From listening to that it sounded like there more plusses than minuses but still a lot of work needed. One plus was that at least we didn't fall apart after half-time and, in general, the team seemed more organised. For a team that has such a good defensive record on paper we continue at times to look shaky when defending.
We played some nice stuff going forwards at times. The midfield three looked strong with Tav and Crooks looking good as the attacking two. Howson was also much more effective. Watmore also looked back to his best. Overall, players (other than Jones) were playing in their favoured positions and looked more effective for it.
Overall this was an evolution rather than revolution.
Can't stand the Ref Oliver Langstone at the best of times, he has a really smug demeanour and more importantly isn't a very good Ref to put it mildly. How he still gets away with Officiating at this level is beyond me.
This afternoon was incredible to witness, Watmore breaking free, brought down, the Lino flagging like a madman possessed but Langstone waves play on! Even the Millwall players had stopped, they then go up the pitch and in the build up with Boro looking shell shocked that the game had carried on Mason Bennett the thug (not for the first time against Boro) smashed Paddy full on in the face, laid him out yet the Ref still continues to let play go on with the home fans now incensed and then of course they score courtesy of a Bamba deflection.
I'm not sure if it's corruption, incompetence or attention seeking but I hope to never see him Referee a Boro game again. If he does I hope the fans remember him from the off. Abusing Officials isn't something I go along with but with an individual that unfit for purpose then I'm afraid he deserves all the stick has coming his way next time he sets foot on the Riverside turf.
A very poor refereeing display and whilst I felt that Watmore wasn’t fouled the fact that the linesman had his flag up made the Boro players stop. All players should play to the whistle.
The forearm smash to Paddy should have been a sending off and no goal awarded.
If ever there was a case for VAR in the Championship this was the game.
OFB
There were a few challenges on Sporar that went unheeded especially the first one in the opening minutes when his legs were taken from under him yet the Ref thought it a fair challenge presumably because it was too early to make a big decision. Sporar clearly felt the effects of that and hindered him for the rest of his time on the pitch before he was clattered into so many times he had to go off.
Then the challenge on McNair by Afobe I think left him covered in blood and looked a blatant one to me. If Warnock was still in charge I would have been convinced that it was an anti-Warnock agenda from the Ref.
I agree with your observations RR and I thought the referee was very poor. U fortunately there has been a directive from the FA to allow more physical challenges in the lower leagues including the Championship which has been interpreted by some referees to just let play go on.
I know from experience that referees like Keith Hackett and Jeff Winter both of whom I’m in regular contact with would stamp their authority on the game no matter how little time had been played. It showed the players who was the boss and calmed them down by issue of a caution.
I’ve never known a referee override a decision by an assistant when flagging for a free kick (on Whatmore). I don’t actually think it was a free kick as I think he lost his footing but should have acknowledged his assistant rather than antagonising players and crowd.
Prior to a game all referees have a pre meeting with their assistants and go over what they require their assistants to do. Usually they say “if you see a foul closer to you than me then flag”
An assistant ref wouldn’t have flagged if he hadn’t been given the authority to make decisions close to him.
Boro should have played to the whistle and not stopped and claimed for a foul. I thought Bamba was not at his best today and should have dealt with the clearance better than he did.
So we go on to the next game but the first half looked promising. Fitness is a concern as several players flagged during the second half and that was noticed and commented on by Wilder.
OFB
Well we all have our own opinions, and although we had a better team in theory than last time out, with the return of Bola, I was disappointed that CW did not at least ban Warnock “hoof ball”.
For once we started well, (can anyone, OFB possibly, tell me why we have started kicking towards the North Stand when we win the toss?)
Then we had the unfortunate incidents that led to their goal. From then on Boro were poor. The midfield were not effective and apart from his goal, I thought Crooks had very little influence. Howson contributed very little, and where was Payero when you needed him.
In the second half we just reverted to type. OK it’s only CW’s first game, but we played to Millwalls strenghs. Everybody knows how they play. Physical, big CB’s, and Boro kept it in the air. Passing, free kicks, Corners, nothing different and not on the floor running at their defence.
Millwall are not a good side, effective yes, but the Boro failed to capitalise once more. Mr Wilder has one heck of a job on his hands.
perhaps they kicked off towards the North Stand because of a low sun on the horizon in the keepers 👀?
or perhaps wilder is superstitious!
and always kicks off that way ?
OFB
Admittedly I got the score wrong, but I thought that this was the most positive start to a match I’ve witnessed from Boro all season. Chris Wilder sides play with great intensity and it takes time for his sides to adapt to this. In fact now all of the last four sides have failed to win his first match in charge. That is not meant as a criticism as this intensity often means that some of his starting eleven begin to flag and need replacing towards the end. It’s not like Rugby League where players particularly forwards can be interchanged periodically at certain stages of the game.
Boro still haven’t got enough players on the bench through injuries or lack of getting used to Wilder’s tactics because of international call ups. There is little time this week to get everyone available with another midweek fixture forthcoming. Tiredness came into play causing missed scoring chances, but overall I thought it was a positive display and gives hope for the future. Yes, Boro were unfortunate not to win, and they might not win either of the next two matches, but I expect Boro still to be within the playoff region by Christmas. Remember the saying “It’s a marathon not a sprint”.
Writing about tiredness I started to watch Match of the Day which was due to finish at midnight but I fell asleep and it was well after 1am when I got to bed. That wasn’t a reflection on the football served up; common sense would have told me to watch it in the morning as I had recorded the programme, but then fully awake I tracked it back to what I had missed and continued from there. It was one of the best MOYD’s I’d ever seen with plenty of goals and saves, and most matches played at a tremendous pace and despite Boro’s performance yesterday, light years ahead of the Championship. On reflection I’m afraid it’s going to take a few more years to see Boto aspiring to such heights. However Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I think Chris Wilder will prove to be one of Boro’s best ever coaches.
r
@pedro. Good assessment Pedro and like you I was impressed with the way we started with some good passing and inter-play albeit still interspersed with some of our old failings of not taking chances when presented.
The second half we reverted to type and showed very little threat from dead ball situations of which we had a number.
As Ken said, Rome wasn’t built in a day and once CW has a fully fit squad to chose from then we will be better able to judge what impact he is having.
I said before the match that against a hard working, if somewhat uninspiring, Millwall team a draw would be a good result and so it proved.
I still feel that a few players are not having as big an impact as we need and either that will improve as the number of available players increases or CW will need a few in and a few out in January.
As far as the referee is concerned, enough said! 😎
perhaps they kicked off towards the North Stand because of a low sun on the horizon in the keepers 👀?
or perhaps wilder is superstitious!
and always kicks off that way ?
OFB
I presumed that we have just lost the toss and the away teams are playing mind games by making us play in the opposite direction?
@redcarred No RR, Millwall kicked off yesterday (didn’t they? 🤔)
Also I believe, our last two previous home matches we kicked to theNorth Stand. I am sure we also won the toss of the coin.
Considering the we have a midfield!!!! selection of the following (when fit)
Howson, Crooks, Tav, Payero, Siliki and McNair (if we have CB complement)
I do not believe that at this time we have the right players to play the pressing game that CW will require from them. Also none at this time have the ability to play those killer balls through the middle for Sporar and Whatmore who I think are our two most intelligent forwards.
Three new midfield players signed in the summer and possibly none looking consistently good enough to provide the balls into the box and on the ground to serve our best two.
Can't say I noticed that much but I'm sure you are correct. Its amazing how much detail now washes over me when I'm not reporting. It does seem to have been the case these last few games which covers Warnock and now Wilder. There may be a tactical reason, perhaps the players prefer it that way?
When we originally moved to the Riverside the North Stand was the "Home End" but a disconnected ticketing pricing policy over many years killed the home advantage with younger fans being forced out on price from the North Stand once they became adults. As a direct consequence we have ended up with a split Home fan base. Older ones generally in the North Stand while the Red Faction and younger ones now reside in the South stand. The South Stand is now more vociferous so maybe that is the reason?
Someone within the Club made that reckless and idiotic decision many years ago and left us without an identity base and the advantage of kicking towards the "Home" end for over a decade. I wonder how many points that has cost us?
@redcarred Good post RR plus possibly the low winter sun as mentioned by OFB.
I can’t recall ever seeing all three major north east clubs playing at home in league matches at the same time on the same day before. In fact both Hartlepool and Darlington were also at home with only Gateshead away. I doubt it ever even happened in FA Cup matches either, so I wonder why Steve Bruce select the Riverside for his choice yesterday. I can understand his not wanting to return to St James Park after his recent dismissal, but knowing him to be a football addict I thought he might have chosen the Stadium of Light to honour his presence. Steve is also a cricket fan and was in Dubai last week for the T20 cricket semifinal between England and New Zealand. I imagine he found the temperature at the Riverside at some 14 degrees to the expected 30/32 degrees in Dubai a contrast. 😮💨
Derby County’s defeat of Bournemouth has quickly wiped out their negative number of points. With a superior goal difference to other clubs fighting relegation they are only 15 points from safety. Have I written them off too soon, 50 points or maybe even less in their remaining 28 matches might save them, though that would require promotion form from now on to accomplish that? Seemingly 2,400 fans haven’t given up hope yet.
It's a tall ask and an almost insurmountable one but I'm guessing that there is a siege, do or die, death before dishonour mentality in the Derby dressing room. With absolutely nothing to lose, only wins will do from now on and with that mindset and a bit of luck they probably want to go down fighting and who knows?
I spoke to a good contact this morning at a junior football game who knows Bruce well.
Apparently he was picking up his son in law who is a statistician for Millwall FC and they were driving over to Cheshire to stay at Bruce’s for the weekend
query solved
OFB
I agree with many comments above. I thought it was an enjoyable game. What no-one has mentioned - and I’ve not seen it in any media report - was the fact that Bielkowksi in the Millwall goal had a worldly. Boro often shot on sight, and often from outside the box, which was a revelation, or indeed a revolution! Their keeper produced a string of fine saves to keep us out. We had 7 shots on target! Add that to some very positive forward play in the first half, with a lot of sharp, one-touch passing and movement, and we get a favourable picture of CW’s work on the training ground and an idea of the way he wants us to play. I was much encouraged.
I’ve watched the highlights now several times to check out the Millwall goal. Live on Saturday I thought Watmore was fouled in the run up, but am not so sure having seen it again. However, it’s very clear that Bennett deliberately slugged McNair with his elbow. To me, it looks a clear red card offence, yet Oliver Langford didn’t even see it. All in all, it was a very unfortunate goal to give away.
I think Boro were also unlucky to lose Sporar, whose movement and intelligent play were key to our earlier powerful drives at the Millwall defence. I agree with RR that he was very often fouled. I was amazed he lasted till half-time, given the thuggish treatment he received. Once he’d departed, we lost a lot of our forward momentum.
I missed the match as I was in theatre with my wife, brother and sister.
Wilder was pleased with the response and attitude of all of his players, but picked out a handful for individual praise.
“I thought the senior pros were great," he said.
"I thought Peltier, McNair, Howson, Tavernier were outstanding today. Tav gave the ball away a couple of times but he was bright.
“I played him in his position. Round pegs in round holes and him and Crooksy were good. They will only get better."
So Tav is already a senior pro in his book. Well, he has been a regular this season. Up the Boro!
Sad news that Joe Laidlaw has died aged only 71. A combative player who excelled particularly at Carlisle where he scored 44 goals in 151 matches following his five years at Boro, an excellent return for a midfielder. He made over 100 appearances for Boro having a fruitful partnership with John Hickton after displacing Derrick Downing. After a stint with Doncaster following his move from Carlisle he was made club captain at his 4th club Portsmouth. In total he made well over 500 appearances in his 15 year career. A Tynesider, but in today’s world too young to die.
RIP Joe.
its interesting to note that Jeff Winter the ex Premiership referee also thinks it wasn’t a foul on Watmore.
OFB
its interesting to note that Jeff Winter the ex Premiership referee also thinks it wasn’t a foul on Watmore.
OFB
The consensus was that it was not but I did notice two things. One is that players on both sides stopped until the Millwall player with the ball realised that the whistle hadn't gone. Millwall started playing again while we waited a short while longer before regrouping.
Then when McNair was elbowed, Jones who was covering stopped while presumably expecting the whistle. In that period he ended up on the wrong side of the player. It was probably inexperience but with one foul being flagged and everyone expecting the whistle being followed up by a blatant elbow in the face you could see Jones being a bit confused. Even then, Peltier who has seen it all before knew enough to close down and block only to end up with an unlucky ricochet off Bamba.
Put it all together and even though it was an up and down performance we did enough to win. That said, I don't think their keeper had a worldie. He made some decent saves against long range shots but they were all saves you would expect a championship keeper to make. On the plus side, our long range shooting was mostly on target which is a start.
I think as the players start to get used to this we'll be a much more potent attacking force. For example, spotting when Watmore is about to go storming forward and getting into the box will be much easier once the players know how to spot it.
The old maxim is always play to the whistle. Perhaps that should be instilled into younger players particularly.
I agree with Ken. Fundamental rule is "play to the whistle". I can't understand why professional footballers would do otherwise. Almost as bad as not being able to take a proper throw-in.
Interesting views by Chris Wilder at his press conference yesterday; he obviously doesn’t suffer fools gladly, but praised the attitude of his senior players. As he says it’s up to some players to perform as he wants or they’ll be shown the door. His style of coaching reminds me a lot of Brian Clough’s that football was meant to be played on the grass not hoofed anywhere in the air, and it will take time for some players to adapt to those tactics. But his and most fans concern must be why Boro players seem to fall away especially in the second half of matches. In the past especially under Jack Charlton once Boro scored first they almost went on to win every game. Defensively they were sound, but also were 90 minute players. However after one bad break the current team seem to run out of steam. Chris Wilder teams play at a high tempo and are proactive rather than reactive from the start but don’t appear to be able to sustain that over 90 minutes which suggests to me that they’re not as fit as they should be. Also heads drop when having taken the lead they find themselves struggling to win matches. However they’re not alone in that.
For example I watched a recording of the final day’s play of the DP World Golf Championship from Dubai. I didn’t know the result beforehand as I had too many other things on my mind on Sunday what with catching up with the weekend’s football, etc and the golf takes over 6 hours to watch. I usually only watch highlights of the first three rounds of golf tournaments, but avidly watch the final day’s play in toto. By the way I particularly love this end of season tournament and a few years ago I spent a week in Dubai watching it when admission was free incidentally.
Anyway at the start of play on Sunday Rory McIlroy led the tournament and had played so well and putted immaculately in the first three rounds but not quite as well on Sunday. Nevertheless he and Collin Morikawa were both level par for the round although Rory had a three score advantage at the turn and although Matt Fitzpatrick had caught Rory up he was nearing the end of his round and it was expected that Rory would secure enough birdies on the easier inward half to win the tournament. All seemed well for Rory as he approached the 15th hole, a perfect drive followed by a lobbed chip which hit the flag half way up but instead of landing in the cup or at least falling a few feet away, the ball rebounded into a green side bunker with a difficult lie, so instead of scoring a 3 at worst Rory recorded a 5. That proved to be the turning point of the whole tournament as Morikawa birdied five of his last seven holes whilst Rory fell away with a succession of bogeys and didn’t even finish second but equal sixth some five shots behind.
What’s this got to do with Boro? Well it reminded me of Saturday how one moment of misfortune can alter the whole result of a match. If it can happen to a fine golfer like Rory McIlroy lacking that bouncingbackability maybe Chris Wilder shouldn’t be too hard on his players, although lack of stamina is a problem that certainly needs addressing.
Bouncebackability isn’t really a word but three separate words so I apologise for using it as a noun, but it is a condition often associated with sport especially football. I’m certain that Rory McIlroy will soon get over his disappointment on Sunday. Nevertheless it is a notion for life in general. Sol Bamba has it coming back from cancer, and so does Azeem Rafiq when close to committing suicide had the strength and wisdom to fight racism. Until one is tested one doesn’t know if one is capable of having it. When my wife died I at first didn’t know if I had it, but was inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s poem “IF” and knew then that it was necessary to get over any depression I had to bounce back.
It’s the same for sportsmen, those of a maturer age find it easier to bounce back whilst possibly youngsters don’t have that ability. Just my thoughts really, but I could be wrong.
As for this evening’s opponents there was a lull of 36 years when Boro and Preston were in different divisions until the end of 2010 so not much to go on about how tonight’s match may end, only seven matches at the Riverside with 3 wins, 3 draws and one defeat in 2019, but statistics show that Preston’s away form this season is one of the worst in the Championship with only one win and three draws, however that solitary win was at Bournemouth. Again David Prutton has forecast a 2-1 home win and I’d settle for that as apparently Chris Wilder’s five previous encounters against the Lilywhites have never produced a draw.
,
Preston well worth the win in my opinion, defensively strong.