r00fie1
Well-known member
Its that time again>>>>>
Saturday 2nd December 2023. Leeds United v Middlesbrough at Elland Road. KO 15:00 hrs.
Michael Carrick was in no mood to dwell on Boro`s thumping victory over Preston, even though Isaiah Jones got a brace and Rav VDB got his first for the club, as did Alex Bangura. It was certainly a welcome reminder of just how good we can be and really are. Before the game, Boro had played five out of the top nine teams and won four. If we were to carry on that trend on Saturday, it will be played seven out of the top nine - and won six! Hard to fathom out at first, but its true.
Carrick was really pleased that Matte Clarke had persevered over many months, to get back to fitness and compete for a place in the team. Those few minutes from the bench and the debut of young Boro Academy Graduate Law McCabe really impressed:
That was the biggest thing for me .....along with young Law [McCabe] making his debut, were the two standouts for me on the night. The game was good when the game was good, but to see `Clarkie` back on the pitch from….the kind of whole process he`s been through really, to make it was great.
Carrick batted away comments about confidence being high against Leeds following Preston and also brought the main focus back to the match; being just another game, another challenge and something the “boys” have been looking forward to. Feet on the floor. Leeds are a side with players with Premiership experience and have got to where they are on the back of weathering some early storms and fought their way to third spot in the League. Leeds have gathered points from beating the likes of Huddersfield, Norwich and QPR and managed a draw against Rotherham only a week ago.
Since coming back down to “where we belong” [In the Championship] they have managed 5 draws and 3 defeats in eighteen games. Only eight points above us, it could be down to five by the final whistle tomorrow!
Carrick commented:
[Leeds]...are a very good team with largely Premier League players, or players who have experienced the Premier League, which does kind of make a difference. But...the boys have shown against Southampton [and] Leicester that we are capable of challenging and playing well against teams that have come down. So its a whole new game and I`m sure if we play what we`re capable of then we`ve got a chance. I`m not saying it`ll be easy and the fact we`ve just beaten Preston kind of…...it becomes at three o`clock Saturday kind of irrelevant. The boys will be looking forward to the game, be ready for it, but we know what its like….anything can happen in these games
Carrick isnt phased by the “Yorkshire Derby” quoted by one scribing whit. It will obviously be a feisty affair, as Boro have had a few battles on the pitch against them over the years. Lets face it, Leeds spent 20 years trying to get back into the Premiership and played Blackburn Rovers in that period, more times than playing Manchester United ! Carrick pays them respect, but highlighted what he has said at least twice before in recent interactions with the media:
Its not going to make or break our season in terms of tell us are we good enough or are we not good enough. Its a great game for us to go there and try and win for sure.
Injuries have had a major impact so far on the players available for selection, but we have battled and shown we have the depth of squad to take on the challenges in front of us. Dael, Hayden and Lucas are all probables [depending on their progress up until today, when they will be assessed fit or unfit to play]. Still no sign of Forss or McGree [at the time of writing] – although no one asked yesterday……..! Clarke may be available again and there is also the opportunity for one, maybe two, of the U21` / U18`s to get minutes on the pitch? When you consider the players currently out for at least a week or two longer, if not for the rest of the season: Smith, Lenihan, McGree, Forss, O`Brien – at least four of those had been regulars in the team, with O`Brien just making his mark.
Its interesting to see how players come an go if we compare the Boro team against Preston on Tuesday night, to the one Carrick took over in that last-minute defeat at Deepdale - almost thirteen months ago. Arguably, we have a stronger, more unified team of players than we had back then:
[Courtesy BBC Sport Football]
Jonny Howson is one of the most experienced players to face Leeds tomorrow and this will hopefully add that “spice” and “excitement” to the atmosphere. His role has been “unbelievable” on and off the pitch since Carrick arrived. Carrick described how Jonny always looks after himself and provides leadership by example, particularly to the younger players – sharing knowledge and playing in highly charged games – which ultimately “rubs off” on players like Hayden Hackney and Josh Coburn. But there is no way Carrick believes Jonny`s career is on countdown:
[Jonny]...has an unbelievable attitude and to still be playing at the age he`s at , at such a level, for me he`s still got more to come. Its not counting down the days by any stretch.
Carrick discussed the different playing styles of Latte Lath and Josh Coburn, believing the latter needs “managing” to get the most out of him and “protect” him. As he said at the pre-Preston media conference, Josh has had a lot to do and a weight on his shoulders recently and Carrick wants him available, not just for now, but into new year and May.
Interestingly he commented about the possibility of playing Coburn and Lathe together at some point:
We[ve] made that call. There`s no hiding from the fact….they bring what they bring, which is fantastic for us to have the options. Who knows, they can play together as well in different ways, if we go down that route at some point. So its definitely good to have the options.
So its back to the grind of relentless games and the weather is getting cooler, the pitches are hardening and we are showing signs of the hard work bearing fruit. It wont be an easy game by any stretch and Leeds will be up for it. They know they have to keep gathering points to keep on the heals of Ipswich and Leicester. They may be seven points shy of the top two, but much can change very quickly – as we know.
A bright spark with a smartphone asked Carrick if he had any particularly fond memories of playing at Elland Road, but obviously forgot that whilst playing at Manchester United, they were in the Premier League, whilst Leeds were…..not in the Premier League!
Other than a couple of times in his youth at West Ham and later in the shirt of the Red Devils in a League Cup Match, Carrick has played more FA Cup and Champions League matches than games against Leeds in his entire career
We go again against the `dirty whites` and hope to bring back those valuable three points. Its not impossible. Considering we have beaten Cardiff, Preston, Southampton and Leicester, who have all had good starts and been consistently in the top half of the table, we hold no fear.
“I`m sure I`ll get a nice warm welcome when I go there” ....... said our Gaffa, in anticipation of meeting and greeting the Leeds fans tomorrow.
We can do this.
Come On Boro !
roofie1 01/12/2023
Michael Carrick was in no mood to dwell on Boro`s thumping victory over Preston, even though Isaiah Jones got a brace and Rav VDB got his first for the club, as did Alex Bangura. It was certainly a welcome reminder of just how good we can be and really are. Before the game, Boro had played five out of the top nine teams and won four. If we were to carry on that trend on Saturday, it will be played seven out of the top nine - and won six! Hard to fathom out at first, but its true.
Carrick was really pleased that Matte Clarke had persevered over many months, to get back to fitness and compete for a place in the team. Those few minutes from the bench and the debut of young Boro Academy Graduate Law McCabe really impressed:
That was the biggest thing for me .....along with young Law [McCabe] making his debut, were the two standouts for me on the night. The game was good when the game was good, but to see `Clarkie` back on the pitch from….the kind of whole process he`s been through really, to make it was great.
Carrick batted away comments about confidence being high against Leeds following Preston and also brought the main focus back to the match; being just another game, another challenge and something the “boys” have been looking forward to. Feet on the floor. Leeds are a side with players with Premiership experience and have got to where they are on the back of weathering some early storms and fought their way to third spot in the League. Leeds have gathered points from beating the likes of Huddersfield, Norwich and QPR and managed a draw against Rotherham only a week ago.
Since coming back down to “where we belong” [In the Championship] they have managed 5 draws and 3 defeats in eighteen games. Only eight points above us, it could be down to five by the final whistle tomorrow!
Carrick commented:
[Leeds]...are a very good team with largely Premier League players, or players who have experienced the Premier League, which does kind of make a difference. But...the boys have shown against Southampton [and] Leicester that we are capable of challenging and playing well against teams that have come down. So its a whole new game and I`m sure if we play what we`re capable of then we`ve got a chance. I`m not saying it`ll be easy and the fact we`ve just beaten Preston kind of…...it becomes at three o`clock Saturday kind of irrelevant. The boys will be looking forward to the game, be ready for it, but we know what its like….anything can happen in these games
Carrick isnt phased by the “Yorkshire Derby” quoted by one scribing whit. It will obviously be a feisty affair, as Boro have had a few battles on the pitch against them over the years. Lets face it, Leeds spent 20 years trying to get back into the Premiership and played Blackburn Rovers in that period, more times than playing Manchester United ! Carrick pays them respect, but highlighted what he has said at least twice before in recent interactions with the media:
Its not going to make or break our season in terms of tell us are we good enough or are we not good enough. Its a great game for us to go there and try and win for sure.
Injuries have had a major impact so far on the players available for selection, but we have battled and shown we have the depth of squad to take on the challenges in front of us. Dael, Hayden and Lucas are all probables [depending on their progress up until today, when they will be assessed fit or unfit to play]. Still no sign of Forss or McGree [at the time of writing] – although no one asked yesterday……..! Clarke may be available again and there is also the opportunity for one, maybe two, of the U21` / U18`s to get minutes on the pitch? When you consider the players currently out for at least a week or two longer, if not for the rest of the season: Smith, Lenihan, McGree, Forss, O`Brien – at least four of those had been regulars in the team, with O`Brien just making his mark.
Its interesting to see how players come an go if we compare the Boro team against Preston on Tuesday night, to the one Carrick took over in that last-minute defeat at Deepdale - almost thirteen months ago. Arguably, we have a stronger, more unified team of players than we had back then:
[Courtesy BBC Sport Football]
Jonny Howson is one of the most experienced players to face Leeds tomorrow and this will hopefully add that “spice” and “excitement” to the atmosphere. His role has been “unbelievable” on and off the pitch since Carrick arrived. Carrick described how Jonny always looks after himself and provides leadership by example, particularly to the younger players – sharing knowledge and playing in highly charged games – which ultimately “rubs off” on players like Hayden Hackney and Josh Coburn. But there is no way Carrick believes Jonny`s career is on countdown:
[Jonny]...has an unbelievable attitude and to still be playing at the age he`s at , at such a level, for me he`s still got more to come. Its not counting down the days by any stretch.
Carrick discussed the different playing styles of Latte Lath and Josh Coburn, believing the latter needs “managing” to get the most out of him and “protect” him. As he said at the pre-Preston media conference, Josh has had a lot to do and a weight on his shoulders recently and Carrick wants him available, not just for now, but into new year and May.
Interestingly he commented about the possibility of playing Coburn and Lathe together at some point:
We[ve] made that call. There`s no hiding from the fact….they bring what they bring, which is fantastic for us to have the options. Who knows, they can play together as well in different ways, if we go down that route at some point. So its definitely good to have the options.
So its back to the grind of relentless games and the weather is getting cooler, the pitches are hardening and we are showing signs of the hard work bearing fruit. It wont be an easy game by any stretch and Leeds will be up for it. They know they have to keep gathering points to keep on the heals of Ipswich and Leicester. They may be seven points shy of the top two, but much can change very quickly – as we know.
A bright spark with a smartphone asked Carrick if he had any particularly fond memories of playing at Elland Road, but obviously forgot that whilst playing at Manchester United, they were in the Premier League, whilst Leeds were…..not in the Premier League!
Other than a couple of times in his youth at West Ham and later in the shirt of the Red Devils in a League Cup Match, Carrick has played more FA Cup and Champions League matches than games against Leeds in his entire career
We go again against the `dirty whites` and hope to bring back those valuable three points. Its not impossible. Considering we have beaten Cardiff, Preston, Southampton and Leicester, who have all had good starts and been consistently in the top half of the table, we hold no fear.
“I`m sure I`ll get a nice warm welcome when I go there” ....... said our Gaffa, in anticipation of meeting and greeting the Leeds fans tomorrow.
We can do this.
Come On Boro !
roofie1 01/12/2023
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