@powmillnaemore I’m with you on this one. Full marks to Charlton who had a plan, although how it would have worked if we’d scored first is anyone’s guess.
It’s all very well criticising the team for not scoring, but letting in that goal from a long throw is also a massive error and changed what Charlton needed to do to get points.
Social media is awash with Boro “supporters” berating the team and the manager despite promotion still being in our control. Some fans have very short memories.
Hard to disagree with that Len.
I see from all the posts that frustration is a word that is used a lot which does sum it up pretty well.
We are hanging onto 2nd by a thread which makes Saturday a crucial match against one of our bogey teams with the disadvantage of a 1230 kick off.
I am not sure KH will be able to do much in the time before then with the current players to beat the oppositions low block tactics which I am sure Bristol City will use.
The same goes for games in the play offs should they become a necessity - I am still scarred from the Play off games against Villa back in 2018.
I am reserving judgement or giving up hope as to what may happen until after the next two games and hope that the international break can give KH and the players time to resolve the issues.
COB.
Is the lack of a goal scoring forward raising its head again?
Last night was a good example of this kind of player is needed. On a number of occasions , as early as the first few minutes, when the ball was played across the goal there was no forward busting a gut to get to the ball for a tap in.
Conway isn’t that player. I originally thought Strelec might be but he’s not. The game at this level looks too physical for him. Whittaker certainly isn’t and at times, eg last night, the ball just doesn’t stick with him.
So, other players are needed to chip in with a few goals. Scoring at home recently is proving to be a problem. No matter how much possession the team has, the opposition is always going to have a chance or two from a breakaway and/ or a corner etc.
Hopefully the next home game will produce a win - a last minute own goal will even be acceptable.
Philip of Huddersfield 🤔🤔🤔
I was seriously annoyed last night but time to move on with the next game on the horizon! As many have hinted, I think the coaching team know our limitations and are trying their best to work with what we have…… can’t turn a pig’s ear into a silk purse and all that. Maybe Bristol City can give us a helping hand? UTB
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cvg3ydk5kggo
Having read all these posts… I stand by my belief that we play, work, defend and score as a team above all else, and this minimises if not negates the need for a Star No 10 or a Star Forward, who can be equally limiting in their own right if their supply or passes are cut off. We should have learnt as early as Boro 0-2 Arsenal and Southampton 4-0 Boro, both in September 1996, what can happen when intelligent defending forces our main men out of the game, especially if we are dependent on them.
A little concerned? Yes, I admit that. But this team has proved multiple times that they’ve got it, and no team will win every game. Even Coventry were off colour for a long time.
If your team has a tactic and it isn't working at home (because things seem to fine away from home), you have choices:
1) Continue to pursue that tactic with fingers crossed because you know, just know, that it will eventually work at some stage before the final whistle.
2. Try something else, or
3. Mix it up.
Obviously you can't bring on pacy wingers and put Harry Kane up front. Oh, that we should dream! But, for the something else, you could try shooting earlier. In rugby terms, that might mean going wide and running for the try line on the 3rd or 4th play, rather than keeping the ball in the rugby forwards and repeatedly charging into the opposition forwards hoping to gain a yard or two before recycling it and doing the same again, and again, without letting the backs see the ball. Obviously THAT tactic is great if you know your forwards are generally better than the opposition's, if you are confident they are good with balm in hand, and can gain a few yards then a few yards more until you get within range and THEN throw it wide and run it over the try line.
We do a lot of the "trying to make an opening using quick passing triangles but, when the opening doesn't appear, then pass it backwards and start again, and again and again", as though the opening has to be perfect before we can run directly towards goal or shoot.
It would be great regularly to score beautiful goals walked into the net but goals can be scored from distance and, if the shots are deflected or blocked, "chaos may ensue" in the opposition area, keepers may be wrong footed and our players might be able to take advantage, even to poke one into the net from close quarters. Crosses can be cut back from near the goal line, or there can be diagonal crosses into the area (if we had anyone able to head the ball) or balls put in low and hard from wide with the aim that someone could get a boot to them.
Mixing it up can involve some of what Boro's players regularly do PLUS these other tactics mentioned above plus the odd "route one" ball. Remember the magnificent assist by Sol Brynn when Whittaker scored "that goal"?
Obviously I realise professional footballers & coaches know more about football than me - but surely if you keep doing the same thing without success during a game (as Boro has done for THREE successive home games against lower table teams) then trying something different would at least keep the opposition on their toes, wondering what is coming next. A boxer throwing punches in the same combinations is soon worked out. A batsman rushing regularly down the wicket to drive back over the bowler's head is almost welcomed with open arms (just watch for the shorter wider ball the batsman doesn't reach where the keeper has the bails off before the batsman has time to look behind him).
If what you are doing in a game is working (let's say you are 4-0 up after owning the ball for most of the game) there may be little incentive to "mix it up". But if you have struggled to score despite all the possession and all your "best moves" for 50 minutes then mixing it up seems a sensible alternative plan. If you keep doing the same thing, don't be surprised if you keep getting the same results.
I think maybe the club also needs to look at the corner kick routines. We had LOTS of corners last night but no success. If we had conceded the same number of corners I guess we would have conceded some goals.
I realise this may sound like a moan. I am not intending to slag anyone off. But I guess there will be lots of people wishing to throw off such reluctance if at the fourth home game in a row we have most of.the ball but fail possibly to score but certainly to win the game.
@forever-dormo Corners and throw-ins always disappoint me. They’re areas where teams can practice easily and work out plans for variations. I’m amazed that we’re so poor in both areas.
As for shots from outside the box, who would you bet on hitting the target? Definitely not Morris, usually not HH. Whittaker always wants to come inside onto his left foot (as did I when I played but I’m not a professional footballer).
If not them three, then who? Conway? Strelec? Castledine looks like he’s got a shot on him, so he’d definitely be an option I guess.
I think we’ll win on Saturday and I’m not too stressed about the situation if we do. If we lose, we’ll all be worried for the remaining games.
@lenmasterman It's an open question, though uniquely last night Hellberg lashed out at the players, saying that whilst the approach play had been "brilliant", the finishing had been “terrible”, and lacking in quality. It was the “What can you do?" argument. The coaches have done their job, the chances have been created, but we cannot put the ball in the net for them. The fault lies with the players.
A good post Len. I think that KH is a smart guy or certainly appears to be. However as much as he does not generally criticise his players, and I have not read the article you quoted above.
I would say that IMO the approach play was poor, pedestrian in fact. Yes the finishing was terrible, but with not many clear cut chances, glaring misses we shall say. The first half was poor and KH had the chance to change tactics a little at HT.
Browne would have been my first choice to replace Whittaker and have him in front of Brittain.
Strelec has been a complete waste of money and not of Championship quality. But of course in reality Hellberg only has a very limited squad of quality players.
I also think he is being smart in the sense, as you pointed out Len, he does not choose the signings. He must have some input, I would not believe otherwise, just as Edwards did.
But, it is reasonably easy to purchase quality Championship Defenders, as in Jones and Brittain, and loan in Browne and Targett.
But, scoring forwards are a completely different animal. Expensive if proven. So MFC and Scott went shopping in Poundland and gambled on Strelec, Sene, Hansen and lately Sarmiento. But also paid decent money previously for Whittaker and Hamilton.
In truth possibly Edwards and Hellberg have made the sum of the parts bigger than should have been possible. It should have been easier with better recruitment.
As you said last night was very pedestrian performance. Many times we were able to switch the play and pick out an unmarked player out wide. The problem was that said unmarked player did not get on his bike and sprint either down the touch line or inside but took most of the pace out of the attack, by running into the line of Charlton players.
Recruitment must be a very difficult task to achieve perfection on a limited budget. How many of us would have said that Morgan Rogers would be such a good player after his first few appearances? 2 goals in 26 league games, now 19 in 77 for Villa. Hamilton looked like he might be a better bet. He had played for City, Rogers didn't, and scored in Europe, but wasn't to be.
Good post. The Hellberg quote came not from an article but from his post-match interview, available on the club's website.
@mw-in-darwin that was what I have said a few times, when we engineer ourselves into that siruation, wide in a forward position, we dont attack the line behind the defence, but recycle infield again and again ad nauseum. One of the most dangerous things to defend against is the fast ball coming back into the heart of the penalty area from behind the defence. We rarely do that. Now, I am not saying you do that all the time either, but as FD was saying, you mix it up, using variety to keep the opposition defence on its toes.
Len, I am not sure that KH "lashed out" at his players. I think he spoke calmly and matter of factly and I can imagine his charges agreeing with him about their own inability to take chances. I do agree that KH and the coaching staff have some responsibility for that as well. However, I didn't read anything into the way KH delivered that interview that implied anything other than the collective responsibilty to get that last bit of the equation (i.e. scoring a goal or two) right.
I have some issues with my compurer - my wife is on line with it now - but I will post my preview of the Bristol City match in a few hours time. But I need my PC to finish the article. Patience.
Up the Boro!
@martin-bellamy - I agree with you. I suspect that I would be more likely to score from a shot than Morris. How many games now, and how many shots, yet STILL no goal! To be fair he's prettty good at tackling, closing down, and passing to others in a better position or more likely to shoot. Horses for courses, they say, in which case the best course for Morris is to stay in midfield and let others do the shooting!
I'd like to THINK that the squad practices throw-ins and corners, both in attack and defence. However the practice doesn't seem to be producing matchday results, yet. Mind you it's not so bad as when Antonio Barragan was playing. He probably had a foul throw (not all penalised by the officials) twice out of every three throws. I have just looked it up on Wikpedia which mentioned he committed 8 fouls from throw-ins. He must have got away with far more than two-thirds! He played for Boro less than one year (26 appearances before he went to Real Betis on loan, and then sold to Betis)! Has anyone on here had eight foul-throws given against them in their entire lives? Maybe nobody ever taught him how to throw the ball in.
@pedro - I agree, Pedro. I would have brought Browne on for Whittaker, but with the aim of going where Hackney was playing (so Browne and Morris would have been in the middle, with Hackney moving further forward).
@jarkko - I hope things are fine up there in the frozen North. I hope you enjoyed your after-sport sauna.
I have just checked and see that Helsinki has the Swedish name "Helsingfors" (which, I must say, does look/sound Swedish to me). But I assume Helsinki is the name in Finnish and English. I also see Helsinki is 60.10.15 degrees North (and 24.56.14 degrees East). Therefore Helsinki is almost exactly as far North as Lerwick which is the capital of the Shetland Islands (60.155 degrees North). For your information it is currently 7C in my part of North Yorkshire, with sunny intervals at present and a 21mph wind from the south west. It is very similar in Lerwick (6C, sunny intervals with 32% rain and 24 mph winds from the south west). And my BBC Weather App suggests at noon here (2pm there) it will be 7C with sun and 0% rain and a gentle 14mph south south westerly wind in Helsinki. Your capital is, of course, about as far South as Finland goes and The Shetlands are about as far North as the UK goes. It's all downhill from Lerwick...
@forever-dormo Been too busy to go to sauna since last Wednesday - just before the Charlton game. Only quick showers since.
My home town Vantaa, which is older than Helsinki, was called Helsinge in the past. And when the new town was founded - it was separated from Helsinge or Vantaa - it was called Helsingfors. Fors(s) means a stream in Swedish and the original old town was beside the small force or bigger stream of the river Helsinge - nowadays called River Vantaa The new town was called Helsingfors (nowadays Helsinki in Finnish).
Quite recently - in early 19th centenary - the Capital was moved to Helsinki from Turku, the traditional capital of Finland. Becuase of the long, very long history with Sweden, Finland has still two official languages - Swedish and Finnish. If over 6 % of the population are Swedish speaking - like in Helsinki - the public services must be provided in both languages.
Up the Boro!
I didn't stick around to hear KH's post match comments and haven't been back to listen but from what's reported here I agree with him: take your chances and win the game.
It was a poor goal conceded after a lengthy break in play for subs which I suspect added to the defensive switch off but ultimately we created enough decent chances to win, and had we scored first we would likely have had the space to then score more.
We have to be more ruthless above all else.
@forever-dormo Re foul throws - it annoys me immensely when the long throw merchants, who play such a big role in a lot of matches at the moment, overstep the sideline and yet are almost never penalised by the officials.
Whilst I’m having a mini rant, has anyone noticed the current trend to block off an attacker immediately after kick off to prevent them from pressing the player who’s had the ball laid to him? I think I’ve seen the blocking player penalised only once. Grrrr!
@martin-bellamy - I agree, Martin. Firstly it's as if the referee and assistant referees either don't look at throw ins any more or they may have "forgotten" the rules. Maybe they are looking at what the players are doing to each other infield rather than concentrating on the chap beyond the sidelines who is preparing to throw the ball in. And when can anyone remember a free kick being awarded for obstruction? I don't think the rules have been changed, it's just that the whistle is never blown.
It's a bit like penalties or the lack of them from virtually every corner kick you care to identify. I doubt there is any corner kick in any game where a free kick shouldn't be awarded. It's not only the attackers putting arms out to prevent defenders jumping or trying to crowd the goalkeeper out, but also defenders grabbing attacking players or blocking off the players they think the crosses are aimed towards. You could probably get half a dozen yellow cards and two or three penalties every game. Maybe that would stop it all.