v Middlesbrough (h) - 24/1/22

[The Mighty Chaffinch]

Buckley was fantastic in the first half…shades of Dunny 

[Mattyblue]

1 minute ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

£20 a ticket tonight Rev...we can and must do better with the numbers.

That said,Sky has always been a killer for our crowds as long as I can remember.

We are doing fine. Loads more are now buying tickets every week, and more and more will do so.

However, the crowds are still lower than we expect because we have so few ST holders in comparison to previous years… and there’s nowt we can do about that until the summer.

[only2garners]

19 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

Hands up all those who think SG played in his usual position as a wide forward tonight?

Well I’m damned certain he did. He played in exactly the same position as Diaz has done starting for us over the last couple of months and he has in his sub appearances. Up front as a two with Khadra slightly wide either side of the centre with Buckley as a false 9 just behind them in the middle.

It’s not a winger position but it’s not a centre forward either. 

[jim mk2]

Just now, only2garners said:

Well I’m damned certain he did. He played in exactly the same position as Diaz has done starting for us over the last couple of months and he has in his sub appearances. Up front as a two with Khadra slightly wide either side of the centre with Buckley as a false 9 just behind them in the middle.

It’s not a winger position but it’s not a centre forward either. 

 ..... but certainly more central than his usual position on the right wing. The point is, he's much better in central role than out on the flanks

[had.e.nuff]

4 minutes ago, The Mighty Chaffinch said:

Buckley was fantastic in the first half…shades of Dunny 

If he could shoot we would hang on to him very long

[jim mk2]

20 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Really gritty determined performance tonight, the exact opposite of the horror show at Hull. Fantastic three points with  a patched up side.

No real downside in the circumstances but Edun had an absolute nightmare at LB and proved if any proof were actually needed that Nyambe type replacements aren't just readily available from the lower divisions.

 Rather harsh. Edun was up against on his flank the Boro right back, one of the fastest players I've seen in a while. The lad would have been a real handful for anybody

[Aqualung]

37 minutes ago, Hasta said:

Decent following by Boro for a Monday night Sky game.

Got to say that the Boro following was excellent. 

[Exiled in Toronto]

All this SG winger / down the middle BRFCS mantra is far too simplistic. It seems pretty clear to me that, when the opposition have it at the back, Buckley plays in the middle between Khadra and BD/SG, who are pretty wide near the touchline cutting off passing options to the fullbacks. Buckley is usually the most forward as he’s the best presser. As soon as the ball goes forward, Buckley drops back into a forward midfield position and the two forwards come in from the flanks to play as a two. It’s been this way ever since we went to a back 3, Hull excepted.

[Beafo]

26 minutes ago, oldjamfan1 said:

But we are “The Rovers”?

Defo The Rovers.

[had.e.nuff]

Great win tonight I didn't see that one coming now that's us safe with 52 points now lets push on and see how far we can go now

[Guest]

The shift to 5-4-1 was honestly inspired. Balogun was making things happen down our right and Jones making things happen down our left. Zeefuik on and Buckley shifted left to help double up on both sides was a great tactical move.

Like a game of chess, everything Wilder did, Mowbray had an answer... with *that* bench too...

[RevidgeBlue]

6 minutes ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

Rev likes a moan and his favourite villain Super Sam did the business tonight.  

Gallagher was ok tonight but he's still a dreadful signing for £5m. The fact he has shown he can put a passable shift in just goes to highlight how unacceptable the majority of his performances have been since his return.

Jim is quite right, he played much more centrally tonight and looked better for it.

Edun was up against a good player in Jones but still had a shocker.

[garnersfags]

I can't see the justification for the amount of hammer Johnson was getting on here before (and during?) the game. 

He hasn't let us down all season, and I think him and Davenport have been our most consistent subs thro the good run.

He deserves some slack, and he is the only one who can currently step directly into the Travis role, when needed (Travis was brilliant tonight). 

Another solid performance from Johnson.

[garnersfags]

11 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Gallagher was ok tonight but he's still a dreadful signing for £5m. The fact he has shown he can put a passable shift in just goes to highlight how unacceptable the majority of his performances have been since his return.

Edun was up against a good player in Jones but still had a shocker.

I agree on both points. 

Gally had a reasonable game, and took his goal very well, but will never do it consistently. 

Edun is positionally all over the place, whoever he is up against. His jump from behind into their player, in our box, just shows his decision making is suspect, I think he is struggling mentally with that role. I thought he had a better last 15, as we all did after the break in play. 

I really enjoyed the game, we just needed a little more composure in the final third all night. Zeefiuk looks strong, I would play him or Nyambe at left wing-back. 

Edited January 25, 2022 by garnersfags

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

This season reminds me a little of the league one season.  Except this time we are doing the Shrewsbury. Over performing based on expectations.  Picking up wins when the odds are against.  Bouncing back when we do lose.  Hopefully, we don't tail off right at the death!

 

[Silas]

11 minutes ago, garnersfags said:

I can't see the justification for the amount of hammer Johnson was getting on here before (and during?) the game. 

He hasn't let us down all season, and I think him and Davenport have been our most consistent subs thro the good run.

He deserves some slack, and he is the only one who can currently step directly into the Travis role, when needed (Travis was brilliant tonight). 

Another solid performance from Johnson.

I'll be honest, i think I'm a bit ageist when it comes to him. 

So easy to get on board with the notion of youth there in the likes of Buckley and Davenport. 

Plus I've got PTSD from Murphy and Etuhu. 🤷‍♂️

[oozy]

9 minutes ago, garnersfags said:

I can't see the justification for the amount of hammer Johnson was getting on here before (and during?) the game. 

He hasn't let us down all season, and I think him and Davenport have been our most consistent subs thro the good run.

He deserves some slack, and he is the only one who can currently step directly into the Travis role, when needed (Travis was brilliant tonight). 

Another solid performance from Johnson.

I think he'd be fine as a Trav replacement, though we did miss Trav against Hull (I know TM's been a very good recently, but his formation was wrong. We needed an extra mid in there).

However, he suffered in comparison to Rothwell. A graphic was particularly telling after half an hour or so, where it showed he'd had the least touches on the pitch. The game seemed to pass him by, whereas Rothwell really shows for the ball.

[Wegerleswiggle]

I thought Gallagher was fantastic tonight. Diaz wouldn't have done any better. Not only his attacking threat but the work he does in his own box at set pieces too. 

Edun looked shaky in the first half but grew into the game and overall dealt well with Jones. 

Buckley is just different gravy. The best thing to come out of our Academy in the last decade or more. He'll go to the top. 

Scott Wharton is a man mountain of a defender. His reading of the game is sublime. 

Trav showed everyone tonight how pivotal he is to any success that we are to have. 

Zeefuik looks a real player. Absolutely electric and powerful. Looking forward to seeing much more of him.

Finally, Tony Mowbray, tactically out thought Chris Wilder and that is not easy to do. 

The biggest result of the season and a real platform to continue building on. 

 

[RevidgeBlue]

16 minutes ago, garnersfags said:

I agree on both points. 

Gally had a reasonable game, and took his goal very well, but will never do it consistently. 

Edun is positionally all over the place, whoever he is up against. His jump from behind into their player, in our box, just shows his decision making is suspect, I think he is struggling mentally with that role. I thought he had a better last 15, as we all did after the break in play. 

I really enjoyed the game, we just needed a little more composure in the final third all night. Zeefiuk looks strong, I would play him or Nyambe at left wing-back. 

I wouldn't move Nyambe.

We saw how good he is again tonight as there was zero threat down his side of the pitch. (For God's sake Mowbray/Waggott, give him what he wants).

Whether Zeefiuck could play there I've no idea but I'm never too comfortable with a right footer on the left or vice versa.

[garnersfags]

3 minutes ago, Silas said:

I'll be honest, i think I'm a bit ageist when it comes to him. 

So easy to get on board with the notion of youth there in the likes of Buckley and Davenport. 

Plus I've got PTSD from Murphy and Etuhu. 🤷‍♂️

Yep, I understand that, and I usually agree, but Johnson has been as reliable as any of them since Fulham, and deserves his place in our 1st 14. 

I'm also not as worried by our depth of squad, when Davenport can't even get off the bench. I would much rather replace Buckley with him rather than Butterworth, although I think Butterworth has lost match fitness whilst being permanently benched, he lacked energy tonight.

Mark my words, when TM is forced to play Davenport at some point, he will show us all what we've been missing in terms of a real final third creative  spark, in the pivotal last 20 minutes. 

[nathan_rovers1]

Honestly, reading through the message board, I do think sometimes that I watched a different game. 

I thought it was a very good game of footy, it was competitive, thought we actually deserved to win and a great finish from Gally to top it off. 

Buckley and his ability to find space tonight was sensational, thought the team from back to front played good. 

[roversfan99]

12 minutes ago, Wegerleswiggle said:

I thought Gallagher was fantastic tonight. Diaz wouldn't have done any better. Not only his attacking threat but the work he does in his own box at set pieces too. 

Edun looked shaky in the first half but grew into the game and overall dealt well with Jones. 

Buckley is just different gravy. The best thing to come out of our Academy in the last decade or more. He'll go to the top. 

Scott Wharton is a man mountain of a defender. His reading of the game is sublime. 

Trav showed everyone tonight how pivotal he is to any success that we are to have. 

Zeefuik looks a real player. Absolutely electric and powerful. Looking forward to seeing much more of him.

Finally, Tony Mowbray, tactically out thought Chris Wilder and that is not easy to do. 

The biggest result of the season and a real platform to continue building on. 

 

Did Edun grew into the game? He was poor throughout, even in the second half his horrendous positioning and rashness saw Jones get behind him so many times. Thankfully his final ball was repeatedly poor. He was better in the last 10-15 minutes to be fair when I felt that Boro put on too many strikers and lost all sense of shape.

11 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I wouldn't move Nyambe.

We saw how good he is again tonight as there was zero threat down his side of the pitch. (For God's sake Mowbray/Waggott, give him what he wants).

Whether Zeefiuck could play there I've no idea but I'm never too comfortable with a right footer on the left or vice versa.

How has Mowbray got any responsibility in "giving Nyambe what be wants?!" He has repeatedly said that he doesnt get involved in negotiations.

Waggott said weve offered as much as he can. Look above him for who to blame.

[garnersfags]

6 minutes ago, nathan_rovers1 said:

Honestly, reading through the message board, I do think sometimes that I watched a different game. 

I thought it was a very good game of footy, it was competitive, thought we actually deserved to win and a great finish from Gally to top it off. 

Buckley and his ability to find space tonight was sensational, thought the team from back to front played good. 

I think that's the overall consensus, although we created very little to trouble their keeper, and sat too deep for me as soon as we had scored.

But, yes, I really enjoyed it and the crowd showed their appreciation for the commitment throughout. 

[RevidgeBlue]

3 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Waggott said weve offered as much as he can. Look above him for who to blame.

That's rubbish. If Mowbray rated him highly enough he'd tell the owners that he thought Nyambe was worth what he was asking for and he'd have signed a new deal by now.

Would have cost a lot less if he'd done it 24-30 months ago though.

[garnersfags]

2 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Did Edun grew into the game? He was poor throughout, even in the second half his horrendous positioning and rashness saw Jones get behind him so many times. Thankfully his final ball was repeatedly poor. He was better in the last 10-15 minutes to be fair when I felt that Boro put on too many strikers and lost all sense of shape.

How has Mowbray got any responsibility in "giving Nyambe what be wants?!" He has repeatedly said that he doesnt get involved in negotiations.

Waggott said weve offered as much as he can. Look above him for who to blame.

I agree 100% with your point about Edun, he will cost us points this season. 

Not sure about TM not being involved in negotiations, tho. He has a significant involvement, through his views on how valuable a player is to the team and club, and how much he thinks we should be trying to keep him. These opinions and advice to the owners have a bearing on how much will will offer that player. 

I agree with Rev, if we can keep Nyambe, and buy Zeefiuk, our right back position would be the strongest in the League, and potentially a solid PL pairing.