Len, that's a good idea but I can see issues.
I think what would be better is for Chelsea to play in Yellow and Blue for the rest of the season to repudiate what Russia has done. Admittedly that would make us look like Russia in the match which may not be for the best.
As a serious point though, I think if Chelsea are serious about sending a message, they should change their kit to represent that.
Having thought about it some more, my preference if done for a one-off for a cup match would be for them to play in blue and us to play in a one-off yellow kit. That way it doesn't look like one side is Ukraine in the match. Replica kits could be sold with proceeds going to charity.
Yes we do have contacts but not sure how FA Would react ?
OFB
Len
All the strips have to be registered prior to the season starting usually 3 sets.
Whilst the suggestion is inspired I cannot see the FA agreeing to it
OFB
Didn't Arsenal recently play in an all-white strip as a one-off? Presumably as a one-off there is a precedent.
That said, I don't think one side playing in Ukraine's colours would be right because it immediately casts the other team as Russia. Each side playing in one colour of the flag so that as a whole football presents unified support for Ukraine during the match seems like it could be a strong message. As it's the FA cup and because of Chelsea's ownership, it may be something that could cut through to ordinary Russians who love to follow their football.
I sent the same idea a week ago to AV on twitter but no feed back. But as deleriad said, Arsenal did that and Boro played one match in white with silver crest and advertisement a couple of years ago. But we do not know how early these were planned.
BTW, Darlo is playing their home match in yellow and blue tomorrow. They are able to do as their second away strip is already in those colours. So they got OK from their league AND opponents to use their 'third' kit for the home match tomorrow. They also bucket collect some money for Ukraine .
Up the Boro!
Boro will have no better chance of winning the tournament than this season even against the scousers in the final if I can stay alive to see it even if only on television.
Stick with it, Ken! You’re a fighter. You’ve plenty of time yet before you shuffle off your mortal coil. Besides, you need to see Boro win the FA Cup and finish once again in the European places in the Premiership! Then you’ll have to write up the history before you depart……. ! And don’t forget you need to see Yorkshire win the County Championship again - at least once!
Talk soon.
The problem is that the Ukrainian national flag is blue and yellow, not yellow and blue and the best impact would be blue shirts with yellow shorts. But as Chelsea’s away kit is yellow shirts and their third kit seems to be the same colour as Boro’s away kit which incidentally I would describe as petrol blue rather than green, I forsee difficulties.
Clive
As a youngster I dreamed of Boro winning the FA Cup at Wembley, and they never came near to that until 1997, and that was tainted by relegation.
They only had one chance of winning the First Division and that was in 1951 with a three point lead at Christmas but they fell away to finish 6th, and I think that winning the Premier League in the future is beyond the realms of probability.
I genuinely believe though that it is possible to win the FA Cup this year as both Liverpool and Man City have bigger fish to fry in winning the
Premier League and/or the Champions League. Chelsea are a much better team than either Man Utd or Spurs, and Boro will need a bit of luck in the match but have a better chance of winning at the Riverside than at Wembley even if it’s only by a penalty shoot-out. Then it’s down to the luck of the draw in the Semifinal.
EXMIL CHALLENGE 2022
With two hours to the deadline I have received 16 correct entries from the following:
lenmasterman
Norfolk and Boro
Andy R
jarkko
exmil
Martin Bellamy
Selwynoz
MW in Darwin
deleriad
Pedro de Espana
Original Fat Bob
KP in Spain
Forever Dormo
Powmill-Naemore
Ian Gill
Clive Hurren
Also have one from werdermouth but has a couple of errors.
Come on BORO.
Our rearranged home game against Fulham has been moved from the Tuesday to Wednesday 6 April for live coverage by Sky.
Come on BORO.
EXMIL CHALLENGE 2022
At the close we have 17 entries including werdermouth.
Come on BORO.
Watched a cracking game tonight - Sheffield United v Forest - my interest was Sheffield - Boro’s next away fixture.
All action played at a fast pace - no quarter given - good advert for the Championship. Really impressed by Davis of Forest- big strong centre forward with pace and skill- I think a loan player from Villa.
It looked as Sheffield would do a smash and grab raid, just as they did recently at home against Blackburn who missed a penalty and were the much better team, but Sheffield scored in the last minute mainly due to a goalkeeping error.
Forest missed a penalty tonight awarded for a foul on Spence and were in control in the second half.
Then Sharp scored a brilliant strikers goal - his first chance and the crowd really got behind them and Sheffield looked as though they would see the game out. (Spence got the wrong side of Sharp )
But in the last minute Forest nicked a goal- the first conceded by Sheffield at home in their last 8 games.
So, based on Sheffield’s recent form and not conceding many goals, I feel it will be a real achievement for Boro to get a draw.
But first there’s the challenge of Luton who are on a tremendous run and have quietly crept above Boro in the League.
Result ? - a win would be an outstanding achievement ( 8 consecutive home wins) but I feel a draw may be the outcome. A defeat would be a disaster given the next 3 games are all away.
Philip of Huddersfield
ps - What’s happening with the locals here in Huddersfield ? - another win, 3-0, and up to second in the League although played more games than other teams. That’s 18 league games unbeaten. Based on previous years and the points they have, then put them down as a banker to be in the top 6.
I feel that Boro’s only chance is to finish 6 th.
What’s happened to the young Boro central defender , Nathen Wood ?
He was predicted as a future star- went on loan this season to a Scottish team which didn’t work out, returned to Boro but not allowed to play until January .
I seem to remember CW saying words to the effect that he needs to get “ his head down” - it didn’t sound complementary at the time.
But he doesn’t seem to have figured for any team.
The danger is, if he doesn’t start playing regularly even for the under 23’s, then this season will be a write off. I don’t think he played many games last season.
Philip of Huddersfield
Nathan Wood played in the FA cup tie at Mansfield, and I didn't think he looked that impressive, and was on the bench at Old Trafford.
Thanks to OFB for his opener with plenty of top hat puns worked in and it's certainly a game Boro will be looking to win to cap off a fine week - plus let's hope Jonny Howson has recovered from his Capotain's performance against Spurs to lead the team to victory today.
It's hard to say whether the exertions in midweek will adversely effect the performance today - I'm sure the players will have recovered physically but it's possible that some may feel mentally exhausted and find it hard to lift themselves to a similar level.
I would probably make a few changes just to freshen things up a little as there are plenty of tough games coming thick and fast now. Perhaps even Josh Coburn could be given a start to see if he can continue his current clinical scoring record.
Indeed, Coburn's goal celebration has become the iconic image of the FA Cup 5th round - with Boro having become the main story of this year's competition and many neutral's favourite team. Even the media lead the quarter-final draw headlines with Boro's tie with Chelsea - with nearly all placing it as the most anticipated game. Such attention we are not used to as Boro followers and one can only imagine the headlines should Chris Wilder's team make it to the semi's.
Still, it's all about three points today and while Luton performed well against Chelsea, they managed to rest a few players ahead of the trip to Teesside. It will be a hard game as they press the opposition well and have players who can run at our defence too. I think Boro would benefit from having McGree back in midfield and even Bola back as wing-back.
Fitting them in could be tricky as neither Howson, Tavernier or Crooks deserve to be dropped - maybe Crooks could play in the number ten role given he's our top scorer though that would probably not mean Coburn leading the line.
Anyway, looking forward to the game - it's probably the beginning of the business end of the season - so let's hope Boro mean business today!
Team News: Well Coburn is on the bench with Sporar as Balogun and Connolly start - also still no McGree and Bola is on the bench...
Makes you wonder if there are clauses in loan agreements that guarantee the loanee a high percentage of game time unless unavailable by injury or suspension....
Still have strong expectation of a Boro win this afternoon. 2-0 will do nicely.
CoB
For those who need an unofficial stream here is a link that is working...
Bit of a stop start game but Boro have been worth their first-half lead - some promising moves that maybe should have led to more but that final ball has not quite been in the right place. Jonny Howson continued where he left off against Spurs and Dijksteel and Tav have also impressed. Jones appears to have 2-3 players covering him but Boro have missed opportunities to switch to the left to take advantage - maybe Bola could come on. The strikers have worked hard but not quite clicked - though Balogun won the pen and nearly drove into the box and finished but opted for an air shot instead. Ref has made a few bad calls on both sides too. We need a second goal and then I think this is a game we should win.
Very fair summary Werder. Just need that second goal to settle my nerves. 😎
If clouds are successive home wins then Boro are now on Cloud Nine - hopefully the sky is the limit for Chris Wilder's team. It was quite a physical game but Boro stood up well to Luton and deserved the win. It always seemed like that second goal would be needed and so it proved to be after Luton scored in the 96th minute. Some good performances today, with Howson being the best in the first half - plus Dijksteel and McNair pushed the team forward as overlapping centre-backs - Jones also good in spells but the MoM was the non-stop Tavernier, who was everywhere winning the ball, passing and moving and attacking Luton. Back in the top six just a point behind QPR and two behind Blackburn with a game in hand. Great result today!
Lumley wasn't bad, was he? A great win as we needed the three points on offer. Up the Boro!
A scrappy game with more stoppages for knocks and injuries than passages of continuous play. The seven minutes added time must have been a conservative estimate.
Howson M-o-M. As Werder said, he continued where he left off against Spurs. Tav also excellent with Fry and Paddy as solid as ever at the back.
The strikers continue to disappoint. Balogun won us the penalty but made little further impression and was unsurprisingly the first to be subbed. Watmore was an immediate improvement, rounding off his afternoon with what proved to be the match-winning goal. Connolly is getting better and holding on to the ball much more without ever posing a goal threat.
Lumley also continued his improved form and made a number of crucial saves when Luton threatened to get back into the game.
This was probably our least fluent home performance since Preston, but we matched Luton physically, gained three precious points, and did what was necessary, putting ourselves back into the play-off places before three testing away games.
Thanks again to Werder for enabling me to watch the game
Yes, very much a stop start game where we always looked the better of the two sides but never fully dominated and tended to play in spells.
Nevertheless, a win and three points which I said before the match I would be happy with which ever way it came about; given we are at the business end of the season I suspect that grit, determination and a never say die attitude will be very much a prerequisite until the end of the season.
Another big game to look forward to on Tuesday which, ideally, Boro need to win but certainly not lose. 😎
I work with a luton fan he said they were a niggly team who played on the edge with fouls etc, well he wasnt wrong the head lock in the box being a case in point an extremely scrappy game but we will take the 3 points. Has Ken told us when we last won 9 nine home games on the bounce?
We’re away in a cottage near Bath visiting family for a few days so I’ve just seen the result. Get in.
Does anyone know if Tuesday’s game is on Sky?
Well I thought that was impressive from Boro.
A high pressure game which Luton came to spoil. Not in a “park the bus” way but in breaking the game up with niggly fouls and one or two that went beyond that.
I thought Boro stood up to it, took it, gave it back and still largely stuck to their principles.
Rarely did it genuinely feel that we were under the cosh. There was an element of control and calm amongst the chaos and it was a thoroughly deserved three points in my book.
Like Len, I thought Connolly played well with his back to goal but doesn’t otherwise. convince. Balogun has sharp moments but is just as often brushed aside. Both players have potential but are “work in progress” at a time when we could do with proven performers.
It didn’t matter because the rest of our team is a unit. The back three are strong but also composed. The wingbacks are energetic and difficult to tie down. The midfield three are, frankly, awesome. Can we now put to bed any ideas about Tav being overhyped or arrogant? I’ve rarely seen a Boro player work harder game after game after game. And still so young.
So top marks to the Boro today from me. Now we need to prove we can do it on the road.
We’re away in a cottage near Bath visiting family for a few days so I’ve just seen the result. Get in.
Does anyone know if Tuesday’s game is on Sky?
Yes Martin it is on the red button as is the Birmingham game the following Tuesday according to the sky Sports Football listings. 😎