As has been said on this thread, the ‘downturn’ in form around the time of these Burnley links is seriously overstated and completely exaggerated.
Sheffield United 4-1 Boro
Millwall 0-0 Boro
Birmingham 0-2 Boro
Peterborough 0-4 Boro
Boro 0-1 Fulham
Boro 0-1 Hull
Burnley links happen.
Bournemouth 0-0 Boro
Boro 0-2 Huddersfield
Swansea 1-1 Boro
Boro 2-0 Cardiff
Boro 3-1 Stoke
Preston 4-1 Boro
The six-game runs are almost identical. In fact we picked up a point more in the six games AFTER the Burnley stuff than we did the six games previous.
Where is the supposed downturn, the catastrophic collapse?
Interesting, you've made me look at the match reports:
Sheffield United 4-1 Boro - Outclassed by a better side on the day
Millwall 0-0 Boro - Battling point after 3 away defeats
Birmingham 0-2 Boro - Solid performance, back in the top 6
Peterborough 0-4 Boro - Comprehensive away win against a bottom half team.
Boro 0-1 Fulham - Excellent, should have won, undone by the one moment Mitrovic got free.
Boro 0-1 Hull - Isaiah out, shuffled Tav to rwb. huffed and puffed, sucker punched.
Burnley links happen.
Bournemouth 0-0 Boro - Battling point in a tight game against a top Champo side
Boro 0-2 Huddersfield - Poor performance, can't buy a goal, well beaten
CW finally says he is 'all in' at Boro
Swansea 1-1 Boro - Swansea dominate the ball, don't do much with it. Boro lead but let it slip, after hitting woodwork 3 times.
Boro 2-0 Cardiff - Get the job done after Tav scores a 25 yarder to settle us down
Boro 3-1 Stoke - Good performance, Crooks scores twice on return from ban
Preston 4-1 Boro - Not our finest 90 minutes, but it's a 'go for broke' game
I think you're right - we could just as easily point to other causes:
- Starting Folarin/Balogun meant we struggled more for goals than we had earlier in the season.
- When we didn't score first, we tended to get sucker punched when trying to force it.