Chelsea vs Middlesbrough (League Cup Semi Final - 2nd Leg) 6-1 (Rogers)

[wilsoncgp 10,212 20k]

2 minutes ago, "KM" said:

Would Jones have made that much of a difference last night? I don’t mean it in bad terms but we were just shocking all around. 

I think by virtue of him being fit, our setup would have been different and Howson wouldn't have been dropping into the backline. So defensively, it could have made a difference. Going forward, it's hard to argue against Jones having a bigger effect on the game than VDB, though Chilwell would have been a tougher opponent.

I was quite shocked just how influential Chilwell was on Chelsea's performance throughout. I know a lot was made about him and James in the build-up but he looked so comfortable in the game regardless of where he found himself on the pitch.

[Rob 6,489 9.9k]

22 minutes ago, wilsoncgp said:

The game was always against us and we were always going to have to do something special to come out of it and get to Wembley.

But yeah, that's what I mean by Dijksteel. Put him into RWB when defending, VDB is inside as a third CB, Howson is then in pretty much exactly the same position in transition. It's all about how fit Dijksteel is and Jones being injured did force the hand a little bit to make that kind of decision.

Something about that right-hand side for us was always going to be a risk unless Dijksteel was fit from that squad, though.

plus its dijksteel he is not the RB answer in reality vs a team like chelsea 

although is a better fit, its still below spec of what we really needed from our RB

[wilsoncgp 10,212 20k]

Just now, Rob said:

plus its dijksteel he is not the RB answer in reality vs a team like chelsea 

although is a better fit, its still below spec of what we really needed from our RB

It's still a billion pounds worth of talent against a very young Championship team, for sure. Everyone fit and available, last night is still hard to argue we could/should win the tie. Still, I appreciate it wasn't really a 6-1 game just because of Chelsea, we take our share of the blame.

[Boro 86 849 2.7k]

Last word from me - football is such small margins - if Rogers puts his first chance away it’s a different game. If Chelsea didn’t have best part of a billion on the pitch it’s a different game. If we didn’t gift them goals they might have got nervous.

The players will learn from that. Carrick will learn from that and if we ever get back to the premiership we will be better equipped to deal with it.

 

[SouthernSmoggie 5,315 7k]

27 minutes ago, wilsoncgp said:

I think by virtue of him being fit, our setup would have been different and Howson wouldn't have been dropping into the backline. So defensively, it could have made a difference. Going forward, it's hard to argue against Jones having a bigger effect on the game than VDB, though Chilwell would have been a tougher opponent.

I was quite shocked just how influential Chilwell was on Chelsea's performance throughout. I know a lot was made about him and James in the build-up but he looked so comfortable in the game regardless of where he found himself on the pitch.

Chilwell is a brilliant player, I was gutted to see him in the line up. I'm certain he'd be England's left back if he could stay fit.

Jones would certainly have given him something more to think about... He's not bad defensively too. I think if we had a fit squad and could have lined up something like the below, sat deep and countered with pace, we'd have made it harder for them. Injuries took away all of our pace and options for fresh legs.

                          Dieng

                 VDB - Fry - Clarke 

Jones - Hackney - Howson - McGree - Bangura 

                     Rogers - Lath 

 

Subs: Forss, O'Brien, Engel, Coburn, Barlaser, Lenihan, Glover

[TeaCider24 18,385 23.4k]

Yeah, I wasn't surprised at all by Chillwell playing well.

He's been really unfortunate with injuries but he's a quality player, hopefully he stays fit for the Euros.

 

[Erimus74 5,353 5.5k]

19 minutes ago, SouthernSmoggie said:

Chilwell is a brilliant player, I was gutted to see him in the line up. I'm certain he'd be England's left back if he could stay fit.

Jones would certainly have given him something more to think about... He's not bad defensively too. I think if we had a fit squad and could have lined up something like the below, sat deep and countered with pace, we'd have made it harder for them. Injuries took away all of our pace and options for fresh legs.

                          Dieng

                 VDB - Fry - Clarke 

Jones - Hackney - Howson - McGree - Bangura 

                     Rogers - Lath 

 

Subs: Forss, O'Brien, Engel, Coburn, Barlaser, Lenihan, Glover

Yea I agree with that, just unfortunate that we had so many important players out & in the end, it was just to much

[Rioch's Braves 746 3.5k]

We were always going to be up against it last night, but you can't gift goals to any team by losing possession time and time again and making error after error. Chelsea didn't need to work that hard last night to win the ball we gave it to them.

We knew the injuries we had were going to play a significant part in the game, but there's no excuse for the mistakes, they're school boy errors, really poor, regardless of who the opposition is.

[Downsouth 8,161 39.1k]

Really do not think we would have done any better if Jones was on the pitch as many of others have said our team as a whole played badly

[TeaCider24 18,385 23.4k]

They're not scrapping the second legs anymore, so we can try again next season.

[Tractors Stopping By 105 88]

Sorry it had to end.     It's unfortunate and wanted you to go through and win it again but it gave the supporters up there something to be involved in that lasted a while.    Never imagined they would score six but hey you won the first leg and beat them so suppose that's something.

Two cup exits in recent weeks will be hard.   People say whenever a team goes out of cup competition 'you can concentrate on the league' but maybe that's just incorrect.    The more competition a team's involved in over a season the better it is for morale for both the club and fans.      Gives people that extra something to hope for.  

losing a league cup semi-final isn't easy, we've failed at the same stage 5 or 6 times throughout our club history and never even won it or appeared in a Final so best thing Boro fans can do today is applaud the team for going a long way and giving nuetral fans something to root for.      We'll see you in the League later this season again and be positive you can maybe get a promotion as there's plenty of time and points available in which to achieve it.     That's all.  

[sanddancer 2,099 6.2k]

Work commitments so never saw the game.
The lose didn’t surprise me and neither did the score. No disrespect but we are at best a mid table championship club. 
Well into the season and it should not surprise many we are struggling and it’s not going to get much better. 
I don’t think the club has a plan and the philosophy seems to be give the impression of a rebuilding program but after the last few years it’s wearing thin. 
I have a feeling there will be changes at the end of the season, why I can’t put a finger on it but I just have a gut feeling something is about to give. 

Edited January 25, 2024 by sanddancer

[HolgateHero 791 2.2k]

35 minutes ago, sanddancer said:

Work commitments so never saw the game.
The lose didn’t surprise me and neither did the score. No disrespect but we are at best a mid table championship club. 
Well into the season and it should not surprise many we are struggling and it’s not going to get much better. 
I don’t think the club has a plan and the philosophy seems to be give the impression of a rebuilding program but after the last few years it’s wearing thing. 
I have a feeling there will be changes at the end of the season, why I can’t put a finger on it but I just have a gut feeling something is about to give. 

I respect your view but I don't get that feeling at all. 'at best' I think we're better than mid table. I say that because we've only seen our best in fits and starts, and surely at our best we make fewer mistakes and convert more chances which would see more points on the board. Also at best we have a fully fit squad. We are above mid table now and most definitely not at our best.

I thought the villa and chelski games would be total drubbings with the state of our squad but we were competitive v two top pl teams for 180minutes and that shows me we have something to build on especislly if we can keep players fit more. 

Horses for courses though!

UTB 

 

[Erimus74 5,353 5.5k]

3 hours ago, HolgateHero said:

I respect your view but I don't get that feeling at all. 'at best' I think we're better than mid table. I say that because we've only seen our best in fits and starts, and surely at our best we make fewer mistakes and convert more chances which would see more points on the board. Also at best we have a fully fit squad. We are above mid table now and most definitely not at our best.

I thought the villa and chelski games would be total drubbings with the state of our squad but we were competitive v two top pl teams for 180minutes and that shows me we have something to build on especislly if we can keep players fit more. 

Horses for courses though!

UTB 

 

I know they had a good few players missing, as we did, but I think there's a massive difference between who they can bring in & us

Maybe rose tinted glasses but if Late & Bangura stayed on for 90 minutes wed have won by one more than one & most likely different fame yesterday 

 

[sanddancer 2,099 6.2k]

3 hours ago, Erimus74 said:

I know they had a good few players missing, as we did, but I think there's a massive difference between who they can bring in & us

Maybe rose tinted glasses but if Late & Bangura stayed on for 90 minutes wed have won by one more than one & most likely different fame yesterday 

 

I get your point but I am referring to the club as a whole. 
Let’s take away the top two teams in the championship quite simply they tend to have the finances and resources having just been demoted. Mind we didn’t use ours well when we had the chance. 
We talk about quality and quantity and every season and we seem to struggle where others don’t. They have the same complex situations of changing managers, injuries, players off the boil, aging & new players coming and going, bad referee decisions but don’t suffer as we do. 
I respect those that find some excuse for the situation and keep hope season after season. BORO have the best away supporters and special shout out to them to. 
I live in hope as do many and I don’t expect premiership football either but I no longer down tools to travel to games or tune when travelling anymore. I no longer get bent out of shape when we loose.