@forever-dormo Your post sort of concurs with my thoughts about promotion - is it worth it? Sure, we’d all love our team to be a successful, solid part of the EPL, but how hard would that be to achieve?
Currently, we’re a pretty good Championship team, who most pundits believe should be challenging for promotion every year. I’m pretty confident that it’s that challenge that I’d prefer, rather than being lambs to the slaughter in the top division.
EXMIL CHALLENGE 2025 - Fixture Error
Shef Utd 3rd fixture against Stoke is an away match, I made an error and posted it as a home fixture. Anyone that has already posted their predictions can post an amended Shef Utd total. Apologies for the error.
Come on BORO.
@Jarkko - and any others who might be interested. Three days ago I see that Wendall (@WendallExplores) posted a video on YouTube. It is titled "Middlesbrough - I Traced My Family to England's Roughest Town". You might think it worth a look.
Apparently his (now deceased) Grandmother came from the Middlesbrough area so he was "looking for his roots". You can see him walk around the dock area near The Riverside Stadium, the town centre (including near your intended hotel) and some of the estates including the area where Ayresome Park once was and he later goes north to Hartlepool. He talks to some of the people around the town and mentions the town has the highest crime statistics of any town in the country save for parts of London. It is fair to say that his video is unlikely to be sponsored by any local tourist board but I have no reason to doubt he has edited it fairly. Sobering.
The truth is that all post-industrial towns are struggling. It's just that there are a lot of post-industrial towns in the UK since the Industrial Revolution started here. I doubt the picture would be much better in Blackpool, Corby or a number of similar places.
@forever-dormo How many of the current playing staff do fellow Bloggers feel would be good enough for a team to finish 4th bottom in the Premier League.
Including loanees, who may be available to purchase.
Travers, VDB possibly, Iling possibly, Hackney, Morris could grow into it, I do not believe any of the front players would be good enough.
Squad players: Howson, Fry if he can stay fit, Azaz, Conway, maybe Whittaker.
That’s not many is it.
Considering that Ipswich and Kieran McKenna play the same way as Boro and Carrick and spent, I believe over 100 million on players, besides amassing 96 points and only losing six games when being automatically promoted, then my answer is a great big NO.
Of course, as Dormo said, we have to get promoted first. It won’t be this season anyway.
@pedro - So of your first 5 names, two are a "yes, they can make it", two are a "possibly" and one "could grow into it". Of the second five "squad players" you have given three names plus Fry "if he can stay fit" and "maybe Whittaker". So that's a total of 5 for "yes"and the rest are possibles or have other qualifications against their names. I don't disagree with that.
And, of course, one of those "yes" names is Jonny Howson who will be 37 years old next month. He may be Mr Dependable, and it would be great if we could clone him, but IF Boro finds itself in The Championship next season (highly likely) he'd be AT LEAST 38 before donning a Boro shirt in the Premier League. And he would not be playing 38 league games a season!
That's nowhere near enough. And the real problem is that if Boro remained in the Championship, Hayden Hackney is likely to leave and Illing Jr and Travers MIGHT return to their parent clubs over the summer rather than playing for Boro next season. If VDB proves his fitness and plays well in the remaining games, it is possible he'll leave as well. It's like having a load of sand draining out of a collander. And all those grains have to be replaced. (I suspect your "could grow into it" - Morris - WILL grow into it. He's one of our better players).
@forever-dormo I do enjoy hearing other peoples posts and their opinions of our players, especially in the scenario you have talked about.
Any more thoughts from out members?
@forever-dormo @ Pedro de Espana On the subject of players leaving. Don’t forget we have four outfield players on loan of which Coburn is the only one having a degree of success.
The others are all struggling for game time in a lower league so may not be making the Boro squad next season and may have to be moved on.
We could well be looking at nearly half of the squad being changed which doesn’t bode well for stability or building a promotion winning side.
I suspect I may never see my team in the PL again in what years I have left as the new operating model may take a decade or more to bear full fruit if it ever does.
A sad situation which has been brought about, to a large degree, as a consequence of the obscene amounts of money in the PL.😎