Going into the summer the holes in the squad seemed to be at Goalkeeper (Steffen), left back (Giles), centre mid (Mowatt), attacking midfield (Ramsey) and centre forward (Archer).
A flurry of six permanent transfers - all younger players (Dieng is 28 but as a keeper has his best years ahead of him also) - has covered a few of those gaps, plus added a centre back in van den Berg which takes some pressure off the seemingly creaking bones of Fry and Clarke.
Payero is likely being assessed to see whether he wants to be here and if so, if he can plug the centre mid gap. To my mind the talent is there but whether English football and lifestyle suits him is the question. I’d love to see him have an Akpom-style redemption.
Left-back and centre forward - perhaps the most important position to fill - are outstanding. I’m sure the club would love to have Giles and Archer back but it will be difficult to get them I suspect.
There could be an early opportunity for Coburn to impress whilst we wait on the loan market.
It's obvious someone has to leave , who?
It's obvious someone has to leave , who? Watching highlights from Portugal ,I know Brynn and Roberts whose the little goalie ,who looks better with his footwork
The only area we seem to be overstocked in is goalkeeper to my mind.
It doesn’t look like someone will have to leave for financial reasons - there don’t seem to have been any large fees paid and the money off the wage bill from the six loanees who left in the summer may well have more than covered what we’ve brought in so far.
Boro won the behind closed doors friendly against Vitoria SC 1-0 Forss, Vitoria will be in the Europa League this season.
Come on BORO.
Hi, on a different note, does anybody know how Ken Smith is.
I sat down to say precisely the same thing and you beat me to it. I hope ken is coping, perhaps Clive has a better idea.
Best wishes to everyone,
UTB,
John
Some interesting signings by Boro.
With the exception of the former QPR goalie they are all young and unheard of by , I suspect, all of us.
The plan seems to be recruit young players for next to nothing and hopefully they will aspire to be Championship standard . If some do- although it may take a few years - then fine but if others don’t make it then they can presumably be moved on perhaps at a small profit.
The plan seems longer term compared to previous seasons. The main issue is goal scorers. I can’t see Archer returning and wouldn’t be surprised if Villa keep him or send him on loan to a Premiership team. That leaves Akpom. Surely he’s waiting for lucrative offers and I’d be very pleasantly surprised if he’s wearing a Boro shirt at the start of the season.
A replacement will be the most difficult signing of the season. I just can’t see a new forward coming and scoring say 20 goals next season.
I see Bola is touted as leaving. I’ve always thought he was worthy as keeping and better than some full backs/ wing backs we have.
So far I’m not confident of Boro playing as well and scoring lots of goals as they did last season but there’s a lot which could happen before the ball is kicked for the first game.
So, for me, it’s back to the Ashes and an exciting days cricket tomorrow with England needing around 230 to win. The Aussies will come out with all guns blazing hoping to take early wickets. Brook at number 3 looks vulnerable if an early wicket goes down.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍👋
Thanks, KP.
Just a footnote: the U21 keeper is James Trafford, who has yet to concede a goal, but he's apparently going to Burnley...
Trafford certainly showed his class in saving a penalty & then the rebound to ensure that the England U21s win the final! Burnley lucky to have him...
Thanks, KP.
Just a footnote: the U21 keeper is James Trafford, who has yet to concede a goal, but he's apparently going to Burnley...
Trafford certainly showed his class in saving a penalty & then the rebound to ensure that the England U21s win the final! Burnley lucky to have him...
£15m for a very young keeper, I don’t see the Boro faithful being happy if we had bought him 🤔.
Come on BORO.
I was also thinking about how Ken is doing as well today. Clive have you spoken to him at all lately.Hi, on a different note, does anybody know how Ken Smith is.
@philip-of-huddersfield. “ So far I’m not confident of Boro playing as well and scoring lots of goals as they did last season but there’s a lot which could happen before the ball is kicked for the first game.“
I agree, I can’t see the team or Chuba scoring as many as last season but we don’t need to as long as we improve our defending.
Being second top scorers last season did not get us promoted. Whilst 1-0 wins may not be as entertaining as some high scoring games, enough of them could do the job for us and something we might have to accept, as I also agree that I don’t see us getting Archer back or being able to recruit someone who can score 20+ goals.
On a separate note, any news on how Ken is doing? 😎
Rumour that Tom Davies a young left back with Cardiff is currently training at Boro.
OFB
@original-fat-bob Thomas Davies is a 19 yr old left back who went on loan from Cardiff to Pontypridd in the last January window, played 9 times, scored 4 goals and two assists.
Come on BORO.
Friends: re Ken
I spoke to Ken on Thursday evening. He had been in hospital for 3 days, having had a nasty fall in his bathroom, which had left him lying on the floor for several hours before his carers rescued him. It sounded very concerning. He said he’d also had a very bad time in James Cook, and was obviously glad to be home.
He sounded very shaken by his whole experience. We did talk about the cricket, however, and he said he’d watched it for much of Thursday. That was encouraging. I mentioned the blog, but he hadn’t seen it much of late, which is perhaps not surprising given his circumstances. Im sure Ken would welcome a chat with any of you who has his number - I can’t give you it without his permission, clearly.
If you’re reading this, Ken, I hope you’re now feeling much better and that you’re fit and well again.
@clive-hurren. Thanks for the update Clive and sorry to learn of Ken’s fall and hospitalisation. Please pass on my best wishes to Ken when you next speak.
Hopefully he was able to see England win at Headingley which will no doubt have cheered him up. 😎
Clive, Many thanks for the update on Ken's situation, albeit a serious one. If you are reading this Ken stay strong and at DiasBoro we are all behind you, rooting for you and hoping for the best possible for you.
All the best,
UTB,
John
Talking cricket, thank goodness England managed to win today at Headingley. That was a very nervy run chase. Once again several of our batsmen did their best to throw the game away with ridiculous, rash shots. You think they’d have learned by now that a) you have to tailor your approach to the match situation and b) that Australia will sooner or later make you pay for your foolishness.
Marc Bola Has Completed His Move To Turkish Side Samsunspor.
OFB
Rumour that Tom Davies a young left back with Cardiff is currently training at Boro.
OFB
Looks to be crossed wires here. Tom Davies, ex-Everton midfielder had been training at the same resort as us in Portugal so rumours were sparked that he was training with us.
Of course it is possible that we made informal contact while there because he would potentially be a very good signing for us if he got back to his form before his injury.
As it’s very quiet on here ahead of the new season, I thought maybe there was an opportunity to share contact details across the various social media platforms, in case anyone wants to expand contacts.
Here are mine:
Twitter: @AbsintheKombi
Instagram/ Threads: @grey_hairs_and_muddy_boots
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Martin.Bellamy
Blog: https://c13mpr.com
Some interesting signings although how many will be regular starters as they all appear to be midfielders, so some possible outgoings. Bola leaving means that we need another left back. The goalkeeper situation might get interesting in January and February as both the AFCON and Asian Cup are both taking place. Deng is Senegals first choice and Glover has just made the Socceroos side. Also McGree and , possibly, Silvera will be missing for over a month.
Thanks Clive for letting us know about Ken. On another note......Middlesbrough are continuing to monitor Ryan Giles' situation at Wolves and remain interested in bringing him back to the Riverside with signing a left-back a priority after the sale of Marc Bola, according to The Northern Echo.
Rumour that Tom Davies a young left back with Cardiff is currently training at Boro.
OFB
I have copied my quote from earlier below:
@original-fat-bob Thomas Davies is a 19 yr old left back who went on loan from Cardiff to Pontypridd in the last January window, played 9 times, scored 4 goals and two assists.
Come on BORO.
Looks to be crossed wires here. Tom Davies, ex-Everton midfielder had been training at the same resort as us in Portugal so rumours were sparked that he was training with us.
Of course it is possible that we made informal contact while there because he would potentially be a very good signing for us if he got back to his form before his injury.
With all the talk of the six new signings, has Terrell Agyemang been forgotten about, a 20 yr old right back, signed on a free from Man City 🤔.
Come on BORO.
Good story in the Echo about Morgan Rogers. https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/23646618.middlesbroughs-morgan-rogers---story-boros-new-signing/
Of the the "project" signings we have signed so far (Rogers, Silvera, Gilbert, van den Berg, Agyemang, and Nkrumah) I think he's the one who is most likely to have big impact this season. His strengths and style of play remind me of someone like Marcus Rashford. Nominally a right-footed left-winger but feels like he could also be a centre-forward.
@deleriad I know that quite a lot of EPL club punts do not make it with the initial buying club, but come good further down the line.
Not sure why Morgan Rogers was not kept by City, but they like many other EPL clubs, they have a plethora of young talent. Patrick Roberts was another young signing that did not make the step at City. He cost 12mil, Morgan I believe only cost 4mil from WBA.
I think not being physically strong enough and therefore suffering successive injuries is a major cause at a young age.
@pedro I suspect that City, like Chelsea, are starting to use their academy as a money-making exercise. If they get one player each season from their academy to their first team squad then pocket another £20m from selling 3-5 others, their academy becomes a decent earner.
Obviously we don't know how much they sold Rogers for but clearly he wasn't going to make their team so they have sold him, possibly with a sell-on clause as well.
It's not that they *need* the money but the income (plus being able to write off the costs) allows them to spend more on other players under FFP.
Does anyone have any idea what has happened to Terrell Agyemang, it was reported in June on various media sources, BBC, Gazette etc, that he had signed a two year deal and would join Boro when his contract expired at Man City on 1 July, since then nothing. I checked this morning on the MFC website, all the different squads and he doesn’t appear anywhere, yet the signings from last week all appear 🤔.
Come on BORO.
I popped in to read the posts since my last one (I think on the previous page or maybe two pages back on this thread). Thanks, Clive for the update on Ken. If you get to see this, Ken, now you are home again, I hope the win at Headingley hasn't only made The Ashes "Live" as a contest, but has also put a spring in your step.
I know only what the various posted links have told us about the newly acquired players. I suspect Akpom will be going but, if he does, £15M would be an absolute minimum fee - not that we will ever know as the expression "for an undisclosed fee" seems to accompany most Boro incomings and outgoings. I'd be very happy to have our No 3 back next season but suspect that Archer will not be back (a pity as he was very good at our level).