@philip-of-huddersfield A good summary. Same for Werder.

We played better than the opposition but did not get nowt. Forss should have got apenalty, then he had a magnificent effort on goal but hit the goalia. I can go on. We did not have any luck.

I just keep on watching the games and trying to enjoy the football. Even there is no end result. I stop looking the table and just try to find some positives next.

Up the Boro!

@andy-r Even better summary.

Like on Saturday, we are what we are. 

"I’ve no issue with the tactics or effort tonight but we just don’t have the cutting edge at the moment and were a little unfortunate." Well said.

Some stats attached. Up the Boro!

@andy-r 

That matches my view of the game. We played some lovely football and for a period put the PNE defence under sustained pressure that nearly brought an equaliser. That was the least we deserved. But it’s about putting the ball in the net - and obviously keeping it out of your own - and Boro conspicuously failed to do both. 

Two more points: - Did anyone else see Glover’s reaction to the Boro fans after Preston’s first goal? He got a fair amount of stick from some of our fans behind our goal - I do think he should have saved the shot - and he turned and angrily faced the fans. Fortunately, I don’t think he gestured - that really would have finished him off - but he was clearly very unhappy at fans’ criticism. He then proceeded to kick poorly all night. I think Dieng must replace him from now on. 

Secondly, I think MC got his subs wrong again last night. Boro lost all momentum again, just at a time when we’d been piling on pressure. Ayling had joined in on many of our attacks and was always an outlet. Dijksteel didn’t have the same impact and struggled even to pass accurately. Unless Ayling had a knock, that seemed to me a curious substitution, and actually a waste. Ditto Silvera for Greenwood to some extent: Greenwood ran himself ragged, though admittedly without much end product; Silvera often just puts his head down, tries to beat 5 defenders and fails to look up to see where his teammates are. That also summed up his cameo last night. Both substitutions also demonstrated starkly just how thin our squad is at present - those two subs offered less quality than the players they replaced. 

@werdermouth - The Brexit tackle?  That is something that has passed me. But if I hung around the parks in, say, Middlesbrough, Stockton or Redcar, watching tweenies unrelated to me playing football, that might seem to others to be too close to my former work for comfort.

That was depressing. 

I don't buy Carrick being "let down" by recruitment. He has been kneecapped by injuries but we have a perfectly decent squad. Not top 6 and we had to perform a massive overhaul with very little money meaning that it would always take some time to rebuild but, frankly, he's living on the credit he earned when he first took over.

Nice football and pretty patterns but ineffective at this level with this quality of player. His record as a manager this season is indifferent at best. That doesn't mean he can't improve but right now there isn't much sign of it.

The one thing that we can't let happen is to waste the season. It's fine not reaching the playoffs in the circumstances but, come the end of the season, we need to see a team that has grown together and improved over the season. Right now, we are nowhere near that happening. If it doesn't and we have yet another rebuild in the summer we're throwing away the financial windfall we had from the Tav and Spence sales.

Back when we were looking for a new manager my first choice was Corberan followed by Edwards. I didn't have an opinion about Carrick but I was worried that Gibson was hoping history would repeat itself rather than judging candidates on their records and potential. So far, Carrick has been fairly successful but I can't help but think that if we had appointed Corberan or Edwards last season that we would be in the Premier league now.

1. @andy-r. That being said, you can see that there’s a good side and setup in there. If or when it comes together, there’ll be some good times ahead. It won’t be this season though.

2. The big issue though Andy, is being able to retain the better players. .
3. HH had his best game last night after returning from injury, but will we keep hold of him. Likewise McGree, looking near to his previous standard. Will he be off. 
4. Then we start again with new players. 

@deleriad.  Excellent summary thank you Deleriad which is spot on.

My fear, is like yours, that we don’t build on what we have and end up rebuilding again in the summer; I fear that the likes of HH, RM and RvDB will be looking elsewhere.

I also agree entirely with your comments re the management selection; MC’s record however needs to judged more fairly once this season is concluded.  I am yet to be convinced that he can get us to the PL, sadly. 😎

Leicester v Boro

@deleriad 

I believe for Carrick's system to work it requires much higher quality players than he's has at his disposal this season - especially in defence and covering midfield where mistakes easily become critical ones. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed watching the style of football most of the time but it's now being out-weighed by the disappointment of the results or should I say the manner of the defeats that have become entirely predictable. Still, while the squad has some depth it is proving very short in the striker department and general lack of pace, which has been evident since the end of August.

I wonder if Carrick has considered an alternative style of play that he could deploy when the opposition appear to have sussed out how to play against it? Probably not given the lack of time between games in the Championship - that is ultimately the difference at this level in that any system must be fit for the campaign and capable of working when you are missing key players. Indeed, the type of players who can play this system well will no doubt be coveted by PL clubs - so we should prepare to lose the ones we'd prefer to keep this summer!

@forever-dormo 

Hmm I see your point - though if anyone asks better not mention you're only watching to catch a glimpse of some new tackle...

@selwynoz - Not yet ANOTHER "Must Win" game?  It would be an interesting subject for a PhD thesis.  Identify how many "Must Win" games have faced Middlesbrough FC over the decades, and how many of those games have actually been won, then explain how the outcomes of those games have created the present-day BORO we all love/hate. 

"We could have been contenders...!"

@deleriad   A very honest appraisal of the last 18 months.

Repeating myself, yes the football has been better to watch overall, however I believe MC's credit rating is totally based on last seasons middle ground results.

A very poor start, followed by excellent attacking performances, masking the continued defensive frailties. Then a limp end to the season, followed by a poor show against our nemesis, Coventry. MC had no answer to turn those last number of games played.

This season has been generally poor fare, especially at home against the so called weaker teams, six wins to date. How we have maintained that small chance of sixth spot, is only down to a weak division.

As deleriad said, we have regressed this season and not built on what we had, even allowing for the loss of Akpom and Archer. I also agree with KP, VDB has made very good progress this season for somebody so young. How long will it be before the scouts from the bigger clubs are following him.

Jarkko. with reference to the stats you posted.  Boro 20 shots  4 on target

                                                                             PNE   7 shots   3 on target

The PNE match commentator mentioned during the game, that in the league at home (not counting the Boro game) PNE have had 100 shots, with 41 on target and scored 23 goals

I have a good friend who is an avid Preston supporter and his take on last night’s game was as follows:-

 “It really was our lucky day!  We didn’t deserve anything from the game, never mind 3 points but the footballing gods were on our side last night.

1^st half – scrappy and not a great game of football.  You were clearly the better side and sharper to everything but didn’t really create that much...lacking the cutting edge like you say.  We gave the ball back to you every time and didn’t get near your goal apart from when we scored!

2^nd half - Boro stepped it up and it was one way traffic as you outplayed us in midfield.  It was just a matter of time but it was a class goal to level it up.  I knowingly said to my son, Seb, “there is only one team going to win it from here and it isn’t PNE” …. we immediately went down the other end and got the lucky deflection which fell our way.  Boro pressed for an equaliser and we missed a sitter which should have ended it.

I’m always too focused on the invincibles but I thought Azaz and McGree looked decent.  You looked good but are clearly missing some of the quality that you used to have up front last season.”.

His last sentence says it all really.

@werdermouth    One could argue werder, that during the international breaks, MC could of come up with at least a workable plan B, to utilise at certain times/teams, similar to how he prepared for the first Chelsea game.

However, he has stated a number of times, he is not going to change and has only admitted occasionally to team selection/positional mistakes. Then there are the substitution's we have all remarked upon at times.

Indeed, the type of players who can play this system well will no doubt be coveted by PL clubs - so we should prepare to lose the ones we'd prefer to keep this summer!

So do we try and get rid of the players not capable of playing the system and bring in new players who can. Probably impossible. Or do we start thinking about a new Coach, playing in a more pragmatic way, making the sum greater than the parts. 

If we lose HH, McGree and VDB, as KP suggested, would Carrick want to stay anyway, regardless of him being poached, which may not be as likely as we may think. Either way, next season may not bare thinking about.

It is hard to disagree, at this point a play-off finish is looking most unlikely. However, I do agree with the several who have been posting that we are at times really playing quite well. We are just not getting the results to reflect how well we might have played in any match.

We concede goals too easily. This is not new. Last season we conceded goals too easily. The difference is that last season we were almost able to score goals at will, masking our defensive shortcomings.  For a large part that goal-scoring capability was down to the great loan signings we had in Giles, Archer and Ramsey (and to a much lesser extent Mowatt, but probably not really Muniz) and how we were fortunate to have their talent to combine at the same time Chuba Apkom discovered the form of his life.  Perhaps apart from Giles, we were always going to struggle to get any of these players’ services for this season. As it is, we have had none of them. That is the poisoned chalice of having your influential players all the ones with you on loan. You will always, without exception, be faced with having to re-build a team from new faces for the next season and without the funds to do so.

We are less exposed with loanees this season than last, with Thomas, O’Brien, Greenwood and Ayling with us. Of these, Ayling will be free agent in the summer, so could (no make that should) be offered a permanent contract. So arguably we will only churn three loanees.

We failed to find the goal-scorer we desperately need; Boro and any number of other clubs. Coburn has come through and Latte was bought in. Both of these have potential, but both of these have suffered with long running injuries. We have to accept that we have been unfortunate. More so when you consider the number of matches also missed by the likes of Jones, McGree, Hackney and Forss. Perm any selection of Jones, McGree, Forss, Coburn, Latte and Hackney and you would expect to see goals being scored. OK, maybe not as prolifically as Apkom and Archer, but probably in sufficient quantity to compensate for the all too common defensive lapses. But for long periods, we have been unable to perm from that selection.

Morgan might have started to show a little of the potential he has, but to me he always played for himself and less as part of a team. It was good business to take the money from Villa, especially with us getting hold of Azaz.

So, what if we have to accept some of the millions that may be thrown our way for some of those players? I don’t suspect we are going to lose all of them, but we will at least have their incoming transfer fees to invest in the team. A very different proposition to this season. While we still have to compete in this season (and who knows how our run-in will go as our influential players return to fitness?), I think looking ahead to next season, we will be in a much better place and less reliant on other clubs’ players on loan. Perhaps next season was the real target that SG gave to MC?

For the now, it is still far too early to be getting off the ride. I honestly thing there is still the potential for us to keep playing attractive football, but also to see the results begin to come in again as the preferred starting XI come together again and we will be able to enjoy some of the ride. I might not be overly optimistic about a play-off finish, but then again I am still not totally ruling it out . Not yet, anyway. Yes, we have to sharpen up at the back and stop losing concentration. Yes we have to move the ball more quickly to minimise the effectiveness of the high press against us. We have done that at times this season and so we will be able to do it again. It is just a shame we visit Leicester next… but then again, stranger things have happened.

@powmillnaemore   A nice well thought out post giving your point of view. 

How much money Mr Gibson will allocate to the Recruitment Team / Coach, is difficult to say at this moment, not knowing who will leave and how much we will get for them.

Inevitability there will be usual annual losses to be plugged by the Owner. The club used the "Early Bird" ST requests to outline the increase to running costs going forward into next season. Around 500K according to the article.

However, what we don't know is, how many ST's that is based on. There are around 22000 ST's with an average gate of 27000 this year. Does anyone believe that there will be a similar numbers this next time around. If not another hole to be filled and ultimately less to spend on new players.

So was it a Valentine’s Day massacre?

or have we fallen out of love with our team?

or are the cracks beginning to show in our relationship with Michael Carrick?

Well the answer is it could be a bit of all three!

The downside is that MC would walk and we would be left with Woody to carry on until the end of the season.

The upside is that MC will learn from his mistakes and coach the team to suit the players strengths and capabilities!

Unfortunately Glover has to carry the can for several goals conceded lately and hopefully will be replaced on Saturday.

i don’t expect the Boro to rise any higher in the league and don’t expect to reach the playoffs. But hey what do I know?

Nothing !

OFB

@powmillnaemore 

Good,post I thought Azaz was starting to show some form in the team and scored a great goal

OFB

@powmillnaemore - You put forward an arguable case. I especially like the argument that Boro is in a better position with money in its coffers as the season comes to its end, following the sales of Morgan Rogers and Matt Crooks etc than the club was at the end of last season, with stalwart players like Giles, Ramsey and Archer going back to their parent clubs with no money coming this way. If a player must leave, it's much better to get some money in return, which might then be re-invested in new players.

On the other hand, it really WOULD be a strange thing if BORO broke the casino by getting a result at Leicester.  Betting patterns would be scrutinised by forensic accountants all the way from Bankok to Brisbane and Birmingham.  But as for the top-six, it would not only involve a remarkable turn in Boro's fortunes but would also rely on the results of MANY other teams currently above us playing along with the dream. 

For my own piece of mind, I have given that dream up for this year.  Hopefully I will have a happier more regular heartbeat and blood pressure that way and I can enjoy any good results that come to us whilst also giving a wistful smile when less productive performances produce their expected results. At the Battered Badger last night, I predicted that if Boro's form can be improved, a finish in 7th position might be possible.  (In the cold light of day, I now wonder whether I was being too optmistic there).  My mate thought 8th. But both rely on current form being made decent because, if it continued, a descent to much lower-midtable would be the result.

I know we’ve had this conversation before, but I do wonder whether we should look at supporting a football team more like going fishing as a hobby. I’m quite a poor angler (certainly not in John Richardson’s pike catching league) but just love being out in the countryside - it’s a bonus if I catch a fish, even more so if it’s a decent specimen, but if I blank, I never come home disappointed. 

I’m well aware that there are much better anglers than I’ll ever be but I’m not really envious at all. Would I carry on fishing if I never caught another fish? Probably. 
Similarly, would I stop being a Boro supporter if we are anchored in the Championship for the rest of my life? Definitely not. I don’t start the season expecting to be promoted nor with a strong belief that we’ll reach the playoffs, but I enjoy our wins (especially if we’re playing attractive football), am disappointed by our losses, but not devastated by them. 

I’ve never been one to blame the manager - at Championship level there’s a lot of luck involved, with games being won by tight margins. A slip up here or a missed pass there and the game can easily be lost, despite the team playing much better than your opponents. I’m sure MC is doing his best - it’s his first job in management and he’s probably got a long career ahead of him (although how long he’ll be at the Riverside will depend on his success. Too many losses and SG will let him go - too many wins and he’ll be poached by another club). 

For now, I’m happy to enjoy the remainder of the season, with a hope that our team can get more in the net than I manage on the river bank. 

@pedro 

I suspect the best route to be able to play Carrick-ball would be by training the academy players to play and learn the system - a bit like how Ajax used to do it - maybe they still do? 

Other than that, the club need to identify good technical players - probably younger ones and then get everyone comfortable on the ball. Our problem is that most of the defence never looks comfortable playing out from the back and panic when pressed or feel obliged to attempt a worldie pass that was never on. We also need more pace in the side as players need options when passing out from the back.

Though like I said, players who can play well like this tend to be wanted by PL clubs and that's the difficulty of building a side in the Championship - you maybe get a good player for two years tops unless you win promotion. I expect McGree to leave in the summer as he's on a different level and quite possibly Hackney if he has a good last third of the season that catches the eye.

Whether there are academy players ready to step up next season is not something I know but maybe if the play-offs are beyond us then we should be giving them some pitch time to find out. The option is good loan signings as we did the season before - most of whom are now playing PL football.

Carrick would probably do quite well as a PL head coach as he's have better players to work with and is a good man-manager - the issue will be what happens next season if Boro still don't have the players to make the system work? Do we just keep trying to make it work until it does or would a bit of pragmatism benefit the greater goal of promotion. What is it that the club wants most - style over substance is not usually a winning formula - someone needs to make a realistic assessment of what is the best way forward and how do we get there.

Personally, another change of manager/head coach could create even more problems than it solves and will likely lead to more turnover of players - though if Carrick starts to see better results then who is to say he wouldn't become an attractive proposition for a PL club? Being a Championship club is rarely a stable situation - you can't keep hold of anything successful as you can't afford to pay for it - plus you're stuck with any player who is not up to it if you pay them too much.

Basically, you have one season to get it right or two if you're lucky - does the club back Carrick for a third season?

@clive-hurren 

Yes, Clive, I did notice Glover glaring back, he seemed to be looking directly at me for some reason!

Posted by: @forever-dormo

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@selwynoz - Not yet ANOTHER "Must Win" game?  It would be an interesting subject for a PhD thesis.  Identify how many "Must Win" games have faced Middlesbrough FC over the decades, and how many of those games have actually been won, then explain how the outcomes of those games have created the present-day BORO we all love/hate. 

"We could have been contenders...!"

yes, it is a bit of a cliche and one that I seek to avoid but the target of low 70s as being the likely play-off level does require points as soon as possible. We could win ten in a row but I wouldn’t bet on it and dropping even further behind West From, Coventry and Hull will see us pretty much out of the race. I’m also not sure where I got the 1 point from. Wishful thinking perhaps. 

utb

@andy-r 

Oh no, not the Glover death-stare! 

Many of us are now thinking the playoffs are beyond us this season. Apart from the obvious widening gap to 6th spot and our very inconsistent form - plus the fact we’re currently on the crest of a slump - there are a number of other factors I’m taking into account. 

1) The defence. It simply hasn’t been strong enough all season. We have given away far too many goals, many of them due to careless or sloppy errors. Two more at Preston last night. We rarely keep a clean sheet. Woody has had the whole season to train and improve them, but I’m not seeing much evidence of improvement. Week in week out we keep on making the same kinds of costly mistakes. 

2) Goalscoring. Last season was very much the exception as far as Boro are concerned. We’ve rather got used to a paucity of goals over recent seasons and have often bemoaned the lack of a decent striker. Injuries to Coburn and Latte Lath clearly haven’t helped this year, but neither has been prolific exactly. I think the lack of a recognised striker is really hurting us right now.

3) Ruthlessness, or lack of it. How many sides have we failed to kill off this season? How many chances have we missed and how often have we let sides off the hook when we should have gone on to win the game? Rinse and repeat. 

4) Our fixtures. We have 7 games at home. 4 of those are eminently winnable against sides in the bottom half - Plymouth, Blackburn, Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday. Norwich and Watford are both chasing the playoffs, but neither is a particularly strong side. But Leeds will potentially be very challenging. On paper, therefore, we might be able to pick up 14+ points from those games. But we’re a lower half team ourselves right now, and our home record is very poor. In addition, many of those sides will be desperate for points as they fight relegation or strive for the playoffs/ automatic promotion. 

Our away form is better (unusually!) but our fixtures are more difficult on paper. Leicester, Ipswich, Southampton and Hull are all strong sides, the first three particularly so. We also have to go to Birmingham, QPR, Cardiff and Stoke. Most of the latter 4 are struggling but there are no easy games in the Champo, as we know, and again they’ll be chasing key survival points. If we were to pick up just 14 points from the home games, we’d need probably at least 17 from the away games, if we were to hit what I’m guessing would be a minimum of 72 points for the playoffs. Even then, that might not be enough! 

So, 4 key factors. The problem is, we’d need to address at least 3 of these successfully to make a playoff push. I’m not at all confident we can do so, given our record so far and the squad’s circumstances this season. 

@werdermouth.     A very good post werder.

I notice that Woodgate hardly gets out of his seat during a game. If that was me, I would be  up and down and talk to  MC and pass on defence options.

Posted by: @malcolm

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I notice that Woodgate hardly gets out of his seat during a game. If that was me, I would be  up and down and talk to  MC and pass on defence options.

Come on BORO.