Middlesbrough (A) - Match Thread

[Parsonblue]

A good point in very difficult conditions.  A blustery wind and a pitch that seemed to allow the ball to bounce higher than one would expect proved difficult for both teams to master.  Pleased to see Joe given a start and he did very well considering his early head injury.  Travis was the driving force in midfield whilst Downing controlled the ball and used it well - a class player always finds time and space that others don't.  

I'm not Walton's biggest fan but I thought the lad did very well today.  I thought Bell and JRC did very well as a pairing down the left.  A pity that Holtby looks likely to miss a few weeks due to injury as he will be a real miss.

Ultimately I felt today was a point gained against a side who are improving and who don't lose many at the Riverside.

[Boroblue]

10 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

In general he doesn't seem to have gone on to better things like we all expected and has probably regressed. You're right about the wages too. But he did look good today and it had me wondering the same as Darwen Rover whether he'd do a decent job here. With Graham on the wane we have nobody anywhere near his league for heading ability. He nearly did us twice in about a minute.

I thought he looked good but he’s always injured and I don’t think we can cope with any more in the treatment room.

[47er]

Holtby, Dack and Rothwell all out at the same time. That is terrible luck. Run out of cover there I think.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

7 minutes ago, Parsonblue said:

A good point in very difficult conditions.  A blustery wind and a pitch that seemed to allow the ball to bounce higher than one would expect proved difficult for both teams to master.  Pleased to see Joe given a start and he did very well considering his early head injury.  Travis was the driving force in midfield whilst Downing controlled the ball and used it well - a class player always finds time and space that others don't.  

I'm not Walton's biggest fan but I thought the lad did very well today.  I thought Bell and JRC did very well as a pairing down the left.  A pity that Holtby looks likely to miss a few weeks due to injury as he will be a real miss.

Ultimately I felt today was a point gained against a side who are improving and who don't lose many at the Riverside.

I've been complaining for ages that none of the central midfield players ever run beyond the strikers. That goal was a classic example of what can happen when one of them does. In Mowbray's interview tonight he more or less admitted he's been holding Travis back because neither of the other two in midfield have a tackle in them and somebody has to put a foot in  in the midfield. It seems a waste to me. Having said that Holtby should be making those runs also..

Edited February 1, 2020 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[AAK]

6 minutes ago, Parsonblue said:

A good point in very difficult conditions.  A blustery wind and a pitch that seemed to allow the ball to bounce higher than one would expect proved difficult for both teams to master.  Pleased to see Joe given a start and he did very well considering his early head injury.  Travis was the driving force in midfield whilst Downing controlled the ball and used it well - a class player always finds time and space that others don't.  

I'm not Walton's biggest fan but I thought the lad did very well today.  I thought Bell and JRC did very well as a pairing down the left.  A pity that Holtby looks likely to miss a few weeks due to injury as he will be a real miss.

Ultimately I felt today was a point gained against a side who are improving and who don't lose many at the Riverside.

Similar to us then, dont lose too many at home but drop points regularly against shit teams at home - luton, charlton, wigan, birmingham, huddersfield.

Edited February 1, 2020 by AAK

[47er]

2 hours ago, stinny1 said:

4,4,2  next home game Gallagher  and Armstrong  up front with two banks of four behind them

I wish!

[DE.]

14 minutes ago, 47er said:

Holtby, Dack and Rothwell all out at the same time. That is terrible luck. Run out of cover there I think.

I don't think we can put Holtby down to bad luck as he's a known crock. Dack and Rothwell however I'd say it's fair to put down to bad luck as neither are known for having long injury spells, particularly Dack who has missed very few games since joining us.

Edited February 1, 2020 by DE.

[roversfan99]

With Holtby out I would revert to 442 next week and play Graham with Armstrong. Theres a real issue out wide still, where I would reluctantly move Downing out of the middle and on to the left, with Johnson coming in. The dilemma then comes on the right, it would be between Rankin Costello and Chapman and certainly neither Gallagher nor Bennett. I would be tempted to go for the latter, JRC didnt pose any threat today and Chapman has a bit more pace to offset the ageing Downing on the other side.

[Boroblue]

9 minutes ago, 47er said:

Holtby, Dack and Rothwell all out at the same time. That is terrible luck. Run out of cover there I think.

Bennett probably but to be fair as tomphil says he gives it everything and is sometimes a victim of his willingness to play anywhere for the team and  Mowbray that attracts the criticism.  Has an observation if he’d stuck to playing the position he’s suited to the criticism would have been less but that’s the value of hindsight.

[Stuart]

1 hour ago, tomphil said:

Hard earned point it's always tough up there and two hardworking sides it was always going to be tight.  When you can chuck someone like Gestede on for the last ten or so it shows what we are up against and what we lack in our squad.

As mentioned we'd have lost that last season the resilience has improved quite a bit that's why i don't ever want Mulgrew back in unless desperate.

Happy they kept the settled side again to help gel, unhappy with too much jerking around with formations in game again. Felt that hindered us yet again and could have proved costly, trying Bennett in every position just to have him on the pitch is tiresome now.  Can't fault the lad himself though.

Happy with the point.

Amazing what one season in the PL can do. The fact they can afford to have Gestede on the bench and we can’t afford a single January signing says it all.

Can’t for the life of me understand why we spent £12m on Brereton and Gallagher when someone like Gestede could surely have been in our price range.

[DE.]

14 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

With Holtby out I would revert to 442 next week and play Graham with Armstrong. Theres a real issue out wide still, where I would reluctantly move Downing out of the middle and on to the left, with Johnson coming in. The dilemma then comes on the right, it would be between Rankin Costello and Chapman and certainly neither Gallagher nor Bennett. I would be tempted to go for the latter, JRC didnt pose any threat today and Chapman has a bit more pace to offset the ageing Downing on the other side.

I'd give JRC a few games to try and find his feet, especially at home where we typically get better results. I'm not convinced Chapman is going to be here long-term and like many of our squad he's so injury prone I wouldn't want to rely on him to start regularly. Put him on the bench and bring him on if we need an impact sub. 

Edited February 1, 2020 by DE.

[roversfan99]

I always find the sentence "willing to play anywhere" a bit of a curious one to be honest. Basically every player would play "anywhere" if the alternative was not at all, ultimately the main reason that he is considered here there and everywhere is because he is not particularly good in his actual position. He played half of League 1 out wide and even there he didnt impress.

[roversfan99]

Just now, DE. said:

I'd give JRC a few games to try and find his feet, especially at home where we typically get better results. I'm not convinced Chapman is going to be here long-term and like many of our squad he's so injury prone I wouldn't want to rely on him to start regularly. Put him on the bench and bring him on if we need an impact sub. 

Definitely should be on the bench over the likes of Samuel and Brereton and considered wide before Gallagher and Bennett. Would be between the 2 for that spot.

Obviously Rankin Costello deserves perhaps more leeway as it was his full debut but I was a little underwhelmed, he plugged away but didnt offer anything from an attacking sense. As you say though, deserves another go.

[DE.]

Just now, roversfan99 said:

Definitely should be on the bench over the likes of Samuel and Brereton and considered wide before Gallagher and Bennett. Would be between the 2 for that spot.

Obviously Rankin Costello deserves perhaps more leeway as it was his full debut but I was a little underwhelmed, he plugged away but didnt offer anything from an attacking sense. As you say though, deserves another go.

I'd rather we weren't relying on youngsters to make an instant impact, but unfortunately we are where we are. Rothwell has had a number of games this season where he's struggled to have an impact and has much more experience than JRC, so I'd be okay with giving the lad some more time to show what he can do. Chapman seems lost in no man's land at the moment and I get the feeling the manager doesn't rate him, so I'd expect JRC to be ahead of him in the pecking order at present.

Of course, we'll most likely see Gallagher shoved ineffectively out wide anyway - most likely with Downing out on the left and Arma playing behind Graham in the middle. 

[Exiled in Toronto]

Masterclass in naive defending by Nyambe for their goal.

pic 1: ideal position: can see the ball and his man

pic 2: Makes unilateral decision to push out for a non-existent offside trap

pic 3: Out of position and in his heels as the shot comes in

pic 4: Spectator

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

17 minutes ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

Masterclass in naive defending by Nyambe for their goal.

pic 1: ideal position: can see the ball and his man

pic 2: Makes unilateral decision to push out for a non-existent offside trap

pic 3: Out of position and in his heels as the shot comes in

pic 4: Spectator

What about the non existent press on the shooter ?

[joey_big_nose]

1 hour ago, 47er said:

Holtby, Dack and Rothwell all out at the same time. That is terrible luck. Run out of cover there I think.

As others have said we can go 442 and have a full complement out there. In a way we are lucky we are having a spate of injuries in that area as we have so many players. If that was defence we be totally screwed.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

As others have said we can go 442 and have a full complement out there. In a way we are lucky we are having a spate of injuries in that area as we have so many players. If that was defence we be totally screwed.

Maybe Davenport will get a game now ?

[Exiled in Toronto]

8 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

What about the non existent press on the shooter ?

That’ll be Tosin, who I don’t think moved at all throughout!

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, darrenrover said:

A centre forward who plays in gloves at the end of August was never going to rip up trees on Teeside.

I wouldn't care if he wore a full on ski mask on the hottest day of summer if he did the business.

Sadly it's probably true that he no longer would, with enough frequency, to be worth the hefty wages.

I'm just glad he didn't seal our fate today, would have been that much harder to take.

[bluebruce]

6 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Maybe Davenport will get a game now ?

Thought Johnson was ineffective again when he came on and would rather have seen Davenport coming on. Looking like it's gonna take a lot for him to get a real chance.

[DE.]

6 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Maybe Davenport will get a game now ?

Unfortunately he's also made of glass.

[chaddyrovers]

Deserved a point. Played well in parts of the game. Boro very decent at home. 

Enjoyed Travis Goal and he needs to be allow to get forward alot more. 

Travis man of the match for me. Thought Rankin Costello did well and should start the next game. Alot to come from him. 

 

[joey_big_nose]

36 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Maybe Davenport will get a game now ?

Still would only make the bench I think.

-----------------------Walton

Nyambe----Lenihan----Tosin-----Bell

----JRC-----Travis----Johnson----Downing

------------Gallagher----Armstrong

Subs : Leut, Williams, Bennett, Davenport,  Chapman, Brereton, Graham.

Though I do suspect we will still end up with Gallagher on the wing for some bizarre reason.

[Pedro]

9 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Deserved a point. Played well in parts of the game. Boro very decent at home. 

Enjoyed Travis Goal and he needs to be allow to get forward alot more. 

Travis man of the match for me. Thought Rankin Costello did well and should start the next game. Alot to come from him. 

 

Superb goal but a poor performance.  I wish we had just one of the striking options of Boro. Someone strong, a nuisance in the air and direct.