Boro v Cardiff 1-3 (Assombalonga)

[BillyWoofs_shinpad 1,884]

1 minute ago, AnglianRed said:

Well despite the fact they are appealing the deduction, their only grounds are, "it was the coronavirus that pushed us into administration" - which is a shaky defence at best, given all the clubs that managed to avoid it.

So I'd be very surprised if their appeal was upheld.

Regardless of that, it would still be a massive embarrassment if we finished in the bottom 3, even if we didn’t go down. 
 

[BoroAbroad 321]

2 minutes ago, AnglianRed said:

Well despite the fact they are appealing the deduction, their only grounds are, "it was the coronavirus that pushed us into administration" - which is a shaky defence at best, given all the clubs that managed to avoid it.

So I'd be very surprised if their appeal was upheld.

Inshalla. ☺️

[Changing Times 12,343]

11 minutes ago, Brunners said:

That's the impression I got too.

If it is the case, sad way for it to end like, he deserves better than this 😞

Hasn't he already been offered a deal?

[Jamie-H 1,322]

That Friend thing has hit me damn, 3 players I genuinely have appreciated are leaving in Clayton/Friend/Ayala players who've served the club for a far longer period than any in the McLaren and Robson era that I can remember, they each deserved a send off in my opinion. I say this as someone who has said for 12 months we shouldn't give them new deals and should have sold Ayala last year that shouldn't cut against what they did for the club brought it from it's knees were all crucial in the journey with Karanka and represented us well year in year out.

It sucks that we wont have a chance to show appreciation to them some kind of nice digital MFC tribute is definitely in order but there are secondary school students with better tech and production quality than our media team so they wont get that either.

So many players have treated us as a stepping stone or an easy ride in the past few years yet I never got the vibe from the 3 of them they were anything other than committed to the club 100% I miss seeing them in their prime that's how I'll remember them.

[ManBearPig 1,853]

I think with Friend he should have gone last season. His image has been tainted this year because he isn’t up for it. He was phenomenal under Karanka but he probably played a bit too much in a position where he is past his prime. 
 

It for me is another example of where the club has gone wrong. No adequate replacement (Bola and Coulson, having to rely on him to play LB and get crucified during Woodgate and then play CB under Warnock. It’s just how our club is run and how poor decisions have led to a player who gave his all for us, being hung out to dry. 

[Changing Times 12,343]

19 minutes ago, Jamie-H said:

That Friend thing has hit me damn, 3 players I genuinely have appreciated are leaving in Clayton/Friend/Ayala players who've served the club for a far longer period than any in the McLaren and Robson era that I can remember, they each deserved a send off in my opinion. 

Far better the send off that he had today than what he would have had if the ground had fans in it.

[BoroAbroad 321]

15 minutes ago, Jamie-H said:

That Friend thing has hit me damn, 3 players I genuinely have appreciated are leaving in Clayton/Friend/Ayala players who've served the club for a far longer period than any in the McLaren and Robson era that I can remember, they each deserved a send off in my opinion. I say this as someone who has said for 12 months we shouldn't give them new deals and should have sold Ayala last year that shouldn't cut against what they did for the club brought it from it's knees were all crucial in the journey with Karanka and represented us well year in year out.

It sucks that we wont have a chance to show appreciation to them some kind of nice digital MFC tribute is definitely in order but there are secondary school students with better tech and production quality than our media team so they wont get that either.

So many players have treated us as a stepping stone or an easy ride in the past few years yet I never got the vibe from the 3 of them they were anything other than committed to the club 100% I miss seeing them in their prime that's how I'll remember them.

This. Big time.

All three mentioned have been excellent dedicated players to this club. They certainly deserve appreciation for what they have done for us over the years.

It would be a wonderful gesture if appreciation could be shown in some way. Even, as you say in some kind of digital form.

It would be a great gesture if one of the tech minded guys could do this.

[BoroAbroad 321]

2 minutes ago, ManBearPig said:

I think with Friend he should have gone last season. His image has been tainted this year because he isn’t up for it. He was phenomenal under Karanka but he probably played a bit too much in a position where he is past his prime. 
 

It for me is another example of where the club has gone wrong. No adequate replacement (Bola and Coulson, having to rely on him to play LB and get crucified during Woodgate and then play CB under Warnock. It’s just how our club is run and how poor decisions have led to a player who gave his all for us, being hung out to dry. 

Not his fault and he has done his best.

[BoroAbroad 321]

2 minutes ago, Changing Times said:

Far better the send off that he had today than what he would have had if the ground had fans in it.

A lot of what you say makes good sense CT. But this I think is just cruel.

[ManBearPig 1,853]

Just now, BoroAbroad said:

Not his fault and he has done his best.

No I agree and that’s the point I’m making. He should not have been relied upon I much this season. It’s the fact that our recruitment has been SO bad, that we have to rely on an ageing left back to fulfil a role where he is past his prime. 
He is a model pro and has given his all for us, but his last season will be tainted due to his below previous performances. 
He’s probably sat there gutted that he’s ending on a low after being with us for such a good time. He’s probably comparing the times under Karanka to where we are now. The professionalism, the team, the quality have all changed so much. 
To me, he looks like is is soaking it all in. A player like George Friend, who has given his all, deserves as others have said to be clapped from all corners of the ground. He deserves more and it’s such a shame that he won’t get that. 

[Changing Times 12,343]

1 minute ago, BoroAbroad said:

A lot of what you say makes good sense CT. But this I think is just cruel.

Imagine what it would have been like today during that game and then afterwards.  You think he'd have gotten a good send off?  Quiet because there's nobody there has to be better than dogs abuse followed by quiet from a mostly empty ground because every bugger left long before the end.  Nothing cruel about it, that's how it would have gone.

[smogsterking the Inspirati 2,489]

I think Friends huge problem was he never recovered fully from his injury at the start of the Premier league campaign. I think he has constantly found himself getting injured due to overcompensating and then lack of match fitness has made it too hard for him to ever get back to the Friend during the promotion campaign. Whatever happens with him he will always be the best looking Boro player and one of Boros best bits of business. Mind you I don't think we are in a position to lose him even as a squad player given we only have Fry as a first team central defender. 

[BoroAbroad 321]

2 minutes ago, Changing Times said:

Imagine what it would have been like today during that game and then afterwards.  You think he'd have gotten a good send off?  Quiet because there's nobody there has to be better than dogs abuse followed by quiet from a mostly empty ground because every bugger left long before the end.  Nothing cruel about it, that's how it would have gone.

Then that would have been shameful and bloody narrow minded. And more of a testament to our p*ss poor fans than George' commitment and effort.

[Changing Times 12,343]

Just now, BoroAbroad said:

Then that would have been shameful and bloody narrow minded. And more of a testament to our p*ss poor fans than George' commitment and effort.

Perhaps, but then our *** poor fans haven't seen us win at home since December, so expecting a celebration after another home defeat, in a game that we were actually fighting for our survival, would be a tad optimistic.

[TheJew 2,938]

We do have poor fans though. 

Leeds, Man City etc have been down to Div1 and still had a massive support. If we went down we would be sub 10k. 

Our fans on the whole are pretty poor imo. A few bad results and they flee.