In my haste to post as I want to get away from the office on time today I forgot to add my strapline.... so here it is.

All of Middlesbrough expects every man to do his duty. Nothing short of Victory will suffice.

Brilliant, P-N - thanks for an excellent starter. 

I know nothing of naval history but I’m hoping we avoid the poop deck on Saturday. If we could breach them below the waterline early on I’d be very grateful. 

Excellent, Powmill. I enjoyed that. 

Given our injury situation right now, I think it’ll be a case of all hands to the pumps on Saturday. We really must win this one. If not, we’ll be in very choppy waters. 

Pompey were marginally the better side when they beat us at Fratton Park in September. It was a game of very few chances. They took their one real opportunity, when Brynn let a softish shot slip under his dive. We didn’t create any chances of note. It was our first defeat under Edwards. 

I really don’t want to contemplate another game of few chances on Saturday. That would be torture. We simply must dominate them, create numerous chances and stick at least one of them away, and ideally a couple more. I do think that if we score first we will win the game this time.  Can we? We must! 

An excellent starter thank you PNM.

Two sons and two grandsons will be desperate for three points on Saturday whilst Dad/Grandpa will be hoping they don’t get them as I will want Boro to take all three; a draw will leave us both less than happy but me more than them!

I enjoyed your section on His Majesty’s Naval Base of which I have a personal connection; my eldest son is an MOD Police Officer and as a member of the Marine Division based at Portsmouth, he and his colleagues provide waterside security for the Naval Base; one of their main responsibilities is to provide security for the aircraft carriers when they return to base.

Another must win games for us on Saturday and I have us down for a win in the Exmil challenge.  I am now feeling less confident and with Pompey no doubt employing a low block again we could struggle to break them down and another draw could be on the cards, which will not please the red part of the Peters family. 

CoB do us all a favour and provide me with some bragging rites. 😎

Great Headliner PNM.      Thank you for the Naval slant and for Clive’s reminder of our poor performance in our first defeat of the season.

Unless Hellberg changes his approach, which may be difficult given our injuries and little information on their return to action, I can only see more of the same old of recent weeks.

I have written off the second auto spot as unattainable, the play offs looking shaky as we have lost the wind in our sails.

When I was checking the fixtures for the rest of the season, I mentally put Ipswich’s game with Southampton as a plus for Ipswich because it seemed likely that Southampton would be secure in the play-offs and taking a rest in their last two games. Now it seems like a very live match with Southampton a real if outside contender for direct promotion.

Anyway, let’s take a deep breath and look around at the next small steps.

One of the key steps in the whole process will come on Saturday lunchtime when Ipswich go to Norwich in a real derby match. Norwich will be doing everything possible to derail Ipswich in their drive for direct promotion and we have to hope that they come up with a lunchtime victory which could be the trigger for us.

At that point, we must hope that Boro will finally get a break and enough of our likely myriad of shots will take positive deflections of various limbs and deliver us a win against Portsmouth. Ipswich will then play, and probably win, their delayed game against Portsmouth midweek before we meet on the following Sunday.

I’m actually looking forward to our Ipswich game because we will actually be the underdog. I’m also wondering whether Hellberg has decided not to risk Hackney against Swansea and Portsmouth in order to guarantee his availability against Ipswich. 

Anyway, I can’t look beyond this little group of fixtures and am mentally refusing to consider that we could slip out of the play-offs. 

Welcome back @steely and strength to all of us on the blog. As Vinnie Jones once said in LOCK STOCK, “it’s going to be emotional”.

UTB

Thanks for the intro Powmill. We did the Dockyard tour and visited the Mary Rose exhibition when we visited Portsmouth last year. Also my Dad was stationed there in WW2 so places in the area were often mentioned. So onto Saturday surely we can't continue to be so dominant and not win. 

I think that the top 2 is probably out of reach even if we win all five remaining games. Ipswich would still have to lose another game, as well as losing to us, and probably a draw as well as they have a superior goal difference. At the moment we need 8 points to definitely confirm a place in the playoffs.

Many thanks Powmill.

I’m still feeling a bit sorry for Hellberg and completely disagree with the idea that he is the problem and needs to change his approach.

KH’s setup has us dominating game after game. That cannot be the wrong setup in my view. The problems are execution and the deficiencies within squad he’s managing.

I don’t believe it’s a case of altering the approach to better suit the squad because there isn’t really an approach that suits a squad without a striker. Unless Diasborans are calling on mass for a false 9 formation? Something makes me doubt that!

I don’t believe that KH is going after good stats and not bothering about the result. He’s not daft and of course knows that a manager’s currency is points.

The good stats derive from an excellent tactical approach but he can’t be held responsible for missed sitters, dodgy keeping or ridiculous tackles in our own box anymore than he can be for refereeing decisions.

We need to be careful here, Boro fans. Results have not been anywhere near what we’d come to expect for a sustained period now but we have to make sure we understand where the problems lie and where and the solutions are, or we risk losing a very good manager whilst retaining a squad with holes and a sub par recruitment process.

Thanks @andy-r 

I couldn't agree more. I believe that we have unearthed a rare gem in KH and his team and this is clearly demonstrated by his ability to keep us near the top of the league despite the lack of key squad elements that can deliver his preferred tactics. As I see it, we have a free shot at promotion this season and then we have a full transfer window and a full pre-season for MFC to deliver players who can fulfill the KH tactical blueprint in whatever league we find ourselves in. He should be given a multi-year contract and genuine support to fashion a team in his image.

Looking at the Hellberg experience, I cannot remember a season when I have seen Boro exercise so much control in matches and yet of late we can't win games. The difference between our long winning runs and the last ten games has been vanishingly small and yet we can now legitimately look over our shoulder with a touch of concern. How has this happened? I don't know.  A team that scored three and four goals on a regular basis have become incapable of scoring. Is it because the whole division is nervous about our ability to cut a team to pieces and are implementing defensive strategies that end up with 18-19 players squeezed into the final third. I don't have a magic pill and, clearly, the management team doesn't either because, to state the obvious, if there was a simple solution, they would be implementing it. 

I would like to see us get promoted and do think that our technical interplay would be better suited to the Premier League than the more robust approach of a team like Millwall. We play well against good teams and the extra money available could see us add the three or four top-class players who could transform the team.

I still look forward to watching us play and will take the automatic race and/or the play-off fight as it comes.

UTB

@andy-r.  Spot on Andy, it’s not about formations or tactics it’s all about composure and execution; too often over the last few seasons this has been an issue as some players are just not up to the task.

We need to keep KH and see next season if he can put together a squad to suit his style and hopefully produce the goods.

There has been a lot of discussion about the number of shots we have but how often do we work the keeper or lose matches because the keeper has played a blinder, very few if any I believe. 😎

Many thanks Powmill for that interesting opener and getting us all on board for the next ‘must win’ game - there’s been a lot of naval gazing lately but the Championship is never plain sailing - especially if you ship avoidable goals!

This is a game Boro should win and indeed if they don’t they will struggle to finish in second place - surely the shots have to hit the net at some point - let’s hope it’s Saturday to give the team confidence for the trip to Ipswich!

Some really good posts and arguments as to the frailties of the Boro team and squad.

There has been an acknowledgement that we have scored lots of goals at times and now, from open play they have dried up.

My opinion is slightly different from some, in that we keep blaming the “strikers” but the reality is until the recent barren spell, Coventry aside, we were matching and beating the top teams around us for goals scored. Our goals came from all the team players.

I still believe that Hellberg needs to tweak his style of play a little. As KP posted, how often do we work the keeper, how many of our countless shots are blocked against the 18 or so players squeezed into the penalty area as Selwynoz also pointed out.

So I looked back at the last two games we won, kindly unloaded by Werder. One could say we were a little fortunate against Birmingham, Brynn made a brilliant save before we scored and another when it was 1-2, yes what he is paid to do. QPR was a little different, they also has a really good chance before we scored. 

Then we got our movement going and that was that. However what was obvious, was that most of the goals came from open play, on the counter more than pass and pass. We created space, and created most of the chances in that space and not against a packed penalty area.

I we look back, then probably most of our goals came from play very similar. I appreciate that some teams line up defensively against us, but it is up to Hellberg and his team, which includes Adi with years of experience, to open up our play, maybe more direct against some teams and move the ball more quickly against the better teams.

Thanks @AndyR for that nautical Opener and for your post earlier this morning. It would be good to get the wind into Boro's sails again before it is, finally and definitively, too late. I was having a discussion last night with a fellow ST holder and also with a Barcodes suppporter at The Battered Badger. My mate seemed to think there are very fine margins between success and failure and that, just as swiftly as things have started to go wrong, they can start to go right again. My view was that sometimes it would pay to use varied tactics but also that the form of teams can be like the tides.  If the tide is going out it would be foolish to expect to turn that around immediately.  Boro now needs 5 successive victories whereas recent form means that is very difficult to imagine. 

I was said to be being pessimistic.  I thought I was being realistic.  If your team has won 5 games in a row, it is understandable you'd be optimistic and that you might expect that streak of results to continue.  On the other hand, if your team has failed to win for 5 games the prospect of suddenly turning that around to win the remaining games seems only a remote possibility. There is a massive difference between a possibility and a probability.

I have no idea how things will go against Portsmouth. The fact the game is at home and against a team struggling at the wrong end of the table doesn't fill me with enthusiasm following fairly recent home games against similarly-struggling Leicester and Oxford (as well as poor results at home against not-much-better-placed Bristol City and Charlton). I HOPE Boro can find some way to win. That might "break the dam" and make the subsequent games a more inviting prospect. Time will tell...

@forever-dormo.  Excellent post FD.  I particularly liked your second paragraph.  

I get slightly irked/miffed when some of us have made concerning comments/posts and others come on and label us as negative or glass half empty merchants; often our concerns are backed by reasoned arguments and or facts whilst the glass half full group are often relying on simple faith and hope. 

Possibility and probability should perhaps be given greater consideration at times. 😎

@k-p-in-spain Now’s a time to be united, I think, wherever we are on the glass spectrum. If we’re all agreed on one thing, it’s the need to win our games going forward. 

None of us can know what will happen between now and the end of the season but we can all dream. 

@martin-bellamy.    Mine have been nightmares Martin.  🤣 🤣 🤣 

@pedro.  Clearly you are a true Boro fan, of the realist persuasion. 😂😂😂😂

Thanks Powmill for the intro and I also enjoyed the little bit of Royal Navy history for Portsmouth.

Just a bit of family history from me, my Dad met my Mum in Portsmouth on New Years Eve 1954. He was doing his National Service and my Mum was training to be a nurse. So I have a lot to thank Portsmouth for!

Anyway, onto football matters, we all know that Saturday is another must win game and definitely must not lose! Let’s hope that Boro can proceed “Full steam ahead”!

I am not going to make any predictions about the game, I got it wrong about Millwall so best keep my powder dry for the benefit of Boro keeping their head above water and not have us shouting “ mayday mayday mayday”!

UTB

Posted by: @k-p-in-spain

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@forever-dormo.  Excellent post FD.  I particularly liked your second paragraph.  

I get slightly irked/miffed when some of us have made concerning comments/posts and others come on and label us as negative or glass half empty merchants; often our concerns are backed by reasoned arguments and or facts whilst the glass half full group are often relying on simple faith and hope. 

Possibility and probability should perhaps be given greater consideration at times. 😎

I think both views are valid and very much being part and parcel of being a Boro supporter! Perhaps at times us realists need to have a dose of “foam handed” faith and hope!!

Like you, I spent my career having to assess risk and make judgments based on probability(every report I wrote had a pros and cons along with a balanced recommendation) which can tend to make us more cautious in nature! 🤣 

@boro-beckys-dad.  As a an ex risk manager for a bank I concur wholeheartedly with your last comment. 😎

@k-p-in-spain As a Chartered Insurance Broker, I’ve tried to free my mind of 40 odd years of “what ifs” since retirement. 😉

Being married to a Chartered Insurer hasn’t made that easy!  

@martin.     I think that if I had not been as cautious as I am, I may have been worth much more than I am now. However, I guess I could have been worth a lot less. 🤣🤣

I have seen a couple of papers leading with a headline, that AV will probably have to sell one of their “stars” this summer, even if as likely, they qualify for the Champions League.

Morgan Rodgers is in the headline as to be the one sold. Of course it maybe just gossip as usual. However the good bit is if he was to be sold, the Telegraph article which includes his time at Boro, states our sell on clause is TWENTY PER CENT. 

Let us hope he has a good World Cup

@pedro.  I hope they sell him before the World Cup as knowing our luck he will get injured whilst on England duty and miss the transfer window!  

Not being pessimistic just pragmatic.  😂😂😎

Pedro & KP,

Moot point I reckon - Villa will qualify for the Champions League.

Now take those rose tinted glasses off.

EXMIL CHALLENGE 2026 - Part 2 - amendment 

I have just noticed that a rearranged fixture has been slipped in the Part 2 period, on Tuesday night Southampton v Blackburn (the same time as Portsmouth v Ipswich) therefore to accommodate this change I require al entries to predict this extra fixture.

As Southampton is the only team involved, could I ask all participant's to predict Southampton results in the following form:

Southampton W, L or D and I will add the relevant points to your previously predicted totals, please post your prediction in the Challenge post in the social club section, by 1900 hrs on Tuesday 14th April.

Come on BORO.

The case for the inclusion of Sontje Hansen in tomorrow's starting line-up:

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/middlesbrough-bold-selection-decision-portsmouth-33745084

As an aside from Boro, but still in the EFL,  if you have 15 minutes, read Tony Pulis’s weekly article. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cg73nxnz7mko

@stircrazy   Not a start for me, he has not down enough to earn a place from the off. Sarmiento also. 

After reading that article, I read the update on the injuries front, which not unexpected, was still disappointing.

I was told by a friend who has been correct on info out of Rockcliffe, a few times in the past, that Jones could possibly miss the rest of the season. Likewise the initial concern over Hackney and when he would be back, if at all for any league fixtures. These are unfortunately looking to be true.

The other frustration and disappointment is Castledine, and being told every week, he is getting closer, as the games get fewer.

Will any be ready for the playoffs?

If you throw four tails in a row, what are the chances to that fifth throw will be a tail? I think we all know that the correct as answer is 50/50, but that can sometimes feel a bit counterintuitive. With coins, we might be tempted to think that surely it's time for a head. With football matches, it tends to go the other way. Four bad results in a row tends to make us expect a fifth bad result.