The stats show that BORO dominated the possession and shots but the really important stat is the 2 - 2 result. I expect Ken will be able to tell when we last started a season with no win and 3 points from the first 4 matches. I doubt if it was a promotion year.
Reading had a good win over Blackburn who had won their previous 3 games. We need to beat them. Feeling disappointed and not really looking forward to the cost and hassle of going to my first home league match which could change if we were to beat Reading. I hope it isn't one of those occasions when the highlight of my weekend is the hotel evening meal! (I do have a 1/2 bottle of Malbec left for the weekend.)
After the game Wilder said that he has never experienced such a dominance in one game during his entire life as manager. And he he has had quite a career. Up the Boro!
The only thing to say is
AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!
Boro played absolutely superbly for much of the game, totally dominating and making Stoke look very ordinary. But if you miss a hatful of chances at 2-1, then fail to defend one of only two attacks Stoke had second half, then football will inevitably come back to bite you on the bum.
Duncan was brilliant. When Forss replaced him we lost a little momentum. But worse still was when Crooks replaced McGree, who had had his best game in a Boro shirt. Suddenly, the dynamic shifted and allowed Stoke a couple of forward forays right at the end.
AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!
I decided to watch Sunderland at Bramall Lane tonight on Sky whilst simultaneously listening to Radio Tees. The Mackems were the better team until the sending off of Oli McBurnie but from thereafter were indebted to the brilliance of goalkeeper Anthony Patterson to keep the score down to 2-1 when it could well been 6-1. In my opinion on this display a better goalkeeper than Zack Steffen not that the latter was to blame for either of Stoke’s goals tonight.
However not surprised that Boro should concede an equaliser against a poor Stoke side after the sparkling crosses from Ryan Giles deserved much more than a depleted Boro strike force could convert. Why Chris Wilder didn’t play Matt Crooks and/or Dael Fry up front to get that 3rd goal is a mystery to me. However defensively Boro were left wanting again conceding an equaliser when most of the Stoke supporters had left the stadium. Conceding an average of 2 goals per match if allowed to continue will be the worst recorded for 57 years.
Well that left me so, p***ed off that I could even enjoy my coffee and cake. ☹️
Seriously though Boro could not manage the game out. They should have scored when Lewis Baker missed when it was easier to score. Then we lost the ball once more in midfield and Lenihan went missing to let in Wright Phillips.
We played some great football and should have won easily. However we have to worst goals against in the League, and at times look vulnerable defending losing the ball too easily further forward.
McGree looked the part in the number 10 role and thought it was a mistake bringing him off, Crooks not getting involved at all. Watmore was excellant and as much as Forss chased and harried did nothing else. He has a lot to prove as yet.
We look to have the basis of a decent team, but are still lacking in certain areas in both the midfield and defence. Giles is absolutely brilliant going forward, but generally poor when having to defend the man.
The look on Wilders face when he walked off said it all. Even he must now be feeling the pressure. Reading had a good win tonight and now Saturdays match appears a lot harder.
Lets hope for another addition before then. We need one or to at least.
The stats show that BORO dominated the possession and shots but the really important stat is the 2 - 2 result. I expect Ken will be able to tell when we last started a season with no win and 3 points from the first 4 matches. I doubt if it was a promotion.
Well not in my lifetime although in 1966 whist in Division 3 Boro having won at Colchester in the first match of the season accumulated only one more point from the next 5 matches and were second from bottom after 6 matches but although never in the top two until the final match of the season when they beat Oxford United 4-1 to gain promotion. However John O’Rourke finished the season with 27 goals, Arthur Horsefield with 22, and John Hickton with 15.
Even more remarkably in the 1926/27 season Boro took only one point from their first 4 matches but along came reserve centre forward George Camsell to score 59 goals out of a total of 122 as Boro won promotion by 8 points with 4 matches remaining. I doubt though that in his quest for two new strikers he will find a John O’Rourke never mind a George Camsell!
I wrore recently that Watmore, McGree and Crooks have started the season running on three cylinders.
I must apologize - Watmore was running on six cylinders and McGree on all four yesterday. We were worse after the two came off.
So we are still to see Crooks and Fry at their best. Well, they need to earn the shirt now! It is good to have competition for places. And we have still four players to arrive.
Never been so excited after a draw - especially after Stoke on a Wednesday night. Up the Boro!
I thought Mowatt looked like he fitted in quite well and interesting to see McNair in midfield - I wonder what ultimately the first-choice back three will be? Dijksteel, Fry and possibly Greaves if the deal is done. I thought Bola did OK but he did look sometimes if he forgot he wasn't playing left wing-back. Hard to see him actually playing as left wing-back as Giles was a real threat all evening.
The other interesting selection was McGree in the number ten role, which he did well but it then only leaves one place for a forward - that questions the need to sign another two strikers as where do they fit in with Watmore, Akpom, Forss and Hoppe (plus Coburn). Looks like Boro need to sign another number ten and maybe only one proven striker. Though Wilder almost hinted that Akpom could still yet leave the club as they're open to offers given he's in his last year of contract.
If you said we'd be a point behind Norwich after four games I would have been happy but maybe it's not quite what I had in mind! So still plenty of room for optimism as despite Boro sitting down in 20th place, they're improving and playing well and only 4 points off the playoffs with perhaps Blackburn flattering to deceive at the top. The Championship is as ever an open race that any team going on a run will be in contention.
On twitter
🚨Jørgen Strand Larsen is set to join Middlesbrough after 10million pound bid accepted by Groningen🚨
Another game I didn't get to follow except from alerts on my phone. Must admit that when Stoke scored early I feared the worst.
I was figuring that we needed a 7 points from the Stoke, Reading and Swansea games in order to have some sort of foundation for a push up the table so I suppose we're on track for that. Overall, the start of the season has plenty of fodder for optimists and pessimists.
I still find myself on the line. Our results and performances since the January transfer window have been inconsistent at best and mediocre on the whole. So far this season, we seem to have fixed the attack by virtue of not playing any strikers that Wilder has bought at the expense of breaking the backdoor. It is hard to tell whether we are improving or not. We're also losing because of "mistakes".
I am have a certain interest in mistakes and avoiding them. Mistakes happen more often in environments where it is easier to make them. When perfectly competent players make mistakes that cost us points two things are likely to be true. One is that players are being asked to play in unsafe ways. The other is that there aren't safety nets.
Under AK, there were multiple layers of defensive organisation and players were tasked to stick to the safest option. Where this cost us was up front because we generated so few chances that we couldn't afford any mistakes when it came to scoring goals. Under Wilder we are the polar opposite. Despite having a forward line that looks like something out of a school play, we could end up scoring 100 goals this season and failing to get into the playoffs.
On twitter
🚨Jørgen Strand Larsen is set to join Middlesbrough after 10million pound bid accepted by Groningen🚨
Hope it’s true and not another piece of misinformation. 😎
When Stoke scored their equaliser it felt to me as if we had lost. We had been the far better side, had played the better football and dominated possession albeit against a poor Stoke side.
Whilst we were cheated of our first win by an atrocious refereeing decision, which gifted Stoke their first goal, we again showed our long-standing failing of not finishing teams off and poor defending; both McGree and Jones had good chances from which they both should have scored and put the tie to bed.
Based on last night’s performance we looked far better going forward with McGree in the 10 role where he could roam and create and this enabled Mowatt to add solidity in midfield.
I agree with Werder that perhaps only one more striker, another player to cover for McGree in the 10 role and a LCB are what is now required.
To me, for one reason or another, DF appears to have dropped down the pecking order and perhaps his time at the club is numbered.
So on to Reading on Saturday and if we play as we did last night then we should be guaranteed at least a point unless defensive errors and poor refereeing play a part again! 😎
PS meant to say, we dodged a bullet as far as recruiting Gayle is concerned. He may have an assist for the first goal, which should never had stood, but did very little else.
On twitter
🚨Jørgen Strand Larsen is set to join Middlesbrough after 10million pound bid accepted by Groningen🚨
Hope it’s true and not another piece of misinformation. 😎
I never ever read twitter about transfers as it has so much misinformation or people posting rubbish for a bit of a laugh. Again as soon as I read OFB’s post I checked all the more reliable outlets and no mention anywhere. My first thought was why would Groningen accept our £10m bid (which they previously rejected and we left negotiations) while they also had an £11m bid from another foreign team (also rejected). OFB I hope your right, even though I have reservations about Larsen and Riis when both have had only one good goal scoring season and Larsen has never been tested in the English leagues, remember Alves anyone 🤔
Come on BORO.
Stoke City were by a country mile the worst team Boro have met this season, so are Boro becoming too confident or complacent? There’s a time to go for a third goal but surely not when leading 2-1 going into added time. What on earth was Paddy McNair thinking about? All he needed to do was kick the ball into row Z. However QPR, West Brom and Blackburn were dreadful this week as were Reading on Saturday suggesting that this is the worst Championship for many a season. Not just top six but automatic promotion is there for the taking for any side that can show some consistency this season. Yet 204 goals have been scored in 46 matches this season so far, with Boro having scored 7 of them and conceded 8.
Nevertheless the most stupid thing I’ve seen in the past 7 days has occurred in Rugby League where Castleford prop Suaia Matagi in possession of the ball illegally flooring a Catalan player with Cas leading 18-8 and only 45 seconds on the clock remaining. It didn’t affect the result but the Tongan was immediately sent off and given a 2 match ban by the review panel. Whether he had booked a holiday for this week I cannot say, but Cas had difficulty in fielding a 17 man squad in the first instance and his ban only adds to Cas’s woes.
On twitter
🚨Jørgen Strand Larsen is set to join Middlesbrough after 10million pound bid accepted by Groningen🚨
Believe it when I see it! Is Larsen our first choice acquisition or indeed our 21st?
Exmil
I think you’re right to dismiss any twitter feed accounts as most of the posts appear to be generated by isolated people thinking up rumours to satisfy the cravings of success starved fans.
Thats why I’m careful these days to show where I have sourced any information from including the Twatter feeds !
What I’m most disappointed with recently is one of my usually reliable sources came up with the wrong information about the striker Gayle who played against us last night !
Still at least I can rely on him to drip feed me some interesting stuff now and again….
OFB
OFB
“What I’m most disappointed with recently is one of my usually reliable sources came up with the wrong information about the striker Gayle who played against us last night !”
To be fair to your source, Gayle has a similar hairstyle and colouring to our recent recruit Hoppe, who I suspect was training with the club whilst awaiting his work permit before signing his contract. Probably a genuine mistaken identification. 😎
Did not see last night's game and was frustrated to find that it had been streamed live on the Boro's own website.
As a matter of principle, I try not to comment on games that I haven't seen (and wouldn't phone-in programmes and social media be greatly improved if participants observed the same precept?), but I was struck by the consensus verdict that we played well, dominated the game and deserved all three points.
I was delighted by this and not entirely surprised, because what struck me forcibly on looking at the team before the match was that our midfield (Howson, McGree, McNair, and Mowatt, backed up by Crooks) were as competent, experienced and flexible a combination as we have put out in recent years. All comfortable on the ball, all capable of looking after themselves and leaving a foot in, all capable of a defence splitting pass. When you add to this the pace and flexibility of Jones and Giles as wing backs, and the skill-sets of Dijksteel and Bola, we look like team that can dominate the ball in precisely the way that we appeared to last night.
I noted last season that one of the most significant markers of our development from Pulis and Warnock to Wilder was that most of our goals were now the result of creative movement in our build up play rather than via speculative crosses or long range efforts, and that this resulted in a marked change in the kind of goals we were scoring. Most were now tap-ins from inside the six yard box augmented by more own goals in our favour than I can ever remember.
This pattern is being repeated this season, and I make the point again only because it may be relevant to the debate of the moment about our need to sign another couple of strikers.
The emphasis throughout has been on our need to get 20 goal a season men, preferably ones who are a bit of a handful in terms of their height, strength and general authority, though apparently with a bit less height, strength and authority than Uche had to offer.
The desire for bustling target men who are capable of holding on to the ball may be a natural reaction to the timidity and general ineffectuality of Balogun and Connelly last season. No one wishes to see a repeat of that dual disaster.
And even Manchester City and Liverpool whose success in recent seasons has been achieved through eschewing a traditional No 9 in favour of a plethora of creative midfielders and No 10s, have this season primarily spent their fortunes on Haaland and Darwin Nunez, with so far somewhat mixed results.
But maybe the Boro might be just as well served by following City and Liverpool's false No 9 model and seeking out a couple of pacy No 10s. Watmore got rave reviews last night and another couple of forwards with his pace and commitment certainly would not come amiss. Perhaps that was the reasoning behind the signings of Forss and Hoppe, though they both still have it all to prove.
What seems certain, however, is that, in the current Chris Wilder set-up, the 15-20 goal a season target is more likely to be achieved by a forward whose pace and movement sees him being in the right place at the right time rather than someone less mobile who can deliver the occasional 20 yard screamer.
As a side issue, I see that Forest are going all out to try to stay in the Premiership, having spent over £145 on transfers, great if they stay up but could be disastrous if they are relegated, what’s diasboro thoughts on Forest transfer tactics.
Come on BORO.
As a side issue, I see that Forest are going all out to try to stay in the Premiership, having spent over £145 on transfers, great if they stay up but could be disastrous if they are relegated, what’s diasboro thoughts on Forest transfer tactics.
Come on BORO.
On the face of it, it looks risky and, as you say, could be disastrous if they fail to stay up unless they have agreed contracts which take into account such situations.
I don’t think those they have recruited are guaranteed to improve the squad sufficient enough to guarantee PL status, so it will be interesting to see how they fair. 😎
We all remember Fulham spending 100mil in their first promotion season and tumbled back down quite serverely.
Good luck to Forrest, but it could turn out to be quantify over quality.
in the Championship.
I think Hull have invested heavily for one of the more un fancied teams. Then Burnley have had a big turnover, possibly more than Boro, but even with their money issues should have cash to spare from their sales.
Chris Wilder is apparently interested in Chelsea youngster Ethan Ampadu, who he had previously had on loan at Sheff Utd. The 21 year old defender has since been out on loan in both the Bundesliga and Serie A. The question many may be asking is whether he is left-footed? The answer is no but an article in Bundesliga claims Ampadu is in fact ambidextrous and is just as comfortable on his left foot as his preferred right, which he says allows him to get out of tight situations - he's also known for being calm on the ball but was famous for his dreadlock hairstyle, which has since been cut short.
Sounds like he could be a class loan given his experience of two top European leagues - a loan would definitely cheaper than Greaves!
Thanks OFB. That puts an end to that piece of speculation.
I do now worry what the EG will do for story-lines, especially if Boro pull out of further bidding for Larsen. For weeks now we’ve had story after story on these two - what Greaves has for breakfast, his favourite colour, who his hairstylist is, ad nauseam. Ditto, Larsen. I think I’ve seen three videos of Larsen grumbling about his present club’s stance on his valuation but vowing to try his best, blah-di-blah, all of which speaks volumes about his attitude. Frankly, I don’t want someone who is so disloyal. He seems an obvious troublemaker.
Fortunately, we haven’t yet had a re-run of the famous ‘Free Jelle Vossen’ campaign focussing on Larsen. But that one, at least, was worth it! Vossen was class, and in my view we should have kept him.
Reports that Muniz is currently undergoing a medical at Boro ahead of a loan move - not sure where that leaves the further signing of an experienced striker as that now means the club have in addition Akpom, Watmore, Forss, Hoppe and Coburn.
As for the signing of a left-sided central defender - it seems the Greaves saga is over now that he's signed a new contract at Hull. The potential Ampadu loan signing may be a long shot given he played 30 times in Serie A last season and apparently has interest from three other top-flight Italian clubs plus rumours that Wolves are making enquiries too. So dropping down to the Championship may not be seen by the player as career progression - though he's still only 21.
As an aside I’m pleased that Middlesbrough FC are to erect a statue of George Camsell at the Riverside in September. Of course nobody alive today has seen the great man play (in my case it just feels as if I have). Nevertheless some might think it incongruous to erect statues of past heroes outside a stadium where they have never played. We already have statues at the Riverside of Wilf Mannion and George Hardwick, whilst also having a statue of Brian Clough in Albert Park.
I’m not of that opinion as I look it as the same as War memorials “lest we forget”. We already have the Ayresome Park gates at the Riverside Stadium, so in effect maybe that is a reminder of our ‘spiritual’ home.
I once wrote an article on Diasboro.world press.com. about Middlesbrough’s greatest strikers Henry Bolckow and John Vaughan, not of football but the striking of pig iron from Eston hills, although I haven’t a clue where that article is now. However Bolckow’s statue stands proudly in Exchange Square where I used to board the blue Corporation bus to Albert Park on my visits to Ayresome Park, and of course that of Vaughan adjacent to the Public Library which I used to visit at lunchtime to read Boro’s match reports when I worked in Middlesbrough. I wonder though if many were aware of their locations, even though they were the founders of Middlesbrough from a village to large town, although never a city.!