Venue: Swansea.Com Stadium

Date: 6th April 2026

Kick Off: 1730hrs

Available to view on Sky Sports Channel 403

Introduction:

Stuttering Boro, players and fans and all associated with MFC make the long journey into Wales in the hope that they can recapture some of the early form that propelled us into second spot and where we stayed for such a long time.

However that was then and this is now where the reality has crept up amongst us that we are not as good as we first thought and our current form is not just a blip on the radar but a serious crash waiting to happen.

Unless something changes, and by that I mean we have to start winning as of now, and hope, and I mean hope that others do us a favour along the way because we can not rely on Boro to sort it out based on what we are witnessing.

Start of the season we would have said thanks very much for a top 6 spot and I suppose many will still be delighted to achieve that position but due to what has gone on before that feeling of euphoria has evaporated and we are left with just hoping we can at least maintain top 6 but we all certainly feel very underwhelmed with Boro and the continuing disappointment that when it really mattered Boro again failed to deliver.

Injuries

Would seem that Hackney, Whittaker, Castledine, Silvera, Jones and possibly Targett will not be available.

Talking Points

WTF has happened to Boro of late?

Can criticism be thrown at Hellberg?

Are we going to regret not getting another striker into the club?

Other games of significance (and I don't care if Humpty agrees or not)

Millwall V Norwich

Derby V Stoke

Ipswich V Birmingham

Hull V Coventry

One to watch Wrexham V Southampton result on Tuesday

A view from Downsouth

Not mentioned form guide as I normally do because we know we are 12th currently and I guess Swansea are there or thereabouts.

No disrespect to Swansea or their fans but we have to get a win at all costs just so we can get a winning feeling back which may take the momentum during the final games.

Yes second spot is still there but how many of us would bet our houses now on achieving a position which we so easily threw away of late.

We are at a crossroads at the moment, either the highway or small avenue just out of town.

Not going to kid myself we are in a sticky situation and Hellberg and Co, if they can must deliver

Got draw written all over it.

Are we allowed to call this a must win game yet?

Still flat after today but we can at least give ourselves a fighting chance with a win. Ideally we wanted 6 points and a minimum of 4 from this weekend and we have already failed to achieve the minimum.

We are very thin on numbers and quality so I do feel we will probably see Sarmiento and Gilbert come into the side. Id even try Monroe although it seems he is 3rd in the pecking order.

The Norwich result today wasnt good for us as it probably impacts greatly on their slim chances of the playoffs. Hopefully they can throw a spanner in the works 2 more times this season though.

I feel for us to win we need to rediscover how to score more than one. We have lost that sense of invincibility when taking the lead and look quite nervy the longer we go without scoring.

That said im going to go for a 2-1 bounce back win and hope and pray Millwall and Ipswich try and Boro up their opportunities.

Edited April 3Apr 3 by smogsterking the Inspirati

48 minutes ago, TeaCider24 said:

Got draw written all over it.

We need this kind of optimism right now 👍

2 hours ago, TeaCider24 said:

Got draw written all over it.

As long as it's a 0-0 draw, if they score we are fooked.

I think this will be a bit more of an open game tbh think Swansea will try and play abit more than most teams have usually a decent footballing team and I believe they have been more of a possession based team since matos came in so I can see them trying to play more for sure which hopefully plays into our hands abit more like qpr away

Anyone Considered we are exactly where the owners want us...Battling at the top end of the Championship Almost full stadium every other week, or Struggling at the bottom end of the Premier league And Getting us butts kicked every week... in a stadium half empty

12 minutes ago, Barnaby said:

Anyone Considered we are exactly where the owners want us...Battling at the top end of the Championship Almost full stadium every other week, or Struggling at the bottom end of the Premier league And Getting us butts kicked every week... in a stadium half empty

As ever when this is suggested, just no, it makes absolutely no sense.

Yesterday was the first time the stadium has even been close to full since Boxing Day, and we'd have virtually full stadiums every week in the Premier League even if we were doing a Derby.

Our last time up, we had a higher attendance in our final miserable already relegated home game than we have in 3/4s of our home games this season.

Clubs haemorrhage money in the Championship, no owner wants their club to avoid promotion, the Championship is an absolute money sink, the only place you can occasionally make a profit is the Premier League, and even then it's a rarity.

Edited April 4Apr 4 by TeaCider24

41 minutes ago, TeaCider24 said:

As ever when this is suggested, just no, it makes absolutely no sense.

Yesterday was the first time the stadium has even been close to full since Boxing Day, and we'd have virtually full stadiums every week in the Premier League even if we were doing a Derby.

Our last time up, we had a higher attendance in our final miserable already relegated home game than we have in 3/4s of our home games this season.

Clubs haemorrhage money in the Championship, no owner wants their club to avoid promotion, the Championship is an absolute money sink, the only place you can occasionally make a profit is the Premier League, and even then it's a rarity.

Makes sense to me

Talking Points

WTF has happened to Boro of late?

In cricketing parlance I believe its called the "yips" - where a batsman's technique and thought processes get scrambled and they can't make a decent score for love nor money.

At some point in the last few games (possibly when we were sitting pretty in 2nd with a cushion to the play-off places) I think the squad realised, "Oh, *** we could get promoted this season". The pressure of maintaining that place came crashing down on them and they've collectively *** the bed.

At least 50% of this is on the players. Its not like we are not creating chances. Indeed we have squandered numerous good chances to win games. I think there is a mental fragility to a lot of our players. They don't seem to handle pressure very well.

Think a few of us have also commented on the frequently poor decision making - whether attacking or defending.

Can criticism be thrown at Hellberg?

Yep. The other 50% has to be reserved for him.

He has undoubtedly created a good system and first team that are more than capable of winning matches.

However, he seems to have ignored the rest of the squad, both to the detriment of the first teamers, who are being run into the ground AND results-wise as he seems incapable of changing things when we are clearly struggling.

Also, he may not rate the squad players...but they are what he has to work with. Why isn't he doing more with them in training to try and get them to where he thinks they should be?

I mean its too late now, but he should have been making an effort to improve them, familiarise them with his system and giving them SOME game time, so they at least had a chance of integrating and being somewhat effective.

Are we going to regret not getting another striker into the club?

Maybe.

All depends on WHO we signed and whether Hellberg used them effectively. He's used Conway almost exclusively as a wide forward and Strelec the same in about half his appearances.

All the people saying our season was screwed by our failure to land a striker in January are overlooking these points...and the fact this very same squad was scoring for fun not so long ago.

Obviously it never hurts to have options...but so much depends on both the calibre of player AND the manager employing a system that puts them in positions to score goals.

View from the Fens...

Speaking for myself, I think our season is done now. The last few games have shown our players don't have the mentality to cope with a promotion push. Hellberg doesn't have the ability to adapt his tactics and won't even entertain the idea of using different players, unless forced to by injury.

Our first teamers are probably suffering burn-out, alongside the "promotion anxiety" and while we can still look good for 45 minutes, if we haven't got a good grip on games by then, we are prone to falling apart.

Our season is rapidly fizzling out and its increasingly difficult to see where we will pick up points in our remaining fixtures (Sheffield Wednesday seemingly the only guaranteed win). We'll probably still finish in the play-offs - helped by the inconsistency of other teams - but won't progress beyond the first round.

Edited April 4Apr 4 by AnglianRed

1 hour ago, Barnaby said:

Anyone Considered we are exactly where the owners want us...Battling at the top end of the Championship Almost full stadium every other week, or Struggling at the bottom end of the Premier league And Getting us butts kicked every week... in a stadium half empty

I'm not sure Gibson is exactly happy about subsidising the club to the tune of about £12 million a year.

Getting promoted would (in theory) allow the club to get its finances in the black - provided we kept signings and wages sensible.

The broadcast revenue alone (something in the region of £120 million) would make it financially worthwhile, even if we were lower / mid-table strugglers. Total payments are closer to £200 million now I think.

Again, provided you don't blow it all like an idiot, thats got to be worth getting promoted.

Edited April 4Apr 4 by AnglianRed

More money in the Playoffs anyway....if we even make that 😬🫣

32 minutes ago, Barnaby said:

Makes sense to me

How?

Your attendance argument doesn't hold up, owners lose tens of millions every season in the Championship, so what about it makes sense?

1 minute ago, TeaCider24 said:

How?

Your attendance argument doesn't hold up, owners lose tens of millions every season in the Championship, so what about it makes sense?

Our income from gate money doesn't come anywhere near running the club...It's merchandise & TV money that is the main income...That and player sales...How many Games have been Televised this season? how many will get Televised IF we do go up...By this I'm assuming we get paid by appearances on TV

1 minute ago, TeaCider24 said:

How?

Your attendance argument doesn't hold up, owners lose tens of millions every season in the Championship, so what about it makes sense?

Our income from gate money doesn't come anywhere near running the club...It's merchandise & TV money that is the main income...That and player sales...How many Games have been Televised this season? how many will get Televised IF we do go up...By this I'm assuming we get paid by appearances on TV