r00fie1
Well-known member
Its that time again>>>>>>>
Christmas is coming......
Christmas is coming......
......and its time to get down to business. We need the three points tonight. We know its been a hard start and a struggle at times to kick-start the season. We had a good run not too many weeks back and did the job over Preston and Leicester. We beat Southampton and Cardiff and started climbing the table. We know the lads have been trying and its been a baptism of fire for some. But by now they have bedded in and know what`s expected of them. Its a team game and the results are team results. We cant afford to start picking on players and pointing fingers. Its time to show true steel and grit and get ourselves into top gear. We do`nt want to know about the silky skills of the opposition or where they are in the table. We want three points and we want them tonight!
Michael Carrick highlights one of the biggest problems for him is the "consistency" the team needs to push on. Its been an issue with the lengthening list of players out injured and the expectation that others will step - in, seamlessly, to the team and do the job. Its not an easy task to manage, but its one he`s convinced we can overcome. Lets face it - he has no choice whilst key players are still out.
Its not easy when your players are coming in, chopping and changing, creating new partnerships [and] new connections. That`s not on the quality of the lads who are coming into the team at all, its just more of, its not easy to come in when there`s chopping and changing going on. Probably effected us a little bit: not down to individuals [but] more of a collective. That`s how it is at the moment. Its fine. Its no problem. We`ll make the best of it and the great thing about it is there`s games coming thick and fast, that we can always do better in.
Carrick was quite assertive in acknowledging that largely our defence is up to the job, but not always getting it right. Against Ipswich it was a typical example of where we need to tighten up our defence. We have been generous in allowing our opponents to exploit the holes created by our attacking-style of play. From what he said, it appears there`s been a lot of work in training to get that issue sorted:
Again, even Saturday, there was pretty much two shots on target and we find ourselves two-nil down at that stage so…….its something we need to put right. We keep talking about it: we`re defending our goal pretty well in general. But, in terms of lengths of time and areas and shots that we face….we definitely got to do something about it! [Spoken very assertively]. Consistency is key and the magic ingredient that we are striving for.
Carrick believes Latte Lath has what it takes to finish off our chances and is improving game by game:
Its playing to each others strengths in certain situations. Manny [Latte Lath] last three or four games he`s looked sharp, looked threatening, he`s making them runs. It develops over time. We cant forget the change, even for him coming from a different league. Change of clubs. Change of country [Looks interviewer straight in the eye]. You know, he`s happy, he`s settled, he`s looking sharp, so we need to make the best of that.
Carrick commented a few games back that providing fire power is not just about swapping one player for another: he stressed the importance of Josh Coburn still being young and needing to be "managed" rather than pile all expectations on his shoulders. He also hinted that one option is to play Coburn and Lath off each other "if we decide to go down that route".
Hull are an inconsistent, but capable, side, "similar to us" said the boss. But we need to focus on how we set up and how we play our own game. Liam Rosenior did a good job at Derby, given the circumstances and at Hull has given them an identity and style. They press hard and they collected the scalp of Leicester at King Power Stadium early on in the season. That was the Foxes first home defeat.
We can beat anybody on our day.
But for us, we know what we are capable of. On the day we can beat anybody. Lets hope those passes are a little sharper tonight and the players keep talking to each other. We dont want to see players receiving yellow cards for unnecessary fouls and nearing possible suspensions. Players need to think and stop putting ourselves in danger when a simple clearance would solve a problem. Our players, particularly the Senior pro`s, need to become leaders in the game: setting a good example and using their strengths. In a tight squad, we have no room for personal strops or outbursts of "attitude" with the ref. We need to be as one and get the job done.
Its Not Christmas Time yet asserted Carrick:
Christmas is not here yet….like you said, we are three points better off than last year, three points off the play-offs. Its a marathon-and-a-half to go yet. I think its easy to get kind of tunnel-vision and narrow-minded a little bit. Each disappointment seems a huge one. Over the course of the season, staying in there, putting a run together, building our performances and being around it for as long as you can and come the end of the season it takes its shape, so….[there`s] a long way to go yet. We want to get back to winning, we want to get back to playing really well and….I`m sure we`ll do that over a period of time and hopefully sometime soon.
The meaning of "hard work" is something which runs through the Teesside DNA. Its runs through the roller-coaster story of the Boro. We have the best Chairman in the League in Steve Gibson, who knows well what hard work means. We do`nt suffer fools gladly and will say so when we mean it. We`ve virtually rebuilt a team since last season and are in the process of fine tuning and tweaking it as best we can. This can also be a time for our young Academy lads to get their chance and prove their worth. There`s speculation and rumour about what`s likely or "going to" happen in the new year regards transfers, incomings and outgoings. But for now, we deal with what we have.
Boro fans always back the lads if they put a shift in, if they bust a gut to reach that ball, to get in that crucial pass, to muscle past that oncoming defender, to squeeze that shot into the opponents net.
We need to put that shift in tonight.
We can do this!
Come on Boro!
r00fie1.13/12/2023
Michael Carrick highlights one of the biggest problems for him is the "consistency" the team needs to push on. Its been an issue with the lengthening list of players out injured and the expectation that others will step - in, seamlessly, to the team and do the job. Its not an easy task to manage, but its one he`s convinced we can overcome. Lets face it - he has no choice whilst key players are still out.
Its not easy when your players are coming in, chopping and changing, creating new partnerships [and] new connections. That`s not on the quality of the lads who are coming into the team at all, its just more of, its not easy to come in when there`s chopping and changing going on. Probably effected us a little bit: not down to individuals [but] more of a collective. That`s how it is at the moment. Its fine. Its no problem. We`ll make the best of it and the great thing about it is there`s games coming thick and fast, that we can always do better in.
Carrick was quite assertive in acknowledging that largely our defence is up to the job, but not always getting it right. Against Ipswich it was a typical example of where we need to tighten up our defence. We have been generous in allowing our opponents to exploit the holes created by our attacking-style of play. From what he said, it appears there`s been a lot of work in training to get that issue sorted:
Again, even Saturday, there was pretty much two shots on target and we find ourselves two-nil down at that stage so…….its something we need to put right. We keep talking about it: we`re defending our goal pretty well in general. But, in terms of lengths of time and areas and shots that we face….we definitely got to do something about it! [Spoken very assertively]. Consistency is key and the magic ingredient that we are striving for.
Carrick believes Latte Lath has what it takes to finish off our chances and is improving game by game:
Its playing to each others strengths in certain situations. Manny [Latte Lath] last three or four games he`s looked sharp, looked threatening, he`s making them runs. It develops over time. We cant forget the change, even for him coming from a different league. Change of clubs. Change of country [Looks interviewer straight in the eye]. You know, he`s happy, he`s settled, he`s looking sharp, so we need to make the best of that.
Carrick commented a few games back that providing fire power is not just about swapping one player for another: he stressed the importance of Josh Coburn still being young and needing to be "managed" rather than pile all expectations on his shoulders. He also hinted that one option is to play Coburn and Lath off each other "if we decide to go down that route".
Hull are an inconsistent, but capable, side, "similar to us" said the boss. But we need to focus on how we set up and how we play our own game. Liam Rosenior did a good job at Derby, given the circumstances and at Hull has given them an identity and style. They press hard and they collected the scalp of Leicester at King Power Stadium early on in the season. That was the Foxes first home defeat.
We can beat anybody on our day.
But for us, we know what we are capable of. On the day we can beat anybody. Lets hope those passes are a little sharper tonight and the players keep talking to each other. We dont want to see players receiving yellow cards for unnecessary fouls and nearing possible suspensions. Players need to think and stop putting ourselves in danger when a simple clearance would solve a problem. Our players, particularly the Senior pro`s, need to become leaders in the game: setting a good example and using their strengths. In a tight squad, we have no room for personal strops or outbursts of "attitude" with the ref. We need to be as one and get the job done.
Its Not Christmas Time yet asserted Carrick:
Christmas is not here yet….like you said, we are three points better off than last year, three points off the play-offs. Its a marathon-and-a-half to go yet. I think its easy to get kind of tunnel-vision and narrow-minded a little bit. Each disappointment seems a huge one. Over the course of the season, staying in there, putting a run together, building our performances and being around it for as long as you can and come the end of the season it takes its shape, so….[there`s] a long way to go yet. We want to get back to winning, we want to get back to playing really well and….I`m sure we`ll do that over a period of time and hopefully sometime soon.
The meaning of "hard work" is something which runs through the Teesside DNA. Its runs through the roller-coaster story of the Boro. We have the best Chairman in the League in Steve Gibson, who knows well what hard work means. We do`nt suffer fools gladly and will say so when we mean it. We`ve virtually rebuilt a team since last season and are in the process of fine tuning and tweaking it as best we can. This can also be a time for our young Academy lads to get their chance and prove their worth. There`s speculation and rumour about what`s likely or "going to" happen in the new year regards transfers, incomings and outgoings. But for now, we deal with what we have.
Boro fans always back the lads if they put a shift in, if they bust a gut to reach that ball, to get in that crucial pass, to muscle past that oncoming defender, to squeeze that shot into the opponents net.
We need to put that shift in tonight.
We can do this!
Come on Boro!
r00fie1.13/12/2023
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