So the return of Boro3 !
Pity about the goal against due to a mistake my Dijksteel who otherwise had a good game.
Hackney was back to his best but of course the return of my favourite player Azaz made the difference!
OFB
From all accounts not vintage Boro but the goals were top drawer. I particularly liked Azaz’s goal - he made it look so easy when in practice it was very skilfully executed.
3-1 score line is just what was required. Good that Fry got 90 minutes under his belt.
Difficult games ahead , Burnley twice in a short period and Leeds but for the moment enjoy today’s win.
philip of Huddersfield
👍😁😂👍
Player ratings from The Echo:
The Hartlepool Mail:
& the Gazette:
Ray Parlour's thoughts on Finn Azaz:
https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/ray-parlour-makes-middlesbrough-finn-azaz-admission/
Ray Parlour's thoughts on Finn Azaz:
https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/ray-parlour-makes-middlesbrough-finn-azaz-admission/
As Gareth takes over as manager from McClaren as Manager of Middlesbrough he holds his first team talk with the players.
”I know I was your captain but now I’m the manager and you can call me “gaffer or boss.”
Ray Parlour puts his hand up, “yes?” Says Gareth.
”can we call you big nose!” Asks Ray…..
He was transferred out of the club within three weeks…..
OFB
@original-fat-bob Sorry OFB my pessimism over ruled your optimism and piercing oracle like insight. But I'm happy about that.
UTB,
John
That was so much better than on Wednesday. Warmer so a pleasant walk to the stadium from the parked car, and no shivers as the match progressed. Better performance. Better result. Even a stop at the Navi after the match for one of our members - Jarkko will be jealous. It was everything that Wednesday was not!
Just to cap it all, on Wednesday me and my mate made haste to return to the Poisoned Parrot for a quick couple to wash away the taste of the Blackburn game, only to find the lights off and the pub well and truly shut! It was only 10.20pm when my mate got back. More than a little disappointing.
As for today's match Brynn seemed fine in goal. Azaz is showing quality and scored yet another cracking goal. I agree Doak is looking the best (loan is not necessary here) player in the division. He certainly makes things happen. Conway is excellent - two well taken goals, both made by Doak. It was good to see Hayden Hackney back on the pitch but Fry has been out so long one might have forgotten about him - he looked solid and as if he'd never been away despite not having started a game since February.
Edmondson has an extra gear to him when a spurt of speed is needed.
He didn't play and there is a concern about McGree's fitness/injury record and it seems we all know what is likely to happen after he goes away to play for Australia. A Spike Armstrong he certainly is NOT. Pity because, when he does play, he can also make things "happen".
All in all, a welcome three goals and three points. A clean sheet would have been nice, and I could have done without the stress after Hull scored a goal but after Boro's third, those fears vanished. It's great when your team plays really well and stuffs the opposition, but a win is the most important thing. We got the three points. Thank goodness!
So my doubts were unfounded although having watched the highlights Borges may have been lucky to stay on after pulling back their player. If we had gone down to 10 men they outcome may have been different. Interesting that we managed to win without the bulk of possession (44%-56%). Will most likely similarly in the next two games away from home against top teams Leeds had over 70% at Blackburn and lost!
@forever-dormo Cheers. I practically know only two pubs in the UK. The Navigation and another one in your home village.
BTW, Josh Coburn sustained a foot injury during the first half of Millwall’s 1-1 draw against Oxford United on Saturday, and is set for a X-ray scan. He seems to be very unlucky with injuries, this is NOT the same injury that kept him out for two months earlier during his Millwall loan.
Up the Boro!
I thought the Hull player made a meal of it and dived after feeling a hand on him and obviously so did the referee.
Trying to get a player sent off very unsportsmanlike!
OFB
HARTLEPOOL ACADEMY MANAGER LEAVES FOR MIDDLESBROUGH
Hartlepool United's academy manager Ian McGuckin has brought an end to his long association with the club and joined the coaching set-up at Middlesbrough.
McGuckin, who made 186 appearances for Pools as a player and has spent 17 years at the club in various roles, has now left to take on a coaching job with the U16 s.
i know Ian well as he played junior football with my eldest son for quite a few years and is a nice guy.
OFB
Well we got there in the end!
After looking comfortable at half time, having had less of the possession but managing to score two good goals, we then contrived to let them back into the game briefly, courtesy of a mistake by both full backs.
The tension that was beginning to build was then extinguished by a very good third goal and second for Conway.
Dale Fry looked very assured after his long lay off and I was pleased to see that with Edmundson at left CB we had a right and left footed CB in their natural positions for the first time in a long time.
We need to stick with this in future so it’s RvDB, Fry and Lenihan competing for the right CB position, with Edmundson and Clarke the left CB spot; no more Lenihan on the left, if and when he is available.
Looking forward to see how we perform against the tougher opposition that Burnley and Leeds will present. 😎
@original-fat-bob We are going to have to disagree on this one. Well part of it.
As I posted, Joáo Pedro, (no relation) made a meal of it by throwing himself to the ground.
However, Borges did forcefully pull his shirt, and being the last man, could easily have been sent off.
We have not had a decent defensive LB since George Friend perhaps?
@pedro - George Friend, if I remember correctly, was signed for £100K. A steal even then! Wasn't he one of the first on the team sheet for about 6 years and in the Championship Team of the Season on at least a couple of seasons? He'd walk into the Boro team now (well, if he was 10 years younger!).
Best left backs I’ve seen at Boro in the last 20 years or so? French Franck and the one spotty German. Can we get someone like those two in, please?
On the subject of left backs, I was not overly impressed by our former left back when he came on in the second half; admittedly its was less than half a game but I saw nothing from him that convinced me he would be an upgrade on our current plethora of players who can play in that position.😎
@k-p-in-spain I suspect his confidence may be shot. Hull don’t seem to be sure whether they want him and he’ll have to cope with a new manager soon. I think there’s a good player in there but he’s running out of time if he’s not careful.
Defensively, I agree. That was always Giles’ weakness. But he did show on two or 3 occasions that he is a superb crosser of the ball, and from the left that is something we don’t currently have. Not that I’m advocating bringing him back, because it’s the defensive part of our game we need to improve.
As there is no Burnley lead out yet - I don't blame the writer as there are a couple of days left to do that - I would like to ask if you would like to see Conway at the left hand side.
Carrick has tried playing Latte Lath and Conway together and although there were early signs that it could work, it didn't go to plan against Blackburn in midweek. As before, the nr. 10 positions is not correct one for Conway.
But as he often drifts to the side - both left and right wing to pick up the ball - he could be started at left wing WHEN McGree is not fit. Nothing aginst Burgzorg, but IF we wamt to see Latte Lath AND Conway on the field at the same, this is the only position left for him. I think Azaz (ask OFB) and Doak are unplayable at the moment in their positions.
So I was wondering how can we play the two "hot" players of Latte Lath and Conway at the same time. I am happy I am not Carrick and needing to make a decision on the pair.
Up the Boro!
From what I've seen, there doesn't seem to be any urgent need to shoehorn Conway and Latte Lath into the same starting eleven. I like to see them both playing to their strengths, which are as out-and-out number nines. (I nearly typed number 9's there, but realised that could suck me into a grammatical minefield with which I am ill equipped to cope).
@peter-surtees I totally agree.
My only worry would be that both players are happy to stay at Boro beyond the January transfer window. Someone could place a £ 25 million bid for a player, who cannot start every match in the Championship.
As you said, Boro might be totally happy with the current system of switching the two players between a starting place and the bench. Up the Boro!
So after a good result against a struggling team it’s the real thing on Friday ( on sky)
This will be Boro’s biggest test against a team having played 18 games and only conceded a total of 6 goals, unbeaten at home ( only conceded 2 goals) and won their last 4 games and not conceded a goal in the last 5 games.
The biggest difference between Boro and Burnley can be summarised in one word - consistency. Burnley’s level of performance and consistency is what Boro need to aspire to, for this season to be successful whether finishing in the top 6 or a higher position.
The League is sufficiently advanced to see that the top 3 teams are Sheffield United, Burnley and Leeds and only time will tell if another team(s) can break into the top 3 .
I’m looking for a good performance and hoping that Boro can do what they did last season away to Leicester when sneaking a 1-0 win.
This is the first of a number of challenging games against the likes of Burnley ( twice), Leeds and other better teams than yesterday’s opponents especially as Boro have played 10 games at home and 8 away whereas other top teams have played more away games than home teams.
So, if Boro are in a no worse position in the League ( fifth or better still fourth) after the next clutch of games then the team is doing ok.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍👋🤗🤗
Giles's 7 or 8 assists are often mentioned as something we have not managed to replicate.
True enough, but I always felt that those assists need to be balanced against the goals against for which Giles could reasonably be held to be either directly or partly responsible. There are no official stats for these kind of negative assists for perfectly understandable reasons. But I can recall at least half a dozen games when Giles's defensive frailties cost us important goals. The most memorable were against Bristol City(A), Norwich(H), Brighton (H) and of course in the most vital game of all, that intercepted pass that resulted in the Coventry goal that put us out of the play-offs.
Giles's balance sheet doesn't look quite so impressive when his positive assists are set against the negative.
I agree with KP that Giles offered absolutely no resistance to Doak even though he came on late in the game when he was fresh and eager to impress and with Doak tiring.
On left backs generally we haven't even managed to find one as defensively capable as Bola, whom we were falling over ourselves to replace.
@selwynoz Sorry, I tried to say there was a COUPLE days left for your post. So no need to apologize.
I was trying say sorry, that my thoughts should have perhaps be delayed until the next stater. But then again, I could have forgotten my thought altogether - I cannot trust my memory like I used to do earlier.
A great opener, Selwynoz. I enjoyed it greatly. Up the Boro!