I thought that over the game as a whole, Boro looked to be the slightly better team and with a better decision re the handball penalty claim, or a little sharper finishing we should have won.
The ifs and buts don't matter now we didn't score so we have been fortunate to still gain ground (1 point) on our immediate rivals for a top 6 finish.
To beat Hudersfield we really will have to start converting goal scoring opportunities. For this I am happy Crooks has got himself a 3 match ban. McGree has shown us that he has the pass that will open up even the most belligerent of defences, so for me losing Crooks at this time might actually be a blessing. I hope that CW will go with Coburn and Watmore, but otherwise unchanged.
CoB
BTW. Has anyone heard from RR and that we know everything is OK with him?
BTW. Has anyone heard from RR and that we know everything is OK with him?
Good point. Perhaps OFB is able to contact and check he is ok. Hopefully he has just been very busy and is a lurker but not had time to post. 😎
Some other observations. When they hit the bar from a header it was close to being a copy of how Mitrovic scored against us. We do see to have a weakness when it comes to picking up runners from a set piece.
I was surprised to see Watmore go down from cramp after 60 minutes. Wilder was about to replace Connolly but quickly changed to Watmore. I thought at first that maybe Watmore had been told to go hard for 60 minutes then get replaced but the fact that he was about to take off Connolly indicates not. I guess the thinking was that the team would have to play longer balls than normal so Wilder went with his two fastest strikers to try to pick up balls in behind. There's an infographic doing the rounds that showed Connolly did zip all game except run around. I'm pretty sure Wilder is aware of this and is trying to keep the pressure off him. I doubt he thinks that Connolly is going to come good but with Watmore at risk of injury, Sporar seeming to have given up and Balogun and Coburn still being very raw, he doesn't have a lot of options. (It's not as if Hernandez or Ikpeazu have done much since they left.) The fact that he doesn't have a lot of options is, however, partly down to him mis-handling his strikers though. I don't know if Sporar is struggling with long covid, disaffected or simply proven not to be good enough but his decline since Christmas is really striking.
I know a lot of people are claiming to be happy that Crooks is going to miss the next 3 games. I think we'll miss him though. He is having a bad patch but there's the old cliché that form is temporary but class is permanent. He has been our major goal threat and his understanding with Jones and Dijksteel was the centrepiece of our best run. McGree looks excellent but he's hardly played in 2 months and is definitely lacking some sharpness while Payero is nowhere near ready to play 45 minutes yet alone 90. (JLS clearly is a myth.)
KP et all
RR is fine and well and yes I have been in contact with him.
He is extremely busy with work at present and hasn’t had any free time at all these past few weeks.
As soon as things calm down he will post
OFB
KP et all
RR is fine and well and yes I have been in contact with him.
He is extremely busy with work at present and hasn’t had any free time at all these past few weeks.
As soon as things calm down he will post
OFB
👍
KP et all
RR is fine and well and yes I have been in contact with him.
He is extremely busy with work at present and hasn’t had any free time at all these past few weeks.
As soon as things calm down he will post
OFB
Thanks OFB for the update and good to know RR is fine and well. 😎
This was the worst display under Chris Wilder and arguably one of the few matches that he set out not to lose a match. It was so hard to watch especially as I had stopped watching the cricket from Bristol to accommodate the match. The difference in class on the Yorkshire podcast between cricket and football was palpable as Yorkshire went for the kill but failed to get that 4th bonus point as Harry Brook became becalmed on 99 when fast scoring was needed. Nevertheless he did get his century, but was out soon afterwards. Perhaps cricket is a sport where batsmen particularly seek personal glory rather than play for a team.
Whilst writing about cricket and reading of Joe Root’s resignation as England captain, it almost felt like reading his obituary. But he is still currently England’s finest batsman and been let down as a captain by the strange selection process of resting our current finest bowlers Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad due to covid restrictions. Ben Stokes seems to be the favourite to replace him as captain, but look what happened when Ian Botham, England’s finest all rounder at the time was given that task - it was a disaster!
Back to football, and why would Chris Wilder want to manage Burnley who despite their parachute payments don’t have the backing of a chairman such as Steve Gibson. Wilder isn’t the sort of manager to leave a task half done and is with Boro for the long haul. Bookmakers are rarely correct in assessing prospective managers for vacant positions anyway. Although if Wilder was to leave, I reckon Shaun Dyche would jump at the chance of working for a chairman like Steve Gibson.
On to Monday’s match with Huddersfield, anything less than a win will end Boro’s hope of reaching the playoffs stone dead in my opinion. In the words of the evangelist Charles Wesley (1707/88) “Bold I approach the eternal throne, and claim the crown my own”. It maybe the words of a man speaking of impending death which comes to all of us eventually and my favourite funeral hymn, but it could also be apposite for a football manager in guiding his side to promotion. In other words Boro now need wins; draws are of little value at this stage of the season.
This was the worst display under Chris Wilder and arguably one of the few matches that he set out not to lose a match.
It wasn't a great performance but it was still better than the display against Hull - at least if Wilder set out to get a draw at Bournemouth he achieved his objective unlike against the Tigers where his objective was presumably not to lose it.
Amazingly, only Luton in the top eight won on Friday, which has meant the whole top half of the table has tightened up - Boro in 7th with 63 points are now just three points ahead of QPR in 12th, who picked up their first point in six games after drawing 2-2 with Huddersfield.
It's all to play for and any team that shows some form will likely make the top six - a couple of wins on the board is what Boro need now.
Connolly Match Stats
Aaron Connolly vs Bournemouth: • 82 minutes • 0 goals • 0 assists • 0 shots • 0 dribbles • 0 key passes • 0 crosses • 0 fouls won • 0/1 ground duels won • 1/5 aerial duels won • 1 interception • 2 fouls committed • 3 times possession lost • 5 passes
OFB
Connolly Match Stats
OFB
😬
Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder, who has also been linked with the Burnley job, has told Sky Sports he is not interested in replacing Dyche at Turf Moor.
OFB
Connolly Match Stats
OFB
Says it all really.
I was watching the match until 20 minutes into the 2nd half when Windows decided to update without asking me first! It must have been a big update as it took until over half an hour and for the rest of the day my computer security and router seemed to join in the fight so I gave up trying to watch Derby v Fulham.
From the part of the Boro match I did see, the first handball was as much a penalty claim as was Luton's against Forest. The second hand ball looked more like the ball bouncing up unavoidably. Apart from that, the only chances we had seemed to be Watmore's shot which while powerful was in a good place for the goalie to save and Tav's header wide. Has Tav ever scored a header? Jones looked like he needed a bit of time to work his way into the match as he seemed to get more possession and attacking play as time went on. His absence may have been the decisive reason for our struggle to stay in the top six. If we hadn't really needed the 3 points to make up for the Hull defeat I would have been happy with the draw.
On paper we can still get the 74 points Wilder thinks may be enough for a playoff place but no goals and 1 point from the last 3 games does not suggest that we will achieve that. As has been the problem since Slaven left, we have not been able to find a regular goalscorer and Connolly and Balogun have not been the answer perhaps through lack of games for Connolly and lack of first team experience for Balogun. I am sure that we would have gone for a better striker if one was available but the January transfer window is never a good time to look for really good signings and we do have problems in convincing players to join us.
I will be at the final 3 home matches (trains permitting) though if we don't get 3 points on Monday I suspect the last 2 home games will just be the usual end of season run outs.
Connolly Match Stats
OFB
Says it all really.
I hadn’t appreciated he is that good! 😉😎
Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder, who has also been linked with the Burnley job, has told Sky Sports he is not interested in replacing Dyche at Turf Moor.
OFB
At least that is less coy than what he told Lancs Live yesterday: "I’ve not looked at it. Sean is a pal of mine. I think he’ll understand it in terms of how the industry is and there has obviously been a decision made. I’m not going to come out with anything in terms of this, that or the other. My head is down and I’m thinking, ‘on to Monday"
Despite telling Sky Sports he's not interested, his odds have only slipped a little to 9/4 with Big Sam now the favourite at 7/4
I'm surprised Burnley have sacked Dyche without a replacement lined up - can't see any manager still in with a shot of promotion switching clubs at this point unless they think it's their dream job 😴
As has been the problem since Slaven left, we have not been able to find a regular goalscorer and Connolly and Balogun have not been the answer perhaps through lack of games for Connolly and lack of first team experience for Balogun. I am sure that we would have gone for a better striker if one was available but the January transfer window is never a good time to look for really good signings and we do have problems in convincing players to join us.
There were a few after Slaven that I recall, including Ravanelli, Boksic, Yakubu, Viduka, Hasslebank. What would we give to have one of those 5 in the team?
Those were the old days when we spent a lot of money. I should have made it clear that I was thinking of our return to an economic team after the glory seasons when we could compete with the rich clubs! Even Sporar looks overpriced if we change his loan into a transfer.
I would not be surpriced to see Warnock at Burnley until summer. He would be perfect fit and available tomorrow. Up the Boro!
Does anyone know the official attendance of Boro’s match yesterday? I’ve tried the Bournemouth website, the BBC and Sky websites, today’s reports on several newspapers. Maybe tomorrow or Monday’s newspapers might help on their results pages, but up to now zilch, nada. It’s so infuriating!
Ken
On the coverage here they announced the attendance and I think it was 9906 but it was only on the screen for a few seconds and I have now deleted the recording.
MW in Darwin
Thanks, I’ll settle for that.