Andy “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.”
There in lies the conundrum, I don’t disagree about his work rate and he is without a doubt one of the fittest and hardworking midfielders we have had for years. Is that enough however?
Johnny Howson is also fit and hardworking (in a more holding/defensive role) but also in my view contributes more in the way in which he drives the team on, plays defence spitting passes and makes last ditch tackles.
If Tav can develop his game more along the lines of Howson then he truly will be one of our best midfielders in recent years; for me he needs to contribute more by way of goals and assists and to cut out too many wasted free kicks and corners.
In the early part of the season under NW he seemed to have plateaued but under CW he has been invigorated and for me just needs to add that little bit more to his game; after all if you are good enough then age does not matter. 😎
Great set of results to wake up to. Sounds like a tough hard fought win against a side that is not frightened to mix things up. That makes it even better for Boro to battle it out after the efforts of Tuesday night. I was glad to see that Boro only picked up two bookings and they were the unexpected combination of Lumley and Coburn. None of the usual suspects. What were they for? We're getting close to the safety point. Do FA Cup bookings/games count in the yellow card cut-off or is it just EFL games?
Like all of you I'm sure, I spend a fair bit of time worrying over the league table and calculating where people stand if they win spare games. Anyway, for the first time in a while, we are now solid in sixth with nobody holding extra games to overtake us and were we to win our 'game in hand' we'd be up to fourth. This kind of calculation doesn't really take into account the fact that there are so many games between contenders and I know that for me it feels (however illogically) as if a draw - such as Sheff Utd v Forest - means that our promotion contenders have dropped four points.
It looks as if I was right in identifying Millwall as a coming threat. They're storming up the table. That means that, having seen off Luton, we now have two huge away games to look forward to. I'm not sure what results would be considered OK but, clearly, it's by beating your direct contenders that you can make the biggest impact.
UTB
Shaun Wilson wrote on twitter:
"8 home league wins in a row and 9 in total. Equals the record in both cases at The Riverside, with the last time coming in the 1997/98 season. All time record is 11 spanning the 1926/27 and 1928/29 seasons."
Life is good. Up the Boro!
Another game I only caught bits and pieces of so I just watched the extended highlights. If you believed the highlights it looks like a game where we struggled to handle the physical pressing of Luton; we are mostly hanging in there and trying to spring forwards with long passes. It worked but it was definitely a struggle.
Something I noticed about Lumley there and against Spurs is that he is moving much faster. I used to play in goal (rather poorly) for my school and college and I do remember the games when I did well were when I was able to get my mind in gear properly; you always feel like you have more time to react. In the block against Adebayo in the second half Lumley was out quickly and bounced back off the floor quickly, almost blocking the second attempt too. He's also starting to save shots with every part of the body. Compare that to when WBA scored and Lumley could have blocked off Carroll just beforehand: he played safe instead and was slow to react. I hope Lumley can keep it up because it does look like he's a bit of confidence player: when he's good he's good.
I feel a bit torn about Connolly and Balogun. Connolly can't seem to read the game. Maybe like Lumley he's second-guessing himself but he seems to have no idea about how to play with the rest of the team. Balogun feels a bit like the second coming of Aliadière. I see Wilder has been defending their progress and how hard it has been for them but I look at Bish Bash Josh and can't help thinking that if he had had the same run in the team that he would have scored more and done more. When Watmore scored, Coburn had managed to get himself free in the centre and would have had a tap in. To give Balogun his due, his link up with Jones in the lead up to the goal was good. In the middle of all this, Sporar seems to have gone off the boil (admittedly he was more simmering than boiling). Overall, the weakest part of what Wilder has done so far has been with the forwards.
We really need McGree back in a hurry because we're fast running out of midfield support. If we lose any of Crooks, Howson or Tav we have a problem. I'm also starting to think Taylor is under-rated. Like several players he may have been a bit under-par for a few games but at his best he keeps his flank well protected and links up play well. He doesn't offer the same forward threat as Jones but who does? Much though it is good to see Bola back, I'm happy for him to be eased in.
As the cliché goes, it's 12 cup finals coming up. Our destiny is in our own hands and we get to play most of our main rivals. We've knocked back WBA and Luton now we need to do the same to Sheffield Utd.
Regarding Connolly I think he is improving. He had a shot that hit the bar, an audacious overhead kick which he has tried on a few occasions and a high pressing game with plenty of energy.
Connolly doesn’t however appear to be on the same wavelength as Jones at times as when Jonah played a pass forward for him to run onto he had stopped running and anticipating a pull back for him to shoot.
It is evident that Watmore is being nursed through games and Wilder alluded to that during his recent post match presser when he said that he had had serious knee injuries and was being constantly monitored. The compromise is that Watmore is best used as an impact sub and is evidently on the same wavelength as Jonah when he received a perfect ball from he who must not be named and scored our decisive goal against Luton yesterday.
Balogun needs a goal and sometimes his tricks and flicks pay off. His backheel the other week for Watmore was delightful and his quick thinking and change of feet created a penalty yesterday. The down side is when he did a backheel yesterday which was nowhere near a Boro player amd set up a Luton attack.
As fans we have to be realistic regarding the players we can get on Loan and all three loan players are doing their bit to try and get Boro into the playoffs.
All of us would like to see our own Richmond Boy get a regular place but we have to remember he is still learning his craft but has raw talent which has to be nurtured.
Lets be honest folks, It’s a massive improvement on what we started with this season !
To the playoffs and beyond ! 🛸
OFB
I’m a bit conflicted over JC. He’s done really well when he’s come on but he doesn’t look like a hard hitting target man to me. It may be his age and lack of maturity but I don’t think that centre backs will see him coming on and think they’re in for a physical battle.
He may grow into his physique as he gets older and become the centre forward we’ve all been looking for, but for now I see him as an impact sub.
We’re staying in a small cottage in Bathford until Wednesday morning and there’s no Sky. I’ve forgotten my iPad but I’ve got my Iphone although I think that Red Button games aren’t available on SkyGo. ☹️
I’m a bit conflicted over JC. He’s done really well when he’s come on but he doesn’t look like a hard hitting target man to me. It may be his age and lack of maturity but I don’t think that centre backs will see him coming on and think they’re in for a physical battle.
He may grow into his physique as he gets older and become the centre forward we’ve all been looking for, but for now I see him as an impact sub.We’re staying in a small cottage in Bathford until Wednesday morning and there’s no Sky. I’ve forgotten my iPad but I’ve got my Iphone although I think that Red Button games aren’t available on SkyGo. ☹️
Martin I thought we were the main match so need for red button
I’m a bit conflicted over JC. He’s done really well when he’s come on but he doesn’t look like a hard hitting target man to me. It may be his age and lack of maturity but I don’t think that centre backs will see him coming on and think they’re in for a physical battle.
He may grow into his physique as he gets older and become the centre forward we’ve all been looking for, but for now I see him as an impact sub.We’re staying in a small cottage in Bathford until Wednesday morning and there’s no Sky. I’ve forgotten my iPad but I’ve got my Iphone although I think that Red Button games aren’t available on SkyGo. ☹️
Martin I thought we were the main match so need for red button
It looks like the EFL Trophy semi-final between Wigan and Sutton is the Sky main event on Tuesday, with SheffU v Boro only available on the red button ☹, sorry.
I’m a bit conflicted over JC. He’s done really well when he’s come on but he doesn’t look like a hard hitting target man to me.
I don't think he's a target man at all. He's tall and decent in the air, but so is Crooks. Wilder seems to like the David Nugent type who will spend 60 minutes wearing down the defenders and chip in with the odd goal. Coburn has shown the ability to harry and press defenders and also a good reading of the game. His give and go with Crooks for the Spurs goal was top drawer. He's also particularly good at drifting into space. He's an all-rounder type.
It's probably true that he's not ready to start at the moment but frankly, neither are Balogun or Connolly while Watmore burns himself out when he starts. I can't help but think if Balogun was a product of our U23s and Colburn was loaned in from the Arsenal U23s that we would be seeing Coburn starting and Balogun as 5th choice.
Martin, it will be available via Riverside Live on your iPhone on the MFC app. 😎
Martin, it will be available via Riverside Live on your iPhone on the MFC app. 😎
That’s perfect. Cheers for the info. Wish I’d packed my iPad now.
Yes, as he cuts his wandering out of his goal, his talent as a shot stopper is starting to show. He wandered once during the match, was caught by Luton getting possession (and missing the target) he is a work in progress.
The record of winning 11 consecutive league matches in the SAME SEASON was in the 1913/14 season starting on the 22nd November against Burnley 2-1, Newcastle 3-0, Aston Villa 5-2, Man City 2-0, Derby County 3-2, Blackburn 3-0, Everton 2-0, Man Utd 3-1, Chelsea 2-0, Sheffield Wed 5-2, and Preston 4-1 before losing at home to Sheffield United 2-3 on the 10th April.
George Elliott scored in each of those 11 matches totalling 17 goals, whilst Walter Tinsley scored 8. Unfortunately Boro lost 6 out of their 9 away matches during that sequence.
Let’s not forget that the Hartlepool v Rotherham FL Trophy match on Wednesday is also on Sky Sports. Same as Boro, Pools are also one match away from a Wembley appearance.
The Boro v Luton Town game was not a great spectacle but it yielded THREE POINTS. That was the main objective, and it was achieved. The results from the other teams around us was a bonus. Let's not throw this away because from here onwards our fate is in our own hands. I am hopeful.
Lumley has played well in the last couple of games. As has been suggested in earlier posts above, Tavernier has played well and Howson has hit a real purple patch of form which I hope can continue.
I read earlier that Coburn has only played a few minutes more than 5 games in total, if you added together all his short substitute appearances. He has scored a goal every 90.8 minutes. In other words a goal a game - which is something Gary Lineker or Alan Shearer could only dream about. I KNOW it is early days in his career but you'd prefer he at least started off in the manner he wishes to continue. Maybe if he had more minutes on the pitch, he'd get more goals. He certainly can't score unless he's on the pitch. I suspect if you put the ball at his feet 10 times in the opposing penalty area he'd score more goals than any other striker currently available to Boro.