A dispassionate assessment

Boro4life said:
We've dropped 10 points though against sides that were in the bottom half last season or were in L1 not the results a promotion side should be having it is happening every week. Was same in the draws to Preston and Pompey.
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If sides were in the bottom half last season it doesn’t mean they will this. Last season Ipswich were the side that had come up from league one. It’s innit a reflection of how tough those sides are.

We play better against the better sides because they come at us and leave space to attack
 
MoggasDog said:
If you insist on playing like Man City, old Man Utd etc, where every pass, starting from the keeper, is measured, what happens when you have players with a fraction of the talent that Man City have?
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Works two ways though we’re trying to outscore Plymouth and Sunderland not Arsenal and Newcastle
 
Ravshoutsatbeck said:
Conway, Lath, and Morris had the three best chances of the match - except for the goal.

We both had a free kick in a good position Azaz put over, they hit the post.

Clark had a free header from a corner.

Azaz had a good position from the edge of the area, defender blocked the shot. Roberts had a good position, put it just wide.

That was about it.

Pretty even, we probably just edged chances. They defended superbly second half.

Very disappointing that the same thing keeps happening, I think we need to drop Conway or Lath for a true 10 (likely Azaz with McGree wide) to give us more options to play through teams that sit back - too easy to mark two strikers if sitting deep - there is a reason it is so rare nowadays.
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Agree that Conway and Lath don’t seem to work together in our current formation. They both look to get the ball in front of them and then run for goal, Conway’s no Akpom on early showing. Our creative midfielder should be either, Azaz, Gilbert or McGree. Playing Conway in there is negating the effectiveness of Azaz and leaving us exposed on the left. Hamilton looks like he could do a job on the left if Riley is still not able to play.
 
Otto42 said:
Good assessment first goal was always crucial today and we missed a guilt edged opportunity, while they had a slice of luck.
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Yeah but if we had scored first we all know that the game would have ran like thus:
We would have sat back and defended in our own half.
Sunderland would’ve come out and attacked us.
Sunderland would have equalised.
Sunderland would have (probably) pushed on for a winner.
Sunderland maybe would have got said winner.

But when we go 0-1 down we aren’t capable of doing what most teams can do to us.
Teams know that if the Boro score first there’s still always ample opportunity for us to f**k up somewhere along the line.
 
Blamethrower said:
Yeah but if we had scored first we all know that the game would have ran like thus:
We would have sat back and defended in our own half.
Sunderland would’ve come out and attacked us.
Sunderland would have equalised.
Sunderland would have (probably) pushed on for a winner.
Sunderland maybe would have got said winner.

But when we go 0-1 down we aren’t capable of doing what most teams can do to us.
Teams know that if the Boro score first there’s still always ample opportunity for us to f**k up somewhere along the line.
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Sunderland were well drilled yesterday the amazing opening of the game showed that they weren't going to rush in and try to win the ball back but stick to their game plan. However if we had scored first I am not sure the above analysis by @Blamethrower would have happened. We would be more likely to get a 2nd because it would open them up and we had already showed we could get at them in most periods of the game, apart from the last 20 minutes when they shut up shop, well done to them for doing that and executing it.
 
I did think we were the better team in the first half. A combination of missing chances and final ball not being good/quick enough. If it happened later in the game I reckon Hulme would have got a red. That said, I didn’t expect Sunderland to be as poor as they had been in the first half.

They then sat 10 men behind the ball and asked us to break them down, which we utterly failed to do. Hackney was clearly having an off day. I don’t think Azaz on the left works. He constantly drifts inside, leaving Borges exposed and us less likely to attack down that flank. Our best bet to unlock a packed defence is Riley - was very surprised we didn’t bring him on, he clearly can’t be fit.

My Sunderland mate - who is pretty fair - just said that he didn’t feel that nervous as we just didn’t look a threat, which was exactly what I was feeling stood in the opposite end.

Desperately searching for positives…we have a lot more points than last season same time. Morris and Conway look great buys. Riley and Rav must be back soon and Doak looks like a real fire cracker.

Being a natural pessimistic type, I will try and ignore the negativity swirling around my brain. Come on Boro, sort it out!
 
The worrying thing for me is the trend since MC took over.

First season - terrific run of results and performances before losing form just when it mattered. The season petered out with the disappointing play off 2nd leg where we were poor.

2nd Season - some good, some poor …all too patchy (Rotherham etc). Missed play offs. By any standards - a step backwards for the club.

3rd Season - Apparently happy with the ins and outs and here we are. Can’t really get a decent shot on target and have a dreadful goals scored stat.
It’s all a bit samey

It would be good if it clicked into place sooner rather than later.
 
We are obviously not that bad. We are creating plenty of chances. MC sticks with a formation and tactics regardless of opposition. Mogga especially at the end of his time at boro changed the tactics and formation for the opposition nearly every week and it rarely worked. Nothing wrong with sticking to a way of playing and formation if it works, it helps new players to slip into a team easier but is MC never ever changes. Our position is not helped by ELL who others have pointed out is a burst scorer, but he isn't the only one who is not scoring
 
I think it’s easy to over complicate the current situation. We have 8 points from the first 6 games. Given the fixture list that’s a disappointing outcome. Par is probably 11 or 12. We shouldn’t over react, but accept it’s okay to be disappointed and expect that Carrick / this squad should have done better. Their job is now to start turning it around.
 
Ravshoutsatbeck said:
Conway, Lath, and Morris had the three best chances of the match - except for the goal.

We both had a free kick in a good position Azaz put over, they hit the post.

Clark had a free header from a corner.

Azaz had a good position from the edge of the area, defender blocked the shot. Roberts had a good position, put it just wide.

That was about it.

Pretty even, we probably just edged chances. They defended superbly second half.

Very disappointing that the same thing keeps happening, I think we need to drop Conway or Lath for a true 10 (likely Azaz with McGree wide) to give us more options to play through teams that sit back - too easy to mark two strikers if sitting deep - there is a reason it is so rare nowadays.
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I’ve ran out of patience with Azaz, he just isn’t doing enough for me to warrant being first choice for us. He’s had a handful of decent games since he arrived but seems to be one of Carricks favourites who never get dropped for some reason. He slows things down far too much and takes an eternity to either shoot or get his passes off. If he plays it has to be central as his defensive abilities, or rather lack of them, make life really difficult for our left back if he’s on that side of midfield. I honestly think Gilbert would be an excellent number ten for us but obviously now he’s injured it has to be someone else there.
 
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