Downsouth 6,328 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 No rest for the wicked as they say as the marathon of the Championship season continues along it's merry way giving teams very little time to recover and reflect upon their previous performances (well it seems that way for Boro supporters). Tuesday 1st October 2019 MFC welcomes Preston North End to the Riverside for yet another battle of team spirits, skills and Managerial ethos with a kick off of 1945hrs (7.45pm for those who prefer). Introduction As it stands at this moment Boro are in 18th spot in the division and our visitors are in 5th spot and are on a current run of 4 wins and 2 draws in their last 6 games whereas we have won 2 drawn 2 and lost 2 so on paper we will be playing one of the "better" teams of the division and a team that can score plenty of goals but can conceded goals as well. Last game was a 3-3 home draw to Bristol City but I would imagine PNE fans must be pretty pleased with how things stand so far. As for Boro and all of us who follow, support or just interested in how we are doing it is not a good time at the moment and having been thrashed at home by Sheffield Wednesday 1-4 with possibly the worst performance under Jonathon Woodgate's leadership so far this game does not bode well in terms of allowing us some respite and playing good football. Home Support Will those in attendance get fully behind the team and roar them on to victory or will the mass exodus seen on Saturday see many fans decide to use the red button facility on Sky and watch the game from the comfort of their homes? We do need good home support and the players need that but we also need to see far better than what we have watched of late. What will/should JW do? A real dilemma for Woody and all the support staff because attention is now on them and honeymoon periods are over. Does he make wholesale changes in both defence and attack, where should the priorities be to ensure that we simply do not lose again at home for the second game in four days? And how sad that is when the goal could be to ensure we are not beaten again. What is your team? I ask because no-one has a clue anymore and what formations will work best? Injury News Not aware of any knocks been reported after the SW game but Friend, Coulson, Gestedde still not available, though the sooner we see Coulson back the better. Other games of interest Jen made a point in her last match day thread about one step forward and two steps back and because of this and where we are instead of looking up and trying to gain points on possible top 6 spots we now have to look down and hope those teams below us do not catch up with us and those below us do have home games coming up at the same time. Wigan V Brum Reading V Fulham Stoke V Huddersfield Barnsley V Derby (Wed) Barnsley playing today so a 1 point difference might be in place Brentford V Bristol City (Wed). With at least 3 teams only one point behind us the midweek fixtures for all are important in terms of results wise. A view from Downsouth I really do apologise to everyone because reading back through the contents everything is so negative and I am trying to be positive. However the truth hurts and we are in a real mess at the moment and if those in whom we trust do not get their act together then we are in real trouble and are heading towards a relegation battle and I am afraid that our displays and points tally does show that we are already in that battle. The game on Tuesday will show the mettle of our players and all the support staff because if we show the same as Saturday and crash out at home again then where will the shoots of recovery be witnessed. To all going very well done your support is crucial and needed I hope you are rewarded for your time. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
northern boro 449 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Can't see many turning up for this one given our dreadful start to the season and the fact it's on Sky Sports Link to post Share on other sites
Dan1234 1,056 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Would be nice to say "give this player a go" but to be honest he can't really change things too much given our squad. The back three was horrible so I don't want that experiment again. I'd go Howson for Clayton, Ayala for Shotton. I'd love to change the front 3 but we haven't got the options and not sure Browne is ready. Randy Djiksteel Ayala Fry Bola Mcnair Howson Wing Johnson Fletcher Britt Not confident at all. While there's an arguement for keeping Shotton in (even though I still think hes been bad) for me we should be bedding in players looking to next season. This means keeping faith with Djiksteel/Bola and Fry despite some poor performances from the latter two. Link to post Share on other sites
BoroAbroad 321 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 I think your OP pretty much summed up the feelings of most Boro fans at the moment DS. There is not a lot to be positive about. It is only hope that keeps us going. Hope Woodgate can get the formation and tactics right. Hope the players will dig themselves out of the rut that they are in. Hope the team turn up and get a result. We badly need a win for the sake of points on the board and confidence. So I am HOPING for a 2-1 win. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
northern boro 449 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Early goal for Barnsley against Brentford puts Boro just 1 point of the relegation zone as things stand Link to post Share on other sites
Downsouth 6,328 Posted September 29, 2019 Author Share Posted September 29, 2019 Sadly we drop down to 19th in the table but 4 points clear of Barnsley. Going to be a very nervy Tuesday/Wednesday results wise. Who would have thought we would be looking down instead of up! Link to post Share on other sites
mendieta420 1,008 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 (edited) Preston are a better team than Wednesday so I'm expecting a very rocky evening. I'm happy for Woodgate to have time and be given a chance, considering the clubs financial situation, but I am sick of seeing him be tactically outsmarted and think he needs to be little more canny about how he goes about things. Edited September 29, 2019 by mendieta420 Link to post Share on other sites
DurhamRed 2,047 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 If we lose this we're going to be borderline the relagation zone so come on Boro put a performance in Link to post Share on other sites
TeaCider24 12,646 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Not confident in the slightest about this game, but then I wasn't about Bristol City game either and that turned out alright. Preston are churning away under a decent manager and are bound to be full of confidence, it's going to be tough. I imagine the seating around me will be very sparsely filled. I'm hoping for Howson to come on in place of Clayton, maybe drop Fletcher for Browne or Tavernier. I don't think there's many other changes I'd make though. Link to post Share on other sites
Skinemrippers 895 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Bola has a torrid time on Saturday so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Shotton play at left back but I think that would probably knock the last bit of confidence from Bola so would like to see him keep his place with cover from MF when needed Howson in for Wing. Thought Browne did well on Saturday but has been poor when he’s started. The complete lack of depth in the squad is such a worry. Link to post Share on other sites
SmogDane 4,057 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 So .. Some of our players need to wake up and NOT feel, they can just take another day at the office, cause no one will take their spot.. So I would bench a hell lot of them and try to show them, that they have to fight for it! Randolph Dijksteel, Ayala, Fry, Shotton Paddy, Howson, Tavernier Johnson, Fletcher, Burrel Shake the tree and see who falls out .. I'd rather take a defeat with this team, than see Britt miss sitters and then grin .. He can come off the bench with the words DESERVE it or start out here next game as well! Rant over (steam let out) 2 Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernSmoggie 4,242 Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 Hard to see anything but a loss given the form of the two sides. Link to post Share on other sites
Borodane 6,301 Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 This is about as meh as it gets for me. Will watch the game but I expect a dreadful match. Seems like we’ve only had a decent half against Brentford and that’s about it this season. Very disappointing so far. Link to post Share on other sites
Blanco 4,917 Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 For me this has the same prelude as the Bristol City game when we were supposed to get stuffed. We played well in that game and I’m hoping for a similar performance against Preston 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Downsouth 6,328 Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 Well said Joe, we have to cling on to some hope later on today can we really perform so badly again at home within a few days. PNE will hope so and to be honest if we get a point at this stage I will be ok with that 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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