'Other Boro stuff'

[Changing Times 12,338]

4 minutes ago, wilsoncgp said:

I think there's an air of him being perhaps our most creative player who has obviously not had the chance to recover from his injury and play games and get up to speed the way a player usually would during the season, rather more like someone coming back in pre-season. And even then, this has not been a proper pre-season for anyone so all players are gonna be subject to some kind of careful treatment.

But compared to other players, yes, I would imagine they would want to be more careful with him. After all, 5 games with Roberts in could be enough to keep us safe regardless of how we do in the other 4. Makes sense to me.

We haven't actually won a game with him in the side, have we?

Every player is going into this in the same situation in that they haven't played for about three months.  In Roberts' case he was injured before then but was healthy, or close to healthy, at the point that the season was put on hiatus.  I don't really see why he'd need special treatment compared to other players and I don't believe he'd have been waiting long, back in March, to get back into the team.  That's just my opinion though, I obviously have no proof.

To me, you want your best players out there in as many of the games as possible.  Leaving players out feels like the equivalent of pacing yourself for a marathon but this is a flat out sprint, isn't it?  It's 32 days of football to decide what division we will be in next season.  810 minutes that will shape the future of the club.  I'd like our best players playing as many of those minutes as possible.  Resting or rotating players over a 46 game, 9/10 month season, has some logic to it certainly.  I'm not sure if there's as much of an argument for it now.  What if we lose the first couple of games he takes part in but now we're half way through the games?  What if we get off to a bad start in the first few games?  What if he gets injured again and misses the games because of that?  If he is missing games by not being selected then he still isn't on the pitch when it comes down to it, so injured or rested it all amounts to the same thing.

We've won nine games all season.  We'd won one game in two months before the break.  It's not like we have the luxury of picking and choosing the games we are 'likely' to win.  We lost to both Luton and Barnsley before Charlton, so I just don't get the idea of picking and choosing games for players.  Play your best team as often as possible.  Do it straight away in the hope that you hit the ground running to get points on the board, and then you might be in a position to rest players before the games have finished, if you still want to.  Maybe that is the actual plan as opposed to picking and choosing from the start?

All of this applies to every player, of course, not just Roberts.

[TeaCider24 12,614]

44 minutes ago, Neverbefore said:

I see woodgate confirmed that ayala said he would play up until the end of his contract but not beyond. Hopefully this will put the bed all the vitriol that came out towards him when the story broke earlier in the week. 

 

Wish him well at his next club, one of my favourite players over the last 10 years.

It's a comment that's not really worth anything when he's been mysteriously injured for the 6 months up till the end of his contract.

He said he'd play in June, and then was immediately claiming to be injured again, ensuring that he wouldn't have to play.

[Duvel 2,446]

1 hour ago, Neverbefore said:

I see woodgate confirmed that ayala said he would play up until the end of his contract but not beyond. Hopefully this will put the bed all the vitriol that came out towards him when the story broke earlier in the week. (From the Gazette)

 

Wish him well at his next club, one of my favourite players over the last 10 years.

Just thought I'd add a line to your post 

[Changing Times 12,338]

1 hour ago, Neverbefore said:

I see woodgate confirmed that ayala said he would play up until the end of his contract but not beyond. Hopefully this will put the bed all the vitriol that came out towards him when the story broke earlier in the week. 

 

Wish him well at his next club, one of my favourite players over the last 10 years.

The Gazette never suggested otherwise, in fairness to them.  They made it clear that he had agreed to play until the end of June and the club made the decision not to have him take part.  What Woodgate confirmed today is that Ayala claimed that his ankle was still hurting, making it difficult to see how he could play for us again, so his offer to play out his contract seems a touch disingenuous to most people.  I also wish him well, but he should be seeing out the season with us, finishing what he started, and it reflects poorly on him that he isn't.

[TLF10 4,490]

Anyone got a link to JW pre Swansea radio tees interview please? If he did one that is? Can't seem to find it...

[wilsoncgp 9,276]

2 hours ago, Changing Times said:

We haven't actually won a game with him in the side, have we?

Every player is going into this in the same situation in that they haven't played for about three months.  In Roberts' case he was injured before then but was healthy, or close to healthy, at the point that the season was put on hiatus.  I don't really see why he'd need special treatment compared to other players and I don't believe he'd have been waiting long, back in March, to get back into the team.  That's just my opinion though, I obviously have no proof.

To me, you want your best players out there in as many of the games as possible.  Leaving players out feels like the equivalent of pacing yourself for a marathon but this is a flat out sprint, isn't it?  It's 32 days of football to decide what division we will be in next season.  810 minutes that will shape the future of the club.  I'd like our best players playing as many of those minutes as possible.  Resting or rotating players over a 46 game, 9/10 month season, has some logic to it certainly.  I'm not sure if there's as much of an argument for it now.  What if we lose the first couple of games he takes part in but now we're half way through the games?  What if we get off to a bad start in the first few games?  What if he gets injured again and misses the games because of that?  If he is missing games by not being selected then he still isn't on the pitch when it comes down to it, so injured or rested it all amounts to the same thing.

We've won nine games all season.  We'd won one game in two months before the break.  It's not like we have the luxury of picking and choosing the games we are 'likely' to win.  We lost to both Luton and Barnsley before Charlton, so I just don't get the idea of picking and choosing games for players.  Play your best team as often as possible.  Do it straight away in the hope that you hit the ground running to get points on the board, and then you might be in a position to rest players before the games have finished, if you still want to.  Maybe that is the actual plan as opposed to picking and choosing from the start?

All of this applies to every player, of course, not just Roberts.

I'm just saying if we are to play well and we have games against those in and around us, you want to make sure we win those games as a priority as they inevitably matter more given the way the table sits and how many games are left to play. If the club has any concerns over his fitness over the course of the next 9 games then it makes sense to me that we decide to pick him in games that it matters most in.

If they think he's 100% fit and unlikely to sustain another injury then sure, try to play him every game. But I doubt any players are 100% fit at this moment in time to be honest, that's why they've increased the amount of subs and size of the bench. So I expect there to be a fair bit of chopping and changing with the squad across the 9 games anyway. Unlike you, I expect he's probably not quite as ready as some will be because he's been out for even longer than them.

I don't really see why you mentioned we haven't won a game with him in the side. Is that meant to be a measure of his quality?

[Neovium 27]

41 minutes ago, TLF10 said:

Anyone got a link to JW pre Swansea radio tees interview please? If he did one that is? Can't seem to find it...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08hbjk1

[SzilardNemethsCurtains 2,844]

3 hours ago, Neverbefore said:

I see woodgate confirmed that ayala said he would play up until the end of his contract but not beyond. Hopefully this will put the bed all the vitriol that came out towards him when the story broke earlier in the week. 

 

Wish him well at his next club, one of my favourite players over the last 10 years.

Well he said he would play in June, did all the socially distanced sessions and then did one full contact session and said his ankle hurt. Hardly screams of dedication

He's a very good player but that put absolutely nothing to bed

[BillyWoofs_shinpad 1,884]

I remember when Spurs had a young lad called Gareth Bale, whenever he was on the pitch, Spurs failed to win, this went on for 24 matches. 

[Changing Times 12,338]

32 minutes ago, wilsoncgp said:

I'm just saying if we are to play well and we have games against those in and around us, you want to make sure we win those games as a priority as they inevitably matter more given the way the table sits and how many games are left to play. If the club has any concerns over his fitness over the course of the next 9 games then it makes sense to me that we decide to pick him in games that it matters most in.

If they think he's 100% fit and unlikely to sustain another injury then sure, try to play him every game. But I doubt any players are 100% fit at this moment in time to be honest, that's why they've increased the amount of subs and size of the bench. So I expect there to be a fair bit of chopping and changing with the squad across the 9 games anyway. Unlike you, I expect he's probably not quite as ready as some will be because he's been out for even longer than them.

I don't really see why you mentioned we haven't won a game with him in the side. Is that meant to be a measure of his quality?

No, it wasn't meant to be a measure of his quality.  It was simply a point that he hasn't in fact helped us win any games yet, let alone games we need to win as a priority, that he therefore must be saved for.

Unless I'm being stupid, and it's a reasonable bet that I am, all of the games matter 'most' to us because we have been bad this season.  We have proven ourselves to be quite capable of losing to both good and bad teams, so how are we deciding the games to pick our best team in exactly, and again, what happens if we don't win them?

If all players, including those elsewhere, aren't 100%, then doesn't it make more sense to try and go flat out from the start, before teams can get up to speed?    

[TLF10 4,490]

I found the bbc tees with Woodgate that was given today. He confirmed none of the remaining 6 out of contract players ave officially extended until end of season but he confident majority will be here in July

[Erimus74 3,060]

3 minutes ago, TLF10 said:

I found the bbc tees with Woodgate that was given today. He confirmed none of the remaining 6 out of contract players ave officially extended until end of season but he confident majority will be here in July

I thought I had read that 5 of the players had signed an extension till the end of July, I must have dreamt it 

[TLF10 4,490]

To be fair i was listening to the interview whilst shaving so I might have misheard and you could be right @Erimus74

[TeaCider24 12,614]

1 hour ago, Erimus74 said:

I thought I had read that 5 of the players had signed an extension till the end of July, I must have dreamt it 

That was a rumour from a football site.

Sadly sounds like it was nothing more than a rumour.

 

[Dan_Boro_Till_I_Die 1,181]

FFP suspended for twelve months...  Some teams will risk it