Still,got vision problems !
I agree entirely with your post, Len. That said, I think Jarkko also has a point. Edwards could well have used Josh, probably in much the same way he deployed Carlton Morris at Luton. But there’s reason to suggest, as Jarkko said, that KH wouldn’t play with a big target man. Sadly, we shall never know. That ship has sailed.
OFB: I sincerely hope your source is wrong about Hackney. One player doesn’t make a team, of course, but he is so vital for us that his loss for any number of games could seriously damage our chances.
@lenmasterman I rest my case. But just watch. Given my predictive abilities, do not be a bit surprised if Joss misses a couple of sitters and has a stinker on Friday, Whittaker, Conway and Strelec score a brace apiece, Boro put all of our doubts to rest and our head of recruitment is given a pay rise and an extended contract.
There is more chance of me winning the Euro Millions than Boro scoring two goals from the team as a whole.
I can see the headlines: ex Boro player Josh Coburn puts paid to auto chances.
@pedro I might as well not bother watching then. I’m off to make some Pace Eggs and to find a hill to roll them down!
Watched England tonight. Very similar performance to their last game .
Loads of possession, lots of passing sideways and backwards, very few chances until out of desperation brought on 2 defenders to hopefully score with a header. Too many average performance. Lack of an attacking spark. Not an attractive game to watch - again a bit boring.
Clearly like Boro in lacking a decent striker. England are poor as an attacking force when Kane doesn’t play. Lost 0-1 to a few boos from the supporters.
England will win nothing playing like this at the world cup. I think they will also be hampered by the temperature which may tempt them to keep more possession of the ball.
So back to the important game v Millwall. There has been a number of comments that Millwall will be much more offensive than recent teams. I’m not so sure. I think they will set off being defensive to stall Boro and keep the home supporters quiet. And then to catch Boro on the break and then the longer the game goes to then increase their attacking play and go the win.
I just hope Boro can get a lead in the first half to help them settle.
Fingers and everything else crossed !!
Philip of Huddersfield 🤔🤔🤔
Aidan Morris played 79 minutes of USA's 2-0 defeat against Portugal.
David Strelec was on The Scoresheet in Slovakia’s 2-0 Win Against Romania
Alan Browne Came Off The Bench For The Last 7 Minutes Of Ireland’s 0-0 Draw with North Macedonia
Tommy Conway Came Off The Bench For The Last 13 Minutes Of Scotland’s 1-0 Defeat Against Ivory Coast
Riley McGree Came Off The Bench For The Last 23 Minutes & Got An Assist In Australia’s 5-1 Win Against Coraçao, Whilst Boro Team Mate Sontje Hansen Came Off The Bench For The Last 8 Minutes Of That Game for Coraçao.
Why is everyone worrying about Josh Coburn 🤔, let’s look at his stats this season for Millwall:
He has been involved in 20 of Millwall’s 39 games, came on as a substitute 4 times and he has been substituted 13 times completing 3 matches.
In those appearances he has scored 6 times with zero assists, Harry Kane he is not !
If I get time I would scroll back and see what people said when we sold him for £5m, yes he could score against us but so could any of Millwall’s team.
Come on BORO.
@martin-bellamy. You know me well enough Martin. That's why I don't do predictions, I rarely get any correct. 🤣
Exmil, I said at the time that 5 mil was good money given his record with injuries.
I do hope though that in the longer term he gets better and scores more. He is not going to be a Morgan Rogers though.
We may have got away with relatively light loads on most of our international absentees - provided there are no injuries - but I’m disappointed Morris played so much of their game. He and McGree (and Hansen) will have faced long journeys home and may be jet-lagged, unfortunately, but we may still be able to put out a competitive side, at least for most of the game. The complete silence from MFC on Hackney is very concerning, though.
I’m pleased Strelec scored in each of his two Slovakia games. Perhaps that will boost his confidence at just the right time?
So hopefully the Boro players representing their countries will not return with tired legs. Morris may be a problem because of the time he was on the pitch and the physical effort he puts into games.
philip of Huddersfield
@original-fat-bob - I had a fear that your prediction about HH may prove to be true. If it does happen that way, then Boro will have some thinking to do because, so far this season, most of Boro's play seems to come through HH. How can that be replicated by another player because most commentators seem to think he has been the best Championship player this season and, if he were not available, by definition that would mean his replacement would be a weaker player and the team diminished?
ANDY - Thanks for the Match Preview which has done its best to get me thinking of Boro again. I have been taking some time to think about other things, no doubt like those players who have spent some time with their various international teams. But when they get together again on Friday they will, I hope, have their full focus on what Boro needs to do over the next seven games. Your Preview has made me focus, anyway.
In two months time, if not sooner, Boro players and supporters will all know what Fate has in store for them for 2026-27. For some of the players (the obvious exception being Hayden Hackney, but possibly also Leo Castledine if things go well for him in the future), 2025-26 will represent their only or their last opportunity to become Premier League players. Those opportunities don't come along very frequently and teams which fall short are often broken apart as the better players and sometimes managers/coaches are cherry-picked by competitors. In addition, other well-funded parachute payment teams enter the following season's promotion race and teams like Wrexham and Birmingham (if not promoted this season) will have money made available to make a promotion push after having settled themselves safely in The Championship after promotion there last year. A "surprise package" or two sometimes make themselves known and this year that surprise package might well prove to have been Boro. So, if you have the chance, you have to take it! They do not come around every year.
I don't want to sound morbid but, if the players might be wondering whether this will be their last or only chance to climb to the Premier League, there are likely to be readers and contributors to this Blog who have even less time to waste hoping THIS will be the season. I mean, it would be "interesting" if one had inside information that one would live to see 100 years of age, and therefore have an understanding that other chances may come along in the next decade or the one after that. But optimism in terms of life expectancy has to be flavoured with a sprinkle of realism.
I fear we will not see Hackney play and I'd be surprised if we see McGree, Hansen and Morris, given their journies home from far-flung places which may not be completed until hours before Friday's match. I suppose Conway, given his energy, enthusiasm, the fact he only came on as a late sub yesterday and the fact he only had to come back from Scotland, will play. The same may apply to Browne. I guess Strelec might not normally start on Friday apart from the fact that he has now scored in his last two internationals and has only had to travel from Europe, so I guess he WILL play. But who would pick a team missing McGree, Morris and Hackney (three nailed-on starters) out of choice, especially now that we are coming to the crunch time of the season?
It would be great if Boro scored an early goal, hopefully by Strelec or Conway to further improve their mood. But if Boro has a lot of possession on Good Friday and it remains 0-0 after 65 minutes, there will be few Boro fingernails left in good condition for the rest of the game. I HOPE Boro can win this game because, if that happens, there may be a feeling that the charge is on, that Boro's "wobble" is over like Coventry's ended, and optimism will break out amongst the multitude. But hope isn't confidence and it certainly isn't knowledge. If I were a betting man I'd keep my money in my pocket.
@forever-dormo Talking of betting (and it’s a long shot) - what are the chances of the international players coming back enthused from playing with and against top quality players, having learnt some new skills and strategies and being jealous of those already playing at the highest level, giving them a determination to put their tiredness behind them and to put in top drawer performances for seven more games?
Ok, who gave me a glass half full?
@forever-dormo Talking of betting (and it’s a long shot) - what are the chances of the international players coming back enthused from playing with and against top quality players, having learnt some new skills and strategies and being jealous of those already playing at the highest level, giving them a determination to put their tiredness behind them and to put in top drawer performances for seven more games?
Ok, who gave me a glass half full?
With blind optimism like that I suspect you may be a secret Mag 😱
Thanks for the intro Andy. Going to be a tough game in front of a sell out crowd, as Millwall have sold their full allocation.
Stats courtesy of
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Middlesbrough have won four of their past six league games against Millwall (L2), and are hoping to complete the double over the Lions for the first time since 2014-15.
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Millwall have won just one of their past nine away league games against Middlesbrough (D3 L5), a 1-0 victory in August 2023.
and one nobody will be surprised at:
No player has had more shots (44), more shots on target (11) or accumulated a higher xG (2.4) without scoring in the Championship this season than Middlesbrough's Aidan Morris.
@mw-in-darwin. The 11 shots on target surprised me, I can only remember one. 🤔
I spent a very happy hour last night looking back at last June's comments when Josh was sold to Millwall. "Happy" because it is always a pleasure to peruse so many literate and articulate posts reflecting such a broad spectrum of opinion given and taken with such a high degree of tolerance and mutual respect.
What I discovered was a high degree of consistency between what contributors said then and their views expressed on this particular thread. This is not a forum in which opinions blow with the prevailing wind. Because they are thoughtful and considered they are not easily moved unless there is persuasive evidence to the contrary.
Martin and exmil were the contributors most comfortable with Joss's move, given the player's stats. goalscoring record and the size of the fee involved. They remain firmly of that view.
Clive and I took the opposite line. Clive's punchy comment I found extraordinarily prescient, predating as it did my own longer-winded comments above on the same theme by some nine months:
"What a bloody terrible start from Edwards. He hasn’t even bothered to take a look at Josh in pre-season. I’m disgusted. I thought Edwards might have considered using him, if not as principal striker, then at least as someone who might change a game; after all, at Luton he relied quite heavily on a player of similar stature and playing style in Carlton Morris.
We all know Josh offered something different. He’s not necessarily an instinctive striker like Latte Lath, but he will put himself about and bag a few goals. He was the only forward we have who is good in the air, too. Yet we’ve identified previously that we score very few set piece goals, and hardly ever from corners.
Unless Edwards and Scott have somebody else in mind, I think they - and we - will come to regret this rash decision.
I wish Josh well. But he joins Duncan Watmore as another we sold to Millwall for a pittance and whom we really should have kept."
Brilliant, Clive.
For my own part I have tested the patience of readers of this blog for too long in charting the Machiavellian moves of Scott in his determination to move Joss on.
The vast majority of comments, however, could be filed under the heading of reluctant acceptance.
The reluctance was palpable. There was scarcely a contributor who did not express disappointment that Joss was not given an opportunity to prove himself in a Boro shirt. He had apparently been training really hard to get himself ready for the new season and almost everyone felt that he deserved that opportunity.
On the other hand the reported £5m fee was felt to more than adequately reflect the player's actual worth. And it was money that could be recorded as direct profit, which helped ease Boro's FFP position and could possibly be spent on an upgrade to Joss.
So the consensus view was that whilst it was sad to see Joss go, the club's position was perfectly understandable.
As a footnote those arguments looked at the time to be even more persuasive in the case of Hackney. So much so that it was universally assumed that he would be moved on in the Summer. Indeed Bob's grapevine informed us that HH had been made generally available by the club and that this had proved to be the final straw for Carrick.
It is salutary to think that the Boro's surprising form this season owes less to the combined experience and brain power of the Boro hierarchy, who were reportedly furious at the player's refusal to accept the Ipswich deal, than it does to the recalcitrance of a Redcar lad, who set himself against club policy, insisted on his own agency, stayed with us for the whole season and has been the single biggest contributor to our success so far.
In short, Hackney left the club's arguments, used in the case of both himself and Coburn, looking somewhat threadbare.
@lenmasterman This season is Josh Coburn’s best season ever in the championship, with 6 goals from 20 appearances, how many on here would be happy spending £5m on a striker that has 6 goals as his best ever season 🤔.
Come on BORO.
@lenmasterman An interesting take on the situation and the parallel with HH and his near departure to Ipswich. I wonder if there is a tiny part of him that regrets turning down the move - I certainly hope not.
And on the subject of our midfield superstar - has anyone got an update on his injury situation? Will OFB’s rumours be confirmed and we’ll have to play on without him until the end of the season?
@lenmasterman An interesting take on the situation and the parallel with HH and his near departure to Ipswich. I wonder if there is a tiny part of him that regrets turning down the move - I certainly hope not.
So, will it be Boro 2nd XI versus Millwall tomorrow? I listened to Kim Hellberg during his Presser this afternoon. I wasn't hanging on his every word because I was, instead, hanging up clothes that had been washed, for much of the time, but I had the feeling we would not get much information about who would be available for Friday (and, if not available then, when they would be available).
So, I will be off to watch The Beatles play, but not sure whether I will see Paul or John behind the microphone.
@forever-dormo As long as Pete Best doesn’t decide to steal the show in a metaphorical way…
The Beeb looks at the Championship run-in, the section on Boro headed by the $64,000 question - "Will misfiring Middlesbrough score enough goals to earn promotion?":
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gdxndkpr7o
An honest assessment, methinks.
Listening to Kim’s pre match comments and especially what he didn’t say then I don’t expect Hackney or Whittaker to play. So, that’s the generally accepted best player in the League and the Club’s top goal scorer. That’s not good.
Then listening to his comments on Morris and McGree who have had long flights home and returned late leads me to think they could also be missing.
If this is the case then Boro are in big trouble because their replacements are not in the same class. This has been a problem all season particularly with attacking substitutes. They have been poor, not offered anything different and not changed the game which is what you want from substitutes.
Plus , if as many as 4 regular players don’t play then their replacements will not have played with the remaining players, ie they are not used to playing together as a team. We saw this in the recent England game where the fluency wasn’t there.
So, in front of a sellout crowd, I am feeling nervous about Boro’s chances against an inform team particularly when Boro themselves are not getting the results or indeed creating and scoring goals.
So, my wish is the team’s performance doesn’t let the crowd down and they are applauded off the pitch. If this happens then I’ll take whatever the result is - win , lose or draw.
Philip of Huddersfield 🤔🤔🤔👍
I too watched the presser with KH and it was the most downbeat and cagey one he has given to the media.
i still don’t know if it part of a double bluff to put off the preparation by the opposition before the game or Boro have serious selection problems.
Ive thought for a while that our tactics and team selection have been openly discussed at these pressers and then analysed on various you tube clips by journalists and football vloggers. In my opinion it gave opposing teams detailed analysis of the Boro team and how KH thought with regard to setting the team up and some teams found a way to stifle the Boro resulting in little or none goal scoring opportunities.
Perhaps KH is learning to be more diplomatic and tight lipped at these pressers and not giving anything away before a game. I hope so because whilst he has been a breath of fresh air since he took over as manager he is still learning in this league and is quite open during interviews and discussions.
In my opinion KH Just keep talking about Beamish Museum and Butterfly World at Preston Park because that will really stymie the opposing managerial teams !
OFB