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Nottingham Forest v...
 

Nottingham Forest v Boro

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Selwynoz
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@mw-in-darwin

By memory, a lot of Tav's passes will have been short distance. I was thinking more of his choices that didn't end up in passes and some of his dead ball outcomes. He's a really interesting player. Very dynamic but didn't get the dangerous shots away that he has on other occasions. He is good defensively and quite strong in the air, hence my agreeing with others who have suggested that he could fill in at fullback.

The real question for Boro against the weaker teams who will sit back and defend is how to set up the team so that enough of our attacking midfield and forward players can be fitted into the team and then which ones will be used as impact players to come for a dynamic 25 minutes. Not a problem that we've been used to but a good one to have.

UTB


   
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jarkko
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Anthony Vicker's summary:

FT: 2-0. A timely win. Far from a classic but Boro worked hard. And Forest were poor. The first goal was a cracking counter & superb finish, the second was a gift-wrapped keeper clanger. An important three points. Nice to see the new boys in action. Useful. #utb #borolive

Me: Very much like the match at Covenry performance wise. Now we did not have the howlers at defence and we scored a really world class goal with Tav serving and Šporar finishing it off.

So still work in progress.  But at least we got the points and Mr. Warnock got his seventh away win in succession at Forest. His favourite away ground.

Up the Boro!


   
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jarkko
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I thought Peltier was not quick enough and Crooks was not up to his normal level at Forest yesterday. And then you read Warnock's comments of the match:

“But it’s no coincidence that Peltier has played twice and we’ve kept clean sheets in both. Good habits."

But it was the drive of Matt Crooks that earned Warnock's star rating.

“I thought Crooks was man of the match tonight, absolutely outstanding.

“I know Sporar scores the goal but I thought Crooks was excellent."

So what do I know? I think the manager must know a thing or two more about football than me with his experience of managing over 1 000 matches in his career.

Up the Boro!

 

 


   
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Posted by: @original-fat-bob

Did I not like that ? no.

Is it my fault that I’m never satisfied watching the Boro at the moment ?

Am I a typical Boro supporter who’s always whinging ?

Or am I a realist and expecting better from a group of players and a managerial team that should be providing good performances?

Lets not forget that prior to tonight’s game the Boro were only one point above a relegation place.

Yes I know it’s early days but to be honest apart from the emergence of Jones it’s been rather a stilted start to the season.

I thought FRY was terrific tonight and Tav showed a bit more of his usual energy and skill. Crooks didn’t impress me tonight and Peltier is not match fit.

Can I have a dig at anyone else?

Oh to hell with it Warnock out!

Night Night everyone 

 

OFB

Para 4:  Yes you are


   
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@jarkko

Totally agree with you Jarkko.

The praise for Peltier, who was so obviously a weak link who was not up to his task.

Crooks, who scarcely made any impression as M-o-M.

Happy with Hernandez's stupid and self-indulgent gesture.

"We played some good stuff at times" in a game where we scarcely put together a decent move and in which the only pressure an abysmal Forest side (their worst in the last 50 years) were able to exert was as a result of our giving away a multitude of stupid free kicks in our own half.

If that is the manager's verdict on a game as poor as any I have ever witnessed in this division, then both his and the club's future looks very bleak indeed going into this winter.


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Nothing too much to add to what has already been said here. I didn't think the performance overall was markedly better than others of late where we've lost or drawn but Forest were fragile and we had one moment of real quality with Sporar's goal.

Several things impressed me with Sporar in that goal. Firstly, the predatory instinct to get on his bike and into a pocket of space the moment we turned over the ball. Secondly, the composure to twice look up and check the goalkeeper's position whilst running at speed. Thirdly of course, the absolute hammer of a finish. Superb.

Much improved from Djiksteel. Fry was excellent. Surely this team is going to improve once Bola returns to fitness and the new signings build up fitness and familiarity.

I was a little bit frustrated with Hernandez at times as he held onto the ball for too long, seemingly so intent on beating this man that he often seemed to wait for the defender to get to him so he could take him on. Sporar, whilst not lacking in physicality, looks to me to the sort who will thrive on early passes to feet or in behind just as he scored from last night, rather than competing in a crowded box. Quick balls look the way to get the best from him.

Not sure I can see a place for McNair other than as a back-up central defender but Warnock likes him. I'm hoping the plan is generally the setup we saw last night but Payero brought into the midfield three as another option who can supply those through-balls as well as set-piece delivery, which was missing from the team last night. I'm not sure that Crooks is going to be as effective without Ikpeazu holding the ball up, attracting defenders and bringing him into play. It would useful to be able to bring Uche and Crooks on from the bench to add strength and power later on, as well as the pace and direct running of whichever wide player is left out.

This post was modified 3 years ago 2 times by Andy R

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Posted by: @jarkko

I thought Peltier was not quick enough and Crooks was not up to his normal level at Forest yesterday. And then you read Warnock's comments of the match:

“But it’s no coincidence that Peltier has played twice and we’ve kept clean sheets in both. Good habits."

But it was the drive of Matt Crooks that earned Warnock's star rating.

“I thought Crooks was man of the match tonight, absolutely outstanding. 

No doubt along with others, I had the same view of Peltier as you had - I worry that Warnock only sees what he wants to see and for some reason failed to notice he was beaten for pace all night and went down with cramp after an hour. Perhaps, the coincidence he missed is that other players tend up their game and concentration levels when they have a player alongside them that has limitations - Fry was the main reason we had a clean sheet not Peltier. It's a bit like him going ballistic when he thinks Boro should have had a throw-in but remained quiet when Fry headed the ball out for a goal kick but the ref gave us a corner. As for the 'outstanding' Crooks, he hustled and bustled but didn't produce much of quality, which pretty much summed up the game in general.


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@werdermouth

I'd like to think that this was just a bit of man-management, building up confidence for a couple of players who didn't have their best nights.


   
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The unlikely couple he picked out for particular praise were, of course, his own signings.

He was really praising himself, a sign perhapsof his increasing insecurity and fragility, given developments at the club in the last couple of weeks


   
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I didn't see or listen to the match live so have only seen the extended highlights and reactions. It was a match between one team imploding and one stuttering. We could have been (possibly should have been) 3-1 down at half-time but this match was all about Forest's failures rather than our quality.

Posted by: @lenmasterman

a game as poor as any I have ever witnessed in this division

That's way over the top. There were worse games in the championship last night: Milwall vs Swansea for example. "Both sides failed to find a single shot on target in the first half. ... it was a first half extremely short on quality and incident."

Sporar certainly had a good full debut and his run and finish were as good as anything you'll see in this division. Hernandez's goal is the kind of thing that an experienced Championship pro will score; probably the kind of anticipation that Jones wouldn't quite have yet. 

The team certainly looks uncertain and full of misplaced passes but that's not unexpected because we have too many new players and no settled formation yet. They do work hard for each other though and there's no obvious signs of players going through the motions. Can Warnock fashion this into a play-off challenging team over the next couple of months? No idea but changing manager now definitely won't.

How good are the new signings? Well Akpom scored in his first two games and looked like a real striker and we all know how that turned out. From what I saw, Sporar is a striker in the mould of Bamford and Stuani; seems to be mobile, intelligent and hard working. If he is able to build on his goal he could be a real find.

Looking at the highlights, JLS worked hard and got stuck in but has a way to go to get up to speed. Likewise, Hernandez looked rusty but also you can see that he knows what he needs to do to play well in the Championship. 

Next up, Blackpool. Very inconsistent. Win against Blackpool and we can start looking up the league. Draw or lose and time starts to run out for any sort of play off push this year.


jarkko
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I think the match was better to watch yesterday than a single match under Pulis. Also the Coventry match was better than most matches under Pulis. Well, I do not remember a single match under Pulis ...

It is facinating how differently we can see matches. Here some lines from Teesside Live:

Lee Peltier - 6

Tough evening on his unnatural side against the very pacey Brennan Johnson, but to his credit he stuck to his task and nullified his threat.

Matt Crooks - 7

Much better than Saturday. Driven and determined, his last-ditch block saved Boro's lead at the end of the first half as well.

I can understand it was not the natural position for Peltier but the Crooks comments are more strange, me thinks.

Or perhap Craig Johns meant as he wrote litterally: -6 and -7. So minus six and seven as the technical batchelor of me would read the numbers 🤣.

Facinating how we see football differently. Up the Boro! 

 

 

This post was modified 3 years ago by jarkko

   
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jarkko
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When "we" scored the second goal, the Forest supporters started go home. A very ugly situation. And so it turned out for Chris Houghton, too.

Nottm Forest have announced manager Chris Hughton has been “relieved of his duties” after the club’s poor start to the season continued with a defeat to Middlesbrough last night.

Forest sit bottom of the Sky Bet Championship and the 2-0 loss to Boro left them without a win from any of their first seven matches.

Sorry hear that. I like Houghton. Up the Boro!

This post was modified 3 years ago 3 times by jarkko

   
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@jarkko

I would have scored them both at one mark lower.


   
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It was a scrappy game last night against a very poor side who nevertheless, as Deleriad pointed out, could have and perhaps should have been three one up by half time; we won't get away with it against some of the better sides.

Our new striker looks the real deal with good pace and movement both on and off the ball and his composure in taking his goal was excellent and some thing we have not seen in a Boro striker for many a year; my one concern is that the players around him do not provide the service he needs which has been a problem in the past.

Hernandez clearly has skill, trickery and pace in his locker but his passes in the box reminded me of Johnson on too many occasions.  If he can improve in this area then we should see more attempts and hopefully more goals.

Peltier struggled for large parts of the game in an unnatural position for him but by and large we looked better with a back four and it seems to bring out the best in Hall and Fry with the latter being my MOTM.  If we can get Bola fit and Dijksteel gets back to his best then I see that as our strongest defensive formation.

Tav was his usual hustle and bustle and covered a lot of ground incorporating some good defensive work.  His through ball for the goal was excellent but far too many corners and free kicks were poor and he has to improve his all around contribution.

Howson was busy all night but Crooks looked a bit lost and failed to make much in the way of a positive contribution. JLS was like The Curates egg, good in parts but kept going all night and may well prove to be an upgrade on Saville.  

A good outcome and well needed three points but as many have said it was a far from convincing performance against a team in dire trouble; something to build upon with the need for an improved performance and three points again on Saturday. 😎


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Posted by: @original-fat-bob

@selwynoz

Hernandez needs to be fined for the club for taking a booking after removing his shirt. All players know it is a yellow card offence and  if he had committed a foul after this amd received another yellow we would have been down to 10 men

Not professional 

OFB

Scoring his first goal for his new club right in front of the away Boro supporters, I can forgive him this one time.

Come on BORO.


   
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Clive Hurren
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Against this woeful Forest side - the worst I can remember - 3 points was essential. Job done, therefore. I enjoyed our goals. I am in agreement with you all, though, that our performance was disjointed and lacked coherence (perhaps they both mean the same?) Some of our passing was terrible, as were most of our set pieces. We will clearly need to play better against the stronger sides. However, we still do have a number of players settling in, and I suspect NW is still experimenting with teams and line-ups while he adapts to having an embarrassment of riches in the forward positions. Like many of you - and perhaps like Neil himself - I have no idea what Boro’s best side is currently, though I’d be unhappy if Isaiah Jones doesn't continue to feature in the starting line-up. 

I’m happy to give NW more time yet, and I agree with Andy that now would not be a good time to sack him. But he still has loads to prove. This is his squad now (at least, most of it is - some may well be Kieran Scott signings?) and I expect him to make it work, given his track record. Once he gets this lot to gel, we might see some exciting football and a few more goals. If, on the other hand, we are not close enough to the top 6 by Christmas, then I would expect a rethink. 


   
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If you think the Gazette were marking high then take a look at how Scott Wilson in the Echo rated Peltier and Crooks as he unsurprisingly concurred with his apparent bestie Warnock that both Crooks was MOM and Peltier had an equally great game...

8 Peltier: Doesn’t look out of position at all playing at left-back, and is probably more defensively secure than the other options in the role

8 CROOKS: Played a hugely-influential role in the ‘number ten’ position, creating space for Sporar and pulling defenders around

This post was modified 3 years ago by werdermouth

   
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Confidence is a big thing in football, after the slating they got for the Coventry performance the win (and 3 points) could be a pivotal moment in this season. Three newer players in the starting eleven, let’s not forget Lumley, Peltier, Crooks and Ikpeazu are also new this season, also Jones making a breakthrough this season, although not involved last night but Bamba and Olusanya on the bench. I make that 10 of the 18 man squad are new to Boro’s first team squad, out of those 10, how many minutes have each played of the 7 games so far, so I will reserve judgement on the consistency this early in the season.

People complain about Warnock holding Payero back until he thinks he is fit for championship matches, last night he took a chance on playing Sporar and Lea Siliki now the latter has hurt his thigh, so are people going to criticise NW for playing him too early if James is out for a while, dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t.

7 matches in of a 46 match season and 4 points off the playoffs with a squad that has had a major makeover with new players learning how NW wants to play, whilst inter grating with established players, I for one are reasonably comfortable with hope that as the season progresses we will get stronger.

Come on BORO.


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Very dissapointing that he left Jones out.


   
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Philip of Huddersfield
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The result was good, the performance was a bit so-so

The plus side was Fry, who for me,  was man of the match, the emphatic finish by Sporar ( I’ll reserve judgment as I remember Akpom - NW “I’ll make him into a Premier League striker”!! ) and Siliki for his energy levels getting all over the pitch and Hernandez who has the ability to beat his full back but his crosssing needs to improve.

The rest we’re ok with Peltier having to rely on his experience to overcome his lack of pace.

Having watched Blackpool the night before who were very consistent throughout the whole 90 minutes - in a word ‘dire’ , then for the first time for a long time I’m optimistic for 3 points on Saturday.

Philip of Huddersfield 


   
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@malcolmt

Yes, he is going the same way as our other managers. Dropping Jones was a clear signal that his time is up. The sight has of him raving on the touch line was depressing to say the least. Time I think for a bit of gardening leave, about two seasonssw


   
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@clive-hurren. “at least, most of it is - some may well be Kieran Scott signings?)”. Not sure you can say that Clive as I was advised by a number of Diasboro that he wouldn’t be able to do any work for us until the window closed! Where did Scott and Hernandez come from! 😉😎


   
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@malcolm.  To be fair to NW Jones was probably in need of a rest given his age and that this is first season at this level.  He was less influential against Coventry so not a bad idea to give him a rest and refresh so that he is available for the next few games prior to the next international break. 😎


   
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@werdermouth.  Unbelievable Jeff! 😎


   
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Clive Hurren
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Posted by: @philip-of-huddersfield

I’ll reserve judgment as I remember Akpom - NW “I’ll make him into a Premier League striker”!! ) 

So NW’s been as good as his word, then, Philip. He’s turned Akpom into a Greek Premier League striker! 


   
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Posted by: @deleriad

@werdermouth

3-1-4-2 sort of works if you're playing with wingers and using a midfielder as a defensive shield. In that case the right and left sided CBs cover the wide areas and the defensive midfielder almost acts like a CB. For example

Dijksteel - Fry - Bola/McNair/Peltier/Bamba could be the centre three. 

McNair/Howson can be the defensive midfielder

Wingers can be picked from: Tav, Hernandez, Jones, Olusanya

Centre midfielders: Crooks, Payero, JLS, Malley

Forwards: Uche, Sporar, Watmore, Coburn

It would be a really attacking team that is going to rely on playing on the front foot and outscoring the opposition. It's definitely not a Warnock type team. 

Also on the necro front, it appears that I was channeling Wilder before I knew about it. 


   
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