We certainly rolled the dice in the summer

Jedi boro

Jedi boro

Well-known member
But it appears from the start of the season not one of the new guys except maybe obrien are what you would call hang your hat on first 11 starters, they are all work in progress or just not ready for this level as yet.

Surely to go with so many risky punts that you would take in some experienced campaigners as a security blanket if nothing else.

I’m genuinely in disbelief at how bad our squad is, typified last night in josh coburn arguably our biggest attacking threat who was already at the club and was all set to be jettisoned out on loan in favour of these new recruits.
 
I’m struggling to think how we can fix it in jan as I think we need 5-8 senior pros at least to fix this squad
 
There’s two things that may have happened, and I’m not saying I know which one it is.

Everything was going fine with last season’s squad, then we lost a few good players and brought in a load of rubbish replacements who are so bad we’ve gone from 4th to 24th.

OR

We started to stutter last season once we’d shot up the league, promotion was in sight, and the inexperienced talismen were in unfamiliar territory. The squad has lost all confidence and we have since replaced those players with folk who were never going to flourish because the current environment is not a place for budding players to flourish.

Or maybe, just maybe, the truth is somewhere in the middle. I dare say football management isn’t as easy as it sometimes looks. That said, there are clearly a number of people who need to dig deep and turn it around very quickly.
 
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We can still field 10 outfield players with players that were here when Carrick took over. Akpom and Giles are the obvious omissions, but if we can get Bangura playing left back (we don’t have anyone else) and give Josh a run of games, or play Forss up top, then we have enough players to get us out of this mess, at least until January anyway.

Something is very wrong though, and it needs addressing quick.
 
I think Dieng was the only one I’d say has proved to be a decent buy, and RVDB. O’Brien on loan was a decent move, but otherwise it very much looks like we need to be reverting to the players that were already here.
 
Jedi boro said:
I’m struggling to think how we can fix it in jan as I think we need 5-8 senior pros at least to fix this squad
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I honestly think we are going down. With the exception of RVDB and the keeper, I don't see the other signings as being anywhere near good enough and doubt they ever will be.


If we don't win Saturday I reckon MC is gone too as I reckon we will have little other option.
 
Jedi boro said:
Let’s face it none of us have a clue who’ll turn out against Southampton it could be anything we might even play Gilbert in goal.
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We need players who are chomping at the bit to play. Carrick said that Gilbert had been training really well so to not even include him on the bench was very strange.
 
uncle_rico said:
We can still field 10 outfield players with players that were here when Carrick took over. Akpom and Giles are the obvious omissions, but if we can get Bangura playing left back (we don’t have anyone else) and give Josh a run of games, or play Forss up top, then we have enough players to get us out of this mess, at least until January anyway.

Something is very wrong though, and it needs addressing quick.
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Exactly this.

If we were floating around mid table I could understand the "none of this is Carrick's fault, he's been stitched up" argument.

But we're rock bottom of the league without a win. We can still field 11 players who have proven they can play at championship level.

The recruitment hasn't been great, but he should be doing much, much better with the players he has.

We do need a few to stand up and be counted mind.

The biggest concern is that he seems to be watching a different game to most fans based on team selection and substitutions. I think quite a lot of fans are understandably starting to question his judgement.
 
uncle_rico said:
We need players who are chomping at the bit to play. Carrick said that Gilbert had been training really well so to not even include him on the bench was very strange.
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I think when he asked specific questions about players not playing that’s the sort of answer you are going to get.

Being a manager/coach these days involves a degree of diplomacy.
 
I've seen some utter crap Boro teams in my time, but I don't think I've seen one so disjointed and with so little quality and depth all over the pitch. The full backs are a disaster, Fry and Lenihan can't play when they're facing their own goal and seemed to be bickering last night. Defensive midfield is OK, we don't seem to trust the best midfielder we currently have, Jones is good in 15 minute bursts but never as a starter, and we have a squadron of ostensibly attaching players who - y'know - can't score but "might come good some day". That mad week in July when we signed about 7 players looks like utter folly now - Rogers, Gilbert, Silvera; why?

They looked last night like they'd been introduced in the tunnel. I have no idea who our best XI is, but we just keep plugging these players in and hoping something good will happen.
 
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