In response to comments above about Greenwood, and an EG article this week saying he might be worth buying permanently, I would say that I don’t think we should, unless he miraculously turns round his form in the last few games. Apart from a wonder free-kick against Leicester ……. oh, and a goal in the rout up at Sunland 🤣🤣🤣 🤣 - he hasn’t done anything of note and rarely impacts the game. I suspect if we did buy him he’d just end up warming the bench, as he does now. There must be better options out there. Not for me.
Also not for me: Luke Thomas, who has been very disappointing.
I would, however, sign Lewis O’Brien, who has definitely shown of late that he can fulfil the midfield role in Hackney’s absence, though not yet with the same degree of verve or consistency. I think he can most likely play alongside Haydn if Howson is not in the team. I’d also keep Luke Ayling, whose energy and passion I like. He may lack a bit of pace and sometimes gets caught out of position, but I think he offers us much more than Tommy Smith does going forward, especially if Carrick plays wing-backs.
Your views, playmates?
@clive-hurren. I agree with much of that Clive.
Ayling I am not sure, given his age, if he fits the new MFC model. We may only be prepared to offer him a short term contract which might be a stumbling block as far as he is concerned.
Would it not be more sensible to look for a younger player who could perhaps do a similar/better job.
Another like RvDB would good, if only! 😎
It is reported that Riley McGree is travelling back to Teesside this weekend to have his injury assessed, so that’s him and Forss injured 😱.
Come on BORO.
Clive.
Id be surprised if Boro signed either Ayling or O’Brien for the simple reason of their salaries. They are both on Premiership wages which I assume is too much for Boro.
Obviously , I’ve jumped the gun and the first question is, would they be right for Boro?
Ayling - not for me cos of age and lacks pace, plus if Boro managed to get into the Premiership then he’d struggle.
O’Brien is a bit different as he’s the right age , a good and versatile player at this level who might be ok at a higher level although the locals here (at his former club of Huddersfield) had doubts.
There must be young players in the lower divisions with the potential to improve who playing with better players and with better coaching would bring out their talents and above all get them to play consistently week in week out.
Philip of Huddersfield
👍😁
Home game against Leeds on Saturday April 20th has been moved to Monday 22nd April, kick off 8:00pm live on Sky. 😎
I would also retain O’Brien if it can be done with sensible financials.
Ayling I don’t really see as much of an upgrade on Smith, and don’t see room for both of them in the squad. He’s doing a perfectly fine job but if Smith is to return fit and ready, I think we have a replacement already on the books.
Greenwood is a tricky one. Despite his drop off in form, I still think that the reported £1.5m fee is reasonable in today’s market. He’s young and can improve and we’ve seen flashes of what he’s capable of. There’s something to build on.
It probably comes down to wages for me. He is reportedly earning £30k/week with a rise due if Leeds are promoted. He’d therefore have to take at least a 50% pay cut I would imagine.
Therefore, it’s quite likely that the decision will ultimately come down to him and I expect HIM to choose not to rejoin to be honest.
I have to stand up for Ayling. He is very comfortable in attack and brings a great deal of experience which is something that is lacking in the squad. He is able to play as wingback or at the right side of a three and can certainly play right back when we are on top of the opposition even if he can be a bit exposed by really fast wingers - a problem that most teams suffer from.
Clearly it would be great to buy some young star but until that happens I can see Ayling being a positive influence and a very useful member of the squad. The big question will be salary as a free agent and we’re not going to break the bank.
utb
From what I've seen of Ayling, he brings a lot to the team. He has an energy, enthusiasm and a strong connection with the crowd. He plays with a smile on his face, which I would imagine he carries back to the dressing room and training ground too.
A kind of inverse of Greenwood.
I'd say that the qualities that make a player an attractive purchase are ability, character, age and price (in terms of purchase price and wages). The most important of those is price.
We might REALLY like that young Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid - he is clearly already a TOP player and we might expect him to become even better (a future "Great"?): he seems to be a stable character with football his current priority, he is the right age and would no doubt sell on at a profit in 4-5 years. But we'd need £120M+ to buy him and wages to match. So there is no chance even a minute would be spent dreaming about signing him. On the other hand if for some reason he became available to BORO at the sort of fee Greenwood is said to command, even at Greenwood's wages, it would be a no-brainer. He'd be signed with no further thought. It is MONEY which is the vital factor in these things.
A brief note on the wrong thread to say thanks to powmill for all of his great work on the COTS challenge, with apologies that i haven't been able to access or see any responses or likes on my computer. Given the paucity of reactions to such a fine and dedicated piece of work i suspect that this may be a more general problem. I'm concerned that powmill may think his initiative is being met with a degree of apathy and indifference which is so untypical of this blog that I am certain that this cannot be the case.
As to the Challenge itself, my current position is largely down to my having lower expectations of the Boro this season than almost everyone else. Nothing would delight me more than to see the Boro fly up the table during the remaining games allowing me to settle into mid-table obscurity.
I must admit that I hadn't noticed Powmill's COTS Challenge Update at all.
Thank you Len. That is very thoughtful of you.
I haven't been feeling any hint of rejection or of inconsequence at all. Like Peter observed, the issue with having a members only section tends to make threads and posts in that forum less visible and I was planning to raise that once we will have analysed this season to death in early summer. The Blackburn thread has been quite active and full of interesting chat in anyway, so any posts on the last COTS update quickly disappeared from the list of recent posts, enhancing its cloak of invisibility.
As it is, I am in a very busy period with life at home and at work at the moment, leaving me precious little time to join in the debate, although I am keeping up with my reading all the posts. As my Android device is wont to log me out of the site I don't get to hit the like button as often on posts, but my absence from the ongoing conversation is nothing to do with me feeing in any sense under valued!