It is starting to become a little worrying as a Boro fan

Nothing has changed

A few weeks ago I posted regarding a change in expectations from fans, pundits and the press. I will not go over old ground here but the general consensus from the footballing world was that Boro were favourites to win the league this season. They pointed to the strong core within the squad that remained from the last promotion campaign. They quite rightly looked at the amount of money that we spent in the summer on some very useful additions and were impressed with our commitment to a season long promotion push. I think the tag of promotion favourites was merited and this is why I believe now is the time to start becoming a little concerned about the performances of the team.

We still have no shape or identity. Since my previous post we have taken three points from each of the two tough away games at Reading and Hull, beaten Sunderland at home and suffered defeat at Leeds. Nine points from 12 including three tough away games. You would think that would be cause for optimism? Sorry, not in my eyes. Whilst those nine points are of course very welcome, what I was really interested in seeing was the start of the team becoming a well-drilled, fluid, cohesive unit. Nothing I saw in those four games suggested that we are anywhere near to becoming that team.

Three wins but no performances of note

The performance at Reading was sloppy. Luckily they were worse. I saw a flicker of hope in the first half at Hull but it was all too short lived. Against Sunderland at home we scored an early goal against our local rivals. The very same local rivals who found themselves rock bottom of the Championship, without a manager, totally out of form and bereft of any confidence whatsoever. That early goal should have set us up for a storming performance to banish the increasing doubts of the home support. What we got instead was a safety first approach that was lacking in intent, imagination or fluidity. If I was watching that without knowing about the teams involved I would have said Sunderland were the team at the top end of the league and we were the ones struggling.

Our season summed up in 97 minutes

So let's look at our performance against Leeds United. Garry Monk returning to his old club was always going to make this a tough test. I am sure their players wanted to make a point and show him that he was wrong to swap Elland Road for the Riverside. Well they certainly got what they wanted. They outfought us all over the pitch. They won almost every 50/50 challenge. They were a yard quicker. They pressed us for the full 90 minutes. They attacked with width and imagination and utilised their creative supporting trio of Saiz, Alioski and Hernandez to their full potential. Their performance was very Monk-esque. They played exactly how they did at home last season under Monk. Their new manager has come in and changed very little. He has added a touch of extra quality in an attacking sense but the shape and style of the team remains the same as it was last season.

From a Boro perspective, this performance was a continuation of the displays we have become accustomed to. After two weeks on the training ground, working with a relatively full squad of players and coming on the back of three consecutive wins I really though that this would be the game we showed our class. It was not to be. Let me start at the back. Cyrus Christie was a huge miss at right back. The young lad Roberts tried hard but lacked an understanding with Stewart Downing in front of him. He also looked a little rusty which is to be expected after very little game time. Why was Fabio not playing? If he is fit enough to be on the bench then he is fit enough to start. On the other side, George Friend looks well off the pace. He looks slightly overweight, lacking in pace, mobility and sharpness. Both full backs had a torrid afternoon and it was no surprise to see both goals coming from wide areas and the opposite winger ghosting in at the back post behind our statuesque full backs. Perhaps one of the central defenders could have dropped deeper and cut out the danger before the cross got to the back post but it was just rank bad defending all round.

In midfield, Howson and Leadbitter are too similar if we hope to progress. Both are excellent professionals and give their all but it just does not give us the platform that is needed to open up teams when we attack. They both work hard, will put their foot in and can get on the scoresheet from time to time so credit to them for that. However, it is simply impossible for a team to play fluid, expansive attacking football with two players of this ilk in the middle of the park. One of them needs to be replaced by a more forward thinking player. This is an area where games are won and lost and all four of our central midfielders, for the most part, are slow, one paced and unimaginative in possession. If we would only reign in our full backs somewhat instead of pushing them so high up the pitch we would not need two holding midfielders. Sadly, the only options I see to play the kind of central midfield role we need are Baker, who I rate highly, and Forshaw who I think could provide a faster, snappier, more forward thinking option if he recaptured his form from the start of last season. This is an area we desperately need to strengthen in January. interestingly, a certain midfielder on show at the Riverside tonight but playing in blue would have been perfect. I was very disappointed when we would not stump up the funds for Jota in the summer and instead chose to sign a midfielder like Howson when we already had three almost identical players at the club.

With a lack of creativity and tempo coming from the defence and midfield it was always going to be difficult for the three playing just in behind Britt. Our problem is that we are so slow in moving the ball from back to front. We are ponderous and retain possession thus allowing teams to get back into their defensive shape. I really cannot understand why Monk has not identified our strengths and tried to inject a bit of pace into our attacking play. On Sunday we had Tavernier, Braithwaite and Downing playing just behind Britt. I thought Downing was our best player on the day and was the one spark in our team who tried to make things happen. Tavernier never really had an impact. He reminds me a lot of Jesse Lingard at Man Utd. I am not sure what type of player Lingard is either. Granted, he is only young so there is no way I am going to be critical of him. He gets into some good scoring positions and has potential. Braithwaite needed to do more. Because of our pedestrian midfield he struggled to find space and dictate our play. He is the one with the potential to make us tick but he must show for the ball more and offer himself short when needed. Too often on Sunday we were very slow in our build up play, went from die to side and ended up either knocking it long into Britt or playing it wide to full backs. I can't for the life of me understand why Monk uses our full backs as our main attacking outlets. Christie aside, not one of the other three have a quality delivery in them. We had players like Downing and Braithwaite and Britt on the pitch on Sunday. They are attackers. they possess the attributes to score and create goals. Full backs are primarily defensive minded players that, on the whole, do not have the ability to be consistently creative. Its like Joe Root promoting Jimmy Anderson to the top of the order and expecting him to score a hatful of runs. Unrealistic. Monk needs to play to the strengths of his squad.

What does the future hold?

So where do we go from here? Tonight see's the visit of Birmingham City, a team with the worst away record in the league. Now is the time for the manager and players to deliver. The team needs to start quickly, press high, work hard and not be afraid to try things. We seem to be afraid of giving the ball away. I read an interesting piece from Kevin De Bruyne the other week when he mentioned that his pass completion percentage was lower than almost all his team mates. This did not bother him as he quite rightly indicated that it was his job to create chances. In order to do that he has to play riskier passes. Sometimes they will not come off and he will give the ball away but when he does deliver that perfect pass it leads to a goalscoring opportunity for his team. That is a perfect mindset to have. Our players look like they value possession and ball retention over everything else. Tonight, I want to see players committed to attacking and willing to take risks in advanced areas. No cutting back inside, slowing the play down, passing it from side to side etc etc. Sacrifice one of those central midfielders for a more forward thinking option. Reign in the full backs ever so slightly so that they are not taking the space of our more attacking players. Get the ball into the front four much quicker and allow them the opportunity to take advantage of that extra room to operate in. I would love to see the following team tonight:

----------------------------------Randolph-----------------------------------------

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Christie------------------Ayala-----------------Gibson---------------------Fabio

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---------------------------Clayton---------Baker----------------------------------

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-------------Downing-----------Braithwaite---------Bamford-------------------

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-------------------------------Assombolonga-------------------------------------

That is a balanced team.  Using Baker in there, a great passer of the ball and a very mobile, forward thinking player would provide those players ahead of him with quick ball. Clayton just sits in front of the defence and breaks up attacks. Allow the full backs to overlap when the time is right but emphasise to them that they must not drag their markers back with them and close the space for the likes of Downing, Braithwaite and Bamford.

In my humble opinion, until Garry Monk returns to the philosophy and style of play he had at Leeds last season, we will continue to be a disjointed mess. He must sacrifice one of those two holding midfielders and go with a more forward thinking player. That is the most worrying aspect when I look at our team, the inability to play the ball forward quickly and precisely from back to front. It opens up space and we have attacking players that can really capitalise on that space. We must start being more positive and play at a higher tempo and it must start tonight.

I have not given up on Garry Monk yet but my confidence in him is starting to evaporate with each and every insipid performance we give.

Yours, In hope.......

The Littlest Hobo

There's a voice, keeps on calling me. Down the road, that's where I'll always be!

I used to love the Littlest Hobo, best theme tune ever too.

Good post, lots I agree with but lots i disagree with too. Keep posting, mainly because I can then play littlest hobo in my head all morning!

Good post. Very well thought out and time and effort put into it. An enjoyable read

You put your preferred line up on, and say that it's a balanced team, but have both Christie and Fabio playing RB with no LB ;)

Good piece and a good read. I agree with almost everything you say but the lineup. I really struggle to see what Baker brings to the team and he doesn't deserve a start in my eyes. He's a player on loan that doesn't really add anything.

I disagree with the line-up too.

GK - yes

RB - yes

LB - no, and we probably need to buy one in January.

CB - both fine although at a push I'd prefer Fry over Ayala

CM - none of the midfielders have delivered consistently. I'm not sure what the answer is

AM and wings - too much chopping and changing

S - I'm baffled that Bamford can't get a game, as he would be the first name on my team sheet. My team reflects that.

--------------------Randolph

Christie ----- Fry ----- Gibson ----- Friend

--------Baker - Clayton - Downing

Assombalonga - Bamford - Braithwaite

Good post Hobo, and it sums up nicely what a lot of us on here are thinking. It will be interesting to see what Monk does tonight against the worst away team in the division. If he plays safety first with two plodding defensive midfielders, then I give up and will join the "Monk Out" brigade. Bring back pace and pressing the opposition in their own half and fine them all a weeks wages if they pass sideways or backwards when there is a forward pass to be had! This really is a must win game, anything less and I fear I our season that promised so much will collapse.

Is it a little worrying as a boro fan YES but it was slightly worrying the season we went up and slightly worrying last season so Whats new

I'm no more worried than I ever have been as a Boro fan in the Championship... To be honest, this is no different to what I expected. A topsy-turvy, up-and-down season - aka, your standard year in the Championship. Without fail.

If we can separate heart from head, then the head will say that this was expected. The heart hopes that we 'smash the league' but the head knows that's rarer than rocking horse *** at this level. We're still in Top 6 contention in November without even really having gelled as a unit. The hope is that we do gel, things start coming together and we climb the table with more surety than we have had thus far. Will that happen? Only time will tell. But as Rich said above, there were concerning times in all of our Champo seasons - including the promotion season. Even before the final game which saw us finish in the Top 2, some on here we're saying things like "if we don't go up automatically it'll be a ***ing failure" or a "***ing travesty."

There's going to be ups. There's going to be downs. You have to take he tough with the smooth.

Don't let Humpty see that post Snowy ;)

But this squad shouldn't have as many downs and certainly should be able to play better. The least we can expect is for the players to be ready when the ref blows for kickoff. We're quite boring and slow starters and that isn't good enough.

I think some really do this league an injustice by expecting us to be in any position at all. Who can, hand on heart, say they predicted Cardiff and Sheffield United would be one of the front-runners early on? That all of Birmingham, Reading, Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday would be struggling to get out of the bottom half of the table?

We worry about ourselves, that's always got to be the case. And I'm not trying to deflect on what we should expect from our team, we know performances haven't been great by any means for the majority of the season. But one season in the Premier League and some seem to have forgotten what a bat-s*** crazy division this is. Add to the wholesale changes, changes in manager, dynamic, personnel... if this was any other kind of business, no way would people be expecting as much as we seemingly do of ourselves.

Just food for thought, anyway. I've no doubt many will disagree with this statement but it's worth considering all the factors, as many simply don't understand why we aren't doing better than we are.

Just one quick question does anyone on here think we are overrating the squad rather than the manager been at fault for poor performances?, btw im not saying i do think that its just im curious if anybody does.

well if we go by the pricetags on the players we are not overrating the squad. But if we go by what they shown on the pitch then yes. But if thats because of Monk or if the players are just this bad I dont know....

Just one quick question does anyone on here think we are overrating the squad rather than the manager been at fault for poor performances?, btw im not saying i do think that its just im curious if anybody does.

Yeah to an extent (and I think Monk is the anti-christ).