Our Cup exit means that we can fulfil our Championship fixture with the ghost of Boro past this weekend (albeit moved back 24 hours to the Sunday at 15.00 hours). Another game with another ex-Manager along with a host of players with Boro links will be travelling across the rainswept Pennines to face Boro at the Riverside which is just as well considering the poor state of the pitch at Ewood Park. It’s debateable about how many we will see from Pears, Ayala, Downing and Chapman either due to ability, age or injury which doesn’t exactly look good on Mogga’s recruitment in contrast to his time here.
On paper this is another game where you would fancy Boro to win but after a few hiccups of late it all depends on which Boro turn up or perhaps more importantly which Boro start. It seems that when we do start well, we control games and when we don’t then we play catch up, never really looking the real deal. We have of course often come from behind which is an improved characteristic on many Boro sides of late, but rarely do we see often enough the type of attitude which prevailed in mid-week at Forest. It’s deep within them somewhere they just have to find that fire in their belly as they run onto the pitch rather than wait twenty or thirty minutes.
Live on Sky is not a good omen as Boro for some reason rarely do themselves justice when on the box. Rovers are so far unbeaten in the Championship in 2021 and will be keen to keep that momentum going. Granted they have only played two games, one of them an win away to Karanka’s Birmingham and the other a home draw with Stoke. That sees them sitting in twelfth place in the current six game form table with eight points while Boro are in the lofty heights of fourth earning twelve points. The main difference between the sides is that Blackburn seem to be drawing a few games compared to Boro either winning or losing. That Boro’s two losses in those last six games have been against strugglers Wednesday and Birmingham probably balances out any comfort in the predictability stakes for this one.
Blackburn are likely to go with a 433 and seem to be very reliant on Armstrong along with a “tightish” defence that hasn’t always been as resilient as Mogga would like. After a serious cruciate injury star man Dack is now back in their ranks but questionable as to whether he yet has 90 minutes in his tank. The feeling in the Blackburn camp is that Armstrong is far more effective with Dack behind him pulling the strings. Regardless of whether Dack plays or not if Morsy, Saville and Howson can boss the middle of the park stifling Armstrong’s supply then Boro should be capable of getting three points from this one.
Are we safe already?
Form wise, RR reports Boro are in the lofty heights of fourth earning twelve points in the last six games. And we are going through a bad batch now. I wait for the day when we start play NORMALLY!
Thanks for the report and the info above. In Boro we trust.
Up the Boro!
Thanks RR for your perceptive pre match summary.
It's the same starting eleven for me and provided we start as we did at Forest then we should have enough to overcome a side we have all too often in the past failed to beat convincingly when we should have done so.
I am hoping that given Blackburn did not play mid week it works against them and that they are off key with us, hopefully, on song and raring to go again after a very strong mid week performance. CoB 😎
@k-p-in-spain I'd be tempted to bring Marvin back in if fit enough. Watmore looked cream crackered when he came off and I wouldn't want to risk him again so soon with his injury record. Britt done enough to keep his place and hopefully his confidence is sky high after getting so many compliments. Other than the Watmore/Johnson fitness conundrum I would pretty much stick with the same side.
Redcar Red,
Thank you for your intro, much appreciated. This is another match that Boro should win but just which Boro will turn up? I'll bet the spectre of 'Typical Boro' is stalking the Riverside even now and you can be sure we'll know which Boro has turned up within minutes of the teams kicking off. By the way has Britt ever provided us fans with two games in a row where he has been unplayable?
The big worry is the amount of old 'Boro boys' ready and waiting to mess our hopes up. So I'm going for a 2 - 2 but Boro should win. Hypnotists and Psychologists get to work on them now please, if necessary provide them with a couple of pints of Bass or Strongarm just before kick-off.
Stay safe everyone,
UTB,
John
All that makes sense to me, particularly with Watmore who looked absolutely shattered as he walked off the pitch. One minor problem is that we look like we need him for the first half of all matches until he gets his fitness up to scratch (probably not this season). Britt scored as a striker should, with the slightest touch to divert the ball into the net, lets see him carry on in that vein, but please, no attack dog episodes tomorrow, the nerves! The nerves!
Thanks for the intro RR.
Can anyone remember when we las won live on Sky? We have drawn the last 5 home games against Rovers in all competitions, so will there be a different result on Sunday. If we start well I think we should just get over the lins.
There will be no Harry Chapman for Rovers as he has gone on loan to Shrewsbury.
Also no Ayala according to Who scored, surprisingly he is injured!
I will go for Assombalonga tomorrow. I trust him to score a brace tomorrow. He needs another striker to share the attention of the opposite defenders. So I hope Watmore to be there, too.
I will go for a 3-1 win for Boro. Tavarnier to score the second goal and 2-0 at haft time. I hope we can break the long run of home draws agaist Blackburn.
Up the Boro!
I think that Tav. Is looking more the player we all glimpsed on his infrequent appearances. Some of his stuff is looking on a higher level, his looking to shoot when cruising towards the box coming in from the right to left looks very classy (generally low into the far corner of the net) more to come I think.
Redcar Red
Thank you for the Blackburn preview which is appreciated as always
Shall I go for the eyeballs 👀 in the sky ? Or something else? Look what happened when we played lowly Birmingham the ex Boro curse struck and it could do so tomorrow......
Im not going to upset the eyeball just for the sake of it and therefore I’m going to predict. ....(drum roll)
⚽️⚽️
OFB
I am a bit nostalgic now. Mogga is the only Boro manager I have met (OK, I have taked briefly to Southgate and Woodgate as players before the become managers). Mogga is a wonderful person and I like him to bits.
So this is totally a dream - and not a thinking man's choice as such - as I am thinking what after Warnock retires. I dream about an old boys team at Boro: Mogga as a director of football and Woody as a head coach. Then one old hand as a coach is needed to help the latter.
They both like play attacking football and Mogga has a good record of finding good up-coming players. And both know the area and club inside out.
I know there are a lot of fans who think the manager must come out of the area to be succesful. I disagree. If the head coach or DOF are good enough, then the local knowledge would be a big bonus. Think about Monk or Pulis as an example of outsiders, like.
But as said, this is more like a dream for me. Both ex-players have a place in my heart. Up the Boro!
I could just about maybe consider Mogga in a DOF role but if Woodgate ever came close to managing the Club again it would be the end of my support for Boro. It came very close first time round but it would definitely be a deal breaker for me if SG ever insulted our intelligence with him again.
To paraphrase Keith Lamb about the fans getting the Club they deserve well SG would get the Club he deserved and he very nearly did if it hadn't been for Warnock pulling the Club out of the brown stuff. Even on Mogga it has to be said that his recent transfer dealings have to be in the category of "questionable". An ageing Downing is one thing but Chapman, Ayala and Pears haven't exactly been received with enthusiasm form Rovers fans.
Mogga left the backbone of Karanka's promotion side but in footballing terms that is his last real high in the game. That he was removed from office to make way for Karanka's arrival and done nothing since doesn't make up for him being a really genuinely smashing bloke. Business is business at the end of the day.
Dom Shaw was told Dijksteel is absent today because of a minor injury. Up the Boro!
"Huddersfield Game Co-Exclusive Sky Pick
Available on both Sky Sports Arena and Matchday LIVE...
Boro's home match against Huddersfield Town at the Riverside has been selected by Sky Sports for co-exclusive broadcast.
The match is remains as previously scheduled, a 7.45pm kick-off on Tuesday February 16.
Co-exclusive means that supporters can watch live on Sky Sports Arena, but will also be available through the club's regular Matchday LIVE streaming service - with free access for Season Card holders and match passes on sale to other fans both domestically and overseas." 😎
I am not sure Woody is a failure as HEAD coach. Needs a bit more experience. Like Southgate, Woody could come good one day. Up the Boro!
0-0 @ halftime. We shoud have had a penalty had there been VAR. Now not even a free kick and we lost Fry.
Bola by far our best player winning every header and some neat touches. What a player. Up the Boro!
Jeff Winter tweeted: "Not only was it a penalty , but everyone missing the fact that’s it’s also a red card for serious foul play !!"
Not much too add in there. Up the Boro!
I think it’s time Johnson was brought on for one of the midfielders and go 4-2-3-1.
Inconsistency, inconsistency, we are inconsistent said NW so we are not a top six side yet! How right he called it; after a good result on Wednesday a disappointing result and performance today.
Blackburn started the better and whilst we clawed our way back into the game and looked as if we might win it in the early part of the second half, our failure to score and a piece of poor defending proved our downfall.
We never looked like scoring once they had and we seemed to play a lot of hit and hope balls. Overall they were deserving of the result albeit the failure of the Referee to give us a penalty and issue a red card may well have had a major impact on the game.
It seems like previous seasons where we have had opportunities to make up lost ground, then failed to do so. 😎
[...] Overall they were deserving of the result albeit the failure of the Referee to give us a penalty and issue a red card may well have had a major impact on the game.
Footage of the incident in this report:
https://www.joe.co.uk/sport/middlesbrough-denied-penalty-blackburn-262255
Looks really nasty. 🙁 Is any kind of retrospective punishment possible?
Leaving the nailed on Red Card and Penalty aside there was no excuse for several under par performances. Assombalonga was ineffective which is either down to his own personal performance attitude or deliberately tactical from the bench. Whatever the cause he should have either been hooked or the tactics switched to bring him into the game. Wednesday, Birmingham and now Blackburn and it appears that a pattern of unpredictable malaise from his team is developing and one that Warnock needs to address and sort out.
Apart from Britt, Saville was another who cruised through the game but didn't impact anything. Morsy in contrast was beavering away, scrapping and fighting and getting things going. Howson was disappointing when he switched off for the goal. When your right back is up attacking, trying to cut into a crowded area instead of going wide to receive it, loses possession, he committed Hara Kiri on his teammates. His poor decision making was made worse by his positioning as he ambled back, abdicating his right defensive role leaving it completely empty. As one of the seasoned Pro's Howson should have been alert that we had no right side of defence and filled in but there were far too many red shirts pushed up on the edge of the Blackburn box allowing the quick out ball to leave us dead.
After that Blackburn goal the lack of fight in Boro was alarming. Bola played his usual high standard game but apart from Bettinelli saving blushes when Wood was caught dribbling into trouble in the middle of the pitch there was only Roberts for me in his brief cameo worth a mention.
Spence looked very poor as a RB and ineffective as a winger. He has speed and can run down the wing using his pace but dribbling into cul-de-sacs, taking too many touches added nothing to the cause. He wasn't alone, Tavernier despite his "enthusiasm" was equally guilty of deliberating then dribbling when the moment was lost. Speed of thought is just as important an art as ball control is and unfortunately as a side we lacked dynamism, replacing it with two touches before deciding.
The standard of officiating was terrible all afternoon. Douglas should have had a yellow in the first half never mind the Penalty incident. That none of the three officials spotted what had happened to Fry is simply staggering. A high boot at head height and a player with an horrendous injury should have been more than enough to make a decision even if the vision was fleeting. It doesn't take a genius to join the dots. That two of them failed to see anything defeats the purpose of them being on the pitch.
Typical Boro on the telly performance but in all honesty we weren't good enough. While a draw may have been a fair result the attitude from Boro after that goal asks questions about leadership on the pitch and coaching off it. No use screaming at Referee's if your own players are only giving sixty per cent.
@stircrazy. "He was, however, substituted as a result of the injury, being replaced by John Buckley."
Must have signed a new player who impersonated Wood! 😂😎
@redcarred. Great post and summary RR. The lack of the penalty and red card should not be allowed to detract from what was a poor all round performance.
We need, as a team, to learn a few lessons from Blackburn, they moved the ball about far more quickly, with accuracy and purpose. 😎
Thanks RR for your report. Spot on.
Question to Britt. Did you enjoy your afternoon stroll.
Never mind waiting till the end of the season to renew his contract with reduced terms. Get rid!
Why do we pass back to our goalie so many times, it does annoy me.
Another thought, why don't we try Roberts as a winger.