Middlesbrough FC v QPR

Saturday 2nd September

Riverside Stadium, KO 15:00

WE DID A WIN! 

Granted, it was Bolton Wanderers in the M̶i̶l̶k̶ ̶L̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶w̶o̶o̶d̶s̶ ̶R̶u̶m̶b̶e̶l̶o̶w̶s̶ ̶C̶o̶c̶a̶-̶C̶o̶l̶a̶ ̶W̶o̶r̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶t̶o̶n̶'̶s̶ ̶C̶a̶r̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶C̶a̶p̶i̶t̶a̶l̶ ̶O̶n̶e̶ Carabao Cup, but that 2nd half performance really showed flashes of the Boro under Michael Carrick last season, and hopefully last night's result will be a springboard for Boro (and your esteemed Matchday Thread Author) to go on a run of victories!

We welcome QPR back to the Riverside, who have had a shaky start to the season themselves. They're managed by Gareth Ainsworth, a bloke who looks like a cross between a used car salesman and Dracula:

Would you buy a 1984 Ford Escort from this man?

Anyway, onto the game. QPR will no doubt want revenge for the 3-1 drubbing they received last time they came 'oop North, with Boro no longer having the services of the man who scored a brace that day, Chuba Akpom.

QPR find themselves in 19th place, above Boro because they've actually won a game this season. Boro can leapfrog them with a win.

I don't usually say this but for me this is a must win game. We need to use the momentum from the Bolton win to kickstart our league form and start heading up the table. If we don't, it's likely going to be a long season for us.

View from the opposition here

Questions:

Will we bring in any new players before the deadline?

Obviously Dieng comes in for Glover, but how many more changes would you make to the team that beat Bolton?

Score prediction?

What crisps does Gareth Ainsworth like? Personally I reckon he shops at Aldi, so i'll say Snackrite Cheese & Onion. The dirty ***.

 

Will we bring in any new players before the deadline?

I reckon 2. A permeant and a loan with an option, but not going to guess which positions.

Obviously Dieng comes in for Glover, but how many more changes would you make to the team that beat Bolton?

Play McGree as an Inside Forward and give Engels the 'Giles-esque' freedom to overlap and bomb forward, with McNair doing the Smith role of playing inside as a sort of 3rd CB/Full Back role. Jones on the right so he can balance that as a hybrid RW/RWB to keep the fluidity balanced. 

What crisps does Gareth Ainsworth like? 

He's a rocker/metal head. I reckon he likes them spicy. So I'm going for a more niche response with these bad boys:

I'm predicting two loans with us deciding to hang on to Coburn. Think Payero will go somewhere either on loan or a free. Don't think we'll lose anyone else. 

Team, it seems that Carrick isn't going to move away from his 4-2-3-1 so I think the likely team is 👇🏻. To be honest, I thought McNair's performance at right back yesterday was one of the most dynamic right back performances we've had under Carrick. It's a low bar. I think with McNair, although he is flexible, it can take him a few games to adjust to a position. If he can keep up that level of performance, I would be happy with him as first choice right back for now. I thought Engel really grew into the game yesterday as well. 

We don't really have a #10 but McGree has a bit extra about him when it comes to dropping back and helping out in midfield. I'm assuming Crooks is crooked but much though I think he's a far better footballer than given credit for, he's not a #10. Carrick will probably go with. I would probably go with the same 11 but lined up as a 4-3-3.

We really ought to have enough to beat QPR by the traditional 3-1 scoreline. If we don't then we'll be heading into the break in a pretty dark place with the social media grumbling having 2 weeks to feed on itself. Speaking of which

 

Edited August 30, 20232 yr by Bruce

4-0 to the boro

Questions:

Will we bring in any new players before the deadline?

According to the Northern Echo we have 3 potential signings lined up - plus a possible PL loan. No idea how accurate that article was though. 🤷‍♂️ Hope its right as we still need a few quality additions IMO.

Obviously Dieng comes in for Glover, but how many more changes would you make to the team that beat Bolton?

That would be the only change. First win of the season, they deserve another go (fitness permitting). If it ain't broke, don't fix it and all that.

According to the BBC match report we lined up 4-3-3, as some folks on here have been suggesting. Wonder if that helped?

Score prediction?

I'll go same again. Middlesbrough 3 - 1 QPR

Seems our forward line may be starting to click, but we will always have defensive lapses.

What crisps does Gareth Ainsworth like? 

Going with your Dracula comparison, he probably has Virgin's Blood flavoured, artisanal potato chips, handmade by an order of Satanic monks, based in deepest Transylvania.

 

Edited August 30, 20232 yr by AnglianRed

Will we bring in any more players?

Three:

O'brien or another CM on loan (on bench on sat)

Cannon or another striker perm(on bench on sat

Another unknown loan, looking like Sam Greenwood atm (also on bench on sat)

How many changes would you make from Bolton Game?

Crooks -> Rogers

Jones -> Mcgree 

Score Prediction?

Can't see us not conceding as our defence is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard, but I believe we will come away with a win after another excellent 2nd half performance: 2-1 to the mighty boro: goals from ELL and Engel 

What crisps does Gareth Ainsworth like?

His taste in crisps has to compensate for his outlandish exterior: bland and boring for the car salesman, whilst having a hint of red for his vampiric tendencies!

Edited August 30, 20232 yr by ReservoirSmog

Yeah need a result on Saturday, a decent end to the window and 3 points at the weekend and things will be looking up. Two weeks to get the new lads bedded in and start the season properly after the international break.

On the other hand a rubbish end to the window and an Ainsworth masterclass could see a fairly toxic atmosphere at full time. 

Questions:

Will we bring in any new players before the deadline?

Obviously Dieng comes in for Glover, but how many more changes would you make to the team that beat Bolton?

Score prediction?

 

What crisps does Gareth Ainsworth like? Personally I reckon he shops at Aldi, so i'll say Snackrite Cheese & Onion. The dirty ***.

Rogers, McGree and latte Lath to start. Literally not bothered about the rest of the team. None of them have really proved themselves undroppable.

Forss wasn't included in the Finnish national after an injury in the cup match, so I guess Jones will start and Greenwood can be an option from the bench.

Edited August 31, 20232 yr by TeaCider24

Yeah, just seen Forss is likely out injured for the QPR game

22 hours ago, Rob said:

4-0 to the boro

Thought you based the results on the authors track record Rob, this is DZ after all

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Downsouth said:

Thought you based the results on the authors track record Rob, this is DZ after all

he's in the best form of his life now and its D 'ITK' Z not DZ

Disappointed about forss, but luckily it's a position where we have 478 options