match thread Middlesbrough (H)

[Stuart]

8 hours ago, Gary C said:

We need to get behind who ever is picked on Saturday. 3 points is a must to kick start the season

I agree with the sentiment but we need something on the pitch to get excited about. Until we scored on Tuesday the atmosphere at Ewood was dreadful. Unless you were an Oldham fan.

If Mowbray expects to get nothing out of these games I’d prefer he took them by the scruff of the next and we lose 4-3 than play conservatively, lose 2-0 and bemoan fine margins.

[OldEwoodBlue]

Third MUST WIN GAME of the season.

Hopefully someone told Tony.

 

[AJW]

I expect a more defensive line up Saturday , Nyambe in at right back Rothwell back on bench Bennett squeezed into the midfield 5 somewhere along with Downing Dack Travis And Johnson and Gally up front 

[stinny1]

Too be honest  with you all  its great playing   possession  football  but there has too be a game plan . Frist what dose the manager  want from the team is the team going too be a pressing  team  .  Has he got intelligent  players how can keep the ball and move into  spaces and be able to interchange there position. Has he got a keeper who's good with the ball at his feet and my biggest  question is the team fit enough  too play this way. I would say No people keep going on about three at the back. For this to work the wing backs have too be good at attacking  and defending and be able to read the game and the center halfs have to be athletic and be able to reacted too danger and be interchangeable and cover for each other.   And too be honest  if at this level they could play like this they wouldn't  be playing for Rovers .  To play this kind of football  the team can't  be coached over 8 weeks with the staff Tony has got on offer . So this is way i say  4 .4 .2,  two banks off four which if drilled properly  is bloody hard work too brake down.  And with Dack and Graham who scored  30 goals between  them last season we've got every chance.  So if Tony plays a strong formation and they all know there jobs. we've every chance of having a good season .  Walton , Nyambe , Lenihan, or Tosin , Williams , Cunningham , Rothwell , Johnson, Travis , Downing or Chapman , Dack and Graham.  Its the strongest  team with the players we've got.  But if he keeps messing about with the formation and keeps playing players out of position  he will be gone by November  but unfortunately so could be Rovers 

[Bigdoggsteel]

1 hour ago, RV Blue said:

Why are people picking Downing? He’s shown nothing so far, bar a decent strike.

Which is more most have done. Why, who would you pick? 

Edit- just saw that @Oldgregg86got there before me! 

Edited August 15, 2019 by Bigdoggsteel

[chaddyrovers]

                   Walton

Bennett Lenihan Williams Cunningham

               Travis  Johnson

Rothwell         Dack        Downing

                      Gallagher

Subs:- Leutwiler Tosin Chapman Armstrong Graham Brereton Evans

[Blue blood]

51 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Two days ago Lenihan's injury was a mystery that needed further 'investigations', today he's back in training.

I hope he's back on Saturday and whatever the 'injury' was it's now at least patched up.

I hadn't seen this. Yes that is a bit odd indeed. Perhaps nothing and a false alarm, or perhaps signs of unrest. That's the problem with everything going badly - you are much more likely to see the worst in things. 

[DE.]

If it's a choice between Downing/Armstrong then I don't have a problem with Downing being selected as Armstrong is at best adequete in that position, but often ineffective. If Downing is keeping Rothwell out then that is a problem. 

[RV Blue]

1 hour ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Which is more most have done. Why, who would you pick? 

Edit- just saw that @Oldgregg86got there before me! 

Armstrong (on the right) or Chapman? If I was a fullback, I’d rather play against Armstrong than Downing.

[RV Blue]

3 hours ago, Oldgregg86 said:

Tbf it's one thing more than most

You’re not wrong but I don’t think he’s looked any better than Conway, and Conway certainly wouldn’t be playing. 

[markhayhurst]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

                   Walton

Bennett Lenihan Williams Cunningham

               Travis  Johnson

Rothwell         Dack        Downing

                      Gallagher

Subs:- Leutwiler Tosin Chapman Armstrong Graham Brereton Evans

Graham will start. But yes to the rest 

[Gary C]

6 minutes ago, markhayhurst said:

Graham will start. But yes to the rest 

I agree Graham has to start hes our best striker at the moment

[Blue blood]

The last striker brought for big money and dropped after 2 league games was Davis after a £7 million flop from Southampton. Gallagher came in, resumed his partnership with Sutton and started scoring/us getting a few points. I can see both the positive and negative similarities to that situation... 

[Maji]

Why not try a 4312?

Graham, brereton and dack up top

Johnson, Travis and downing in midfield with Cunningham, lenihan, tosin and nyambe in defence.

For me we have to play 2 strikers and also dack as I am sick of wide forwards.

Edited August 15, 2019 by Dr X

[JacknOry]

8 hours ago, RV Blue said:

Why are people picking Downing? He’s shown nothing so far, bar a decent strike.

Only one in our team that can cross. Also, with Mulgrew gone, I'd say he is useful for set pieces.

That said, as DE said above, he would only get in for me above Armstrong - not Rothwell. Ideally, I would also be picking Chapman ahead of him but they are obviously taking it slow with him so that he can build himself up.

[Ossydave]

Well I said on Tuesday I was leaning towards the Mowbray out side of the fence and he had 2 games to change my mind. We somehow won one of them albeit in slightly fortunate circumstances so I'll let him dazzle me tomorrow......

I think scoring a few goals will help, hopefully all them 3 men will start the game tomorrow. 

Literally no idea what to expect though in all honesty, in fact I feel like that almost every game these days. I know we have players capable of winning but we seem to be either dreadful or surprisingly impressive in spells.

Might just be blind optimism but I think we'll win 3-1 tomorrow.

[ChrisPriceBaldSpot]

If Lenihan and Tosin are fit this is how I would line up. Get at them early from down the wings. 

[Gary C]

Just now, Ossydave said:

Well I said on Tuesday I was leaning towards the Mowbray out side of the fence and he had 2 games to change my mind. We somehow won one of them albeit in slightly fortunate circumstances so I'll let him dazzle me tomorrow......

I think scoring a few goals will help, hopefully all them 3 men will start the game tomorrow. 

Literally no idea what to expect though in all honesty, in fact I feel like that almost every game these days. I know we have players capable of winning but we seem to be either dreadful or surprisingly impressive in spells.

Might just be blind optimism but I think we'll win 3-1 tomorrow.

Let's hope your right a much needed victory tomorrow to kickstart our campaign

[ChrisPriceBaldSpot]

Just now, Ossydave said:

Well I said on Tuesday I was leaning towards the Mowbray out side of the fence and he had 2 games to change my mind. We somehow won one of them albeit in slightly fortunate circumstances so I'll let him dazzle me tomorrow......

I think scoring a few goals will help, hopefully all them 3 men will start the game tomorrow. 

Literally no idea what to expect though in all honesty, in fact I feel like that almost every game these days. I know we have players capable of winning but we seem to be either dreadful or surprisingly impressive in spells.

Might just be blind optimism but I think we'll win 3-1 tomorrow.

I think we will win tomorrow as well. He has to start the likes of Rothwell Dack and Graham. The ones that got us through on Tuesday. High intensity straight from the whistle. 

[RV Blue]

4 hours ago, JacknOry said:

Only one in our team that can cross. Also, with Mulgrew gone, I'd say he is useful for set pieces.

That said, as DE said above, he would only get in for me above Armstrong - not Rothwell. Ideally, I would also be picking Chapman ahead of him but they are obviously taking it slow with him so that he can build himself up.

Has he put in a decent cross or set piece so far? I can’t remember one.

[arbitro]

Mowbray seems conflicted as to what style of play we should adopt. The more football, quick tempo style simply hasn't worked and Tuesday's performance where we played through Graham seems to have put him in a quandary. Having seen all our games (with the exception of Mansfield) I just haven't seen any evidence that the players we have are anywhere near good enough to play the way Mowbray wants. We can pass along the back four and across midfield but when we get ten yards into our opponents half they press and invariably we go back. To be honest I find it monotonous. I think we need to go back to Graham being the focal point of the team and then getting players in and around him. We also need to press high up as Middlesbrough try to play out from the back as Woodgate seems to think his players are good enough to do that.

[BankEnd Rover]

41 minutes ago, ChrisPriceBaldSpot said:

If Lenihan and Tosin are fit this is how I would line up. Get at them early from down the wings. 

That side is probably our best team. You're right, we need to hit them from the off. Get the ball to Chapman & Rothwell and panic them.

Will we see the above line up though? Nope.

[Gone to seed]

If we play that ridiculous style from Tuesday, where the ball spent the majority of the time being passed between the three back players in our own half, and where there was little or no evidence of any threat on goal, then I'd have to say Mowbray has lost the plot. It simply didn't / doesn't / can't work with the players we have at our disposal. There was only one flash of real quality in the entire game where the ball was moved at speed to open up the opposition, and that broke down once their massive centre half knocked the powder puff boy (Brereton) off the ball.

I'd much rather Mowbray acknowledged the need to get points on the table, set up to win ugly if necessary and then tried his experimental ideas if we have put a game to bed. I don't think we have the luxury of time to find a new style that works in this division. Instead we need to build on what we know works - remember Hughes' team having a reputation for being cloggers? Well, we used to go into most matches with at least some optimism that we might get something. Right now I don't feel confident about any game, because we simply don't know what is going to be served up on the pitch. I hope we start tomorrow with some measure of continuity / momentum from Tuesday's chaotic approach, although I wouldn't be surprised to see yet another catastrophic attempt at experimental football - if that happens, I am sure Boro will capitalise, as they have the quality and strength in depth to do so.

Prediction? 1-3 sadly.

COYB - prove me wrong!

[Madon]

49 minutes ago, ChrisPriceBaldSpot said:

If Lenihan and Tosin are fit this is how I would line up. Get at them early from down the wings. 

That side is play-off material. 

The side that Mowbray will pick is bottom half/relegation material. (Square pegs, round holes)

[BankEnd Rover]

Just now, WIR Second Coming said:

If we play that ridiculous style from Tuesday, where the ball spent the majority of the time being passed between the three back players in our own half, and where there was little or no evidence of any threat on goal, then I'd have to say Mowbray has lost the plot. It simply didn't / doesn't / can't work with the players we have at our disposal. There was only one flash of real quality in the entire game where the ball was moved at speed to open up the opposition, and that broke down once their massive centre half knocked the powder puff boy (Brereton) off the ball.

I'd much rather Mowbray acknowledged the need to get points on the table, set up to win ugly if necessary and then tried his experimental ideas if we have put a game to bed. I don't think we have the luxury of time to find a new style that works in this division. Instead we need to build on what we know works - remember Hughes' team having a reputation for being cloggers? Well, we used to go into most matches with at least some optimism that we might get something. Right now I don't feel confident about any game, because we simply don't know what is going to be served up on the pitch. I hope we start tomorrow with some measure of continuity / momentum from Tuesday's chaotic approach, although I wouldn't be surprised to see yet another catastrophic attempt at experimental football - if that happens, I am sure Boro will capitalise, as they have the quality and strength in depth to do so.

Prediction? 1-3 sadly.

COYB - prove me wrong!

I think with the front 6 in the team above our threat on goal will be greater than Tuesday night.