Glad to see Bob that you now appear to be on the road to recovery.  Whilst I’m still in a nostalgic mood my thoughts go back to Enid’s uncle who was a gent’s hairdresser who kept a caged canary in his shop.  I wonder if Boro can cage today’s Canaries in their own half?  Past form suggests that Norwich play much better away from home than it does at Carrow Road.  In fact the Canaries have won 9 times on the road this season and lost 6 times but only once this year and have a habit of beating clubs above them such as Blackburn, Millwall and Preston. Furthermore boosting Norwich’s hopes is the fact that they have avoided defeat in 6 of their last 8 away league matches when they were deemed as pre-match outsiders.  As I couldn’t bear to see Boro lose their second home match in succession I’m almost tempted to watch the Warrington v Wigan super league match instead, although I doubt that Martin will take that option especially as his team are likely to taste defeat in the Super League match of the season.

@exmil.  I think he was purchased more as cover for Howson at present but as a long term replacement as Howson’s time runs down.

The problem at the moment is that he hasn’t had much game time as MC has not rotated and seems to have a mindset of not changing players unless absolutely necessary.

When players have been performing and the team has been winning it becomes harder to convince yourself to rest them, even when we have the occasional blips.

I suspect tonight we may see the usual team comprising Howson and Hackney, McGree, Archer and Ramsey with Crooks and Forss on the bench but there again it may be the same team that started at BC.

Not really bothered who starts as long as they perform and we win! 😎

@ken 

Thanks Ken 

I worked in the oil industry and was seconded to Lowestoft for two years. The contractor had a box at Norwich which we used as we were often in the area at weekends.

I must confess that I was jealous of their ground at the time although they didn’t appear to be a big club.

I’ve always thought of Boro as a big club and let’s face it we are founder members of the Premiership!

OFB

@exmil 

I like Barlaser and I’m really surprised that he hasn’t played a full game yet. He does possess a range of forward passing skills that is needed for the strikers to finish but perhaps he has defensive frailties?

OFB

A little off topic ,watching on YT talksport ,Martin Keown is nothing but a bully, he was one of the dirtiest players I've ever seen, the subject was this assistant referee  situation, interesting when up against Simon Jordon  he is obliterated with intelligence.

Some really interesting and thought-provoking posts above. Thanks, fellow Boro supporters, for that!

We REALLY need a win tonight in order to show, against a reasonable opposition team, that our "little wobble" was just that, rather than something deeper and longer lasting.  A win and things will look much more rosy.

@exmil 

Barlasser seems a decent enough player and I'd have no worries if he started but with just one start since his arrival 12 games ago and only 3 significant appearances (over 20 minutes) from the bench it doesn't seem like he's going to get the vote over Howson or Hackney. 

For once, I’m feeling confident about tonight’s game and expect us to claim three points. 

I’m not going to rise to the bait dangling from an earlier poster to discuss my other sporting team, for fear of being accused of going off topic. 

Now reverting to my nostalgic mood when Norwich City were first promoted from the Third Division South to the Second Division in 1960, a breath of fresh colour to Ayresome Park after having watched the drabness of the away club’s blue or white shirts for so many years.   Boro won that inaugural match 2-0 on October the 16th 1960.  It’s also worth reminding folk that Boro beat Norwich 6-2 in the final match of the 1962/63 season after a colossal thunderstorm restricted the attendance to less than 9,000 but allowed Boro to finish 4th with 49 points and a goal aggregate of 86 goals scored but 85 conceded.  Also that Boro’s record attendance at the Riverside Stadium occurred on December the 28th 2004 as 34,836 watched Boro beat Norwich City again by 2-0.

However it has to be recorded that Boro have lost their last 3 league matches at home to Norwich all 0-1 and I couldn’t stomach another home defeat, so my minds made up - it’s Super League for me tonight with one eye on flash scores just in case Boro unexpectedly score first.  

Tonight will be a tough game even though Norwich are without their captain and Gibson - two out of the back four.  All the remaining games will be tough and, assuming Boro reach the play offs, Boro will encounter more tough games.

So, a win tonight is essential. A draw will feel like a continuation of a dip in results.

My concern is that MC is not using his full squad. He’s had many opportunities when Boro were ‘ flying’ but didn’t. He seems reluctant to do so, even when some players, notably defenders, are making too many mistakes leading to goals.

My concern is, if  he is forced to bring on midfielders or defenders then most are not match fit.    Clearly Smith and McNair lack pace and both are liable to be caught out of position and so it’s overdue for others to be brought in.  I’ve always liked Dikjsteel particularly for his pace and Bola has proved in the past that he is a reliable defender and so I’d like to see one or both start the game but confident they won’t.   There’s probably not much point mentioning Barlaser because , for whatever reasons, he doesn’t figure in MC’s plans.

I feel Boro are on the back foot and no longer favourites for third place as Luton are now the form team.

Philip from Huddersfield 

@exmil   Myself and Philip, both have both mentioned Barlaser being utilised (or not) either as a replacement for HH or Howson, or even from the bench.

Our opinion is that if he could not get onto the pitch during the last three games (and previously), then MC must be seeing something in training that he does not like.

I also think that despite the Team having this "blip", perhaps MC is reluctant to use the fringe players due to their (total for some) lack of game time.

Of course may be they should of been used more when we were playing really well and winning games relatively easy.

I've been having one of those weeks and while I have managed to quickly speed read everyone's excellent posts, I've not really been able to turn my mind over to tonight's match, let alone begin to write anything intelligent.

I am at least now taking Prosecco with Mrs Powmill as we begin to warm ourselves up to what we hope is s better night on TV for Boro than last weekend.

So thanks especially to Andy for the great opener, and to everyone's insight. Glad to hear you are a bit better too Bob.

I'll side with Bob on this one, so here's to the return of Middlesbrough3.

CoB

By now everyone will have guessed that my favourite colour is yellow, the harbinger of springtime which the Italians, Spanish and Portuguese all refer to as primavera, the season before summer.  For me it all started around my favourite poet William Wordsworth who was prone to wax lyrical about a sea of daffodils in Cumbria.  My first sight of Castleford Tigers with such stalwarts as Alan Hardisty, Keith Hardisty and Malcolm Reilly playing rugby league at Wheldon Road was a sight to behold in their yellow shirts in the mid 1960s and the fact that they won successive Rugby League Challenge Cup Finals at Wembley Stadium by the end of that decade too.  That prompted me to buy my first new car, a Yellow Vauxhall Firenza in 1972. Also luckily having a forsythia bush in my garden prompted my wife to erect an Easter tree adorned with yellow chicks and Easter eggs over the Easter period.  Of course it required fresh blooms every couple of days, but what a sight it was!  I also loved to see fields of rape covering the countryside later in the year, and even liked to see dandelions at the roadside in the summer, but the greatest sight was driving through the endless avenues of mimosa blossom ln the Monchique Mountains of Portugal’s Algarve in late February and early March.

But food also played a prominent part in my life as lemons have always been my favourite fruit, especially lemon sorbet my favourite dessert, though not forgetting the Portuguese pastel de nata custard tarts.  How I miss the Algarve with so many happy memories for 27 years.  Despite my unfortunate bowel problems and prostate cancer for 13 years I’ve had a lucky life for 85 years and wouldn’t mind going through some of it all again!

@werdermouth are play offs separate to league games, that rule might be if Boro had two games left after say Bristol were done

@gt 

I don't think that matters as you can't change the registration of a player until the next transfer window - which is after the playoffs-

Team News...

No McGree or Fry in the squad and Archer starts ahead of Crooks - otherwise as you were

Boro team

Can’t see us keeping a clean sheet with that lineup and so we will need to score a few.  Norwich are no pushover so it’s a 2-2 draw for me.

Has he an injury isue or why McGree has not been played regularly after the International break? 

I think he is essential to the team we got now. A player we hoped Tavanier to be - a more mature player and an end product.

I am a bit worried that McGree is out. Up the Boro! 

Early lead for Boro:  Ramsey in the seventh minute from an Archer cross.  Better!

Ramsey off injured in the 26th minute.  🙁  Replaced by Mowatt.

HH doubles the lead in the 41st minute (assisted by Forss) shortly after Lenihan thought he'd made it two from a JH cross, but was ruled offside!  🙂  Then Archer makes it three two minutes later (assisted by Mowatt):  Middlesbrough3 has reappeared!  🙂

Sargent makes it 3-1!  🙁

We cannot score! And not taking our chances.

Yes, of course it was the total opposite. Quite happy with the  4-1 lead at half time. But there was a horrible mistake for their goal. So it should be 4-0. 

Let's improve in the second half 😉. Up the Boro!

Archer gets his second in the SIXTH minute of first half injury time (the Canaries apparently messed up the clearance of a Boro free kick & Archer capitalised) to make it 4-1.   

Posted by: @jarkko

↑

We cannot score! And not taking our chances.

Yes, of course it was the total opposite. Quite happy with the  4-1 lead at half time. But there was a horrible mistake for their goal. So it should be 4-0. 

Let's improve in the second half 😉. Up the Boro!

A combination of Lenihan & Paddy, according to the BBC live commentary.

4 x EIO EIO EIO EIO

1 x Bugger

And warriors are winning at HT 6-10

Well that first half couldn't have gone much better (other than another McNair/Lenihan defensive blunder) but Norwich look like they could collapse defensively in these conditions. Hackney possibly having one of his best halves in a Boro shirt and even got a goal - surely the three points are in the bag but Boro looked shaky in defence for the first 20 minutes and could easily have been a couple of goals down on another day. Weird half really but Boro looking comfortable now.

@stircrazy McNair and him alone. Lost the ball as the  last defender. Even I have had time to clear the ball over the line. Amateurish.

Up the Boro! 

Gazette live.

Alex Mowatt
Don't think many would have called that Mowatt sub with Barlaser, Jones and Crooks on the bench. He's barely kicked a ball for Boro this season but has an assist here and has looked really composed in there. Comfortable on the ball and niggly & busy when Boro are defending. UTB!