@clive-hurren I can’t understand how I left SR out, but there’s more on him when I do the starter for the return fixture at Ewood Park.
I have just done a bit of googling and found a few more names to add to the list as well as the amazing Mr. Ripley. Here are the rest of those players, giving us 33 in total now, as well as adding to the number of who I did see in a Boro shirt myself :
Arthur Rigby, Richie Smallwood, Jason Steele, Andy Todd and Alan Wright
@powmillnaemore And Jason Steele is still playing in the EPL. His club is fifth in there. Not bad after a free transfer from Sunderland.
Quite a lot of former Boro keepers at Ewood Park. Up the Boro!
I hope your rented cottage was in walking distance of the various pubs in Reeth. Or maybe you took "supplies" with you?
I also hope it may be possible for you to Christen the log burner when you get home, in time for the match and that you have a nice warm feeling in the room and (from the match) inside, too!
18 for me so far, but my memory for football games isn't great. Especailly if they were some time ago.
Some interesting results tonight. Sunderland and West Brom draw no surprise there, since West Brom lost to us they are unbeaten one win and 8 (EIGHT) draws, and Sunderland have drawn five in a row. Hull lost will they have a new manager on the weekend. Watford won and are the only unbeaten home side in the entire 4 divisions. There is an interesting Gazette article about Fred Pentland one of the players on Martin's list
@mw-in-darwin Is it a must-win match for Boro tonight?
It would help if we got three points tonight to keep in touch with Leeds, for example. I think Leeds were top of the division last weekend on goal difference. Now they are fourth and FIVE points in front of us. They will play Luton at Elland Road tonight.
So I hope we can get any king of win vs. Blackburn. To keep in touch with the teams above us. Tough. Up the Boro!
I hope your rented cottage was in walking distance of the various pubs in Reeth. Or maybe you took "supplies" with you?
I also hope it may be possible for you to Christen the log burner when you get home, in time for the match and that you have a nice warm feeling in the room and (from the match) inside, too!
Thanks, FD. We managed two of the pubs including Sunday Lunch (the other pub is permanently closed, awaiting new owners). I’m certain the log burner will be on later - Mrs B does like a fire 🔥.
Hard to believe that after their great start (won 5 drawn 1), West Brom have only won one game out of their last 11 - even more amazing is that they have same points as Boro before we play tonight.
I think it's important that Boro back up the last three games with a win tonight and indeed one against Hull at the weekend - neither teams are in particularly good form so there's a good opportunity to close in on a top two position.
Having said that, Norwich just ended a run of 7 games without a win last night by beating Plymouth 6-1 so no room for complacency in the Championship!
Have you seen this?
Last time we beat Blackburn at home was on Boxing Day 2012 when Jutkiewicz scored the winner with Woodgate in defence. Last 9 at the Riverside: D D D D D L D L D.
So a draw again? Up the Boro!
Yes I saw someone had posted that yesterday and thought it was not a good sign - however, we shouldn't forget Boro's 2-1 win at Blackburn on 29 December 2022 - Forss and McGree scoring to come back from 1-0 down. It was the only time Boro had scored more than one goal against Rovers since 2012 in the away game they also won 2-1. Incidentally, it's not been a fixture that has seen many goals in recent years and has always been either decided by one goal or drawn.
https://www.11v11.com/teams/middlesbrough/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Blackburn%20Rovers/
@werdermouth I’m always intrigued by how hung up we all get about past records against other teams. Part of me does the same, then thinks how could those past results affect today’s game, with different players, managers, etc?
@werdermouth But we won on 11 Apr 1903 Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers W 4-0.
OK, not at Riverside and it was over 100 years ago. You can find always something from the stats.
Luckily it IS more to do with the present team and Michael Carrick 😊. Up the Boro!
@jarkko, the worry is that we are expecting a score of 7 tonight and Blackburn did beat us 7-0 at their shop on New Year's Day 1930, so that does not portend well. We did, however, beat them 7-1, also at their shop on 29th November 1947, to go into 7th position in Division 1... so maybe that does portend well after all 😊 ...
@jarkko A win, any win will do me to keep the momentum going! There's real pressure on those players who've stepped up because of injuries so lets hope for the same high standards.
UTB,
John
How coincidental is this? Our neighbour who’s fitted our stove has just been round to do a test burn and we got talking about football.
Not only is he a Blackburn supporter, which is odd for a Yorkshire lad, but his Uncle played for Rovers, hence his Ewood allegiance. Amazingly, his Uncle is Andy Crawford who also played for the Boro in the early 80s under Malcolm Allison.
Apparently Chelsea wanted to sign him when he was at Rovers, but Howard Kendall kept it from him. When Andy found out he went on strike and played reserve team football for a year.
His nephew, Chris, told me that Brian Clough tried to sign him for Derby when he was 14, but his Dad said he was too young. It’s a small world isn’t it?
Team News...
Looks like Azaz is one of the ill players as he's not in the squad - in comes McGree with both Conway and Latte Lath starting. Brynn continues in goal as do Howson and Barlaser in midfield plus Doak is fit to start too!
So. It doesn't look as bad as it sounded it might be. Certainly a strong line up and it will be interesting to watch Connolly [😉] and Latte playing together from the off. Still some quality on the bench as well
I suspect we will see Forss getting 30 minutes and young Alex Gilbert a run out too.
Looking forward to the game and I hope none of us is disappointed come half past nine.
Azaz will be a big miss given he's scored 4 and has 4 assists from the last three games but we still have Doak, Latte Lath and McGree to pull the strings.
Two changes for Boro then, with Azaz and Burgzorg the two players who are ill.
It says a lot about Boro's depth that they can bring in Conway and McGree to replace them. Conway, you would assume, will replace Azaz in the role behind the striker.
It i's young Fin Cartwright and Alex Gilbert who make the bench. Welcome return for Gilbert, who was just coming into form when he suffered a knee injury in training ahead of the Sunderland game.
Nice to see McGree starting, though. Up the Boro!
That first half was like watching paint dry. They should have scored - MC will need to conjure some changes somehow if we’re going to get 3 points.
Poor Boro performance and obviously missing my favourite Boro player Azaz (Ahem!)
Doak being well marshalled and to be honest Blackburn look quite a drilled unit and should actually be a goal up at half time !
Lets see what happens second half .
OFB
Boro struggling to get into the game in that first half and losing McGree has left them short of playmakers with Azaz missing. Conway seems to be playing in the space where Latte Lath and Doak would look to exploit and was never going to do the job of Azaz. Blackburn have pressed well and caused Boro's defenders and midfield to rush passes or get crowded out. Probably needs someone like Dijksteel to provide an outlet from defence with maybe Gibert coming on for Conway to add a bit of guile up front. One goal could decide this one!
Still 0-0 at half time. Not a greatest of games so far. Stop and start game in the beginning, like McGree's injury. Hopefully a dead leg only, but could be worse.
Rovers have had one wonderful chance, but an awful heading in front of empty net. We had one chance when Latte Lath wasn't able head towards the goal.
So quite even match. Blackburn defending well, our diesel engine has not started yet. I hope we are able to score first to open up the game.
I think we won't see seven goals scored in the second half by Boro. I hope we score one or twice, but not looking good. Up the Boro!
Well this is not the Boro of late, more like the one that started the season, clunky and disjointed.
Rovers have shaded it in the first half and should be one up.
Need to be better organised and move the ball quicker if we are to take the three points; if you can’t win then don’t lose. CoB 😎
Well. Having saidci wad looking forward to seeing conwsyvand ELL starring, it has been a disappointment.I might switch Conwayvfor Forss at half crimes and then Gilbert on for Hamilton. Djiksteel for Howson might be an interesting option.
Whatever. Need to up the intensity in the second half.
Well just to add insult to injury Blackburn score a winner that was well offside - not that Boro ever looked like winning the game but I don't think they deserved to lose it either. A disjointed performance that lacked intensity and guile - we missed Azaz and then McGree and just didn't gel with the changes as Rovers pressed and rushed the defence and midfield then defended in numbers. A missed opportunity as they say!
As you said Werder. Disjointed. Not a great game to watch. Boro still showing it is a struggle when the opposition parks the bus. Always too slow and ponderous and always insufficient movement off the ball to try and make space.
Changes should have come sooner for me and unless he is carrying something, I would have left ELL on and taken Conway off. It is all ifs and buts, but we really do need to work out how to unpick a defence.
I agree their goal looked offside, but there was no view we had of the full width of the pitch, so it is hard to be certain. Also, there didn't seem to be any appeals from our team.
Let's hope Azaz is fit enough to play on Saturday.
Werder, as you say another missed opportunity otherwise known as typical Boro. Tonight’s defeat was fairly predictable for those of us who have followed Boro for decades and I bet a lot of us had that niggling feeling before the game that this was the kind of game in which typical Boro would turn up. The problem is that typical Boro has been around for years and nothing has changed. Until the syndrome is eliminated we are never going to dominate the league as the best teams do despite having the resources to do so.
Borges still gives us nothing down the left as far as I can see. He played one excellent cross for ELL but apart from that he was so predictable - Clarke gives him the ball, he gives it back to him: repeat ad nauseam.