Preston v Boro 2-1 (Azaz)

[Stitchy 139 85]

This squad are too inconsistent to make the play offs. We can make some excuse due to the injuries but we've lost/drawn far too many games.

16 games left so 48 points to play for. We probably need 35 points to make play offs. This will be 11 or 12 wins. We've won 12 games out of 30 so far this season in the league.

Still, I'll be there tonight more out of hope than belief of winning.

[SouthernSmoggie 4,487 6.3k]

Could do with a result tonight, otherwise this season will start to take a very early slide towards mid-table obscurity. Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect us to get play offs. But thought we'd be lingering towards the end with a mathematical possibility at least. 

I've gone for Clarke as think his left footed passes could get Engel on his bike a bit quicker. Greenwood up top as he doesn't do enough in midfield. Would rather Forss as striker but he works hard on the right at least and there's nobody else.

 

             Dieng

Ayling - RVB - Clarke - Engel 

     Hackney - O'brien 

 Forss - Azaz - McGree 

         Greenwood

 

[TheJew 3,186 5.2k]

Gonna get beat comfortably tonight.

Our squad planning over the last 2 windows has been shocking. For all Scott professes, we've played the bulk of this season without a centre forward.

We have got weaker as each window has occurred. 

This is the new World. It's inevitable.

[JCWamma 426 247]

16 hours ago, LinoJo3 said:

“Selling crooks”

Ive seen a few people mention this as a stick to beat the club with. He’s barely started a game for us in 2024 and when he does play all you seen were “get crooks off the pitch now ffs” comments. 
 

Youd think we’d just sold McGree to Sunderland for £1m the way some people are going on 🥲

To be fair, for the most part I think people aren't unhappy we sold Crooks as such, they just liked his presence at the club and are sad he's gone. He was divisive as far as on-pitch performance goes, at least under Carrick. But away from that specific thing (and I get that's obviously a very important part for a professional footballer!), it seems like nobody has a bad thing to say about him.

It's kinda similar to Watmore last season. It's not that we thought the team needed him on the pitch but that doesn't mean he can't be missed. The difference is that, unlike last season with Watmore, this season we're not looking likely to make the playoffs so people are in a bad mood and it's sitting with them worse.

[Donnyboro 922 1.1k]

3 minutes ago, TheJew said:

Gonna get beat comfortably tonight.

Our squad planning over the last 2 windows has been shocking. For all Scott professes, we've played the bulk of this season without a centre forward.

We have got weaker as each window has occurred. 

This is the new World. It's inevitable.

Does he control injuries ? 

[Borodane 6,836 26.5k]

7 minutes ago, Donnyboro said:

Does he control injuries ? 

No, but starting the season with 2 strikers and not getting another i january when both strikers are injured is pretty inept whichever way the club want to spin it. 

[Dan_Boro_Till_I_Die 1,276 4.1k]

17 minutes ago, TheJew said:

Gonna get beat comfortably tonight.

Our squad planning over the last 2 windows has been shocking. For all Scott professes, we've played the bulk of this season without a centre forward.

We have got weaker as each window has occurred. 

This is the new World. It's inevitable.

Embarrassing. 

[TeaCider24 14,161 18.9k]

1 hour ago, Borodane said:

Of course we are. If we win we're only 4 points outside the playoffs and we'll even have a game in hand over some of the teams around us. It only takes 3 good results to get in or must outside the playoffs. That said though we need Carrick and the players to step it up.

If we win, we're only 4 points outside of the play-offs if Sunderland drop points to a stinking Huddersfield and Coventry drop points to Plymouth, and then we have Leicester next.

It's just as likely that we win, and we're still 6 points of the play-offs as we were before this round of fixtures, with Hull also having played 31, and by far the best team in the league to play next.

We're obviously mathematically still fully capable of getting in the play-offs, but I don't think we will, we've not managed 3 good results in a row since October.

I'm just going to try and enjoy each match as it is, rather than getting worked up about the unlikely prospect of us finally hitting consistent form at the end of the season.

Obviously I'll have a hard time sticking to that if we win the next two in a row.

 

[Bruce 2,022 1.7k]

Regardless of the playoffs, tonight feels like the night we need to start building a team. Although we have injuries they're about on a par with what you expect at this point of the season. Like any injuries, they also tend to cluster in a position because once one key player gets struck down the others you need in that position are placed at more risk.

My biggest criticism is that at this point in the season Carrick has not built a team. Most of the reason is down to injuries but even with that in mind, and given the huge drop off in quality this season, you still get the impression that Carrick hasn't progressed as a manager. 

Our current injury list is:

Out for rest of season. Smith, Lenihan, Bangura

Out for a while. Jones

Back soon: Latte Lath

Unclear: Coburn

We've loaned players who are potentially upgrades on Smith and Bangura and have four fit central defenders so, at this point, providing McGree is fit to start our injury list is no longer an excuse.

[Donnyboro 922 1.1k]

9 minutes ago, Borodane said:

No, but starting the season with 2 strikers and not getting another i january when both strikers are injured is pretty inept whichever way the club want to spin it. 

Starting the season with 2 strikers and 2 other options upfront should’ve been plenty. 

[TheJew 3,186 5.2k]

22 minutes ago, Donnyboro said:

Does he control injuries ? 

2 recognised strikers with one being young and unproven and the other new to the league. Bizarre planning.

[TheJew 3,186 5.2k]

9 minutes ago, Dan_Boro_Till_I_Die said:

Embarrassing. 

Agree. Scott has had a mare.

[Borodane 6,836 26.5k]

8 minutes ago, Donnyboro said:

Starting the season with 2 strikers and 2 other options upfront should’ve been plenty. 

Yeah at that point. But then january comes along and both strikers are injured, the manager doesn't see one of the options as a striker (Forss) and the other option isn't a striker (Greenwood). And with all those hard facts the club still doesn't do anything about it. It's pretty poor from Scott and a massive gamble that we shouldn't take. It screams unambitious and writing off the season to me. 

[edinboro 1,030 1.7k]

So tonight is a repeat of Carrick's first game in charge, a 2-1 defeat, just over a year ago. A lot has changed. Only 4 players from that day likely to start tonight. Heck of turnover of players.

Ideally we will have more stability going forward. We cannot keep on with that level of new players.

[Bruce 2,022 1.7k]

3 minutes ago, edinboro said:

So tonight is a repeat of Carrick's first game in charge, a 2-1 defeat, just over a year ago. A lot has changed. Only 4 players from that day likely to start tonight. Heck of turnover of players.

Ideally we will have more stability going forward. We cannot keep on with that level of new players.

Funny thing is, we have only lost 4 of those players. 1 of them, Muniz, doesn't really count because he never played again under Carrick. The other missing players are injuries. 

Of the other 3, Steffen has arguably been replaced by an upgrade in Dieng. Giles and Akpom are massive losses however.