Boro v Coventry
Saturday 29/1/2020 15:00 Hours
Riverside Stadium
After the very disappointing result on Monday I expect changes to the Boro lineup on Saturday against Coventry.
It is worth noting what Wilder said after the defeat against Blackburn
Quote
“If we’d have equalised or scored, because we had two incredibly good chances and possibly even three with Jonah (Isaiah Jones), I would still be saying the same thing.”
“We didn’t deserve to win it, we didn’t deserve to get anything out of it so back to the training ground and get ourselves going again.”
“I’m learning about them and they are learning about me and maybe they thought that my acceptance and demeanour was there, I want more. I always want more. When it isn’t as much as I want it to be then there is consequences and there is a reaction, that’s my job.”
“Everything is up for grabs now looking into the weekend. I want a consistency in performance, we’ve all talked about that and they’ve been excellent and they have been really consistent in terms of attitude and mentality.
“I think they’ll come away from tonight when they eventually stick their head on the pillow and realise what I’m demanding.
“As I said, I’ll take the blame on that because you want to get the balance right. You want to make sure they are not overhyped or undercooked. As I said, I thought we were in a really good place before we came here because you can get overhyped and you can not play and you can be a little undercooked at times.
“If you’re going to be undercooked in terms of your mentality and your attitude, you’ve got to be unbelievably good on the ball and, for me, we weren’t either.
“We weren’t very good with the ball and we weren’t very good physically and the mentality and the attitude to the game wasn’t what I wanted it to be.
“It’s a big learner from me about the players and maybe they are learning what I want. What I will accept and what I won’t accept and tonight the first 45 minutes was nowhere near where I wanted it to be.”
Unquote
It is interesting that most Diasborians agree that Tavernier needs to either be dropped or have a series of detailed coaching sessions to explain his role in the team. Whilst his energy is to be applauded and his chasing back to cover forwards is admirable, his misplaced passes have turned possession into opponents attack resulting in goals against us. He is a confident player and sometimes his confidence is misplaced and he needs to concentrate on his own game rather than dictating play to others.
As a whole, the midfield needs to be more energetic and return to the close pressing which was so effective in our impressive run of winning games. Although Crooks has formed a good understanding with Jones and the little triangular passing has paid dividends, it should be remembered that Crooks was also forming a good understanding with Payero and perhaps it’s time to put the Argentinian back in the team for more creativity in the middle of the pitch.
I thought Taylor who is an experienced pro, lost his head the other evening and it affected his game. I expect Wilder to have a word with him that as a senior player he needs to show more discipline on the field and to younger players. Howson in my opinion was largely ineffective and perhaps it’s time to give him a rest as when he doesn’t pull the strings the whole team suffers as a result.
McNair is guilty of making a few mistakes recently and his defensive slips have cost us goals. Perhaps moving him into midfield to replace Howson and bringing Bamba to play alongside Fry may steady the ship. Or do Diasborians think that would be too many changes?
The goalkeeping position still worries me as I think that despite two decent saves the other evening our keeper was poorly positioned for the goal scored against him.
Watmore has to replace Connolly as the young Irishman was in the main ineffective and not in the game in the first half.
Dare I also criticise our manager? Yes ! He should have changed the shape of the team at half time and made some substitutions to replace the most firing players.
So after mooting all these potential changes to the team will Wilder make any major modifications for Saturday? I think the only change he will make will be Watmore for Connolly and tell the others to keep playing the way they have in his style and not that of the previous manager!
Turning to our opponents Coventry who now are only one position (9th) below us in the table two points behind but with a game in hand. They come to the Riverside full of confidence after a good home win against fellow playoff hopefuls Stoke City. They achieved their first Championship victory at the CBS Arena in five games, dating back to early November. In truth, City could and should have scored more against the Potters who despite dominating possession for the first 25-30 minutes, failed to hit a single shot on target over the course of the entire 90 minutes plus five added on for stoppages.
Coventry do have some injury concerns Liam Kelly (hamstring), Fankaty Dabo (groin), Ian Maatsen (hamstring), Matty Godden (Appendectomy) and Jodi Jones (Covid) were all out for the game on Tuesday and remain doubtful for the game against Boro on Saturday.
I expect as usual it to be not an easy game on Saturday because after all this is the Championship!
Me ?
I’m going for a 2 - 0 win
Cheers Bob. Top work as ever.
I wouldn't want to see loads of change as it can be overly disruptive but I would restore Watmore and I'm definitely open to Payero coming in and Tavernier moving to left wing-back. I do think that could increase the movement and link-up up front, improve our passing through the middle and also giving us more attacking threat down the left.
We've got to show for the ball more in this game and take our chances when they come.
Coventry are no mugs and it will be a difficult game but I think our best is better than theirs.
Thanks for another fine opener, OFB. And thanks, Andy, too, for an excellent riposte. I’m with you - I don’t think we need to change too much just yet, but I do like the changes you’ve suggested.
Coventry is another tough game, for sure, but I think we should have too much for them if we play as we can. I’ll stick my neck out and go for a 2-0 home win.
This is a real crunch match for us if we're serious about the playoffs. Coventry, like Blackburn, have overperformed this season and are brim full of confidence; if they win they'll overtake us. We need to win to knock them back because we're in the business end of the season now and we have to start knocking out rivals.
Teams can have wobbles and recover (look at Forest for example) but there's not much wobble room left for us if we want to make the play-offs.
WWWD? What will Wilder do: I suspect he'll pick the same team unless there's an injury. I actually think that he slammed the players after Blackburn more to make a point than anything else. Sure we were poor in the first half but could easily have won the game and probably ought to have had a draw at least.
With McGree and Lea Siliki away there doesn't seem much scope to change the team and Wilder's SOP is not to rotate. We might see Connolly replaced by Balogun or Watmore but I have a feeling that Wilder will give Connolly another chance and look to start Balogun and Watmore in the cup.
It should be remembered that we have been on an excellent run and even if performances have been patchy in the last few games we have shown an ability to grind out results. The problem is we've had so many years of false dawns that there's no real confidence in the crowd. If we start slowly or concede early there'll be a whole lot of "typical Boro, always let you down" chuntering. That would be unfair but the players are going to have to show their mettle.
I'm going to stick my neck out and go for a surprisingly comfortable victory. Say 2-0 with goals in both halves.
OFB,
Thank for the opener, clearly argued and to the point but I don't see too many changes just the requirement for a return of the team work ethic and hopefully we've seen the last of the hoofball frustrations.
Mr Wilder is right about the team working together and having a collective responsibility, simply put he may need a little re-welding in the unit and apart from the running, chasing and pressing a little coolness with the chances that will arrive. Ethos rebuilding if you like but it must be terribly easy for one defeat to become two.
I think the match changers in this game will be the substitutes so I hope he is as positive and bold as we all wish the team to be.
Dare I predict? At the moment no!
UTB,
John
Thanks for that, OFB.
I'm not sure about Tavernier but (1) the manager clearly likes him and (2) so does Dana Malt, who is a real supporter of Tavernier. I realise attacking/wide/central midfielders will be expected to contribute with goals and assists and, at the end of the season, these will be totted up and put in the reckoning. It's a bit like having a striker - it might be nice to see his making runs and the way he takes defenders away to allow space for others to exploit etc but, in the final analysis, people will look to see how many goals the striker scores. I hope Tavernier makes the arguments against him irrelevant by his performances (including chances created, assists, goals scored) in the next few matches.
My doubts are greater for Lumley than for Tavernier, but I don't blame him for the loss against Blackburn. As has been said before, there was a string of failures/mistakes before the shot which beat the keeper and I don't criticise him for the goal. There were times when he seemed to be playing like a sweeper, rushing out to get to the ball before the attacker. He was one of the players least responsible for the defeat but, longer term, obviously I'd be delighted to get a proper First Choice Keeper who exudes confidence, marshalls the defence, stops shots (including when we really can't expect him to do so) and collects crosses. But then, wouldn't most Championship teams like that?
The defeat was the result of a collective "less than adequate" performance by many of the players in the team. Sometimes these things happen. It is down to the manager to reduce the frequency of those events and to get the players performing nearer to the best of their abilities for as many games as possible - hopefully starting against Coventry. I haven't yet heard his interview or Press Confernece since the Blackburn game - I will go to look for it after I press "send" on this post - but if he has accepted some responsibility for what happened then that is fine if he knows what went wrong and can now put it right. Much of football management is more man-management than anything else (he says, just having watched a film/documentary about Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest winning back-to-back European Cups) so I guess Chris Wilder will sort it out.
Who knows what combination will be selected up front? Would be good to see Balogun have a full game to see what he can do, but I suspect he will be more likely to score than others in our squad, and it would be good to see him partnered with a hard-working Whatmore and/or Coburn. I would also like to see what Payero can do under this management - but I realise if these wishes were granted, we might not see Crooks (one of our better players) nor Sporar, and that would mean missing two of our more inventive terraces songs. Some new ones might be needed.
The consensus appears to be a 2-0 win. I do not wish to upset the applecart so I go for the same scoreline. Fingers crossed!
The games now seem to be coming around somewhat quicker, so thank you OFB for your Headliner and also some good following posts from Andy and Deleriad.
I think OFB's assessment of the particular Boro players was reasonably fair, however when the games are tight, and ours are always tight, remember we have not scored three goals in the league (I believe) then one mistake can cost the match. That is then highlighted and a little unjustly at times.
Crooks should possibly have scored from one of his two good chances, but he has not been criticised as much as McNair for his horrendous miskick.
If we were only creating and scoring a few more goals the mistakes would be missed. This is where the criticism (if there is to be any) should start in my opinion. Remove Jones from the equation and are we struggling. Yes Tav did produce the assists from his corner kicks against Reading to win the points, but those apart very little comes on a regular basis from elsewhere.
Against Coventry we need changes, but I doubt CW will make more than one or two at most.
Connolly has not done enough for me to retain his starting spot. I think the Manager will retain Sporar for his technical ability and I would choose Balogun to play upfront alongside him. He can score goals that is for certain. Can he score them in the Championship......there is only one way to find out. The safe option of course would be to start with Watmore.
Other than above, I do not believe CW will change any of the other positions.
Result, Coventry are a good side playing well. It is how the Boro start and play that will decide the game.
Since posting at 3.03pm I have been on to YouTube and on to the MFC App and the only interview I can see after the Blackburn match was the one Chris Wilder gave on the pitch after the match. I watched the game on SkyTV on Monday at The Tortured Toad. When I was at the pub I couldn't really hear the post-match interview CW gave to Sky and I'm not sure whether the one shown on the MFC App is that same interview, but he certainly made it clear that he was unhappy with the performance. What he said seemed fair enough comment, to me.
FD
That is why I quoted Wilder transcript of his on match comments because it wasn’t very well publicised.
OFB
Coventry Injury Worries
OFB
I also thought Lumley had a sound enough game on Monday.
I like the idea of moving Tav to Wing back and introducing Payero.
Not so sure about Balogun in from the start. Watmore was the man for Connolly to displace and for me (as with everyone else in here) he (Connolly) hasn't justified that. So bring Watmore back. I thought Balogun was trying to be a little too clever for my liking, overcomplicating play when perhaps the simple pass or movement would have been more effective. So, more time on the training field for him and to be retained as impact sub for a few more matches yet.
Whatever the eleven will be on the pitch, I am sure they will be at Coventry from the start. I actually have a feeling that everything will gel for us on Saturday and I think we will score 3 or even 4 times. ... lets not be greedy, so I'll predict 3-0 to Boro and a feather in the cap for Mr Wilder.
COB
Thanks for another starter OFB, much appreciated.
We need to get back to winning and making the Riverside a fortress so will clearly need to up our game. I am expecting changes as CW indicated that there would be consequences but don’t expect too many.
Connolly has not justified his place in the side so needs to make way for Watmore which will probably be about it as I don’t see Tav being played at wingback.
A close and nervy 1-0 win for me. Anything less than a win will see our top six aspirations start to fade. CoB 😎
I ment to say thanks for the opener I my Las post but failed to do so 😟
Thanks OFB. Very much appreciate the effort from you (and AndyR) ...
Going of the subject for a moment, I have a ticket for the FA cup game away to Man Utd and as it is an evening kickoff (1945 hrs) I have booked a hotel room for the Friday night, so I decided to get a ticket for the Saturday match Man City v Fulham (FA Cup) 1500 hrs, while Man Utd are charging £47 per adult, Man City have charged £15 per adult !
Come on BORO.
Great analyses of Monday's game on here, to which I can add little.
We were very poor all over the park, particularly in the first half, against a weakened side.
The defence allowed three or four free headers from set pieces in the first half, and was prone to panic throughout. Midfield failed to knit defence with attack, and scarcely managed to find Jones for the first half hour. The attack failed to make the ball stick or to take its few chances.
Connelly looked as though he had been signed from Bognor rather than Brighton, and appeared to be totally out of his depth. Balogan is an unknown quantity at this level and has it all to prove. What struck me most of all was how lightweight the new attack upon which we are pinning so much hope actually is.
That hope remember is based upon the expectation that our new signings would be able to hit the ground running and be an immediate improvement on what went before.
I couldn't help but remember that the best centre-forward display we have seen this year was Uche's M-o-M cup performance at Mansfield: excellent hold-up play, great lay-offs, and rounded off with one of the goals of the season. Or remember too that Uche has never really had a fair crack since arriving here or ever let the team down.
Of course I appreciate that Uche may not fit into the way in which Wilder wishes to set up the team, and I'm no fan myself of the traditional big man up front, much loved by Warnock, Pulis et al.
But replacing the physically strongest striker in the football league , who is showing some form, with a physical lightweight who is demonstrably out of form, may be in danger of making all the talk of 'shape' and 'set-up', somewhat redundant.
West Brom lose 2 nil at home to Preston tonight.
Come on BORO.
Len, agree entirely. For what we paid for him and what we will be paying him, I believe him to be a decent squad player to have.
As I have posted previously, we have brought in two supposed strikers with little or no Championship experience. Not an easy league to play in.
One of Middlesbrough’s weaknesses, said before I think, is that we lack physical presence and I do not mean big bruisers. Think Leadbitter and Clayton. Good footballers who could handle the opposition. Against Blackburn we certainly lost the physical battle. And have done so against supposed lesser skilled teams this season.
The two new lads from EPL clubs really need to show they have what it takes at this level.
@pedro I see your point about physical presence, but I think Crooks have some of it. He has been our best player this season. Up the Boro!
Pedro. Based on the number of yellow cards we have picked up so far this season it could be argued we are over physical but not in the right way! 😎
@OFB. Beware the injured golfer - sorry footballer as they say! 😂😎
Try the Gazette Championship predictor at one’s peril. Worse scenario Boro might have only 57 points, best scenario 63 points. Not concerned about the Baggies or Cherries defeats, it’s nowt to do with Boro. I can even make a case for Derby avoiding relegation. It’s all about what Boro do from now on. As Chris Wilder says never look beyond the next match. Can Boro beat Coventry? Of course they can. Will they win though is pure speculation. Just ask David Prutton who rarely gets a Boro prediction correct.
Ken
I did the gazette championship predictor and Boro finished fifth in my forecast with Fulham as Champions Bournemouth Second and Blackburn third.
I didn’t consciously go for that result but just on a match by match basis so it was interesting to see.
OFB
I had Fulham top. Bournemouth second, Boro 3rd and Blackburn 4th.
Of course, the further away from today you get into the future, the harder it is to imagine the results. Who will hit form when? Who will still be desperate for points for survival, or to make the playoffs on different weekends...
While we may all bemoan the lack of quality in the Championship this season, none of us can deny that most clubs still have something to play for and there will be quite a lot of pockets of anxiety and excitement up and down the country.
Likewise, I did it, too.
Pos.Team Pts
1 Fulham 75
2 Bournemouth 72
3 Blackburn 68
4 QPR 65
5 Middlesbro' 65
6 Nottm Forest 63
I thought I was optimistic with Boro’s results, but was surprised that Boro finished in 4th only. And where are West Brom in there?
Well, I hope we will finish above QPR in real world, though.
Would 75 points be enough fot the top spot, really?
Up the Boro!
Jarkko mine were
1 Fulham 83
2 Bournemouth 80
3 Blackburn 72
4 Nottm Forest 67
5 Middlesbrough 66
6 QPR 65
7 Huddersfield 58
8 West Brom 57
9 Coventry City 56
10 Stoke 52
OFB
@OFB, I probably had too many draws as the total number of points were lower. But also you had West Brom below the top six 😇. Up the Boro!
It was bit touch and go for me. Had us in 6th place on 63 points, 1 point ahead of Huddersfield. Fulham champions, Bournemouth in 2nd above Blackburn on goal difference I presume.
There you go, but I had Boro 10th in the worst case scenario with 57 points. It’s impossible to predict, just look at some of the current results so far this season covering 21 of the 24 clubs:-
Boro lost 0-2 at home to Birmingham who lost 1-4 at home to Fulham who lost 1-2 at home to Reading who lost 2-3 at home to Blackpool who lost 0-1 at home to Coventry who lost 0-1 at home to Millwall who lost 0-2 at home to Luton who lost 1-2 at home to Cardiff who lost 2-3 at home to Sheffield United who lost 1-2 at home to Huddersfield who lost 0-2 at home to Nottm. Forest who lost 1-2 at home to Blackburn who lost 1-2 at home to West Brom who lost 0-2 at home to Preston who lost 1-4 at home to Hull who lost 1-2 at home to Peterborough who lost 2-3 at home to Bristol City who lost 1-2 at home to QPR who lost 0-2 at home to Stoke who lost 1-2 at home to Derby.
I couldn’t find places in that ladder for Barnsley losing at home to Swansea, but nevertheless it took me all morning to include 21 different teams and Bournemouth wouldn’t fit into the sequence without excluding some of the 21 named. Of course there are several alternative results, most notably Reading losing 0-7 to Fulham in the return fixture. However it does prove that any team can beat any other even away from home on any given day in this crazy league, so what’s the point of predicting any result?