@Powmill-Naemore Thank you for that. Yes, we will be underdogs on Saturday, but that usually suits Boro. We have always played well against the better teams. So if we played well, we might get a point or three . We need to start performing next, mind.

Why many Englishmen and especially most foreigners have difficulties to pronaunce Leicester correctly? What is the reason it is pronounced as it is? I learnt it by listening to the BBC World Service and the football results in the 1970's. But most people strugles with the name.

I will enjoy the match, though. If we play well I am OK regardless of the result. Just hope we will find our best eleven. But we will miss sorely both Jones and LL. Up the Boro!

As Leicester are Gary Lineker's club, a person who I loathe immensely, I hope that Middlesbrough can pull off a shock result.

It's getting harder to come up with answers to where we are at, is there blame to go around I suppose so , but where to start seeing the season is over, by the way we need 50 pts to stay up, 

My one take and it's been going on for too long, the other night was a joke , and that is how we are wide open, teams just wait, and know players get caught out and get lost defensively both in midfield and at the back.

@malcolm I’ve been thinking long and hard about how anyone could loathe Gary Lineker and I’m struggling. Is it because of the 48 goals he scored for England in 80 appearances? Or because he won the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup? Maybe it’s because he never got a yellow or red card in his career. 
I guess it could be because, on two separate occasions, he allowed two refugees to live in his home. Who knows why any of that would upset someone. 

For my part, I think GL is a pretty good role model - he’s not perfect but I’d chose him and his values over many other people in the public eye.

Many thanks Powmill for a very interesting and worrying opener - your etymological research has confirm that Leicester are indeed a Premier Ligera team in waiting and it's highly likely we'll see Boro coming away from the King Power without a horse in the play-off race as our lingering promotion hopes will no doubt be buried in the car park.

I mean that 91.6% success stat at home really does offer little hope even if we did beat them at the Riverside - incidentally that game saw Boro with just 33% possession and a rare clean sheet - I suspect it was different tactics that day from Carrick and let's not forget it was that "stunning" Greenwood free-kick that claimed the points.

After the game Carrick said:

"We showed a different side to ourselves today with a lot of the out-of-possession work. It was really good pressing and really good defensively. They test you, you have to close certain spaces for the whole game, you have to concentrate for the whole game and that was a major factor. The boys got the game plan off to a tee and actually, the few chances we did give away were from us giving the ball away, which we don't normally do."

So it was a different game-plan and I guess we'll need it again - though not sure I agree with him on the last point about Boro not normally giving the ball away!

Incidentally, it's possible only Greenwood, Hackney and van den Berg (who played RB) will survive from the line-up from the Riverside - with Howson picking up a late knock and with Fry also a doubt they could miss out along with Jones, Crooks, Coburn, Engel and McNair.

So yes it does look like mission impossible on Saturday and probably with the following warning: this defence will self-destruct in 5 seconds...

@werdermouth 

Thanks Werdermouth. I remember Carrick saying that line ("The boys got the game plan off to a tee and actually, the few chances we did give away were from us giving the ball away, which we don't normally do."), at the time. I also remember smiling to myself as I heard it, that perhaps the opposite was true !

Thanks Powmill for a brilliantly researched, well-written and comprehensive opener.  I really enjoyed it and appreciated all of the time and dedication that went into it. Many thanks.

Thanks Powmill for an informative and enjoyable read on a game whose result is likely to be less palatable; sounds like a case of Christians to the slaughter in Leicester's coliseum. 😎

A great starter Powmill, and from a different angle too. I don’t suppose any of us is very optimistic about Saturday’s game, but maybe we’ll be Typical Boro. 🤞🏻

I was doing some analysis on the season so far yesterday and have now just written it up - it perhaps shows why the play-offs are now all but mathematically out of reach.

Since Boro have 15 games left to accumulate as many points as possible, I thought it may be worth looking at how they fared in their previous 15 games. Sadly it doesn't give much reason to expect a sudden upturn in form with Boro banking just over a point a game it's not exactly a platform to see something like 2.2 point per game needed for a remote shot at the play-offs.
 

After Boro's worse start to a season in their history we can compare the last 15 games to the first 15 games - surprisingly the goals scored and conceded are identical but Boro actually managed 4 points more despite that terrible start.
 

So there's not much change in our form throughout this season and perhaps we can also look at the last 15 games of last season to see the difference or make comparisons.

What is apparent in all three cases is that goals conceded has been pretty consistent (consistently bad) and in some ways the problem was masked last season due to scoring more than 50% more goals. What is also a worry is that our last 46 games under Michael Carrick doesn't appear to show a team that is picking up anywhere near enough the points needed for a play-off challenge. Indeed, 65 points is probably more than what Boro are heading to finish with this season and that is well short of what is needed.

*Note: This section has been modified to include Game 16 (1-0 win over Leicester) and has been added to to Last 15, First 15 and Final 15 of last season to give a 46 game total

While lack of goals is currently a problem, Boro are unlikely to be successful until they sort out the defence or to be more specific discover how to stop conceding preventable goals. If we look at the frequency table of goals conceded this season, what emerges is that Boro have only won 4 points when they have conceded more than one goal - so 37 of their 41 points have been achieved when they have conceded one or fewer goals, which appears to show that it's the defence that is costing Boro. So if the opposition score two goals then it's unusual if Boro will come away with any points.
 

 
If we now look at the goals scored in the same way it shows that Boro have only score more than one goal in a game on 13 occasions during their 31 games - it also indicates if Boro only score one goal in a game then it's only likely to result in one point on average, which probably means they need to score 2 goals to have a reasonable chance of getting three points.

So in conclusion, Boro's form this season and probably over the last 46 games is mid-table at best and the main problem is that the team are conceding far too many goals to have a chance at winning games - especially since they are also no longer scoring as many as they did last season. What Michael Carrick and the those at the club need to do is establish why so many goals are being conceded and whether this is a direct result of the way the team is being set up to play.

Interestingly, the earlier quote of how Carrick set up the team against Leicester at the Riverside indicates that deep down he knows it's possible to set his team up to prevent the opposition scoring. Perhaps there is a balance to be found between the slick Man City style that Carrick ultimately aspires to and a more solid style that the actual players he has at his disposal are more comfortable with. At the moment it seems that the experiment of emulated the best teams in the PL is falling short. Injuries have no doubt taken their toll but that's par for the course in the attritional Championship plus time on the training pitch to hone slick passing is restricted.

It's almost time to start planning for next season and work out a new plan!

[Edited]

@werdermouth 

What a fabulous analysis Werder. It certainly confirms mine and others' assertion that the issue really is us conceding too many goals. 

How many times has it been said, including being repeated in here, that you can only really build a successful team on an effective defence. Jack Charlton's Boro writ large. That team earned the right to go on and win games by convincing margins because of how well organised (as well as being more than capable as football players) the team was defensively.

I think we all shudder when we see the ball being played at no more than a moderate pace  between the goalkeeper and the defenders and back to the keeper and out again and then played carelessly to someone in the midfield with their back to the aggressive press bearing down. There are a half a dozen things I do not think we do well:

1) having awareness of where the opposition is in relation to the player you are passing to

2) not introducing any delay after receiving the ball before moving it on

3) not being sufficiently accurate in the pass when moving the ball on

4) not passing the ball with speed

5) not using a long pass when it is clearly the better (and safer) option to counter a high press

6) not providing continual movement (midfield especially) off the ball so as to open up passing opportunities

We were not doing these things well often enough even last season and I do think I called that out at the time.

I think the key thing of these is number 6. Unless there is fast and coordinated movement off the ball, the defence is always going to struggle to be able to find the right pass to keep the pressure away from the back. We look pedestrian at times and mainly because there is no suitable outlet for whoever is on the ball and all that does is invite unnecessary pressure on the defence and so the mistakes are inevitable.

Just some of my own thoughts on the matter, and what do I know anyway !

@malcolm 

Sorry, but I've no idea to what you're referring to in that post about what you think Gary Lineker said on Twitter but it would be libelous if untrue so I've decided to remove it given I'm ultimately legally responsible for Diasboro.

Anyway, while you're entitled to hold a view on who you dislike let's move on from this subject and stick to the football please!

@werdermouth Ok no problem. Point taken thanks.

@werdermouth.  An excellent piece of analysis which confirms certainly what I have been banging on about for a number of seasons along with others; need to send to MFC as they clearly have not identified the problems.

According to MC, they are doing the right things it’s just that the breaks are going against them at the moment and if they stick to what they are doing it will come good!  He didn’t say when. 😎🤔

From  Craig Johns

In the midst of a poor run of four league games without a win, a trip to league leaders Leicester City is hardly the ideal next game for Middlesbrough.

Alas, that's exactly what faces them this weekend as they look to resurrect their top-six hopes with 15 games remaining. In that sense, needing a bit of a spark to get them back on track, perhaps the trip to the King Power Stadium provides Boro with the perfect opportunity.

Michael Carrick concedes that his side will be underdogs, expressing his opinion that Leicester are to be viewed as a Premier League side in all but name given their collective and individual quality. But as Carrick attempts to arrest his side's slump and come up with a gameplan to upset the odds much like in the reverse fixture, we look at considerations he might have for the game.

READ MORE: Michael Carrick has full belief in his Middlesbrough players as he stresses the importance of calm

Formation change to deal with Leicester

With Carrick admitting he views Leicester as a Premier League side, there's a fair consideration that he might change formation for the game. In both the narrow FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa and the first-leg victory over Chelsea, Boro went with a back three to solidify at the back and look to hit the Premier League outfits on the counter.

However, in the absence of Isaiah Jones and Alex Bangura as pacey wing-back options, he reverted to the more familiar 4-2-3-1 for the second leg against Chelsea. He will still be without both against Leicester, though he will at least have attack-minded Luke Ayling as an option for this one if he were to switch formation.

It's an interesting dilemma for the Boro boss. In the reverse fixture, Boro maintained a four-at-the-back formation but went with a man-marking system that worked a treat to cancel out Leicester's threats, setting the scene for Sam Greenwood to win the game in stunning fashion.

However, in attempting similar against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, it was quickly abandoned, with Jonny Howson's positioning in particular confusing Boro and creating gaps in the midfield which the Blues exploited.

Carrick's 3-4-2-1 could have merit, though also to be considered is the fact that Leicester's wide forwards are their main threat and whether you have your wide centre-backs mark them or your wing-backs, you sacrifice the attack or leave space to be exploited unless you get it absolutely correct.

Goals problem

There can be hiding from the fact that Boro's biggest problem in recent weeks has been making their dominance and promising positions count for goals. The obvious issue is their lack of a natural centre-forward in the absence of Josh Coburn and Emmanuel Latte Lath.

While Latte Lath has a chance of returning at Leicester, it seems unlikely that he will start. As such, Carrick might be left looking for solutions from the same options as before, with Greenwood the man playing up front of late. While his energy has certainly been a positive, it's fair to say he's not really looked capable of solving Boro's goal problem.

However, he is capable of playing right wing, while Sammy Silvera could play that role too, if Carrick stuck with his four-man defence. And why would right-wing options be important in that scenario? It's because it would allow Carrick to put Marcus Forss up top, with fans certainly clamouring for such, given that is the Finn's natural position.

The longer Boro's struggles go on, the more the demand to see that grows, and the more questionable it becomes that he isn't at least tried there in this interim period without Latte Lath at full fitness.

Midfield balance

While Boro have had some concerns with their midfield in recent weeks, the defeat to Preston North End was as dominant as Boro have been in a game for a long time. A lot of that was down to Hayden Hackney's return to the midfield.

Jonny Howson was alongside him and while the veteran played well in general, he was poor in the build-up to the first goal. Carrick does tend to rely heavily on the 35-year-old in this kind of game though, and as noted above, Howson was superb in the reverse fixture in his man-marking brief.

Carrick could do the same again, or he could opt for more energy in midfield by partnering Hackney with the returning Lewis O'Brien, who was signed last summer with a view to being a longer-term Howson replacement.

Now back to fitness, he's hungry to prove himself after injury. Carrick might even change formation further and go with a 4-3-3 formation to try and add more defensive balance to his side in appreciation of Leicester's might.

Potential change in goal

The other big decision Carrick faces for this game is in between the sticks. Seny Dieng has been back in the squad for the last two games now, but Carrick has kept his faith in Tom Glover thus far. The Australian, it should be said, has by and large been excellent since Dieng's injury at Swansea.

However, the soft goal he conceded against Sunderland cost Boro two points in that one, and he was poor again on Wednesday at Preston. He should have definitely saved the first, and he didn't cover himself in glory for the second either. Perhaps more importantly, he was poor in possession too.

That could be particularly important against Leicester this weekend where, in previewing the game, Finn Azaz noted the game could be a battle for possession in which keeping the ball will be Boro's best form of defence. Dieng is undoubtedly the better of the two on the ball.

@Powmill-Naemore:  Now, that's my sort of Starter for Ten!  Anyone who produces a better one this season will have have done the writing equivalent of beating Leicester City (away) tomorrow!  Not absolutely impossible but a VERY tall order.

@Jarkko - I don't think anyone from England has ever had any difficulty pronouncing Leicester correctly.  It is more a problem for people from abroad, and particularly people from the USA as any dive into YouTube would show. However, once told the correct pronunciation, most people get it right.  There are many reasons why SOME British place names have "odd" spellings or pronunciations, and most of them relate to the various populations which have dominated in different regions of the country over the millennia. 

"Various populations" in southern Britain include Britons (ancestors of the Welsh and other British tribes which dominated Great Britain at the time the Romans invaded - such as the Caledonii and Votadini in Scotland, the Brigantes in Northern England into Scotland, the Ordovices, Demetae, Deceangli and Silures from Wales, the Corieltauvi to whom Powmill referred in his Starter, the Iceni from the East of England, the Atrebates, Catuvellauni and Trinovantes in the South of England and the Dumnonii from the South West, plus some tribes with links to similar tribes in France/Belgium). The ones in England and Southern Scotland, at least, spoke a Celtic language that eventually became Welsh. There were invasions by the Romans who influenced place names (it will not go un-noticed that the names by which we identify the Southern British tribes were names given by the Romans) and since the Romans dominated government in the south of Britain for about 400 years, and since much of the population may have regarded themselves as "Romans" long after the Roman legions left these islands, their effect on the language cannot be ignored.

Subsequent movement into Britain by tribes of people who traditionally have been referred to as Angles, Saxons and Jutes but also included Frisians who had an input into the early English language led to the overwhelming of that British/Celtic culture and language in most of England apart from Cumbria and the South West (and, of course, Wales itself).  More than 350 years after the Roman withdrawal from Britain shortly after 400AD,  a long series of raids began from the 780s AD by people the films refer to as Vikings but were largely from Denmark, Norway and Sweden.  From about 865AD the purpose of the raids changed to invasion, conquest, settlement and then to social and economic domination of the North, East and part of the Midlands in England.  For a period the "Danelaw" operated as a state within a state in that part of England. Later there were both Anglo-Saxon, Danish (with Cnut ruling over both the Danish and Saxon parts of England) and then Anglo-Saxon kings again.

But even in 1066 it wasn't over because there was a last Norwegian invasion in September by Harald Hardrada (supported by King Harold Godwinson's brother, Tostig) which was defeated by the Anglo-Saxons at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire on 25th September after a route-march North by Harold's troops. Unfortunately for Harold Godwinson, William Duke of Normandy and his army (who with many of his supporters were also descended from Norsemen) separately invaded England from Normandy, France on 28th September so Harold had to route-march South again with his army, but the subsequent Battle of Hastings on 14th October ended with a Norman victory.  The lads were tired.  There were no rest-days and fixtures came quick and fast for 11th Century soldiers.  With King Harold Godwinson and many of his nobility dead, the subsequent regime change resulted in lands being granted to the Norman-French supporters of William the Conqueror with castles being built up and down the country, from which a new Norman nobilty, governed the regions on William's behalf.  Norman-French became the language of the wealthy governing classes, and of the courts, in addition to Church Latin) and that situation continued for a few centuries until eventually English, which had remained the language of the masses (albeit by this stage influenced by Norman French) forced its way back into use.

Towns, rivers and areas of land are often named by the victors after armed conflicts but sometimes ancient names continued in use. "Afon" is Welsh for "river" for example and there are a number of rivers Avon in England presumably because the previous British/Welsh speaking population called them that,d  anthe people who later took over continued to use the name. "Pen" in Welsh means head/top/hill and we have Pen-y-Ghent hill in the Yorkshire Dales and the tautologically-named Penhill near Leyburn  (and Ben/Beinn/Bheinn in Scots Gaelic).  Manx, Irish Gaelic (the Q-Celtic languages) are obviously related to Welsh, Cornish and NBreton (P-Celtic languages).  The progenitor of modern Welsh can't now have been spoken in those parts of Yorkshire for maybe 1,300+ years - the battle of Catraeth (Catterick) was fought in about 600AD when the forces of the Brythonic "Old North" and from North Wales were defeated by the Angles, and the story is told in one of the oldest poems still extant: Y Gododdin written in Welsh between the 7th and 10th centuries.

There remains the fact that, of course, most people (apart from Clerics in the Church and a very small number in the governing classes) were illiterate until fairly recent centuries - my own paternal grandfather died illiterate, signing his wedding cerfificate with an "X" - and in any event language changes over centuries as anyone who had studied the Canterbury Tales written in Middle English in the late 1300s, let alone Beowulf written maybe 600 (?) years earlier, would agree.

So you have several different peoples using different languages in the 2000+ years during which areas in this country have been occupied and settlements established and named.  You have successor populations sometimes using an approximation of the names they have heard "the locals" use to identify that hill or that river, sometimes replacting the name with their own name. You have people writing names down, sometimes transcribing incorrectly, sometimes using a kind of "Anglicisation".  You have pronunciations changing over centuries, even if the spellings remain, just as many words used in Shakespeare's works are pronounced differently now to how they'd have been spoken 420 years ago.

The thing is that it's just a joy that we have different names in the UK with "odd" looking spellings or pronunciations that fool people from abroad.  These things often change slowly.  But when the BBC built a great radio transmitter on Borough Hill, Daventry (Northamptonshire), it was built to broadcast the BBC Empire (now BBC World) Service. The local pronunciation was "Dane-tree" which was said either to be of Danish-Viking origin (literally the Dane Tree) or Anglo-Saxon.  However when announcing "This is Daventry calling" at the start of broadcasts, the BBC staff announcers would obviously use BBC/Oxford/Received Pronunication English, and therefore used a version of the name as it was spelled. Or spelt if you wish. And within a short time, people who had never heard of the town in Northamptonshire, and eventually those actually living in the town, started to use that BBC pronunciation. Within a generation, Dane-tree became spoke as Daventry.  All part of life's rich tapestry.  But is is good fun to hear Americans torture their tongues over "War-sester-shier" Sauce, Frome/Froom, Mousehole/Mowsul, Alnwick/Annick, Bicester/Bister, Leominster/Lemster or Islay/Eye-la.  I'm not even going to mention Llanelli or Aberystwyth. I've heard it said that the best way to learn how correctly to pronounce British place names is to live in Britain for some years... It usually works!

I do love a social media rabbit-hole.  But it often means when you have finished typin, the Blog has moved on.  The Ice Age has returned, or maybe North Yorkshire will become a torrid desert...?

@martin - I see your views about Gary Lineker. I think views about him are "divisive".  I know there are people in my local pub who I'd say do HATE him (a very strong word but it's probably a correct characterisation of their views), from  what they've said about him. He is certainly the highest paid BBC presenter and has been involved recently in a number of social media posts which have brought him and the BBC into criticism.  From my point of view I will say that he is entitled to hold whatever views he wishes. But if he expresses those views on social media he must realise that X, or Facebook or whatever, are not University Debating Societies and some who respond may well very strongly disagree with his views.  Some of them are likely to do so in an intemperate manner, which does little to further the discussion. 

Lineker may be loved by some but is probably hated by others, and that may be coloured by the non-football views he expresses.  X is hardly designed for nuanced debate.  What I WILL say is that I'd like some journalists to give THEIR views on televised, and other, football matches, not only retired players. (Everyone would have to accept Lineker WAS a very fine player in his day). Henry Winter or Martin Samuel or the like.  I'd like to hear THEIR views and their insights.  I don't only want to hear the same group of friends saying the same things - Lineker, joking about Shearer not having won an FA Cup and "jealously guarding" his all-time PL scoring record, Wrighty, Lescott... the ususal brigade.  I DO like Danny Murphy who I think talks more sense than most.  Fletcher on SDunday's MoTD2 is a better presenter in my eyes than Lineker.  The top journos must have watched many thousands of games and don't have an axe to grind, they are articulate and have a lot to offer.

That is the end of the Lesson for Today...

(Written in fear of what we have in store tomorrow in the East Midlands.  I can't see BORO getting anything but would be delighted to be proved wrong.  BORO could play quite well abut still lose 4-1.)

@forever-dormo I don’t want to prolong the chat about GL - as you say, he’s become a divisive figure for some. I just think it’s a shame that we’ve become a society where nuance has largely disappeared and everything is black or white. 

The etymology of place names has always interested me - places pronounced differently from their spelling often catch people out, leading to (probably unfair) criticisms from the local populace. There’s a village near Chorley in Lancashire called Euxton - the Red Rosers find it hilarious that outsiders pronounce it as Yewxston (as did I when we first moved over in 88), rather than Exton. Cf Marske 😉

@martin-bellamy - Are you referring to Mask, near to Retkuh? And not that far from Stawsluh and Canny Yatton? 

(Your previous post wasd the last one I read before starting to type mine.  I'll have to go back to read the intervening posts but that will have to wait or there will be questions from Mrs Dormo as to where I am and what I'm doing this Valentine's Week. I remain, despite spelling mistakes, a very slow typist).

@forever-dormo I probably should have included our new village. Sher-burn to outsiders, Sherb’n to us locals. 

I watched tonight’s match between WBA and Southampton, the referee was Allison (Preston ref), he missed a blatant penalty tonight (where have we seen that before) also didn’t give WBA even a free kick when their player was dragged down just on the edge of the Southampton box. This is the ref who has been fast tracked because he is black not on his ability.

 I wondered when rumblings would start on here about whether Carrick is the right man for the job, even if they are thinly veiled, very disappointing. IMHO, he is the right man for the job but he needs time to develop the team, one season’s transfer markets is only touching the side of what needs to be done, next season many of those brought in will be a lot better and I don’t necessary agree that some of our better players will bought by Premiership teams, I didn’t hear or see reported that any bids were made for the likes of Hackney or McGree, let only McNair 🤔.

Come on BORO.

Excellent analysis by Werdermouth on the season so far and logical predictions for the rest of the season.

The analysis makes it abundantly clear that Boro will not finish in the top 6 , or to be more precise in 6th place.

It also makes clear that M. Carrick , over a full season of 46 games , has been pretty average in the points gained.  Obviously the media built him up too quickly.  He is not the finished article.
I’m not convinced that he is adept enough in changing the personnel and tactics as the game demands, nor has the ability to get the best out of players and getting them to play a system which suits the available players.

I say this as Huddersfield had Neil Warnock for the last third of last season and turned a bunch of  very average players doomed for relegation to a mid table team. He’s done this many times. Not sure Carrick can.

However, we need to stick with him in the hope that the change of plan- fewer loan players and going for younger players - eventually pays off.

For the remainder of the season we need to see good performances so that by the end of the season we can say that the team is improving.

Philip of Huddersfield 

I’d like to say a big thank you to: 

Powmill - that was a fascinating opener. I used to live in Leicester, but I knew none of that! 

Werder - On the PNE thread I wrote about the various factors which convinced me a couple of games ago that Boro wouldn’t make the playoffs this season. But your analysis is stunning, and provides amazing scientific proof whereas my piece was much more generic and simplistic. 

Dormo - for the history/ linguistics piece. I’m fascinated by both and I love how language develops constantly. The history of place names is really interesting, I feel. 

Gentlemen, I am in awe of all three of you! Well done! 

@philip-of-huddersfield 

I don’t agree that Carrick can’t develop players. I actually think that’s been one of his greatest strengths. Look at Akpom last year. Look at how Hackney has come on, and at how Morgan Rogers was blossoming into a player Villa valued at a very high price. I think there is evidence, too, of real improvement from Engel, Van den Berg and Forss. They may not all be able to play to his system as well as we would like, but I don’t think you can deny that they have improved as individuals under his coaching. 

Meanwhile, Leicester away. Oh dear. It would be Typical Boro to draw 1-1. My head, however, says we’ll be lucky to avoid a serious dent in our goal difference. 

Thank you to everyone for the kind and very generous comments. I think you can tell from how people write about things what are the things that really interest them.  Less about style, structure and clever language, but in the genuine pleasure that shines through the words. For the author it is gratifying when someone else really picks up on that.

I loved your wee essay FD, picking up on that theme and kind of responding to Jarkko on how the peculiarities of British place-names have come about. I love absorbing this kind of information and I bow to your wider knowledge in that field.

One thing that has been especially enjoyable about Diasboro this season has been the different styles and approaches and passions showcased in the thread openers. All of equal quality in so many different ways. I hope we will be able to carry on in the same vein next season, and I hope that there are others out there that might be encouraged to join the roster.

Gentlemen, I have now caught up on today's posts. Ignoring mine of 7.01pm (I jumped into the pond and didn't recognise how deep the linguistic/historical water was until I realised I had to get out or I'd drown), there were some absolute crackers of posts in there. Again, thanks to Powmill-Naemore for the outstanding Starter, but there were several others afterwards including the well-researched piece by Werdermouth at 3.25pm yesterday and Powmill's response at 4.11pm.

The REAL in-depth research and analysis is to be found on this Blog not on MoTD.

Fingers crossed (and hands in front of eyes) for the Leicester game, and let's hope there aren't too many horrors preventing sleep tonight let alone on the pitch tomorrow. (And Day Three of England's Test Match in India resumes in 3 hours and the Six Nations Rugby resumes.  EEEK!).

A cracker of a Headliner Powmill, thank you for the considerable time and thought that went into it.

I can only echo Clive’s post about the posts by Werder and Dormo. Thank you for those also. 

What can one say about this afternoons match. I do not mind if the opposition score a really well worked goal, it is the sloppy passing and panic mistakes gifting goals that hurt.

Unfortunately, unless performances improve very soon and especially at home, then the divide over Micheal Carrick’s abilities will grow by the season end. The stats and results will have a big say.

@Forever Dormo

hello my friend. Very nice and deep dive into the world of the language. And history of England. I enjoyed it much.

Here I must tell that our language is so different to English. In the Finnish language, we pronaunce every letter we write. So we always know how a new word is pronaunced. There is only a one exception to this and it is teached to everyone at school. The word is sydän (heart). When we say 'into the heart' we wrote it 'sydämeen' but pronsunce it with two m letters.

So my first name is Jarkko, but a rarer version is Jarko - but we can pronounce the two words differently and hear the difference. So if one have a Finnish first and last name, others can write the name down after hearing it once (on the phone, for example). We have no culture of spelling names out lound!

So I find it facinating to learn more of the English language. I do have a version of BBC  Pronauncing Dictionary of British Names from 1983. I open the book too seldomly anymore, though. I remember finding three different ways to pronaunce the word Raleigh (I did have a bike called Raleigh in late 1970's and early 1980's) dependingn what one meant with the word.

I love this blog. I hope for a 1-1 draw today with a goal from the Finn - that is Marcus of course. Up the Boro! 

I must have been very tired last night. This is a "rest weekend" in the Six Nations Rugby...!