Hopes for the season

[indeedido]

We need to go on an incredible run to get back up the table and rescue any disappearing hope of top 6. Gibson won't invest in January if we are not in a good position.

I can't see Wilder lasting the season tbh, something is not right with him. Something is not right at the club, and hasn't been for a long time. The recruitment team fails time and time again but gets a free pass each time.

Maybe Gibson is happy just being a mid table championship team?

Gibson won't invest full stop.
It is absolutely clear that in retaining the Spence and Tav fees, he will use player sales to shore up operating loss, and future player sales to do similar.
That route ends up in League One, like Ipswich.
A Board Director once said to me that Gibson will leave the club where he started with it in 1993, heading back to the third tier.

The players were shambolic last night, disgraceful.
The manager is losing a plot he started losing at Sheff U.
BUT the recruitment has been diabolical AGAIN, so what of Scott?
Gibson is in absolute control. It is his strategy, his decisions that see us where we are.

 

[SuperStu]

BUT the recruitment has been diabolical AGAIN, so what of Scott?

I just don't buy this. It's an easy excuse. We've got 11 new players in. We've got a 12th on trial at the club.

A goalkeeper on loan from the champions of England. A centre back who's won player of the season at his last 3 clubs. Another centre back who was a direct rivals captain. A wingback who we're all raving about, already on 5 or 6 assists. A centre mid with 200 odd championship games behind him. Strikers who've played in the Prem, Bundesliga, La Liga.

How on earth can this all be called diabolical? Cause we missed out on f*cking Dwight Gayle?

 

[viv_andersons_nana]

I just don't buy this. It's an easy excuse. We've got 11 new players in. We've got a 12th on trial at the club.

A goalkeeper on loan from the champions of England. A centre back who's won player of the season at his last 3 clubs. Another centre back who was a direct rivals captain. A wingback who we're all raving about, already on 5 or 6 assists. A centre mid with 200 odd championship games behind him. Strikers who've played in the Prem, Bundesliga, La Liga.

How on earth can this all be called diabolical? Cause we missed out on f*cking Dwight Gayle?

Well we went into the summer in dire need of an orthodox central midfielder and came out of the summer in dire need of two orthodox central midfielders.

 

[allied_assault]

The thing I find interesting about the strikers is that Connolly was picked every week. We played two up every single game, without fail. Even against Manchester United and Tottenham and Chelsea. Now we’ve added three new strikers and still have Watmore, and Akpom to come back, it’s suddenly one striker on his own. At home to Cardiff. It’s bizarre.

It needs to go back to basics IMO.

Steffen
Dijksteel, Fry, Lenihan
Jones, Crooks, Howson, McGree, Giles
Muniz, Watmore

Play this team as much as possible until January and let them develop understandings and build confidence, and then make sure you buy the players you need to improve the team.

This would be my team as well although I may drop Crooks, Howson, Mcgree and Fry.

 

[boroboy6872]

Thought we had better this season, just the numbers

If Wilders expectation are lower than ours then I guess in the top half but outside the playoffs is a good season

Overall it`s not looking good

It really looks like it`s gunna be **** one week great the next

 

[Johnlennon]

We’ll be lucky to stay in the division. We were extremely lucky to beat Sunderland courtesy of a deflected goal and an injury to Ross Stewart in the warmup. We have two wins from 9 and are shipping goals left right and centre. The players have had it drummed into them that they have to play out rather than clearing the ball or launching it into the channels when under pressure, which is leading us to lose the ball in our own half far too often. This squad is more than capable of making the playoffs, sadly these tactics are not playing to their strengths.

 

[Nano]

Thought we had better this season, just the numbers

If Wilders expectation are lower than ours then I guess in the top half but outside the playoffs is a good season

Overall it`s not looking good

It really looks like it`s gunna be **** one week great the next

We'd have been comfortably there with Warnock. We hired Wilder because we wanted to be promoted. It's b***ks that expectations should be low. Last season we were aiming for playoffs, this season we were aiming for the autos. After a dismal recruitment we are now aiming to sneak into the playoffs aka exactly where we've finished for the majority of our time in this division.

Our best players will leave at the end of the season because they are on loan and then we'll be relying on our stellar recruitment to fix this year's holes and next year's, which they'll fail to do again. If you want a season of consolidation then don't waste your money on big loan signings. We could've been giving experience to our "project" players.

 

[allied_assault]

We'd have been comfortably there with Warnock. We hired Wilder because we wanted to be promoted. It's b***ks that expectations should be low. Last season we were aiming for playoffs, this season we were aiming for the autos. After a dismal recruitment we are now aiming to sneak into the playoffs aka exactly where we've finished for the majority of our time in this division.

Our best players will leave at the end of the season because they are on loan and then we'll be relying on our stellar recruitment to fix this year's holes and next year's, which they'll fail to do again. If you want a season of consolidation then don't waste your money on big loan signings. We could've been giving experience to our "project" players.

Who are our best players?
Just curious

 

[SuperStu]

Who are our best players?
Just curious

Our best players will leave at the end of the season because they are on loan

Surely doesn't mean Mowatt so I'd guess Muniz and Giles. Steffan could go either way.

 

[Glover_elbow]

The thing I find interesting about the strikers is that Connolly was picked every week. We played two up every single game, without fail. Even against Manchester United and Tottenham and Chelsea. Now we’ve added three new strikers and still have Watmore, and Akpom to come back, it’s suddenly one striker on his own. At home to Cardiff. It’s bizarre.

It needs to go back to basics IMO.

Steffen
Dijksteel, Fry, Lenihan
Jones, Crooks, Howson, McGree, Giles
Muniz, Watmore

Play this team as much as possible until January and let them develop understandings and build confidence, and then make sure you buy the players you need to improve the team.

mcgree cant play in midfield he cant tackle or track back we have tried those 3 in there already

 

[TheYorkshireTerrier]

I think it's still way too earlier to rule out play-offs, how often have we seen teams go on runs from say October/November onwards, even later than that. But at the moment it just feels very flat, even after beating Sunderland last week it didn't feel like 'this is the start of our run'.

Too many key players are underperforming, McNair has been awful all season, Mowatt non-existing, Crooks off his game, Clarke for me has been poor since his debut. Players just aren't willing to bust a gut for us, apart from Watmore and Muniz.

It seems bizarre to think or suggest Wilder might not even last a year but if this keeps up until the WC then I think that will be the case.

 

[zzzzz]

Gibson won't invest full stop.

Did you really type that? How much a year do you think he pumps in to keep the club going? Read this.

Football finance expert spells out just how generous Steve Gibson is

Liverpool University's Kieran Maguire discussed Steve Gibson's generosity to Middlesbrough in a recent podcast

www.gazettelive.co.uk

 

[h_m_boro]

mcgree cant play in midfield he cant tackle or track back we have tried those 3 in there already

The Crooks - Howson - McGree unit was tried against WBA and QPR. Over run second half v WBA, first half v QPR.

Seems to be a bit of an elephant in the room concerning Howson. Good in bits, but overall this season very poor. Looks like he's unable to organise/ motivate on the pitch. He's not dishing bollickings out. His form, looks like he's playing injured.

Sorry, I'm a big Howson fan, but he's a big part of our problems. Not really helping the defence, not really helping the attack. Kind of ambling about the MF trying his best.

Sad to watch really, but he shouldn't be irreplaceable which currently looks the case.

 

[indeedido]

Did you really type that? How much a year do you think he pumps in to keep the club going? Read this.

Football finance expert spells out just how generous Steve Gibson is

Liverpool University's Kieran Maguire discussed Steve Gibson's generosity to Middlesbrough in a recent podcast

www.gazettelive.co.uk

Yes I did. Open your eyes.
He has invested £63m in equity, none since 2016.
His Group are owed £120m in cross group undertakings, but he hasn't put this money in.

 

[SuperStu]

Crooks off his game

With Crooks I think it's the instructions he's getting. He isn't getting in to the box when we have the ball out wide. It's happening consistenly so it must be that Wilders told him not to. But if he's not getting up there and getting on the end of crosses then that's his main attribute nullified. Not much point in him playing if these are the tactics.

 

[zzzzz]

Yes I did. Open your eyes.
He has invested £63m in equity, none since 2016.
His Group are owed £120m in cross group undertakings, but he hasn't put this money in.

Did you read the article?
And who else would you imagine would want to invest in this Perennial loss making business?

Open your eyes.

"He hasn't put this money in" FFS Who do you think owns his businesses?
Do you expect to see him transfer the money directly from his personal current account?

Astonishing that people still slag him off.

 

[Nano]

I think it's still way too earlier to rule out play-offs, how often have we seen teams go on runs from say October/November onwards, even later than that. But at the moment it just feels very flat, even after beating Sunderland last week it didn't feel like 'this is the start of our run'.

Too many key players are underperforming, McNair has been awful all season, Mowatt non-existing, Crooks off his game, Clarke for me has been poor since his debut. Players just aren't willing to bust a gut for us, apart from Watmore and Muniz.

It seems bizarre to think or suggest Wilder might not even last a year but if this keeps up until the WC then I think that will be the case.

Good teams win even when they play badly. We are losing even when we are playing well and get battered when we play badly. That is the sign of a bad team, not a good one. We also have our manager telling everyone we are playing well when it isn't true. We are playing well in spells but as a whole we aren't. We are creating chances because we aren't defending and throwing everyone forward. We make 1 mistake high up the pitch and get punished for it every time because we aren't organised enough to defend properly. It's ridiculous. Losing the ball in the opposition half shouldn't result in a goal but the 1st goal last night, the one against Stoke where Jones was fouled, Watford's 1st goal where McNair just let Pedro run free etc. These were all in positions where there should only be danger if the opposition does something special but they don't need to against us.

It's not just an effort thing. I don't think anyone knows what they are supposed to be doing. The reason we concede so many low chance goals is because nobody knows who's job it is to close down so nobody does it, nobody marks the striker because everyone assumes someone else is marking them. At times we have 3 defenders at the back and 1 striker unmarked. It shouldn't be happening. That is management, organisation and communication. It doesn't seem like it is happening. Our entire defence is like an example of the bystander effect.

 

[Box To Box]

Hopes for the season​

Avoid relegation

 

[BoroGold]

We avoid the drop.

 

[parmoboy]

The Crooks - Howson - McGree unit was tried against WBA and QPR. Over run second half v WBA, first half v QPR.

Seems to be a bit of an elephant in the room concerning Howson. Good in bits, but overall this season very poor. Looks like he's unable to organise/ motivate on the pitch. He's not dishing bollickings out. His form, looks like he's playing injured.

Sorry, I'm a big Howson fan, but he's a big part of our problems. Not really helping the defence, not really helping the attack. Kind of ambling about the MF trying his best.

Sad to watch really, but he shouldn't be irreplaceable which currently looks the case.

The reality is he's been irreplaceable because we have nobody else who can play in that role.

We do now have Luongo, and Stephens may be signed but we really needed to sign a young dynamic defensive midfielder pre-season.

We were linked with Ampadu and Choudhury, so the club were clearly aware that we needed this type of player, yet in the end we ended up with nobody. Luongo are Stephens are "patch it up" jobs.