Carricks interview on Sky

Why such a big reaction from you to my ‘prediction’
Cos that’s all it is, a prediction based on my take, my opinion, why do I upset you so much ?
I think it says something about you - perhaps you don’t like people being straight to the point with you. ?
Because I love the Boro, and desperately want them to do well, but you have to call a spade , a spade 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

I’m not going to lie to myself and then, as a message board, I’m going to share my thoughts and opinions on how I see it
I wouldn't class it as a big reaction, and you don't upset me in the slightest (and for information I actually prefer straight talkers as you know where you stand 😜).

I just can't understand:-

1) the negative mindset to be so certain we have no chance when there's still so much to play for.
2) that Carrick needs to go, when he's doing a really decent job.

Someone posted his win percentage the other day and it's right up there with our most successful Championship managers. It's simply far too early to be writing us off.
 
Edmundson has had a couple of half decent games but his weaknesses are obvious and are easily exploited, he's a bottom half championship / league one centre back.
Got to disagree with that. Not sure on his appearance stats with Ipswich but we’re not bottom half/League 1, and he’s doing okay with us. Yes he’s got some weaknesses but 99% of Championship players do. I haven’t seen any suggestion that he’s not good enough (see Engel getting berated every week).
 
If we were not to get promoted I would be offering Edmundson a contract (similar to the Ayling situation).

He has already proven he is a more than capable championship squad CB.
What if Fry and Lenihan are both back, 100% fit and in contention? We don't need five CB's with Hunt coming through as well you'd think?
 
Got to disagree with that. Not sure on his appearance stats with Ipswich but we’re not bottom half/League 1, and he’s doing okay with us. Yes he’s got some weaknesses but 99% of Championship players do. I haven’t seen any suggestion that he’s not good enough (see Engel getting berated every week).
The stats back up my point really. He's 27 and before signing for us he had only played 20 times in the Championship. The vast majority of his appearances have been in either League 1 or League 2
 
What if Fry and Lenihan are both back, 100% fit and in contention? We don't need five CB's with Hunt coming through as well you'd think?

I think our injuries over the last 12 months show we probably do need 5.

Hoping that all centre backs being fit and in contention at the same time is a big gamble - a luxury we haven’t had for as long I can remember 😂
 
I think our injuries over the last 12 months show we probably do need 5.

All centre backs being fit and in contention at the same time is a big gamble - a luxury we haven’t had for as long I can remember 😂
True!

I suppose Rav could be spirited away during any future window too, and equally we could have a formation change or a new manager who wants to play three regularly.

I think if all five are fit I'd have Fry as last pick currently, which seems weird considering Edmundson's previous career but he seems more comfortable than Fry and has a bit more about him.
 
True!

I suppose Rav could be spirited away during any future window too, and equally we could have a formation change or a new manager who wants to play three regularly.

I think if all five are fit I'd have Fry as last pick currently, which seems weird considering Edmundson's previous career but he seems more comfortable than Fry and has a bit more about him.

Plan for the worst my friend!

I really can’t fault Edmundson. He’s no world beater but he has pleasantly surprised me. No fuss just gets on with it
 
Obviously you need lenihan to be ready to play but I think RVB plays alongside him and Clarke unfortunately sits on the bench because, look what is happening ?

We are weak on leadership on the field and it can’t be measured but lenihan and smith at the back driving us on when we made the playoffs against Coventry kinda says everything surely ? 🤷‍♂️

The most worrying aspect is I believe Carrick has not spotted it…
I don't think we miss anything at all about Lenihan and I'm pretty sure he's played his last match for Boro already.
Ditto Smith.
I wish them both well, but they are not our future - not even short term.
 
I wouldn't class it as a big reaction, and you don't upset me in the slightest (and for information I actually prefer straight talkers as you know where you stand 😜).

I just can't understand:-

1) the negative mindset to be so certain we have no chance when there's still so much to play for.
2) that Carrick needs to go, when he's doing a really decent job.

Someone posted his win percentage the other day and it's right up there with our most successful Championship managers. It's simply far too early to be writing us off.

You can call it negative, I prefer to call it realist.

Under Carrick we have been nearly men, and now we’re nearly in the playoff positions. It’s always ‘it will come, we will click, we will learn from this’ then it doesn’t come, it doesn’t click and we don’t learn.

We’re seeing the exact same things we’ve seen when we fell short the previous seasons. We beat the better sides, drop points to the lower sides. If they haven’t learned by now, they’re not going to.

It’s the dampening down of expectations too. ‘We should be in and around the playoffs’.

We should be aiming for the automatics, wasn’t that the rhetoric and justification for the ticket prices? **** knows our fans are paying enough to expect that.

It sometimes feels like we’re too nice under Carrick and losing is fine because it’s all part of the process and this model we’re working towards. And I’m just tired of mediocrity from a club that should be so much better.
 
I don't think we miss anything at all about Lenihan and I'm pretty sure he's played his last match for Boro already.
Ditto Smith.
I wish them both well, but they are not our future - not even short term.
Respectfully disagree with that, the season before last when Lenihan played the majority of our games we looked much more solid at the back.
 
Cold hard facts them buddy
I wasn't quoting cold hard facts. Cold hard facts are that after 12 games we have 18 points averaging 1.5 points per game. We're 9th, 10 points off the leaders with an inferior goal difference of -12 vs them.
Success and failure is measured on how a team performs relative to the other 23 teams in the competition. That's it.
Reviewing each of those 12 games individually and even anecdotally we are miles off where we should be and where we need to be to get automatic promotion. And let's not kid ourselves, this is the weakest Championship in years. We kept all of the players we wanted to and signed all of the players we wanted to. Things need to change for the better and quickly.
 
You can call it negative, I prefer to call it realist.

Under Carrick we have been nearly men, and now we’re nearly in the playoff positions. It’s always ‘it will come, we will click, we will learn from this’ then it doesn’t come, it doesn’t click and we don’t learn.

We’re seeing the exact same things we’ve seen when we fell short the previous seasons. We beat the better sides, drop points to the lower sides. If they haven’t learned by now, they’re not going to.

It’s the dampening down of expectations too. ‘We should be in and around the playoffs’.

We should be aiming for the automatics, wasn’t that the rhetoric and justification for the ticket prices? **** knows our fans are paying enough to expect that.

It sometimes feels like we’re too nice under Carrick and losing is fine because it’s all part of the process and this model we’re working towards. And I’m just tired of mediocrity from a club that should be so much better.
What a brilliant way to frame what I’ve tried to do but you’ve said everything I have been trying to say - perfectly.

Wonderful post Scrug and a cracking wordsmith.

I’m a realist clearly like you. I’m an uber positive person generally in my life about anything and everything but there comes a time for honesty.

WE WILL NOT EVEN MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

As you so brilliantly put it, how far have expectations fallen that we ain’t even considering the top 2 - that’s outrageous really but we all, deep down know it’s true.
 
Respectfully disagree with that, the season before last when Lenihan played the majority of our games we looked much more solid at the back.
No worries about disagreement MM - inevitable on the board.
We didn't go up in Darragh's first season because we conceded far too many goals. Our 56 was 21 more than Burnley, 17 more than Sheff U and Luton. 11 clubs conceded fewer than we did.
He's not the only defender and defenders aren't the only ones with defensive responsibility, but he was a long way from being a rock.

Last season he started the first 8 matches, of which we lost 5, and conceded 16 goals.
 
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