@paulinboro. Don’t know Blue Sky. Is this just more speculation? 😎
@k-p-in-spain If anyting bad happens, just blame Scott. 🤣🤣🤣
Up the Boro!
@k-p-in-spain BlueSky where people who are sick of the cesspit that is X/twitter went
Just seen on blue-sky
Re ELL,does Graham Potter, who's apparently just been appointed as the sacked Julen Lopetegui's replacement at West Ham, have any say in the impending transfer?
🚨 | Middlesbrough have scouted Ricky-Jade Jones, but have no concrete interest in signing the Peterborough forward at this time.
[Craig Johns]
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One thing Boro could change around with Jones’ exit, is potentially use struggling summer signing Micah Hamilton who could be the biggest beneficiary of the transfer. That’s if it meants the former Manchester City man gets an opportunity on his more-natural right hand side.
While Boro have always stressed the importance of patience with the 21-year-old, there can be no denying that he has largely disappointed since signing for Boro in the summer. That said, his appearances have all come from the left flank, where it’s fair to say he’s looked unconvincing.
But in the limited first-team opportunities he earned at Man City, they were mainly from the right side - including that memorable debut when he burst beyond the Red Star Belgrade defence to fire home a Champions League goal for Pep Guardiola’s team.
Indeed, in offering his expert view on Hamilton after his switch, the MEN’s City correspondent Simon Bajkowski told Teesside Live: "I like him on the right wing but he is quite a versatile forward and has played a fair bit as a nine and false nine. It was on the right that his best moment came, scoring a brilliant individual goal in the Champions League just minutes into his senior debut. As first impressions go, they don't get much better than that.
“If he can do that on the right wing in the Champions League, he can thrive at any level. His strengths are his confidence - both belief in himself that he can beat anyone he comes up against, but also the confidence to play like he belongs in any situation. You see some players come into the City team and look awkward but Hamilton never has."
What’s interesting, in hindsight, about that expert view, is that it’s the exact opposite of what we’ve seen of Hamilton so far. In a Boro shirt, he’s looked tentative and has lacked the confidence to beat a man. But, could that simply be due to a lack of comfort on the left hand side? Simon's comments deserve to come with a reminder of the calibre of player he's used to watching at the Etihad, making his Hamilton praise all the more impressive.
What we do know is that when Boro initially signed Hamilton in the summer it was with strengthening their right flank in mind. Hamilton’s switch to the left was more a matter of circumstance than anything else.
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I think it will be a while before Hamilton is up to the required level and doesn't even look fit when I've seen him on the pitch. I would be tempted to play Burgzorg on the right and McGree on the left if we lost Doak and sold Jones - though in even typing the last bit of that sentence I would find it incredible if Boro sold Jones if losing Doak was a possibility.
Does anybody know how much input MC has with regards to transfers, particularly outgoings? If he doesn't want Jones to go who has the final say? Is it all down to money coming in without thinking about advancing the team? Also who decides if we recall loan players, and if they stay or go out on loan again?
Hopefully someone has the answers about the hierarchy within the club.
Isaiah Jones set to undergo a Luton Town medical today after Middlesbrough accepted a fee in the region of £5m for the winger.
Personal terms not expected to be a problem. (Keith Downie - Sky Sports)
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@original-fat-bob - It would be a very dodgy decision to sell Jones if there was a chance that Doak might be recalled or sold by Liverpool (it's not as though Liverpool needs the money).
I would've expected to see more ELO speculation on Blue Sky instead of ELL...
Does anybody know how much input MC has with regards to transfers, particularly outgoings? If he doesn't want Jones to go who has the final say? Is it all down to money coming in without thinking about advancing the team? Also who decides if we recall loan players, and if they stay or go out on loan again?
Hopefully someone has the answers about the hierarchy within the club.
Carrick has always stated that it is a joint decision regarding the sale, acquisition and calling players back from loan.
So the manager, coaches and Director of Football make the decisions but obviously budgets have to be adhered to for Financial, Fair Play purposes.
Boro of course are currently at the maximum squad numbers and have to move players out to recruit players in.
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If Jones is transferred before we know how Doak's situation will be resolved then such a crazy decision must surely represent a tipping point in the relationship between Scott and the coaching team.
Jones' departure is something that Scott has been planning for months now, whilst only positive vibes about the player have been coming from Carrick.
I have no doubt that Carrick and Woodgate have been arguing their case behind the scenes, possibly even directly to Steve Gibson.
If the sale goes through, Carrick and Woodgate must surely be considering their positions just as Warnock and Wilder did.
Scott is Director of Football, but in what kind of world is someone with Scott's CV capable of directing professionals of the calibre of Carrick and Woodgate, both of whose CVs comfortably run to scores of pages.
Think of how different the situation would be for both the club and the coaches if someone of the calibre of Tony Mowbray were to be our Director of Football. He would have enormous credibility, the strongest possible club and area associations, a history of successful recruitment and knowing what it takes to produce a good footballing team. He could and would be the best kind of mentor. Someone who would command instant respect and whose vast professional experience would provide a reservoir of advice and support. An authority wise and confident enough not to be an authoritarian. Someone commanding instant respect throughout the game, who understands all too well the pressures upon a coach and how they can be best supported
If things go pear shaped this season then it will be Carrick who takes the rap, Scott already having delivered himself of the opinion that finishing outside of the top six would be a failure.
And if recruitment fails he can point to the fact that upon the appointment of Chris Jones he told him publicly that if he were not successful "there would be no hiding place".
Compare and contrast
Len a good post and full of cold today and bleary eyed I read the last bit of your post and thought you had written cornplasters !
I cleaned my glasses and then laughed at my mistake and had to tell you.
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😂I would've expected to see more ELO speculation on Blue Sky instead of ELL...
From the Gazette a few minutes ago re-Jones
"With the emergence of Ben Doak this season, he's struggled for as much game-time as he would have liked - making just two starts since September for Michael Carrick's side. While Doak's own future remains up in the air right now as Premier League interest remains in him, the two situations were viewed as seperate (sic) by Boro because it was always appreciated that, regardless of Jones leaving or not, Doak would need replacing if he were to leave."
Thus Craig Johns recycling, without attribution, Scott's position.
If this means anything at all other than a hastily constructed piece of verbiage it is that if Doak leaves, Boro would need a replacement anyway and that Jones would not be it.
So who would be? An earlier piece from Johns today, again channeling Scott, made out the case for Hamilton.
But he is clearly not up to it yet, so this must mean that a ready made replacement, superior to Jones, is already in the pipeline.
Good on Scott if this is the case, and it may be that between them Scott, Carrick and Woodgate can pull another Doak-type loan/signing out of the bag.
I'll praise them to the rooftops should this come to pass, and as i mentioned last week, Carrick had an air of confidence about this window, so it's possible.
We shall see
@lenmasterman - Two really good posts there, Len. We will have to see how things go in the next 2 weeks+
Striker Matthew Hoppe has left the club.
The American departs after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.
Hoppe made six first-team appearances for the club after joining in the summer of 2022.
The club wishes Matthew well for the future.
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Isaiah Jones is having a medical at Luton. Unfortunately he cannot talk to their manager as Luton Town have sacked manager Rob Edwards following four straight defeats in the Championship.
The 42-year-old was appointed in November 2022 and steered The Hatters to promotion back to the top flight for the first time for over 30 years in 2023.
Up the Boro!
I suspect that I may be in the minority but I am not overly concerned regarding IJ’s departure.
In fact, if the figures quoted are to be believed then I consider it to be a good piece of business for a player who has not really delivered or improved over the last couple of seasons. It was previously muted a few seasons ago he would be snapped up by a PL side but that has clearly failed to materialise and he is now being overshadowed by a player on loan who is a number of years his junior.
I understand the concern that should BD be sold or injured then it may leave us short in that position, nevertheless I don’t see that as a justification for keeping IJ when there is a good offer on the table.
MC has talked frequently that the buying and selling of players is not down to one individual and that there is collective responsibility and input from numerous members of the management team. I therefore find it difficult to accept that players are being bought or sold at the behest of one individual or above the manager’s head.
I just hope and suspect that having decided that the offer for IJ is too good to refuse and presuming he is desirable of a move, then the club has other plans in place to deal with his departure and the void it creates.
It’s a case of watch this space. 😎
An interesting development not without irony, since I believe that Rob Edwards was Scott's preferred choice to succeed Wilder as Boro's new coach. If the Jones deal was one that Scott and Edwards had concocted then his sacking may indeed be a complicating factor.
As usual, I know nothing, just speculating.
Selling Jones is no big surprise but it sounds like the club wanted to clear a few spaces in the 25-man squad to bring in a few players - some they won't want to sell, others they probably can't sell and a few are injured - so with Jones deemed a fringe player who demands a fee it probably wasn't a difficult decision. Wouldn't be surprised if McGree is now in that group too.
Unfortunately, it's beginning to sound increasingly likely that Doak will be sold by Liverpool in deal that will be £20m up front plus up to £10m in add-ons depending on the usual factors.
With the Jones transfer expected to go through despite Edwards departure then it's definitely weakened Boro - as will the much speculated departure of Latte Lath given Conway will be out for several weeks still and there are no other strikers who fit the bill in the club.
No doubt Boro will bring in at least one this window but we know from experience that new arrivals rarely hit the ground running - indeed some still look like running is not their forte.
All of which means Boro will be a weaker team after this window has closed and will need a lot of luck with signings if they are to remain top six contenders. Not a time for any more projects I would suggest as there'll be only a third of the season left by the time they arrive.
Middlesbrough are reportedly lining up a loan move for Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers.
That's according to journalist Pete O'Rourke, who claims that Travers has emerged on Middlesbrough's radar amid their current goalkeeping injury crisis.
Travers has been with Bournemouth since the summer of 2016, and he has kept 30 clean sheets in 104 games so far for the Cherries, but his game time has been limited in the Premier League in recent years.
After a spell out on loan at Stoke City last season, Travers was widely expected to be on the move again in the summer, but despite attracting interest from the likes of Crystal Palace, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and Luton Town, he remained at the Vitality Stadium.
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Ben Doak close to leaving Liverpool
“Crystal Palace are set to lodge a fresh bid for Doak after receiving encouraging messages that their transfer target is attainable if they are prepared to pay an upfront fee of close to £20million” reads the report, before going on to say that Ipswich are also lining up another approach due to the news.
Liverpool will reportedly seek a deal worth up to £30m still, but with the additional third of that coming from add-ons, as sides seemingly weren’t willing to part with the entire fee up front for the player.
@original-fat-bob - I'm not sure that losing both Doak and Jones, and getting only the initial £3M fee for Jones in return, will advance Boro"s promotion cause at all. Both of those players have speed and the ability to beat players though Jones hasn't had .uch opportunity show that recently. If we then get rid of McGree (has he done something to upset the manager?) at the same time, BORO will be even less of a team able to create opportunities up front.
Wasn't it Woodman, Bromley's manager who said last weekend, that you don't get any points for 500 passes in a game? "Possession stats - the imposter!".
Signing Doak permanently ticks a big box for a number of Premier League Teams. As he is under 21 he does not count in their 25 man squad. Research has told me that whilst the transfer window is open teams can adjust their squads on a weekly basis. So you can sign players if you have the full 25 but need to take someone out. For us this would probably be Smith or Lenahan and they could be put back in if we don't have the full complement at the end of the window when the 25 has to be confirmed. Interestingly only 6 teams have the full complement of 25 players. So many have an easier task to sign players.