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Boro 2021/2022 Tran...
 

Boro 2021/2022 Transfer Targets & Rumours

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Posted by: @ken

The more I see of National League football, the more I have been impressed; it’s certainly more entertaining than anything I’ve seen at the Riverside most of this past season

Fully agree Ken, I have been very impressed when watching Pools these last few weeks. The standard of Football is far better than I had expected at that level. Full credit has to go to Dave Challinor for the way he has Pools playing.


   
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Ken Smith
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It’s a pity that the match wasn’t played at Wembley but nevertheless the atmosphere at Ashton Gate was terrific and full marks to their ground staff for erasing the rugby pitch markings so quickly in less than 24 hours and producing  a good surface for such an important match for both sides. Whenever I have watched matches at Huddersfield, Hull and Wigan on television some of the markings for rugby and football have still been visible, despite the groundsmen having much longer to prepare the surfaces and markings than 24 hours.

On another note, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me at all if in season 2023/24 we have a new local derby in the North East  -  Hartlepool v Sunderland. Now let’s get Darlington and York City back into the Football League, although two successive promotions for both clubs is maybe a pipe dream.

This post was modified 3 years ago 3 times by Ken Smith

   
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@redcarred

All these tricks of the trade when buying and selling players work both ways, yes the player (if worth money) and his agent can be tricky, but so can the club. The only power the player has is the end of his contract, which, incidentally is a worrying time for him and his family (unless he is a star). A Good example is the super star Centre Back who Liverpool were desperate to sign, at their price of course. The selling club were not phased at all, even though the press kept telling them that the were wasting their time, they soon had the price that they had set (he has, of course been an outstanding success and a key man)      


   
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@ken

Please be careful of wishes Ken, or we might be one of that group. 


   
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@deleriad

Yes, that is my opinion, and has been for a long time, we should not be paying big money for anyone, period. We have no idea, haven't had for many seasons, and show no sign of business acumen, which is essential in the game as it is now. Some name was mentioned on this blog, twenty seven (going on thirty) club has enjoyed his services for god knows how long, and is a willing and eager seller. I'll bet they are, I can see the car crash from here. It will be interesting to see what Traiore brings when Wolves sell him? I watched him beat two men and then enter the box, then pass the ball to the nominated striker, who missed! hmm! Makes no sense to me, when in the box complete with ball I would make him odds on for a goal or a penalty.       


   
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jarkko
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@ken I first thought that you meant Sunlun to get relagated. I  am not hoping for them to get relagated but I am not too confident they will get promoted either as they plan to add more than half of their squad with new players. Like Karanka proved, going into a new season with about 14 new players spells disaster. Always had.

I am a bit worried when Warnock has mentioned eight to nine new players this summer. It takes time to gel. As we saw after the January window that too many new signings have a risk in the team dynamics.

Up the Boro! 


   
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Ken Smith
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Jarkko 
 

I get your point about it taking a few games for new players to gel, but I suppose it depends on the players signed. Dave Challinor took a chance on 5 or 6 players discarded by other clubs. For example Nicky Featherstone, Craig Liddle and Ryan Donaldson were veterans and the mainstays of a Hartlepool side who before mid-season were doing ok but not looking like a side capable of reaching the playoffs. Yet within a few matches went on a 16 match unbeaten run and despite their losing 3 of their next 4 matches, then finished strongly with 4 successive wins. I don’t know the situation about the other top 7 clubs in the National League but only Notts County reached the playoffs in 2020 finishing 3rd and Stockport just missing out in 8th place, whilst Hartlepool finished 12th, Bromley 13th, Torquay 14th, Sutton 15th and Chesterfield 20 th which suggests that there was a lot of rebuilding going on. I’m not saying that the National League can be compared with Division 1 let alone with the Championship, but the standard of play has surprised me this season. In their field though Dave Challinor and Torquay’s Gary Johnson have a lot of experience as to what is required to turn a team around, as has Neil Warnock at Boro. The only difference is that the competition for signing new players for Championship managers is much greater than that for National League managers. So signing the right players quickly for Boro is vital. I don’t pay much attention to newspaper gossip, I find all this speculation a bore really, but when incoming transfers are confirmed is when my interest is rekindled. I’m not averse to Boro signing 8 or 9 players, it can be done, but let’s wait and see what the calibre of these players are before getting too excited.

 

 

This post was modified 3 years ago by Ken Smith

   
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jarkko
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@ken Of cource we cannot say that a system used by a club is better than another. As always, football is about opinions.

I think outside the EFL and in lower levels, the players do not get so long term contracts. The clubs have financial restrictions to make long term deals. If all clubs work short term, there is no big differences there.

And we all know that Warford have been successful with their own policy of having a new manager practically every year. Once they even changed they manager when they were promoted to the EPL. But generally that is not my favourite method.

So I was saying that generally having too many new players signed during a window does not work in my opinion. But there are always exceptions. I hope Boro to work with a long term policy without a need to sign six to eight players per every transfer window.

Up the Boro!


   
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Ken Smith
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As Boro fans await the new season’s fixtures which will be released at 9am tomorrow I thought I’d peruse the list of Boro’s likely opponents for the first  match of the season. Since 1889 Boro have never played against the following clubs on the season’s opening day:- 

Bournemouth, Blackpool, Bristol City, Hull City, Nottingham Forest, Peterborough United, Queen’s Park Rangers or Swansea City.

Now the results of the 15 remaining opponents:-

BARNSLEY  1924 home 2-0, 2012 away 0-1         
BIRMINGHAM  1907 home 1-0, 1974 away 3-0, 2014 home 2-0      
BLACKBURN  1902 away 1-0, 2007 home 1-2          
CARDIFF 1953 home 0-0          
COVENTRY 1976 home 1-0, 1978 home 1-2, 1992 away 1-2, 2000 away 3-1 
DERBY 1933 home 3-1, 1961 home 3-4, 1988 away 0-1          
FULHAM  2003 away 2-3   
HUDDERSFIELD 1922 home 2-2, 1923 away 0-1         
LUTON  2019 away 3-3         
MILLWALL  1987 away 1-1, 1991 home 1-0         
PRESTON  1968 home 2-1, 2015 away 0-0         
READING  1928 away 3-2,  2006 away 2-3        
SHEFF UTD 1909 home 0-2, 1969 away 0-3, 2009 home 0-0          
STOKE 1956 home 1-1, 1957 away 1-4         
WEST BROM 1912 home 0-2, 1921 away 0-0

That’s a total of 16 home matches with 8 wins, 4 draws and 4 defeats, also 16 away matches with 4 wins, 4 draws and 8 defeats. Favourite opposition would be Birmingham home or away, worst opposition being Derby County, Sheffield United, Stoke City or West Bromwich Albion on past performances. My preference would be a home fixture if not Birmingham, then either of Blackpool or Peterborough 

 

This post was modified 3 years ago by Ken Smith

   
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My mum is from Peterborough so that would be a good fixture. I saw the Boro game against the Posh on ITV shoot on Sunday afternoon  around 1966/7 with my mum, the Boro won I think.

That sparks another memory - there was a tournament not long after that pre season summer holiday, and I watched Peterborough play some one at London Road and the offside rule had been modified so instead of the half way line it was the penalty box line as an experiemnt to see if it would open up play more. 

 

Amazing thing memories.


   
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The Watney Red Barrel Cup I believe


   
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Selwynoz
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@allan-in-bahrain

I don't remember that one but you have stirred a memory from when I was a small kid. We're talking late fifties/early sixties when there used to be something called the Cock of the North pre-season tournament between the north-east big three teams. I don't have much memory of the actual games except sitting on the big concrete barriers at the Clive Road end but I do remember enormous crowds at Ayresome Park. Is this just me getting old or can anyone else remember this tournament and huge crowds.


   
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jarkko
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Not about Boro but an open top bus tour is being planned to mark one of the regions teams return to the Football League.

Hartlepool United will celebrate its return to the Football League with a 90-minute parade taking place on Friday, June 25 –starting at 5pm to allow families to enjoy the occasion.

up the Pooliies 😆!

 


   
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jarkko
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Posted by: @allan-in-bahrain

My mum is from Peterborough so that would be a good fixture. I saw the Boro game against the Posh on ITV shoot on Sunday afternoon  around 1966/7 with my mum, the Boro won I think.

That sparks another memory - there was a tournament not long after that pre season summer holiday, and I watched Peterborough play some one at London Road and the offside rule had been modified so instead of the half way line it was the penalty box line as an experiemnt to see if it would open up play more. 

 

Amazing thing memories.

Double Boro - Posh and the working man version 🤪. Up the Boro!


   
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It’s away to Fulham to kick off the season, best to get one of the hardest away fixtures out of the way early. Tricky Trees home on Boxing Day and a shortish journey on New Years Day to Sheffield Utd for the away followers.

Come on BORO.


   
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Ken Smith
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Posted by: @jarkko

Not about Boro but an open top bus tour is being planned to mark one of the regions teams return to the Football League.

Hartlepool United will celebrate its return to the Football League with a 90-minute parade taking place on Friday, June 25 –starting at 5pm to allow families to enjoy the occasion.

up the Pooliies 😆!

 It was lovely to see the parade of Dave Challinor and his team especially integrating with the fans especially the children. Not as grand as past parades as Boro’s but I felt as a small club the manager and his players really engaged with the fans. It felt like a different age, more similar to the reception that Boro probably received at Middlesbrough Railway Station after they had returned home from Headingley after they had won their first FA Amateur Cup against Old Carthusians in 1895. No open topped bus parade in those days of course but you get my drift. It was more of a working class celebration over the Public School sides of that era in those days and the arrogance of especially southerners that Len recently mentioned about Arsenal. Boro were welcomed home minus the Cup, so sure that the FA thought Boro would lose. 

Unfortunately with the National League season finishing a couple of weeks later than the EFL and Pools having so many ‘on loan’ players they are in the same position as Boro recruitment-wise, having to build again for the future. Although winning promotion via the playoffs is a wonderful experience, especially if it had been at Wembley instead of Bristol, Pools are at a disadvantage with only six weeks between promotion and the start of the new season. Harrogate Town have shown that it can be done and I expect them to be challenging for promotion next season, Pools may struggle, but if they can stay out of a relegation battle, with the right recruitment the future looks bright. Same goes for Boro also of course!

This post was modified 3 years ago by Ken Smith

   
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Posted by: @selwynoz

@allan-in-bahrain

Yes Allan, I do remember the matches. I seem to recall that it was a tournament to promote the installation of floodlights by the North East clubs in the late 1950’s. I’ve tried to find the results of that competition, but to no avail although I  seem to think that Boro won it.

 


   
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jarkko
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Darlington FC have announced that Tony McMahon has left the club for Scunthorpe United.

Tony was their Head of Academy last season, and also made 15 appearances for the Quakers at right back. He will be taking up a role in the coaching staff at the Football League club.

Tony was born on 24 March 1986 (age 35). Between 2004–2012 Tony played 119 times for Middlesbrough. Up the Boro!

 

This post was modified 3 years ago by jarkko

   
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Borough sign Sammy Ameobi on a 2 year deal with an option of a third year.

Come on BORO.


   
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@exmil totally underwhelmed but beggers cant be choosers I suppose. A sign of things to come.


   
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@exmil

The lowdown on summer signing number two...

  • Sammy was born in Newcastle on 1 May 1992, and joined the Newcastle United Academy in 2008 shortly after finishing school.
  • Older brother Shola was already a first team fixture with the Magpies, and Sammy played alongside him when making his first team debut as a substitute against Chelsea in the penultimate match of the 2010/11 season. Their other brother, Tomi, was also on Newcastle’s books, later turning out for Scunthorpe and Dancaster.
  • Sammy’s first goal for United came in a pre-season friendly at Darlington in July 2011. Newcastle fans had been chanting ‘if Sammy scores, we’re on the pitch’ - and when the youngster provided, they duly obliged, causing the match to be held up for around ten minutes.
  • His first competitive goal came the following month, an extra time winner against Scunthorpe United in the League Cup.
  • The Ameobi brothers both scored in a 2-0 League Cup win over Morecambe, the first siblings to do so in the same match in the club’s history.
  • Sammy’s first league goal was scored against Tottenham Hotspur in 2014, within eight seconds of the start of the second half. It was the fastest scored by a substitute from open play in the history of the Premier League.
  • Having struggled to secure a starting spot with Newcastle, Sammy was allowed to leave the club in a series of loan spells, the first of those with Boro under the management of Tony Mowbray in early 2013.
  • Sammy scored a stunning goal on his Boro debut in a 2-1 win over Cardiff City. It was one of nine appearances he’d make in his short first stay on Teesside.
  • Sammy spent the 2015/16 season on loan at Cardiff City, then the following year loaned to Bolton Wanderers as they earned promotion from League One. He impressed the Trotters enough to sign him on a permanent basis in July 2017.
  • In his first six appearances of the 2017/18 campaign, he scored three times, and was nominated for the PFA Player of the Month award for October. The winger became a key part of Bolton’s successful bid to survive relegation.
  • Owing in part to Wanderers’ financial troubles, Sammy joined Nottingham Forest in 2018, and won plenty of admirers at the Midlands outfit.
  • In the 2019/20 season, he was nearly an ever-present for Forest who missed out not he play-offs in agonising fashion. Sammy scored five goals and provided nine assists - six of them for Lewis Grabban, joint-most in the division for a combination of specific players.
  • He made a further 32 league appearances last season for the City Ground club, scoring three times and laying on two assists - still among the most for Forest in a difficult season. One of his two goals against Millwall in January won the Championship’s Goal of the Month award, lashing home from the edge of the box.
  • Sammy played for England’s Under-21, but has since followed Shola in declaring for his parents’ homeland of Nigeria, who he has also represented at youth level.
  • Standing at 6ft 4in tall, Sammy primarily plays as a winger with pace and trickery among his strong suits.

OFB


   
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I hope he's consistently as good as was on debut against Cardiff when he played on loan for us under Tony Mowbray. Absolute handful.


   
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jarkko
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I know RR must be celebrating the England win over mighty Germany now, but I would like to ask him to comment on the very first signings Boro have made in Lumley and Ameobi. We all have a distant memory of a young Ameomi at Boro but we have seen him as a more mature player in a Forest side, too.

This just a start in our recruitment push, but now we have  a couple of new players to mull over.

Up to Boro! 


   
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jarkko
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A new signing for the Boro! The second one in two days so Warnock looks busy back at Boro.

Chris Short will join the club for the start of the pre-season after taking up the role of first team fitness coach.

See more: https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/chris-short-to-join-this-week-in-first-team-role

Up the Boro!


   
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Ken Smith
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Whilst happy that England won yesterday, I do think that the celebrations were a little overdone as it was only one match against an average European team. I’m pleased for Gareth who probably only got the appointment by default following the press revelations about Sam Allardyce whom I doubt would have never reached the success of Gareth. Nevertheless I wonder what the thoughts would have been from George Camsell or Brian Clough about Harry Kane being used as a deep-lying centre forward in the Don Revie mode. In fact I found the first half rather dull but managed to stay awake until halftime before falling asleep and then waking up midway through the second half. I had recorded the match but as the score was still goalless when I woke up, I just carried on watching instead of going back to the start of the second half.

I must add that this is the first EURO match I have watched as I know that my various medications make me drowsy, although the recent run-in of Hartlepool matches on BT Sport have seen plenty of goals that did keep me awake. I have even fallen asleep partway through writing blogs on Diasboro, that’s why I need some free time to do some catching-up reading as I can put a book down for a nap before continuing. I also soon lose concentration watching television for any programme that lasts over an hour including sport. My consultant has suggested that I take my various medications at night from now on instead of in the morning, so I’ll see how that goes before continuing writing any more historical blogs. I must reiterate that I’ve enjoyed researching and writing about past Boro players, but the main purpose was to keep me mentally alert which it has done until quite recently, but at the same time gratified that many of you have enjoyed them. As I stated before, I hope to write another series, this time about former Boro strikers as lately goalscoring has been a subject that most of us have been concerned about since our last relegation. Finally, thanks for your kind messages about my previous efforts, and hopefully after a short sabbatical I’ll be able to continue on this new project.

This post was modified 3 years ago 3 times by Ken Smith

   
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@jarkko I think Lumley was nailed on to sign for us after his cameo performance. I remember thinking at the time it would be Typical Boro. He can't be any worse than Bettinelli that's for sure but personally I would go with Stojanovic but I think for reasons unknown behind the scenes that ship has sailed.

Ameobi is a capable squad filler at this level. He has never fulfilled his early hoped for potential and is unlikely to now at his age. Johnson out and Ameobi in, I'm not convinced it's an upgrade just another sideways step like Lumley.

We can just hope Warnock can inspire them both to be greater than the sum of their parts otherwise its another season of Championship mediocrity.

 


   
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jarkko
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@redcarred A good point about Marvin Johnson. I had forgotten that he left, too. To get more play time, but left anyway.

Interesting to see who we sign if Stojanovic would leave permanately or on loan again. But agree, that Lumley cannot be worse than Bettinelli. I hope Archer would have stayed as the second keeper. He certainly played better than Bettinelli.

Up the Boro!


   
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jarkko
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There is a lot of free transfer strikers and other players availabe now that July started. 

For example one of the world's greatest players is now officially a free agent.

Yes, 12 months on from his aborted attempted to leave Barcelona, Lionel Messi is now out of contract.

The Argentine superstar's deal expired at midnight and despite months of rumour and conjecture, he has failed to commit to an extension.

Now 34, he should be a target for Warnock and Gibson.  We used to buy strikers of that age in the past, didn't we?

Dreaming? Must be the hottest June ever that has cought with me. Up the Boro! 


   
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@redcarred.  You have hit the nail on the head again.  How often do we hear manager's say they will only bring in players who will be an improvement on what is already available.  

I agree that neither of the two signings are an upgrade on what is/was available to us and, as you say, unless NW can work some majic then I fear that another season of mediocre football could be in the offing. 😎☹️

This post was modified 3 years ago by K P in Spain

   
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jarkko
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This might be an upgrade - if we won't turn him into another gestede ...

Up the Boro!


   
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