Thanks for the preview OFB and the info about Sunderland on their return to the Championship. When I was a lot younger I got the impression that Newcastle and Sunderland supporters thought of themselves as the "big" teams representing the NE and lumped the Boro in with Hartlepool and Darlington as "small" NE clubs. I resented this and it has led me to dislike Newcastle and Sunderland.
My hoped for run of wins only lasted as long as the single win against Swansea and although Wilder had made it clear that that he wanted to bring in many new players to our squad I didn't think it would result in such a poor start to the season and not only do we need to beat Sunderland, we need to pick up points now rather than hope to be able to close the gap to the top six never mind the top two with a late run. While we may have played well enough in most of the matches to deserve more points all that matters in the end is that we have conceded goals that have cost us points.
I watched the highlights of Sunderland v Rotherham match and my immediate reaction was that our defence would have been opened up in the same way Rotherham's was. I assume Mowbray has seen how we have been playing and has noted this so I have a feeling that Sunderland will score at least once and wonder whether we have the players that will be able score more than them. While I am not (yet) completely pessimistic about this season, I am worried about how the current squad is going to compete throughout the season (or until the January transfer window) and what will happen when there are injuries and suspensions. When Wilder took over last season I was surprised how he managed to change Warnock's squad into an effective attacking team. Now his test is to get more out of what he considers to be an inadequate squad.
On a much more important point than my Boro "worries", my best wishes to John for Tuesday.
Was a bit surprised with this. I read the former Chelsea striker Diego Costa is going to have a trial with Wolves this week to assess his fitness and suitability after injuries to forwards Sasa Kalajdzic and Raul Jimenez.
Costa, 33, has been without a club since leaving Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro in January.
So there are some experienced strikers available without a contract. They are often 33 year olds or older.
But I hope we won't try to sign a player who has been without a club since January. We cannot be that desperate 😇.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see if we would find any cover for Crooks and some competition for all our midfielders.
Up the Boro!
Thanks for the preview OFB and the info about Sunderland on their return to the Championship. When I was a lot younger I got the impression that Newcastle and Sunderland supporters thought of themselves as the "big" teams representing the NE and lumped the Boro in with Hartlepool and Darlington as "small" NE clubs. I resented this and it has led me to dislike Newcastle and Sunderland.
Ken Smith’s reply
I don’t think it was particularly the supporters of Newcastle and Sunderland that thought of Boro being a small team, I think it was more of the fact that SHOOT the regional Tyne-Tees TV programme introduced initially by George Taylor was underfunded and only possessed one outside broadcast unit and could only televise highlights of one match each weekend, and as both Newcastle and Sunderland played home matches on alternative Saturdays and were both in the First Division for much of the time whilst Boro were in the Second Division it was only natural that Boro got little coverage. Occasionally Tyne-Tees cameras did appear at Ayresome Park when the two rivals were playing away, and I remember George Taylor being booed in the gantry on the East End as if it was his fault that Boro were hardly ever televised.
In fact going back to 1902 when Boro first entered the Second Division it was the board of directors from Newcastle and Sunderland who lent their support behind Boro’s application as many other clubs didn’t want the expense of travelling up north to another North Eastern club. That’s perhaps one reason that today neither club consider Boro as a local derby, which of course in reality it isn’t. True local derbies involve matches between clubs from the same city or town, and Boro aren’t even in the same county as either, and too far away from Leeds or Hull for them to be considered local derbies either.
It’s the media that stokes up this rivalry, but at the end of the day the winner still can only obtain 3 points as in any other match. So let’s play the match, and not the occasion. After all it’s just another match that Boro need to win.
What is it about the Boro and strikers? Folarin Balogun, 6 games for Reims in Ligue 1, 5 goals and 1 assist.
Now that the transfer window has closed my records show that, excluding guest and wartime appearances that Rodrigo Muniz is the 1,000th footballer to play for Middlesbrough FC including substitutes, but have not seen any recognition of that fact.
I wonder if anybody has seen that statistic mentioned, as with most clubs each player is registered with a hashtag #️⃣ on their website?
Ken, I chatted with AV and Shaun Wilson. AV thought we are in the region of 990.
Shaun wrote that Muniz is number 973 and the club are aware of the impending 1000. Wartime and guest appearances aren’t official ones but if they did it would be a bit more than 1000.
If you, Ken want to contact Shaun, he can share the info he has. I can provide his email address via Werder, if you need it. So please let me know.
Up the Boro!
In Turkey at the moment and looking forward to the match but with two hours ahead I might struggle to keep awake. I will try my best but probably fall asleep before the match and then as usual I need a wee in the middle of the night which then I'll find out the score. 😋
We’ll soon find out but it sounds like Howson and Lenihan will miss out tonight.
Fry is an easy swap in for Lenihan (and possibly an upgrade anyway?) but it will be interesting to see how Wilder goes with the midfield.
He could put McNair in there and restore Djijsteel but he could move Mowatt back, with McGree dropping into left-central midfield and one of the many strikers paired with Muniz up front.
My gut feeling is the latter with McNair continuing at right centre-back and probably Watmore up front with Muniz.
Now that the transfer window has closed my records show that, excluding guest and wartime appearances that Rodrigo Muniz is the 1,000th footballer to play for Middlesbrough FC including substitutes, but have not seen any recognition of that fact.
I wonder if anybody has seen that statistic mentioned, as with most clubs each player is registered with a hashtag #️⃣ on their website?
Ken, I chatted with AV and Shaun Wilson. AV thought we are in the region of 990.
Shaun wrote that Muniz is number 973 and the club are aware of the impending 1000. Wartime and guest appearances aren’t official ones but if they did it would be a bit more than 1000.
If you, Ken want to contact Shaun, he can share the info he has. I can provide his email address via Werder, if you need it. So please let me know.
Up the Boro!
That’s very interesting. I’ll check my calculations again to ascertain if I’ve doubled up on some players as there did appear to be several players with the same names, but in the meantime I’d be much obliged if you can obtain Shaun Wilson’s eMail address via Werdermouth please.
Thanks, Ken.
Howson fit to play after all, so Fry in for Lenihan the only change.
Having double checked the number of the of Boro players to have made their debuts for Middlesbrough FC I’ve listed the number of players in alphabetical order and my conclusions are as follows actually totalling 1.003 now:-
A 36
B 105.
C 83
D 41
E 13
F 47
G 47
H 66
I 5
J 31
K. 35
L 34
M 118.
N 17
O 25
P 39
Q 1
R 48
S 70
T 40
U 2
V 8
W 83
X 1
Y 4
Z 4
So now we’ve passed the 1,000 mark already.
1-0 at halftime but it should have been more. Muniz looks a great addition.
Well so far so good with some good play at times but still not taking enough of our chances.
Muniz, McGree and Jones have been in the thick of the action with good support from Howson.
Fry has been solid at the back but the defence collectively still gives me concern and we will need to tighten up in the second half as this is far from over. CoB 😎
Took a while to find an unofficial stream but got one just in time and it's been an enjoyable first half with a real good derby atmosphere. Both sides looking to play football but it's been Boro who have looked the more dangerous going forward. Jones has looked back to his best and have also once more been impressed by Muniz - who looks to have both a good physical presence and a good first touch. Nice finish by McGree for the goal and even better move involving a one-two with Crooks could have seen him get a second. Indeed, I think we'll need that second as would hate to see another late goal from the opposition as we really need the three points!
That’s very interesting. I’ll check my calculations again to ascertain if I’ve doubled up on some players as there did appear to be several players with the same names, but in the meantime I’d be much obliged if you can obtain Shaun Wilson’s eMail address via Werdermouth please.
Thanks, Ken.
I have sent an email to Werder with Shaun 's email address now.
Up the Boro!
Phew! No second goal but Boro got over the line to gain a valuable three points. Overall, I thought the difference was that Boro kept a good shape throughout the game and made it hard for Sunderland to get through them - Fry looked back on form in the centre of defence and a word for Liam Roberts who didn't put a foot wrong all game with some good catches and punches and cool when passing the ball out - probably the best performance in goal all season and a deserved first clean sheet. Jones looked good and Muniz too with McGree good in the first half.
The only worry for me is that Boro needed an injection of something different after about 70 minutes but there was nothing really on the bench to improve the team either in attack or midfield. In the end Wilder opted for a more solid ending with Bola and Smith replacing Muniz and Mowatt. For me that highlighted the real lack of depth of the squad and it could prove a difficult few months ahead if we get injuries or suspensions.
Still it was all about the three points tonight so job done!
Agree with all of that, Werder.
Liam Roberts has done brilliantly in stepping up from League Two and looks a great piece of recruitment. He may not be quite as comfortable with the ball at his feet as Steffen and we did pump a few balls up field to no-one in the second half but his basic goalkeeping skills look very good and he may be our no. 1 yet.
Central midfield lost all its zip in the second half and I thought it was a real reminder of how much of a loss Tavernier has been but we ground on to the end with what looked like a real desire to keep a clean sheet tonight. Progress.
I also couldn’t help thinking that the recruitment team tried pretty hard to get Muniz last summer and if they’d succeeded, we might be in the Premier League right now. He looks the real deal with a bit of everything.
@werdermouth Thanks, Werder.
Nice to win three points. Sorry for Mogga (a bit). Up the Boro!
I'm more impressed with Muniz every time I see him play and he also plays with a smile on his face plus judging by his rapport with the other Boro players after the game he looks already well integrated into the group - could be the key signing of the summer. As for having him last season instead of Connolly top six would have been a cert!
Boro deserved to win , but , oh dear - they missed loads of chances - McGree could and perhaps should have had a hat trick in the first half.
On this performance, Muniz looks the part and Roberts did everything asked of him and must have given the defenders confidence. McNair wasn’t missed when he had to go off injured.
Only in the last 15 or so minutes did Sunderland have any prolonged possession of the ball and there there was always the chance Boro could score from a breakaway.
So a clean sheet and a win is what the doctor ordered.
🤗👍👍
Philip of Huddersfield
As a matter of interest, this free agent was spotted in the directors box tonight:
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/massimo-luongo/profil/spieler/181687
Come on BORO.
Nice to get three points and a clean sheet.
As said we should of made more of the chances we created and McGree looked the part in the first half.
Second half we again did not make the most of our chances with some woeful shooting especially from Crooks. Sunderland a couple of chances, the best for Pritchard in the first half when he should have scored but not much else. However I was pleased to see Stewart not line up.
The big concern for me and has been is the midfield. Howson had a good game, Crooks less so after he was booked again. 3 now. And Mowatt, well he has to up his game. I don’t think he put a tackle in tonight and was not aided by a less than average performance from Clarke.
So no midfield reserves as he does not count Boyd-Munce obviously, McNair possibly injured, although once more he did not assert himself. Jones now one booking from a ban. I think MFC missed a trick chasing strikers and not midfield players. Oh for Tav. and his added energy. These three games in eight days will probably catch up with this area of the team.
Well, that was worth getting up for (5am kickoff!) but we do make it hard for ourselves.
If we are going to go on a good run we will have to start taking more of our chances and, as I have commented before, McGree is one of the main culprits.he had a very good game but he really should have scored at least one more in the first half.
I also like Muniz a lot but he has to get into the six yard box when we break down the wings. Then the wide players will know that there is someone there. Ideally it should be Muniz plus the opposite wingback with others hanging back for the pullback. There was one clear occasion when Crooks put it straight through the six yard box with others just staring from the penalty spot.
One thing that I have noticed from our reliance on the wingbacks getting so far forward is that we are vulnerable to overloads against the outside centre backs of the three. If the other team breaks quickly through the middle, we seem to find ourselves with 2 v 1 which leads to quite a bit of danger in the corner of the penalty box. I’m not sure how one is supposed to deal with this but getting caught on the ball in the midfield is certainly one of the most dangerous things that we can do. Dijksteel was guilty once after he came on and we were a bit lucky to get away with it.
However, I really don’t want to be negative. We are creating chances and the defence seems to be settling down. Fry in particular seemed back to his best. He really is a centre back who takes on the big man and not a wide defender.
Looking ahead, I can definitely see Roberts as our number one goalkeeper next season with Brynn and others coming through.
All in all, plenty of grounds for optimism. Imagine where we could be with a win at Blackpool and then two home wins before the break.
utb
Nice to see ground nearly full, very noisy from my seat, pluses we won, Liam Roberts, Munich, and fry, but we do lack a cutting edge we had some very good chances but just couldn't put the ball away resulting in us hanging on a bit at the end, but saying that I can only remember them having two or three chances. Pritchard ran the show for them, but the three points were badly needed.
Managed to stay awake for the game. My observations. Sunderland were struck a blow when their leading goalscorer was ruled out. Boro's goalkeeper Roberts should get the No 1 Spot. First half Boro ruled it. Second half Sunderland did. I think Tony Mobrays team deserved a draw. Early days but still a long way ahead for Boro to improve.
That was a bit of a back to basics performance. It could have gone horribly wrong if Sunderland hadn't missed an easy chance in the first 10 minutes. The rest of the game it did feel a bit like Warnock era Boro. Some passages of good play but a team on the whole looking like they didn't have complete confidence in what they were up to.
That said, Muniz is quickly becoming a bit of a legend. He's reminding me of the life that the likes of Fuchs and Branca gave the team when we got them in. Puts himself about, some real skill and a zest for the game.
Roberts is reminding me a bit of Dimi. He does give off confidence. Steffen will clearly come back in when he's fit but Roberts has set a benchmark for him that he will have to meet.
McGree is our most creative player in the middle of the pitch. He is reminding me of Hignett; an attacking midfielder who managers might feel is a bit of a luxury. You can see why you can't really play him on the left of midfield next to Giles because no one's at home to defend.
Ironically, our midfield which was our strength last year now feels like the weakest part of the team. Howson, Crooks and Mowatt are all perfectly fine players in their own rights but they are a weak as a unit.
As with Swansea, the best thing about the game is the result. The performance still indicates a group of players that aren't gelling as a team and a manager who doesn't seem to trust very many of his players. Three games now in quick success that are all eminently winnable. 7 points from the next 9 and most of the slow start to the season will be forgotten.
I couldn’t put my finger on how to describe last night’s performance but Deleriad has, it was a Warnock type display, gritty but not always cohesive and too open for my liking. We have played better but lost so I suppose we should be pleased with the three points.
Better teams will punish us if we keep playing like that but the positives were that we kept a clean sheet and at least managed to take one of the numerous chances created.
I agree with other posters that Robert’s produced a solid display, saving, catching and punching when required. His distribution is still work in progress but will improve with coaching and practice. On this display, our number one from next season.
Jones looked better than he has done for a while both offensively and defensively. Unfortunately his yellow card count is climbing and a suspension is not far away.
The midfield looks disjointed and too often in the second half were disconnected from our forward(s) with the ball often easily turned over putting us under pressure and this needs to be addressed.
We need at least seven points from the next nine if things are to look more positive but we still don’t know what we will get from this Boro team! 😎