GwenStuani

We must hold the record for the number of sackings after we've played them or just before?

Fulham are not an outstanding attacking side though. Nobody is in this division any more because those that were here last season got promoted and left and the one remaining side got a new manager and completely changed their style of play to become more defensive (Derby). The sides that were relegated aren't renowned as great attacking sides either so what you have by default is a division with less attacking quality in it, less attack minded teams and therefore less goals. The comparison is in any case pointless because what I'm talking about isn't so much whether we score more or less th

To say it's is defence alone is laughable. The highest scoring team in the league is Fulham. They have scored 5 more goals than us this season. Or to put another way , on average for every 5 games they only score one goal more than us. Throw in the fact we are a game behind too. People are trying to highlight a problem that factually, simply isn't there. The truth is, we are so well rounded on every part of the pitch that it's becoming scary. I think some fans are not used to this kind of success and assume something always has to be wrong.

Just catching up so sorry if this seems out of topic When we haven't conceded in 9 games, and we have scored in 8 of those 9, why do we have an apparent need for a striker who "guarantees goals" ? In my opinion we don't need a striker with better quality than nugent and kike, we just need another striker for depth

I see what you did there. Also, when Ponce posts, I get wood. Speaking of wood and Doyle, need to pop to Morrisons for a few bits and pieces, heard there's mega promotions on offer right now...

A bit harsh. If you were going to get an extra couple of million by waiting 6 months would you not wait it out? I hate when fans berate players for being greedy and question their attitude because of it. Yes footballers earn an obscene amount of money but like any career, you try to make as much money out of it as possible. He has no connection to Middlesbrough so why would he decide to lose out on millions just to move here. Don't question his attitude because of it. At the end of the day, he's a fantastic striker, too good for this division and if we signed him it would be an unbelievabl

every league game we play I get the feeling I can't look past a well thought out disciplined boro win. Sure we lost against a championship team but the cup is a whole different ball game. This form will continue for some time now and don't be surprised if we come away from Brentford with another clean sheet. Incredible the results were putting out in the league

Not sure if this was mentioned but Rhys came on at half time for charlton and kept a clean sheet. Nice to see him get some game time

To be fair, i imagine its only teams with a chance of promotion from their respective league that are likely to be less interested. Everyone else its a good chance to win at least something And relegation battles considering in the leagues there's 2 or three auto spots, 4 play off places, 3 or 4 relegation spots and a few European spots pretty much the entire 92 have something to concentrate on. pouring more money into it and less into the PL would help imo

Love the FA cup . People not bein bothered about it is the reason it's lost it's magic. If every fan and team took it seriously it would be amazing. Gutted to be out but take the positives I guess.

Who? Lee Tomlin... It's there twice right in front of your eyes ;)

Very strong team. With the exception of de Pena :D

But Karanka does know this. If de Pena starts today, it will be because he deserves it. The same with Mejias, Amorebieta etc. They haven't done enough to be playing week in, week out, but haven't disgraced themselves either. You seem to think that de Pena's failure to be first choice LW makes him an awful player. There is no shame in being behind Adomah and Downing in the pecking order, both are international footballers with plenty of experience. It's a squad game, and de Pena gets in the squad most weeks. This is more likely to be because he has the ability than any kind of pigheadedness o

How can you make that assumption when he has played 0 games. Surely were more qualified to say de Pena isn't ready based on 8 appearances than Harry chapman isn't ready based on none? People who have seen him play, including coaches, players, ex coaches, journos, ex assistant managers, academy team followers seem to think he is. If Harry is settled and de Pena is not, should there roles within he club not be swapped. De Pena should be playing in the under 21's to acclimatise and Harry should be on the bench to challenge the first team and gain experience

If he's not settled why are we playing him over players that are settled and have been playing English football for years?

And there we have it on de Pena , we have come full circle "if he is good enough he will play" . By your own logic alone applied against the youngsters, if applied to de Pena you come to the same conclusion as myself, he is not good enough. Case suspended your honour. Edit: also just realised by the same logic I cant accept that chapman is not good enough either based on 0 games. The notion to suggest this is , to your own words "ludicrous" :D Edit 2: or ANY of our other academy players

I'm arguing youngster in place of a flop. You're arguing against youngsters in place of our First choice starting eleven . I agree with you. But your argument isn't a direct response towards my argument as they aren't the same thing.

We are the strongest team in the league. I don't want us to risk promotion. Today affects neither of these?

I agree, but when i hear the opinion of EVERY single person who have seen him play, they all say the same thing. Why or how could I argue against it, and why has nobody had a bad word to say about him? There has to be a reason journos, fans of the youth team, ex coaches, current coaches, players and even the manager himself have been saying excellent things and building up talk about his first team chances only to be told he's not ready? what kind of message does that give the youth players that are good but not as good as chapman? They may aswell skip the charade and move to league two sides

The same reason you buy most players. Competition, squad depth and options. Just because he's not getting a game ahead of Adomah, one of the most popular and talented players at the club, doesn't make him worthless. He has been disappointing. He shouldn't keep his place on the bench by default or his game will never improve.

Maybe he picks de Pena as backup because if he doesn't it's like admitting his 2m fringe player is a disappointment and waste of money? What has Spanish youth football got to do with an English non youth cup game? Either chapman is an excellent player or he's not. Many are saying he is - even karanka has alluded to this himself. But now he's not good enough and if he plays we will lose?

Is de Pena good enough? Apparently not to some members of this board. So why bother playing him? Hignett said chapman would fit seamlessly into our team and not look out of place. Add that to the various other superlatives and you have to wonder why He's all of a sudden "not good enough" to play ahead of another player who came with a hefty price tag (for the championship) and hasn't exactly covered himself in glory and many don't rate him. Listen I'm not saying shove him in for downing , stuani or adomah. But if it came to last pick and I had to choose between chapman and and de Pena,

Labels I've heard so far on chapman "Best academy product since downing" "A phenomenon" "Wonder kid" "Scores probably one f the best goals at the riverside" Yet we wouldn't give him a chance of de Pena for fear of losing? Give me a break. Liverpool played 8 academy players in there squad. I'm suggesting playing one. If you can't see that difference I have no hope

Just read the article about karanka on playing academy players today. "If we play academy players we will not win, that's for sure" As good a manager as karanka is, I disagree entirely with his attitude to our own young players. In fact is say his attitude is extremely poor. Does he think boro fans expect to see 11 academy players? I'd go as far to say play the strongest side and fling in at least chapman. If reports are to be believed he can't be worse than de Pena. Riaky telling the academy kids they aren't good enough imo. Losing our reputation as a good place to start your ca

The arrogance of klopps team selection + subs is astounding