I see that Archer is in goal tonight so it will be interesting to se how sharp he is after languishing at several clubs since leaving Millwall. I hope he proves my premonition wrong and provides reasons to be cheerful.
Speaking of wrong premonitions its great to see Marc Bola as Captain tonight, I hadn't so much written him off as scrapped him into one of those square cube things spewed out by the crusher. Good luck to the lad for turning things around and I hope he has a Captaincy to remember.
@jarkko. Sorry Jarkko, I have just established that the match is not available to video stream vis the FA Player but is available on audio via Riverside Live for Overseas players. Hope you can find an alternative stream - RR mentioned Cricfree as a possibility. 😎
No broblem. I can see it live on TV via ViaPlay. So better quality.
Up the Boro!
And that ensures that assuming Boro lose tonight that the league game in a fortnight’s time between Boro and Blackburn will go ahead as planned.
Well an entertaining game which has been end to end and where we have had 13 attempts on goal with 6 on target but have failed to score. A sloppy goal conceded from a corner where one or two players didn't seem to want to put heads on the line.
Suprised to see Roberts starting, unfortunately he has not had much impact.
The FA Player commentator has verbal diarrhoea and hasn't stop for breath in providing us with a history lesson on both teams and players. Someone please tell him he should be commenting briefly on the game otherwise I am turning him off.
CoB it is still all to play for. 😎
Young Sam Folarin, on as a sub for Marcus Browne, bags his maiden Boro first team goal in the 48th minute to put Boro back on terms! 😊
A brief clip of Folarin's goal on Vic's Twitter feed & his amusing verdict (unintentional, I assume) on the Bees' second goal:
https://twitter.com/untypicalboro?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
@stircrazy Daniel Shell I read that young Hackney is the grandson of That great footballer Rodney Marsh. His full name is Hackney Marsh
@stircrazy Daniel Shell I read that young Hackney is the grandson of That great footballer Rodney Marsh. His full name is Hackney Marsh
Funny - not. Leave the lad alone. His paternal grandparents are friends of the family & they'll have been as proud as peacocks that he made his first-team debut this evening, disappointed that he missed a chance to score in the first half & absolutely mortified that he picked up a yellow card for a "bad foul" (according to the Beeb) in the second. By all accounts, he acquitted himself reasonably well.
Some half decent performances from the young ones and some lapses but there were a few, in particular Hackney and Folarin that look to be interesting prospects and capable of doing a job. Slack marking at the corner led to the first Bees goal but we came out strong in the second half and deserved the equaliser. Roberts looked OK in patches but there were not enough of them. His inclusion I can only conclude means he is either staying or going back to Celtic where being Cup tied won't matter.
Spence was lively and Woods looked strong at the back, Wing was solid but not very influential. Akpom was similar to Roberts, decent in the opening 20 minutes then disappeared and came back fleetingly in the second half. Tav was the pick of the first teamers, driving forward and tracking back. Coulson left more questions than he answered out on the pitch and poor Browne must be cursing his luck just when he was getting his career back on track. Hopefully it will be a dislocated knee and not ligament damage.
Getting knocked out is probably a blessing, we were never going to win it and the timing of it just further illustrates how the FA have become detached from the Clubs and indeed fans. Putting the Kick Off time back to six o'clock for a fixture involving a side with twelve hours travelling time is nothing less than disgusting.
Incredible to think that what was once the World's most exciting and enjoyable Football Trophy has seemingly become a distraction at best with so many sides playing weakened starting elevens.
Marcus Browne suffered a knee injury and was stretchered from the pitch in pain. Thi is NW said at the club site:
“His kneecap came out and went back in,” explained Warnock. “He’ll have a scan on Monday and we’ll know more after that.
“If there’s no other damage it’ll be better than we thought. I feel for him because he’s worked so hard to get back and he’s done really well.”
Also, I think Hayden Hackney was looking good and very exciting prospect. The Redcar-born centre-midfielder is only 18 so there was something in there, definately.
Luckily there was no extra time even we should have deservered one. Long travelling for our oldie, NW. Up the Boro!
Height has never been a hindrance for talented footballers or rugby league players for that matter. When I first became interested in rugby league Cas had a little player who played half back called Roger Millward who had a brilliant career especially at Hull Kingston Rovers and with Great Britain later in life. He had such pace and being so small soon earned the title of Roger the Dodger as he managed to make would-be larger players look silly as he evaded attempts to stop him as he left them tackling fresh air. Rob Burrow currently fighting Motor Neurone Disease reminds me of him, small men with big hearts.
In football Willie Fernie was small as was Juninho. I still smile when I see that photo of Juninho admonishing Philippe Albert the Newcastle defender by waggling his finger at him after a foul tackle, like a school teacher reprimanding a naughty pupil. Also photographs of Wilf Mannion with palms of his hands facing down as he pirouetting like a ballet dancer or a butterfly hovering in mid-air above much taller defenders to win headers. I’ve never seen anyone else able to do that; he timed his jump to perfection that he won his headers on the way down instead of on the way up.
I also remember watching snooker’s junior pot black when it appeared that Stephen Hendry could hardly see over the table, yet having grown a few inches became the first player to win the World Championship in 5 successive seasons in the 1990’s since John Pullman. Yes, shortage of height is not always a deterrent to be successful, although at 5 foot 7 inches tall it didn’t help me although truth to tell I hadn’t the talent to succeed at any sport.
It’s the big clubs though. Ask most players and it’s the winning of FA Cup medals that they treasure most, and for the smaller clubs it’s still the dream of being giant killers. I agree though that penalty shootouts instead of replays, playing semifinals at Wembley, and having evening kickoffs for the Final has somewhat tarnished the memories of Cup Final days where BBC’s build up towards the 3pm start was something to behold. I suppose on reflection that there’s too much football on television today that unless one’s own club is participating in the final to a lot of tv viewers it’s now just become another match.
I see a few clubs are circling around Tav
I'm not at all surprised, he is Good, and had he played every game since his emergence last season he would be even better. In addition to searching for players every club should be alive to possible big fees for home made talent. Did notice that Wing, and he was not the only one, delivered a lot of thirty yard passes along the ground, and this is the secret of success in any level of football, I should add that his passes started a lot of good attacking play. The defeat, as ever, was caused by pitiful defending of a corner, no one on the posts, all sound asleep, simple shot into the empty goal, keeper was playing statues standing precisely in the middle of his goal so he didn't interfere with ball's passage into the corner of our net. having said that, we had plenty of chances to have won the game twice over, but we lack that hunger to try our luck with shots from any range.
I see that the Dirties have been beaten 3-0 by Crawley. Such a shame. 😉
Did notice that Wing, and he was not the only one, delivered a lot of thirty yard passes along the ground, and this is the secret of success in any level of football, I should add that his passes started a lot of good attacking play.
I agree about Wingy, Plato. I thought he had a good game. RR commented that he wasn’t very influential, but I thought he did ok, especially as he was mainly playing a little way in front of the back 3, whether by NW’s planning or because that was where he chose to play. I particularly enjoyed his long cross field passes, and he does always look to play forward. Did he do enough to merit a starting place next week? Probably not. But we know he’ll usually be reliable when called upon.
Watched the game on FA player, the app was awful but at least I got to see the game. The commentator wasn't one so I watched in silence. Just a couple of points, some good performances from the youngsters which bodes well for the future.
Wing, I'm afraid doesn't do it for me anymore, definitely not the player he was.
As for Patrick Roberts, I thought he has been unfairly criticised in the media. For me he did ok considering that he has had very little game time. Noticed he did his bit by moving back into the defence area when needed. At least NW didn't sub him. Would like to see him given a start in a few more games to prove his worth.
Sort of pleased in a way that we are out of the FA cup, which now has deteriorated into almost a micky mouse competion. Great for small clubs but the big boys not interested.
League now no 1 priority for Middlesbrough at all times.
Keep well and safe friends in these awful circumstances that is happening at the moment.
I had no idea Jason Steele was playing for Brighton these days. The Seagulls overcame Newport in the Cup earlier after the match finished 1-1, went to extra time & then penalties. JS apparently made an absolute hash of saving the Newport goal (a Brighton own goal), but then redeemed himsef by saving FOUR penalties in the shoot-out!
Yes, it is interesting to watch the penalty shootouts. If you forget the drama and watch clinically there is enough to keep a medical person busy for a month. the number of saved penalties was caused by indecision, with the taker taking three steps instead of four and not hitting the ball hard enough, this combined with the keeper keeping low and committing himself to one side his goal and really going for it making an easy save, three consecutive players took the identical penalty with the same result. I notice that the keepers who stand up and constantly touch the crossbar whilst moving have an appalling record of saving penalties, it's much better to crouch low and choose to go one side, which makes it an even money shot.
I’ve just caught up with all the FA Cup matches on the BBC iPlayer and I must say that the coverage was excellent with plenty of minutes shown for each match. Much better than Quest especially the Division 1 and 2 matches where if one blinks one can miss some of the goals. Also well done for the non-Premier League clubs who all did well with open play whether they won or lost, the exception being Preston who I thought were dreadful. Special praise to Blackpool, Crawley, Doncaster and Plymouth who all won and to Bristol Rovers, MK Dons, Newport, Portsmouth and Rotherham who although losing put up gallant displays and did the lower leagues proud.
Still no sight of the Covid vaccine in Redcar.
@malcolm I watched it on the App too after some difficulty registering. I thought it was pretty good, although the commentator seemed to have too many facts he wanted to relate, rather than following the action.
On a related note, is the Birmingham game on Saturday being televised on Sky?
I’m beginning to master this tiredness now. If there’s any television worth watching, I watch it in the afternoon or do the shopping or ironing listening to music. By the time I’ve spent an hour or so in bed catching up with sports news on my iPad, seen to my ablutions, etc, it’s afternoon anyway as everything has to be done at a slow pace now after falling several times. Breakfast between noon and 1pm. Dinner between 6 and 7pm then do research on classical composers or check over football results and update my records as watching television sends me asleep but then can’t get to sleep when I retire to bed, so going to bed between midnight and 1am seems to work better. After 7 hours sleep start the process all over again. Repetitive and boring perhaps, but living alone it’s my way of coping with lockdown in the winter. Spring, Summer and early Autumn gradually I revert to a more conventional existence and hopefully go out for a drive in the countryside and have a meal in a pub or outdoors if it’s warm, although rarely go to bed before midnight even then. But when will that be? I ask myself if it’s the mental fatigue that’s worrying now. I can cope with most of my ailments, but lack of exercise due to planter fasciitis in one leg shuffling along with a catheter bag on the other has further slowed me down and created a mental state that I’m hoping won’t be permanent.
And now as we have the potential prospect of this season’s football not being completed as more and more matches are being postponed and in fact likely to be cancelled permanently it’s imperative that Boro reach a top six position as quickly as possible before a complete lockdown on another season as the final league tables are looking more likely to be decided on points-per-game as many clubs may go out of existence before this season ends. One wonders how football in the rest of Europe are coping with few postponements, yet Britain isn’t, and it looks like getting worse before it gets better because of a shortage of a vaccine. Desperate times ahead indeed!
@ken You are not alone with those feelings. I get up every morning and check emails on my phone by the side of my bed. Make Coffee and sit in the chair at my desk in the spare room (aka the office) and reply to said emails, make phone calls and hope for something inspiring and uplifting to occur that day that will drive some income and see an upturn in things. Some days I may have toast and some days cereal for Breakfast and then the second or third coffee follows. Rinse and repeat.
I do at least get to speak to people via emails and phone calls but I have been used to driving something like 30,000 to 45,000 miles a year for the last thirty odd years plus flying here there and everywhere and finding it tough to just sit and do nothing. Reality of course is that I am doing something but the guilt of not getting up and putting a Shirt and Jacket on or even complete with Tie and Suit depending on the destination still rankles. I do however realise that a lot of my travelling prior to this will not be required afterwards as technology has bridged some of those gaps but there is still no substitute for face to face meetings in the same room to pick up on all those behavioural traits and relationship building blocks. Socialising will become a newly learned skill for many after we get through all this.
Like I suspect many of us on here I now have to constantly check what day of the week it is as they have all merged into one never ending Groundhog day. I really envy friends and neighbours whose "Key" work means they are still relatively unaffected, getting up at six in the morning and getting home at six in the evening. Hopefully the vaccines will bring about a reduction if not a complete end to the restrictions very soon and some new sense of normality returns.
Meanwhile your point about Football being terminated abruptly is very real. That loss against Sheffield Wednesday annoyed me at the time and still does for that very reason. We need to hope that we can get as many more games as possible completed to ensure that we are secure in a play off spot in the hope that like last season the play offs at least will be completed. Werder and myself had serious doubts at the beginning of this season that it would ever be completed and unfortunately that is now becoming a distinct possibility. Those teams that have jetted off to warmer climates (Celtic springs to mind) show just how ignorant, irresponsible and stupid institutions behaviour can be let alone individuals during this pandemic. Our next three games, if they go ahead, are all "winnable" on paper, Birmingham, Forest and Blackburn before we go to Carrow Road (where ironically I fancy us to get something in Typical Boro spirit).
Two lonely chaps in Redcar!
But it is the same every where as RR said. I, too used to drive about 35 ooo km (!) annually on business plus a couple of flights most months. Now my wife is using my car and I haven't really been to anywhere since last spring time.
At least I have got my job but really do not see many people except emails, Teams meetings or odd phone conversations. I love if I can talk too somebody on the phone.
I am afraid that it will be like this until the end of the year before we see the power of vaccinations. Hopefully the summer will be like last year and with less restrictions.
We got some half a meter (nearly two feet) of snow this week. At least I got some work to clean the garden now 😁.
Up the Boro!
Redcar Red
It’s getting similar to the Second World War now. To me as a child I just thought the war was normal like playing cowboys v indians, didn’t know any difference but when peace came asking my parents if news programmes would finish as that was what the BBC and the 2 page newspapers ever reported. Newspapers were then cut into square strips to make toilet paper and I just thought that was the norm. Toothpaste was a rare commodity, had to dip a finger into salt to brush one’s teeth. However for parents it must have been a nightmare. “It’ll all be over Christmas” was a regular saying, but nobody mentioned which Christmas. Even measles was a killer then if a child hadn’t been immunised, diphtheria had no vaccine until it was too late. As I say, as a child it was normal except when there was an air raid, but at least our parents knew who the enemy was and could barricade ourselves in community shelters with friends and our loved ones. Today we can’t even meet up with other people and that’s what’s so depressing. Luckily I’ve joined Age UK and volunteers ring me to see if I’m ok, but we didn’t have telephones or television during wartime and in fact some families didn’t have a radio although we did. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, especially for children, but as we get older we need communication but rarely can be sure what the truth is. I’ve had my life and tend to look at the past instead of the future, because like most folk have happy memories of the past despite deprivation. But it’s the future which scares most of us. I hope things turn out ok for you and your family, as I do for everyone on this forum, but for me perhaps ignorance is bliss.
Yes, this could be worse. My father was in the 2nd WW for five years. So the COVID is not so bad compared to that. Some similarities, yes. But not so many lives lost or houses bombed.
Takes time but I am lucky that I live with my wife and an adult daughter. And the Boro are winning more often than losing 😀.
Up the Boro!
My Dad was a POW for a while, having been captured in Italy. To be honest he was lucky, because his battalion was overrun the next day and lots of his colleagues were killed or injured.
Staying at home seems quite easy in comparison, although I really don’t like the constant harping back to the war that’s happened since 2016. My Dad didn’t revel in what he went through - like most of his generation he moved on and wanted to be part of a better world.
I can quite understand that anyone involved during the war not wanting to talk about it and quite rightly too, and but for those of us who were children at the time it’s part of remembering our childhood especially when one reaches their final years. It’s just part of nostalgia. I have a photograph of myself taken at Forest Wompas photographers studio on my 3rd birthday and can actually remember that day. Strangely though I have difficulty in remembering what happened quite recently and that goes for Boro matches also.
@ken I have absolutely no issue with those who lived through the war talking about and remembering their times. It’s an important part of their lives and must have had a massive impact. It’s those with no direct experience who glorify the war that depress me.