Millwall v Boro 1-0

[Plastic Goat 732 1.1k]

9 minutes ago, Ben J said:

Having woke up earlier and watched the goal again, I am genuinely appalled at the lack of effort to stop that goal yesterday. Ball watching and jogging. They can all say they’re giving their all but that is categorically not. Hackney has been so much better off the ball recently but I hope he is ashamed watching himself lose the ball then just allow the goal scorer the freedom of the box. It was obvious in the stands the lack of effort but only hindsight made me realise how poor it was.
All the local press is right, yesterday was a huge magnifying glass over the problems at our club.

I have supported Michael Carrick but supporters aren’t daft and the way he addresses some of the problems that happen on the pitch feels muggy. How many times have we heard that they’re giving their all? Leeds game we were showing effort, yesterday we weren’t in the most insulting of ways. The extortionate amount of money people spend to follow boro and they’re jogging back to defend. Azaz as a highlight, he is a talented player that can produce winning moments, yet the way he shirks out of challenges is infuriating - in fairness to him, he is a No.10, and would be so much more effective there, getting on the half turn in their middle third instead of being the one needed to supply the pass.

I believe yesterday he should have put on Fry for Howson second half. Despite being one of the best yesterday, through no fault of his own Jonny couldn’t handle both physical presences once Neil made those changes. He could’ve brought Fry on at 60’ to try and counter that but he decided against it. I believe if we had put Dael on we would’ve been able to grapple back momentum that had clearly swung in the game. That is down to both parties but surely if the head coach is seeing players struggling to handle that he should be changing it. I’ve never seen Boro team get bullied as much as we did in that second half. So much more desire to win the game. And yet, a point would have done. That goal doesn’t define the season, but it encapsulates it.

We’ve built a side that is mentally and physically weak, and as much as I really enjoy the character of some of the players there has to be some serious questions asked. Carricks play-off team had players that would stand up and be counted. Smith, Lenihan, Fry, Howson were big Characters, even McGree, Forss and Chuba had the nous and desire to control a game.

This is the worst championship in years and we have what Carrick has titled his best squad he’s had - and we’re 8th. A categorical failure across the board this year. Factors have affected that, but we have lost countless points from winning positions that would have had us comfortably there, never mind an inability to get back into a game after going behind. That is not injuries or recruitments fault. Even with failure, you would expect effort. These players are good enough technically, and Leeds had me believing they may have turned a corner regarding their desire to contend with the best in the league. Yesterday brought us right back to square one.

Give me a side with desire over ability any day. We’re still not out of the fight, win our next three and it’ll go down to the final day. Unfortunately, I don’t think this squad has the capability to stand up for the fight.

Teams that are mentally and physically weak win nothing. In fact it's a recipe for relegation.

[Ben J 59 67]

1 hour ago, Plastic Goat said:

Teams that are mentally and physically weak win nothing. In fact it's a recipe for relegation.

That was one of the main takeouts from yesterday. When the pressure really comes on these players, most of them can't handle it. And you're right; a team that can't handle pressure goes nowhere. That is evident in four 'derby' defeats this season, only one where we took the lead.

[Old Codger 4,269 4.9k]

Was talking to one of the lads earlier and commenting on how the lack of a bit of nasty in the squad had cost us this year and he asked a question that I didn't know the answer to. Who are the five players in the squad that would be up for a fight if a brawl broke out... I was fairly confident about three but then I started to struggle and ended up with a couple of borderline decisions.  Maybe we are pushovers in that respect... certainly nobody that puts the frighteners on anybody 🙂   

[AnglianRed 7,882 18.1k]

6 hours ago, Dan1234 said:

Out of interest where would you suggest their best positions are? We've seen Burgzorg on the left and despite him being better than the right he was still ineffective. We've seen Conway as a 10 behind Lath and again similar stuff, chips in with the odd goal but other than that lacking.

He's got 12 league goals for the season, which admittedly is probably what you'd hope for from an attacking mid, but not too shabby when you think of how Carrick has shuffled the team around over the season.

For reference its one more than Latte Lath got in his half-season with us and a couple more than Azaz has managed.

He's obviously not a 20+ goal a season striker like ELL was, but he's doing better than anyone else has managed so far. Which is pretty impressive when you consider the general standard of service to our front players.

Also not saying we couldn't do with better players, but the trick is 1) finding them and 2) getting them to sign.

[SimonD 1,375 1.5k]

On 4/12/2025 at 5:01 PM, Plastic Goat said:

Not only should Carrick go I would like him to be joined by Gibson and Scott. They are ruining this club

 

 

Might as well demolish the stadium as well then.

[LinoJo3 5,791 13.6k]

24 minutes ago, AnglianRed said:

He's got 12 league goals for the season, which admittedly is probably what you'd hope for from an attacking mid, but not too shabby when you think of how Carrick has shuffled the team around over the season.

For reference its one more than Latte Lath got in his half-season with us and a couple more than Azaz has managed.

He's obviously not a 20+ goal a season striker like ELL was, but he's doing better than anyone else has managed so far. Which is pretty impressive when you consider the general standard of service to our front players.

Also not saying we couldn't do with better players, but the trick is 1) finding them and 2) getting them to sign.

Is it fair to say he’s not a 20 goal striker? He’s already not far off in a side not firing and hasn’t exactly started every game since he joined.

[Downsouth 8,153 39k]

18 hours ago, Redcar Rioja said:

Won't post the links due to the new rules but both Scott Wilson from the Echo and Craig Johns from the Gazette gave pretty damning assessments on yesterdays performance. A little bit from both below.

Johns: "The 1-0 defeat at the Den was by no means Boro’s worst performance of the season. In fact, for the majority of it, they were the better team. But in leaving empty-handed, it was 90 minutes that ultimately exposed so many of the flaws that see Boro on the outside looking in, with just four games now remaining."

Wilson: "Play some decent football without any real semblance of an end product. That box was ticked in the first half. Lack the fight needed to outbattle limited opponents, whose superior spirit and commitment was ultimately decisive. That was the story of the second period. Fail to alter the course of a game once it had begun to get away from them, with their head coach’s tendency to be reactive rather than proactive contributing to their overall failure. How many times have we seen that this season?

This is Boro related information so I see no problems with you posting links to the local press reports am certain that they will be approved unless I am mistaken

[AnglianRed 7,882 18.1k]

14 hours ago, LinoJo3 said:

Is it fair to say he’s not a 20 goal striker? He’s already not far off in a side not firing and hasn’t exactly started every game since he joined.

Yes - because he's not there yet. 😜 Its also fair to say he's missed some decent chances...and yes you can level that argument at all our forward players.

I was actually making the point that he's done okay, considering the team hasn't been playing well.

I don't think he's of the same calibre as ELL, who often managed to make something out of nothing, with his sheer work rate...but all players are different. 

But yes, the lad's done alright in the circumstances. In a properly functioning team, he might well be banging in 20+ 🤷‍♂️ 

[Bruce 3,110 2.5k]

23 minutes ago, AnglianRed said:

Yes - because he's not there yet. 😜 Its also fair to say he's missed some decent chances...and yes you can level that argument at all our forward players.

I was actually making the point that he's done okay, considering the team hasn't been playing well.

I don't think he's of the same calibre as ELL, who often managed to make something out of nothing, with his sheer work rate...but all players are different. 

But yes, the lad's done alright in the circumstances. In a properly functioning team, he might well be banging in 20+ 🤷‍♂️ 

I think he's done well but he's not a one-for-one replacement for ELL. For whatever reason, he seems to spend very little time in the box and that goes for his time at Bristol City as well. If you look at his heat map (use sofascore) compared to the likes of ELL or Archer (for us) then you can see that while ELL's hottest spot is the penalty spot, Conway is all over the map. The nearest equivalent I can see is Adam Armstrong. I thought at first that he was the type to run off the shoulder of the last defender but I don't think he is. He seems to be more about picking up the ball in unusual areas and playing a give and go. His goal against Blackburn was, I reckon, a perfect example of what he can do, picking up the ball when nothing much seems to be going on and scoring in the blink of an eye.

At the moment, we don't seem to have anyone who actually wants to get to the penalty spot and score other than Forss and we haven't been playing him. Means we lack a focus up front. I suspect that we need someone like Chuba behind Conway who can get into the box and can hold up the ball. That way Conway can link up with him. I suspect that Conway won't be a 20 goal a season player routinely but will chip in with 15 goals a season consistently, maybe hitting 20 in his best season. He definitely needs the right person alongside him. Right now you have Whittaker, Azaz and Hackney queueing up to take potshots from outside the area where Conway also wants to be. Burzorg just Burgzorgs and Iheanacho is suffering his long, dark night of the soul. He needs someone like Doak to create havoc in front of him or possibly Iling Junior to break the lines and create some space. 

[Redcar Rioja 9,036 8.8k]

2 minutes ago, Bruce said:

I think he's done well but he's not a one-for-one replacement for ELL. For whatever reason, he seems to spend very little time in the box and that goes for his time at Bristol City as well. If you look at his heat map (use sofascore) compared to the likes of ELL or Archer (for us) then you can see that while ELL's hottest spot is the penalty spot, Conway is all over the map. The nearest equivalent I can see is Adam Armstrong. I thought at first that he was the type to run off the shoulder of the last defender but I don't think he is. He seems to be more about picking up the ball in unusual areas and playing a give and go. His goal against Blackburn was, I reckon, a perfect example of what he can do, picking up the ball when nothing much seems to be going on and scoring in the blink of an eye.

At the moment, we don't seem to have anyone who actually wants to get to the penalty spot and score other than Forss and we haven't been playing him. Means we lack a focus up front. I suspect that we need someone like Chuba behind Conway who can get into the box and can hold up the ball. That way Conway can link up with him. I suspect that Conway won't be a 20 goal a season player routinely but will chip in with 15 goals a season consistently, maybe hitting 20 in his best season. He definitely needs the right person alongside him. Right now you have Whittaker, Azaz and Hackney queueing up to take potshots from outside the area where Conway also wants to be. Burzorg just Burgzorgs and Iheanacho is suffering his long, dark night of the soul. He needs someone like Doak to create havoc in front of him or possibly Iling Junior to break the lines and create some space. 

He strikes me as a busy player, buzzing around and difficult to mark but because he's all over the place being difficult to mark and pick up it's equally difficult for team mates to instinctively anticipate and know where to play balls to. Contrast with the Chuba's, Archer's and Latte Lath's where you could ping a ball into the box and you just knew one of them would be onto it without even looking up. That level of synergy and understanding is now totally missing, made worse by instead of coaching and developing understanding we have a constantly shuffling three behind, mostly played in the wrong positions and then being subbed off and a new two or three behind again.

I'm not sure where he fits best into Carrick's system which should question why he was bought. He is definitely good at this level but he needs someone to play alongside or play off, either a big lad winning tussles and him picking up scraps or a Chuba just behind creating for him. As it is we have neither of those types and as a consequence he looks starved of service to me or at least the correct level and quality of service. Starved of that he runs around more looking for scraps which then compounds my initial observation of him being difficult to pick out or anticipate.

[Redcar Rioja 9,036 8.8k]

1 hour ago, Downsouth said:

This is Boro related information so I see no problems with you posting links to the local press reports am certain that they will be approved unless I am mistaken

It can sometimes take a while before being approved which then kind of disrupts the discussions and even become irrelevant by the time they are approved. Not having a pop at the mods as we all have other things to do than be on here all day. As an example I have  post at the moment (which isn't earth shattering) but it's taken over 30 minutes yet and still not approved so the debate that it could have continued or even sarked further is nullified. I'm not sure what the answer is myself by the way.

[Bruce 3,110 2.5k]

12 minutes ago, Redcar Rioja said:

He is definitely good at this level but he needs someone to play alongside or play off, either a big lad winning tussles and him picking up scraps or a Chuba just behind creating for him.

I think that was meant to be Iheancho's job. Complete misjudgement on someone's part. As it is we have Conway, Azaz, Whittaker (and McGree) who want to buzz all over the place while Burgzorg Burgzorgs. Iheanacho is the only player who likes to go in a straight line unfortunately it's a very slow and ponderous straight line followed by a player who has lost all confidence. It's just bad team construction at this point. 

Thing is, you can see why Carrick has persisted with Iheanacho and Burgzorg because once you have Conway, Azaz and Whittaker on the pitch their natural game leads to them being in each others' way. You can probably manage with two out of the three if the other two forwards are more disciplined and you have two very defensively strong central midfielders. Problem is that Iheanacho looks to have sunk too far down a hole to get out and Burgzorg isn't capable of playing with his team mates drifting around: he needs a simple structure so he can drive from deep with the ball. 

At this point, if Forss is fit I would play with him and Conway as a duo. Worked last season for Forss and ELL until Forss got injured. Assuming Fry is fit again I would go with Fry, Rav and Howson at the back with Howson playing in front of them and being the main player to bring the ball out from the back. Dijksteel and Iling Jr as wing backs. A midfield three of Hackney, Morris and 1 from Azaz/Whittaker/McGree with Forss and Conway up front. Forss isn't great with his back to goal but he can keep the ball under pressure better than any of our other forwards and likes to play a disciplined role. I mean it's not going to happen because Carrick has boxed himself in.

[LinoJo3 5,791 13.6k]

4 hours ago, Bruce said:

I think he's done well but he's not a one-for-one replacement for ELL. For whatever reason, he seems to spend very little time in the box and that goes for his time at Bristol City as well. If you look at his heat map (use sofascore) compared to the likes of ELL or Archer (for us) then you can see that while ELL's hottest spot is the penalty spot, Conway is all over the map. The nearest equivalent I can see is Adam Armstrong. I thought at first that he was the type to run off the shoulder of the last defender but I don't think he is. He seems to be more about picking up the ball in unusual areas and playing a give and go. His goal against Blackburn was, I reckon, a perfect example of what he can do, picking up the ball when nothing much seems to be going on and scoring in the blink of an eye.

At the moment, we don't seem to have anyone who actually wants to get to the penalty spot and score other than Forss and we haven't been playing him. Means we lack a focus up front. I suspect that we need someone like Chuba behind Conway who can get into the box and can hold up the ball. That way Conway can link up with him. I suspect that Conway won't be a 20 goal a season player routinely but will chip in with 15 goals a season consistently, maybe hitting 20 in his best season. He definitely needs the right person alongside him. Right now you have Whittaker, Azaz and Hackney queueing up to take potshots from outside the area where Conway also wants to be. Burzorg just Burgzorgs and Iheanacho is suffering his long, dark night of the soul. He needs someone like Doak to create havoc in front of him or possibly Iling Junior to break the lines and create some space. 

Watching one of our midweek games a few weeks ago I remember the one thing that stood out to me was we looked like a team full of creators trying to create a chance for nobody.

[Redcar Rioja 9,036 8.8k]

1 hour ago, LinoJo3 said:

Watching one of our midweek games a few weeks ago I remember the one thing that stood out to me was we looked like a team full of creators trying to create a chance for nobody.

A séance under the spotlights!

 

Is there anybody there? kick it three times over the stand roof.