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I'm surprised not many have mentioned how poor the second half was from us as well as Reading. If we put in that second half performance against a good side we would have probably blown our 2 goal halftime lead. We kept our shape well but we just invited unnecessary pressure by not being able to keep the ball.

 

We were sloppy I agree but I wasn't overly concerned about it. A few people were wanting us to push on and bag a hat full but to me it made more sense to just take our foot off the peddle a bit and conserve energy ready for the Bolton game.

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Well what a fantastic way to end what has been a miserable year for Boro!

 

I felt we started this game with a bit less intensity than the Burnley game, which is perhaps not surprising given the number of games played over the festive period. We had a decent couple of mins before the first goal where we seemed to get going a bit more on and off the ball and then we scored and came close-ish soon after. It seems a strange thing to say but I never felt in any doubt that we'd win this game. I say strange because it's been a while since I've felt that confident about us. In part that was down to Reading who didn't offer a great deal. In a way they reminded me of how we used to look at times under Mowbray and they weren't helped by Kaspars Gormless who was a red card waiting to happen pretty much from the off. I guess he fancied a night out on New Years Eve.

 

I was a little critical of Ledesma's efforts when we don't have the ball the other day and I believe Karanka and the coaching staff have impressed upon him the need to track back and get involved in that side of the game. Well he does just that and it leads to our second goal so you have to applaud him for immediately improving that side of his game. As I said after the Burnley game, it's really nice to see someone who apparently works incredibly hard in training and clearly is taking on board the staff's comments, having things go so well for them. I had him and some other fringe players written off a few months ago but he is absolutely proving me wrong at the moment and I'm delighted for him. Long may it continue.

 

Again the back four looked mostly solid although I felt Varga had a ropey moment or two for the first time but he still looks to me a decent bit ahead of the other right backs we have available. What has been interesting to see is the fact that we've been able to change the central defenders on this mini run and yet we've kept three clean sheets anyway.

 

I thought Leadbitter would come into the side but I wasn't sure who it was for and it turned out to be Smallwood. It was a wise move from Karanka if for no other reason than I think Smallwood has got through a lot of work in the last two games. Despite his recent illness he looked more than up to speed. I think a few players now are looking around and suddenly seeing good performances all over the place so they know they need to be at it themselves or they'll be out of the side. Another positive for us.

 

It was great to see us getting more than the one goal, something I have been banging on about recently and it does make a difference. I would like to say a word for Juke here because he took a bit of a kicking at times today but he fulfilled his role really well. Whatever changes we look to make in January, if we bring in a striker it can't just be a finisher as some have suggested. We need a player that can lead the line and take the punishment as he did today. Adomah looked a bit better than the previous game and to be fair I thought Emnes showed well enough but to me he is still a bit off what we need from him. He is at least trying to make things happen, which is an improvement on what we saw last season so that is a positive sign.

 

All in all it was a solid and efficient performance. Reading looked like a team in decline and we most definitely did not. Looking at the league table as it stands I think we'll need somewhere around 72 points to finish 6th, maybe 75 depending on how things go. I don't think 68 points will be enough this season as it was last time because the table isn't going to be as compact. Only 14 points separated 22nd and 6th last season. This time around I would expect the relegated sides to be somewhere in the 40 points area rather than 50 plus and if the other sides down there also continue to be relatively weak then the rest of us will have more points to gain so the points needed will likely increase. So if that is the case then that means we will need 43/46 points or so from the remaining 23 games. That is pretty much automatic promotion form. It's not impossible but we would need to get an awful lot of things right to make it happen. One thing in our favour is that there are a lot of teams probably thinking the same thing so that means lots of teams fighting it out. It's nice just to be even thinking along these lines.

 

This post was extra long just for NB4's benefit :)

 

Nice post!! Only one thing wrong with your points tally is that anything can happen in this league still!! 3 games ago did u think we would be unbeaten???

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Our 2 new coaching staff(Percovich and Cachada) were hugging the players coming off the pitch again and then when every player had went down the tunnel they started cuddling each other. They love it when we get 3 points lol.

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Our 2 new coaching staff(Percovich and Cachada) were hugging the players coming off the pitch again and then when every player had went down the tunnel they started cuddling each other. They love it when we get 3 points lol.

 

They love cuddling*. Bear hugs!!!

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Nice post!! Only one thing wrong with your points tally is that anything can happen in this league still!! 3 games ago did u think we would be unbeaten???

 

Thanks. As it happens I did, it's in the Millwall match thread :)

 

Of course you're absolutely right that anything can happen. For all I know every game between now and the end of the season could end in a draw. That's highly unlikely however. What we do know is that since the turn of the millennium no team in 6th place has won more than 75 points or fewer than 68 points. So the likelihood is that it will be somewhere between those two. Last season was the first time it was lower than 70 points and this was down the fact that the league was so tight with teams taking points off each other.

 

This season isn't looking quite the same, there are teams that look a bit weaker than the rest. They may improve of course but if they don't then they will pick up fewer points, which means the rest of the league getting a few more. This can be countered by the teams at the top breaking clear and taking more of the points themselves and I should have added that on my post actually. On balance at the moment I think more points will be needed this season than last but the top 5 breaking clear and dominating would probably help to lower the total required.

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Won't bore you all with a complete breakdown, but basically what luker and changing times said. An enjoyable game as a boro fan, two fantastic goals. Team full of confidence and playing at a great tempo. Once they went down to ten we sat back and didn't really get out of second gear, but we looked so confident and for once I didn't fear for the result at all.

 

6 points off playoffs!

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even better to see ledesma tracking back like that for the second goal

 

first goal was great, 4 passes from half way inside our own half to the back of the net

 

fantastic. UTB!!

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even better to see ledesma tracking back like that for the second goal

 

first goal was great, 4 passes from half way inside our own half to the back of the net

 

fantastic. UTB!!

 

First goal was my favourite of the day, exquisite team play and 2 great passes from Ledesma and Varga. Juke's knockdown was weighted perfectly, and Adomah finished it brilliantly on the volley. Beautiful goal.

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