I think that any money we have will be kept for the payment of two loan players of decent quality, hopefully.
Left back is a concern though and playing McGree there appears a stop gap, given that Coulson is not good enough. Paper talk of potential number nines, to date, are hopefully just that. None to inspire us?
Then strong paper talk now of Sheff Utd and Akpom at less that 10 mil.
Well we will know by the end of August.
Not much sense in going to Sheffield United. They'll be straight back down again.
UTB
I am with you on that - I was using the comment to support my view, not as a criticism of the policy.
The gap between the Championship and PL has become so vast that it is almost a closed shop unless you have very rich owners.
I would always prefer to performing well in the Championship with SG as owner rather than a foreign owner splashing the cash for success - after all we are just a small town in Europe!
Last call for anyone that would like to have a go at predicting the outcome in the Championship this season.
We have a healthy number of entries (16) so far, but there is plenty of room for anyone else that wants to give it a go.
Remember all you have to do is simply to predict the following 7 things:
- TOP 6 = Team, Team, Team, Team, Team, Team, Optional1, Optional2, Optional3
- BOTTOM 3 = Team, Team, Team, Optional1, Optional2, Optional3
- AUTOMATIC PROMOTION = Team, Team, Optional1, Optional2
- CHAMPIONS = Team, Optional1
- OVER ACHIEVER = Team, Optional1
- UNDER ACHIEVER = Team, Optional1
- BORO TO FINISH = 1st
The "optionals" are if you want to hedge your bets, like the old football pools when you could perm any 8 from 11 or something like that. So, you have more chance of picking the right team, the only drawback is that you will score a few less points for getting it right.
Reminder about over/under achievers - a promoted team finishing in the top 9 , or a relegated team finishing outside the top 9, otherwise a team finishing 10 places higher/lower than last season.
It really is a s simple as that, so come on and don't be shy !!
If anyone wants to change their selections there is still time to do that as well.
Last entries and last changes need to be posted by 8pm today (Friday 4th August).
If there is anyone reading this that isn't a member of Diasboro yet but wanted to join in you can always send an email to diasboro@outlook.com or you could try and find me on "X" (the platform formerly known as Twitter) as @PowmillTweeting and I can pick up your predictions there.
I think that any money we have will be kept for the payment of two loan players of decent quality, hopefully.
Left back is a concern though and playing McGree there appears a stop gap, given that Coulson is not good enough. Paper talk of potential number nines, to date, are hopefully just that. None to inspire us?
Then strong paper talk now of Sheff Utd and Akpom at less that 10 mil.
Well we will know by the end of August.
Not much sense in going to Sheffield United. They'll be straight back down again.
UTB
But he’ll have had a season in the Premier League, something he’s probably wanted to do throughout his career. Who would turn down the certainty of playing at the highest level while you can, in favour of another season with a team who are far from guaranteed to achieve promotion?
Just to make it clear, Hoppe has gone on a season long loan and the MLS season finishes on December 9th, so it is a 4 month loan with the option to buy, therefore he could be back in December.Hoppe has gone on a season long loan to MLS side San Jose Earthquakes.
Come on BORO.
Sensible option. Get him off the payroll for a year with an option to cash in or take him back. Not every player can work out.
Come on BORO.
@exmil Or is Hoppe on loan like Payero - 2 x half their seasons? So one EFL season?
According to Transfermarkt he will be back in June 2024. https://www.transfermarkt.com/matthew-hoppe/profil/spieler/678194
Up the Boro!
@jarkko Hopefully they are paying his wages and a loan fee, though I doubt it. I also doubt we will recover anywhere near the fee we paid for him.
Another failure from Scott and his Team
See Tomas Kalas is a free agent,he can play RB,CB or defensive midfield
jarkko, I don’t know how long the MLS closed season lasts from December, might be March before the 2024 season starts but do you see a club agreeing to pay the wages (whatever the %) for three months, some of which will be holiday time and he has signed for the 2023 season not 2024.@exmil Or is Hoppe on loan like Payero - 2 x half their seasons? So one EFL season?
According to Transfermarkt he will be back in June 2024. https://www.transfermarkt.com/matthew-hoppe/profil/spieler/678194
Up the Boro!
Come on BORO.
@exmil Just do not know. Payero stayed in Argentina during their close season,
Just wanted to say that Transfermarkt says Hoppe will be back in June 2024. Up the Boro!
Middlesbrough are close to signing Latte Lath from Atalanta on a permanent deal. The forward will sign a four-year contract with a one-year extension option.
Apparently he won’t Costa lot !
OFB
Middlesbrough are closing in on the signing of Silkeborg left-back Lukas Engel.
The fee is believed to be around the £1.3m mark. (Reports in Denmark)
OFB
Latte Lath is a product of Atalanta’s youth academy but he has found much of his game time out on loan. Last season, he notched 16 goals and four assists in 34 games for Swiss side St. Gallen.
OFB
@original-fat-bob. I like the fact that we are looking to purchase rather than take players on loan.
As much as I valued the contributions of Archer and Ramsey last season, we were always going to have difficulty in hanging onto them in the absence of promotion.
Assuming these deals proceed, we will have a squad comprising experience and youth, all of whom are our own; this has to be a more sustainable model. 😎
I have heard that Engel is a brilliant defender he Marx his man really well! 😂😎
Has anyone associated with the club actually seen either of these two play?
If so, I think we should be told as it would add credibility to their signings.
Otherwise we might surmise that they may be another two of the kind of "video and stats" recruitments which have served us so poorly over the past few years.
What we ideally need now are players with one of two qualities that these overseas new boys appear to lack.
Firstly we are in desperate need are a couple of hardened pros coming to the end of their contracts who have already proved their worth in the Championship to add ballast and substance to our promising youngsters
We now have too few of these and stand to lose one more if Paddy gets picked up by another club before the deadline date.
It's telling that the player who most embodies these qualities and will probably make the most difference to us as a team this season is Jonny Howson, a player whose profile would have ensured we would never have signed if he had been available to us from another club at any time over the past few years.
And secondly we need a couple of loanees from Carrick and Danks's contact books in the mould of Ramsey and Archer to give us the sprinkling of gold dust that we all enjoyed so much last season.
Seems we're looking for speed upfront, we play possession Football,but now and again like to play it over the top when opposition press high,hence Barlaser who knocks a nice ball, Archer thrived on those kind of passes.
@original-fat-bob Talking of "not costa lot"
I was told today and it could be seen as "reliable", that Mr Gibson has said that MFC whilst trying to attract good players, will only pay a MAXIMUM of twenty thousand a week for any new player. We have to have a sustainable model and that is going to be the top wage.
If true, then Akpom signing a contract is probably dead in the water, as he is supposedly on more than that now.
However, we still have to get an offer for him that is deemed acceptable. I think we will do well at 10-12 mil with reasonable payment terms and not how many goals he scores.
Has anyone associated with the club actually seen either of these two play?
If so, I think we should be told as it would add credibility to their signings.
[...]
Not sure whether the short paragraph about half-way down this article fully answers your question, Len, but it does at least go some way:
The paragraph in question:
Scouted by Boro over the course of the last 12 months, it's easy to see why they are attracted to him this summer. He attempted 360 passes for his side last term, and had a completion rate of 81%. Of those 360 passes, 92 were crosses and he had the highest expected assist rating in his team, while only one player completed more key passes that led directly to a shot at goal.
Has anyone associated with the club actually seen either of these two play?
If so, I think we should be told as it would add credibility to their signings.
[...]
Not sure whether the short paragraph about half-way down this article fully answers your question, Len, but it does at least go some way:
The paragraph in question:
Scouted by Boro over the course of the last 12 months, it's easy to see why they are attracted to him this summer. He attempted 360 passes for his side last term, and had a completion rate of 81%. Of those 360 passes, 92 were crosses and he had the highest expected assist rating in his team, while only one player completed more key passes that led directly to a shot at goal.
Exactly what one would expect from a professional recruitment team working to a sustainable model. I don't see why anyone would expect them to have not done their due diligence over any transfer. Personally, I'm pretty impressed with the standard of the young/up-and-coming player that they have been able to find. What odds Silvera for Championship young player of the year? He certainly looks lively.
UTB
According to David Ornstein,
Aston Villa are open to the sale of Cameron Archer.
OFB
According to Voetball International - Holland
Ajax Have Now Entered The Race to Sign Middlesbrough Striker Chuba Akpom
OFB
@selwynoz I hope Kieran Scott will find a player like Teemu Pukki. He did at Norwich - the Finnish International was playing in Denmark at the time. And we dreamed of having someone like him as at Boro 😊.
Up the Boro!
According to David Ornstein,
Aston Villa are open to the sale of Cameron Archer.OFB
His market price was £ 8m when he came to Boro and it raised to £ 10m when he left. And now - after starring at England juniors - his market value is £ 12 m.
Even if we could get him for £ 8 million, we cannot afford him, I think. And add his wages to that. We can only dream.
Up the Boro!
@original-fat-bob Talking of "not costa lot"
I was told today and it could be seen as "reliable", that Mr Gibson has said that MFC whilst trying to attract good players, will only pay a MAXIMUM of twenty thousand a week for any new player. We have to have a sustainable model and that is going to be the top wage.
If true, then Akpom signing a contract is probably dead in the water, as he is supposedly on more than that now.
However, we still have to get an offer for him that is deemed acceptable. I think we will do well at 10-12 mil with reasonable payment terms and not how many goals he scores.
that makes sense and confirms my view that SG hasn’t wanted, for whatever reason, to splash the cash to chase something which, sadly, these days isn’t sustainable without mega bucks.
It is his club and us old timers will be forever grateful for what he has done for the cub when we were dead and almost buried.
I will always prefer to support Boro with a owner who genuinely cares about the club rather than a rich foreign owner with perhaps dubious sources of funds.
Thanks, Stir. I think it answers my question precisely. The only evidence given for the signing is statistical which is beyond parody in its meaningless ineptitude.
The lad may turn out to be a great player, and I hope that he is.
But can you imagine any sane supporter asked by his mate how the new lad played replying, "Well he made 15 passes with a completion rate of 81%, of which 3 were crosses with an expected assisted rate of 25%."?
His mate would be calling for the men in the white coats.
It's simply not how you assess footballers, particularly their suitability for the Championship marathon slog where qualities of resilience, consistency, durability and experience, not easily amenable to statistical analysis, can turn out to be the most vital assets of all.
@lenmasterman To be fair Len, the quote from the gazette that Stircrazy posted does also say "Scouted by Boro over the course of the last 12 months", which reads to me that as well as looking at the statistics the club has also followed that up by looking at him in action.
How do you decide who to go an look at? Well, you can get a recommendation and follow up on that. You can have scouts in the field looking out for talent and reporting back. However, you can also use the statistics to give you another source of a potential target to sign and that would be worth going to see in action.
I don't know, of course, so all I have is conjecture but I would be surprised if any club (including the Boro) would go out and invest in a player based solely on what the latest statistics have to say and without having reliable first hand reports to back that up (and vice versa).