@peter-surtees “I don't think we're allowed to win the Championship, pocket the promotion money and then decline the opportunity to play in the top league and just have another go at winning the Championship.”
More’s the pity! In a way, it’s odd that dominating the Premier League as winners year on year has been possible, but the same can’t happen in the Championship. Am I arguing for optional promotion to the EPL for the Championship winners? Maybe. 😉
‘How many of us eulogise about dead-rubber games or friendlies of the past?’
Yer jokin arn, yer, mate? I still eulogise about Boro beating Go Ahead Deventer in a friendly in 1968! I think we won 7-0, but can’t confirm.
But it was a great post, which beautifully summed up both the joys and anxieties of being a Boro supporter. Personally, I’d never want to settle for mid-table mediocrity season after season in the Championship. There have to be bigger prizes to aim for. I look pityingly at sides like Preston and Bristol City, neither of whom has ever been in the Premiership, and I ask myself what it is that keeps their supporters turning up year after year, usually in blind hope rather than expectation. You have to admire it, but it must get very tiresome and disheartening when your dreams are shattered every single time.
Martin Bellamy and Peter Surtees, I can’t really envisage a team accepting the £5m for winning the Championship then spurning the opportunity to win £128m for coming last in the Premiership 🤔.
Come on BORO.
@martin-bellamy - I am trying to be *realistic* rather than just being a dreamer. Let's see how it goes....
Martin Bellamy and Peter Surtees, I can’t really envisage a team accepting the £5m for winning the Championship then spurning the opportunity to win £128m for coming last in the Premiership 🤔.
Come on BORO.
I’m absolutely sure no Club would do that, but maybe, just maybe, some fans would.
@martin-bellamy - I am trying to be *realistic* rather than just being a dreamer. Let's see how it goes....
When it’s all hypothetical, we might as well reach for the skies, FD.
In my version of alternative reality, I was kind of assuming we could somehow pocket the entire £128.
I wasn't pushing it a bit. I was pushing it a lot. Slightly unlikely, I admit, but a bit more worthy of a debate.
Of course Clive, how could I forget 7 - 0 .
It's so much easier to bring back to mind when it's totally undocumented
And the Dirties take a leaf out of Boro's book by scoring three goals against Leicester in the last 14 minutes of the match at Elland Road (including one by Paddy Bam Bam in the dying seconds of injury time) to beat the Foxes by 3-1m the Foxes having taken the lead in the 15th minute...
P.S. What's gone wrong with the format of this page?!!!
P.S. What's gone wrong with the format of this page?!!!
I've just looked into it and it seems Martin's reply to Forever Dormo ended up with a rogue HTML tag in the post that upset the stylesheet - I've managed to calm the system down now 😉
I know it took place. You can still get the program. But what if it was it was really 10 - 0 and you've watered it down in your memory 🙂
P.S. What's gone wrong with the format of this page?!!!
I've just looked into it and it seems Martin's reply to Forever Dormo ended up with a rogue HTML tag in the post that upset the stylesheet - I've managed to calm the system down now 😉
Oops, sorry if I’ve caused an issue. I’ve no idea what I did wrong.
Not sure how you did it but the end-quote tag was inside DIV tags and there was also another paragraph inside DIV tags - so it probably messed up the overall page structure. It does happen very occasionally but it's quick and easy to fix.
@werdermouth - I just kind of knew that if anything went wrong, I'd be involved somewhere along the line...
Let's just either sit back and watch online or on radio, or in my case go to the Riverside and enjoy the afternoon. Blue sky and sunshine for me at home today with temperatures of 8C and a light south westerly wind of 6mph with no rain. Very similar forecast for Middlesbrough (might be 9C at kick-off and the wind is even lower at 3-5mph). A pleasant walk in, past the Transporter Bridge and over the dock lock-gates bridge into the stadium intself for the Pymouth game. No pressure as I realise top 6 is a dream too far. Just hoping for a good game but a win, as well, would be even better.
Team News...
Looks like a back 4 again but with the same midfield...
34 minutes in. Plymouth with 36% possession, 11 shots, six on target, 2 goals.
Tipy tapy football without the necessary players and attributes.
It's so disappointing to say the least.
Oh dear, looks like the wrong Boro have turned up again - or is that failed to turn up! Only one change from the side that beat Leicester but they've not played with the same intensity or focus and to be honest they could easily have gone in 5-0 down at H-T but for some good Glover saves. Plymouth had 9 shots on target and that tells a story of poor midfield and defence and possibly poor setup - maybe Boro should play with a back three as usually one defender goes missing so at least there would be two left.
Can Boro score 3 and avoid conceding - unlikely on this performance but that is what they have to do!
HT. Now 17 shots, nine on target. Boro None on target out of 5.
Nearly every week when we play 4 at the back, we are defensively poor. And so again today.
Even given the injuries, unfortunately this has to be down to MC.
Awful first half with booing by supporters which is very rare.
The system clearly is not working.
A sign of a good manager is one who successfully changes the system and players.
Can Michael Carrick do it ? This is a real test for him and how the team hopefully improve in the second half may well determine the season.
Philip of Huddersfield
Just got back from a long walk with the Terrier. I check the BBC and we're losing 0-2. That's with 64% of the play yielding 7 shots and none on target. Argyle have had 36% of the play 21(!) shots and 9 on target.
Something isn't working, I think we all see it but do the coaches?
It is getting predictable.
UTB,
John
After over 70 minutes I've downgraded my expectations to Boro have a shot on target...
81st minute a deflected cross from a Plymouth defender technically counts as a shot on target 🙄
False alarm I think that deflected cross has been noted as a back pass
Well that was abysmal! It looked like the Boro players thought they only had to turn up to win but there was no intensity, creativity or defensive ability on show. Plymouth had an easy afternoon and looked up for the game and got their tactics spot on to easily outplay a lacklustre Boro team.
At least we don't have to worry about making the play-offs anymore as they're gone now - there's no way this Boro team are going to get 12 points more than Hull over 13 games and that at least has spared anymore wasted hope.
A big disappointing Boro display today and in truth it's been a carbon copy of so many home performances this season against teams struggling in the league. Plymouth had conceded 14 goals in their last 5 games and Boro didn't manage a shot on target to allow them to claim just their second away win of the season.
Anyway, hopefully 9 points above the relegation places is enough to see the season fade into midtable obscurity.
Well after that performance my EG final table prediction of 11th looks a tad optimistic! 😖
We now appear no better than when MC arrived and last year appears to have been just a blip, due to one player having the best season of his career to date and the impact of the PL loan players.
This season cannot all be put down to injuries and international calls.
Where we go from here I just do not know. 😎