Boro v Hull City. Championship playoff final.
Wembley. Saturday 23 May @15.30
Well, those are words I never expected I’d be writing back in February when we were top or second and beating everybody, or after the Southampton second leg! But, incredibly, the football gods have smiled on us for once! I don’t think many Boro fans, given our past history with the authorities, would have expected Southampton to be booted out or for the subsequent appeal panel to confirm the punishment. But here we are.
So, we have another chance. I must say I would rather Boro had won through the playoffs on the pitch, but the EFL has made its decision, so this is an opportunity we must grab with open arms. There might be an asterisk against our achievement if we go up, but all that would soon be forgotten once the new season starts. Besides, I’m sure all right-minded folk will say that the EFL decision is right and proper. Perhaps they didn’t fancy taking on the wrath of The Smogfather (aka Steve Gibson) had either of the panels’ decisions gone the other way?!
I rather think we start this game as underdogs, regardless of the 7 point gap and +21 goal difference between ourselves and Hull. For starters, they’ve been training for a full week, albeit for much of that time with their focus on Southampton, whereas we’ll have had barely two days. Some of our players may have been already mentally on the plane to Dubai or Mauritius and may have had to jerk back into professional mode very quickly. I’m sure, though, that KH will have spent many hours this week studying (legitimate!) videos of Hull’s games and will have the lads as fully prepared as possible. And a week’s rest may have done wonders for tired minds and bodies and might have allowed time for a few of our bruises, strains and pains to heal somewhat.
Hull will be thoroughly fired up. The Tigers have been able to watch the Soton shenanigans from a safe distance without the obvious emotional attachment we’ve had, but I bet some are thinking we don’t deserve to be in the final while theyve earned the right and they’re damn well going to show us. Jakirovic will certainly be telling them that. So will their fans, who have a right to be frustrated by the last week’s events. Old boys Crooks, Giles and McNair will be desperate to do well in this one, too.
Hull no doubt come into this game full of confidence having disposed of a tough Millwall outfit to make the final. That said, prior to their last day win over Norwich, they’d gone 5 games without a win and had picked up just 3 points in those games, so they scraped into the playoffs courtesy of the point we got at Wrexham. Perhaps they owe us a favour, then? Our record over the same 6 games was a little stronger, finishing with three draws and two wins, though our momentum stalled a bit with Southampton.
City are a good attacking side. They scored 70 goals in the season, two fewer than Boro. Oli McBurnie top scored with 17, while Joe Gelhardt got 15. They’ll need some watching, especially with Giles’s magic left foot crosses to fend with. But Boro are very strong defensively. We were impressive against Southampton in both games and restricted them to very few chances. Even the winning goal was a fluke against defenders who were knackered and out on their feet. I think if we defend as well again, we should be able to stop the Tigers.
Hull’s defence is nowhere near as watertight as ours. They shipped 66 goals in the season, 19 more than Boro, which left them with a goal difference of just +4. So they can definitely be vulnerable. But I foresee scoring goals in this one for Boro as a potential problem, especially without the mercurial Conway. He’ll be a big miss, both with his runs down the left and cutting inside and with his phenomenal work-rate to get back and defend. Who will support Strelec and Whittaker? Can they both turn up for the big occasion, which they failed to do in the semi-finals? Castledine is the obvious replacement for Conway, as he can play anywhere across the front. Not Sarmiento, please - for me he hasn’t done enough to earn a start. One thing potentially in our favour is that this will necessarily be an open game, which might play into our hands, provided we can put away our chances.
The most important question for all Boro fans is what part Hackney can play. Has the time between the semi-finals and Saturday been enough for him to recover enough fitness to be able to start? Can he last 60+ minutes? He’s the key to this one, I think - if he can play a significant role, he’ll make a big difference, I’m sure. Fingers crossed. One thing is certain, he’ll be desperate to give his all one last time for his beloved Boro. One last big hurrah! He’ll want to stay with us, no doubt, and for him that means getting promotion! Otherwise, voracious vultures in the Premiership will be circling.
As a side issue, we have a number of other players who will be desperate to make an impression. Targett and Browne will both be hoping promotion means Boro will sign them. Others are clearly playing for their future, including Gilbert, Silvera, Edmondson, Hansen and Sène. Let’s hope that any of these five who make it onto the pitch will put in the performances of their lives.
On the last thread MW reminded us that we have two more obstacles to overcome if we are to get to the Premier League: we have to win a game at Wembley for the first time, and secondly Hull have to lose their first playoff final. But let’s forget about omens. I’m sure KH won’t be bothered by that and nor will our players. I doubt if many of them have played at Wembley before, and this is a one-off game. We hammered Hull at their place early in the season, but lost the return home game 1-0. Honours even. Both sides know they can beat their opponents.
So come on, boys, let’s do this! Let’s repay Steve Gibson for all his unbelievable efforts and the cash he puts into the club. Let’s give Kim Hellberg and his backroom staff and all the players the ultimate reward for such a fantastic season. Let’s give those bloggers who are ill or have been ill a huge fillip -OFB, John and anybody else. Let’s put the Wembley curse to bed finally and march into the Premier League!
Come on, Boro! We can do this!
A wonderful starter and an appropriately grand rallying call for our big day. Great stuff, Clive- and especially brilliant to have been penned at such short notice.
Were you at Agincourt by any chance?
Brilliant Clive and delivered in a time frame the EFL could only ever dream of.
And Len?! I know there are a lot of, shall we say, well seasoned contributors in here, but, "Clive... Were you at Agincourt by any chance?" ... honestly, is that really necessary? 😉
And Clive as for the most important question for all Boro fans.
I would have thought it is "Can I get a ticket?" first, only then followed by "What part Hackney can play?".
Me, I am just delighted we will be there and so long as it is a fair and hard fought encounter may the best team on the day take the spoils. And while I can't be there, I will be in some pub or another in Glasgow flying the flag and hopefully raising the roof.
EXMIL CHALLENGE 2026 - Playoff Final - Reminder
As I will be travelling all day tomorrow to Portsmouth, then Saturday morning travelling from Emsworth to Wembley, I thought I would take this opportunity to remind werdermouth and Selwynoz that the deadline for their predictions is 1200hrs Saturday, good luck to everyone, especially the Boro.
Come on BORO.
Another brilliant starter - thanks Clive, great work.
How many players do we have who’ll be going to the World Cup? Are Morris and McGree in the squads? Let’s hope their main priorities lie with getting a win on Saturday. I’m hoping KH asks them all to do it for Tommy Conway.
@exmil. Safe travelling Exmil enjoy your day at Wembley; my ex-wife worked at Lloyds Bank in Emsworth and my ex brother and sister in law still live there. 😎
Thank you Clive for your brilliant starter/rallying call.
I suspect most of us would have preferred to have done this the traditional way but when opportunity knocks one can but hope we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot as we have done so often this season, hence why we are, where we are.
i would play McGree as part of the front three and use Brown/Hackney as KH think’s best; probably start with Brown to keep it tight and then use Hackney as the game opens up; assuming it does as I fear that Hull will use a low block as they did at the Riverside, when they pinched a win with only one shot on target and only 29% possession.
I don’t buy into all the talk about it being difficult for Hull to prepare because of the late switch of opponents. The majority of the time between games the players train in their normal way and usually the day or so before tailor the training to suit the next opposition; if anyone has had difficulty it is us.
Whilst I am hoping that Boro at last come away from Wembley victorious, it will mean less opportunity for me to watch them next season but a small price to pay for the riches it will provide. CoB don’t let us down now. 😎
Clive that was brilliant and at such short notice as well. Interesting stats and in a one off game then it all starts with a clean slate.
I have many memories of seeing Hull City play Boro since i spent 21 years living there. My kids were also born in the area
I also had the dubious pleasure of having yo overview their bsnk account when their finances were not so good.
Boothferry Parl, one of the few grounds to have its own train station and then a supermarket as well! Think it closed on match days - the supermarket that is!
Hull until their foray into the PL in 2008 were the largest city never to have a team in the top flight and are the only club that you csnt fill in any of their letters!
So if we have to lose to any team i dont mind it being The Tigers - hoping for a Boro victory
Tickets purchased for me and Boro Becky - we are in the gods so may need binoculars!
Hopefully HH is fit and that whoever replsces TC is up for it along with the others who have been maybe under performing.
No prediction from me as long as no penaltirs as my old heart might not take it!
Apologies for typing - on my phone and fat fingers and snall keys are not good bedfellows - it has taken my ages to type this
UTB - the Boros going up!
Hope they play Chris Rea before the game as winning promotion will be a fitting tribute to one of our own
I see there has been a deluge of posts on here recently. I can't imagine what might have prompted the posts! I will have to take time later to read the posts I have missed but, in the meantime.... @Jarkko this morning (I think, so much has been going on), I received by email from MFC two Wembley tickets to print up at home. They were for me and for the lad you've met who sits next to me at the Riverside. We are registered as "Friends and family" so either of us can get tickets for both of us - that is to allow us to get seats together because if we obtained our tickets separately, we could find ourselves in different rows or even different stands.
I realise this may sound a litttle odd but I am due to set off tomorrow morning for camp at the Roman town of Corbridge with more Roman remains about than you could list of a sheet of A4. I realise that Hadrian's Wall and Wembley are almost at opposite ends of England and the camp is for 9 nights. Already feeling nervous, and that isn't because of the camp.
This makes very interesting reading:
https://images.gc.eflservices.co.uk/0a0e87d0-5538-11f1-ab88-f930a57d19ce.pdf
DIFFICULT TO PREDICT WINNER
I don’t know which team is the favourite to get to the promised land.
Hull will have had a solid training week to maintain fitness and momentum with thoughts of the opposition and appropriate training for Southampton towards the end. They should be physically and mentally fully prepared and be peaking for the playoff.
So, what about Boro? I’m sure the weeks rest will have been welcomed- I can’t remember a team so “ cream crackered” as they walked off the pitch after the Southampton game. Physically, I would think they only need a couple of training sessions as they are very fit athletes. The concern may be mentally going from a feeling of not quite achieving the play off final and the season being over. So now they have to reconnect and get back into the grove to achieve a solid and hopefully successful performance.
i am expecting a close game and just hope Boro can somehow achieve the standard of the first half against Southampton. My main wish is they give a performance to make the supporters proud. If so, I will take what the performance deserves.
philip of Huddersfield 👍😁👍
So, what about Boro? I’m sure the weeks rest will have been welcomed- I can’t remember a team so “ cream crackered” as they walked off the pitch after the Southampton game. Physically, I would think they only need a couple of training sessions as they are very fit athletes. The concern may be mentally going from a feeling of not quite achieving the play off final and the season being over. So now they have to reconnect and get back into the grove to achieve a solid and hopefully successful performance.
KH reckons the lads will be ready:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cvgznxlejlpo
Includes a 12-minute interview with him which I haven't yet listened to.
@martin-bellamy. Absolutely damming. How Eckert and his team can expect to stay in post after that beggars belief.
In any other occupation their actions and the repercussions thereof would be classed as gross misconduct leading to dismissal. 😎
Forgot to mention, liars as well as cheats. 😎
@k-p-in-spain Their arrogance in lodging the appeal beggars belief when you read the facts from those details. They should be ashamed of themselves.
KH reckons the lads will be ready:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cvgznxlejlpo
Includes a 12-minute interview with him which I haven't yet listened to.
KH, he say HH ready - but his time on the pitch will have to be carefully managed. 🙂
@martin-bellamy and kp
I couldn’t agree more with you both. Absolutely outrageous behaviour from Southampton, even down to sending out the young intern against his will (no pun intended.)
Clive
Absolutely brilliant well done you’ve encapsulated the mood of us all in this opening post many thanks !
Sorry I haven’t posted much been a bit poorly and currently in James Cook having tests.
Just hoping I get out in time to see the game on Saturday! That’s if I can stand the stress !
Theae last two weeks have been unbelievable in the annals of Boro history and it’s not over yet.
The whistle blower is reputed to be Moggas brother who refused to spy whilst working for Southampton.
A lot of teams are considering suing Southampton and the body of evidence is not just three clubs affected but these were used as typical examples.
Hopefully a win and I’ve let my family use Mrs OFB tickets and mine as I’m otherwise engaged at present !
UTB
OFB
Just heard that Tonga was caught cheating in 🇩🇪 Germany with kola under 17 team 2017….
OFB
According to ESPN Saturday’s referee is our good friend Jarred Gillett who gave that penalty at Ipswich. At least he will have VAR available.
The spy Mr Salt at Middlesbrough FC training ground was dressed as a Shepherd apparently.
In his defence he told staff at the ground that he was a Shepherd's pie.
Wonder if it was Newboulds ??
OFB
Get well soon, OFB. Up the Boro!
@original-fat-bob. 🤣🤣🤣.
Hope you are soon feeling better and you escape in time to watch what will, no doubt, be a roller coaster ride. 😎
Many thanks for that Clive, especially at short notice.
Anything can happen in the “play offs” as we know. Again, we know that the history stats are against us as well as not having a full squad to choose from, for me Conway will be possibly a bigger miss than HH, as that has been managed quite well.
i just hope the time off and rest will have helped. However as Philip said, do us proud, a good performance and a little luck please.
Unluckly, I cannot believe that Jarred Gillis has been appointed the referee after that Ipswich game. He should have been given the rest of the season off.
Get well Bob and don't not see the game on Saturday...
I will send one up to the Lady of Lourdes 🤞
I’m free !
OFB
Thank you Clive you covered a pretty complex story expertly and at short notice. As we now feature in the national news perhaps you should apply for a job on the News At Ten?
If Hackney is fit then I think we should start him, perhaps to be subbed with Browne if he runs out of gas in the second half. McGree could play further up the pitch in Conway's position.
UTB
Excellent work, Clive.
And hello to all friends of the DiasBoro as I pop in with a quick insight. No, or little, SpyGate stuff here as I instead choose to focus on both our resources and the probable starting line-up ahead of the big game.
I say "little" because this really has been another one of those Big "6" years for Boro, hasn't it? '86 - near death and recovery, '96 - Ravanelli, Emerson and a debacle over three points, '06 - Eindhoven and a great cup run overshadowed by the McClaren-to-England circus, '16 - our first promotion in years, but not before a Charlton fiasco, '26 - SpyGate 2.0. '16 and '26 had "warm-ups", too, involving Albert Adomah and Rob Edwards respectively. Incredible stuff, really.
On to the team...
It goes without saying that I'm absolutely gutted for Tommy Conway. If anyone deserves to lead the line at Wembley, it's him. True, he hasn't been the most consistent of goalscorers but his commitment can't be doubted.
Therefore, our probable starting line-up could be a 3-4-1-2, with Sol in goal, Malanda, Fry and Ayling as a three man defence, Brittain and Targett as wing backs, Morris and Hackney in the centre if fit, and if not, perhaps Morris and Browne, with Riley in the "hole" behind Whittaker and Strelec. It's a team capable of winning the match, without question.
The absence of a genuine "game changer", alas, is clear, which leads me onto my next point. Much was made of Patrick Bamford not joining us in January, but I don't necessarily believe it was another goalscorer we needed. I still recall his supply being cut off in tough away games back in 2014-15 when we were flying and he was spearheading our attack.
What we needed was a visionary runner, someone who could make a difference by transforming the pace and structure of a game. The issue with the likes of Castledine, Sarmiento, Sene and Hansen, to me, is that while the talent is there, they don't appear able to "do it alone" - they echo the kind of "dependent" players that Boro have been renowned for signing for years. In other words, the team around them needs to play well for them to play well. There's the danger of them being absent when the momentum is, something that seemed to be the case with, say, Rhys Williams and Marvin Emnes. There is also the issue of pace and pacing - while Hellberg's Boro seem to move frantically, they do so as a unit, and this has led to us exhausting ourselves early a little too often. A greater focus on controlling the tempo of the game may be required here, especially on the Wembley pitch.
But can I finish on a positive? Yes I can. And that is... we have no reason to be overwhelmed by the occasion. I never forget that Denmark's national team were on holiday eleven days before Euro 92, and that logically, being a last minute replacement for Yugoslavia should have left them with little or no time to prepare.
Big Jack, working as a match analyst in Sweden that summer, thought otherwise. He appeared to conclude that not being "caught up in the occasion" worked for Denmark. If they didn't win a game, so what, because they weren't meant to be there in the first place. So every point was a bonus, and Jack noted that he marvelled at the way the Danes grew in confidence to the point where they were able to beat Germany convincingly in the final.
They were Scandinavian - so is our head coach. They won the tournament in Sweden - the land of Kim Hellberg.
And here's one more omen for you - the last time Arsenal won the title while we were also in the second tier, we won promotion. That was in 1997-98.
Hope you've all enjoyed reading. Onwards and upwards!