doubt struck off certain brands of instant mash potato from its shopping list and anyone playing tennis with the chairman is under strict instructions not play unduly hard overhead shots. Even Mark Page has been encouraged to avoid slipping into his ‘Smashy and Nicey’ DJ persona just in case it triggers an unwarranted word association in the Boro owner’s head – plus any remotely passable impersonations of Bullseye host Jim Bowen with his ‘Super Smashing’ catchphrase is now a sackable offence (note: for similar reasons, ‘Here’s what you could have won’ has also been placed on the Banned Phrases list until further notice)

Expectations are never easy to live up to once they have been over-enthusiastically placed in the public domain but I’d suspect any calls for patience at the Riverside may fall on deaf ears as the season gathers pace – though that is perhaps also mainly down to the many years of MMP setting the PA volume levels to eleven.

The question now being contemplated is whether automatic promotion is beginning to look like a target perhaps beyond us this season. Boro are only in ninth spot and whilst six points off the pace doesn’t sound much, the team have still not found their rhythm and we’re still looking like a work in progress. Teams who are making a promotion charge need to go on runs where they win four or five on the bounce – as yet Boro have managed only once to get two wins on the spin and that was back in games 2-3. A win against Norwich would have had most supporters feeling Boro were more or less on track for their automatic promotion ambitions, just three points adrift of the top two. However, a defeat has strangely left many thinking we are not good enough and exposed our weaknesses – perhaps the reality is some where in the middle.

Boro are now at the ten-game mark and we can start to make comparison’s with teams who were promoted in previous seasons. The table below covers the years since we were relegated under Southgate – it shows how each of the automatically promoted teams fared in their first ten games, plus Boro’s points haul is also shown in the final column. Only twice have teams recovered from a worse start than Boro have had this season to finish in the top two – Reading went on to win two-thirds of their remaining 36 games, losing just three more – with Bournemouth achieving a similar feat, losing only as many games as they had done in the first ten until the end of the season. So the odds are probably stacked against Boro unless they can start to put a run of victories together and that means sooner rather than later.

First ten games of automatically promoted teams
Season	Top two teams	First ten games	Total	Boro
2017-18	1.Cardiff 2.Sheff Utd 9.Middlesbrough	W7 D2 L1 – 23pts W7 D0 L3 – 21pts W4 D3 L3 – 15pts
2016-17	1.Newcastle 2.Brighton	W6 D1 L3 – 19pts W5 D3 L2 – 18pts	94pts 93pts
2015-16	1.Burnley 2.Middlesbrough	W5 D3 L2 – 18pts W6 D2 L2 – 20pts	93pts 89pts	2nd – 89pts
2014-15	1.Bournemouth 2.Watford	W3 D3 L4 – 12pts W6 D2 L2 – 20pts	90pts 89pts	4th – 85pts
2013-14	1.Leicester 2.Burnley	W7 D2 L1 – 23pts W7 D2 L1 – 23pts	102pts 93pts	12th – 64pts
2012-13	1.Cardiff 2.Hull	W7 D1 L2 – 22pts W5 D1 L4 – 16pts	87pts 79pts	16th – 59pts
2011-12	1.Reading 2.Southampton	W3 D3 L4 – 12pts W7 D1 L2 – 22pts	89pts 88pts	7th – 70pts
2010-11	1.QPR 2.Norwich	W8 D2 L0 – 26pts W6 D1 L3 – 19pts	88pts 84pts	12th – 62pts
2009-10	1.Newcastle 2.West Brom	W7 D2 L1 – 23pts W6 D2 L2 – 20pts	102pts 91pts	11th – 62pts

Garry Monk has some important decisions to make regarding team selection and the focus should be at the sharp end for a home game against beatable opposition. Assombalonga is coming under scrutiny after another game of fluffing his lines and his price-tag doesn’t make him a better player than other options – just a more expensive one. Whether, his club record fee meant he was given the less-coveted shooting boots of Alfonso Alves as part of the deal is hopefully just an urban myth – though Boro strikers do seem to inherit something of a profligate rather than proliferate stature that is also proportionate to the amount spent.

However, the return of Martin Braithwaite will hopefully add some much needed guile and energy around the box – perhaps the player who can partner him best will get more starts as he looked a class act in pre-season. Maybe Bamford’s more intelligent and nuanced approach would be the best fit rather than the brute force offered by Britt – time and opportunity will decide that one though.

In defence, there were some suggestions that Dael Fry had earned himself a seat on the bench for sheepishly failing to shepherd the ball out of play that lead to Norwich’s wonder-strike. I think that would be a bit harsh on a young player who has on the whole been comfortable in central defence – plus with the international break arriving after the game there’s no real need to rest him. The main worry defensively is that our fullbacks are seemingly better at going forward than defending and maybe are better suited to covering as wing-backs with a central defensive trio being charged with clearing the main threats instead – that is probably something to contemplate in the upcoming break though.

Also the midfield hasn’t really settled on a particular pairing or type of pairing that functions both defensively and offensively. I wonder if Baker will be dropping a little deeper now that our forwards are returning from injury and suspension. Clayton is good defensively but is that enough when the service to the attack hasn’t been of the best quality? Twenty-one attempts against Norwich may statistically suggest otherwise but their keeper wasn’t really troubled by our tame invention. The return of Adama saw some sublime moments of skill and pace but most were reserved for our own half that weren’t going to lead to much in the way of shooting chances – he needs to play 20-30 yards further up the pitch to be a real danger.

So will the Riverside be a hive of activity on Saturday as Boro leave their fans buzzing? or will Garry Monk’s team fall foul to the Bee’s honey trap and continue their sticky patch into the break? As usual your predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will Boro’s attack show some punch or will they float like a bee and sting like a butterfly?

Middlesbrough		Norwich
		Maddison	13′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	60% 21  5 13  8	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	40%  5  2  1 16

Poor Performance Prevents Playoff Position

When Norwich last played at the Riverside it had resulted in a 4-0 win for the home team. Bamford had kicked things off with a stooping header, before Leadbitter then added two more either side of the break. Yanic Wildschut (now with the Canaries) then rounded off the scoring with his second and final Boro goal. Could there be a repeat performance on the cards?

Apart from Wildschut, Norwich also have the services of former Boro player James Husband who didn’t have the chance to play much football at the Riverside. Both former players would be out to prove a point that they didn’t have a realistic opportunity at Boro and we all know how often a former player comes back and haunts us.

To complete the set of former players playing their previous clubs, Boro have Jonny Howson who has returned north after five years at Carrow Road and was man-of-the-match for us in the weekend Championship draw at Fulham. A similar performance tonight would be gleefully accepted by at least one set of fans.

Howson told Boro’s official site – “I think whenever you play against your old club these things are going to get mentioned. But once you cross that white line I’ve got a job to do for the team. Things will have been said before and after the game. We are going for three points and nothing different.”

On a night when Middlesbrough fans will be seeking revenge on a Norwich side that ended their Wembley dream of a return to the top-flight at the play-off final in May 2015, the club have just announced closer sponsorship ties with Scottish airline Loganair, which will coincidentally start direct flights from Durham Tees Valley to Norwich for those eyeing up a quicker than usual trip to Carrow Road. So we’ll soon be seeing that sponsor’s logo landing on the back of this season’s away strip, with the newly branded Boro shirt expected to be cleared for take-off in time for the visit to Barnsley in mid-October.

So game on…

A misty eerie night greeted the crowd who were high with expectation as Norwich kicked off towards the North Stand, To their credit Boro appeared to start brightly in a loosely configured 4-2-3-1 configuration with Britt playing a lone striker role and support from Baker, Johnson and Traore. Howson was playing in a more central midfield role and started to thread passes and look towards picking up the pace from where he left off on Saturday.

A couple of nice runs by Traore gave the expectant crowd a glimpse of what they expected to see during the game but Boro were undone when a loose ball on the right-hand touchline was not cleared by Fry, He was robbed by Watkins who centred to Maddison, who crisply finished into the top corner for a goal and this was their first attempt at hitting the target.

This was the cue for Norwich to display the elements of time wasting we have come to expect from teams at the Riverside, with players fastening shoe laces every five minutes and taking excessive time at throw ins and free kicks.

Traore was the outlet for many of Boro attacks at this stage and the crowd felt confident that an equaliser would soon be scored. A number of free kicks were given against Norwich for fouls on Traore but the referee kept his cards in his pocket and play went on. Baker was not having much involvement in the game at this stage and seemed unsure of his role. He wasn’t close enough to Britt to support him up front and at times the play passed him by.

Middlesbrough had a lot of possession but this was easily coped with by Norwich and in the 35th minute a good run by Howson resulted in a centre to Clayton who shot at goal which was easily saved by their goalkeeper Gunn who is on loan from Manchester City.

It was apparent that Britt was getting no service from the Boro midfield and the Norwich defence were not allowing him any space to turn and run at them.

On the 43rd minute Baker produced his first piece of productive football by having a great strike at goal but this was saved easily by Gunn.

Traore was having an excellent game and even ran back 2/3rds of the pitch to make a last-ditch tackle near the Boro penalty area, saving an awkward situation which was wholly appreciated by the crowd.

We had not seen much of Johnson in this half and he was was quiet and seemed to be well shackled by the Norwich defence.

Second Half Period

There were no changes at the start of the second half and indeed the first piece of action came from a Norwich strike at goal from Jerome which was smartly saved by Randolph which was only the second shot Norwich had on target, the first being the goal.

In the 53rd minute Johnson and Traore started swapping wings as each of them looked for a fresh breakthrough for getting crosses into the box. Howson was trying to put some impetus into the play and beat four men before being hacked down on the half way line resulting in a free kick to Boro.

Norwich stepped up their time-wasting efforts as the clock ticked on and it was obvious that changes had to be made to the Boro line up.

Fletcher came on for Clayton in the 60th minute and Baker moved back to a more central role and Howson sheltered the defence. Just after the substitution another free kick was taken by Baker which was collected easily by Gunn. On the 65th minute Traore went on another mazy run, beat three men and shot at goal. Boro were finding it difficult to beat this well marshalled defence and a promising young goalkeeper.

Johnson was starting to find gaps on the wing and sent over inviting crosses which were met by Britt who inexplicably directed headers straight at the keeper each time without the keeper moving to save.

Fry was beaten in the air quite a few times by Jerome who seemed to have the measure of our young centre back during the game.

On 69 minutes Gary Monk went for another substitution taking off Fabio and bringing on Martin Braithwaite. Johnson reverted to a position of a wing back to take Fabio’s place and Boro were playing with a back three.Johnson and Braithwaite showed a promising understanding and on the 72nd minute Johnson put over an inviting cross which was met by Britt and… you’ve guessed it, went straight to the keeper in the middle of the goal.

In the 79th minute Traore was surprisingly brought off to cheers from the partisan crowd of 24,084 and substituted by Bamford who moved over to the right wing. Fletcher and Bamford showed good movement and were constantly interchanging positions from centre forward to right wing in an attempt to create space and confuse the Norwich defence.

Pressure was now constantly being applied by Boro and on the 86th minute a hard drive from Baker sailed over the bar and in the 87th minute Bamford headed over from a Baker corner.

In the 89th minute another corner into the box resulted in strong claims for a penalty when a Norwich defender clearly put his arm around Britt’s neck and prevented him from having a shot on goal.

The fourth official signalled 5 minutes of extra time and the Boro redoubled their efforts to snatch an equaliser. A free kick into the box was deflected by the head of a Norwich defender and was heading for goal only for the keeper to make a magnificent save and flick it over for another corner.

The Boro crowd were gradually dispersing prior to the final whistle and we can only hope that our next home game will result in three points.

Boro attempt to get back on song
as the Canaries visit Riverside

Boro host Norwich on Tuesday evening as they look to consolidate their position in the playoff zone with the first of two home games before yet another international break. The Teessiders are attempting to mine another three precious points from the Championship coalface and the crowd will be expecting Garry Monk will come out on top when he pits himself against his German counterpart Daniel Farke. Whilst avoiding complacency is paramount, hopefully Boro won’t need to dig too deep for victory and the Canaries won’t act as an early warning sign that the refreshing early air of optimism at the Riverside is not in danger of turning slightly poisonous.

Norwich have tightened up at the back of late after conceding four in two successive away defeats at Villa and Millwall – they are now unbeaten in their last four games with two wins and two draws without conceding but have only found the net twice in this mean mini-run. It will also be a return to the Riverside for a couple of old boys in Yanic Wildschut and James Husband – neither of whom will think they got much of a crack at nailing down a place at Boro and will no doubt be keen to prove the club wrong. This will be the first meeting of the clubs since the Canaries beat us 2-0 in that play-off final at Wembley back in 2015 – Boro were slow out of the blocks on that day and were left chasing the game after going two-down after only a quarter of an hour. So no slow starts please and no slow coaches either!

Middlesbrough		Norwich City
Gary Monk		Daniel Farke
P9 – W4 – D3 – L2 – F11 – A6		P9 – W3 – D3 – L3 – F8 – A12
Position Points Points per game Projected points	6th 15 1.67 77	Position Points Points per game Projected points	13th 12 1.33 61
Last 6 Games Fulham (A) QPR (H) Aston Villa (A) Bolton (A) Preston (H) Forest (A)	F-T (H-T) 1:1 (0-0) D 3:2 (1:1) W 0:0 (0:0) D 3:0 (1:0) W 0:0 (0:0) D 1:2 (0:1) L	Last 6 Games Bristol City (H) Sheff Utd (A) Burton (H) Birmingham (H) Millwall (A) Aston Villa (A)	F-T (H-T) 0:0 (0:0) D 1:0 (1:0) W 0:0 (0:0) D 1:0 (1:0) W 0:4 (0:3) L 2:4 (0:2) L

Tuesday’s game takes us to the ten game mark and this milestone will allow the Boro faithful to start making assessments on whether the club are on course for their promotion objective without appearing too hasty. A win will take the points-per-game average closer to that holy grail figure of the golden number two that is required to be anointed as near enough nailed-on automatic promotion candidates. That of course would give you 92 points but the average number of points for the club finishing second in the Championship in the last ten years is actually just under 87.

Though if the objective is finishing above third spot then that requirement drops to needing just 83 points on average – the highest third place points total was in fact 89 when Brighton lost out to Boro on goal difference in our promotion two years ago and the next best is 86 points, which was achieved just twice by West Ham and Norwich. After all that statistical rambling through the last ten years of the Championship we can probably say a safe bet target for automatic promotion is 87 points, an average of 1.89 points per game – OK let’s round it up to 2 to make it easier, so it’s basically as you were folks!

Automatic promotion points target
Season	3rd Place Team	Points
2016-17	Reading	85
2015-16	Brighton	89
2014-15	Norwich	86
2013-14	Derby	85
2012-13	Watford	77
2011-12	West Ham	86
2010-11	Swansea	80
2009-10	Forest	79
2008-09	Sheff Utd	80
2007-08	Hull	75
Average points total		82.2
Average points per game		1.79

The obvious selection issue for Garry Monk tomorrow is the availability of Adam Traore once more after serving out his three-match ban – given his form before being sent off, you’d expect him to come straight back into the starting XI. The return of the Boro power-house will probably see Bamford being returned to the bench unless he’s given a position somewhere else – and that would mean his manager dropping one of either Baker, Johnson or Assombalonga. The problem for Paddy is that his Fulham performance didn’t shout at Monk that he was undroppable – OK, Johnson also had a quiet game by his recent standards and neither Baker or Assombalonga made a telling contribution. Nevertheless, I would expect Monk would quite like to see both Johnson and Adama running at the Norwich defence – the question then becomes whether Baker is the best choice to get on the end of the potential service or could he decide on Bamford in the number ten role? It’s also a possibility that Braithwaite may be ready for the bench following his layoff and he could yet prove to be first choice in the central attacking role.

There are also a couple of other issue that need addressing in terms of selection – Fabio left the field suffering from calf problems that appeared to be just severe cramp, though his performance was probably below par defensively and perhaps Friend will get the nod instead. In midfield, former Norwich player Howson had his best game in a Boro shirt and with Leadbitter still feeling the effects of an earlier knock it’s likely he’ll retain his place alongside Clayton to face his old club – though many are perhaps a little hesitant given the displays of other Boro players against their old clubs.

So come the final whistle will the Boro supporters be singing like canaries after Boro start flying up the table or will the Riverside faithful be spitting feathers after having victory plucked from their grasp? As usual your predictions for score, scorers and team selection – plus will  Jonny Howson try to out-do Assombalonga and Adama by missing a few sitters and getting a red card against his old club?

Fulham		Middlesbrough
Kamara	86′	Christie	88′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	62% 11  4  6 16	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	38% 13  3  3  8

Reds roar back in late Cottage comeback

On Thursday our Manager described the trip to Craven Cottage as a tough test and that he believed Fulham were the best side he faced last season with Leeds, even better than eventual Champions Newcastle. On paper and with the Bookies Fulham were favourites for a Play Off spot as a minimum this season if not in fact an automatic promotion spot. Consider that Slavisa Jokanovic was coveted by many on Teesside prior to Monk’s arrival which in itself is testimony to how tough a game this was going to be.

Sat just 4 points behind Boro prior to Kick Off but in fourteenth place they like Boro had only lost two games but had become prone to drawing too many so whilst their present position was mid table their ability in not getting beat was still strong. That said they lost 2-1 to struggling Burton in their last outing so thus far their season hasn’t quite hit the anticipated heights of last season. Contrast that to a Boro side that had been unbeaten in six games with the last defeat coming away to Forest when Britt should have had a hat trick, a Boro side on a roll and looking like they were starting to click. Arguments on Teesside had been about who should be starting rather than who should be dropped. The problem GM had was that he only had eleven shirts to hand out and that was without considering Braithwaite, Gestede and Traore.

The line-up announced at 2.00pm saw Bamford installed and Johnson preferred ahead of Downing on the left flank. Baker was presumably in the No.10 role and Howson had started in place of Grant who presumably was kept on the bench to tighten things up if needed. Clayts returned in the middle of the park, restored after his suspension and hopefully refreshed.

As it was we went with a 442. Britt and Bamford were up front with Baker right and Johnson left. It was Baker to first show intent with a shot in the opening seconds, then Bamford with an early header straight at Button shortly followed by another Baker effort fired in from just outside the box forcing Button to get a hand to it putting it over the bar for the first Boro corner. Christie was then yellow carded early on for a foul on the seventeen year old Sessegnon. The resulting free kick saw Randolph just getting his gloves to a near post ball to prevent Norwood opening the scoring. A few minutes later and Randolph again had to be quick to get down, this time keeping Ayite’s low effort out.

The game was getting feisty with a few firm challenges going in and Boro were looking a bit sloppy or was it perhaps “clunky”? Fulham were now looking lively with none livelier than the young lad Sessegnon. Johnson for Boro went close against the run of play with an effort just past the post as he rounded former Boro loanee Fredericks. Norwood then had an attempt that fortunately went wide of the Boro goal as Randolph looked well beaten. Ten minutes remaining of the first half and Boro needed an answer to Fulham’s pace and movement to build some pressure of their own and give themselves relief. Fulham had a weak penalty appeal for a challenge by Clayton and as the pressure continued the ball flashed across the Boro goal seconds later by that lad Sessegnon again. A few minutes before the half time whistle Ayite went off presumably injured for Fulham with Kebano taking his place. Boro had a couple of forays at the other end as the half ran down but with nothing much to get excited about. Norwood then again came close with only seconds remaining to remind us that we hadn’t reached half time with a clean sheet just yet. Boro ended the half with a wasted free kick which Gibson hoofed up field but Bamford was on another wavelength as the ball sailed out of play.

My take on that first half was that Garry Monk’s praise about Fulham being the best side last Season had more than just a ring of believability. Fulham had a grip on the game, they were playing good football and Boro just couldn’t impose their game on the Cottagers as their pace and movement were causing us issues. Bamford hadn’t really got into the game as much as he would have wished but on a positive Howson seemed sharp and read the game well, looking far more confident than his early August appearances. Our left flank was looking a bit suspect as Johnson sometimes left Fabio exposed and he didn’t exert the same offensive pressure on the Fulham defence as his opponents.

No changes at half time and both sides had a couple of early opportunities after the restart but not enough to cause either Keeper major concerns. Christie was tackled in the box but it wasn’t close enough to launch a serious penalty appeal. Randolph then spared Ben Gibson’s blushes as he played a weak ball back to his keeper who fortunately was alert and cleared the self-inflicted danger. As the game approached the 60thminute the White shirts were still in the ascendency and Boro were becoming more frustrated as McDonald escaped a second yellow for the second time after being booked in the first half. The ensuing free kick ultimately ended with a scramble in the Fulham box and a Howson shot which sailed well over from the player who was definitely one of the best in a Red shirt so far.

There was a period of more fight and graft from Boro as Fulham kept on pushing but the Boro were showing intent of their own. The youngster Sessegnon and his colleagues were certainly not giving up and kept causing consternation amongst the 3,000 or so visitors occupying half a stand behind Button’s goal. Some eccentric Refereeing throughout the afternoon was proving irksome to Boro as nothing seemed to be going the Teesside’s way and none worse than when a White shirt threw himself to the grass in front of Dael Fry winning a ridiculous free kick from which Norwood again blasted the ball towards Randolph’s goal which fizzed past.

Norwood into the action again clattered into Baker leaving him floored but the Ref saw nothing and gave nothing. Boro then broke with Britt charging up field and laid it on to Bamford who smashed it into the side netting with the consequential net ripples causing a millisecond of false excitement. Johnson then came close just after as Boro had now started to get some momentum going. Whether it was as a consequence of Boro getting a foot in the game or a tactical ploy Jokanovic then made a substitution.

Boro were then forced to attend to Fabio as he pulled up, looked in pain and to be going off but seemingly just needed a bit of physio and a swig of a sports drink much to everyone’s surprise. The Travelling army’s hopes were that our current favourite Brazilian wasn’t going to become a liability if soldiering on, a cross he put in soon after the treatment seemed to indicate that he was OK. As was the nature of the game then Fulham should have opened the scoring as they broke and Kamara missed a sitter from 6 yards out when scoring was easier with only Randolph to beat. That breakout seemed to be the cue for Fabio to give up his task as George came on in a double substitution with Fletcher who came on for Bamford who hadn’t really lived up to his billing on the day.

With ten to go Fulham applied more pressure as they went for all three points but Boro stood firm, sitting deep, defending for their lives. Kebana kicked Clayton which bought some much needed relief for Boro as we launched an attack via George on the left which asked a few questions of the Fulham defence but Assombalonga wandered off side and in doing so handed the initiative back to Fulham. The next break saw Oji leave a despairing Howson, play in Sessegnon who drove the ball to the byline, past Christie, put a cross in to Kamara who beat static and stationary Gibson and Friend to nod home.

GM was preparing a late substitution and with seconds of the 90 minutes now remaining Boro immediately went up the other end and won a corner. After a scramble in the Fulham box via a sliced clearance Howson lumped it back in with Friend challenging for a header the ball broke to Fletcher whose scuffed shot was deflected into the path of Cyrus Christie who scored to make it 1-1 in front of the delirious Boro army. GM then made his change with Britt coming off for Stuart Downing leaving the pace of Fletcher up front on his own and putting the wisdom of Downing into the fray, all this on 88 minutes! The 4th Official then declared that there would be five more minutes. Both sides clearly felt this game was winnable and that more opportunities would present themselves but Boro had their tails up. Downing started pinging the ball about and Fulham started to look very suspect at the back as Baker tried an effort and then Downing following up.

As Fulham cleared their area Downing then won the ball from Sessegnon, sent Baker free who was cut down and a free kick awarded to Boro with Baker himself taking it. Red shirts piled into the box, Fletcher missed it and then George desperately flung himself at it and that was the last chance for either side to take all three points. 1-1 it ended honours even. Fulham played some good football but Boro fought and could have nicked it at the death but psychologically importantly our unbeaten run deservedly continues

As the fixture list was published this game was one we would have gladly taken a point from, we didn’t see a flowing Boro by any means but once again we seen a fighting Boro and a Boro that once again came from behind to draw level and very nearly nick it. Our football was intelligent despite the hectic nature of the game and while it was frustrating to see Cardiff, Leeds and Wolves win it has to be considered that this was a good result on the day.

A worry for me is Ben who seems to have very uncharacteristically lost his mojo with a few ricks appearing in his game of late. MOM was Howson, Christie ran him a very close second and his goal would have normally seen him nick the award but taking his booking into consideration and allowing Sessegnon to get his cross in for their goal for me Howson just shaded it. Talking of plaudits, Fry again shaded it for me at the back while a special mention goes to Downing who definitely made an impact when he came on, picking out passes and asking questions of Fulham in those closing moments.

Norwich at home on Tuesday night followed by Brentford next Saturday with the mental toughness still intact is massive and this time next week the table could look a lot different.

Boro planning to get away with
win at weekend trip to cottage

After the refreshing midweek reserve game victory in the Thai energy drink cup, Boro get back to the potential Champagne cork-popping business of trying to secure their promotion back among the football pyramid’s elite clubs. Boro head down to London (or even ‘up’ in some eyes given the convention for travelling to the capital city) looking to continue their recent progress up the league (definitely not down). Fulham should prove a good test tomorrow as to whether Boro have started to get the measure of the Championship as our trendy hosts were the runners-up in last season’s play-off final. Incidentally, Garry Monk said in yesterday’s press conference that he thought Fulham were the best team in league last season – though I suspect Newcastle, Brighton and Huddersfield could put another case forward on that particular argument.

Despite Garry Monk’s praise of Fulham they haven’t started the season where they left off last term and have won just two games so far, with only one home victory in the their last game at the Cottage. Though perhaps their form has been masked by playing some of the early season pace-setters and they will be keen to start picking up points. Nevertheless, Fulham under Jokovic are known for playing a tight game so we may not get that many opportunities, so avoiding losing an early goal should be the game plan and Boro need to avoid being too lethargic in their early approach after hearing the referee’s whistle.

Fulham		Middlesbrough
Slavisa Jokovic		Gary Monk
P8 – W2 – D4 – L2 – F8 – A7		P8 – W4 – D2 – L2 – F10 – A5
Position Points Points per game Projected points	14th 10 1.25 58	Position Points Points per game Projected points	7th 14 1.75 80
Last 6 Games Burton (A) Hull (H) Cardiff (H) Ipswich (A) Sheff Wed (H) Leeds (A)	F-T (H-T) 1:2 (1:1) L 2:1 (1:0) W 1:1 (0:0) D 2:0 (1:0) W 0:1 (0:0) L 0:0 (0:0) D	Last 6 Games QPR (H) Aston Villa (A) Bolton (A) Preston (H) Forest (A) Burton (H)	F-T (H-T) 3:2 (1:1) W 0:0 (0:0) D 3:0 (1:0) W 0:0 (0:0) D 1:2 (0:1) L 2:0 (1:0) W

Viewing tomorrow’s venue from the Thames,  it seems somewhat of a misnomer to call this sleek modern metal-clad stadium a cottage – I suspect even Kevin McCloud of Grand Designs fame would struggle with the concept if one of the architectural subjects in his iconic house-porn series claimed something vaguely resembling the Riverside stand was indeed a cottage. Though the origins of Craven Cottage go back several hundred years to the time when it was a royal hunting lodge located in part of the hunting grounds of Anne Boleyn – so let’s hope nobody from Boro gets too nostalgic and loses their head on the pitch this Saturday.

Though the actual cottage from where the stadium derives its name was built in 1780 by Baron Craven, which stood for just over a hundred years before being burnt to the ground. The derelict plot was then discovered by Fulham football club in 1894, who chose it as the place to locate their new ground with the footprint of the former cottage now occupied by the pitch’s centre-circle. After several years of using temporary wooden stands, renowned Scottish football achitect Archibald Leitch (who had previously designed Ibrox) was commissioned to build the two main stands of the stadium at record cost at the time of £15,000. The Stevenage Road Stand (later renamed to the Johnny Haynes Stand after the death of the former Fulham legend) was built with a rather meticulously redbrick facade. With such an eye for detail, it’s quite amusing that Leitch only ended up constructing the Cottage Pavilion Stand because he’d forgotten to include the changing rooms in his plans for the Stevenage Road Stand.

So thankfully the Boro matchday squad have somewhere to change into their kit but Monk faces some tricky decisions on who to include in his eleven. Not an easy task as the Boro boss has declared yesterday that he doesn’t have a ‘Best XI’. In fact, he said there is no such thing, which happily solves another argument on who supporters believe should be starting or not. He’s more of the view that it’s a squad game and it’s only the competition for places that helps to enable the players who are selected to raise their game. I suspect the player on everyone’s lips in terms of starting is Patrick Bamford – who demonstrated once again against Villa that he’s got many of the attributes that Boro will need this season.

However, one currently unbanned journalist in yesterday’s press conference went fishing by quoting Bamford as saying he’d like to play more centrally – he then posed the question of whether the Boro boss would see him playing the rest of the season in the centre rather than out wide. Monk responded curtly to that bait by exclaiming “They’ll play where they’re asked to play” and stared at the questioner for several seconds before bursting out laughing and saying he was only joking. Maybe he was just joking? or perhaps it may have been an insight in to why Bamford hasn’t been picked lately and the Boro manager just jokingly brushed over his irritation with the comfortable media skills he possesses. Truer words spoken in jest and a possible sign of tension between player and manager? Maybe, maybe not as Monk didn’t appear agitated or anything other than relaxed – but perhaps Bamford has knocked on his manager’s door to plead his case, we know he did with Karanka and that didn’t go down well with the Spaniard.

Though Monk went on to explain that there are certain players who have key positions and other players who can play in various positions and wherever they play on the pitch it was important there was a clarity in the way they performed that role. In short it appears Bamford is a flexible option and at the moment his manager believes he has better specialist options in the forward positions – though with Adama, Braithwaite and Gestede to return soon, you wonder if pliable Paddy needs a start tomorrow and has to produce an undroppable performance.

In central defence, it should be Gibson and Fry to play together instead of a half each and you would also expect the ever-present Christie to return to right-back. In theory, Fabio should get the nod at left-back but he didn’t look comfortable defending against QPR and was at fault for the first goal. Whether Friend showed enough in midweek is debatable but I feel he’s more aware in his own box than Fabio.

Clayton should get his central midfield berth back after timing his one-game ban to coincide with his rest day in midweek but who plays alongside him may depend on whether Baker remains in his advanced midfield role or not – for instance with Bamford eyeing the number ten role and Braithwaite due to be back in contention next week, it may be time for the Chelsea loanee to be playing a little deeper. It’s quite possible that Leadbitter will be preferred as added security for a tough away game but he may still be feeling the knock against QPR.

With Adama still missing then Johnston is the man to provide the pace on the left with his penchant for cutting inside – plus he was probably MOTM against The Hoops and looks to be quite a bargain on his current showings. Assombalonga will also surely start as the striker of choice and that leaves the question of who plays on the right. Downing has normally been favoured to start games but is still yet to show that he can make a significant impact – though Bamford may end up on the right if Monk chooses other options in the more central striking roles and Fletcher is also an option too. Something a little more left-field on the right could be Christie in a more advanced role with the impressive Connor Roberts playing at right-back – the Republic of Ireland international has shown some good pace and trickery going forward and wouldn’t look too out of place in a more attacking role.

So will Boro lay the foundations at the Cottage for a continued promotion challenge and build on their recent good results? Or will Jokanovic’s men demolish our hopes with some promotion-wrecking balls knocking over our recent progress. As usual your predictions for score, scorers and team selection – plus should Randolph opt to go up into Fulham’s box for a Boro corner if the score is 3-3 in injury time?

Aston Villa		Middlesbrough
		Bamford	58′ (pen) 67′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	41% 8 1 8 8	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	59% 12 3 4 16

Bamford Brace empty Villa Cup hopes

A much changed look to both sides as Steve Bruce made 11 changes to Garry Monk’s 10 in front of a desolate looking Villa Park that had the atmosphere of a reserve match rather than a Cup tie with 11,000 attendees rattling and echoing around the famous old stadium. Wing and Tavernier were the biggest not so surprising surprise inclusions for Boro but probably not half as surprising as the involvement of the Championship’s forgotten goal machine, Ross McCormack who presumably had finally managed to either find the keys to his mansions gates or Steve Bruce’s heart. The desperado came on in the first half for the man who should have been suspended Henri Lansbury but based upon Lansbury’s forty minutes or so on the pitch Steve Bruce probably wished his red card hadn’t been rescinded after all.

It was Villa who first looked like they might get something from the game as a free kick drifted in from the left was headed by Elphick unimpeded into Dimi’s goal. Fortunately the eagle eyed linesman on the far side flagged for an offside to save Boro blushes. The first half itself was fairly uneventful, the best moment when Wing shrugged off the attention of three Villa midfielders to thread a ball out to Roberts wide right who advanced and crossed into the box for Bamford to rise up and hit the crossbar with a perfectly timed if not angled header. Had it gone in it would have been just reward as Boro were the more balanced, composed and threatening of the two “reserve” teams on display.

To think of where Wing and Tavernier normally play their football they did not look out of place and based on tonight’s performances from the pair of them they look ready to do duty in the Championship if called upon. Only Ben Gibson remained from Saturday’s line up against QPR and he himself was duly replaced/rotated with Dael Fry at half time to evenly share the exertions alongside Ayala who managed the full 90 minutes and who fancied a few chances at corners all evening. George was restored at Left Back with Roberts as mentioned previously on the Right side. Howson and Forshaw got more game time in midfield and to be fair looked comfortable throughout. It was that man Wing again from a similar position in the middle of the park who teed up Forshaw for a 25 yard speculative strike which was parried away by Steer in the Villa goal with Tavernier flashing the rebound into the side netting. Fletcher and Bamford provided the attacking threat though it was Bamford who looked by far the more likely to score.

In the second half it was that man Wing again this time feeding Paddy with a beautifully weighted 20 yard ball bypassing Elphick to send Paddy through leaving the despairing Villa CB with no other option than to execute a trip just as Paddy entered the box. It was a penalty and a second yellow for the ex-Bournemouth man as he had earlier received a caution for upending George. Cool as you like Paddy stepped up and a left footed dink down the middle was enough to open the scoring. 1-0 and Boro were well deserving of their lead. I said before the game slightly tongue in cheek that Paddy if given a start needed a hat trick to give Garry Monk something to think about. Just as it entered my mind obligingly this time Tavernier sent in a cross from the left with Bamford ghosting in at the back of the 6 yard box to rise and bag his second goal of the night. Whilst he didn’t quite make it a hat trick he came darn close enough with his first half header to have almost made it a reality.

Downing had come on previously to replace Wing who was looking tired understandably to a chorus of boos from the smattering of Villa fans to be buoyed by “He’s one of our own” from the few hundred Boro fans who should be given first choice of tickets should we eventually go on to achieve the ridiculous. Tavernier thought he had made it three for Boro when he had his close range effort saved on the line which looked about as far over it as Johnson’s cross did on Saturday so I guess some of them you win but I’m happy to not get the benefit when 2-0 up and cruising against ten men! Miller came on for the last ten minutes or so as Monk made his last substitution of the evening to give the lad a run out. Speaking of run outs by this stage apart from the Boro fans just about the entirety of the ground had run out when Boro’s second went in with the Holte end eerily deserted.

All in all a very effective evening which had a few perhaps overly confident Boro moments in the game which is really scraping the barrel when looking for something negative. This side tonight looked as though they could compete quite favourably at the top end of the Championship themselves especially Wing and Tavernier. MOM has to go to Paddy for his two goals and near miss but I wouldn’t put up a strong argument if Wing received the accolade. The Coach trip back North must have been a content relaxing ride for the squad as they now enter the last 16 of the Carabou Cup. Who Boro will draw will be revealed on Wednesday night when its probably drawn out of a Yaks intestine in a remote corner of the middle of nowhere with more entertaining “pairing” errors than a Sunderland back line.

Middlesbrough		Queens Park Rangers
Baker Fletcher Assombalonga	36′ 55′ 60′	Wheeler	2′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	64% 16 8 6 17	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	36% 10 2 1 14

Slow starting Boro nearly shoot themselves in the foot

The answer to the question on every Boro fans lips before Kick Off was Marvin Johnstone. The lad from Oxford got his first start as Adama’s replacement in the line-up. Rangers lined up at the Kick Off with a rather unconventional lopsided approach where they heavily loaded the right hand side of the pitch in a tactic more akin to the egg shaped ball than football. Whatever the logic was it certainly caused confusion with Boro as we started the game almost comatose and paid the price almost immediately and losing our home clean sheet record in the process. Ian Holloway had barely taken his seat when he had to jump up as David Wheeler (also making his first start) slipped in behind a sleeping Fabio to poke home from close range just outside the 6 yard box from a scuffed Freeman attempt. The goal came even quicker than Adama’s sending off on Tuesday night a consequence of very poor uncharacteristic defending from the midfield right through to the CB’s and Fabio.

Frustration set in quickly as Boro laboured away passing the ball around, invariably hanging onto it for too long, conceding possession and giving QPR reason for hope on far too many occasions. Hollway set his team up to chase, close down and not let us get into any stride and so we found ourselves scrambling back chasing hooped shirts when they picked off predictable. This wasn’t going to script and the frustration in the Riverside was building as gamesmanship was pushed to the limit seemingly unnoticed by Referee Darren Bond until the crowd started to boo, whistle and jeer every time a Rangers player rolled on the turf or took an eternity with throw ins with Smithies constantly supposedly undecided what side of the box to take his goal kicks from.

It was niggly and very scrappy which of course was exactly Ian Holloway’s game plan. There were long periods of head tennis which is ideal when you are playing against a Championship side having just spent £40 million thereby keeping the ball off the ground where skills may have more of an influence. It was typical Championship grind, lots of huffing and puffing with little class on display apart from Magic Marvin who lifted Boro hopes with a few darting runs to cause some consternation for Ranger’s defence. Just ten minutes from the half time whistle it was from such a run that Marvin carved an opening in the middle of the pitch and drove at the defence with Assombalonga just in front of him receiving attention but Johnson somehow noted the run of baker on the opposite side of the box and cut a tightly angled pass perfectly into the path on Baker who slotted past Smithies despairingly diving at his feet restoring some respect and allowed us to go again after the break.

The second half kicked off with a few substitutions from both sides with Fletcher coming on for Clayton who had earned himself a yellow in the first half besides his partnership with Grant just wasn’t working for us today. We were too slow and ponderous in the middle instead of the two of them breaking up and closing down we were getting picked apart and passing ourselves back into trouble. Fletcher would obviously add some much needed pace and an outlet to ping balls up to. As a tactic it made sense but once again we started with our heads still in the changing rooms. Inexplicably Gibson and Randolph were guilty of a comedic piece of defending as Gibson was waiting for Randolph to sprint out and clear it and Randolph I think was expecting Ben to hoof it cross field. The momentary hesitation was enough to induce panic and when Randolph did eventually make contact with the ball on the edge of his 18 yard box he hit it straight off Mackie who couldn’t believe it when the ball ricocheted back in front of him with a clear goal in sight. 2-1 and once again we had gifted a really soft stupid goal worryingly from the two players on the Pitch we would normally have the most confidence in.

Having given ourselves another mountain to climb and Ranger’s reverting back to time wasting and delaying tactics at every opportunity the afternoon was not going to plan and once again the frustration levels were building just as fast as the sun was dipping behind the West Stand.  The goal however seemed to galvanise Boro who then went for it and gone was the slow tempo build up that had been so evident in the first half to new levels of energy and pace which Johnson and now Fletcher offered. It was the latter of those two who latched his head onto a perfect left footed Christie cross to head home the equalizer for the second time this afternoon. 2-2 and the Riverside started to rock as belief started to grow that despite the opposition’s tactic’s class was beginning to show.

Fletcher was making a difference not just because of his goal but his chasing and running was starting to put QPR on the back foot and now started looking vulnerable. Boro had their tails up for the first time in the afternoon but Grant had managed to crock himself in a 50/50 challenge forcing Howson to come on in place of him. It was strange and perhaps fortuitous that without our best midfield pairing Howson and Baker showed a lot more intent and positivity and we started looking the more likely to get something more than just a point from the game. For me both of them had their best games to date in a Boro shirt.

On the hour mark Magic Johnson flew down the left flank cutting into the box and with the ball bobbling on the by-line managed to lob a perfect cross onto the head of Assombalonga who headed home from nigh on the same spot that Fletcher had scored not long before. The theatrics from Holloway and his charges took tantrums to a new level. At this stage Boro should have went on and scored two more in what is now becoming a trademark for this side in missing gilt edged chances. Britt was clean through but blasted high and wide when scoring or at least getting it on target would have been much easier. A ball worked across the Rangers box seen chaos ensue with Fletcher coming in at the far post only to see his effort from two yards out get deflected off a last gasp defender on the line via the upright and away to safety. Rangers were rocking and ironically now started complaining vociferously to the Referee for Boro now starting to run the clock down.

With Boro now taking the lead the Hoops did fight back trying to launch it via Robertsons long throw ins but Boro stood firm running the ball into the corners of the pitch in an effort to exhaust the six minutes of added time which had been as a consequence of Ranger’s earlier time wasting. Wszolek came close to nicking a point for the visitors but his effort crashed off the post with Boro hearts in mouths.

A less than convincing performance with only a twenty minute second half purple patch giving Boro the required points to send us hurtling up the table (made all the sweeter with Leeds losing at the Den) closing the gap to top to only three points. The end result was the one we all desperately wanted before Kick Off but we made very hard work of it. The game was a mixture of the Wolves clanger times two and the Preston performance. These stodgy unconvincing starts need to be cut out with energy levels wound up before taking the pitch. Man of the match should go to Johnson but a special mention also for Assombalonga for his selfless running along with Fletcher for adding a credible bit of spirit, Cyrus Christie again was Mr Consistent and delivered dangerous balls in for the Strikers to feed off.

Seven points from three games in a week with two of them away from home is a credible return but today was far from convincing for huge spells but the most annoying aspect was that not for the first time we put ourselves in that situation. If we can cut out shooting ourselves in the foot then we may smash this league after all.

Monk aims to jump through hoops

After two games on the road Boro entertain Queens Park Rangers who are currently positioned just one place below in the table on goal difference. Garry Monk claimed in his press conference on Thursday that the Championship is probably one of the most competitive leagues in football and any team can beat any other – though his plan is to make the Riverside a fortress, which should come in handy if we see a similar display to the one witnessed by Sheffield United’s fans back in August.

The two teams look evenly matched on paper, though the Hoops have not won on their travels this season with just one point picked up at Sheffield Wednesday. However, in their last match QPR set a season’s record best with 31 shots on goal against Millwall, though only two of them troubled the scoreboard. Boro have yet to concede a goal at the Riverside so the supporters will be expecting to see all three points banked. In fact Boro have an opportunity to close the gap on their rivals above them with three home games from the next four in the league.

Middlesbrough		Queens Park Rangers
Garry Monk		Ian Holloway
P7 – W3 – D2 – L2 – F7 – A3		P7 – W3 – D2 – L2 – F10 – A9
Position Points Points per game Projected points	9th 11 1.57 72	Position Points Points per game Projected points	10th 11 1.57 72
Aston Villa (A) Bolton (A) Preston (H) Forest (A) Burton (H) Sheff Utd (H)	0:0 (0:0) D 3:0 (1:0) W 0:0 (0:0) D 1:2 (0:1) L 2:0 (1:0) W 1:0 (1:0) W	Millwall (H) Ipswich (H) Cardiff (A) Hull (H) Norwich (A) Sheff Wed (A)	2:2 (0:1) D 2:1 (1:0) W 1:2 (1:2) L 2:1 (0:1) W 0:2 (0:0) L 1:1 (1:0) D

Garry Monk has some decisions to make on who to play on Saturday, Adama Traore is starting the first of his three match ban for his over-exuberant block of a clearance in the opening minutes at Villa, which left the officials and the FA appeals panel unmoved on deciding it deserved a straight red – unfortunately Golden Globe nominee Conor Hourihane was not similarly unmoved by the Boro forward as our man attempted the tricky manoeuvre at full tilt on a slippy pitch.

Only three Boro players have appeared on the pitch for the duration this season, Randolph, Gibson and Christie – though Fry seems to have cemented his place as first choice partner for Ben after Ayala missed out through injury. Fabio has been given the left-back slot ahead of Friend but hasn’t been totally convincing and it may be that both will alternate until one of them finds some consistency.

You’d expect to see Leadbitter and Clayton continue in central midfield given their last two commanding performances and Assombalonga is probably nailed on to get the main strikers role. All of which leaves the decision of who will be selected in the three supporting forward roles. Surely Bamford will get his chance after missing out on the last three games, it seems something of a mystery given his displays prior to being dropped.

Downing has started the last two games but hasn’t really looked convincing and doesn’t appear to have made any major contribution – he may be the highest paid player on the books but that’s not looking good value at the moment. It’s quite possible that Johnson will get a start as Boro need some pace on the pitch in Adama’s absence and perhaps Baker will continue in his advanced midfield role – but again it’s still a work in progress for him and others so nothing looks cast in stone.

The table below shows the stats on the squad this season, players shown in red are unavailable, with those in yellow doubtful – indeed Braithwaite is generally leaning more towards unavailable but you never know if he could be a surprise inclusion on the bench.

Player	Mins	Starts	Sub-On	Subbed	Goals	Yellow	Red
GOALKEEPERS
Darren Randolph	630	7	–	–	–	–	–
Mejías	0	–	–	–	–	–	–
Dimi Konstantopoulos	0	–	–	–	–	–	–
DEFENDERS
Cyrus Christie	630	7	–	–	–	1	–
Ben Gibson	630	7	–	–	1	1	–
Dael Fry	540	6	–	–	–	1	–
George Friend	415	5	–	1	–	1	–
Fábio	270	3	–	–	–	–	–
Daniel Ayala	90	1	–	–	–	–	–
Connor Roberts	0	–	–	–	–	–	–
Ryan Shotton	0	–	–	–	–	–	–
MIDFIELDERS
Adam Clayton	617	7	–	1	–	4	–
Jonny Howson	459	5	1	1	–	–	–
Lewis Baker	305	3	3	2	–	–	–
Adam Forshaw	216	3	1	3	–	1	–
Grant Leadbitter	168	2	1	1	–	–	–
FORWARDS
Britt Assombalonga	611	7	–	2	4	1	–
Rudy Gestede	340	4	1	2	1	–	–
Patrick Bamford	311	3	3	2	–	–	–
Stewart Downing	144	2	1	2	–	–	–
Adama Traoré	143	2	2	1	–	1	1
Ashley Fletcher	104	1	5	1	–	–	–
Martin Braithwaite	90	1	–	–	–	–	–
Marvin Johnson	66	–	2	–	1	–	–

So will Boro be cock-a-hoop after claiming all three points to awaken our season or will we be left feeling our promotion chances are becoming nothing but a hoopless dream. As usual predictions on score, scorers and team selection – plus will the players be sporting blond hair with justice for Adama T-shirts in solidarity with the Boro’s derailed express train.