The final nail in the coffin 😂😂😂
Come on BORO.
Well, seems clear now - not sure why Chris Wilder couldn't have said what he's said today a week ago as only his refusal to give a clear answer or even his unwillingness to be posed the question of the Burnley vacancy has created the story. He seems to admitted as much in the Gazette article.
Well that's that then. Only problem was that it should have been said much earlier instead of making supporters and the media go through unnecessary worry about will he/won't he.
Just watched first 10 mins of press conference and the elephant in the room has clearly packed his trunk and left. CW is all in with MFC and wants to manage them in the PL. nuff said. 😊😊😎
Watched the full press conference with CW. Thought he was very impressive and productive in what he wants for the club even to the extent he wants some inprovements to Rockcliffe training ground.
The only disppointing thing, the techs at the club haven't sorted the michrophones out with reporters, very difficult somtime to hear what they are asking. Has been a a problem for a number of season! Just saying 😀
And all was just Twitter rumours. These rumours were never published in a newspaper or the BBC. I think we need to learn to trust only sources that have some - or much - credibility.
Unfortunately some people trust the social media more than the traditional sources. That could be dangerous in politics, for example.
Up the Boro!
Much, much better from Wilder today. Clear, to the point, no messsing around. He almost apologised for his previous statements (“maybe I don’t always get it right myself” or words to that effect) and cleared up the situation.
I wouldn’t say the door was 100% closed as he mentioned that if contact was made, he had a transparent relationship with Steve Gibson, suggesting they would talk about it, rather than giving us a flat no, but it’s still a much better position.
I wonder if the apparent lack of contact from Burnley has made Wilder’s mind up for him as I still see no reason why he couldn’t have been clearer sooner.
The statement seemed like a bit of a clear the air moment with Wilder keen to keep Boro fans and media onside. I’m not sure I buy the idea that he was never interested.
Still, it was good to get more than a “don’t ask me that question” kind of response.
Maybe the delay in making his commitment clear to Boro has allowed CW to meet with the Chairman and use the interest in him as a lever to get more assurances from the Chairman in what he wants.
Just a thought!!
Philip of Huddersfield
With Lea Siliki playing for the U23’s tonight, it means he will not be travelling with the squad to Swansea today 😁
Come on BORO.
With Lea Siliki playing for the U23’s tonight, it means he will not be travelling with the squad to Swansea today 😁
Come on BORO.
But Martin Payero will be travelling to Swansea. Perhaps why Lea Siliki can play tonight?
And as we all probably know by now, Dael Fry is nor yet fit. Possibly against Cardiff on Wed or hopefully the following match.
Up the Boro!
Hopefully we will be able to continue our unbeaten away run of Four games and no goals conceded since losing at Sheffield United
To be fair, while the more exaggerated claims and speculation stemmed from Twitter (which I dismissed in earlier posts), after several days of Chris Wilder refusing to rule out the Burnley link even the Gazette were writing articles with doubts on whether he would definitely remain at Boro.
Numerous times after being asked the question in the aftermath, he didn't completely quash the links. But after a week of concern for Boro fans ahead of a crucial period for the club, Wilder finally ended speculation and committed to the club.
In the end it became a mainstream media story that has ultimately led to Chris Wilder needing to unambiguously clarify matters today.
Perhaps the lesson is if you don't want to create a distraction it's better to make clear statements from the outset - whether there was anything in the story at all only Chris Wilder knows for sure but if there was he seems fully on board now. He did state he was ambitious and wanted to manage in the Premier League but that ambition is now firmly linked to Middlesbrough - who despite a wobble are still in with a shout this season.
I'm not someone who gives much credibility to social media claims and will always follow the source of rumours to see where they are coming from and if the are indeed likely to have any basis. At the same time, I will also look at what those involved actually say (or don't say) as these days people in positions of power often deflect questions by not quite giving clear statements or answers.
If Chris Wilder was potentially ambushed with a cake from Burnley, it appeared from the outside that he wanted to have it, eat it, not talk about it and then return it as just an unpalatable confection of social media.
All I can say is that at least now Steve Gibson doesn't have to look for Sue Gray's number for her to report on anyone that may have been looking to socially distance themselves from Boro's promotion party 😉
BREAKING NEWS
Image emerges of the cake that Chris Wilder may have been ambushed with...
If Chris Wilder was potentially ambushed with a cake from Burnley, it appeared from the outside that he wanted to have it, eat it, not talk about it and then return it as just an unpalatable confection of social media.
I think it's pretty clear that if he had been out of a job he would have jumped at the Burnley job and would have pushed himself forward for all the Premier league vacancies that have opened us since he joined us. I think he's happy here but that there was an element of him thinking that Boro weren't so much Miss Right as Miss Available Right Now and now he's wondering if perhaps he should have waited after all.
Scottish Championship news
If Kilmarnock beat no, 2 club Arbroath tonight, they will guarantee automatic promotion to the SPL. That would also mean that Boro loanee Zak Hemming would be only one game away from having finished his season with no need to be available for playoffs. Just saying.....
Anyway, it should be a cracking game.
At the end of the day, hindsight is a wonderful thing and of course if you look too closely it can be upsetting.
CW joined the Boro in November, early enough in the season to have known there would be a number of casualties in the Premier League.
He could have waited and seen what options came along, however he may not have been on any of the options lists. So when Mr Gibson came along, he may have thought, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”
You make your bed and on it you have to lay. That is part of life’s story.
EXMIL CHALLENGE Part 3
With just over 2.5 hrs to the deadline I am awaiting entries from:
Forever Dormo
Peasepudinperth
Come on guys !
Come on BORO.
I think one of the big things to come out of CW’s press conference is something that has been picked up by many of us. The recent defeats according to CW have not been due to lack of effort or commitment it has been down to individual errors and failures in the final third such as too many passes, not crossing or shooting earlier or not making the right decision, all of which we have commented upon.
It is clear that CW has learned a lot about the team in a short space of time and will do so even more during the last few games of the season.
Some players, whilst giving their all, are just not good enough and do not produce what is required to get us into the PL; there will clearly be a lot of comings and goings during the summer and it may well be another season before we see the full impact/benefit of the changes.
What has been achieved so far is probably ahead of schedule and CW has made the best of what is currently available to him.
I am optimistic, given the right support, that he will get the job done eventually and that it will be enjoyable watching him and the team do so. 😎
At the end of the day, hindsight is a wonderful thing and of course if you look too closely it can be upsetting.
CW joined the Boro in November, early enough in the season to have known there would be a number of casualties in the Premier League.
He could have waited and seen what options came along, however he may not have been on any of the options lists. So when Mr Gibson came along, he may have thought, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”
You make your bed and on it you have to lay. That is part of life’s story.
Hopefully this episode has caused a bit of a reset and good things can come from it. From the press conference today, it sounded like Wilder and Gibson had a long chat into the evening and delved into the plans for the summer and beyond. That's a good thing for us. Maybe Gibbo worked a bit of magic.
It's surprising that this moment has come so soon but, as CW alluded too, it's because we've been doing well and these things get noticed.
Who knows, the focus and stability today's statements provided might just be the catalyst for a big finish to the season. Imagine if we made it up and Burnley went down!
KP,
I noticed CW talking a few times about a lack of leadership particularly around defending the opening goal for Huddersfield last time out. He said that someone should taken ownership of the situation, taken a man out of the three-man wall and defended the back post.
So we know Wilder wants a left-sided centre-back and now we're hearing he's looking for a vocal leader at the back.
Possibly an unpopular opinion, but Ben Gibson to return in the summer?
@ Andy R. My thoughts exactly Andy, whilst I am normally not in favour of old boys coming back this is one big shouty left footer I would be more than happy to have back; he would, I believe, be more than capable at Championship level provided he can stay injury free.
Sell JS and use the money to buy BG, a keeper, cover at left wing back and a couple of strikers, simples! 😉😎
Gibson would certainly be a low risk signing given he obviously knows the club and would have no issues bedding in. I imagine he’d be more than happy to return and wages wouldn’t be an issue so it would all be about the fee.
I don’t think he would come cheap. He’s in contact until 2024 and Norwich paid £8m so you can imagine it taking a hefty chunk of any funds raised from the sale of Djed Spence.
It’s a stumbling block given we need at least a goalkeeper and two strikers as well, probably more.
There’ll be plenty of players leaving but not for decent fees and not players on particularly big wages so it’s hard to see where the cash will come from, other than Spence.
There’s been a lot of talk about what will happen with our Tricky Trees loanee and how much we could earn from his sale, but how would we feel if a bid came in for Isiah Jones?
His form has dropped off a bit of late, possibly due to his illness, and I think he misses Crooks when he’s not playing but would we let him go for a big offer?
EXMIL CHALLENGE 2022
The part 2 table is now available on the challenge blog.
Come on BORO.
@ Martin Bellamy. No I would not sell him as we need his attacking threat and creativity and I think he is a better all round player than Spence; despite the good season Spence has had at Forest I still think he is overrated, so it’s a case of grab as much cash as we can while we can from his sale.
I think Jones’s form dropped off before his illness, in part due to teams paying much closer attention to him and often doubling up on him and not giving him the space to run into.
As a team we have not yet figured out how to overcome these issues and have fallen into a trap of allowing Jones to drop too deep to receive the ball or receiving the ball at a standstill with nowhere to go which results in him passing sideways and backwards. Add his recent illness to all this and his last four/five games have been below his usual standard.
Once fully recovered from his illness and playing higher up the pitch with the likes of Crooks and McGree in support we will hopefully see him back to his best.
At the risk of upsetting Andy, if we have to sell any of our current squad then for me it would be Tav as he should command a reasonable fee and would be easier to replace. Puts on helmet and goes and hides behind the sofa! 😉😎
KP,
Grrrrrr! In fairness, we already have a Tav replacement in McGree but obviously I still wouldn’t be selling.
Re Spence/Jones, we could setup in a 3-4-3 and play them both….
Andy, if we keep Spence/Jones and Tav then where does the money come from for strengthening the defence and purchasing two strikers? We will only get peanuts for Uche. 😎
Is Chuba Appom still out on loan at PAOK? He does not appear in the first team squad list as being out on loan. Not that we will get much for him if we sell. 😎
Andy and KP, well it would be retrograde step for me, too expensive and too risky given his age and injury record. He has not become the player we all hoped he would and I am sure you can get a younger, better value left side CB that Ben.
Plenty of players will leave, but Spence apart (hopefully) the incoming money will be little more than a couple of million. In fact it may probably cost us money to get rid of some. (Akpom)
Priorities are strikers (expensive even at our level), GK, CB, and for me a left wing back to equal up with Jones..
That does not even cover a probable replacement for Howson and a couple of back up bench players.
For a bit of fun I have just completed the gazette predictor, I only allowed myself a couple of seconds as each fixture came up for every remaining match of the season and this was my final table:
- 1
Fulham98 - 2
Nottm Forest80 - 3
Bournemouth80 - 4
Huddersfield80 - 5
Luton Town77 - 6
Middlesbrough73 - 7
Millwall72 - 8
Sheffield Utd70 - 9
Blackburn66 - 10
West Brom65 - 11
QPR65 - 12
Coventry City65 - 13
Swansea64 - 14
Stoke62 - 15
Preston60 - 16
Blackpool56 - 17
Cardiff52 - 18
Bristol City52 - 19
Hull48 - 20
Birmingham46 - 21
Reading43 - 22
Derby40 - 23
Peterborough U37 - 24
Barnsley34
Come on BORO.