New York Stadium, Rotherham
Boxing Day, Tuesday 26th December 2023 at 15h00
| Played | W | D | L | Goals For |
Goals Against |
PointS | POS'n | |
| BORO | 23 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 11th |
| Rotherham | 23 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 47 | 13 | 24th |
A Diasboro Carol ‘23
God rest ye merry Teesside folk let Boro not dismay
We play away at Rotherham this very Boxing Day
Although the season hasn’t gone the way we’d like to say
Oh we hope Boro will score many goals
Score many goals
Oh we ho’ope Boro will score many goals
Our campaign started early back in August, dismally
We found it hard to score a goal, conceded easily
Then all at once we started to collect our points by three
Oh we hope Boro will score many goals
Score many goals
Oh we ho’ope Boro will score many goals
The players then all fell like flies, excessive injuries
The squad called on to raise a team, including “debut-ees”
And games we should have won were lost, the fans grew ill at ease
Oh we hope Boro will score many goals
Score many goals
Oh we ho’ope Boro will score many goals
When last we played was with West Brom the day was “Tipsy Eve”
Supporters all sang festively they wanted to believe
‘Twas great to see us on the ball, the goal that we conceived
Oh we hope Boro will score many goals
Score many goals
Oh we ho’ope Boro will score many goals
We’re three points off the playoffs now as we approach mid-way
Though anxious still which Middlesbrough will show up on the day
It’s Christmastide so surely shall our worries fade away
Oh we hope Boro will score many goals
Score many goals
Oh we ho’ope Boro will score many goals
The Millers may not be superb in matches they contest
Though last league-time we visitéd they finish’d as the best
Important then to play on-form, they’ll put us to the test
Oh we hope Boro will score many goals
Score many goals
Oh we ho’ope Boro will score many goals
And so good friends the time is nigh to ponder how we’ll do
I pray we will win comf ‘tably a margin of goals two
To tell us what your thoughts could be it’s over now to you
Oh we hope Boro will score many goals
Score many goals
Oh we ho’ope Boro will score many goals .
“God bless us, every one!”
and a very merry Yuletide one and all.
Powmill, brilliant, absolutely brilliant. The talent on this blog never ceases to amaze me. Well done to you.
I am going to keep my mouth shut on this weeks predictions. I just hope that the real Boro turn up. Another second half performance like yesterday, albeit with goals, will do for Boxing Day.
@Powmill-Naemore Yes, brilliant. And short enough for the Xmas weekend. As Werder does, we celebrate the Xmas in Finland today. Father Chrismas will start his jouney from Korvatunturi, near Rovaniemi today, and he will visit the locals this Evening with the presents. Even though we, Boro fans got the present already yesterday.
Back here on Boxing Day. I hope our winning stroke will continue as we are just three points from the playoffs now. Up the Boro!
Powmill. Thank you for yet another different but excellent opener.
We should and we need to win at places like Rotherham and Huddersfield if we are to be in the top six come the end of the season; play like we have in the last few games and we should come away with all three points, one point would not be a disaster but a disappointment.
Rotherham 0-2 Boro to keep the festivities on track. 😎🎅🏻
I pray we will win comf ‘tably a margin of goals two
To tell us what your thoughts could be it’s over now to you
Oh we hope Boro will score many goals
Score many goals
Oh we ho’ope Boro will score many goals
A Diasboro carol to lustily sing for a Boro win with glee
You know what I like when I forecast the score - it’s got to be Boro3 !
Many thanks and very witty
OFB
Well done Powmill. Excellent!
Yesterday’s well deserved win felt like an important one as it moved us closer to the playoff places and kept the momentum reestablished at Swansea going. Now the team needs to push on and win the next two games which would put us right back in the mix at the top end of the table. As we know, however, playing sides like Rotherham and Huddersfield who are down at the bottom end of the table is often when typical Boro turn up and lose! Fingers therefore well and truly crossed.
A really lovely festive opener powmill. I loved it
Thanks to everyone on this splendid blog for making it required daily reading for me throughout the year
A special thanks to all of the leader writers for all of their research, imagination and hard work.
This has become not so much a conventional blog but a kind of writers' co-operative, where contributors know they will have a sympathetic audience whether readers agree with their specific views or not.
The tolerance, mutual respect and appreciation of others' views because they are thoughtfully and carefully expressed, which we have on this forum, are vanishingly rare on social media, and the best possible legacy of Anthony Vickers' own fine writing
Merry Christmas to everyone for making it so.
And a belated congratulations to Martin for making it into The Guardian.
Many thanks Powmill for the festive treat of a very clever opener - unfortunately my attempts at singing couldn't do it justice 😉
Anyway, let's hope all you faithful Boro followers will see their team return joyful and triumphant from Rotherham - surely Michael Carrick will present us with another three points on Boxing Day. Unfortunately, I'll miss the game as we'll be visiting friends we know from our London days who are themselves visiting their parents who now live just 20 minutes up the road from us having moved there 4 years ago. Small world as they say!
Well said Len and I echo your thoughts 100%. We have a fantastic forum with great contributors and long may it last.
I totally agree with you and Len’s comments and I always remember my late father who had a favourite saying.
“it’s nice to be nice !”
Their is no room for criticism, barbed comments or sly undertones when contributors have put so much effort into writing a piece for all to read and in my case I devour and scan the blog to avidly read what’s been posted !
Come on you Diasborians it’s Boro3 today !
OFB
@lenmasterman indeed it is Len and special thanks to Werder for letting us use what is his account to have our banter back and forth.
Many thanks from me as well, for all the very kind comments for my Boxing Day opener. I couldn't believe my luck when AndyR published the rota back in the summer and I had one of the festive fixtures. I did enjoy composing those verses, so I can say thank you too!!
So, back to business later on and (without meaning to be disrespectful to Rotherham), but this is a game that we should expect 3 points from if we are to be considered as serious contenders for the playoffs. It might not be the end of all our hopes if we don't win, but the result could be important come May.
So, I'm going to standby my margin of goals two prediction. Coupled with OFB's Boro3 preference. 3-1 to Boro to keep us all in good spirits as the festivities continue.
CoB
@Powmill-Naemore - That Opener is REALLY good. Very enjoyable. I sang it all the way through this morning. I might have struggled yesterday when I fell asleep on the settee in the early evening, having eaten and drunk to bursting point.
I hope for a win. It sort of has a Rotherham 1-2 BORO feel to it although, you never know, filled with enthusiasm and a clean sheet against WBA it might be rather nice to repeat the defensive masterclass. So, let's go for 1-2 or 0-2 to Boro. Obviously I wouldn't say no to more Boro goals in order to satisfy OFB. I feel it in my bones....
Up The Boro!
From CJ:
Detailed Boro team news
Two changes from West Brom. Clarke and Bangura in for Van den Berg and Engel, who are both on the bench. AJ Bridge replaces McCabe on the bench too.
Interesting swaps from Carrick. With both Van den Berg and Engel on the bench, it's fair to assume that's managing the squad during a busy period. Van den Berg in particular as he had the back problem which kept him out against Port Vale.
Still no players returning to the squad from injury. Coburn and McGree there again, but no Dieng, Hackney or Latte Lath. That means that it's the unconventional fluid approach up top again, like against West Brom, with Silvera likely starting as the striker. But between the four forwards they interchanged a lot and were very flexible.
The Dirties down & out at Deepdale: 2-1 to the Lilywhites!
Are we simply getting McGree ready for international service for this bunch of wasters, or are we hoping that all of out hard work and expenditure isn't hanging on the thread of a wayward Asian set of studs?
I also see that the "Typical Boro" have turned up at the New York, yet another 60+ minutes of agony to go through! Why do I bother?
CJ's verdict on the first half:
Boro in control as far as possession is concerned, but struggling for too many clear openings against a stubborn and compact Rotherham defence. The dynamism of Boro's attack worked well against West Brom with no centre-forward. In this one though, it's perhaps harming them. Worked into some decent areas without much to hit/finishing lacking.
@stircrazy We're running around like school-kids, even we had someone that could lay the killer pass, who the hell is there to collect it? I despair!
Frustrating 45 minutes against a reasonably well organised defence. Boro’s fluid forward line is not working, with Greenwood not getting involved, once more. Bangura also not getting past his man.
We need a goal otherwise, Rotherham May just sneak one. I think we may just need Crooks and Engel on.
Well, it serves you right. Im going to bed to ease the constant pain of being a Boro supporter, why me?
Frustrating 45 minutes against a reasonably well organised defence. Boro’s fluid forward line is not working, with Greenwood not getting involved, once more. Bangura also not getting past his man.
We need a goal otherwise, Rotherham May just sneak one. I think we may just need Crooks and Engel on.
And so it came to pass: Bramall scores for the Mllers in the 72nd minute. 😐
Boro's first substitution: McGree for Greenwood in the 70th minute.
Coburn on for Dijksteel & Engel for Bangura in the 77th minute.
"Disappointing" hardly seems to cover it. You'd get a better likelihood of scoring from Ayton Hibs. "Wasteful" is another word that comes to mind. Beat WBA one day then come a cropper against struggling Rotherham 3 days later. Typical...
So the last two games we should have had a stone wall red card and today we had a stone wall penalty ! Disgraceful refereeing
OFB
CJ:
How on earth have Boro lost that!? Rotherham's only shot OT (and it wasn't even a shot). Boro only have themselves to blame though. If you don't take your chances... laboured today in attack at times, but still created enough. Defeat for Boro at bottom-of-the-league Rotherham.
CJ:
How on earth have Boro lost that!? Rotherham's only shot OT (and it wasn't even a shot). Boro only have themselves to blame though. If you don't take your chances... laboured today in attack at times, but still created enough. Defeat for Boro at bottom-of-the-league Rotherham.
Down to 14th as a result. *shakes head*
I'm going for a bath, 😉 unlike the players, I will enjoy it