12 minutes ago, Bruce said:

That spot was roughly where Azaz played for Plymouth and it had been Rogers best position. The problem has really been #10. Azaz has moved there with mixed results. Greenwood has been worse at #10 than out left. Rogers was getting better at #10 but it's noticeable that Villa have been playing wide left. O'Brien is also good there. Ironically we have no lack of players for the wide left forward but the player who is most used to it, Azaz, is being shoehorned into the middle. If we didn't play with a #10 I think we would be fine.

When we play Leeds, Ayling won't be available so I guess we'll be playing 3 at the back with Jones as a wingback due to a lack of right backs. I can't help thinking that reverting to 3 at the back for the rest of the season might be the way forward.

Of our new signings who have played a good amount (2,000+ minutes in the Championship) Greenwood is the only one who looks to have got worse over the season. People go over the top but for me both him and Engel are weak points. Main reason you can't say Engel has got worse is that he started so badly. (Engel is also one of those odd players whose stats seem to be better than how he looks when playing so it might by that some of his problems are caused by the formation rather than him.)

Give Azaz a chance man. He's only been here a few months and despite being in and out of the team, he's still scoring and assisting. I think he's showing great promise and that will only improve as the better players start to filter back into the side i.e. Hackney, McGree etc.

1 minute ago, Humpty said:

Give Azaz a chance man. He's only been here a few months and despite being in and out of the team, he's still scoring and assisting. I think he's showing great promise and that will only improve as the better players start to filter back into the side i.e. Hackney, McGree etc.

The comments about Azaz seem very similar to what people were saying about Mcgree after he joined in that January window. 

Daft how quick people get written off.

 

3 minutes ago, Humpty said:

Give Azaz a chance man. He's only been here a few months and despite being in and out of the team, he's still scoring and assisting.

I literally say "mixed results" and that it's not a position he's played much before. There's no way that means I've "written him off." Personally, I think he'll make the grade. We've all seen that rare cases like Ramsey aside, it is very hard for players to adapt to Carrick's style. 

 

2 minutes ago, Smogzilla said:

The comments about Azaz seem very similar to what people were saying about Mcgree after he joined in that January window. 

Daft how quick people get written off.

 

I'm not sure I've seen anyone write him off to speak. I just don't think he's shown what he's capable of yet in his all round game. Despite that hes still getting the odd goal and assist so that's a positive, I just want to see more from him in general play. His speed of thought in particular needs to improve, he takes too long to sort his feet out and make a decision on what to do. 

13 hours ago, Boro 86 said:

Odd game. We were shocking between our goals but started to play after we equalised.

that’s probably it now but stranger things have happened 

We do seem very much a confidence team. Often cagey at the start and when we're trying to get back into a game, but when we score, we then usually start playing a lot better. Its almost like the players need a sign that they can beat the other team (apparently even when we score first! 😆).

Edited April 11, 20242 yr by AnglianRed

7 minutes ago, Neverbefore said:

I'm not sure I've seen anyone write him off to speak. I just don't think he's shown what he's capable of yet in his all round game. Despite that hes still getting the odd goal and assist so that's a positive, I just want to see more from him in general play. His speed of thought in particular needs to improve, he takes too long to sort his feet out and make a decision on what to do. 

100%, he's a young lad and he'll get the chance to prove himself in the coming years for sure. These experiences will be great for him and will surely serve him well going into next season.

But we can sum the positives in a Boro shirt up simply in moments, never in games. It's hard to even consider him for a man of the match even in games where he has contributed to goals because so far, he's often been relatively anonymous, moreso even than Greenwood has been in the game sometimes. Could say he's similar to Crooks under Carrick, in that regard, as you can never write him off from contributing something to a result even though for large periods you might wonder what he's doing on the pitch.

Still, those moments stand as a bit of a testament to his quality and I think there's reason to be excited by his future. Give him a full pre-season and give him consistency in the team around him and he could flourish in a big way.

14 minutes ago, Neverbefore said:

I'm not sure I've seen anyone write him off to speak. I just don't think he's shown what he's capable of yet in his all round game. Despite that hes still getting the odd goal and assist so that's a positive, I just want to see more from him in general play. His speed of thought in particular needs to improve, he takes too long to sort his feet out and make a decision on what to do. 

I'd say that of Greenwood. His decision making is poor and he's now at a stage where he really doesn't have an excuse.

I don't think it's inherent issue in him as a player. Clearly he never had that problem at Plymouth. As a creative player understanding how your team plays and the nuances of each player is critical to how efficient you can be as a creative player. Azaz is still understanding and working this all out. That will come with game time.

To put Azaz into context since he’s apparently been poor. He’s played less than half the amount of games for us that greenwood has, only 11 of them starts and he’s already on the same number of assists and is only 2 goals behind Greenwood’s 5.

Have previously posted about not being a Greenwood fan. Last night was one of his worst displays.

He cba to put in the effort to chase his man back in 1st half injury time last night when we conceeded a few mins before and Clarke had to leave his man to cover. Moves broke down with him, he was dispossessed almost at will.

He's a luxury player that provides luxury on a very occasional basis. He is a free kick expert but has only scored one and most of his others go over the bar.

Saying that he must be due to score a goal soon!

Bloke behind me was telling ref to send him off! 

 

7 minutes ago, LinoJo3 said:

To put Azaz into context since he’s apparently been poor. He’s played less than half the amount of games for us that greenwood has, only 11 of them starts and he’s already on the same number of assists and is only 2 goals behind Greenwood’s 5.

That's not particularly surprising, Greenwood's not had a goal involvement in 3 months.

Even Gilbert's been involved in the same number of goals as Greenwood in the second half of the season.

He's been one of our main attacking players across that period too.

Edited April 11, 20242 yr by TeaCider24

thought we played well then i come here the next day and apparently half the team was ***

i wont stand for dieng criticism.. the save he made for the bouncing header was absolutely world class

azaz i thought was good

greenwood was fine, hes literally just the whipping boy

15 hours ago, LinoJo3 said:

Can’t wait to get a long look at Bangura 

looks alright going forward but really struggled every time he faced someone strong and pacey

8 hours ago, BoroSmoggie said:

That’s harsh. He’s struggled during his time here but I don’t think I’ve ever questioned his desire or work rate.

Each to their own opinion, but I really hope he doesnt come back for the reasons I have stated. I arent keen on Ayling either but I cant say the same about him.

23 minutes ago, mendieta420 said:

thought we played well then i come here the next day and apparently half the team was ***

i wont stand for dieng criticism.. the save he made for the bouncing header was absolutely world class

azaz i thought was good

greenwood was fine, hes literally just the whipping boy

looks alright going forward but really struggled every time he faced someone strong and pacey

I think with all the ones coming into Championship for first time, it needs time to adapt from their old leagues. It’s bad enough switching sides in Championship like Azaz. You have to get used to the style your new manager wants to play and how you interact with the other players. Players are jus5 like us, some are more confident (or over-confident) and others need encouragement. For players from other leagues, the Championship is pretty brutal, fast and physical at times. 
Carrick has already said he expects a lot more from Silvera next season when he is fully bedded in. I think we are just starting  to see best  of LL as well. So I am hopeful we will see the best of both of them then.  I guess the time to adapt applies to Engel - but he’s had a lot more games to adjust and it’s worrying that the same faults seem to keep recurring. Ironically he seems fine with holding his own in tackles and tussles - it’s his mistakes and lack of pace that’s the issue. He may be better on left of a back three, where he isn't caught out forward and hasn’t got to cope with fast wingers.
Greenwood hasn’t really played in Championship until Boro - but he did play a good number of games for LU in Premier League.  I could understand it with him if it was the physicality of our league that was an issue, but it’s all the things he would have needed in PL - finding space, picking out teammates, quality of passes, creating opportunities etc. that seem to be very average. He’s coping with the physical side of the league fine. 

1 minute ago, ScarBoro said:

I think with all the ones coming into Championship for first time, it needs time to adapt from their old leagues. It’s bad enough switching sides in Championship like Azaz. You have to get used to the style your new manager wants to play and how you interact with the other players. Players are jus5 like us, some are more confident (or over-confident) and others need encouragement. For players from other leagues, the Championship is pretty brutal, fast and physical at times. 
Carrick has already said he expects a lot more from Silvera next season when he is fully bedded in. I think we are just starting  to see best  of LL as well. So I am hopeful we will see the best of both of them then.  I guess the time to adapt applies to Engel - but he’s had a lot more games to adjust and it’s worrying that the same faults seem to keep recurring. Ironically he seems fine with holding his own in tackles and tussles - it’s his mistakes and lack of pace that’s the issue. He may be better on left of a back three, where he isn't caught out forward and hasn’t got to cope with fast wingers.
Greenwood hasn’t really played in Championship until Boro - but he did play a good number of games for LU in Premier League.  I could understand it with him if it was the physicality of our league that was an issue, but it’s all the things he would have needed in PL - finding space, picking out teammates, quality of passes, creating opportunities etc. that seem to be very average. He’s coping with the physical side of the league fine. 

It's confidence more than anything with greenwood for me. When he has time his quality is actually really good, his set piece delivery is better than anyone else in the squad. When he has time on the edge of the area he tends to get really good shots off. But when he gets closed down quickly he loses the ball more often than not. 

45 minutes ago, mendieta420 said:

thought we played well then i come here the next day and apparently half the team was ***

i wont stand for dieng criticism.. the save he made for the bouncing header was absolutely world class

 

Not even for their second goal? It was terrible distribution and gifted them a shot.