EXCELLANT ADVERT
Watched WBA v Southampton and was treated to an excellent game of football at Championship level. WBA dominated the first half and Southampton were fortunate to be only losing 0-1 at half time.
In the second half Southampton dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half and deservably equalised.
Then , to their credit, WBA came back and had a couple of chances and then Southampton took over and were denied the winning goal by the WBA goalkeeper.
Overall, I think WBA would not be unhappy at taking one point although I would like to have seen them win. Or, being perfectly honest I was hoping Southampton would lose.
So, not a bad result for Boro even if they draw tomorrow and a good result if they win.
Not on Sky is it ?
Philip of Huddersfield 🤔🤔🤔
There is often a discussion around the question "what result do we want" when other top teams play each other. Except for specific circumstances at the very end of a season, I have always been a strong advocate of wanting a draw. I know that it is not strictly true to say that in the case of West Brom and Southampton both teams dropped two points, but it does feel a little like that and I certainly wouldn't under-estimate West Brom who have certainly hit form.
In any case, there is a simple mathematical point that seems worth making.
Every round there are twelve games of which eleven don't include Boro. Those eleven games could deliver thirty three points to the other teams in the league. If every game was a draw, then the other teams in the league between them would only add twenty two points to their total. That is a difference of eleven points per round that is not added onto the other teams' totals. That is not an insignificant amount particularly at this stage of the season when a lot of clubs are in a mid-table position that could be the launch pad for a run.
Yes, it would be good to see Bristol City beat Wolves tonight but a draw would help keep a lid on both teams' aspirations. It is still early in the season and, notwithstanding an extraordinary run in the manner of Southampton last year, one could easily see Norwich, Millwall, Blackburn or Bristol City themselves making a run from eighteen points.
Having said that, it is striking to note that a win or draw for Bristol City will give us an opportunity to go five points clear at the top. That would be quite something.
@si thanks for a very well observed intro. I have often argued on this blog that an optimistic approach to each game coupled with a willing acceptance of some setbacks leaves one with much less exposure to a negative attitude of mind. In fact, this season has been extremely enjoyable and the setbacks have been relatively infrequent and limited in their scope. Let us hope that this trend continues.
UTB
@selwynoz Makes sense. A draw for others would be good.
But Boring Boro - we will be top even if we would lose tonight. That is how far we have come ...
Up the Boro!
Many thanks for the info. Re Boro on tv. It’s good to have this 5 * service !!
👍👍👍Philip of Huddersfield
Apparently West Ham are poised to appoint former Burnley boss Scott Parker - it's like the manager merry-go-round is spinning in ever decreasing circles. Parker's Burnley were known for tight defence and not particularly attacking football so not sure how that fits in with the currently West Ham squad - I guess they'll be hoping he'll drill the players in the international break but from what I read, the Hammers fans biggest criticism of Nuno was they started slowly and weren't attacking enough. Though Parker's biggest selling point is that he is a former player...
There's no "apparently" about it, if the Beeb is to be believed:
Parker confirmed as Nuno's replacement:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cq3dj37m1kddo