The Official Middlesbrough "Karanka Will Save Us" Thread

[dyrewolfe]

Just thought I should lay down a brief marker, given how well our season has gone so far, after a brief patchy start.

After cutting away pretty much all the dead wood and high earners, Tony Mowbray assembled a rather motley assortment of new faces, on a much smaller overall wage bill, which didn't exactly inspire confidence at the start of the season. True, we still had the likes of Scott McDonald, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Marvin Emnes, together with "old timers" like Justin Hoyte and Rhys Williams, but we made no standout signings that gave any clear indication of what expectations for this season should be. Even the return of Boro old boy Jonathan Woodgate got a mixed reception as we wondered how many games he would actually be fit for.

On top of that we had a relative rookie in goal in the form of Jason Steele, following the departure of our more experienced keepers.

The first few games seemed to bear out what most of us expected, that this would be a rebuilding season, getting the new squad to gel and maybe reaching the play-offs, if we were really lucky. Especially given that more than half our first team players seemed to be injured at any given time.

However, a strange, almost miraculous transformation has come about over the last couple of months, which has seen the players start to play as if they actually train together and understand what the manager wants them to do. Fringe players from the youth/reserve teams have come in and done a job when called upon. With that has come improved performances, with some attractive attacking football, coupled with a reasonably solid defence. This has resulted in a 8-match unbeaten run, where we won 5 games in a row, catapulting us briefly to the top of the Championship.

We suffered our first defeat in 9 games at Cardiff last week, but now have a run of very winnable games ahead of us, which should hopefully see us consolidate our position in the top 3 and keep our automatic promotion prospects very much alive into next year.

Anyway, just wanted to say "Well done Mogga, well done lads and keep up the good work!"  

[NickisBHAFC]

Last season, i thought Middlesbrough were the best side i saw at the AMEX last season. This season more of the same. All be it Brighton dominated the game this season and missed countless of chances. I still saw enough that Middlesbrough are good enough for promotion. Tony Mowbury has got them playing some cracking football. A few players are wasted in this division. Be interesting to see if he can keep the squad fit.

All in all, i would like to see Boro go up. They deserve it and anything to stop Palace from going up

[dyrewolfe]

Cheers Nick.

I only heard our match against you on the radio, but according to some of the guys who went, Brighton are one of the best sides we've played this season (said a lot of nice things about your stadium too). Have to say, even from the commentary it sounded like we were a tad lucky to win.

From the looks of things at the moment, you have a good chance of reaching the play-offs yourselves, or even better...

[NickisBHAFC]

Yeah im not one to winge and cry when we lose but i must say we did dominate. But i am not taking away how well Boro passed and defended. Jon Woodgate is a top top defender, such a shame injury has ruined his career.

I cant see us getting play offs. The aim was to get a top half finish as i say we cant afford to keep up with the sides like Forrest, Leicester, Bolton, Blackburn etc. But there is something special at our club i must say.

[dyrewolfe]

Well, we've had a minor attack of the wobbles recently, since I started this thread.

First was a rather muted display at Cardiff, which saw us lose 1-0. Not really that surprising, but a little disappointing when a draw seemed a decent possibility.

Second was the shambolic performance, culminating in a 3-1 home defeat by Bristol City.

Third was an initially good away performance at Birmingham, which saw us leading 2-1 at one point. However, we managed to shoot ourselves in the foot, letting in a long-range equaliser the keeper really should have saved, followed by some sloppy midfield play, losing possession and getting caught on the break which led directly to Brum's winner.

However, in between the Bristol and Birmingham games was an emphatic 3-0 home win over Huddersfield. Since then we have triumphed (narrowly) away at Peterborough. Once again we looked great for the first 30 minutes, going 2-0 up, but yet again made things difficult for ourselves, shipping 2 soft goals and needing sub Ishmael Miller to stick the winner away for us late on.

We also played pretty well, for the most part, in the League Cup against Swansea, only losing thanks to an own-goal, courtesy of an attempted headed clearance from a corner.

So, while we still have our usual capacity for turning in inept displays, it seems we haven't lost the plot altogether. Moreover, thanks to a few results going our way, we're still handily placed in 3rd, 6 points off top spot.

All in all, not too shabby.

Next sequence of fixtures is looking tough though:

Wolves (H)
Leeds (A)
Blackburn (H)
Blackpool (H)

[dyrewolfe]

Well, as it turned out, they were indeed all tough games, but more successful than I would have predicted.

We ground out a 2-0 win over Wolves, thanks to a late penalty and a stoppage time strike. The scoreline did flatter us as it was 80-odd minutes of grim scrappiness before the goals.

Leeds away was always going to be a tough one. Things looked to be going our way as we took the lead on the half hour mark and kept the home side's threat to a minimum. Second half was a different game though and our nemesis Luciano Becchio took advantage of slack defending, scoring a brace and wrapping up a 2-1 win

The visit of Blackburn to the Riverside did nothing to ease the relentless grind. Both sides had plenty of goal attempts, but few were on target, until Lukas Jutkiewicz finally put one in the net with just over 20 minutes to go. The quintessential scrappy one-nil win.

The Blackpool game has to go down as the most exciting and nerve-wracking game of the season so far. Boro started in commanding fashion, playing very nicely and for once capitalising on their superiority, going into half time 2-0 up. A defensive mix-up on the hour gifted Blackpool an easy goal and a way back into the game. However just 3 minutes later Scott McDonald restored our 2-goal advantage with a brilliant strike. Basham responded with an even better long-range effort with 15 minutes left, setting the home fans' nerves jangling once again. Substitute Adam Reach finally made the game safe with just 2 minute of normal time left, his excellent goal leaving the final score at 4-2.

All in all a very good festive period for the Boro (normally the worst time of the season for us).

Sadly, even our recent form was unable to break a 113-year hoodoo of failing to keep a clean sheet on New Year's day. Coupled with a lacklustre performance, it meant our attack couldn't compensate for our defensive frailties and even though Derby weren't exactly brilliant themselves, they were good value for their 3-1 win (which would have been 3-0 but for a very late consolation goal from Jutkiewicz).

Overall, still very happy that we're only a point off 2nd place.

[TheCelticGarbutt]

Very happy with the way things are going at the moment. Derby looked like a slightly one off performance and if you believe BBC Tees they reckoned we started the match with Woody, Parnaby and Scotty all not fit enough to have probably started the game.
The injury crisis seems to be getting worse, looking forward to seeing some of the youngsters against Hastings
Wonder if the Stewie signing back for the Boro rumour has any legs, would be quality with him on the left, Carayol on the right of a front 3 behind Jutkiewicz.

[Guest]

I hope you guys go up, I have a lot of time for Tony Mowbray. Albion lost at Ipswich on New Years Day once, and I stayed in the night before so I could get to the Directors Box I'd hired. After a totally lethargic performance, Mowbray comes out to do radio interviews - right in front of our box. I told him how I'd given up my New Years Eve for that shambles, so he apologised and sat down and had a beer with us. Quality bloke is Mowbray.

[dyrewolfe]

Cheers Azzy. Tony does seem to get a good reception at all his former clubs...and obviously he's a Boro legend from his time as a player.

Sadly, since the Christmas / New Year period, its been pretty much all downhill.

The rather shambolic performance at Derby, which saw us fall to a 3-1 defeat has not been a one-off. Rather it was the start of a run of 4 league defeats on the trot, which has seen us fall from 3rd to 6th. Although we have a 4-point cushion to 7th placed Burnley, it won't last long unless we have a quick and dramatic turnaround in performances and results.

The only good news during this time has been our FA Cup 3rd and 4th Round wins, over Hastings (4-1) and Aldershot (2-1)...both home games.

In between we've suffered a narrow home defeat to Watford (2-1) and a slightly unlucky away defeat at Leicester (1-0). During that game we were awarded a penalty and a great chance to equalise, but Emnes fluffed his spot-kick.

Most recently we had our second shambolic performance of 2013, which I was unfortunate enough to witness personally. The team turned up at Ipswich physically, but their minds must have been elsewhere. Its the only way to explain such a lacklustre display and although I don't think Town were as good as the scoreline suggested, we were so poor, the final 4-0 scoreline was probably deserved. I think we created more goalscoring chances for Ipswich than we did ourselves, so often did we lose the ball easily or just give it away with poor passes.

Up next are 2 home games against 3rd bottom Barnsley and mid-table Leeds. We should be viewing these games as opportunities to get our promotion campaign back on track. Put it this way, we'd better as following these are away games at Palace and Burnley, which we'll do well to get anything from.

[TopoftheChops]

I couldn't go to the game dyrewolfe, who would you say where the stand out Ipswich players?

[NickisBHAFC]

How did Hastings do over all?

Funny enough i saw them play there last game before they played you lot. They had 1 very exciting winger in Bradley Goldburg. Hope they played ok?

[dyrewolfe]

I couldn't go to the game dyrewolfe, who would you say where the stand out Ipswich players?

Well, from what I saw, McLean has a cracking shot on him, as does McGoldrick. Smith made a nuisance of himself and seems to have quite the goal poacher's instinct, popping up out of nowhere.

Beyond that I wouldn't say there were any stand-out players, but the team worked as a unit and were willing to run their socks off to get around the pitch...unlike our players. Your defence was also a lot more organised. Your tactics of pressing and closing us down also worked very well, denying our midfield any space to play.

[dyrewolfe]

How did Hastings do over all?

Funny enough i saw them play there last game before they played you lot. They had 1 very exciting winger in Bradley Goldburg. Hope they played ok?

They gave us a surprisingly good game. Goldburg was the one we were looking out for before kick-off (those of us who bothered doing any research).

While they didn't present too much of a goal threat, they made us work for ours. Score at half time was just 1-0 to us and Hastings were a tad unlucky to have an equaliser disallowed for offside. Even when we were 3-0 up they never gave up and when Goldburg scored with about 20 minutes left, even the Boro fans stood to applaud (it was a corking top corner shot). Final score was 4-1 but it doesn't really do justice to how well Hastings played - especially considering we fielded a nearly full-strength team.

[TheCelticGarbutt]

Whats happened to us recently Dyre (Injuries/ Players/ Manager?) Its probably a combination of them all.

Glad that we held out for a 0-0 last night, was expecting us to lose purely due to Charlie Austin! I was really looking forward to the Chelsea game but I think we might just get clobbered

[dyrewolfe]

Injuries have undoubtedly been a problem (when are they not for us?) The general consenus on the Boro forum I hang out on is that Mowbray has compounded the problem by using players out of position and focusing too much on negating the oppositions' tactics, instead of playing to our strengths. This had led to the players looking out of their depth, lacking in confidence and almost scared to play, at times. Mogga's tactics and substitutions have also caused a lot of puzzlement.

Most of us were expecting to lose at Burnley but it seems Mogga's selection and tactics were (nearly) spot on. While as a spectacle the match sounded pretty dire (I was listening to radio commentary via Boro+) and we failed to get a shot on target until the 92nd minute, we sounded more organised defensively and more workmanlike in midfield. Okay, we played Emnes up front on his own and a 5-man midfield that failed to give him any service whatsoever, but after our recent run, a point away from home feels almost as good as a win.

Something to build on for the visit of Millwall, who are coming off the back of a thrashing at home to Peterborough. Could be a good time to play them. If we can get a win it could be the start of a turnaround.

To be honest, many of us (myself included) aren't too bothered about the cup game against Chelsea, as even if we were in form, we would be unlikely to beat them. Better to concentrate on getting our league campaign back on track.

[dyrewolfe]

By way of a catch-up, since Ipswich our results have continued to be pretty poor, for the most part.

BORO 2 - 3 BARNSLEY
Went behind early on, thanks to a somewhat flukey goal that took a big deflection off one of our defenders. Poor for much of the first half, Boro showed some fight towards the end. Picked up where we left off in the second half and 2 goals in 12 minutes gave us the lead with just over an hour gone. We then inexplicably switched off and let Barnsley back into the game, with both their 2nd and 3rd goals largely down to poor defensive work (although our midfield was equally guilty of failing to control the game). A real sickener this one.

BORO 1 - 0 LEEDS
After the gutting result against Barnsley we were expecting the worst, given our most recent results against Leeds and our failure to beat them at home since 1992! As it turned out, this was similar to the Blackburn game. Gritty, scrappy and bad tempered at times. In the end substitute Curtis Main got the better of a tiring Leeds defence to score with just 10 minutes to go. For once we were able to hang on to our lead and pick up our first points of the year.

PALACE 4 - 1 BORO
Although few Boro fans were predicting a win, this was still something of a sickener, after the improved showing against Leeds. Yet again we conceded an early opening goal, but managed to contain Palace and hold them to a 1-0 lead at half time, giving us some hope. That said Palace could easily have gone into the break 3-0 up, but it seemed Lady Luck was smiling on us. That impression was quickly shattered in the second half and the hosts had indeed gone 3-0 up by the hour mark. Faris Haroun got our consolation goal in one of the few decent attacking moves we managed but Kevin Phillips rubbed salt in our wounds, rounding off the scoring just a few minutes later, making a late sub appearance.


BURNLEY 0 - 0 BORO
As mentioned in my earlier post, a pretty turgid affair. Tony Mowbray set his stall out to defend, playing with a 5-man midfield and a lone striker unsuited to that role. However, Burnley didn't give our defence too many scares, with keepr Jason Steele only making 2 or 3 really noteworthy saves all game. Much of the game seemed to be played in midfield with both teams breaking up each other's play. It took until second half stoppage time for us to register a shot on goal. Overall Burnley were slightly the better side and probably a win for them wouldn't have been unfair, but I reckon we were good value for the draw.


Next up are Millwall at the Riverside, coming off the back of a 5-1 thrashing at home by Peterborough. Lets hope we can add to their woes on Saturday.

[dyrewolfe]

Well, there goes our season.

Things have gone from bad to worse, from calamity to farce. It seems there is something seriously wrong behing the scenes at MFC. Players seem bereft of confidence and are struggling to even get the basics right. Mowbray is making some very questionable decisions, regarding formations, tactics and substitutions.

BORO 1 - 2 MILWALL
Boro were lacklustre and inept throughout, conceding early on thanks to a deflected goal credited to defender George Friend. Millwall went 2-0 up just before half time thanks to further poor defending. Boro never looked like getting back into this game, even after Curtis Main pulled one back with 15 minutes to go, following the first good attacking move from the home side.


BORO 2 - 1 CARDIFF
Following a much improved Cup display against Chelsea (despite losing 2-0), hopes were raised of a miracle against the league leaders. We duly got one. Boro came out of the blocks with intent and purpose, keeping Cardiff on the back foot for long spells and for once converting some of the chances they created. Two-nil up inside the first 20 minutes, home fans were anticipating a rout, but the visitors got their act together in the second half and began to turn things around. Things got nervous when Gunnarsson pulled one back with over 20 minutes to go, but we held on for the win.


HUDDERSFIELD 2 - 1 BORO
A very poor, nervous display, not helped by the fog that blanketed the ground. Huddersfield weren't much better, result in a dull-as-ditchwater match that looked set to end 0-0. In the end a bit of attacking intent undid the home defence and Boro broke the deadlock with a little over 10 minutes remaining. This should have been a second successive win, but utterly shambolic defending / lack of concentration allowed the Terriers to score twice in the last 4 minutes, after they'd barely threatened our goal all game. Absolutely desperate stuff.

BRISTOL CITY 2 - 0 BORO
After the Huddersfield debacle, most Boro fans weren't expecting much and we weren't disappointed. After a steady start, Bristol striker Jon Stead had to go off injured, less than 20 minutes into the game. Predictably, his replacement Albert Adomah scored the opener after being on the pitch all of 10 minutes, an AWOL Boro defence allowing him to cut inside our full-back and giving him space and time to score a corker of a goal. Pretty much the same story second half, with Davies getting the home side's second, less than 10 minutes after the restart. Boro rarely came even close to getting on the scoresheet. Overall, pretty dire.


Now in 9th place and with only 2 wins in 2013, Boro's season has well and truly disintegrated. Somehow we're still only 3 points off the play-offs, but few fans still hold any real hope or expectation that we'll be in the top 6 come May.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

As I said on the Norwich thread, Kei Kamara will be a good signing for you boys.

Although it appears under Mowbray you are destined to never win

[TheCelticGarbutt]

Well Kei scored on his debut Tuesday night, so think that you are right in that respect.

And again correct, 2-0 uo against Forest and looking good, should of known what was coming really shouldn't we.

Bring on Bournemouth on Saturday

[cherriesfna]

Nope u northern lot are ready for a footballing lesson

[NickisBHAFC]

[owen10ozzy]

Kamara couldnt have made a better start, not sure on Butterfield; he barely played any football over the past year...and I just don't see what he will bring to the team if I am honest.

Our problems lie in the psychology of the players at the moment, for the past 3 seasons we have been decent at the start and slumped after christmas...not only that but we have had the same problem of conceding late goals (I would hazard a guess we have conceded more in the last 10 mins of the game than any other team in England every year since 2010).

It pains me to say given he is a legend of the club but I do think Tony Mowbray may have to go...19 points from the past 84 is simply not good enough whichever way you cut it.

This is our 5th season in the Championship and I think we missed our best chance of getting out of it last year. Given our struggles every season after the Christmas period I have a major concern that we could be battling against relegation at this rate and for our club it would be disastrous...we have neither the fan base or indeed the wealth in the area to continue to survive in the lower leagues...stadium would cost to much to support...given Middlesbrough as a place investment/takeovers would be hard to come by.

[cherriesfna]

Looks like u lot dicked us

[cherriesfna]

We love you woodgate, we do, we love you woodgate, we do, we love you woodgate, we do, ooooooooooh woodgate we love you.

[TheCelticGarbutt]

How brave are you lot? Two wing backs and every goal kick passed along the floor, played some excellent stuff at times but we should of beaten you.

Referee was appalling for both teams I thought, and thats not a criticism of the 3 major decisions cos both pens were merited and Rhys deserved his red, rest of the time he really didnt have a clue what was going on.

[cherriesfna]

We switched to that against Barnsley so and it worked so we tried it again, also our LB is injured and Ian Harte is terrible.

We are a very small team and punting GKs long we will loose it sowe try and play possession.

Also what was number 28 like rantie, the guy who won the first penalty

[dyrewolfe]

Bournemouth match was a bit of a freak game. Zero shots on target but 3 goals...how often does that happen? Ref was an idiot (had a shocking 2nd half) but we didn't help ourselves either. Played some good football to get back into the game after the 2 penalties and take the lead, but lost the plot, sat back and invited pressure, as we always seem to do lately.

QPR was more predictable.

1 win in 9 and it looks like we've picked up where we left off last season.

[TheCelticGarbutt]

Massive relegation 6 pointer against Yeovil this Saturday.

Some of Mowbray's decisions really puzzle me, put the Duke on for an aerial presense upfront with Kamara. So you'd think get the wingers going and get crosses into the box. Nope went two upfront and Leadbitter out on the left for Carayol, narrowing the play :/ then realised he needed a winger so had to bring Halliday on.

Interview afterwards saying we created lots - we didnt, not a clear cut chance anyway. Think he is losing it, all well trying to keep spirits up during a bad patch but it seems like his constant praise has led them to believe that we are actually playing well.

4 wins in 2013 says it all really, 1 this season, Saturday is massive.

[dyrewolfe]

Mowbray's decisions have often puzzled many of the Boro faithful since the middle of last season.

According to some folks I chat with on the Oneboro forum, many of the same problems that plagued us last season are still very much in evidence.

On the plus side, we have freshened up the squad, offloading the last of the big earners (McDonald) and made some good inexpensive/free signings, including the likes of Dean Whitehead, Jacob Butterfield and Kei Kamara.

We've even had youngster Ben Gibson (son of chairman Steve) in the last couple of games, who looks a good prospect as a centre back.


On the negative side, Mowbray still seems to have a tendency to use senior / first team players out of position, rather than bring in fringe squad players or giving youth players a chance, which often results in below-par performances...as do his frequent changes in tactics and formations.

That would explain why our players still rarely seem comfortable with each other.

Just lately rumours have also surfaces of bust-ups between a couple of players and the manager. This is unconfirmed at the moment, but we did see similar problems between Mowbray and Scott McDonald last season, so many are thinking "there is no smoke without fire".

Granted we have had a fair bit of bad luck and some poor refereeing decisions, but we still suffer from starting tentatively and letting the opposition get on top of us, only really getting into games once we're behind. Also, as we saw with Bournemouth, even when we do get a lead, we can't hold onto it, or kill games off.

The general feeling seems to be that we don't have an easier set of fixtures this season, than the ones in October and that, if Mowbray can't get some good results over the next 3 games, the pressure will be on Steve Gibson to start looking for a new manager.

[owen10ozzy]

Yet another game which we have thrown away! Clearly the same problems exist regardless of manager; we should sack every defender we have and bring in new ones because clearly their is a real lack of mental strength amongst our back 4 (midfield guilty as well) when it comes to seeing out games in the last 15 months.

Now 18th in the table and once again I want to reiterate that we really are in a relegation scrap this season from what I have seen. Regardless of whether we could have picked up points here & their, the simple fact is we haven't and I don't see anything changing even with a new boss as I believe the fault lies with the players...I am sick of seeing the same thing almost every week...us going ahead only to be sucker punched in the final moments; or dominate a game yet not finish teams off.

We must be the worst team in the final 15 minutes anywhere in English football; honestly we are that bad. Look at our record in the past 4 seasons with regards to the last 15 minutes: Points equate to those lost having conceded:

2010/11 – 12 Points – (15 Goals in Last 15 Minutes) Finished 12th 13 Points off Playoffs
2011/12 – 14 Points – (11 Goals in Last 15 minutes) Finished 7th 5 Points off Playoffs
2012/13 – 11 points – (17 goals in Last 15 minutes) Finished 16th 9 points off Playoffs
2013/14 – 9 points – (6 goals in last 15 minutes) Currently 18th 11 Points off Playoffs

Nice to see we are well on the way to beating our record from last season already!  

[TopoftheChops]

leadbitter's fault

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

How are Butterfield and Kamara doing?

[owen10ozzy]

Both have been positives for me Olly; they seem to fit into the team nicely and I especially Kamara's ability to get into the right positions.

If truth be told when you look at our games we are a walking definition for the term 'stats don't mean anything' because we have dominated play (shots, possession) in about 90% of our games this season.

As I said the issue is defensively we can't tell our heads from our you know what; we look shaky at set pieces and as soon as the clock hits 75 minutes it's like watching 11 pieces of jelly (well 10, since we seem to like having players sent off atm as well). I literally can't put into words how frustrating it is seeing us continuously throw away points. If it was something that happened every now and then I could just about have some positivity for our season...the problem is it's not. It's happening time and again and has been for 4 years...that tells me their is a deep rooted problem in the teams mind set, fitness or system of play and it's gotten worse this year.

I honestly think we could be seeing relegation this season and for a club like us that's a real worry with a 35,000 seater stadium to maintain! We all know what happened with Coventry!

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Kamara I thought would be a very good championship striker. His just raw natural athleticism will win him about 5-10 goals in the air a season, add onto that hes fairly decent on the ball I thought he was a very astute signing. Plus he's a great egg to have around the place. Just energises everyone.

Never saw enough of Butterfield in a Norwich shirt to judge him, but he was meant to be good on the ball for sure

[NickisBHAFC]

Not beating Birmingham is shocking.

[owen10ozzy]

Oi Nick...careful else I'll revoke any future invites onto the podcast  

Only I as a fan of the club can slate them! Now, hustle on back to your Brighton thread and revel in a good weekend...we all know your inconsistency means you'll be back with a defeat next week!  

[NickisBHAFC]

hahahaha

Should be a good game next weekend. Im not making the long trip up. Too close to Christmas and ticket prices and travel costs are simply to much for my liking. 

Also you lot will smash us.

[owen10ozzy]

I think what you mean is, we will dominate play...have the majority of chances and possession..go into the lead, only to throw it away and draw or lose in the closing 10 minutes! Consider it a hand wrapped early christmas present from us pleasant smoggies

Good win for your lot yesterday; if you can maintain that kind of performance at home then hopes are high for play-offs. I've found it interesting that you've struggled at home...what's the atmosphere at the Amex like at the moment...I would imagine it was difficult at the start of the season after all the going's on?

[NickisBHAFC]

Considering we get 27,000 every week, naturally its loud. But like most clubs, home games for whatever reason its not constant singing, like it is away from home. When everyone sings its fu*king loud!!!! But when its quiet, you can hear a pin drop.

Im in the north stand, and i usually have prats around me, so it's constantly noisy where i am!!! 

Not sure why we have struggled at home. We do better when sides come to the AMEX and attack. When we play Poopie teams its so hard to break them down, because they put 11 men behind the ball. Our home form is usually amazing in the 2nd half of the season anyway! Don't think we lost in the 2nd half last season at home. Expect to Arsenal in the cup and the scum in the play offs.

[dyrewolfe]

It is rather ridiculous that we have scored as many goals as Burnley, Watford and Ipswich (30) and yet are still in the bottom six.

Only 2 teams have scored more than us - Leicester (31) and Derby (40).

That gives you an idea of how shambolic we are defensively. Not content with conceding goals from set-pieces, we have now started giving away penalties with alarming regularity (8 in the last 7 games).

Karanka does seem to have had an influence already, in that we seem better organised and more effective going forward. However, as owen10ozzy said, we dominate many games, only to commit stupid fouls, or else have unforgiveable lapses, to let the opposition back into games.

Even having Shay Given (what a coup, landing him, even if its only a loan deal) yelling at our back 4 doesn't seem to have helped that much.

I'm predicting a lot of goals when Brighton come to visit...I just hope we can at least score as many as they do.

[dyrewolfe]

Blimey - what a Christmas, so far! 2 games and 2 wins.

A surprisingly good display away at Millwall which probably merited more than the 2 goals we managed. Even more amazingly, we didn't concede any stupid last-minute equalisers / winners and actually kept a clean sheet for the first time in ages. We scored the late goal for a change, to secure a deserved win.

Would have been happy with a point against (former) league leaders Burnley. Despite dominating much of the 1st half, it needed a bit of individual magic from Emmanuel Ledesma to make the breakthrough. Burnley came back at us 2nd half, but again our defence stood firm and offered few chances. On the occasions our goal was threatened, Shay Given dealt with whatever came at him.

Quite looking forward to the visit of Reading now. Of course, that will probably now end in a shambolic defeat. Think even a point from that could be regarded as a decent result and a mini unbeaten run over the festive period will see us pull away from the relegation scrappers.

[owen10ozzy]

After a bright couple of weeks the new year has started with much of the same! Another last minute goal and just as I was beginning to find hope. Saw enough over the course of the festive period to know we are good enough to steer well clear of relegation....

Of course the problem is that we tend to have horrific endings to the season...I say endings...what I mean is January - April!!! If this year is the same as the last two we will most definitely be in the relegation spot come the end of the season..

Lets hope Karanka can stop the mid season rots we tend to have!   

[dyrewolfe]

Well, after the impressive 3-0 spanking of Reading, it was always going to be difficult to follow that form with a tough away trip to Bolton.

Attacking-wise, we were good value for our 2 goals, but rather dozy (and occasionally panicky) in defence. Should really have won that one...conceding that last-gasp equaliser was quite gutting, but at least we kept our unbeaten run going.

Rather fancied we'd cause a bit of a "cupset" at home to Hull, but it seems the Christmas schedule finally caught up with us. We were really lethargic and never at the races, resulting in a comfortable 2-0 win for Hull City Tigers AFC (or whatever they're called now).

After that many Boro fans thought an away trip to Blackpool (one of our traditional bogey teams) was an accident waiting to happen...especially given their long losing streak, which a "typical Boro" performance would bring to an end.

Thankfully no such thing happened. It wasn't a pretty game by any means, with the Seasiders enjoying more possession and better goalscoring chances (though oddly not causing any real scares), Boro were very much relying on the counter attack. Bit of a smash and grab raid, with two very late goals, but still a deserved win, given the hosts failed to give us any real scares.

The Boro bandwagon rolls on. We continue to climb the table (to the dizzy heights of 13th ) and look forward to a home match against Charlton.

Only real complaint at the moment is a lack of a quality striker...still relying heavily on the midfield for our goals. Lets hope Karanka can land one before the transfer window closes.

[NickisBHAFC]

13th in the league, wouldn't rule out a top half finish for you lot.

[dyrewolfe]

Heh - thanks for the vote of confidence.

I reckon we could definitely manage a top 10 finish. Top 6 looks a bit tough to crack right now. Would need 1 or 2 teams to have a major loss of form to sneak in there.

[TheCelticGarbutt]

9th in the league and on the up, tough test at Leicester next week but should be a decent game.

Real positive from Saturdays game being that it was one of our worst performances under Karanka yet we picked up the 3 points and that is always a good thing

Got a few mates down south and they are saying their local papers see us as the dark horses so who knows.

Chalobah and Omerou look to be really good aditions, looks like we will lose Rhys today but dont mind aslong as Leadbitter doesnt go to Forest.

As always UTB!!

[dyrewolfe]

I'm genuinely worried about the Leicester game...I see only a comfortable win for the Foxes. On a positive note, the 3 games after that, against Doncaster, Wigan and Blackburn, should fetch us a decent haul of points.

The 3 points was indeed the ONLY positive from the Charlton game. If their goal hadn't been ruled out for offside, or if Given hadn't pulled off that double save, right at the death, they'd have got a not entirely undeserved point.

Too early to say if we can finish in the top 6. Most of the teams in there have been pretty consistent over the season so far and it would need one or two to drop points for a while, for us to sneak in there.

Almost a shame that Rhys Williams is going as he's put in some decent performances lately, but I get the impression he's not happy at Boro, so best to let him go. Not heard anything definite about Leadbitter. Given how we're doing at the moment, I'm not sure he'd fancy a move while he has a regular first team berth at Boro.

[westisbest]

Given doing a decent job for you then?

[dyrewolfe]

I'd go as far as to say he's been a major factor in our run of clean sheets / wins.

Jason Steele is a great shot-stopper, but he seems to lack the confidence to command his area and organise the defence the way Given can.

In his prime, Shay Given was arguably one of the best keepers in the Premier League (besides being a ROI international). Judging from his displays for us, I don't think he's fallen too far from that form.

[Shot 21 LCFC]

Should be a good game tomorrow.

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