Championship season 2019-20

[Admiral Nelsen]

Cardiff have defended very well and took their goals magnificently, but they've definitely had the bounce too. Take away the great saves and the strange Bamford offside, I've lost count of the number of times where the ball has come lose in Cardiff's area and just evaded a Leeds man. 

Cardiff deserve credit, but they had to ride their luck to win that game.

[HowieFive0]

15 minutes ago, JHRover said:

We will get plenty of chances to get back ahead of Cardiff, including when we go there, so not too worried about them winning. We need to focus on doing the business against bottom third teams this next 10 days.

Top v Bottom now out of the window. Just as playing at home is already proving.

No form guide ..teams are now on a more  level playing field.

Expect many so called strange results..eight game tournament now !

[philipl]

Going to be a wild run in.

[had.e.nuff]

got to win at wigan as the 2 above us play each other so win and we climb the table.

[Waggy76]

It is going to be very interesting , no team as form going in to this mini tournament...

One thing , I have noticed the refs are not under pressure to give penalties now...Still will be bad decisions but teams like Leeds won't get the helping hands if things start to implode ! 

[davulsukur]

7 hours ago, Blue blood said:

I think so. They weren't initially on my radar for likely relegation candidates- certainly not like Boro, Luton, Charlton, Reading, Wigan and Barnsley but they seem to be in serious free fall. It seems like they have a few injuries on top of selling their best 2 players which is something very few sides in this division could actually survive. 

Good win for Charon today but wouldn't say they are guarenteed out of it. I read 3 of their players including their main striker are refusing to play for them so not to jepodise summer moves which is a huge, huge blow. Given the striker in particular has scored a lot of their goals they are far from out of trouble too. If I were Barnsley or Luton I'd be optimistic that there are some prime candidates for them to overtake. 

Boro must also be seen as prime candidates to overtake too. To have that kind of squad and budget compared to the other championship strugglers yet be in the mix speaks volumes for how poor Woodgate is and how badly it is going. Probably his squad have enough quality to get them over the line but given the manager's inexperience I would imagine that it will be tight and give Boro fans some sleepless nights. A 3-0 tonking at home sets an ominous tone. 

Luton and Barnsley's small squad sizes do put them in a precarious position given the frequency of games coming up. The break in negative momentum will help but feel their resources begin stretched could well work against them. 

As for the rest Wigan go from looking totally out of their depth and on the worst away run ever, through to looking a decent outfit. Ditto Reading - look terrible or competent. I don't think either team will be troubling the top half of the table in the next season or two but their odd good performance will keep them safe. Stoke likewise fall into this category although with then I am surprised they haven't done better since the new chap has come in. 

So it's 3 from 5 imo and as much a battle as it is at the top. 

It's a crazy situation where players contracts are up and they can just walk away with 8 games left. Madness. 

[superniko]

2 hours ago, Waggy76 said:

It is going to be very interesting , no team as form going in to this mini tournament...

One thing , I have noticed the refs are not under pressure to give penalties now...Still will be bad decisions but teams like Leeds won't get the helping hands if things start to implode ! 

Leeds went something like 53 games without a penalty a season or so ago.

[Waggy76]

45 minutes ago, superniko said:

Leeds went something like 53 games without a penalty a season or so ago.

Good , let's hope that continues then !!!!

[Sparks Rover]

4 hours ago, Waggy76 said:

Good , let's hope that continues then !!!!

I wouldnt want Leeds in the play offs, so they can go up for me.

[Butty]

Everytime I’ve watched Patrick Bamford in recent times he’s been really poor, I can see why a lot of Leeds fans have issues with him. Not great Cardiff winning today but all we can do is focus on ourselves ??

[Fraserkirky]

3 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

I wouldnt want Leeds in the play offs, so they can go up for me.

I’d rather Leeds than Fulham 

[roversfan99]

1 hour ago, Butty said:

Everytime I’ve watched Patrick Bamford in recent times he’s been really poor, I can see why a lot of Leeds fans have issues with him. Not great Cardiff winning today but all we can do is focus on ourselves ??

To be fair his goal record is not too shabby.

[TruRover]

Personally the team I fear the most is actually Brentford. I know we’ve picked up 4 points from them this season but I think as a team they have grown as the season has gone on and I really wouldn’t be surprised if they break into the top 2. There a powerful outfit who play good football and theyve probably got the 2 best attackers in the league in Benrahma and Watkins. Meanwhile I think Fulham are flaky at the back and their manager makes poor use of the players he has available imo, and everyone knows Leeds are bottle jobs. So I’d be quite happy to see leeds in the playoffs in return for Brentford going straight up.

[chaddyrovers]

7 hours ago, Butty said:

Everytime I’ve watched Patrick Bamford in recent times he’s been really poor, I can see why a lot of Leeds fans have issues with him. Not great Cardiff winning today but all we can do is focus on ourselves ??

He is so lazy and zero work ethic yesterday. It's no wonder that fans were annoyed and angry by his performance 

[roversfan99]

56 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

He is so lazy and zero work ethic yesterday. It's no wonder that fans were annoyed and angry by his performance 

To be fair I cannot comment on yesterdays performance as I didnt see it but prior to that Bielsa has kept faith him in him even when he had Neketiah because he was the perfect front man for his high pressing team and I certainly wouldnt describe him as lazy. His main issue has been missing quite a few chances but his goal record is very respectable overall and he knows where the chances will fall in the first place hence his goal record. He is a bell end though.

[Blue blood]

20 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

To be fair I cannot comment on yesterdays performance as I didnt see it but prior to that Bielsa has kept faith him in him even when he had Neketiah because he was the perfect front man for his high pressing team and I certainly wouldnt describe him as lazy. His main issue has been missing quite a few chances but his goal record is very respectable overall and he knows where the chances will fall in the first place hence his goal record. He is a bell end though.

It may be because of a conversation where Bereton was compared unfavourably to Bamford for £7 million and Chaddy supported the clubs choice of spending on a striker. 

Think you sum him up well. A decent player but a bit of a pillock. 

[Admiral Nelsen]

1 hour ago, TruRover said:

Personally the team I fear the most is actually Brentford. I know we’ve picked up 4 points from them this season but I think as a team they have grown as the season has gone on and I really wouldn’t be surprised if they break into the top 2. There a powerful outfit who play good football and theyve probably got the 2 best attackers in the league in Benrahma and Watkins. Meanwhile I think Fulham are flaky at the back and their manager makes poor use of the players he has available imo, and everyone knows Leeds are bottle jobs. So I’d be quite happy to see leeds in the playoffs in return for Brentford going straight up.

I agree, we had to be playing at our most intense level to get those four points. I wouldn't say that we were at out best going forward, but our pressing & defensive focus needed to be very strong to keep them at arms length.

As things stand I'd fear both Brentford & Fulham over two legs, but equally I think they're both a couple of injuries away from being vulnerable. Fulham especially, for a team with so many proven talented players they don't look the same team without Mitrovic. 

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

To be fair I cannot comment on yesterdays performance as I didnt see it but prior to that Bielsa has kept faith him in him even when he had Neketiah because he was the perfect front man for his high pressing team and I certainly wouldnt describe him as lazy. His main issue has been missing quite a few chances but his goal record is very respectable overall and he knows where the chances will fall in the first place hence his goal record. He is a bell end though.

His performance was poor and lazy yesterday. 

Yes Bielsa has kept with him most of the season, but I think he should have played Nketiah more. 

[roversfan99]

16 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

His performance was poor and lazy yesterday. 

Yes Bielsa has kept with him most of the season, but I think he should have played Nketiah more. 

To be fair he is a knobhead who plays on the edge and loves winding up the opposition fans so I suspect his style will be affected more by going through the motions in front of an empty stadium than a lot of players. Throw in a lack of match fitness and a very physically demanding role that he does and it is little wonder.

Nketiah is a goal threat to be fair but you cant grumble too much when you consider how well Leeds have done and the impact Bamford has had on that.

[chaddyrovers]

27 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

To be fair he is a knobhead who plays on the edge and loves winding up the opposition fans so I suspect his style will be affected more by going through the motions in front of an empty stadium than a lot of players. Throw in a lack of match fitness and a very physically demanding role that he does and it is little wonder.

Nketiah is a goal threat to be fair but you cant grumble too much when you consider how well Leeds have done and the impact Bamford has had on that.

In front of an emply stadium? Is that an excuse now? 

Would Leeds be further ahead in the league Nketiah was there all season? Since he is starting games in Premier league. 

[philipl]

I tipped Rovers to finish 7th and unfortunately it looks a very good call. 

Will be very pleasantly surprised to make it into the play offs.

Having said that from 3rd to 12th there is no side you would write us off against if we get into the play off lotto.

Leeds and West Brom have too many points already for either of them realistically to slip back so we won't be facing either of them if we make it. Even if Brentford win 8 on the bounce now they get to 85 points and Leeds and West Brom only need 2 points a game to pip them.

The biggest challenge will be getting Mowbray's noddle in the right mind set. On that basis he made an excellent start on Saturday.

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by philipl

[JHRover]

Warnock in at Middlesbrough replacing Woodgate. That's them safe then.

[davulsukur]

Safe and then possibly play off contenders next season!

[chaddyrovers]

Steve Gibson has panic move there. 

"At the start of March, Steve Gibson publicly backed Woodgate, saying the head coach had his "full support" and he's "not the problem" at the club, backing that was followed by a draw against Nottingham Forest and a win at Charlton." The quote is from Dominic Shaw, local Boro reporter

Warnock going there is no surprise since He spoke with Gibson earlier in the season according to reporter Greame Bailey. 

Last summer Gibson wanted to cut the budget and start bringing through the youth players and play attractive football. 

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by chaddyrovers

[Mattyblue]

6 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

 

Last summer Gibson wanted to cut the budget and start bringing through the youth players and play attractive football. 

 

And that’s all well and good, but you still need to appoint the right manager, as staying out of the third division is far more important for a club the size of Middlesbrough than this subjective ‘attractive football’. 

Woodgate never came across as having what it took.