Jump to content
oneBoro Forum

p_mards

Members
  • Content Count

    8,341
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    8

Everything posted by p_mards

  1. It's behind a paywall so I've copied it over: Championship defenders must wish some Middlesbrough fans got their way this summer and Chuba Akpom had left the Riverside Stadium — instead, the former Arsenal youngster is enjoying the season of his career. He has 21 league goals and counting for Michael Carrick’s in-form side but in July it looked like his time in the north east was coming to the end. Made to train with the under-21s by Chris Wilder after returning late for pre-season, the 27-year-old was aware of the prevailing mood given his sparse returns since signing for the club in
  2. Reading are in poor form, struggle away from home and aren't very good defensively so it feel much like the QPR game as everyone is expecting us to beat them also. Hopefully the players are ready to bounce back after last Saturday's disappointment as we need to get a good run of form going again. The key thing I'll be looking at from kick-off is how our central midfielders, likely Howson and Hackney, can get on the ball and move the ball about to let our shape open up. That's what let us down in the first-half against QPR, and once we improved it we were the dominant side.
  3. Giles' assists have dropped off due to a mix of teams better dealing with the McGree and Giles combination down the left flank, and also because our style of play has changed since the Watford game in late January since Archer became first-choice; During that time we've become a far more rounded team as we can now open up teams through the central areas and are far more effective on counter-attacks. The threat and width that Giles provides helps spread opposition teams wider, which provides space the central areas for us to play through. Since the change in our style of play the likes of Arche
  4. Carrick clearly considers Smith a vital part of his team on and off the pitch given his experience and leadership qualities so it's great news to get him tied down for another season. While there are more glamorous RB's about than Smith, the role he plays is pretty disciplined and he's a player that gives a platform for more adventurous players to play with freedom. When we're playing out from the back within our 4-2-3-1, he at RB tucks into a RCB position with Giles at LB pushing forward into a LW role, so that our shape is a 3-5-2 (3-2-3-2) structure. So I'd struggle to see a better Champion
  5. Given that on Saturday we play West Brom, and Watford play Sheffield United, the best case scenario for tonight's match is West Brom to lose, their goalkeeper have a stinker and pick up injuries/suspensions and Watford come through unscathed. It'll knock their confidence for when we play them and give Watford a boost ahead of playing Sheffield United.
  6. West Brom have huge concern over their goalkeepers at the moment. Their usual first-choice, David Button, was eventually dropped for their match away to Blackburn after poor performances throughout this season. His replacement, 21 year old Josh Griffiths, then let Ben Brereton Diaz's free-kick straight through his hands on the 89th minute to cost them 2 points. They play tomorrow night away to Watford so it'll be interesting to see who Corberan starts.
  7. A few random thoughts. It's interesting that Carrick put our first-half struggles down to the high emotions of Wednesday night. While that certainly played a big part, for me another important factor was Barlaser fitting in alongside Hackney in Howson's vital place. Usually we're excellent at playing the ball out of defence into our central midfield and recycling the ball looking for openings but that element just wasn't there. We were fortunate to come through that difficult spell by not conceding in the first-half and turning things around in the second-half once Barlaser and Hackney go
  8. The top two spots are as good as gone so my main target is to cement 3rd or 4th spot so that we get the home leg last in the play-off semi-finals. Beating Sheffield United will give us some hope of 2nd spot, but ultimately our chances of catching them will still be incredibly slim, so I'm not going to be gutted if we lose. Sheffield United are going to see this game as an opportunity to push them into a seemingly insurmountable lead. Hopefully our calmness under Carrick can help us spring a surprise win to move us closer to them and hopefully kick-start a dip in their form, which will hopefull
  9. It was very much a game of two halves. First half we dominated possession and played some fantastic football. Both of our goals were products of high quality football. Hackney was incredible in the first-half with the way he kept the ball flowing. Second half was a lot more of a slog - especially after Cardiff made their substitutions and got an extra person into midfield. After they loaded their midfield we struggled to keep the ball and Cardiff were the team with the momentum. In many ways the second half showed different qualities, both for the team and also Carrick as a manager. As a
  10. Huddersfield have sacked Mark Fotheringham. They'll be another club for Wilder to apply for.
  11. Footy Insider have said that Corberan is Leeds' number one target and West Brom are braced for their approach: https://www.footballinsider247.com/leeds-united-corberan-top-target-sources/ It'll be a huge boost for us if Corberan leaves as they're currently looking our toughest rivals for promotion via the play-offs. Plus we play them on Saturday 25th February so they might not be at the same level that they're performing at now.
  12. Jones posted his baby’s gender reveal on Instagram. That going on in his private life might have contributed to his struggles on the pitch this season.
  13. The football we play is a joy to watch under Carrick. Considering the huge improvements Carrick has made already, even if we're in the Championship next season I can't wait to see the further progress he makes with more time to build his team. The way we play the ball out from the back and into midfield is phenomenal. While it looks so effortless and simple at times, it takes a top quality coach, a high level of ability and a strong mentality to do it. Watching us play reminds me, albeit with roles reversed, of the times under Warnock and Pulis when high quality passing teams would play us off
  14. Mick McCarthy set Blackpool up in a 5-4-1 (5-2-3) formation in their FA Cup match against Southampton so I'm assuming that's how they'll set up today. That should help them keep lots of players behind the ball, at least when they've had the time to get their defensive shape back. It's probably more likely to pan out more like the Millwall game than the open and exciting Watford match, as it's got the potential to be a nervy, attritional game with Blackpool sitting deep in their shape and aiming to drag us down to their level. If we don't get an early goal we'll have to remain patient and keep
  15. Hoppe desperately needs an opportunity for regular minutes so it's a brilliant opportunity for him at Hibs. It surely means that we'll need to sign another striker if Muniz leaves.
  16. Calum Kavanagh has put a story on Instagram of him driving South on the M1. Likely on his way to sign on loan for a club?
  17. Random thought: Josh Maja? He's out of contract at Bordeaux in the summer so should be available for a reasonable price. Currently top scorer in Ligue 2 with 11 goals and 3 assists. Edit* I thought he was left-footed but he appears to be right-footed, so makes it less of a good fit for the RW role.
  18. I'm sure that our preference is to sign a winger on a permanent deal so that we can develop our own. If that's the case then it's an extremely large pot of players who we could be targeting and would explain why it's still a mystery. However, if it's a Premier League loan then my money would be on one of: Keane Lewis-Potter, Sikiri Dembele, Jeremy Sarmiento, Facundo Pellistri, Elliot Anderson & Harry Wilson (less likely and very expensive - I only think it's a possibility because he'll want regular games to get match sharpness and form for Wales qualifiers). Outside of them I can't see man
  19. Even when Jones was performing well under Warnock and Wilder, he still had a poor shot on him, was technically poor, and very one-footed - so simply couldn't do the same RW role that Forss has. It's a key reason why I've never fancied him in the role of a right winger in a 4-2-3-1, as converting chances is generally a vital aspect of the role. In the RWB role within Wilder's 3-5-2, them defects were largely hidden as his role was predominantly based around getting on the outside opposition defences, beating his man to get to the edge of the penalty area, in line with the 6 yard box, and s
  20. We were brilliant yesterday. It was a fantastic all-round team performance with so many positives. Our style of play is incredibly enjoyable to watch. I was expecting a far harder game than we got so was pleasantly surprised with how comfortable it was in the end. It's easy to say that Watford were rubbish, but we deserve credit for stopping them from playing their style and us controlling the game. The first-half was dominant stuff by us. If we were winning 5-0 it wouldn't have been unfair on Watford. We had a dodgy 10 minutes spell at the start of the second-half when Watford got onto the ba
  21. Our system requires a lot of quality from our two central midfielders, especially with their press-resistance and ability to play in tight spaces, so I'm looking forward to seeing how Hackney and Barlaser perform together. Barlaser's physical presence will be an added bonus too as it will help us deal with opposition who want to drag teams into a physical battle and are a big threat from set pieces - much like how Millwall two dragged us into a battle for the final 30 minutes in our recent match. Funnily enough, I just watched the first-half of Man Utd under 21's match against Blackburn u
  22. Newcastle have agreed a fee with Everton for Anthony Gordon so that could prompt them to allow Elliot Anderson to leave on loan. If he stay there then he'll be nowhere near the first team and his development stagnate. I don't think I've seen us linked anywhere with him, but he'll surely tick a lot of boxes as an option on either wing.
  23. Great news. The Northern Echo breaking it first is interesting as they said we also have an interest in Ogbene - despite the Evening Gazette saying we didn't.
  24. What a poor first-half by us. There has been huge individual errors from Steffen and Fry that we're incredibly lucky to have got away with so far. We're also far too open on the transition, with either Giles caught far too high up the pitch or our wingers Forss and McGree not back in their shape. Sunderland's dangerous wide players are getting far too many 1v1's in dangerous wide areas against our stretched defence. We surely can't perform much worse in the second half.
  25. Bamba's version of events regarding Akpom going out on loan was interesting. He said that Warnock wanted to keep him but Akpom wanted to go out to play games. If I remember correctly, didn't Warnock publicly criticise Akpom and even say the he the club really wanted him based on stats, but he'd never watched him play and wasn't his signing from the start? It wouldn't surprise me if Warnock recently provided his old friend Bamba a positive spin on events.
×
×
  • Create New...