Jump to content
oneBoro Forum

Recommended Posts

3 minutes ago, Mr_Maz said:

IMO the reason we've not been as good lately is as much down to the opposition as it is us.

The opposition have adjusted to Wilders changes and are doing a good job stopping us playing through and around them in the manner we did in Nov-Dec.  Now it's about the players kicking on again and making the adjustments to work around the opposition.

 

Exactly, now it’s down to Wilder and the players to show that they can out think and out play the opposition. 

New incomings and outgoings always shake things up this time of year, the crunch comes in the gap between the next international break just after the window closes and Easter.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 443
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  •  

    38

  •  

    28

  •  

    25

  •  

    21

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

It's been 3 games lads. Suggesting hes being forced to play Connolly is a bit insane. He gave him a few games to see if he could get up to speed, that's it. 

10 games is plenty though isn’t it? We should be the finished article by now. Wilder out I say. It’s no better than Warnock to be honest (apart from all the  points)

i reckon another loss today to match another terrible team selection. new manager bounce well and truly over. hope i'm wrong but being a boro fan this long i think i'm afraid to be optimistic. after a

Posted Images

1 minute ago, Naisby said:

Exactly, now it’s down to Wilder and the players to show that they can out think and out play the opposition. 

New incomings and outgoings always shake things up this time of year, the crunch comes in the gap between the next international break just after the window closes and Easter.

and it's probably a positive that we're still competitive against good teams during this period.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
35 minutes ago, wilsoncgp said:

I think anybody remotely concerned with what Wilder is doing based on a couple of games needs to give their head a shake. Christ alive. Man's been here 12 games if you include the cup and has us earning over 2 points a game. We've won 5 home games on the trot despite some decent opposition mixed in there. He said it himself after the game, he'd like to play like we did against Forest every week but that doesn't happen in football.

We've been crying out for Fortress Riverside to return. Right now, that's what we have when the man has no right to have achieved what he has so far during his tenure.

If this is aimed at me as it follows on from my post, then can I just say that I am a huge fan of Wilder and really impressed at what he has achieved in such a short time. However if we are not allowed to question what we see and the possible reasons behind it what is the point of this forum?

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I agree we’ve had to grind out a few results this month and it’s not been as fluid as December, but it has coincided with us suddenly having something to play for. The last couple of games have been massive. It could certainly be down to the building expectations for the season, reverting to type and taking less risks.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, Mr_Maz said:

and it's probably a positive that we're still competitive against good teams during this period.

And that despite poor perceived performances we are still picking up the points and keeping the points per game average above 2.

We will have off days, we will have average days and fantastic days on the pitch, the only thing that really matters is picking up points. It’s only in closed leagues like the MLS where you can go for a fixed style of attractive football and not fear. 

Big teams all want to play expansive attractive football, but they soon drop it and the manager if it looks like they going to loose league positions. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, p_mards said:

It’s noticeable how, to some fans anyway, Watmore seems to have suddenly became a twice the player he was just a few games ago before Connolly took his place. Now Connolly is the boo boy and Watmore is supposedly the answer to our problems. It’s like the Nicky Bailey curse of the less he plays, the better he gets. I’ll trust Wilder’s faith in Connolly as once he gets up to 100%, I’m sure he’ll be by far more effective than Watmore.

when connolly starts banging in worlies i'll start to think the same but he never will. he probably will never score for us, hes ***. not a championship standard player. its one of the most obvious things i've ever seen. watmore on the other hand is spot on. top pro works hard for the team not the greatest player but has magic in his boots and will win games for us. yes he ha the ability to miss open goals to. but we know he can do the business. wilder has took a big risk on connolly for me. its a gamble that wont pay off. might take him a while to admit it, if he ever does.

  • Confused 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, pikerman said:

If this is aimed at me as it follows on from my post, then can I just say that I am a huge fan of Wilder and really impressed at what he has achieved in such a short time. However if we are not allowed to question what we see and the possible reasons behind it what is the point of this forum?

It wasn't targeted at anyone in particular. I've said my piece on the play yesterday myself and similarly was questioning it during the game. Not trying to shut down the discussion but for some, it's not far off throwing the baby out with the bathwater territory. We won a tough game, we won plenty of tough games that ought not to have been tough with our last successful manager, I don't see why anybody is keen on entering premonition territory right now.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Even the most hard nosed opinionated supporters on the chicken run didn’t decide a player was bad after only 2-3 matches. 

You have to give players who have either just joined or come up from the reserves a chance, it’s fair to critique them but they have to be given a chance before they get a shiny Boo Boy Badge, ( they cost money so they shouldn’t be wasted) 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
24 minutes ago, Mr_Maz said:

IMO the reason we've not been as good lately is as much down to the opposition as it is us.

The opposition have adjusted to Wilders changes and are doing a good job stopping us playing through and around them in the manner we did in Nov-Dec.  Now it's about the players kicking on again and making the adjustments to work around the opposition.

 

What's the old saying, no plan survives first contact with the enemy.

I'd love to see pretty football but there must be a plan B if the opposition stops plan A and if hoof the ball is plan B and gets 3 points I'll groan a bit but take the win 😄

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
5 minutes ago, Naisby said:

Even the most hard nosed opinionated supporters on the chicken run didn’t decide a player was bad after only 2-3 matches. 

You have to give players who have either just joined or come up from the reserves a chance, it’s fair to critique them but they have to be given a chance before they get a shiny Boo Boy Badge, ( they cost money so they shouldn’t be wasted) 

 

It's nmecha all over again. If he'd been given a proper go and some time from the fans god knows where we could be. 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
4 minutes ago, Naisby said:

Even the most hard nosed opinionated supporters on the chicken run didn’t decide a player was bad after only 2-3 matches. 

You have to give players who have either just joined or come up from the reserves a chance, it’s fair to critique them but they have to be given a chance before they get a shiny Boo Boy Badge, ( they cost money so they shouldn’t be wasted) 

 

i hope your right about this. i hope hes the next jamie vardy and i have to eat my words. at the minute he looks like hes a lad playing for a sunday league team who told all the lads hes a northern league player so everyone laughing how *** he is.

Link to post
Share on other sites
2 minutes ago, Woof Woof said:

I'd love to see pretty football but there must be a plan B if the opposition stops plan A and if hoof the ball is plan B and gets 3 points I'll groan a bit but take the win 

😄

If we've not seen the back of hoofball yet, selling the only attacking player in our squad who's suited to it (arguably made for it) and playing smaller players who offer completely different attributes seems self-defeating.

I'm not expecting us to be a true Wilder team til next season, but while he imposes his philosophy on the squad, we can't revert to muscle memory lump-it-to-the-big-fella with Connolly and Sporar up front.

  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites
1 minute ago, RiseAgainst said:

If we've not seen the back of hoofball yet, selling the only attacking player in our squad who's suited to it (arguably made for it) and playing smaller players who offer completely different attributes seems self-defeating.

I'm not expecting us to be a true Wilder team til next season, but while he imposes his philosophy on the squad, we can't revert to muscle memory lump-it-to-the-big-fella with Connolly and Sporar up front.

You are right of course. I've been worried about the new intake upsetting any balance in a squad which was to me at last performing better so I'm happy for any win whilst they settle in. I can hope for better next week... 

Link to post
Share on other sites
5 minutes ago, Redcar Rioja said:

There seems to be a lot of foam fumes and tinted glasses on here recoiling in horror at someone stating the bleeding obvious. Wilder has performed a minor miracle since he arrived with a far better and attacking style of football that is entertaining with it. But! and its a big but! Things have gone awry in January for whatever reason. His style of football was imposed and effective very quickly, the players adapted to his instructions and we all regaled in it joyfully after many years of Pulis, Woodgate and Warnock. The results and form table were the icing on the cake, none of that is in any doubt or being disparaged, but recently it's all gone a bit wonky to put it in simple parlance.

Whether as has been suggested that it is the transfer window or new players settling in is a fair point but the basic foundation to Wilder is his style of play and it has got lost somewhere in January. Instead of Paddy and Dijksteel pushing up and Watmore and Sporar running around like demented Jack Russell's, closing down, snarling at nervy panicking defenders we now seem to have abandoned all that to get it up to the big lad. The big lad in question being Crooks. The last four games are indistinguishable from Warnock and very un-Wilder. Wilders comments after Blackburn indicated that he himself was less than pleased and felt his standards were not being adhered to. To address that he picked exactly the same team and got exactly the same results until his Substitutions. 

He clearly rates Connolly and after bringing him in I get that to drop him would be an admission of sorts. However having brought him in Wilders tactics are not playing to his strengths (I personally have concerns about those anyway but putting those aside) while bizarrely the terrier like pairing of Watmore and Sporar have been immediately dumped. If Wilder cannot get the quality and type of supply to his front pairing (Payero possibly) then why hasn't he changed his midfield or why did he changed his Strike pairing? 

Further to that why are we now lumping balls upfield when that was the exact thing he has worked so hard to eradicate? Indeed why jettison Ikpeazu for a comparatively diminutive Connolly just when we have seemingly resorted to hoof ball tactics which suits the former and is the exact opposite requirement for the latter?

Maybe it's because all the fuss around Spence has made opposition Managers look more deeply into Jones figuring that if Spence can't get into Boro's side then who is keeping him out? No doubt our right hand side has received more attention and that has limited our main creative threat to a degree but nothing has been done to address that other than seemingly hoof it up to Crooks. Whether I or others rate Connolly is irrelevant at this point because that style of play isn't going to benefit Connolly or Sporar and even the most rose tinted, ardent foam inhaler has to see that. 

One game fair enough, maybe even two at a stretch but it's becoming a recurrent theme. I'm sure Wilder sees it and recognises it, if he doesn't then the honeymoon will be over before it even got started. Keeping the faith is fine for some but others are a little more circumspect and evidentially rather than emotionally driven. It doesn't make them miserable, dour or moaning it just makes them genuinely concerned. Snatching a victory in the dying seconds is euphoric but relying on it as a component of the sides tactics isn't likely to yield long term success.

One thing Boro fans are experts at is in identifying balls aimed at the big lad which at the moment seems to be our current default. To question why we are bringing in players that are the exact opposite to that while trying to get other players out the door that are more suited to that tactic is not unreasonable. To also raise concerns that we don't wish to revisit that style of football is more than reasonable. It's easier to fix something when it is cracked rather than wait until it is smashed.

Very good and detailed analysis there.

We've definitely had some strange games since early December. Our performances have been a lot less consistent and some of our results have papered over the cracks...notably the Blackpool and Reading games.

I think with Blackburn and Coventry we just need to accept we were playing good teams. We were unlucky not to get a point against Rovers, just let down by a defensive error. Coventry have a pretty decent record on their travels and it needed a real moment of quality to beat them.

But I agree its been worrying how we have resorted to Warnock-ball at times, giving up control of games, inviting teams to come at us and putting our fragile defence under more pressure.

I think Wilder definitely needs to spend more time on the training ground with the squad, trying to get us back to how we were a month or so ago. Or possibly coming up with a Plan B for when teams set up to nullify his preferred tactics.

Not time to panic yet by any means, but certainly a few worrying old habits creeping back into our play.

 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
23 minutes ago, Naisby said:

Even the most hard nosed opinionated supporters on the chicken run didn’t decide a player was bad after only 2-3 matches. 

You have to give players who have either just joined or come up from the reserves a chance, it’s fair to critique them but they have to be given a chance before they get a shiny Boo Boy Badge, ( they cost money so they shouldn’t be wasted) 

 

Gyokeres got great reviews for Coventry yesterday and looks some player. Played on loan for Swansea first half of last season and got no goals in 11 matches and then 3 in 19 in second half for Coventry. Now’s he’s used to league and team, the stats have changed a bit - and probably the performances as well.
The Championship is a brutal league until you get used to pace and intensity. Some players never manage it, others take time, but very few manage it instantly. 
Of course you can argue that means we shouldn’t have taken him on loan for half a season, but I don’t think you can argue yet he isn’t going to be a good Championship level player. 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
×
×
  • Create New...