Evidently we are 2 points worse off this season than we were at this point last season. That shows how poor/indifferent we have been playing given we didn't win our first match until game 8 last season.
I have just watched the match highlights linked by @werdermouth and I don't think they quite portrayed how poor Boro performed, even though the commentator at the end said something like "it's been a nightmare for Boro" near the end.
Unlucky or not, Hackney really let himself and the team down yesterday. Having been booked once, he should have been more cautious instead of lunging in again. I believe he was already on four yellows, so his first one presumably earned him a one game suspension. Does that mean the red makes it two? And I think his subsequent protests to the ref and reluctance to leave the field could leave him open to an FA charge, which might bring him a further extension of his suspension. How utterly stupid he was. Ayling eventually waded in to try to get him to depart, but that intervention from the captain should have been much sooner.
It was a thoroughly depressing performance from Boro, with hardly anybody playing well, though I thought Aidan Morris didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. We seem to be turning into a real Jekyll and Hyde side, so much so that we never know which Boro will turn up.
And finally, could someone please coach Borges to a) play the ball forwards and b) take on and beat his man occasionally?
Yes amazingly true but that's possibly because after that bad start last season and failing to win any of the first seven games (2 draws) Boro then won six in a row.
Though after that Boro only won 2 of their next 8 - losing 5 of them. Let's hope for something much better in the next 8 games this season!
Yes Morris played really well yesterday though I'm inclined to give Hackney the benefit of the doubt as when he went for the ball he was favourite and looked more 60-40 but he seemed to put a bit extra into it to make up for his earlier mistake and didn't play the percentages.
Also annoying was both teams had 10 shots on goal but Boro had just the one on target - Hackney's early effort - so still work needed on shooting!
On the yellow card issue - if a player gets 2 yellows in a game and thus a subsequent red card then the 2 yellow cards are rescinded from the yellow card tally for the season - So Hackney is now on 3 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card for the season. So there's always a silver lining 😉
I should add that Boro have the fewest yellow cards in the Championship with 20 overall.
On the yellow card issue - if a player gets 2 yellows in a game and thus a subsequent red card then the 2 yellow cards are rescinded from the yellow card tally for the season - So Hackney is now on 3 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card for the season. So there's always a silver lining 😉
I should add that Boro have the fewest yellow cards in the Championship with 20 overall.
Shame you don't get points for lack of yellow cards, just like possession or XG, but if you did we would be flying.
Sorry still grumpy about yesterday........
@paulinboro - The performance was so grim that, if it had been a bad smell, it would probably hang around until Wednesday.
Thanks werder. I had no idea that the two yellows would wipe out a previous one. That strikes me as really curious - surely it makes more sense, if you’re trying to limit foul play, to add them on to a player’s existing tally?! Anyway, given the situation you describe, Hackney can count himself a very lucky boy. Unless, of course, the ref’s report hammers him for arguing and delaying his departure ……..
I posted not long ago bemoaning the ongoing chronic inconsistency in performances and Saturday was a perfect example of the problem. After two excellent performances against Sheffield United and Norwich, two of the better sides in the league, you would have thought that with four eminently winnable games coming up the team would be brimming with confidence and raring to go against Coventry. Instead we got one of the worst performances for some time and a well deserved drubbing.
Why is this? While our record against the better teams may be acceptable against the poorer sides it’s nowhere near good enough. It’s the job of the management at the club to find the cause and fix it and they need to do it quickly or we will for ever be an also ran in this league. The successful teams beat the teams below them in the league week in week out, especially at home, and that’s what we have to do if we are ever going to get anywhere.
@boroexile Our record at home last season was poor. Besides the ST increases, the lack of wins at home also contributed to a fall in numbers.
I really am surprised at the crowds we having been getting. Less wins equals less walk ups.
I was too tired to stay up until 2am on Saturday night/Sunday morning and so I missed the game. I wish Riverside Live was an On Demand service. The result was a nasty surprise to wake up to, although not totally unexpected given our record against Coventry.
People have commented on the Jekyll and Hyde nature of our performances this season and then piled onto Carrick as if he is the reason. At what point do the players have to take their fair portion of the blame. If they can do it one week, why can't they do it the next. Consistency comes, at least in part, from mental discipline and our players don't seem to have it. Can this be coached? I don't know but it is hard to blame Carrick when someone misses a penalty when we are leading 3-1 away at a very good team and the side manages not to win. For me, that was a real 'Sliding Doors' moment and I wonder how long it will take to recover.
We have a good squad but we are not a good team and I'm not sure why.
UTB
@boroexile - One might expect the odd slip-up against lower table sides. But somehow, for Boro, those slip-ups are not remarkable. Almost expected. A good result to a decent team then lose to a team trailing well behind in the table.
Boro started the season aiming to be in the top 2, for automatic promotion. Failing that, to finish 3rd-6th for a play off position. To do that you need to be consistently good (with the odd slip-up) but Boro turns out to be the archetypal inconsistently good team.
To predict the results for this Boro team you might as well throw a dart blindfolded at a dartboard. Good result = even score with the dart. Bad result = odd score. Hit a double or treble you sneak a draw whether even or odd. Except your friends, whilst you were blindfolded, turned you round and round until you were dizzy, then pointed you at the dartboard before telling you to throw.
I've had something going over on my thoughts of late , where are we going forward, there is a lot of investment going on both in the premiership and lower leagues, wealthy groups looking at getting involved with clubs, Sunderland, Birmingham, MK Dons, Wrexham , there are clubs basically open for business on the cheap, Sheffield W, Reading , obviously others.
What does that mean, the competition will become immense, now I'm not poking the finger at Steve Gibson, without him we are nothing, I'm just thinking, we need to be promoted very soon, even if for one ,two ,three seasons, we stay there, if not we may end up, asleep,
That's one of the reasons ,some of us, at times can be critical, it's the big picture, I like Carrick, Scott he still has to prove himself ,although I prefer the concept, , I do hope Carrick picks the right players not just to make the others in the squad happy,
Fact is we need to get consistency , they are a good set of players, I think it will , get better, we have to, for the sake of the club.
@forever-dormo. It might be even worse by Wednesday if things don’t go our way on Tuesday night. ☹️😎
Just a thought. I am a little surprised by Sheffield United’s position at the top end of the Division.
i wonder, if the Coaches could be switched, just where the Boro would be under Wilder, and United under Carrick? 🤔
oh no !!!
Irrespective of statistics and club performance, Wilder is one man I would never want to see at the club again! He is in the Strachan mould and both are the worst managers Boro have had (in my opinion) since I started supporting the club in 1966.
OFB
@gt - I guess it's not how much money/financial backing a club has but (a) how it's spent (b) how secure and long-term that backing is. The advantage of having LOTS of money is that a club could afford to make mistakes in acquisition of players and attract players through wages etc without putting the club at risk.
The question in the Christmas crackers used to be: "How do you make a small fortune owning a football club?". Answer- Start off with a large fortune.
@original-fat-bob - I'm with OFB. If I had to list the managers I'd least like to be in charge at Boro, CW would be at or near top of the list with Strachan. I'm not saying Michael Carrick's term is as good as over, though. It's just that he has to identify what is going wrong and then do something about it.
Me too! I think I might have given a hint about how I feel about Wilder on a previous thread……… !
I’m still unsure whether the PL is the nirvana most people assume it to be. Let’s suppose we get promoted - what happens then? The chances of us winning the Premier League title must be minimal, so what are we hoping to achieve? Survival for two or three seasons before we get relegated again? Does success look like mid table and no chance of relegation?
I cannot log in with my PC or Android tablet today. I test if I am logged in with my phone, now.
So I cannot download a new blog (QPR v Boro).
Up the Boro!
Email your text to diasboro@outlook.com and I'll post it for you
Something strange happens. I was logged in with my Android tablet. But I logged out - I tested if it would have enabled me to use my PC.
If I re-log in, a white full page just appears. Nothing happens for at least 5 min ...
I will email.
Up the Boro!
Now I logged out from the mobile phone (android), too. And now I was able to log in with my PC.
@Werder I have already sent the text to you by email. Will you put it on the web or shall I try now as I am logged in, again?
Up the Boro!
@martin-bellamy I suppose for most fans, it is about dreaming of something better. How one sees better, of course is debatable.
I guess the dream is to get promoted and “do a Brighton”. Historically a smaller club than the Boro, but now a bigger club than the Boro.
I think the majority of people aspire to greater heights, maybe lifestyle. As with football clubs, if you do not have a dream, will the club stagnate, will the fans lose interest, and in the worst case scenario, will the club fail and go out of business.
A big thank you. Now everything about log-in seems to work again. So it looks like there was something temporary going on, and I panicked with my text for the QPR V Boro lead.Yes I received and will post it shortly
...It's now posted!
For others, it is here: https://diasboro.club/forum/2024-25/qpr-v-boro-2024-25/#post-31670
Up the Boro!
No problem
I actually also had a problem loading the site for a few minutes about an hour ago so maybe the site host was doing an update.
Hackney now on four yellow cards after his dismissal. It appears he started the game with three rather than four. I’m sure I read a Tweet from the EG on Saturday which said he was on four! Confused.com
Anyway, after tomorrow’s suspension he’ll have to keep his nose clean till after Burnley on 6th December, or he’ll pick up another suspension.