Defence Decimated

Glover_elbow said:
Sounds like the pots empty for boro doesn't fill me with confidence we will fill the gaps in January. We desperately need a central midfielder as well as defenders. It's questionable then why we spent big on deluxe signings like payero sporar and hernandez when we can't afford to pay the wages for free transfers.
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It looks as if they were asking big money knowing how dire our need was.
 
TeaCider said:
We've had an injury crisis virtually every week this season, it's not an isolated incident.

You're almost guaranteed that in each press conference he will mention that another player has picked up an injury in training.
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Can you really not remember other seasons like this? Sometimes you are lucky with injuries sometimes you aren't.

A managers job is always under pressure. I'm surprised more people can't see that calling for a managers head every season, or every other season if the manager has got us promoted or won us a cup, whilst also saying they should play the kids is counter to reasoning.

And like I said, I don't agree with lots of his decisions. But I don't disagree with all of them.
 
rob_fmttm said:
They could not agree terms - within our wage structure - with those they talked to last week. You have to seriously question the player and agents holding out for better deals. We are now in mid October. That means these players are seriously way off match fitness and probably fitness. Surely any deal is better than no deal for them at this stage.
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Got to agree with you there Rob.
Short term deal reviewed in January.
These players are out of contract for a reason.
 
Sheriff_John_Bunnell_ret said:
Where is your evidence that he has not been close to being sacked?

How long have you been following the team? And football? Don't you recall us having multiple injury crisis previously? They happen. Remember under woodgate when we had no defence and played howson and McNair there? Remember mclarens season when we finished 7th? Remember the semi final when we played arsenal?
Here's an injury table. Note there are a few teams with multiple injuries.

www.sportsgambler.com

EFL Championship Injuries & Suspensions | Injury News

Get the full list of England EFL Championship injuries and suspensions. Latest injury news for every English team and football player.
www.sportsgambler.com www.sportsgambler.com

While I understand people bring unhappy with the manager the tendancy to pick on absolutely everything he says and does is ridiculous. Just do a quick search for threads this time last year for a laugh at how fickle supporters are.

It's the lack of basic logic as well. Of course he isn't going to gamble on young kids when his job is continually on a knife edge.
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it's a problem with the Championship, every game is must win. it's easier to blood young players at the bottom of the Prem.
 
TeaCider said:
No, they're not.

Last season, with 6 games to go we were 11 points off the play-offs and 16 points off relegation, the definition of nothing to play for.

It would have been incredibly easy to blood young players.
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ok, obviously with that sort of exception.
 
Its absolutely true that he should have played the youngsters more at the back end of the season.

However the pressure is still on to win these meaningless matches. The team's form in these meaningless games is being used in this thread to bash the manager.

There's more pressure in the prem because there are fewer games. The pressure in the championship comes from the we must be promoted this season or we lose X players and get left further behind mantra. This is extremely counter productive.
 
Sheriff_John_Bunnell_ret said:
Can you really not remember other seasons like this? Sometimes you are lucky with injuries sometimes you aren't.

A managers job is always under pressure. I'm surprised more people can't see that calling for a managers head every season, or every other season if the manager has got us promoted or won us a cup, whilst also saying they should play the kids is counter to reasoning.

And like I said, I don't agree with lots of his decisions. But I don't disagree with all of them.
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What has he got right this season out of interest? My biggest gripe is his constant criticism of certain players in public. For any manager to do that and get away with it is terrible. There is no excuse for that. Must be horrible for the players.
 
newyddion said:
Don't see what all the fuss is about..

View attachment 26082


Seven Subs:

GK Luke Daniels
DF Williams Koloko
DF Joshua Wells
MF Cain Sykes
MF Connor Malley
FW Duncan Watmore
FW Toyosi Olusanya
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Do we aim to win, or do a Karanka and aim not to lose?
Or lose by no more than one goal?
I be honest chap - I cant see a reason why that would be any worse than when 90% of the squad have been fit.
A 4 - man forward line would be great.
Just have a 5 man back line and Crooks in the middle.
Defend like hell, then hoof it to the 4 forwards.
We stand more chance of winning than at any time since the Fulham game.
Go for it (y) ;)
 
edinboro said:
What has he got right this season out of interest? My biggest gripe is his constant criticism of certain players in public. For any manager to do that and get away with it is terrible. There is no excuse for that. Must be horrible for the players.
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Well we've won games and drawn games so he's got things right in there hasn't he?
 
edinboro said:
What has he got right this season out of interest? My biggest gripe is his constant criticism of certain players in public. For any manager to do that and get away with it is terrible. There is no excuse for that. Must be horrible for the players.
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Danny Mills was in discussion on the radio this week - talking about his time as a player: crucially he said that Managers typically deflect criticism when they on the way out, by calling out players in public.

He also said that when players are frequently played out of position and the team starts to lose regularly, players pay less and less notice to how the Manager expects them to play - and do things their own way.

He said that eventually the dressing room becomes fractious - the older players are less worried and the youngsters are frightened and just stop playing the way they can.
 
rob_fmttm said:
We know that Hayden Coulson was determined to leave for regular first team action and we think Nathan Wood's agent advised him similarly. With finances being so tight post COVID and that limit on first team squad numbers there are a great deal of balancing acts. For instance we cannot put more youngsters on the bench because they would have to be registered and we would have to fill those two remaining places in the maximum number of registered senior players. That would not allow us to bring anyone in on loan.
There are a lot of balancing acts this season.
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I’d always though under 21 players don’t have to be registered?
This might be from me playing too much Football Manager back in the day.
 
r00fie1 said:
Do we aim to win, or do a Karanka and aim not to lose?
Or lose by no more than one goal?
I be honest chap - I cant see a reason why that would be any worse than when 90% of the squad have been fit.
A 4 - man forward line would be great.
Just have a 5 man back line and Crooks in the middle.
Defend like hell, then hoof it to the 4 forwards.
We stand more chance of winning than at any time since the Fulham game.
Go for it (y) ;)
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aim to win! we've got nothing to lose.. we've got no fullbacks and sounds like Dael Fry is out. Bamba can fill in for Fry

we don't really have a back three to comfortably use wing backs. Howson has played right back and done a bloody good job at it and we have SIliki and Tavernier who can both play left back.

i'm going for Bamba as our sweeper behind two of or most defensively minded players, I don't think it will be one for hoofing the ball tbh,

it'll work more like 3-4-3 just with Siliki and Tav sitting back when Jones and Hernandez are pushing on

----------Ikpeazu--Sporar----------
-------------Crookes---------------
Jones--Siliki--Tavernier--Hernandez
------McNair--Bamba--Howson--------
-------------Lumley----------------

Subs

Watmore - Ikpeazu
Payero - Hernandez (with tav moving out wide)
Olusanya - in at the end to mix it up a bit.. maybe for Sporar
 
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Craggsy2 said:
Can I ask who you are referring to when you say we have plenty of midfielders? If you take Howson and Tav out for defensive duties it doesn't leave too much from where I'm looking. Sivi and Payero if fit are returning from long distance so unlikely to hit the ground running.
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I am referring to JLS, Payero and Crooks, but we also have Connor Malley and Watmore, who could slot in there....as I said we are playing Peterborough not Man City.....less of the defeatists attitudes ;)
 
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