2 hours ago, Bruce said:

He did change to 4-2-3-1 last season. Although I don't like Wilder as a person from how he acts he appears to be a decent manager who lost his way for a few years due to his ego. 

His current likely team still looks really strong when playing 4-2-3-1. Don't know about right back but rest seems good. They seem to be stuffed full of CBs so they probably could go back to 3-5-2 although 3-4-2-1 looks like it might suit them best.

GK Cooper

RBs Shackleton(inj) / Seriki?

CBs Godfrey / Mee / Zatterstrom / Tanganga / McGuinness / Bindon

LBs Burrows / McCallum

DMs Soumare / Arblaster (inj?)

CMs Peck / Davies

AMs/#10s  O'Hare / Hamer / Chong

Forwards/wingers Brooks / Ogbene / Barry

CFs Campbell / Ings / Cannon

There's also a bunch of AI driven projects that he'll simply ignore.

The big weakness is up front but get that squad functioning properly and even with the bad start you would expect them to be challenging for 5th/6th

Good research Bruce 👍

Brooks looks a player with a big future 📒

makes you wonder what they do with Ai, just asked google's ai who we should buy and its telling us morris is off in January and we should sign forss back  we might be forced to sell Barlaser as well 

Quote

AI Overview

Middlesbrough will likely focus their January transfer window activity on securing a defensive midfielder to replace the influential Aidan Morris and addressing the potential departures of players like Dan Barlaser. They will also need to consider signing a quality goalkeeper, potentially a successor to Seny Dieng and Sol Brynn, and potentially adding a versatile forward or winger like Marcus Forss if his contract situation remains uncertain. 

Key Areas for Middlesbrough to Target:

Defensive Midfielder: 

After Aidan Morris's lengthy absence, the club identified a clear need for another tenacious, bite-filled defensive midfielder. They will look for a player who can provide similar defensive strength and athleticism to the team. 

Goalkeeper: 

Injuries to Seny Dieng and Sol Brynn highlighted the importance of having a reliable and experienced goalkeeper. Middlesbrough will likely seek a quality keeper to provide depth and security in the position. 

Potential Forward/Winger: 

With the futures of some forwards uncertain, the club may need to bring in another player for the attack. A versatile player like Marcus Forss could be considered if he is available or if his current contract situation makes him a risk. 

Factors Influencing Transfer Activity:

Player Sales: 

The club may be forced to sell players like Dan Barlaser if they have expiring contracts to avoid losing them for free. This could create space in the squad for new signings.

Loan Deals: 

The club may also look into loan deals, particularly for younger players or for players who need more game time.

Loan Departures: 

Should younger midfielders like Law McCabe go out on loan, this would also create a need for replacements in those positions. 

 

1 hour ago, Rob said:

makes you wonder what they do with Ai, just asked google's ai who we should buy and its telling us morris is off in January and we should sign forss back  we might be forced to sell Barlaser as well 

 

So... I do quite a bit with AI in my job, and there are two types of result when you search on an LLM (i.e. ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, Gemini etc..)

First and most common one is the Foundation model, the second one is called RAG (Retrieval-augmented generation)

First one: You ask ChatGPT a question and it just answers it with the information it has been trained on (what's the capital of France, as a crap example)

Second one (RAG) is when ChatGPT has to go off and perform a live search rather than pretend to know what it's talking about

Just so you don't think I'm derailing this thread with AI B0ll0ck$, I asked Perplexity (recommended for research) the same question....

It did a lot better, although it only recommended one player... Ishe Samuels-Smith

.....

The realistic outlook for Middlesbrough FC’s transfer activity is notably more specific and nuanced than generic AI responses often provide. As of September 2025, several high-profile departures already occurred or are rumoured to be imminent, while the club’s targeting in the upcoming windows is driven by concrete squad dynamics and financial context.

Confirmed Summer Outgoings and Potential Sales

Major Confirmed Departures:

    •    Finn Azaz (sold to Southampton for £12m),
    •    Rav van den Berg (£11m to Cologne),
    •    Josh Coburn (£5m to Millwall),
    •    Daniel Barlaser (loan to Hibernian),
    •    Marcus Forss (loan to Bolton),
    •    Anfernee Dijksteel, George Gitau, Jonathan Howson, and Tom Glover were all released or left on free transfers .

Possible Additional Sales:

    •    Hayden Hackney is a strong candidate to leave soon given he’s changed agents and Premier League interest is significant. The club only just managed to keep him this recent window, making a sale likely either in January or next summer .
    •    Seny Dieng may move on—he’s been displaced as first-choice keeper, suffered injury, and Boro could fetch about £1.5m. His age and injury record make a transfer plausible as he searches for regular game time .
    •    Dan Barlaser is out on loan with one year left on contract. A permanent exit feels inevitable (approx. £2m valuation) .
    •    Marcus Forss—at prime age but with limited starting opportunities—could leave permanently (valued ~£3m) to free up wages and squad space .

Inheritance for January and Key Squad Needs

    •    Right-Back Recruitment: With only Luke Ayling seen as a natural right-back, the club will aim for a new signing in that position. Interest in Ishe Samuels-Smith is reported, but there’s competition from other Championship clubs .
    •    Midfield Rebuild: The central midfield continues to transition, and further strengthening is planned given both Hackney and Barlaser’s situations. A dynamic midfielder—possibly young, with Championship or higher-potential pedigree—is expected to be a priority .
    •    Goalkeeper: With uncertainty around Seny Dieng’s future and fitness, depth will likely be targeted, but recent in-and-outs have addressed this to a degree .
    •    Forward Situation: With loans and sales, Boro may recruit a versatile forward or winger, especially if Forss departs either permanently or to extend his loan elsewhere.

Other Factors
    •    Loans for Younger Players: Boro are expected to loan out more youth squad members—players like Law McCabe (already at Plymouth) will get more opportunities elsewhere .
    •    Squad Restructuring: Under Rob Edwards, much of the rebuilding is driven by changing tactics and the need to balance the books after high-profile sales .

In summary, Middlesbrough’s transfer narrative for the remainder of 2025 and into January 2026 is strongly dictated by the potential exits of Hackney, Dieng, Barlaser, and Forss, with a clear focus on recruiting a right-back, a dynamic midfielder, and possibly a keeper or forward depending on departures. The outlook is shaped by practical squad gaps and market interest—far more complex and club-specific than the vague generalities seen in earlier AI outputs .

Hi guys I am a Bot and this response was automatically generated...

PS Do I win anything?

5 hours ago, Rob said:

makes you wonder what they do with Ai, just asked google's ai who we should buy and its telling us morris is off in January and we should sign forss back  we might be forced to sell Barlaser as well 

 

Just so know, when it says they use “ai” it doesn’t mean they ask AI who to sign, they will use AI to process and analyse data 

26 minutes ago, alxdickens said:

Just so know, when it says they use “ai” it doesn’t mean they ask AI who to sign, they will use AI to process and analyse data 

yeah the ai I asked is basically a glorified search engine/encyclopedia, i just asked it out of curiosity what junk it would throw out, i do like the idea of a clueless rich owner using chat gpt for ideas how to win the league tho  maybe its what hulls owner tried to do lol

I wonder if that was a reason why they binned wilder in the summer. I think he only likes working with recruitment when he gets his own way, so I could imagine him not being too fussed on some of their suggestions and they might look at some of wilders deals like cannon and disagree 

1 hour ago, alxdickens said:

Just so know, when it says they use “ai” it doesn’t mean they ask AI who to sign, they will use AI to process and analyse data 

I think they do ask it who to sign tbh, obviously it will be based on data parameters like in simple terms ‘we’re looking for a player with xyz capabilities, or the team is lacking such and such who could fill the gap’. 
 

Probably all based on multiple stats and comparing requirements to a database. So if they’re a possession based team but weak in the air at the back they would maybe say ‘find a center back below 25 with aerial duels won over 70% and pass accuracy above 85% who plays in Europe and is in the last 24 months of his contract’.

They will add way more parameters than that but just an example of how I think it would work and when you simplify it they essentially are asking ‘who should we sign?’

Id also imagine they’d use ai to identify certain patterns in data, maybe patterns that are shown by players who’ve became a top talent who are being replicated by lesser known players. Basically trying to predict future performance based on current data.

8 hours ago, LinoJo3 said:

I think they do ask it who to sign tbh, obviously it will be based on data parameters like in simple terms ‘we’re looking for a player with xyz capabilities, or the team is lacking such and such who could fill the gap’. 
 

Probably all based on multiple stats and comparing requirements to a database. So if they’re a possession based team but weak in the air at the back they would maybe say ‘find a center back below 25 with aerial duels won over 70% and pass accuracy above 85% who plays in Europe and is in the last 24 months of his contract’.

They will add way more parameters than that but just an example of how I think it would work and when you simplify it they essentially are asking ‘who should we sign?’

Id also imagine they’d use ai to identify certain patterns in data, maybe patterns that are shown by players who’ve became a top talent who are being replicated by lesser known players. Basically trying to predict future performance based on current data.

yeah i'd imagine they are looking for players with certain style radar stat charts, using ai would be a good way to go through large amounts of data for that, 

probs look for maybe somewhat similar stats to the players they would aspire to be able to sign,

also maybe they look for trends in their stats over the first few seasons of their playing career to see if the progression is matching the players we would buy, you could use ai to predict which ones were most likely to have that break out season in the next year or two if that's what you are looking for

14 hours ago, alxdickens said:

Just so know, when it says they use “ai” it doesn’t mean they ask AI who to sign, they will use AI to process and analyse data 

Aye I no 

18 hours ago, SimonD said:

So... I do quite a bit with AI in my job, and there are two types of result when you search on an LLM (i.e. ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, Gemini etc..)

First and most common one is the Foundation model, the second one is called RAG (Retrieval-augmented generation)

First one: You ask ChatGPT a question and it just answers it with the information it has been trained on (what's the capital of France, as a crap example)

Second one (RAG) is when ChatGPT has to go off and perform a live search rather than pretend to know what it's talking about

Just so you don't think I'm derailing this thread with AI B0ll0ck$, I asked Perplexity (recommended for research) the same question....

It did a lot better, although it only recommended one player... Ishe Samuels-Smith

.....

The realistic outlook for Middlesbrough FC’s transfer activity is notably more specific and nuanced than generic AI responses often provide. As of September 2025, several high-profile departures already occurred or are rumoured to be imminent, while the club’s targeting in the upcoming windows is driven by concrete squad dynamics and financial context.

Confirmed Summer Outgoings and Potential Sales

Major Confirmed Departures:

    •    Finn Azaz (sold to Southampton for £12m),
    •    Rav van den Berg (£11m to Cologne),
    •    Josh Coburn (£5m to Millwall),
    •    Daniel Barlaser (loan to Hibernian),
    •    Marcus Forss (loan to Bolton),
    •    Anfernee Dijksteel, George Gitau, Jonathan Howson, and Tom Glover were all released or left on free transfers .

Possible Additional Sales:

    •    Hayden Hackney is a strong candidate to leave soon given he’s changed agents and Premier League interest is significant. The club only just managed to keep him this recent window, making a sale likely either in January or next summer .
    •    Seny Dieng may move on—he’s been displaced as first-choice keeper, suffered injury, and Boro could fetch about £1.5m. His age and injury record make a transfer plausible as he searches for regular game time .
    •    Dan Barlaser is out on loan with one year left on contract. A permanent exit feels inevitable (approx. £2m valuation) .
    •    Marcus Forss—at prime age but with limited starting opportunities—could leave permanently (valued ~£3m) to free up wages and squad space .

Inheritance for January and Key Squad Needs

    •    Right-Back Recruitment: With only Luke Ayling seen as a natural right-back, the club will aim for a new signing in that position. Interest in Ishe Samuels-Smith is reported, but there’s competition from other Championship clubs .
    •    Midfield Rebuild: The central midfield continues to transition, and further strengthening is planned given both Hackney and Barlaser’s situations. A dynamic midfielder—possibly young, with Championship or higher-potential pedigree—is expected to be a priority .
    •    Goalkeeper: With uncertainty around Seny Dieng’s future and fitness, depth will likely be targeted, but recent in-and-outs have addressed this to a degree .
    •    Forward Situation: With loans and sales, Boro may recruit a versatile forward or winger, especially if Forss departs either permanently or to extend his loan elsewhere.

Other Factors
    •    Loans for Younger Players: Boro are expected to loan out more youth squad members—players like Law McCabe (already at Plymouth) will get more opportunities elsewhere .
    •    Squad Restructuring: Under Rob Edwards, much of the rebuilding is driven by changing tactics and the need to balance the books after high-profile sales .

In summary, Middlesbrough’s transfer narrative for the remainder of 2025 and into January 2026 is strongly dictated by the potential exits of Hackney, Dieng, Barlaser, and Forss, with a clear focus on recruiting a right-back, a dynamic midfielder, and possibly a keeper or forward depending on departures. The outlook is shaped by practical squad gaps and market interest—far more complex and club-specific than the vague generalities seen in earlier AI outputs .

Ah, Ishe Samuels-Smith. Yes, a left-back sounds like a perfect option at right-back. I'm either relieved that the AI revolution is still a way off from being a reality, or impressed that it's worked out that whatever happens, we must buy a left-back every window!

19 hours ago, KeithLambsFaxMachine said:

Ah, Ishe Samuels-Smith.

Known as Master-Cooper to his friends.

 

0-0 in the 12.30 games at half time with a few teams of note playing. 

All 3 games 0-0 at 75 minutes. Thrilling

Nevermind QPR beating stoke. Great for us