@pedro I really like what I hear from KH. I think we have to trust in his project/plan for the time being at least.
@pedro I largely agree with KH there, but not entirely.
As an example, the first goal Millwall scored the other night. On the one hand, I was really disappointed that Ayling, having worked so hard to get back goal side of the striker, then still allowed him space so close to goal to get his shot off. It was an excellent finish in off the post but he shouldn't had the room to pull the trigger in the first place from that range. Ayling should have been much tighter, so I agree it was poor 1v1 defending ( I don't blame Vitek at all for that goal btw).
On the other hand however, we know Ayling is in his mid-30s and not blessed with pace, so putting him in a 1v1 situation against a younger, stronger, quicker opponent is not very clever.
The second goal I agree was just not good enough defending. We lost the first "duel" from the corner, were a bit unlucky that it fell nicely for their defender but that can happen if you don't win the first header, then Morris switched off at the back post, allowing a simple close range finish for Dykes. Once we lost that first header the instinct should be to get back onto the back post/goalline to protect the net but Morris' instinct was to move forward, maybe thinking about offside. He certainly claimed offside as it went in, though was so disoriented that he claimed to the wrong side of the pitch, raising a hand to nobody!
So a classic "bit of both" to me. Yes, we have let ourselves down with our defending at times but also we're set up in such a way that we are exposed to 50/50 1v1s (other numbers are available) too often.
It wasn’t Hackney’s debut, unless you mean as a starter. As a sub he played a leading role in Everton’s 2-2 draw with MUFC, providing the assist for the first equaliser and generally playing very well.
Thanks for that, Clive. I hadn't really been keeping track. Nice to know that he's getting a bit of pitch time.
@andy-r Good assessment Andy. I did think that Vitek should have done at a near post.
I guess that the debate is about compromise. It is OK being top of the majority of stats, and then to blame individual errors. (although to be fair, Hellberg always says it is a team/his fault)
But if it continues or does not improve, surely something has to change?
@jarkko As werder pointed out, maybe 92 points will not be enough.
Hopefully the top teams will take points off each other, we will have to be one of the two to drop less though.
@exmil I would like Kim Hellberg to be a little more pragmatic. We have started reasonably well, and could possibly have achieved even more, if not for our rather open style of football.
Exiciting to watch at times, frustrating to watch also. We all make mistakes, because we are human. However with just some minor tweaks to cover for transitions, especially in the midfield, I think we can achieve more.
And yes, I did not expect us to be where we are now. But let’s see where we are tomorrow night, and at the end of October.
Given the run of (on paper) easier games, which apart from Wolves at home, continue until the end of November when we play Southampton away, I would now expect Boro to be up in the top 3 or 4 and close to the leaders.