From Vic's Twitter feed:
God knows how many clubs will start sniffing round if he keeps his goal-scoring momentum going!
26,299 in attendance - must be good for the club's coffers!
A few comments from Vic:
FT: 3-0. Comfortable in the end but battling Boro had to work hard to take control & prise Blackpool open. After inevitable opener it was a dominant display. Lots of positives. Another win, another clean sheet, cracking goals, Forss display, Barlaser debut
Barlaser slotted straight in, very tidy, unflustered, moved the ball around well, a couple of tackles, a few progressive passes. Neat.
And a word for both the energy and intelligence of Forss up front and the week in, week out understated excellence of Tommy Smith.
Oh my what a first goal, what a transformation, he was out of the door, and he has turned into an around player, dare I say the championship Kane, I apologise for the hyperbole, but we are playing some of the best football from us in a long time and long may it continue...........
Forgot to say all aboard the Chuba train...... choo chooo..........
NE ratings
7 Steffen: Relatively quiet in the first half other than set-pieces, made a couple of decent saves after the break.
7 Smith: So reliable and consistent. Another rock solid showing – and almost scored a beauty of a goal early in the second half.
8 McNair: Justified his selection with a focused defensive display. A couple of crucial blocks and a second half goal.
7 Lenihan: Key to another home clean sheet.
7 Giles: Solid defensively and created the third goal with corner from the right.
7 Howson: Helped set the tempo and controlled the game throughout.
7 Hackney: Disciplined after an early booking and as neat and tidy as ever on the ball
8 Forss: Tireless on the right and caused Blackpool no end of problems with his movement. Excellent.
8 Akpom: Two more goals – his first sublime. So many classy touches, it’s clear to see how confident he is.
8 McGree: Brilliant through-ball for Akpom’s second. Millwall couldn’t get a grip of his movement.
7 Archer: Helped to set the tone with his running early on. Already has good understanding with fellow forwards.
Substitutes:
7 Barlaser (for Hackney, 63): Tidy from the bench.
Jones (for Forss, 75) N/A
Mowatt (for Howson, 84): N/A
Bola (for Giles, 84): N/A
Boring Boro!
It is like watching the Ferguson bang wagon rolling back in the day. No chance for the opposition team at all. Cannot remember how many wins at home we have in a row now.
Luckily some good goals to be seen by the 26,299 crowd.
Up the Boro!
I've always liked Blackpool just because of the colour of their strip. Are they the only team that uses tangerine as a main colour? I'm sure Ken knows and here's hoping ken is well too.
Welcome back after your few terrible weeks. Glad to hear you are nearing to full fitness. If you can sit on the bench with us from Diasboro, we are happy. Long may it continue that we can share you with us.
Yes, I like their kit in tangerine, too. I also have a car with the colour - officially Tangerine Scream by Ford. Love the colour!
Up the Boro!
@jarkko, many thanks, at the moment the bench suits me! I also forgot to say thanks to OFB for firing up the Blackpool debate.
ATB everyone,
UTB,
John
Delighted Barry Robson reckons whoever becomes the next manager will inherit an Aberdeen squad that can fire them into Europe.
The interim boss helped buy the Pittodrie board some time, in their search for a manager, with this convincing win, thanks to a goal from Duk and double from Bojan Miovski. The Dons had been a five game losing streak but Robson ended that and put them back on the fringes of the top six. Robson, who has brought in experienced coach Steve Agnew as his assistant, said: “We know we need to be better in the league and I still think that is doable and achievable. There is a group of players in here, who I believe you could really get going.
“Funny enough I was standing beside Steve Agnew. He is just new to Scottish football but he said he could really feel the club and the fans coming with us when we got three goals. He said I can feel it and I like it. That is a man who has been everywhere. That is where this club needs to be. The players need to give that every week.
Your fears are the result of many old battered managers being supported by our club in their dotage, I can hear still the words. 'scoring goals means nothing when you are a Young lad, so he will be on the bench, as I rate our striker, and ten goals a season are not to be sniffed at (four penalties) to be fair it would have been more had he not missed three penalties (unlucky, they respectively hit the corner flag, the bar, and the linesman) the linesman was unlucky he was five yards upfield. That was Britt.
He scored today did Britt ! Oh no he didn’t he was offside ! He prevented a perfectly good goal being scored by a teammate by Doing so !
Doh !
OFB
I liked the look of Barlaser when he came on OFB
I liked the look of Barlaser when he came on OFB
Me too. I thought that he looked excellent. What a great team performance to wake up to.
By the way, bit of trivia for fellow bloggers. Did anyone else notice that Calum Kavanaugh scored on his debut on loan for Newport County in their 2-1 win against Swindon. In goal for Swindon - who had 10 men from the 15th minute - and playing really well (again) was Sol Brynn. I wonder how many times Boro players on loan will come up against each other for other clubs.
We have three in the Scottish premiership - Hoppe, Coulson and Hemming - and there must be others.
Utb
A really good day for Boro scoring 3 goals with none conceded plus a bonus - some of their competitors dropped points - Norwich, Millwall, Watford and Sunderland . I don’t count Sheffield because they are still miles ahead.
It means Boro’s position of third is starting to look a little bit more solid but there’s still a long way to go and two games in particular in the neat future will be a big test.
It was also good that MC was able to bring on a few substitutes to give them some game time.
All in all very good and the crowd went home happy.
👍👋😂
Philip of Huddersfield
A player I have been on about a few times on here, Ryan Porteous, who signed for Watford from Hibs last week, scored on his debut! Thought Boro should have had a look at him. Just saying 😉
Apart from Hayden Hackney Boro don't seem to have any Scottish players in their ranks. Is this because of the failed Strachan era?
@malcolm - Hayden was born in Redcar. He played twice in 2016 in the England U15 team and once last November (2022) in the Scotland U21 team. I wonder whether he felt after such a long gap that he would be overlooked by the England set-up but he qualified for Scotland because his mother was born in Edinburgh. If I am correct, being picked for the U21 team (and so far playing only one game, when he was 20) does not disqualify him from later (if selected) playing for the senior England team. And looking at his form and the way he has developed so rapidly as a player over the last few months, who could rule out a senior international call-up...?
Rod Liddle runs the rule over the transformation wrought by MC since he took over from Wilder in The Sunday Times:
N.B. web archive site used, as the original is behind a paywall & I didn't want to risk copying & pasting it.
An interesting &, it seems to me, honest assessment, even if he desn't know that Brum is managed by JOHN Eustace!
The archived version sadly doesn't include readers' comments, of which there are 13. Here's one worth reproducing:
Another good win by the Boro yesterday - and very good performance. Carrick has done a great job, and credit too to Leo Percovich for bringing Hayden Hackney through to the first team - has has made a big difference to the midfield. The gap to Sheffield United now 10 points and falling … game on! UTB
Is recognising a talented young player more difficult than we think? Last season Boro had Connelly and Balogan. Connelly was a wasted space only scoring a couple of goals whilst Balogan wasn’t a lot better although some thought he might make a decent player.
Meanwhile Akron was earmarked to be shipped out as a failure.
Roll on 6 months and Akpom is fantastic and a real goal scorer and Balogan is the highest goal scorer in France even ahead of Mbappe and getting rave reviews.
So even the experts get it wrong- perhaps these young players it’s all about attitude and hard work instead of some of them thinking they’ve arrived having secured a lucrative 3 year contract at a top Club
Philip of Huddersfield
@philip-of-huddersfield And Conolly has scored twice for Hull in five games. Up the Boro!
Missed the first half but followed the second-half commentary. Things are all coming up roses in the garden, it seems.
No weak links in the team or the back-ups. Players like McNair and Mowatt who were getting pelters are proving themselves to be valuable members of the team. Barlaser already looks like a good signing.
Akpom. What can you say about Akpom? He's this season's Merson or Ramierez; playing a league above and, if we get promoted, he will be the foundation for it. I have said previously that he only scored ugly goals but now he scores beautiful goals as well. I watched his first goal on the extended highlights several times. There are 6 Blackpool outfield players between him and the goal plus a keeper and not one of them could do a thing about it. His second goal was a thing of very different beauty; great interplay between him and McGree with a clinical finish from an outrageous assist by McGree.
That all said, I agree with Craig Johns in the Gazette who wrote that despite the final scoreline, it was a game of fine margins. Blackpool could, maybe should, have equalised three times before we scored the second. Thing is, though, even if they had have equalised, I would have expected us to retake the lead.
The difference between this team and AK's best team or even when we were at our best under Wilder, is that you feel we have goals in us. We have struggled to score goals for ages but now you feel that it'll be a rare match where we don't.
Funnily enough, despite the recent clean sheets, we're not that defensively strong. Our defensive tactic is basically to keep the ball; if the other side don't have the ball they can't score. When we do lose possession, we seem to give up a fair amount of chances in each game. A team that can press us and disrupt our possession causes us real problems.
Of course, every tactic in football has a counter that it is weak against. The beauty of how we play under Carrick is that we are resilient. The defensive approach that AK mastered was brittle because if we did concede first we struggled to come back. It was really hard to score against us but not impossible so scoring one goal against us was probably enough to get a win. Against Carrick's Boro, you probably have to score 3 goals against us before you're safe.
Plus, it's a joy to watch.
The other thing; Carrick made a big statement keeping McNair in the team. It tells those on the bench that if you come in and do your job to the right standard then the shirt is yours. Unlike earlier in the season, Fry can have no complaints about being on the bench because he wasn't dropped or thrown under a bus. Fry will undoubtedly be desperate to get back into the first eleven but he knows he'll have to earn it or step in when something happens and keep his place.
I was sceptical about Carrick's appointment. Like AK (and unlike, say, Gerrard and Lampard) he had clearly done an apprenticeship but it felt like a gamble instead of someone like Corberan or Edwards who had more of a track record. Admittedly it's only a 1/3rd of a season but this feels like he really has taken to management like a duck to water.
@stircrazy. Thanks for the article. A very interesting and fair read. 😎
That all said, I agree with Craig Johns in the Gazette who wrote that despite the final scoreline, it was a game of fine margins. Blackpool could, maybe should, have equalised three times before we scored the second. Thing is, though, even if they had have equalised, I would have
A very fair and astute observation with which I concur.
Against better sides we are more likely to concede but presently seem to have a mindset and ability to say, if you score one we will score two.
Long may it continue together with the speed and creativity displayed throughout the team when on the ball. Our midfield and backups most be the envy of the majority of teams in the league. 😎
@deleriad Good post deleriad, well written and thoughtful.
However I have to agree with Craig Johns. We could have been a goal down before scored, Blackpool giving us a problems when they put the ball into our box.
Also against Watford last week, they missed a very good chance before we scored. What I am saying, is as good as we are playing and lovely to watch at time, we are riding our luck somewhat at times.
Individual players are performing well in defence, but overall they do not look compact and overly comfortable when pressed as you said. We could do better in that area. Midfield could also help.
Having been disappointed that I missed a good performance against Watford, I am glad I had a late change of mind and decided to go to this match. We are now a great attacking and entertaining side and while I do feel nervous about our defending which sometimes leaves too much space for opposition players near our goal I can put up with some shredded nerves as long as we keep winning.
Good to be part of the larger attendance now and to enjoy the atmosphere. The hassle with cancelled trains to and from Middlesbrough is worth putting up with when the Boro play so well. Akpom's first goal showed how confident he is in his ability and the interchange with McGree for the second was perfect. Carrick is getting some great performances from the whole squad he now has.
Do you still keep records on Boro this season?
If so, could you please tell our record under Michael Carrick? Like how many goals scored for and against, how many points collected per match, etc.
I think the points average is well above 2 points in the league. And I cannt remember when we have scored so many goals under one manager. Not even under Mogga.
Up the Boro!
Food for thought Cardiff haven't won since before worldcup, a Typical Boro performance incoming? Or have we put that ghost to bed
@deleriad - Spot on there, with your post.
That was a very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon (the 3-0 win at home against Blackpool). I agree the comment made in posts above and, I think, mentioned by Craig Johns, that there are sometimes fine margins even in a 3-0 win. If I remember correctly Blackpool hit the woodwork twice within the game and could have gone level at 1-1 just before we went up the other end to score a second. But it is also correct that, if we do go a goal down, there is a confidence in the team and in the crowd that Boro can come back. That was never there under Karanka. We knew, the team knew and the opposition knew that if they could score a goal that would probably be that and they'd get the 3 points.
I think it was David Brailsford, the road cycling Team Manager, who talked about "marginal gains" being so vital: margins between success and failure are tight, so break down the tasks to be completed and try to get every 1% marginal gain you can from that task, and all those one percents result in success at the end.
The goals: what an exquisite strike by Akpom to curl one just inside (or maybe even to graze the inside) of the far post with a host of players between him and the goal, and the keeper left clutching at thin air as the ball went past his hand. If that had been scored by Kane or by de Bruyne in yesterday's match Spurs v Man City, we'd be seeing endless replays of it at regular intervals throughout the rest of this season. His second was a nice finish after a RIDICULOUSLY cheeky pass by McGree. As for the third goal, I hope Paddy McNair's nose bleed has now subsided as we don't often see him that far upfield.
Bring on tne next opponents! A far cry from earlier this season when one had to gird up the loins. One is now actually looking forward to going to the match rather than trying to hide away a feeling of foreboding and almost looking for an excuse NOT to go. Long may this continue!
I try to keep up to date with my records not only on Boro but also on the records of ALL our local clubs, Hartlepool’s, Darlington, Whitby Town, Marske United, both Redcar Clubs,etc but with so many different competitions at the moment in England and in Europe I’m really struggling as what I used to regard as a hobby has turned into a chore after only sleeping for 4 to 5 hours each night since I resumed taking Dexamethasone steroid tablets last week which means I need to catch up on my sleep during the afternoon.
Once again I was unable to listen to a radio commentary of a Boro match last Saturday. My consultant informs me that there is no alternative to further treatment of my prostate cancer other than more daily treatment from steroids. Whether they will work I don’t know, but my Prostate-specific Antigen level (PSA level) will continue to rise without these steroids, but the effects of taking them means further sleep deprivation.
I’ve been very lucky in the last 14 years to have survived as long as I have, and like many people of my age as death approaches, it would be preferable to die in my sleep, or euthanasia could be the alternative. But at the moment euthanasia is not available in the UK. Nearer my God to thee, but death where is thy sting, where is thy victory?