Down to 8th, wouldn't put any money on us reaching playoffs
...and back into 7th with a game in hand. Every good chance of making the playoffs. Worth a small flutter I would say 😉Down to 8th, wouldn't put any money on us reaching playoffs
@paulinboro Here are some odds for you.
@powmillnaemore @martin-bellamy is this the defining week given we play sheff utd and watford? Regardless of what the bookies say I wouldn't put money on us given our propensity to shoot ourselves in the foot. How many points have we dropped from winning positions 24?
@paulinboro to be honest with you, for me it is simply too early to have conviction one way or the other. For sure things will look rosier if we win those two games, but there are still plenty of games left for all teams still in with a chance to either make it through or screw it up... a little like today that no sooner had Norwich pushed us down to 8th, than they leaked the equaliser to sink back below us, leaving us back in the 7th place in which we had started the day.
I'd like to see how we get on with the new talent we have now. Without being certain of how things will pan out, it could be that our newcomers will make the difference we would all like to see, or maybe not.
As for SheffU, they had a tough time today to get their result against Portsmouth. They are vulnerable and they will not be as rested as we will be. I believe we have a good chance to win on Wednesday. That, with Blackburn playing WBA at the same time could see us up to 5th or 6th place and still with a game in hand. Even a draw could take us up to 6th.
I don't really do the betting on football, but I do think that Boro are a good bet for a top 6 finish. Level headed enough to know it could all go pear shaped for us too. For now though my glass is optimistically half full.
@paulinboro It definitely could be - but there’s a way to go yet. I won’t be having a bet by the way!
Micah Hamilton was an unused sub for Stockport yesterday and Alex Gilbert came on in the 88th minute for Charlton.
I hope their experiences of first team football ramp up as the end of the season plays itself out.
@original-fat-bob I must say, having read your impromptu In2View and this piece in the Echo, George comes across as a nice guy who is genuinely happy to be pulling on the shirt for Boro. I am very pleased he is still with us, and permanently now, following Ipswich's games with him during January.
Bravo Plymouth. There is still some magic in the FA Cup after all.
Also in the FACup. Anther goal for Morgan Rogers plus an assist and another 90 minute game for DJed Spence.
We must be hopefully moving on with the add on values.
An excellent summary of a starter @Selwynoz . I am sorry to praise you so late, but the match will be played on Wednesday. It was a very boring weekend as there was no Boro match to see!
I am optimistic for the game. We have played well against the top teams and we did not lose either of the matches against Burnley, for example.
But above all, I hope we start to get some results that we deserve. Sunderland were better overall perhaps, but they needed us to score TWO own goals to win at the Riverside. We could have easily got a draw ...
So I hope to see a better Boro performance at Bramall Lane. And a draw would do nicely, thank you. We are still with a good chance to reach the play-offs - we're just a point behind the sixth place with a game in hand (away to Stoke).
We should be able to field a good team on Wednesday, though. I hope to see Fry and van den Berg starting, that Morris will have his normal performance and McGree will be fit to be included on the bench. Luckily we have options for the left hand side in Burgzorg and former Juventus player Iling-Junior.
Up the Boro!
The fact that Boro is STILL in with a chance of qualifying for a Play-Off spot despite recent performances and results shows that this season's Championship isn't a classic of its kind in terms of quality (the top four teams aside). Of course I type this BEFORE Boro's game at Sheffield United, which I guess the bookies will expect Boro to lose.
I am not a betting man. I'd be poverty stricken if I were... I suppose tension might be high as the season comes to an end even if the quality is not so high.
@jarkko. Unfortunately I believe that McGree is "weeks away" from returning, not days.
What with last seasons injuries and now this, it's not looking good, one has to say.
We have already had Smith, Lenihan and Forss out for a very long periods. Now possibly add McGree
@martin-bellamy - I wouldn't put your money on it let alone mine!
And I was thinking that since Paul Warne has left Derby County few days ago, and since that leaves Michael Carrick as the longest-serving manager in the Championship, it doesn't say much for the value of continuity! Carrick joined Boro in October 2022 - ie 28 months ago. Since there are 24 clubs in our league, and the "oldest manager" is only 28 months in post, I assume the average might be about a year or even less. Imagine that in any other area of commerce or industry!
A friend of mine has just messaged to say that the more money involved, the more unrealistic are the demands placed on the people working in the game. Maybe 10 managers in the Premier League with clubs expecting/hoping to qualify for the Champions' League. Maybe 12-13 clubs in The Championship every season whose owners/supporters all think THEIR club is entitled to be promoted and and who will be VERY upset if that doesn't happen.
@forever-dormo. “The fact that Boro is STILL in with a chance of qualifying for a Play-Off spot despite recent performances and results shows that this season's Championship isn't a classic of its kind in terms of quality (the top four teams aside).”
That’s what makes our underperformance even more disappointing! 😎
@k-p-in-spain Agreed - it’s definitely an opportunity missed. It wouldn’t have taken too much of an improvement for us to be secure in a play off place now.
“@martin-bellamy - I wouldn't put your money on it let alone mine!“ - me neither, as it happens!
I was hoping Boro would beat Sunderland as they were capable of doing so. As it turned out they played well for part of the game and had chances to win but an unfortunate own goal and a clanger by Giles were crucial in ending that hope.
However , I can’t see Boro beating Sheffield who are a team who can play badly but grind out a result as they recently did on Saturday. Their mentality gets them through difficult periods of games. It also seems they have a manager who is likely to give the players a bollacking etc when needed to get the right response.
I can’t see this happening with Carrick. He seems a genuinely nice person who always says how well the team has played even when the supporters are seeing the same mistakes on a consistent basis.
So I’m hoping Boro might do enough to earn a point to keep hope of a top 6 position. Obviously there’s still lots of points at stake but with only 2 wins out of the last 10 games , Boro’s points total over the 10 games equates nearer to a bottom 6 position rather than a top 6.
So, it’s time for Carrick to show what he is made of.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍☹️
Apparently John Eustace has been given permission to talk to Derby. He sees them as a better long term project than Blackburn. Probably means they will pay him more. The Blackburn board are not happy as they have brought in six players in the window.
@philip-of-huddersfield Yes relegation form as against promotion form.
@MW in Darwin. And possibly a new coach bounce when we play Derby at home on March 1st.
@mw-in-darwin I understood that John Eustace lives in the midlands. But most propably also get paid more, too.
Very hard to understand how the managers can live so far away from their job for a year (or two) . Mogga is living in Boro and working in West Brom. Carrick is living in Manchester.
Up the Boro!
@pedro. Not only a new manager bounce but one who has shown that he has the tactical skills to win against us; doesn’t bode well for our game against them when we need points desperately to maintain a top six push. ☹️😎
I like the article Craig Johns wrote about the squad we have now at Boro.
In all the attacking positions we have three capable options. So no worry there except we need to replicate Latte Lath's goals somehow. But there is enough personnel.
At central midfield we do not have cover for Morris until Howson is fit. Hackney is covered by Barlaser and McCabe, but Morris was missed recently when both him and Howson were injured.
At centre back, we rely on Leninhan to be fit (but when). I think Johns has said it must be asked when Carrick is having the next presser - perhaps today before the Yorkshire derby at Bramall Lane.
But I think Craig Johns sums up the current players we have available.
Up the Boro!
@jarkko. You could say that it is no different to the thousands of Teessiders that work away from home during the week, in the construction industry.
In fact Jarkko, back in the good old days, when I was just starting off, it was quite common for lots of men, say working in London or Scotland, to only be able to come home every SIX weeks. True.
An interesting article from the Guardian about Reading FC. Sometimes we should think about how lucky we are to have SG.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/feb/11/reading-dai-yongge-fan-protests-ownership-regulator?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Just tuning back into Diasboro after tuning out of Boro since the Sunderland match with no game this last weekend - which seems like ages ago now after Boro scored 4 and lost!
Anyway, many thanks to Selwynoz for another well-studied and balanced thought-provoking opener - my initial feeling was 2 points a game is probably beyond the play-off chasing pack and I see many posts seem to think along those lines. After all, the race of 6th spot is one for the inconsistent also-rans who seldom put in a long winning run worthy of automatic promotion form.
One point to add is that it's actually the points total for 7th place we need to beat and perhaps many will recall Boro finishing 7th on 70 points in 2021-22 and 5 points behind Luton in 6th. Last season Hull also finished 7th on 70 points and the season before Blackburn finished 7th on 69 points and were edged out of the play-offs by Sunderland on goal difference (-2 versus +13).
So hopefully Boro will continue to score more than they concede and that will be worth a point in the final reckoning. So I wouldn't be surprised to see 70 points being enough for 6th spot again but probably not worth risking finessing that!
I think my view is that keeping within 3 points of 6th spot (or better) is what Boro's target should be - playing catch-up is not the best idea late in the season as it's out of your control. So let's see if Boro 2.0 fare after the January window and are going to kick on and win a few games - though away to Sheff Utd doesn't fill me with much optimism.
However, if Boro can score 2 they will likely at least get a point as the Blades have only score 3 once this season but twice on 14 occasions - the main problem is that they have only conceded more than one goal on 7 occasions and only three times at home and one of those was back in August. Still, Sheff Utd have only won 2 of their last 5 home games and have lost 2 - Burnley (0-2), Hull (0-3) - so there's always hope!