I have not seen the game either but feel we need to sort the defence out quickly and also stopping players running at us from midfield. All of the last three aways have seen players doing this and scoring worldies. We have only kept 3 league clean sheets all season and only one away, at Sunderland. We have conceded 8 goals in the past three away games. Clarke has been on the bench for the past 6 games so surely must be fit, although not match fit. I think van den Berg needs to play at centre back soon. It has been said by many that Bristol were a bang average team. If you look at the table they are now above us so what does that make us?
@mw-in-darwin A number on here have been saying, that the defence needs sorting out, since last season in fact.
The issue has been, injuries to a degree. To introduce VDB and Clarke when we are leaking goals from the midfield areas, is a risk. But could they be any worse than Fry and McNair?
It is obvious now that MC just does not trust Dijksteel. VDB is losing his man and getting turned too regular now. Could Dijksteel do any worse defensively and he would certainly offer more going forward.
Considering the above, just when will Clarke get his chance. Maybe MC again, just does not trust him to start and is only on the bench as there is now no one else.
With regards to the goalkeeper situation in January, Dieng looks to have been an astute buy. So we’ll done there, however, why buy a reserve goalkeeper, who at the time was possibly going to get picked for his country and miss games at the same time as Dieng.
Sadly Dieng will probably not even play as number two. Probably Glover may not not make the squad now, but when signed?
At the moment as MW has said, we look a bang average side, with too many weaknesses in important areas. At number 9, midfield and in defence overall. With all our long time injuries, number of games to play, it will be a big ask to maintain any real threat of keeping within touching distance of the play off places.
I suspect returning after a two-week break and playing away from home with a different game plan probably led to a low intensity start that offered our opponents an easy time with little pressure on the ball.
Given Latte Lath was presumably selected to try and get in behind the Bristol defence, it seemed the rest of the team may have forgotten they weren't playing with Josh up front as there was little evidence of adjusting the tactics.
Overall, it didn't look like the players were up for this one as much as they were against Leicester - OK, it was away from home and the international break had probably taken away some match fitness - thankfully no more breaks until March now.
Team selection issues should be addressed as I though Barlaser looked a better midfielder when he came on late and while van den Berg played well against Leicester, he hasn't convinced me he's a right-back in most other games - I'd much prefer to see Dijksteel in that role as he's a very good footballer who I don't think has had a fair crack under Carrick - especially given he was one of our best performing players the previous season.
Fry had picked up his performance levels in the month before the break after a poor start to the season but he's not a footballing centre-back best suited to Carrick's style of play. Though the main reason Boro are conceding goals is pure and simply a mixture of defensive errors and failure to close down players who run at our defence. That to me indicates the balance at the back is not quite right.
The other obvious major problem with this team is the lack of a goal scorer and I've yet to see anything that tells me Lathe Lath is going to be even slightly prolific and Coburn's role as the hold-up target man means he's not getting into the box often enough to score many.
OK, we're missing both McGree and Forss, who are ideal players to play off Coburn and Greenwood is hot and cold and can sometimes disappear in games. Crooks is now looking like the player most likely to score but much depends on the other players around him getting their final passes right - Jones is full of energy but unpredictable or even unreliable at making that killer pass.
January is not far off now but the return of McGree, Forss and Lewis O'Brien will seem like three good new signings but surely a striker is the main requirement and hopefully the return of Matt Clarke and the option of van den Berg in the centre should be enough defensively.
Of course there's the risk of losing key players in January too with Hayden Hackney being targeted and Riley McGree likely to have also caught the eye.
@pedro - When teams are awarded a corner kick their fans are normally very happy. When Boro gets a corner, somehow that happiness is VERY rarely converted into a goal. I have not researched it but my feeling is that Boro, for several years, has been below average at scoring from corners.
Unless it is an unusual event (which it isn't) losing to "bang average" teams might suggest that Boro is BELOW bang average. In which case maybe the commentators and supporters need to recalibrate their expectations. Boro currently lies 12th in the table. Right in the middle of a 24 team league: the very definition of "bang average". So maybe we should all expect what seems to be happening anyway: lose to a team below Boro in the league, then draw to a team near the bottom, then win against one of the "big-hitters", only to lose in the next game to another struggling team. We could, that way, enjoy the brief highs of results against the likes of Leicester knowing we will come back to Earth with an "average" bang in the next game.
Our recent trips to that football hot-bed represented by the West Country have not been entirely productive, have they?
Just seen the news
RIP TERRY VENABLES
The managerial appointment made by the Boro
OFB
He saved the Boro and was always first at the training ground and last to leave. So much for his playboy image.
I desperately wanted him to stay
OFB
I agree with Dormo that we are currently performing as an average Championship team. That may change when the injured players return but unless the problems with the defence are sorted and the chronic lack of consistency finally addressed I suspect we will remain a mid-table club.
@forever-dormo In the modern football, it is more likely that the defending team will score from the corner kick than the attacking team. This is a mathematical fact. Hence many teams are taking the short corner. If it would end in to the net, every team would take a "proper" conner.
So the counter attack is more dangerous than the actual corner kick. I think in the old days of big and tall centre forwards it was different. So there is many aspects for the head coach to consider.
Also, I am very sorry to hear that Terry Venables has passed a way. A manager that was legend. Up the Boro!
@original-fat-bob. Met Terry a few years ago when we visited his hotel for a short break.
A gentleman who took the time to chat to the guests whilst we were having dinner.
Sad to hear of his passing. He definitely kept us in the league as Bryan Robson had lost his way.
RIP Terry. 😎
From CJ
'That's football' Michael Carrick said casually after Middlesbrough's 3-2 defeat to Bristol City at Ashton Gate, declaring it 'isolated incidents' that ultimately cost them the match.
And while that is a fair reflection of just this individual game, what should be more concerning is that it was yet more familiar problems overall for Boro as they rather meekly surrendered three important points on the road having worked so hard to get back into the game from 2-0 down.
In the context of just this game, the goals Boro conceded were isolated incidents, with the first and third ultimately coming against the balance of play. The second came as Carrick's side imploded after the first and failed to regain their composure before getting back in for half-time.
READ MORE: Frustrated Michael Carrick says Middlesbrough shot themselves in the foot in Bristol City loss
When we talk about familiar problems for Boro, Bristol City's first was certainly that. We've spoken often about the amount of long-range goals that Boro have conceded this season. The trouble was, as Boro surrendered possession cheaply in their own half, it left them caught out defensively and with the home side enjoying a three-on-two scenario, Taylor Gardner-Hickman used his runners and the space offered by Dael Fry as he backed off to bend one in off the underside of the crossbar.
As Carrick said, it was a strike no goalkeeper would save, but it was a goal that should have been avoided through better protection of the ball in the first place, and then better reorganisation and taking control of the situation once out of possession. It's something Boro haven't done well all season.
The goal was a bit of a sucker punch though. To that point, Boro had looked the more comfortable of the two sides. Bristol City very much looked like a side who hadn't scored in open play for six games. But for as much possession as Boro enjoyed, they weren't quite at their best, it should be highlighted, and with Emmanuel Latte Lath isolated and lacking service up top, Boro struggled to create much of note.
All that being said, being one down at half-time might have led to a totally different outcome in this game. What happened between Bristol City's first and half-time from a Boro perspective was inexcusable. It was a comedy of errors as Boro imploded and ultimately, inevitably, cost themselves another.
It started when both Fry and Paddy McNair went for the same header and got in each other's way. The ball at least fell to Isaiah Jones on the right, but his wayward backpass just allowed Tommy Conway to break on goal, forcing a good save out of Seny Dieng.
With Bristol City putting the ball straight back into a danger area after Boro cleared, Fry then made a mess of an attempted clearance, with the ball slicing beyond him, with Conway peeling off again. Fry's rash challenge conceded a free-kick, and given he was the last man, he was fortunate to only see yellow.
Dieng made another good save from the free-kick, but Boro still failed to recompose themselves. When the next delivery made its way to Lukas Engel at the backpost, he made a hash of his header and gave it straight to the Bristol City attacker who teed up Matty James before Fry rashly dove in and conceded the penalty.
Carrick complained after that Fry got the ball. It was tight but he might have had a case. He certainly had a better case for an earlier similar rash tackle on Sam Greenwood in the other penalty area. The Fry penalty, however, typified the loss of concentration and composure from Boro. It was ultimately a needless challenge with James' route to goal blocked. Such was the frantic and out-of-control nature of those five minutes, Fry suffered a rush of blood and Boro suffered another avoidable goal against.
It gave Boro a mountain to climb. To their credit, they climbed it within seven second-half minutes. Zak Vyner scored a comedic own goal after Matt Crooks fired against the bar. Two minutes later, Crooks finished well to equalise after Greenwood's persistence in the press opened up space for Boro.
With all momentum now in their favour, Boro were once again the side in control and looking the most likely. Just like the first goal, however, they ultimately gave away a cheap one against the run of play. Boro failed to deal with a corner as Van den Berg and McNair lost the first header to Rob Dickie. Dieng's save fell to Mark Sykes to fire in as Greenwood fell to sleep and let him go. A real kick in the teeth.
Boro pushed and pushed for an equaliser. Sammy Silvera's bright cameo saw one decent drive and effort which deflected onto the post. Fellow sub Morgan Rogers sliced a cross and very nearly caught Max O'Leary out at his near post. But ultimately Boro, as Carrick conceded after, had shot themselves in the foot and left the south west empty-handed.
It was that frustrated comment from Carrick that perhaps tells the bigger story. For as casual as Carrick made it sound when describing it as something that can happen in football, we of course have to appreciate that there was an element of protection from the head coach. He's never going to be one to publicly lambast his men, and nor should he have to be.
For as much as his summary of this game in isolation was fair - with Dieng's only saves coming during that crazy five minutes before the break and then late on as Boro pushed for an equaliser - Carrick we can be almost certain, won't be so casual in just brushing Boro's defensive woes under the carpet.
There is the context that this was just Boro's second defeat in ten. That period has seen them collect four clean sheets, while only Leicester City have picked up more points. But even as the season has turned for the better after the poor start, the lack of defensive solidity has been a real issue for Boro throughout.
With results elsewhere meaning Saturday's defeat wasn't too costly for them as far as keeping pace with the top six is concerned, far more concerning for those play-off prospects is their defensive vulnerability. Boro are now one of just two sides in the top half of the Championship with a negative goal difference. Carrick will know better than anyone that unless they get that balance right consistently, the top six will end up out of reach.
While Boro have a negative goal difference, if you take away those first six games without a win (F4 A13) then our goal difference since the revival is +8 - which is pretty good in comparison to most with only four clubs better than that.
@werdermouth Exactly, and still 29 league games to play for.
We lost at Bristol and the performance was not the best. But still the Boro was well into the game. Two mistakes and a penalty that was not a penalty in my opinion. Small margins, but that is football.
Looking forward to the PNE match on Tuesday. Up the Boro!
Is it only me, but I think Fry has had a bad game when Johnny Howson has had a bad day in the office, too. I mean Fry was strugling during the first seven matches of the season when Howson was out. And it was the same at Bristol, when Howson was not so good either. Johnny was even substited at Bristol.
I mean Howson was excellent against Leicester and we kept a clean sheet. On Saturday Fry was left alone far too often when the Robins attacked from their left. I think both van den Berg and Howson went missing every now and then, and Fry was left ALONE to cope with two strikers. And running towards his own goal.
I think McNair was doing a lot better on the left side, he was never left alone when City attcked.
This is just a thought as I think generally Fry is a defender who should play in the EPL as Sol Bamba keeps telling us - even this season he has told so.
Just saying, like. Up the Boro!