Positives - great result, great goal and some last ditch defending
Negatives - Goaolkeeper when hes good hes very good but at other times oh dear, Tav not sure what he brings to the party
But two wins in a week not to be sniffed at
Hard work and endeavour won the day this afternoon. Swansea played well although their reactions to tackles were a little frustrating to watch and another Referee on another day ay have pandered to them. I'm wondering if the lack of Warnock's tantrums is perhaps paying some dividends?
The first half saw some decent passages of play from Boro as we got in their face and if Watmore had been a little more alert and composed instead of running and chasing everything we could have finished the half two up. In the second half we certainly should have been two goals to the good had Duncan been more like his first half self instead of composing for just a little too long in the second half. What is important is that his lack of a threat didn't cost us in this game and hopefully will be repaid in future games.
Daniels scared the life out of me on a few occasions. His saving ability was very good but his decision making is poor and his "flapability" seems to register fairly high on the scale of jitter inducing. Jones took his goal with aplomb and overall had another solid game, would Spence be an upgrade?
Bamba was sublime at times but also had me wincing for being overly confident, indeed a milli second before his brilliant defence splitting pass to set Jones up for the goal had me screaming at him for not clearing it sooner. I did however forgive him very quickly when I saw the pace and the weight of that ball to Jones.
McNair was a rock and gave his all and that goal line clearance showed a new side to Boro, one that was prepared to battle, dig in and not give up. We didn't see the glamour side of Wilderball too much this afternoon but we did see spirit and determination which is just as easy to get behind and support.
It was good to see Fry back on the pitch and I thought that Dijksteel who he replaced to see the game out had been solid and dependable. The back three of Dijksteel, Bamba and McNair is looking good as a unit and Fry back to fitness is a bonus and hopefully Wood will learn far more from sat watching this Boro side than watching Hibs and may have a part to play himself.
So far so good from Chris Wilder and I'm liking what I am seeing so far. This afternoon showed that we can dig in if we have to which is vital in the Championship. Grinding out results when things aren't going your way is something that seemed to elude Warnock's Boro.
I'm not sure who my MOM would be, Jones was very good in the first half, Sporar and Watmore ran their socks off but without much end product, Bamba and McNair along with Dijksteel impressed while once again Howson looks rejuvenated. I suppose for his overall display and that crucial clearance it has to go to Paddy. The very fact that there was no stand out performance for all the right reasons is progress.
@redcarred Great to have you back. And enjoying the game again, like.
Long may the new Boro reign. Up the Boro!
Great report, RR. Thanks
Welcome back to the Guvnor! A great report RR and one I totally agree with and even Mrs OFB thought Paddy deserved MOM.
OFB
Chris Wilder on Leo Percovich:
“I’ve got to say how good Leo’s been around the place. He’s somebody I’ve really taken to. He’s so passionate about the football club, it’s great, it brings so much enthusiasm.”
OFB
It's not often I get to open the blog with such positivity but yesterday was an enjoyable watch - even my wife watched most of it as it really was entertaining football from both teams.
It helped to have the early goal and what a peach it was. A blinding run and then the near post shot.
What made it better is that Jones timed his run and plotted his course so as to align perfectly with the camera so once the ball left his foot there was no doubt in the Bahrain contingent's collective mind that it was goal bound.
We played them pass for pass and this was certainly New Boro. We even had the usual squeaky bum ending which for a change didn't burst!!
So tweaking maybe but let's not try and fix something that is working.
Can't wait for the next match!!
UTB
Ben Brereton Diaz's 17th Championship goal of the season clinched victory for Blackburn over Preston in the Lancashire derby as they moved up to fourth in the table.
Mogga is doing an excellent job at Blackburn. I do not think he has as much money available as at Boro now. I wish he would be here even I am happy with Wilder, too.
Up the Boro!
Great to get the three points yesterday to continue the momentum and upward trajectory under Chris Wilder.
Of Wilder’s four games so far, I felt that this was our least dominant performance so far but that is credit to Swansea for the way they keep the ball.
Swansea have been playing a possession-based brand of football for over a decade now and you could see how ingrained it was for them and how they’ve recruited to a model that perpetuates that style. In some ways it should be viewed as a glimpse of the future for Boro if we’re able to stick to a plan for the long-term.
Thanfully though, Boro’s determination and togetherness coupled with exploiting the weaknesses in Swansea’s game was enough to bag all the points. I’m glad we had a full week off beforehand and another full week of recovery after because the players had to work extremely hard for the win and all credit to them for seeing it through.
We’ll win plenty of games through Wilder’s tactics but to do anything in this league you also have to be able to dog it out and it was pleasing to see that yesterday.
Plenty of reasons to be cheerful at the moment.
Thank you for the report, progress is being made and I'm praying this continues. A fine goal too, never mid the pass and build up, lovely to see.
UTB,
John
Reasons to be cheerful, part three
Reasons to be cheerful, part three
Reasons to be cheerful, part three
Reasons to be cheerful, one, two, three
A bit of grin and bear it, a bit of come and share it
You're welcome we can spare it, Red and white socks
Yes, yes, dear, dear
Perhaps next year
Or maybe even now
In which case
I don't mind
I don't mind, don't mind, don't mind, don't mind
Let’s celebrate without groans
The pace of Isiah Jones
Drink a glass of beer and
Laugh at moans from Tavernier
Don’t you dare despair cause
We’ve got paddy McNair
Watching Boro’s not a bore
When we’ve got goals from Watmore
Reasons to be cheerful, one, two, three
With acknowledgment to Ian Drury and the Blockheads!
OFB
Great win from Boro yesterday, I thrive on these tight finishes, they really get my adrenaline going. Am I unusual but much prefer single goal wins than easy wins, far more exciting in my opinion.
However for real excitement the FA Cup for me is the tops. Forget the Premier League, but the thrill of the crowd and the players was palpable for all to see in the 15 matches shown on the BBC website last night. This was real grass roots football with plenty of endeavour and no little skill either. Well done to the players, the crowds, and also the BBC for showing the highlights of all 15 matches so far one after the other. The camera work was excellent and every match given due respect, much better than Quest. Personally I don’t need opinions from the likes of Colin Murray, in fact I fast forward his opinions; I prefer to make my own judgments of what I see before me.
The horrendous wind and rain at Buxton, possibly the highest ground in England, made me feel sorry for the cameramen, referees and linesmen, yet the players and fans seemed to revel in the conditions. None of the 30 clubs participating, nor the 10 playing today have a hope in hell of reaching the quarterfinals never mind beyond them, but just for the chance of meeting a Premier League or even a Championship club in the 3rd Round. Non-League Yeovil Town for example won against Stevenage, the 21st occasion that they have beaten a club from the Football League including Sunderland, Blackpool and Fulham when those clubs were in the higher echelons of the Football League.
Also congratulations to Hartlepool United who have only won one league match away from home this season, yet have won at Wycombe and Lincoln in the FA Cup and Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Trophy at Hillsborough. Could they be dreaming of another meeting against Manchester United, the club they almost beat in 1957. Or perhaps a meeting with Boro whom they have never met except in the League Cup in 1986. The draw incidentally will be made on Monday duringthe BBC televising of the Boreham Wood v St Albans match. Boro number 27 and Pools number 49, with the winners receiving £82,000 not an inconsiderable amount for the likes of Pools.
I forgot to mention that Isiah Jones is the 11th different Boro player to score this season, although I recall 19 different goalscorers in the 2017/18 season.
Please feel
free to add your own comments to 3 reasons to be cheerful !
one two three !
OFB
Two vey good posts from RR and Andy, summing up the match and the eventual win.
Three good points, which if I am honest, did not expect, I had us down for a draw.
As Andy said, Swansea have a system that they adhere to, although they did sail close to the wind more than once which we did not capitalise on. Man City they are not.
However as good as the win was, I think we would have been punished by one of the better scoring teams, and it will be interesting to see how we cope against Bournemouth and Solanke.
The midfield three were as poor collectively as I have seen under CW (even the Gazette commented so) and unlike RR thought Howson was the worst of the three. Bola was back to his form of a year ago. Did he actually get a cross in. If he cannot beat his man and cross, then he is no good as a wing back.
Still on the upward curve, but still lots to do, especially upfront and the service to them. Only five shots yesterday, which is nowhere good enough even against Swansea. Still, I was happy walking away from the ground.
To quote from a once famous manager “If you don’t play well but still get the 3 points, you won’t be far off at the end of the season”. Yesterday I thought that quote was apt, during the week “off” I assume that the training staff worked on improving fitness, which in itself can lead to tiredness later in a match until the right level of fitness is achieved, maybe a case of the chicken and the egg syndrome. As fitness improves, the intensity in the match will last longer and longer until it goes beyond the 90 minutes. Warnock would have worked on fitness to fit his type of game, Wilder needs higher levels of fitness for his type of game, it will take time to achieve without a pre season but it will get there.
Overall I am impressed with what I have seen since Wilder took charge and it would not worry me if it took this season and the next two, to get promotion as long as we have developed a team capable of staying more than 1 or 2 seasons in the Premiership. In that development I include the structure of the club (recruitment etc) to build a sustainable club, living within it’s means and not gambling on paying high transfer fees/wages for a quick fix.
Come on BORO.
Thanks it’s a good post and it makes sense to have a plan that makes staying in the Premiership longer than just one season wonders !
OFB
Now let’s not get carried away. Swansea deserved a point and some might argue all three. So all in all 7 points from Wilder’s first 4 matches might not be too bad except that 3 of them were at home. I remarked on the conditions at Buxton yesterday, but next up is Stoke, the epicentre of England where sometimes earth tremors and hailstorms can be endured in September never mind in December. I had friends since deceased who lived in Milton, one of the 6 towns making up the Potteries and the kilns therein were a welcome relief from the outside environment, although Trentham Gardens are quite attractive. But it’s no wonder some of the softie clubs from London hated playing at the Victoria Ground or the current Britannia Ground or Bet 365 Ground as it is now known. Having written that, Boro did win at Huddersfield last week in appalling conditions, so perhaps Boro fans are used to Arctic conditions. Nevertheless playing at Stoke has rarely been a happy hunting ground for Boro in recent seasons with only 2 wins and 3 draws in their last 11 visits all in the Championship or second tier.
Nevertheless, the coldest I have ever been is in Machrihanish on the Mull of Kintyre where Paul McCartney was once arrested for growing marijuana on his farm in 1973. Often recorded as the wettest, windiest and coldest village in Scotland. I had a friend who lived there and played golf with him there only the once. Several of the greens had electric fences around them to deter sheep from roaming onto them and I had to carry my clubs underneath the fences or receive a nasty shock. We both played 14 holes or so, too cold to record our scores and I was never glad to get into bed by 9pm.
My wife and I visited Moscow in December 1974 where the outside temperature never exceeded minus 17 degrees but at least we were prepared for that with jeans underneath our trousers, thick knee-length coats covering jackets and woollen sweaters, hats with flaps over our ears and a tag to tie them under our chins, sheepskin lined boots and fur lined gloves. I imagine Jarrko is laughing at me now - soft Teessiders.
i worked in Kazakhstan and it was -40 in winter and +40 in summmer.
in winter eyelids could freeze and you could snap eyebrows off if you didn’t cover your face with face mask.
a lot of Teesside lads in the project so we’re not all soft !
OFB
I don't care how Boro get 3 points as long as we get them. If the opposing team outplays Boro for most of the game and we win. So what! It's a results business we are in. Couldn't care less what the other team do as long as we win by hook or crook.
I’m pleased that Boro and Swansea supporters joined in the 6th minute applause for 6 year old Arthur Lobinjo-Hughes. How anyone can abuse and mistreat a child in their care is beyond comprehension. It would be bad enough treating a dumb animal with such torturous treatment, but a poor mite who only wanted someone to love him is unimaginable. Sometimes I feel that only the death penalty should be reintroduced for such criminal acts of violence.
RIP Arthur
OFB
Blimey that’s when minus 40 Fahrenheit is on a par with minus 40 Centigrade or Celsius.
I was much relieved by getting the 3 points despite (for much of the game) seeing the ball passed around the field, and out of reach by our players, by the Swansea team. If ever there was a game where we needed a 2nd Boro goal, that was it. And we rode our luck (for example the "penalty" shout for Swansea that I thought would probably be given - heart in the mouth time - and the goal-line clearance by Paddy McNair). Successful teams need luck.
Plenty of hard work and heart went into that game. I am just getting over the stress of it now. It would have been a good game to watch as a neutral. Swansea will undoubtedly feel as though they were robbed. But in reality THEY could have won it if THEY had been clinical or if they had the luck. They will have other games when they do win. Successful teams also need to beat good teams, not only struggling teams bobbing around near the foot of the table.
Job well done! Now, let's gear up for the next one. It could be a long season, at least if we would prefer it to be a successful one. The thing we don't want is a long litany of inconsistent performances. If that were to be the pattern the season might SEEM like a long one, but in reality the season would be over in all but name and late-season games would be meaningless fixtures as it would be obvious we would neither be in the promotion/play-off mix, nor in threat of relegation, but in a fairly anonymous lower mid-table mediocrity. That might be a good end result if your team appeared at risk of relegation at this point in the season, but not good if you were looking upwards at the play-offs, or better, as being the aim.
I won't be outrageous and I haven't been taking happy-pills (not even a beer or glass of wine has passed my lips today). I am not predicting great things immediately, but I can see some light at the end of what has appeared to be a very long tunnel. So, some hope has been restored, but in order to nurture it, this improvement on the field must be continued. That is not to say I expect us to win every week (as if!!), and there will inevitably be hic-cups and unlucky results along the way, but I hope the trajectory is one of improvement. Results will then follow .... eventually.
I have started to edit these posts now. Inevitably, even if I HAVE read the post first, I notice a spelling mistake or similar as soon as it appears in the Blog after I press "post". So if you see that I edited a post a few minutes after it was sent, that's why! It would probably be helpful if my typing improved.
(DID IT AGAIN!!!).
I have started to edit these posts now. Inevitably, even if I HAVE read the post first, I notice a spelling mistake or similar as soon as it appears in the Blog after I press "post". So if you see that I edited a post a few minutes after it was sent, that's why! It would probably be helpful if my typing improved.
(DID IT AGAIN!!!).
Your typing us no worse than mine Dorma
Bloomin’ heck, my shingles has reappeared. I thought I was over it and started drinking coffee and wine again - big mistake! Also must now cut out cakes, so it’s sandwiches from now on with plenty of water. I’m wondering if any Diasborians have suffered with shingles, and what diet remedies they have found. Would be grateful for any advice.
i worked in Kazakhstan and it was -40 in winter and +40 in summmer.
in winter eyelids could freeze and you could snap eyebrows off if you didn’t cover your face with face mask.
a lot of Teesside lads in the project so we’re not all soft !
OFB
That's nothing compared to flying with Air Astana to get there!
One step away from handing out Goggles and Biggles Scarfs instead of a complimentary G&T and a Blanket!
I complained once about the unbearable heat in the cabin and the attendant's response was "so long as the plane is flying we don't worry about things like that, they tried to fix it last week but it's not working" 🤥.