BREAKING: Riley McGree to #Boro is done. An official announcement is expected anytime soon.
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Also, Chris Wilder confirms Riley McGree has agreed to join #Boro on a permanent deal.
Manager says that Boro have beaten off competition for his signature but not because of finances.
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I feel a bit sorry for Browne and I reckon he may still come good if he can get a season injury-free in league one or the Championship.
Fair comments about Uche and Hernandez from Wilder.
Good to see that McGree is almost in place as well.
It's going to be really interesting to see how Wilder integrates new players. That's what brought Warnock down this time last year; he got the players he wanted but couldn't fit them together. The next 5-6 games will tell us whether we have a serious shot at the play-offs or not and that will all be down to how Wilder manages the new players.
Sheffield United are plotting a move to sign Marcus Browne.
The forward has been told he can leave Middlesbrough on loan after returning from a lengthy injury.
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I can honestly see a midfielder going in this window for a fee you know.
McGree is almost done. Lundstram keeps getting rumoured. I can see Tav going for a fee me.
I'd take £8m plus for Tav What do other Diasborians think ?
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I would rather not lose Tav at this point. I think he's had 3 years of chop and change and virtually no coaching; his job was to run around the pitch and make things happen. Since Wilder has come in he's being retrained into a more disciplined, structured role. I think he may be only a few matches away from putting it all together. If he doesn't then, by all means, upgrade him in the summer.
Admittedly we might get a £10m+ bid from Leeds and he might decide he wants to go. If so then that's ok but I hope that he stays until the end of the season and does make a step up with us.
it was interesting that in his press conference this morning that Chris Wilder mentioned Tav as being one of the important players in the midfield and one can assume from that is he rates him.
One position that does need to be changed is GOALKEEPER!
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it was interesting that in his press conference this morning that Chris Wilder mentioned Tav as being one of the important players in the midfield and one can assume from that is he rates him.
One position that does need to be changed is GOALKEEPER!
OFB
... and sooner rather than later OFB !
Neil Taylor has signed a new contract:
https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/neil-taylor-signs-contract-extension
Come on BORO.
@powmillnaemore And a left-footer centre back. If McNair gets injured, Bola can play there. But we are light on left-footed defenders. And Bola is still injured. I think Wilder likes round pegs in round holes and all that.
An an upgrade on a keeper would be the icing on the cake.
But as you propably know, I do not like too many changes in a window. As Deriad said above, Warnock had too many new players in during the January window a year ago.
I am very, very happy with Boro at the moment. But we must be wary of not changing the players too much.
Up the Boro!
Riley McGree is set to become the 11th Australian to wear the Middlesbrough shirt.
Fair to say they've had some decent players from 'Down Under' over the years!
Who was your favourite?
Me ? Although Shwartzer would get a lot of votes for me it would have to
be
Craig Johnston (Roo)
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Wilder also said in his presser this morning he is willing to discuss Taylor’s contract to be extended beyond the summer as well.
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Wilder also said that Payero was about to play at Sheffield United. And he was one of the COVID affected players.
Up the Boro!
Onel Hernandez joins Birmingham City.
https://www.bcfc.com/news/all/onel-hernandez-is-a-blue
Very busy day ar Boro! Up the Boro!
Wilder also said in his presser this morning he is willing to discuss Taylor’s contract to be extended beyond the summer as well.
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Yes I watch all his pressers and he comes over as a very straight talking manager and I believe he will be that way with the players too.
Come on BORO.
@deleriad At this moment you know what you are getting with Tav, warts and all.
We have four new players coming into the team squad at least. What will they offer, how will they perform, will they deliver?
All will need time and may have to be integrated over the next 4/5 games. Whilst I have my issues with Tav, you do know what you are getting. The new players, we don’t as yet.
Is this going to end anytime soon? Riley McGree Joins From MLS Newcomers Charlotte FC.
https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/riley-mcgree-joins-from-mls-newcomers-charlotte-fc
Up the Boro!
I know one shouldn’t take too much notice of clips of players on YouTube but Riley McGree looks the real deal to me, more of a Jimmy Greaves or Fabrizio Ravanelli finisher than a Brian Clough one. Even I am thinking that this the type of player that might not only get Boro into the playoffs but even beyond that. This young man looks like he can make goals for himself as well as from his colleagues. Obviously YouTube only show his best moments, but they look quite exceptional.
I feel like pinching myself as I watch the well-oiled machine that is MFC’s recruitment operation this window. If they can offload the other two players as well it will already be a great window. Anything more will just be the sugar frosting on top of the cherry on top of the cake.
Having said that, I’ll still nervous about the Reading game.
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@jarkko. Hopefully not until we have a decent keeper. If that happens and we still don’t make top six then I will begin to believe we are truly cursed! 😂😎
@selwynoz. Me too. Why is it that when things appear to be going in the right direction we fear the worst.
I think it is built into our DNA, having seen the Boro over many years promise so much but then failing to deliver.
That being said I suspect that we are being very parochial and that most supporters feel the same about their team. 😎
@selwynoz. On a separate note, my 82 year old mother in law touched down in Sydney this morning to meet up with her son before they travelled to Canberra where she intends to take up permanent residence!
Her daughter, my sister in law, also lives in Brisbane and we are planning on visiting in April next year for our nephews wedding, covid and god willing.
Despite having family connections in both Australia and New Zealand, Mrs P and I were never that much fussed about travelling down under.
We eventually took the plunge in 2018 and absolutely loved both countries and the locals we met, who were extremely warm, friendly and welcoming. Just a shame they are so bloody good at cricket! 🤣
So looking forward to next year and keeping everything crossed that nothing stops our planned trip. 😎
canberra is a strange mixture of government and normal life but both my sons spent some time there and had a really good time.
Brisbane is pretty relaxed and very near some top class coastal areas that are worth visiting. If you get a chance - and Covid permitting - you might want to go north to visit two of the holt trinity namely, Barrier Reef, Uluṟu/outback (aka Ayer’s Rock) and, of course, Sydney.
best of luck. Maybe we can share a drink or two if you get down to Sydney.
You’re right about cricket. It’s a real pain.
This part of the season in my opinion is all about accumulating points. Maybe it’s an age thing, but I’m not in the least concerned about how other teams are performing or their results. As I’ve mentioned before League tables don’t concern me at this time of the season as long as Boro are in contention for a top 6 finish or automatic promotion with 6 or 8 games to play does it really matter if Boro drop to just above mid table in the next few weeks? Of course a win today is preferable to a draw or a defeat, but if Boro lose their next couple of matches there would be no need to panic unless the football was dire. It might be different if Boro were fighting against relegation but even then I’ve seen many seasons where Boro needed to win the last few matches to avoid the drop but very few ‘must-win’ games to gain promotion except in the final couple of matches.
Nobody knows how many points will be needed to reach the playoffs this season. It could be as low as 69 or as high as 82; past season’s points totals are irrelevant. Conceding early goals can often determine the outcome of results but up to now Boro are the only team in the top 3 EFL divisions not to concede a goal in the first 15 minutes of a match this season, though scoring early goals have been few and far between. The problem has been conceding late goals. Nevertheless I don’t think that Reading will score today, so a Boro win is on the cards.
Enjoy the match.
…
This is the absolute epitome of a 'Boro Banana Skin' in the old(er) days. One thing we can be sure of is the Mr Wilder will not tolerate complacency so a Boro win for me but it won't be a Fulham score. A nervous 2-0 for me and it's all down to the selection and the forwards.
I'm nervous already.
UTB,
John
Are Boro still adding to the squad in January?
I prefer to do a test if we have two strong candidates for each position. I call it a Karanka test from the Spaniard's era when we knew how we wanted to play.
As we all know, Boro will field in a 3-5-2 system with two wing-backs. (After the name a number is given if the player is taking a space in our 25 man squad).
In goal:
Lumley (1), Daniels (2), Brynn (U21)
Centre back, left:
McNair (3), (Bola & Peltier can play)
Centre back, middle:
Fry (4), Bamba (5)
Centre Back, right:
Dijksteel (6), Hall (7), (Wood, U21 can play)
Left wing-back:
Bola (8), Taylor (9)
Right wing-back:
Jones (10), Peltier (11), (Howson can play)
Defensive midfielder:
Howson (12), McGree (13), (Crooks can play)
Attacking midfield, left:
Tavarnier (14), Boyd-Munce (15)
Attacking midfield, right;
Crooks (16), Payero (17)
Attacking two:
Balogun (U21), Watmore (18)
Šporar (19), Conolly (20), (Coburn, U21 can play)
So we have twenty (20) spaces used above for the list to be sent to EFL at the end of the January window. The maximum is 25.
Get-rid list as we know now:
Browne (loan/tranfer), Ikpeazu and Lea-Siliki. I was hoping Lea-Siliki would have remained as he is left-footed.
There are 14 days left in the tranfer window. There is room for a couple of arrivals, both can be loanees or permanent.
A left-footed centre back wouldn't go missing. And many hope for a strong candidate for the number one shirt, too. The latter would mean departure for Daniels. Or Brynn could be promoted after excelling at Queen of the South.
And there is still some work in progress in off-loading Browne and Ikpeazu. Lea-Siliki is more difficult because of his loan contract as well as Cameroon getting to the next round - so he is not in Europe during the window.
Anyway, the squad looks quite good. I think Wilder has time to concentrate on the current team and Kieran Scott will handle the departures. But I am sure one or two players might still arrive if Ikpeazu goes and especially so if Spence would be sold for £ 10 to 15 million as Roma, Leeds, Arsenal and Tottenham are after him now.
Up the Boro!
Anyway, the squad looks quite good. I think Wilder has time to concentrate on the current team and Kieran Scott will handle the departures. But I am sure one or two players might still arrive if Ikpeazu goes and especially so if Spence would be sold for £ 10 to 15 million as Roma, Leeds, Arsenal and Tottenham are after him now.
Don’t forget Milan.
Come on BORO.
Cannot really see any team laying out the type of money talked about for Spence in this window especially.
They would not be able to use him and remember that MFC would I am sure play hard ball over add ons and possible future sale, depending if it happened and the fee agreed.
Yes, if somebody would buy Spence now, he must be loaned back to Forest or Boro for the remaining of the current season. He has already played fot the two Championship clubs, and FIFA rules prevent a player appearing for more than two clubs per a season. Up the Boro!