Forss on for Conway in the 75th minute...
So, Boro somehow held out for 0-0. 0 shots on target, seven off compared with 19-5 for the Hatters...
Boro will have to be happy with 0-0 as they could have easily have been 3-0 down at HT and in reality never looked like scoring. Still 3 points outside the top six but hard to see Boro winning 6 of their last 8 on that performance.
Hopefully, Diasboro likely lads KP and Jarkko don't spend the weekend avoiding the score to watch the full 90 minutes on Monday as it's not going to be worth the effort 😉
It was hardly worth the effort to listen on BBC Tees but at least I was able to watch Italy v Ireland on TV with the sound turned down!
No shots on target in 90+ minutes? You can't win the Lottery unless you buy a ticket!
I watched the first 35 minutes at the airport and then picked it up again on 57 minutes at home.
Needless to say I won’t be watching the 90 mins to see the part I missed; watching paint dry would be just as exciting after that display.😎
Forget the excuses that have been rolled out all season, the fact of the matter is that the Boro squad is just not equipped for the rigours of the Championship.
Overall they are too lightweight. It is OK to have one, even possibly two ball players in your squad, but not two or more actually in your first team pick.
This afternoon once more showed what an absolute disaster the January window has been.
Even putting to one side the amount of money spent, the players brought in have not really contributed much at all.
Whittaker and Giles stayed on the bench. Iheanacho added nothing again. Iling Junior is not really a defender, but credit for a couple of last ditch block/clearances. Travers could be given MotM for his first half saves, but is not the ball playing keeper Carrick prefers.
The optimistic will say that, we are still only three points behind WBA, in reality four counting GD.
But after Oxford, Blackburn and Leeds, will the door finally slam shut on what has been a very disappointing season, when we were promised so much.
@k-p-in-spain Watching paint dry, would have been more exciting than that rubbish served up.
I think we should gloss over that performance...
I'm not even sure what Iheanacho's role is supposed to be in the team - he's always deep and rarely gets into scoring position - he's certainly no playmaker either.
What today's type of game showed is that Boro really needed a striker like Josh Coburn to hold the ball and allow others to get up the pitch. Conway looks to be easily brushed off the ball and we certainly missed Latte-Lath's hustling and energy.
I don’t know why Iheanacho is selected to play when he contributes so little and is clearly not very interested. Surely Forss is a much better option.
Just watched Sky 3 minutes highlights and counted 6 good chances for Luton. It should have been a comfortable win for them.
Boro were outplayed with the main plus being Borges and Howson who did as well as could be expected.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍😁
ps meanwhile the locals here sacked the manager( not a single goal in the last 6 home games ) and then score 5 at home. Makes you think that things weren’t right with the previous coach.
couldn’t agree more. His lack of effort can only affect team morale.
philip of Huddersfield
What Inaffectcho does is a good question and I doubt we will find the answer
certainly papering over the cracks !
Even listening to the game today was painful. It sounded like there was a really strong tide, a wave of non-stop attacks, coming in against us for almost all of the first half. It seemed just a matter of time before Luton would score. How they failed to given their dominance was incredible.
Some teams - Blackburn, Watford, Norwich - seem to have dropped of the pace and now have little chance of the playoffs. Boro, amazingly, are still in with a shout. Of sorts. Today’s very lucky draw really did us few favours, given that Coventry’s win over the deckchairs puts us 5 points adrift of 5th. Even the most optimistic, foam-fingered, red-and-white-bespectacled loyalist must now agree we are only chasing 6th place. So it’s a straight fight between ourselves, WBA and Bristol City. We’re 3 points behind both, though it’s probably four in West Brom’s case as they have a superior goal difference of 5 goals. Eight games to play, including Leeds, Blackburn and habitual nemesis Coventry. I still think it’s extremely unlikely we’ll make the final cut.
And even if by some miracle we were to get there, can any of you see us beating any of the current top five over two legs? We’re so incredibly inconsistent, and oft times, as at Swansea and Luton, we’re pathetically soft-centred. We’ve been poor as an attacking ‘force’ since the transfer window. We’re simply not good enough to go up, I’m sorry to say.
January's 'Supermarket Sweep' doesn't seem to have made any improvement whatsoever and in the case of Iheanacho the Coach should pick him then send the team out with ten players so he can't get in any other player's way.
Does Carrick have to pick him because of some clause in his loan agreement and who scouted and discovered him then recommended him as worthy of consideration?
Friends who are supporters of other teams; Everton, Norwich, Lincoln, Arsenal to name a few ask what is going on at Boro. My now standard answer is that the management don't know so what chance have supporters understanding?
One parting thought, just imagine the team showing that level of effort, organisation and skill in the Premiership. I'd rather not too.
UTB,
John
@john-richardson - This current Boro squad would represent the Premier League's weakest ever team if (by some absolute miracle) promotion were to be achieved this season. The Videprinter would be on automatic pilot every weekend to say "Middlesbrough 0".
Quite right too and a record nobody wants yet Teesside Live are still on about the play-offs! I think it must be created and 'written' in an alternate reality.
If somebody had stood back before LL left for the States and just said we are going to use those we have to minimise disruption and then buy carefully I could accept missing the play-offs, disappointing but not the end of the world and easy to say with hindsight.
To paraphrase a well known classic 'Carrick came and it became the best of times, now we are firmly heading into the worst of times'. Over the years Boro have had some average players but they have been up for the fight.
I think a priority for the new season has to be a proper Captain and leader, not just somebody wearing an armband. It's a mess. I've just watched the edited lowlights... why you might well ask.
UTB,
John
PS I think it would like pre-emptive text but it wouldn't be guessing Middlesbrough nil!
We’re away for a couple of weeks in Shropshire, to open up our static van after the closure period in February - the sun is shining and I refuse to spoil my mood by watching the “highlights” of yesterday’s debacle.
At least we haven’t got a midweek game so I can relax for a week.
We still have a good chance of play-offs. Remember that the other clubs on this level are not EPL standard, either.
We have got exacly 2.0 points per match from the last five matches. Not bad with the makeshi(f)t defence.
Getting through the play-offs is another matter. But we can worry that later.
Up the Boro!
Relax, mate. It is the International break now.We’re away for a couple of weeks in Shropshire, to open up our static van after the closure period in February - the sun is shining and I refuse to spoil my mood by watching the “highlights” of yesterday’s debacle.
At least we haven’t got a midweek game so I can relax for a week.
Up the Boro!
EXMIL CHALLENGE 2025
Scroll down to the Social Club where you will find the next set of fixtures and the league table from Part 1, make sure you don’t miss the deadline for Part 2. Martin has already got his predictions in 😱.
Come on BORO.
OMG. Oh no. Geordies 2-0 up at Wembley. It was 1969 when they last won anything. Had to happen some time I suppose, but I can’t say I’m overjoyed.
@clive-hurren The media will be full of it if they win. I’m glad I don’t have to watch the NE version of Look North here in Shropshire.
I switched off as soon as the final whistle blew, so I still have never seen a Geordie lift a cup…….
In normal circumstances, I would celebrate a new name on a cup, rather than one of the usual big clubs. Just not that name.
@Clive It was such an unexpected win for the Skunks, that it was even mentioned in our National TV in Finland. But our National TV said it was their first a MAJOR win fot OVER 70 years.
Have the won something, really? 😉
Up the Boro!
@martin-bellamy A Skunk fan I know told me Boro had won a Mickey Mouse Cup when we won.
Reminder to self; must email him tonight asking how it feels...
UTB,
John
EXMIL CHALLENGE 2025
lemasterman kindly pointed out an error I made with the Sunderland points, inadvertently on my chart I put them down as having a total of 77 instead of 69, which I have corrected and published a revised league table which has improved most (if not all) peoples points.
Apologies all.
Come on BORO.