I like it too Jarkko, except for the keeper we don't have 🙁
I suspect that NW's team selection will be focussed around man marking again and smothering the Brentford supply route. Tarique Fosu has been pulling strings along with Sergi Canos for the Bees and Ivan Toney is scoring for fun. On that basis I would put my house on Fisher tasked in doing to Fosu that which he done so consummately against Todd Cantwell last week.
Fry will be tasked with snuffing out Toney and I'm guessing that Sergi Canos will be receiving special attention from Bola. If Bola is going to be part of a snuffing out tactic then don't be surprised if it is Johnson who starts on the left instead of Bolasie due to his LB experience, understanding and intuitive reading of Bola's intentions. If Dijksteel is fit I wouldn't be shocked to see a back three to compensate for our man marking right and left backs.
Due to the quality of the opposition (now 19 games unbeaten last night) I doubt NW will be going Gung-Ho. With that in mind I'd expect to see the usual midfield three on patrol with maybe Kebano, Watmore or Bolasie left as a luxury break out options to keep the Bee's defence on their mettle.
I like it too Jarkko, except for the keeper we don't have 🙁
Was thinking the same. Bettinelli is a desent keeper but if we had Platt or Swartzer, we would be in top six by now. Or Shay Given or Pears Senior would do nicely, too.
Of course Bettinelli could be a good fit for our young defenders.
Up the Boro!
I’m afraid I don’t really rate Bettinelli. His distribution is poor and doesn’t really dominate the area as he should do.
His plus points are that he is a big keeper and that is one of the reasons he was brought in to add height to the team. He is also a good talker and organiser for the defence which was needed for sick a young Boro team.
I think we would need another keeper for next season
OFB
Middlesbrough | League Table | Predicted Final League Table | Football Web Pages
I see we have moved into predicted 6th place without kicking a ball. This algorithm is fantastic - I'm very impressed.
So we will play Brentford in the play-offs first.
Can they say who we beat in 4he final? UTB!
Have you looked at the results it is predicting? There are some very strange looking results in there. That said this is a season of strange results, so who knows?
So we will play Brentford in the play-offs first.
Can they say who we beat in 4he final? UTB!
I’d back Brentford to finally get automatic promotion this year. The second auto spot could be a real dogfight unless Norwich get going again quickly. Quite a tasty game tonight with Swansea at home to Norwich.
Playoffs will be the usual lottery and I’m not sure that teams would want to play us. We just have to get there!
utb
It is predicted based upon all the latest results and individual projections for the near future and table position. I used to do the same with my promotion chart in excel but even considering only 6 teams it was a huge task to update.
This is fantastic - lets see what it predicts after the weekend
WARNING - past performance is not necessarily indication of the future - stocks can go down as well as up.
One last cry.... are we safe yet?
Dael Fry doubtful for tomorrow!
And it's the genuine unpredictability of football that makes it so compelling for us all, isn't it just?
If Dael is a doubt then who is marking Toney? Or is NW just playing mind games? If he is indeed missing will Dijksteel come in leaving Fisher at RB or will Hall step up?
@redcarred. I think that there was a bit of mind games going on as he also talked about Hall and Fletcher playing for the U23's to get them up to speed and also mentioned Dijksteel had not trained until today.
Hopefully Fry will play despite not training until today much like the previous week when he did not train before the Norwich game when he was also a doubt. 😎
The Swans tame the Canaries, so to speak: 2-0. The Canaries continue to top the table with 55 points, but the Swans now have 53 & a game in hand...
I hope nobody will be celebrating their birthday tomorrow as it’s very likely that Boro might put a damper on it. I just thought that I’d peruse Boro matches played on 6th February since the war and find that Boro have only won twice on this date in the past 16 attempts. It’s even worse if one goes back to 1914 with only 3 victories on that date, surely one of the worst dates in the calander. For example King George Vl died in 1952 and First Division Boro lost at home to lowly Second Division Doncaster Rovers 1-4 in an FA Cup tie. Also tragically it was the date of the Munich air disaster in 1958. The only comfort for Boro fans is that Boro did beat Norwich 5-0 in 1970 with goals from John Hickton 2, Derek Downing, Hugh McIlmoyle and Joe Laidlaw.
Nevertheless I still think Boro will win 2-1 tomorrow.
Having checked through my Boro supporter's 'Book of Omens, Superstitions, Typicals and Cynicism' I'm going for a draw, not an 'Eyes in the Sky' although I'd be happy with that but 1-1. But then being typical Boro anything can happen in 90 minutes.
Will Boro surprise us?we'll just have to wait and see.
Stay safe everyone.
UTB,
John
I'm sticking by what I said earlier in this thread. 3-1 to Boro, and the one against is only cos I feel Bettinelli always has at least one goal in him 😉
Dijksteel's back, replacing Dael Fry:
Just watched NW Presser. Very impressed, he knows his football, is a realist (very useful attitude) and has contacts (important) and friends (even more important) all over the game and beyond. The big thing about him is his ability to be in his comfort zone, as witness his relationship with the press. anyone who reads this blog will know my opinion of Wing (good) so his reasoning for the loan out's made sense, plus I liked his reasoning for the loan out to Rotherham ( in the hope of keeping them up) great stuff. He thinks Brentford are a very good side and we have our work cut out.
Well thanks Ken, I was at the Norwich game back then - fantastic game remember it well. So in that case I think I will go 5-0 this time too......
Are we about to see a forward line that finally suits Britt, just as his contract is about to expire?
Still need a quick-thinking ball player in central midfield but understand the selection today.
Britt hitting the post when game at 1-1, and then Saville misses an open goal from the replay.
So even at half time. Up the Boro!
Nightmare after being gifted an early goal. Despite promising performances from the new boys the same old failings of not being able to take advantage of chances has cost us again. McNair at fault for all three goals.
Brentford light years ahead in terms of performance and quality. Top six looks very unlikely now. 😎
Looking like I might have been right at 3-1, just the wrong way round 🙁
Make that 1-4. The Bees scoring goals for fun - again! 😥
Vic's view:
FT: A sobering 1-4 defeat. A lesson in clinical finishing from Brentford. Boro worked hard in the first half, then with the game in the balance, Boro missed a string of glorious chances, then were stung as the Bees broke and made it count
Sobering indeed. Very disappointing result.
A clinical performance by Brentford after gifting Boro the perfect start.
Yes ,Boro missed chances but the gulf between the two teams was enormous.
Is McNair the player Neil reckons he is? He’s started making crucial mistakes and is often out of position after eg taking corner and free kicks.
The team are on a bad run - not only losing but not scoring just like at the beginning of the season - the difference being the team were not conceding goals whereas now they are.
The only hope of getting anywhere near a top6 is for a tighter defence and the new players to very quickly get up to speed.
Philip of Huddersfield
We continue to play players who aren't good enough in front of goal. That needs to change pronto!
I'm afraid that two of them in particular Akpom and Britt continue to be very poor.
I trust NW but one thing baffles me why he starts with Britt. Wish he had gone in the last transfer window.