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Win? Away from home? Clean-sheet?

 

Piddle, flimshaw, pah...!

 

Mowbray out etc...

 

In all seriousness its nice to see us getting three points away from the Riverside again. Shame its taken over 8 bloody months!

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Formation: We kept of the ball quite well this game and it looked more like a 4-3-3 than a 4-2-3-1. When we attacked, Whitehead always sat behind while both Leadbitter and Varga went forward. Also I think someone mentioned this before for a previous game that when the full backs pressed forward, our front wide players of Carayol and Adomah seem to player just inside of the full back playing slightly narrower instead of doing overlapping runs.

 

Defence: Woodgate and Rhys were pretty solid for most of the game, Richardson had a decent debut and does look like he can deliver a decent cross in. Friend made some good runs down the left, one of which almost resulted in a goal when his cross shot fizzled across the goal with Varga sliding in. Steele was solid. Leutwiler looks a little dodgy though I have to say, sliced one of his kick for a throw in and I felt like he looked uncertain at times whether to come out to go for a corner/cross or not.

 

Midfield: Leadbitter was always available for a pass and helped us play possession football, while Varga was full of energy throughout the 90minutes and quite good at breaking things up and Whitehead was always around the defence to mop things up and help cover the defence. I must say having watched both our two new midfield players for the first time, I was quite impressed with both of them. Although I think with this solidity of playing three of them, we do look like we are missing someone who can play an incisive pass in the final third, this is where I think possibly we might have to sacrifice someone like Leadbitter (or mayb Varga) for a more creative goal scoring playmaker. There is a risk of that though, because I think Leadbitter was on the ball the most out of all players and I think he looks like one of the main reasons why we can dominate games, possession wise, without that many clear cut chances being created.

 

Attack: Every time Carayol got the ball, during a counter attack especially, you could hear the crowd urging him to take on the whole team, he did make quite a few good runs but looked quite tired for the last 20 minutes and was surprised Mowbray did not take him off earlier as he was bending over with his hands on his knees in between those lung busting runs and failed the thread back in the closing stages of the game on a few occassions. He should get fitter as the season progresses. Adomah I think will get better as well, didn't do much wrong, but didn't really light up the game as well. Although I did miss the part where he apparently hit the crossbar with his volley in the first half. Juke was juke, constantly wrestling with the CBs and providing a strong physical presence upfront which you did expect him to.

 

That's my summary of the game which I thoroughly enjoyed. The away support was very vocal and fantastic and I am sure the best feeling is leaving The Valley with three points. Something we haven't done that often this year!

 

Excellent summary - I've added a couple of my comments too...

 

Defence:

 

Steeley was excellent when called upon - rarely tested but the worry about his injury could be felt in the stands. Hope it's not serious. Leiutweiler didn't have a lot to do but I agree the slice was a concern at the time. For me, Steele - 8, Leiutweiler N/A

 

Richardson looks like the RB we've needed for a few seasons, did the simple things well and looked like he wanted to get Adamoah forward - he made some tidy interceptions and covered well - never really put a foot wrong - gave the Charlton wingers a little too much space at times - 7.

 

Friend - I love this guy. Always gives 100% when I've seen him and was solid today - he really should have taken a shot when he tried to put it across the goal but apart from that won countless headers and released Muzzy often. 8

 

Williams/Woody - both about the same for me - 7. My only gripe is that there was a bit too much hoofing in the first half - but Woody made some crucial tackles when we were being attacked.

 

Midfield:

 

Leadbitter - 6. He frustrates me a lot - always available for a pass but too often would misfire his shots or not track quickly enough when players were breaking. His set pieces were poor.

 

Varga - 8. Cracking player - isn't afraid of a tackle and drives us forward. Nothing major to note apart from doing a classic DM job - breaking up play and winning tackles. Very consistent and if he continues to play as well he should be a definite signing.

 

Whitehead - 9. Agree with the MOTM award - very assured on the ball, has a good eye for a pass and a wonderful ability to get the ball moving well. Shame he got a booking after 20 mins because he held off a bit with his tacking I thought.

 

Carayol - 7. Despite looking knackered towards the end his pace is a real weapon. He needs a bit more confidence to crack a shot in when he cuts inside the defenders, ability is there - should be a big season for him.

 

Adamoah - 8. He was worth the wait - very skilful and pacey customer - one that will really add a new dimension to our game. The Adamoah song needs tweeking though!!!

 

Smallwood - n/a. Didn't get that much of a chance - would have liked to see more of him.

 

Forwards:

 

Juke - 9. Some may wonder why I rated him 9 - Jukebox did a great job against two big physical CB's - he had them both in his pocket and it was good to see him score. His hold up play could be crucial now we have two good winders available. My MOTM.

 

Emnes - N/a. Did enough when he came on although I overheard a great quote from the crowd "Mowbray has brought Emnes on to snach a defeat from the jaws of victory"

 

Crowd. 11/10. Best atmosphere i've heard in a while and good to see Bob Mortimer on the stands singing along to all the singing along with the fans. We were the 12th man today.

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I don't wanna be the jinx here but I think over the next three games we could put together a nice little run in August.

 

Blackpool have a had good start but have played two side who are relegation favourites and have a a bit of a problem with having a full compliment of players.

 

Wigan away might be tough - but, they will be reeling from the Charity Shield and having to play Doncaster midweek.

 

Sheff Wed. Okay might be tough but we have a good record against them at the Riverside.

 

7 points is definitely doable.

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Well, just got home from the game (via the pub). Am i more optimistic for the rest of the season? Well, slightly. First of all, i would have to say Charlton are no world beaters. Having been beaten, and deservedly so by Bournemouth last Saturday, or so my mates tell me, i would have been slightly disappointed if we had not took something from the game. On the other hand, given the results of our previous two games, i am sure there are many Boro fans who were anticipating another defeat today.

 

It was not the result itself that pleased me, it was the performance itself. I thought we were far more solid as a team, than i have seen in a long time. I thought we pretty much controlled the game first half, and although they had slightly more of the possession in the second half, they actually struggled to break us down and had very few clear cut chances. There were still two negatives for me though. Firstly, when they did threaten, i felt our center of defense looked suspect, and as we are likely to face much stiffer opposition than Charlton this season, this is a major worry.

 

It was good to see Adomah playing today and as it was his first game for us, i'm hoping there is improvement to come from him, and i'm sure there will be. One thing it highlighted to me was the second major worry for me and that is Juke. Although he scored today and im grateful for that, his timing and direction of runs into and around the box and anticipation of what is happening around him is extremely poor. This is something i had not really noticed until Adomah's inclusion. Prior to the game, i thought and was hoping that Adomah would bring out the best in Juke, especially with Carayol on the opposite side. Then again this was their first game together and maybe i am being too harsh and possibly their understanding will improve. Lets hope so.

 

Anyway it was a welcome three points, and fingers crossed for next weekend.


Oh and man of the match for me was Whitehead, looked like a premiership player playing in the championship. For me has to be Moggas best signing

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That match was almost everything I've been wanting from Boro. Full commitment from start to finish combined with a level of aggression that put Kermorgant off his game and hurt Charlton.

 

Someone on the Boro hour was hoping Adomah's presence would take the pressure off Carayol. It certainly sounded like he was competing with abandon and ended up running out of steam at the end.

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Would love to know how Richardson and Adomah performed?

 

According to the radio Richardson was solid and Adomah looked lively, sounded like the addition of Adomah has helped give Carayol a kick up the backside too, much improved performance from him too by the sounds!!

 

Cheers for that Chimpy, I had to leave and take my daughter out shortly after the match finished!

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That match was almost everything I've been wanting from Boro. Full commitment from start to finish combined with a level of aggression that put Kermorgant off his game and hurt Charlton. QUOTE.

 

I thought it was more trying to play with a dislocated face that put him off his game :)

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After going to the match and a hectic weekend to follow, I'd agree with most of the comments already aired. I thought Vaga had a great game, playing in his natural position, he was in their faces, box to box and played some lovely balls. He seems to have struck up a very good relationship with Muzzy, he picked him out with so many nice passes.

 

Albert played very well first half, and looks to have that extra bit of class and confidence to try the impossible and beat players he has a great touch. He faded a little, second half, when he switched wings with Muzzy, but the tactic worked, as Muzzy had more freedom on the right, whilst Albert was drawing the defenders towards the left. two wingers, eh? who would have thought it?

 

Whitehead was very strong and cruised through the game, he'll be very effective at this level, and in this formation. Richardson was a bit rusty to start with, but came into the game and didn't look like a new boy, George almost had a shot and Leadbitter saw a lot of the ball, but it was a little bit negative, he has forged the same relationship with Steele that Varga has with Muzzy, a lot of back passes, we do still have the ability to turn attack into defence. The less said about his set pieces the better!

 

Juke did what he always does, he got in the defenders faces but spent a lot of the time on the floor appealing for free kicks which he rarely gets, interestingly, the one time that he stayed on his feet and tried to bustle his way past a defender, the beaten man grabbed him and he got a free kick in a dangerous area, so maybe that would be a better tactic. Still he got his goal and that was well needed.

 

Woody and Williams were solid, I would say that if it wasn't for Varga, Woody would have been a contender for MOM, he was so alert.

 

Overall, we bossed the game, never looked like losing and didn't have the typical 5 minutes of panic at the end. The team looked very well balanced, if slightly lacking in attacking bite. The players combined well, the wingers gave us options and Varga gave us movement and commitment.

 

A very enjoyable game, and I'll be driving up to the Riverside from London next weekend to see if we can build on it.

 

UTB

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