Middlesbrough v Doncaster (H)

[andrewparkes 12]

Far better and much much more organised performance. More fluid and their is a huge difference in the confidence of the players, it stood out a mile, always going forward and didn't sit back after taking the lead. Was good to see, we know they are not bad players, they've just shown it...yes it's one game but the confidence on show was more evident than anything else. Even the togetherness looks a lot better, especially when we scored...every player was there in a huddle.

 

Wasn't by a means the perfect performance but it was a massive improvement on what we've had to endure recently.

 

The 2 wingers, especially carayol in the first half tortured their full backs...been a while since we have done that

[-Tim@london- 17]

The boro website have it down as 5-0 :/.

 

Our problem is that it could have been a different game if woody wasent there tonight, someone like rob jones or danny ***tu would be a good aqusition at least on a short term basis in january

[FoggansFlyingPig 24]

Interesting idea to play 4 at the back to just defend and let the front 4 have there head. It worked against a very poor Doncaster defence who Mussy and Adomah ran ragged. Still thought the defence looked far from solid though.

 

But The Riverside did feel a good place to be again and i was so glad that there were still plenty of chants supporting Tony Mowbray - he is still one of own!

[Downsouth 6,326]

Yes I was really pleased to hear the vocal support for Mogga and let us all hope he will be fondly remembered for the Man he is no more and no less.

 

What did show tonight and not seen for a long time was togetherness....good start!

[Andyboro 73]

Just got in and what a game!!!

 

attacking wise we were complete beasts look dangerous every attack could have scored more...However Although we kept a clean sheet the defense looked a bit dodgy at times and still think theres plenty of work too be done in that department.

 

Brilliant too see bums on seats aswell the crowd and atmosphere was fantastic felt like being in the premier league again!

 

Awesome night and if Venus can get a bit of consistancy and sort the defense im more than happy to keep him.

 

Onwards and upwards UTFB!!!!!!

[Guest fudge]

That was fantastic, venus seems like a top bloke as well

 

He is!

[boro-unger 3,870]

Just back in. Great game! Well chuffed with that :)

 

Not read anyone elses posts so I might be repeating, but here goes:

 

Marvin was superb, the tricks he pulled were mind boggling at times, and actually led to something. If only smallsy had hit that ball first time - would have been an awesome goal!

 

Adomahs goals were sumptuous. He, emnes and carayol ran their defence ragged. Especially in the first half.

 

The atmosphere was bouncing, felt so much less stale than it has done recently. I was pro mogga, but I think it's clear to see the change has freshened us up. We played thr ball forward more and it always felt like we were going to create something. Similarly at the back, the defenders did a great job against a limited donny attack.

 

Also mentions for leadbitter and smallsy, did a cracking job in midfield.

 

Happy chappy tonight :)

[34. 22]

Excellent game, my excitement for it beforehand was certainly rewarded.

 

I'm going to be cautious in praising too much as it might be a short term thing. At the very least, I think it's safe to say Ayala was a brilliant acquisition.

[YouAreMyBoro 5]

Excellent, excellent performance if still a little shaky at the back.

 

Steele- 7

Williams-7

Woodgate-8

Gibson-7

Ayala-8

Leadbitter- 9.5

Smallwood-8

Carayol- 8

Adomah- 9

Emnes-9

Kamara-8

 

Leadbitter was absolutely sublime tonight, broke everything up and drove brilliantly at their defense and almost every pass was on target with some sensational cross field balls. Superb.

 

Adomah and Carayol were a class above, went past their man almost every time and stretched their defense, ran in behind and dropped deep. Completely bamboozled Donnie.

 

Kamara was brilliant too, his touch is awesome and his link up play is top class. He is an excellent 'big man' holds up the ball fantastically, can pass and has a sensational first touch.

 

Overall we played faster, crisper and overall better than usual, it was just an absolute pleasure to watch

[Weasel 966]

Just got back man, what a game.

 

I'm so happy right now.

 

Ayala was fantastic and my beloved Emnes was the star of the show <3

 

And I get to do another match thread 8D

[jamesp 125]

I am very happy to admit i was wrong earlier. Will do my match ratings when i get home, phones almost flat

 

Think i predicted 4:0 earlier in the week :)

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P.s venus for england :D

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P.s venus for england :D

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P.s venus for england :D

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P.s venus for england :D

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P.s venus for england :D

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P.s venus for england :D

[starbuy 35]

Steele - 7 - Didnt require much special from him. Good that he managed to punch 2 crosses in succession a decent distance away and not keep it in the box.

Williams - 8 - Did ok defensively, few hairy moments when balls came in (particularly the scuffed clearance that just trickled wide) but thought attackingwise he carried it forward quite well and offered a steady outlet.

Woodgate - 8 - As good a performance as you would expect

Ayala - 8 - Only remember 1 sloppy pass out of play. Everything else he did was good. I can see why we have been looknig to get him in on loan for quite some time.

Gibson - 7 - Felt he was quite exposed down that side at times but he didnt doo too badly. Put some good tackles in which is what he is in the first team to do, seemed a bit hesitant when he picked the ball uo in the final third.

Leadbitter - 8 - Kept the game ticking over well and was a real box to box performance tonight. Absolute peach of a freekick for the goal. Some of his Gerrard-esque long balls were spot on. Really impressed with him tonight.

Smallwood - 7 - In the first half (particularly the first 25 minutes) he was quite sublime. His passing was brilliant, he was putting himself about and picking up throughballs. Took an extra touch when a hit on the run would have been better. Second half just settled (as most of the team dd, probably under instruction). However I do feel that he still has a bit to learn defensively. But I was very pleased to see him given a chance and he certainly earned another bite at the cherry.

Adomah - 9 - First half brilliant. Second half calmed down a bit but still looked dangerous. Keep him fit and happy please.

Carayol - 8 - Was turning there right back inside out at times. Had a few decent pops. Came inside a few times but seemed to realise it was congested in there and so took it outside to mix it up. Good performance

Emnes - 9 - Easy MOTM for me. The way he uses his first touch, little flicks and gets his body in between the ball to create time, space and chances for himself and others is something I havent seen since Viduka was here. A few times i was gagging for him to shoot when he seemed to dither, but if he keeps playing like this then im sure i can let him do what he wants. Was desperate for him to score and the way he shimmied inside, only for Turnbullcrap to wrist it wide, was brilliant. More please.

Kamara - 7 - Did well in the air and helped us keep possesion. Thought he could have done better with some of his shooting but he scored and he is such a happy looking bloke

 

Venus - Excellent team and tactics. And it was actually a team. Liked his interview (felt like he was holding back when he corrected the guy about the clean sheet stat!) Thought he would have made subs a bit earlier when we went to 3-0 (bringing Varga on for 4 minutes when resting someone for a bit longer and giving him some more game tme probably would have been more beneficial in the long run) but we won 4-0 so quite frankly any negatives (no matter how trivial) mean absolute *** at the moment. 3 points, smiles all around, boost to goal difference. UTFB

 

I'd pretty much agree with your ratings. I said after the Yeovil game that Emnes' style of play allows the rest of the team to come together and build attacks. He was inexplicably dropped for the Barnsley game but came back tonight with a fine display. If we can get more of that from him then I think the front 4 of Emnes and Kamara with Adomah and Carayol would put fear into any defence in this league.

 

As others have mentioned, the biggest difference tonight was that as soon as we had possession we looked to attack. We played good football to get into attacking positions and some of the interchange between the forward players was a joy to watch and the game could have easily been 8-0 instead of 4-0.

 

I thought the choice of defenders was brave and early on there were certainly some shaky moments but I thought both Williams and Gibson grew into their fullback roles as the game went on and Ayala and Woody were mostly solid. I like the fact that Ayala seems to be a no nonsense defender. If there was any doubt whatsoever then he just put the ball out and allowed us to regroup in defence and I thought he too got stronger as the game went on.

 

Both Smallwood and Leadbitter ran the engine room well, with the latter putting in one of his best performances in a more comfortable formation, while both wingers had good games. All of the games so far at home has seen one of the wingers be poor and in my opinion it has always been the one who plays down the left. For me this is because Friend goes it alone many times and leaves out the winger. With Gibson at left back, it provided a more solid platform for Carayol to receive the ball and do his stuff.

 

I won't get carried away but nor am I surprised by the performance or the result. It's obvious the players have it in them to do this. The question is can we do it week in week out and can we do it away from home.

 

I thought Doncaster played some decent football and certainly probed at our defence in the first half so I was pleased to keep a clean sheet.

 

One disappointment to add though. Half time was, for me, a bit of a shambles. Firstly the music played before James Arthur appeared was way too loud and then when he sang it just sounded like noise. The PA system was blasted so high and was such poor quality that I could not tell you a single word from the song. And then the poor kids who take penalties ended up taking them after the game to an empty stadium.

[p_mards 1,365]

The style of football wasn't free flowing football as we tended to hit the ball out to the wings and challenge for the ball which was very effective instead of keeping the ball for the sake of it as we actually asked questions of their defenders which they couldn't handle. Substance over style. The way our defence and style of play reminded me of how McClaren has us set up with 4 solid defenders with two defensively capable CM's ahead of them and then wingers given license to get forward to give ammunition to strikers. Our forward 4 looked incredibly dangerous all game and we need to build a defensive platform in order that they have the freedom to attack teams. Our defence had a few wobbles though but that is hardly surprising considering their confidence after previous games and a new CB coming into the team.

 

Steele: 6.5- Didn't have much to do but didn't look fully confident at times. Difficult to give him a rating.

Williams: 7.5- Passing was a bit off but generally defended well.

Ayala: 8.5- Big brave defender that looks very dependable.

Woodgate: 7.5- Really struggled aerially in the first half. Got good blocks and tackles in.

Gibson: 8.5- Solid defensively and looks dependable. Must keep in the team. I like how if there was any danger he didn't hesitate to put it out for a throw in.

Adomah: 9.5- Looked dangerous every time he ran at defenders.

Smallwood: 7- Worked hard but his touch and passing where poor at times which made our passing look labored.

Leadbitter: 8.5- Driving force yet again and was tidy with the ball.

Carayol: 8.5- Great running at players but his passing was very poor at times. His short pass led to Leadbitter diving into a 50/50 which he got a yellow card early on which put him on a tight rope for the remainder of the game. Faded as the game went on.

Emnes: 9 - Was great all game and pulled the strings in many attacks. Nearly back to his best.

Kamara: 8 - Played well generally but in the first half he was dominated in the air. Passing and touch were good as always. He missed a few good chances which he should have done better with.

[LukeR 44]

What did the pundits on sky have to say about us?

[jamesp 125]

crap how many times did i post that lol

 

defence were solid, still would have hoyte in over rhys at rb. looked much more solid with gibbo at lb

 

smallwood and leadbitter were outstanding.

 

adomah, kamara and emnes linked up so well together tonight

 

ayala made us much more solid, amazing what difference a bit of height can do. as good as we were they were truly awful though

 

really good atmosphere tonight, happy to hear so many mogga chants, amazing the difference a week can make. seemed such a positive atmosphere for once

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would go with the team 2plus2 said except i would put emnes in for juke

 

4-0 Boro: Emnes x3 and a Louis Tomlinson own goal

 

however if hines starts CB then 3-0 Donny with Louis Tomlinson getting all three for them

 

 

UTB!!!!

 

 

 

PULIS FOR BORO!!!!

 

physic :D