Didnt watch the game so can only rely on highlights and those who did see it. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy game and so it proved!
I was “watching” via BBC live text as best I could as we had guests and I the longer it was 0 0 with 70% possession, the more I felt uneasy although at 2 0 I did relax and my son sent my a message to the effect of, another good win in the offing. His next message of “bugger - should have kept my mouth shut” at 2 all reflected what we were all probably thinking then.
Very nervy after that and every time I checked back, I was expecting 3 2 so was delighted when it was in Boro’s favour! The added time went on for rather too long for my nerves and ta the end my drink was downed in celebration! Not split as Mrs BBD would have not been best pleased.
This team appear to have resilience that I haven’t seen for a while and given the crazy nature of the Championship, we deserve our second place - just need Blackburn and Leicester to do us favours at lunch time.
The rollercoaster continues on Wednesday for another game that could be tricky(aren’t they all?) before I head up the A1 and A19 with both offspring (a rare occurrence) for the game. Hopefully we will all witness a victory!
UTB
DB is very frustrating - a lot of positives although in the games I have seen him play at THe Riverside, he invariably will get into a great position and then contrive to do the wrong thing! Shoot when there was a player in a better position or pass the ball when a shot was the better option.
That said, in my view, unless we can find/fund a replacement, he should stay as he can be useful coming on late in a game.
@k-p-in-spain I’d like you to be right about Strelec but I’ve not seem too much to indicate he’ll come good. His body language doesn’t look right to me - maybe he’s justifiably disappointed in the service he’s receiving - do we know how long his injury will keep him out of the team?
I’d be really interested in statistics around goals scored so far this season, specifically the ratio of goal scoring shots from in and out of the penalty area. Castledine’s highlights reel seems to indicate he’s got a shot on him - having that option would add to Whittaker’s longer range efforts and give us another goal scoring option.
"Ollie" waxes lyrical about Fin Munroe:
A word of praise for Silvera with his well-taken goal and a deft assist for the winner - to add to his goal and assist in the Southampton game. He's certainly stepped up his game and proved he can be a valuable player for Boro after looking almost certainly on the way out in the summer but filled in as left wing-back and did well early in the season and has probably played in 3 or 4 positions when asked - the joy on his face after scoring was priceless and rivals anything professional exuberant celebrater, Tommy Conway, has delivered.
[....]
I actually found it an odd substitution to bring Burgzorg on on for Gilbert when Boro were 2-0 up with a quarter of the game to go - especially given West Brom would be pushing forward and maybe Boro needed a body in midfield - though Gilbert had made a few careless passes prior to his substitution - still it proved to be a good one with Burgzorg getting the winner but perhaps Boro shouldn't have let the game slip.
[...]
Makes it even more impressive that Boro are second given none of the above have really featured and our main striker has managed just one penalty in the last 24 games. Imagine where this team would've been if any of them had worked out - also makes you appreciate players like Silvera who have stepped up and taken their chance!
[...]
We bank the points and move on to Stoke. Here’s hoping for a favour from Leicester at Coventry tomorrow.
Leicester duly obliging at half-time (0-1), though the Tractor Boys are 2-0 against Blackburn...
[...]
We bank the points and move on to Stoke. Here’s hoping for a favour from Leicester at Coventry tomorrow.
Leicester duly obliging at half-time (0-1), though the Tractor Boys are 2-0 against Blackburn...
Not the results we wanted at full time:
Coventry 2 Leicester 1
Ipswich 3 Blackburn 0
So Boro still six points behind Coventry & Ipswich two behind us with a game in hand. 🙁
It feels like a particularly important win yesterday. Drawing the game after being 2-0 up with 20 minutes to go would have done some damage to the team’s confidence. Losing the game (which looked eminently like for 15 minutes towards the end) would have been disastrous for the players’ confidence. As it is, Burgzorg’s winner will have achieved exactly the opposite by reinforcing their confidence and fuelling the belief that they can win matches even when it looks unlikely.
Not the results we wanted at full time:
Coventry 2 Leicester 1
Ipswich 3 Blackburn 0
So Boro still six points behind Coventry & Ipswich two behind us with a game in hand. 🙁
Josh Coburn obviously fit again & back among the goals: he scored the second in the Lions' 0-2 win at Watford.
You may have missed this but Conway had a rating of 7 and the following comment form CJ
"He didn’t really look like scoring again, but don’t underestimate the importance of his work rate in this game. Regularly floating more out to the left, his work in tracking back and winning the ball back, and then pressing high at other times was so important in this one"
So Philip in Huddersfield, don't think we will be getting rid of Tommy very soon.
@martin-bellamy. Not sure exactly what the problem is or the timescales on the injury front.
I agree that so far he has disappointed but I believe if KH perseveres with him, gives him a good run in the side and his colleagues start to see his runs and provide the service he will become a leading scorer; he may well suit a role similar to Chuba’s, he is certainly not an all action TC closing down defenders but they may work well in tandem, given the time to gel.
I could be wrong and he may not suit the Championship but only time and fitness will tell. 😎
If I remember correctly, Strelec could be back for the Preston match - so not ready for Stoke but soon. Up the Boro!@k-p-in-spain I’d like you to be right about Strelec but I’ve not seem too much to indicate he’ll come good. His body language doesn’t look right to me - maybe he’s justifiably disappointed in the service he’s receiving - do we know how long his injury will keep him out of the team?
@malcolm But what if another player could do all that as well as scoring goals? Not only is TC not scoring but he’s not providing assists either - he’s a forward, he needs to be involved in the scoring of goals. I just hope he can get a goal soon to boost his confidence (although I’ve been saying that for too many games for my liking).
All is well that ends well.
Winning 3-2 and not playing particularly well is a bonus. The game reinforced a lot of what we know eg the defence was our strong point early in the season but without the 2 injured defenders the team looked wobbly at times and Ayling’s lack of pace was exposed. However he has so many good qualities he is very important to the team. Hopefully, Fry can regain his fitness to provide more strength to the defence.
A thought about Hackney. If he was transferred to a Premiership team he may not enjoy his football as much because I think his role in the team would be restricted. Whereas, with Boro he has licence to play all over the pitch and has more touches and possession of the ball than other players.
The fundamental problem still needs addressing of having a proven goal scorer who is likely to score 15 - 20 goals a season. Someone who can hold up play, work in tandem with another forward and guarantee to be in the penalty area when needed. This is a player most teams need and difficult to acquire in the transfer window. Can Strelec undertake this role ?
Based on what we’ve seen I have doubts. Doesn’t help that he is struggling keeping fit. Is he physically strong enough for the Championship?
This brings me on to Conway. In all my years watching Boro I can’t remember a player doing the amount of running and closing down he does. But can any of his supporters say he is more important than the 15-20 goals a season player? Could he work effectively with a goal scorer? Again, I am doubtful due to him operating at 100 miles an hour. There is no calmness to his play which all good players have. And, the big problem is he is not a goal scorer- 1 goal in something like the last 20 games is not good enough.
I still think we have too many attacking players of similar limited ability who when called upon as a sub do not have a positive impact on the game. Hopefully the new signing from Huddersfield can be the exception.
One player I really like is Browne who quietly gets on with the game and his positioning to receive the ball is excellent. He makes the game look easy.
And so we move on with todays results for Coventry and Ipswich reinforcing the value of 3 points last night. Hopefully, the next game v Stoke City ( on Sky) can yield another 3 points but preferably not a repeat of last night as I am struggling to stand the stress !!
philip of Huddersfield 👍😁
The last game I saw at The Riverside TC scored so as I am going up again next Saturday, I am hoping I am the lucky mascot!
@stircrazy He also scored late as a sub in their 5 -1 defeat to Burnley.
Today's was a one on one. However can he keep fit and how many games and goals will he score this season. To date, 8 games, 1 goal, 650 minutes.
@philip-of-huddersfield Well there certainly is a lot of debate going on about our number 9 shirted Mr Conway.
Yes, he should be scoring more goals and assists even.
However if you want him to do that, let him play like Strelec does. Sit in the middle as the 9, run around a little bit, but not too much as you do not want to be huffing and puffing when the crosses come into the box, let everybody else do the pressing.
Last night our XG was 0.93. We had 1 corner, 9shots, 5 on target and only 7 crosses, some did not make the box.
Not alot of opportunities for either Strelec or even Conway if he was indeed allowed to play in the box. We play some absolutely great football, but McGree like creativity is low.
Thanks Pedro
As much as I admire the amount of running etc Conway does and the value for the team I just don’t see him being a successful goal scorer if he played the traditional centre forward role.
I don’t see the calmness in front of goal eg one on one and creating chances for others - one of the best was Jordan Rhodes ( ex Huddersfield Town and late in his career at Boro) He lacked pace and physical strength but was a natural goal scorer by being in the right place at the right time and most of his goals were tap ins or he just passed the ball into the net.
I suspect Conway’s game has always been the way he plays for Boro and therefore a traditional role would be alien to him.
Its good to share views.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍🤔
@philip-of-huddersfield Yes it is. Differences in opinion, conducted in the correct manner, is what makes this such a wonderful blog.
I am not an expert, but have, like the majority on here watched football and MFC for many decades. It is impossible not to pick in some understanding of the game, which gives thought for opinions.
They loved Sarmiento at Ipswich in their promotion season as shown by these comments and article:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c90zxj80enko
https://x.com/Benjaminbloom/status/2012491339536150992
@mw-in-darwin Thanks for that. Did he say “off the bench” and loan deal agreed? A loan would be a better deal given we have Hamilton, Hansen, Sene and Strelec still to prove themselves.
According to Wiki, he had 40 appearances with WBA (2goals) and Ipswich (3goals) during 23/24 and 35 with Burnley (4goals)during 24/25. It does differentiate between starts / substitutions,
So he is not a goal scoring forward I guess. So considering we have Sene and Hansen, is he what we want?
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Can I add my name to the series of voices praising Tommy Conway?
His efforts remind me of another TC, indeed, another Tommy - Tommy Coyne, who played as Ireland's primary striker in USA 94 after a knee ligament injury to Niall Quinn (which caused him to miss the tournament) and an injury to Tony Cascarino (which ensured he barely played), forced Big Jack to tinker with his starting formation. No longer the 4-4-2 with the big man and the smaller man up front (the big men echo his signings of Andy McCulloch at Sheffield Wednesday and later George Reilly and Tony Cunningham at Newcastle), Jack's formation against Italy in the Giants Stadium was something resembling a 4-5-1, or maybe a 4-4-1-1, with John Sheridan playing a role reminiscent of Foggon's or Higgy's, the forward-thinking midfielder renowned for his earnestness and continuing willingness to create.
But I'm getting sidetracked. We're talking about Tommy Coyne here, who ran, chased and harried the opposition as a lone front man throughout the game, and although he didn't actually score, it was his presence which contributed to Costacurta and Baresi's poor headed clearances, the latter of which fell to Ray Houghton for a goal which we will never stop talking about.
Meaning, if you do what our TC continues to do and keep the opposition under pressure, space will be freed for our other goalscorers and creators. The same is true of more deep-lying creators whose skill and persistence can draw defenders to them - even if they haven't scored or assisted, that doesn't mean they aren't directly effective. Sometimes it's not all about the stats - or maybe it's about another set of stats.
@simonfallaha Thank you Simon. I have always been a big fan of Tommy Conway.
@simonfallaha Isn’t there a bit of a false equivalence here though?
Ireland under Big Jack played very much as underdogs - much of their play was damage limitation relying on a goal against the odds to achieve victory (unless I’m misremembering and given your encyclopaedic remembrances, I may well be).
As second in the division and having expectations of promotion this year, shouldn’t we be playing on the front foot and not over relying on one of our key forwards to harry and chase back leaving a huge gap in the box when we’re attacking?
Unless, as has been suggested, KH has instructed TC to stay out wide and support the midfield as another body, then I’d like to see him appear in goal scoring positions more often. If the role he’s playing at the moment is one that has been allocated to him, with no pressure to operate in the box, then I’d wholeheartedly agree that he’s doing a great job - for me though that’s a tactical mistake and partly explains our lack of goals for much of the season.
Who we would replace him with is, of course, a whole other question…
Hi Martin.
That is a valid point about the underdog mentality, though one could also suggest that after Houghton's goal went in against the Italians, Ireland really upped their game and could have had a couple more. Notably when Sheridan hit the bar after a really intelligent pass from a young Roy Keane.
My point still stands, though - I value what TC offers us as a working frontman. Even if, as I still recall his goal against Blackburn last season very fondly, I admittedly would welcome more goals from him.
My tuppence ha'penny on TC. I like him and like what he gives the team. He makes it possible for others to create the chance. I am the same as everyone else in wanting to see him score and I am sure that he gets the first one in such a long time, then like with Whitaker, he will get a good few more.
I am on the record in here as noting that Conway's game is what is missing from Scotland's play. I really hope he gets the chance to go to the World Cup in the summer.
.... I just wish he would stop going to ground so easily.
Tommy Conway stats 2025-26
As we know Conway covers a lot of grass during games so here's a heatmap of his 2025-26 season - you can see he plays more on the left and not so central for a centre-forward.
2025-26 Shooting stats
Note: Boro team as a whole shown in brackets - plus some stats don't include WBA game
Games: 27
shots: 44 (387)
shots on target: 15 (109)
shots per game: 1.6 (14.3)
goals: 3 (40)
Assists: 2
Expected goals (xG): 7
Missed big chances: 13
Scoring frequency: every 700 minutes
Conclusion
Conway works hard for the team but his heatmap and stats indicate he is not a centre-forward or the focal point of the attack. Boro likely need to have a player who is available in the box more often - though that doesn't necessarily mean instead of Conway.