After last Saturday's slow-motion car crash of a display at the Riverside against Swansea (with special emphasis on slow), many Boro follower were struggling to see how Woodgate could organise or even pick a team capable of getting results.
It seems Steve Gibson was of the same view and the following Monday he probably searched for some solicitors to see if he could insure against relegation to League One. Luckily, he ended up ringing Warnock, Blackwell and Jepson, who turned out not to be solicitors but a group of retired disaster recovery operators that specialised in football fire-fighting.
Boro certainly needed someone in charge who knew what they were doing as to say this has been a season of drift was something of an understatement. Woodgate is now gone and perhaps with it the so-called 'Golden Thread' philosophy, which in the end has turned out to be more of a golden shower.
Hopefully, the players will be given a lift by the arrival of a strong personality like Warnock, who is never short of a quip for the media - he didn't disappoint when he described how he "can't wait to have eight games without anyone booing me".
Indeed, with no crowds in the stadium there's never been a better time to hire a manager who plays a brand of functional but effective football that is unlikely to put bums on seats - though those few occupying the odd seat in the empty terraces may occasionally be tempted to pull their face-mask over their eyes to sooth them.
It's not clear if eight 0-0 draws will be enough to secure Boro's Championship status and no doubt Warnock will have perhaps sought advice on such matters and also on the players from his friend Tony Pulis.
Of course Warnock wll be keen to win games but most expect he'll be concentrating on shoring up the defence and plugging the leaks - especially as Boro are already easily the lowest scorers in the division with just 37 from 38 games.
Boro under new management now head into a run of eight games with one more or less every three days to avoid the drop. Warnock's first game in charge sees him head to fellow strugglers Stoke, who have rallied a bit under the Northern Irishman, Michael O'Neill but are still only two points ahead of the Teessiders.
Boro followers will be hoping to be beneficiaries of the proverbial new-manager-bounce but much will depend on how Warnock decided to tackle the issue of having little time on the training pitch to implement his ideas.
So it may just be case of getting the players fired up and Warnock is certainly a man capable of that - therefore I'd be extremely surprised to see another lack-lustre display lacking energy like we witnessed on Saturday.
As for which players will get the nod? Most think he'll opt for either those with experience or the big lads. Though one thing is for certain, whoever is picked will not be in any doubt what his manager expects of him.
So the next chapter starts on Saturday, the football served up may be dull but that was already the case under Woodgate - at least now Boro have been given a fighting chance of staying up rather than going down with a whimper!
It will be interesting to see how Warnock sets his team out. Most of us I suspect will expect a functional, practical and solid approach but with games running out we need points and to achieve that we really need goals. I wouldn't be surprised to see Saville brought in for Wing as an example of Championship experience but also the freedom to play a little further forward in the hope he can poach goals the way he did when at Millwall.
I will be intrigued to see how and who he plays up front. Whilst fans would probably favour Fletcher starts I wouldn't be surprised if wily Warnock played Gestede with a partner alongside him which is how the Benin striker was at his most effective during his Blackburn spell. Who would partner him of course would be interesting!
Morrison is another who is at a critical point of his career. Where does he go after Boro? I think Warnock will work on that with him and motivate him to win his next move by some high profile performances. Man Management seems to be what Warnock is really good at, synergy seems to be his byword.
Here’s my choice
Stojanovic
Shotton Makoudi Fry Coulson
Tavernier Clayton Saville Wing
Fletcher Assombalonga
In the most rigid of ridged 4-4-2
I'd like to see this but doubt Warnock will be that adventurous.
Stojanovic
Shotton Makoudi Fry
Spence McNair Saville Coulson
Roberts Morrison
Fletcher
News of a possible move abroad for Marvin Johnson:
https://www.oneboro.co.uk/boro-news/boro-winger-on-the-verge-of-joining-cska-sofia-25620
Dominic Shaw speculation about Warnock's ability to bring Ravel Morrison back into the fold:
Warnock also apparently wants to bring in Chris Gunter when he leaves Reading on a free at the end of the waiver period.
The broadcasters seem to have got the “crowd noise” off to a fine art now. Watching on TV it’s hardly discernible from a regular game. Especially where there aren’t swathes of empty seats.
Did the broadcast from the Riverside have any crowd effects and were the seats covered?
The broadcasters seem to have got the “crowd noise” off to a fine art now. Watching on TV it’s hardly discernible from a regular game. Especially where there aren’t swathes of empty seats.
Did the broadcast from the Riverside have any crowd effects and were the seats covered?
In fairness its very difficult to replicate crowd noise from the Riverside. As soon as the crowd got vocal MMP cranked up the volume from his Hits of the 80's Album to drown out any atmosphere.
I’d like to see some referee stats as well. It seems to me that there are a lot less free kicks given without the prompting from a vociferous crowd.
What do other posters think about the drinks timeouts in the present “ project re-start” Would you be in favour of it becoming a permanent thing? I can’t quite make my mind up but I can see the pros and cons for it.
it will be interesting to see how NW goes about things.
Whilst it would be nice to immediately see a rejuvenated Morrison and Roberts miraculously tearing up the division, my guess is that NW will do everything possible to see that we don’t lose at Stoke and will then look to move forward.
That suggests a fairly defensive formation with two lines of four and then two up front running around. Not too exciting but functional.
utb
What do other posters think about the drinks timeouts in the present “ project re-start” Would you be in favour of it becoming a permanent thing? I can’t quite make my mind up but I can see the pros and cons for it.
Maybe they could even have hot drink timeouts in the winter so players wouldn't have to wear gloves...
I'm not sure what to expect from Neil Warnock in terms of how he will set up Boro but I think he'd shifted to Karanka's much-loved 4-2-3-1 when at Cardiff.
That would seem to indicate essential two holding midfielders, conventional full-backs and a target man up front with something of a playmaker or number ten behind the striker.
Boro certainly have a lot of players in the squad for him to contemplate such a formation - Saville and Clayton or Howson would fit the midfield requirement and maybe Wing as the number ten - he could play Roberts and Tavernier either side of Wing (with Spence and Coulson as alternatives) and maybe Fletcher as the target man, who is better than both Britt or Gestede in that role.
Defensively, will it be the something how Pulis started with Friend and Shotton as full-backs with Fry and Moukoudi in the middle?
Anyway, here's my punt on a Warnock 4-2-3-1
Stojanovic
Shotton - Moukoudi - Fry - Friend
Clayton - Saville
Roberts - Wing - Tavernier
Fletcher
Werder and others
I suspect he will go with what will be effectively a 4 4 1 1 or even a
6 2 1 1 with Howson and McNair dropping back. On the basis of must not lose - won’t be pretty but should be pretty effective!
Stojanovic
Shotton - Moukoudi - Fry - Friend
Howson Clayton Saville McNair
Roberts
Fletcher
Just watched NW’s pre match press conference. Not a lot to learn from it other than he highlighted what many of us have commented upon before, that there are very few leaders in the dressing room. He pointed this out not as a criticism of individuals but that it just wasn’t in most of their natures.
Now is the time more than ever we could do with a Grant Leadbitter or a Graham Souness. 😎
I'm looking forward to the Stoke match now, as everyone above suggests Warnock's team picks will be fascinating.
I'd settle for 0-0, a smash and grab 0-1 would be great.
I was interested by Warnock's comment in the Gazette that the Boro squad lacks leaders, that's bad news , those who are prepared to stand tall in a crisis are invaluable.
@nigelreeve I was interested by Warnock's comment in the Gazette that the Boro squad lacks leaders, that's bad news , those who are prepared to stand tall in a crisis are invaluable.
That's a breach Dani could so easily have filled! 🙁
Stircrazy - agreed losing Ayala definitely means the defence lacks leadership. Its an opportunity for Fry to step up.
On the subject of leaders on the pitch?
It is entirely possible that our Manager killed that idea with his🎫impossible selections.
One has fond memories of Tav aided by Wing buzzing about the pitch and scoring goals ,(remember them?) cue our impressive manager dropping the pair of them.
Cue same manager bringing on Tav with three minutes to play ( we were losing ) just to prove it was not an accident he did it three times (yes three minutes and we were losing each time).
He never trusted Tav after that, I can tell you!
Don't think that Ayala was necessarily a player whom others would look up to. That, in spite of his playing ability.
Unlike Leadbitter who would play through any pain barrier, run through walls for the team, and therefore had the authority to demand the same of others, Ayala could conjure up a long term injury, sometimes quite literally out of nothing. I saw him on at least two occasions slumping to the ground with no one near him.
I twigged his malingering years ago and wrote about it on the blog after a game at Blackpool when he went down with what looked like a minor knock, but insisted on coming off, walking straight past Karanka, who simply shook his head and seemed powerless to stop him.
The incident reminded me of a similar occasion when Peter Withe did the same thing at Forest, declaring himself unable to carry on by walking off the field. He didn't get past the touchline. Cloughie got hold of him and almost physically threw him back on to the pitch, where he hobbled round for the rest of the game to the unsparing comments of the Forest boss. It was a trick he never tried again.
I also recall an occasion when Mrs Ayala took to social media to say how nice it was to have Dani, out injured, home during the Christmas break. That must have gone down well with the rest of the lads who were playing five games during the festivities.
Ayala's way of leaving the club, now fully fit, but not having played since the New Year, is of a piece with his long-standing record.
A lost leader? I shouldn't cocoa.
@lenmasterman: Ayala was said to possess a "low pain threshold". Any little knock or twinge would be like a severed leg or at least a fracture, to most of us. It's all history now, though. Onwards and, hopefully, not looking downwards.
Two words.......
Gary Gill
@lenmasterman: Ayala was said to possess a "low pain threshold". Any little knock or twinge would be like a severed leg or at least a fracture, to most of us. It's all history now, though. Onwards and, hopefully, not looking downwards.
Its acknowledged among sports psychologists that many sports men/women with recurring injuries suffer a form of PTSD. This is often accompanied with depression along with a heightened fear of re-injury.
I have no idea about Ayala's personal experience but it can in some cases be up to the point where their muscles and joints show as repaired to medical experts but because of the personal psychological anxiety it can lead to muscle tension and joint pain because of their perceived risk. In those cases its not uncommon for the athlete becoming reluctant to return to training or to put pressure on the injured arm, leg, knee, ankle etc.
Maybe the above explains Ayala's recurring issues that he has had throughout his career.
Having a very demanding week and believe it or not I've only just found out Woodgate got sacked...
Well, I'm pleased the decision is made and sorry for him. He should never have been given this job in the first place.
Now we have Warnock, who I remember touting a long time ago as this season never got going for us. I am confident he will save us, but then Steve Gibson will have an enormous decision to make before next season (unless he has already got someone lined up).
Shame he didn't get Warnock in to mentor Woodgate. But that possibility is now gone.
As for the Stoke game. Well I can only see a Boro win who ever is selected. Hope it is Pesrs back in goal and Fletcher up front. For the rest...well we'll have to wait and see.
CoB
Welcome back, Dormo. You were greatly missed.
An interesting point. And a beguiling passive."Was said" by whom?
I was an eye-witness to Karanka's frustration with him The physios, according to the Gazette, could find little wrong with his condition. Almost uniquely, he perpetually defined himself as being unfit.
If a twinge were really like an amputation to him then he was in the wrong job,. He certainly should never have been offered a succession of absurdly lucrative contracts. He was either a malingerer or taking money under false pretences.
I'd take long odds that he won't be insisting that a little knock is like a fracture to him when he seeks another contract with a new club.
And if it were true, who on earth would want to sign him?
The point you raised will certainly add to my interest in what remains of his career.
Boro’s record away at Stoke is fairy dismal with only 3 wins in the last 22 seasons, but the one win I’ve chosen to write about occurred on 12th December 1959. Boro had started the season well with a 7-1 away win at Derby and successive home wins against Plymouth 6-2 and Hull 4-0 and followed that with a 2-1 win at Liverpool. However they then suffered 5 successive away defeats including a 1-3 defeat at Swansea after which a group of players sent a round-robin to the directors dissatisfied about the captaincy of Brian Clough and his criticism of the club’s defence. The round-robin seemed to fall on deaf ears as Clough scored twice in the next home match as Boro beat Brighton 4-1.
A week later Boro visited the Victoria Ground to meet Stoke. Wingers Eddie Holliday and Billy Day scored in the 10 minutes before halftime to give Boro a 2-0 lead and a second half hat-trick in 12 minutes from Brian Clough sealed a 5-2 win to seemingly put Boro back in the promotion race. However typically Boro then lost 3-6 at Portsmouth before the Christmas programme where Boro completed the double over 3rd placed Rotherham 2-0 away and 3-0 at home before a crowd of 36,184. By the time Boro played Aston Villa at home in early March Boro were unbeaten at home after 15 matches. But unfortunately that win at Stoke didn’t really kick-start their away form, they lost their unbeaten home record to Villa 0-1 and Boro finished 5th eleven points behind champions Villa despite scoring 90 goals, but the 64 goals conceded showed that Clough was justified in his criticism of Boro’s defence.
Fair point re Ayala, but i'm struggling to think of other leaders, a team needs several not one or two. Friend maybe, but realistically his days are numbered surely?
Whoever is manager next season I think we're going to see a very different team.
I also don't think Tav & Wing are anything other than decent.
I often have a little ramble on here about Leadership skills and abilities often citing John Adair's model which very simplistically is:
- Achieving the Task
- Managing the Team or Group
- Managing Individuals
Grant was the last true Boro "Leader" on the pitch but since then we have really struggled to find anyone who came close to exhibiting those qualities. Reading down that three point list I don't believe that Woodgate was well versed in many of them the required degree.
With Warnock he is proven in achieving both survival and promotion tasks. He has four decades of managing teams and groups of players with success, he also has managed to make very average individuals play well above their norm (e.g. Adel Taarabt).
One of our problems as Warnock has identified is that we don't have Leaders in the squad. Friend is the Club Captain, a good bloke undoubtedly but not a dynamic, driven, vociferous leader. I didn't think that Ayala really was either despite him sometimes taking the armband.
Is Pulis favourite Saville that type of Character? I haven't seen it from him (yet at least) and Steven Davis is the current N. Ireland Captain. The summer recruitment campaign needs to keep in mind the need for a driven leader/s and not just players classified as defenders, strikers and midfielders etc. Of course if Warnock himself doesn't stay after the eight games then the same needs to be applied to the Managers role.
Two words.......
Gary Gill
Sorry, I missed this totally. What do you mean?
I think Gary never makes the desision who we sign. He just tracks players and recommend, a few but the desision is made by the manager. Even Steve Bibson have more power thsn Gary, methinks.
I think the manager asks what kind of players he wants. And Gary reports and recommend a few. Of course he is in the table when players are talked and his reports are important but the final desision is done above him.
Up the Boro!
In April 1989, Gill suffered a broken leg during a match against Southampton but carried on playing, stating "The physio then was Tommy Johnson. He knew how desperate I was to stay on the pitch." Johnson gave Gill the “Magic Sponge”and told him "it is a battle, run it off." He continued to play on until it became impossible to do so.
In April 1989, Gill suffered a broken leg during a match against Southampton but carried on playing, stating "The physio then was Tommy Johnson. He knew how desperate I was to stay on the pitch." Johnson gave Gill the “Magic Sponge”and told him "it is a battle, run it off." He continued to play on until it became impossible to do so.
And that is the difference now compared to days gone by. In some ways it wasn’t right and that many players are now struggling with long term issues. Spike Armstrong being one of many. I remember seeing Tommy Smith, ex Liverpool, and he could hardly walk.
I think that the current players are somewhat spoilt compared to their predecessors