Blackpool have a few injury and covid issues.
“To be honest we’re right on the limit,” Pool’s head coach told The Gazette.
Up the Boro!
Great posts above. Thanks to you all.
As Tawney observed around 100 years ago, "Freedom for the pike is death to the minnows".
We are enjoying a self-imposed lockdown too. The Boss is have a sequence of injections in her eye, and I do mean in her eye and the sequence should not be broken so no family or friend until after January 4. retaining your sight is more important than most things. Frustrating but we've enjoyed some lovely food and wine, some good books, a fine Boro win and walking the Terriers although the old boy at 15+ is slowing up a bit.
Exmil, Ken, OFB and everyone take care and my grandfather was fond of saying 'don't let the b------ grind you down.
Shock-horror, a bit of blue sky has appeared. And sunshine. What is going on?
Stay safe everyone,
UTB,
John
Lots of very sensible comments above about the Covid situation. Currently, one of my daughters and her partner have it (him for the second time), another daughter’s fiancée has it and they have been unable to go to the IOW for Xmas.
Alison and I have both avoided catching it at all, but we’ve been very careful and don’t have to go to work, which helps. We have our groceries delivered and have tried to avoid crowded places wherever possible - so far, so good. 🤞🏻
I’m looking forward to watching the game tomorrow and, whilst we’re all aware that we can’t go on winning every game, I’m hopeful for at least a point from Blackpool. The players must be feeling very confident and that can be a big decider in games, although I’m hoping complacency won’t kick in.
Three points would put a real marker down to the teams around us and would also make us much more attractive to potential new signings.
Great Post Len
i think Boro will go for the safe option and take Spence back as due to his age he won’t fill a squad place and will provide essential cover without us spending any fees.
OFB
Just a thought or two on the Covid debate. My wife has vulnerability with her compromised immune system. Since we returned to games in August she has been worried at my attending, and she asked me not to go to the Bournemouth and Forest games. I’m hoping I’ll resume normal service by the time of the Reading game.
The media keep talking about the Omicron wave, which I think is dishonest. Overall, it seems, there have been relatively few Omicron cases, and few Omicron-related deaths, yet we are still getting 100K infections per day and a terrible average of 100+ deaths; so my (unscientific) conclusion is that the great majority of new infections / deaths must be from Delta, perhaps mainly amongst the unvaccinated population? The deaths are clearly just collateral damage to the government; the PM himself spoke of letting bodies pile high.There have been 19000 deaths from Covid since Johnson’s so-called ‘freedom day’, yet nobody anywhere is making a stand or even a fuss.
Here in Wales, the devolved government put in more stringent restrictions recently, including banning spectators from all sporting events. We kept mask-wearing, too, when England abandoned it. These restrictions may appear draconian, but in my view are sensible precautions. Meanwhile, Johnson’s policy for England is to let it rip, precisely because he is now a puppet in the hands of his back-benchers and his party. Irresponsible doesn’t begin to cover it. I do fear a massive upsurge in cases in January once people have had their New Year parties. I hope I’m wrong. Stay safe everybody.
Ah, Blackpool the Copacabana of England, with its magnificent tower and ballroom, pleasure beach, and several theatres with singing stars, musicians, magicians and comedians before we had television. Also the best illuminations in the country, the whole Fylde coastline where I saw Seve Ballesteros win his first Open Championship in 1979 at nearby Lytham St Anne’s playing his second shot from a car park onto the green with Hale Irwin waving his white handkerchief in surrender. So many happy holidays there with my parents, then later with my wife when we were young. I wonder if it has changed much through the years, but tonight the venue for the Boro.
The first FA Cup Final I saw on a black and white television set was known as the Matthews final in 1953 when the Tangerines came back from 1-3 down to win 4-3, but it was one of the other 3 Ms, Stanley Mortensen who scored a hat trick with the help from Matthews and Jacky Mudie. It seemed as if everyone except the Bolton fans were supporting Blackpool that day as Blackpool and Matthews had reached their third FA Cup Final in six years, but had lost the other two to Man United and Newcastle.
It’s been a rocky road for the Tangerines since relegations in 1967 and 1971 although they did reach the Premier League via the playoffs in 2010 coming with a late surge to finish 6th with 70 points, maybe something to contemplate for Boro this season. As for meetings at Bloomfield Road I’ve never seen Boro play there, but they did win 5-0 there in December 1946 and more recently 4-2 at home nine years ago tomorrow as Boro reached 3rd place under Tony Mowbray but imploded thereafter with only 3 more wins that season to finish 16th. Should that be a warning for Boro how a season of hope can end in disaster? I hope not, but this is perhaps the tightest Championship I’ve ever known purely because of the inadequacies of most teams and well below the standard of the Premier League’s lowest clubs. That’s why on their day Blackpool are quite capable of beating Boro, but surely this rejuvenated style of Boro under Wilder should be able to win, if not comfortably, but win all the same.
@ken. A slip of the pen me thinks - the Boro are at Blackpool tomorrow night 29/12/2021. 😎
Thanks Andy for another excellent starter.
One of the things that has pleased me most about CW’s Boro is that we are now starting on the front foot straight from kick off.
Gone has waiting for half time or going a goal behind before the team starts to get its act together, so refreshing after what has been served up in the past for far too long.
I am hoping we get at least a point from each of the next two games but am beginning to believe that we could get four.
4 points or dare I dream of 6 would really put the pressure on those teams with games in hand, and as both QPR and West Brom have proved in the last two days, points on the board are better than games in hand.
I do hope the Blackpool game does not become a victim to Covid as the team clearly has momentum and confidence must be sky high amongst the players, so I am keeping everything crossed that the game goes ahead and the team puts on another display like last Sunday. CoB keep it going. 😎
@john-richardson Alison has just come to the end of 4 years of occasional injections in her eye, for Macular Degeneration. Her condition has now stabilised and she’s got the all-clear, so no more visits to the eye clinic.
Best of luck to your wife - I hope her treatment is a complete success.
@clive-hurren You say that there have been relatively few Omicron cases but that sounds counter intuitive to me. Do you have a link to any stats?
@clive-hurren You say that there have been relatively few Omicron cases but that sounds counter intuitive to me. Do you have a link to any stats?
Not really, Martin. My comment was based on a number of recent news reports which appeared to suggest a fairly slow spread of Omicron. However, the Guardian reports today that of 129000 new cases in the last 24 hours, 17269 were new Omicron cases across England and NI. It also says the total number of UK Omicron cases is 177201 (‘ a significant underestimate’); given that we’ve had at least 500000 cases nationally in just the last 7 days, all this would appear to suggest that it’s not just Omicron we’re dealing with.
Ken
You wondered if Blackpool has changed over the years. Sadly, it has deteriorated terribly. It is now one of the most deprived communities in the UK. Many if its guesthouses are run down. The ‘Golden Mile’ is now anything but - often very scruffy and it’s full of tacky amusement arcades and gift shops. The illuminations are still a major attraction, of course, as is the Pleasure Beach, and the resort still attracts large numbers of visitors each year. It also attracts more than its fair share of people whose behaviour often leaves much to be desired. I guess you’d say that all human life is there, though, and that there’s something for everyone if you like colour, noise and gaudiness.
@ken. A slip of the pen me thinks - the Boro are at Blackpool tomorrow night 29/12/2021. 😎
Sorry, that’s what I wrote ‘and more recently 4-2 at home 9 years ago tomorrow’. It was the same date 29 December 2012 although at home instead of away.
Thanks for your kind words, the injection has been put back 3.5 weeks because of Covid Booster jabs, nobody available to do them because of pressure on the NHS and staff holidays over Christmas. That's a quote. Hopefully no more cancellations. I believe nothing they say.
Stay safe,
UTB,
John
I've been watching all of the Chris Wilder interviews and it seems to me that he refuses to actually say the name of Sheffield United. It is just a coincidence or has anyone else noticed the same thing.
UTB
I have taken it to be his way of not letting media infatuation with the " story " impinge on his Middlesbrough preparations for the game. It is just another game and he wants it to stay that way, without his players picking up on unnecessary distraction.
Thank you Andy for another great Headliner. You and OFB are doing sterling work.
Great win in front of a large crowd brought back memories I thought long gone. However as much as the improvement under CW, we are getting the rub of the green at the moment.
To continue on the upward curve we need either more from the three midfielders or an alternative player selection from the bench.
Not sure about the paper talk on the loan signing of Connolly from Brighton. I was hoping for a little more experience. But we will see.
I guess we will find out this morning if the game is still on tonight?
Just to expand on Pedro snippet about Connolly:
https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/19813389.report-brighton-striker-closing-loan-move-middlesbrough/
Come on BORO.
Talking of goalkeepers:
https://www.footballinsider247.com/sources-middlesbrough-set-to-recall-brynn-from-loan-deal/
Come on BORO.
Just to keep things in perspective, QPR, Stoke, Coventry and Shef Utd are within 4 points of Boro, each with two games in hand and win one for the first three will drop Boro to 8th. Saying that I would rather have the points in the bag so a win at Blackpool would be very welcome.
Come on BORO.
@exmil: That's it then, if Connolly is now following Boro on social media.
The stats for Connelly don’t fill me with a lot of confidence that he is the quality we need.
A “billy sharp” type of attacking player is the type I was hoping for.
The stats for Connelly don’t fill me with a lot of confidence that he is the quality we need.
A “billy sharp” type of attacking player is the type I was hoping for.
I think Connolly appears to be more of a Sharp Billy rather than a Billy Sharp!
I was hoping to watch the game on MFC Live tonight but can only see an audio option. Does anyone know if it’s available?
@martin-bellamy. Martin if you are in the UK then you will only be able to listen to Riverside Live unless you can find an unofficial video stream.
Werder is usually good at supplying details but I think he is otherwise engaged this evening.
@k-p-in-spain What a shame. Have the rules changed about mid-week games being on MFC Live?
I’ve only got 4g here (no wifi) so a stream might be an issue, although I’m fine with SkyGo or the club stream.