What was a surprise from Rotherham at the bottom of the league, was that they did not make a single BIG mistake during the game. There were some excellent blocks at the last minute from their defence. But not a single mistake big mistake in passing or defending. One would have thought a more chaotic passing and defending from a bottom team. Bad luck for us? Up the Boro!
If the manager or anyone else calls out the referee and his assistants, then they need to call out the players, too. Rogers did a bit later on in the match (was it his nice back-heel?) and Forss showed with his goal after coming on as sub for Jones, that he finishes better than anyone else in the club. But I don't think there was quality from any of the other Boro players on show. Frankly that was a very dispiriting performance by Boro. The league table would look very different if Boro had been able to show anything iike the players' proper form and abilities in the 2 games against Rotherham. One point gained out of 6 against a team looking doomed! I'd be very surprised if, at the end of the season, any of the 3 promoted teams have such a meagre haul against Rotherham. That could prove very expensive.
I can't really comment on Kav, since he hasn't had the chance to fail or to succeed yet.
Maybe the cynics are right. Perhaps some/most of the players had an eye on Tuesday's game against Chelsea after all? If the margins between failure and success are very narrow, then perhaps losing even 5% from your players' potential can be fatal to football success. Still, the thought that lowly Rotherham United might be within 5% of Boro is a chastening thought. I doubt that Rotherham would get that close to the promoted teams this season. Grim - and 10 minutes attacking pressure at the end of the game will not change that fact.