2014-15 Middlesbrough Thread - Sponsored by Prozac

by dyrewolfe Thu 07 Aug 2014, 2:19 pm

Well, its that time of year again. New season just days away.

For once the club has done most of its business in good time and the squad appears decently refreshed / shaken up, as they say.

We've got:

Chelsea defender Kenneth Omeruo back for another season-long loan.
Keeper Tomas Meijas (25) from Real Madrid on a 2-year deal.
Striker Enrique "Kike" Garcia (24) from Real Murcia (3 year deal)
Winger Emilio Nsue (24) from Real Mallorca (3 year deal)
Defender James Husband (20) from Doncaster (4 year deal - Curtis Main joined Donny as part of the deal).

Also put in a "cheeky" bid for Genk striker Jelle Vossen. Frankly £3.1 million is a serious bid by Boro standards, but they'd already turned down £5.6 million for him from Rubin Kazan.

Aitor Karanka is said to be keen to make further signings. Seems a bit strange given that last seasn he purposely wanted a small squad to work with, but given that no Boro season is complete without an injury crisis / player shortage at some point, I'm certainly not complaining.

We've even got a rather smart new strip...bought my first new home shirt for years!

If we can recapture the quality we showed in our better games last season and add some consistency we ought to be contenders for the play-offs. However, this is Boro we're talking about, so I suppose we should be worrying about what will thow a spanner in the works this season.

We have a pretty decent (if new and upcoming) manager. We have what looks like a pretty decent squad. The million dollar question is, as always: will it all come together to propel us up the league and keep us there 'til the end of the season?

Or will another spectacular loss of form see us struggle to mid-table obscurity?

Personally, I'm starting this season with a fair a mount of optimism.
(Wonder how long it is until its beaten out of me this time...)

At least we aren't Blackpool. Very Happy

COME ON BORO!

by westisbest Thu 07 Aug 2014, 2:24 pm

Just posted on your other thread that I read about the Matt Lowton loan deal on newsnow.

Will do well for you i'm sure, if the deal goes through.

Villa right back.

by GSC Thu 07 Aug 2014, 2:54 pm

+ Adam Clayton, Boro splashing some cash.

Also Jose will give his old mate Bamford for a year

by TopoftheChops Thu 07 Aug 2014, 2:54 pm

Boro look promising this season, can see them finishing 9th or 10th

by dyrewolfe Thu 07 Aug 2014, 4:43 pm

Thanks for the replies. There has been a lot of talk about Clayton joining, but nothing confirmed (that I know of). Surprised Huddersfield are happy to let him go. In the games he played against us he looked very useful. Clash of personalities perhaps?

£1.5m seems a decent price - if thats what it ends up being.

As for Lowton joining, right-back has been a perennial problem for us. Every time we seem to get a decent player in that position, they end up getting injured or their form disappears for no apparent reason. We managed to have a reasonably settled defence for a large part of last season, but if we could get a reliable RB that would be a big bonus.

TopoftheChops wrote:
Boro look promising this season, can see them finishing 9th or 10th.

We're actually hoping for a bit better than that, though absolutely anything can (and usually does) happen! Wink

by NickisBHAFC Thu 07 Aug 2014, 10:14 pm

Thanks for stealing Adam Clayton from us. Can't blame the bloke for wanting to join you lot though over us though!

by TheCelticGarbutt Fri 08 Aug 2014, 2:57 pm

Right back slot looks to have been filled by Damia (Osasuna player) 32 yrs old but could add experience needed. Andre Bennett has apparently impressed during pre season.

Off to the match tomorrow - fancy our chances this year, see how long that optimism lasts - In Aitor we trust!!

by dyrewolfe Sun 10 Aug 2014, 2:11 pm

Trust you had a good time Garbutt?

Listened to the Boro+ commentary myself and it sounded like we put in a good performance. Pretty much dominated Birmingham for most of the game.

Defence was barely troubled (they didn't have a shot on target all game) and our attacking players impressed. Goals for "old hand" Ayala and new striker Kike (that lad sounds like a real handful - nightmare for defenders). Reach, Friend and Tomlin also featured prominently in our attacking play.

We'll face much tougher tests this season but it was the perfect way to get the season underway. Decent crowd of over 18,000 (about 4,000 above our average gate last season).

by NickisBHAFC Sun 10 Aug 2014, 11:16 pm

Apparently Clayton didn't turn up to you're medical because he wants to join Brighton.

What is he smoking.

#ClaytonWantsToBeASeagull

by TheCelticGarbutt Mon 11 Aug 2014, 11:10 am

dyrewolfe wrote:Trust you had a good time Garbutt?

Listened to the Boro+ commentary myself and it sounded like we put in a good performance. Pretty much dominated Birmingham for most of the game.

Defence was barely troubled (they didn't have a shot on target all game) and our attacking players impressed. Goals for "old hand" Ayala and new striker Kike (that lad sounds like a real handful - nightmare for defenders). Reach, Friend and Tomlin also featured prominently in our attacking play.

We'll face much tougher tests this season but it was the perfect way to get the season underway. Decent crowd of over 18,000 (about 4,000 above our average gate last season).

Was an excellent start!

We dominated from the first whistle, high pressing, immediately trying to win the ball back and then controlling the possession when we had it - Birmingham very poor but can only beat what is in front of you - plus it could of been 4/5 if Randolph hadn't played so well.

Omerou was a beast in defence - just has that star quality/presence about him - although it was a shame for Ben Gibson breaking down after less than a minute - hope it isn't too serious.

Kike is the real deal - not your typical tiki-taka Spanish striker, has pace, power, movement and wasn't afraid to stick it to their defenders - put himself about and a great finish. Plus he was just a nuisance all game, there CBs has seconds on the ball before he was hounding them. He struck up a really good partnership with Tomlin who had his best ever performance in a Boro shirt in my opinion.

18,000 in, great atmosphere, and a new chant of Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Kike Kike.

I think after that game we will retain a few more of those fans, few more signings, Adomah to play better, Carayol and Williams back in Jan, Woody didn't play and Nsue had a productive ten mins - things are looking up.

http://www1.skysports.com/footballleague/championship/video/9415399/middlesbrough-2-0-birmingham

by dyrewolfe Mon 11 Aug 2014, 1:35 pm

NickisBHAFC wrote:Apparently Clayton didn't turn up to you're medical because he wants to join Brighton.

What is he smoking.

#ClaytonWantsToBeASeagull

Lol! Well if Saturday's performance is anything to go by we won't miss him. Brighton are a pretty decent team, aren't they? Hope Hyypia doesn't undo all the good work done by Garcia. Maybe he fancied a change of scenery...

@Garbutt: thanks for the video link - will check it when I get home...

by Sam Mon 11 Aug 2014, 7:01 pm

GSC wrote:Also Jose will give his old mate Bamford for a year

Is that going to happen? Haven't heard it rumoured.

by TheCelticGarbutt Tue 12 Aug 2014, 10:43 am

@DW - not much on the highlights but enough to show the goals and a cleverly worked free kick.

Apparently Bamford and another young lad from Chelsea - Wallace were rumoured but seems to have gone quiet.

by Sam Tue 12 Aug 2014, 12:52 pm

TheCelticGarbutt wrote:@DW - not much on the highlights but enough to show the goals and a cleverly worked free kick.

Apparently Bamford and another young lad from Chelsea - Wallace were rumoured but seems to have gone quiet.

Wallace is on loan at Vitesse Arnhem for the season.

by TheCelticGarbutt Tue 12 Aug 2014, 3:37 pm

Sam wrote:
TheCelticGarbutt wrote:@DW - not much on the highlights but enough to show the goals and a cleverly worked free kick.

Apparently Bamford and another young lad from Chelsea - Wallace were rumoured but seems to have gone quiet.

Wallace is on loan at Vitesse Arnhem for the season.

Aye sorry you're right, it was George Saville from their academy team

by Sam Wed 13 Aug 2014, 10:36 am

TheCelticGarbutt wrote:
Sam wrote:
TheCelticGarbutt wrote:@DW - not much on the highlights but enough to show the goals and a cleverly worked free kick.

Apparently Bamford and another young lad from Chelsea - Wallace were rumoured but seems to have gone quiet.

Wallace is on loan at Vitesse Arnhem for the season.

Aye sorry you're right, it was George Saville from their academy team

Another good player, wish we would start blooding some of these young players we have in our academy. Would be good to see him get some game time in the Championship and see how he does.

by dyrewolfe Thu 14 Aug 2014, 1:47 pm

Well the Clayton move is confirmed today in the Beeb's footie news...for an undisclosed fee (I really hate that - why don't they want us to know how much he cost?)

Jacob Butterfield has moved in the opposite direction (to Huddersfield). Both players have signed 4-year deals. Slightly concerned as "Butters" as one of our better players last season - a good, energetic ball-winner / playmaker.

Middlesbrough Swap Jacob Butterfield for Adam Clayton

Middlesbrough have signed Huddersfield midfielder Adam Clayton for an undisclosed fee with Jacob Butterfield going in the opposite direction.

Clayton, 25, who had been expected to join Boro last week, made 85 league appearances in two seasons with the Terriers after joining from Leeds.

Butterfield, 24, joined the Teessiders from Norwich last September and made 32 appearances in all competitions.

Both players have signed four-year deals with their new clubs.

Former Manchester City trainee Clayton could make his Boro debut at Leeds on Saturday, while Butterfield is likely to make his Town bow at Cardiff later the same day.

Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka told the club website: "Adam is another player who will improve our squad and I'm delighted to welcome him to Boro.

"He is a strong player and a strong character and just the sort of person I want in my squad."

They seem like similar players so I'm guessing they will simply be direct replacements for each other.

by TheCelticGarbutt Fri 15 Aug 2014, 10:00 am

Yeh agree that they seem similar players - trust his signings though as he has been proven right so far.

Damia looks like he will be in by Sat too, Hines hasn't done anything wrong at RB but he hasn't really been tested yet so experience in there would be a better option.

Another good win v Oldham. Everytime we have a cup game I always say this will be the game Luke Williams does something, and finally he produced a good display.

Think if we can bring that support striker in for Kike, Bamford as rumoured I think he have enough to really push this year.

Bring on Leeds tomorrow, live on Sky, cant wait!!

by dyrewolfe Mon 18 Aug 2014, 1:40 pm

Oops!

First slip-up of the new season...that didn't take long, did it?

Missed the game, but according to reliable sources on the Boro forum, the ref had a mare and had no reason to disallow Albert Adomah's goal (a bicycle kick that was deemed too close to a defender's head).

That said, Boro didn't help themselves, dominating possession, but rarely threatening. 11 shots at the Leeds goal, but none on target (apart from the aforementioned Adomah effort).

With flashbacks to last season under Mowbray, our defence seemed to go AWOL in the closing stages and who else but Billy Sharp (that bloke seems to like scoring against us) poking in a late winner, after keeper Meijas parried a shot into his path.

Hardly a disaster at this stage of the season, but an uncomfortable reminder of how we threw away a lot of points in previous seasons. Certainly don't need any repeat performances. Lets hope we can make amends against Bolton...

by TheCelticGarbutt Mon 18 Aug 2014, 3:54 pm

I agree Dyre, looked as though we were on top throughout and although you can see the defender looking to head the ball away I don't think Albert was ever going to make contact with anything other than the ball. Poor keeping at the end, and its always Billy Sharp isn't it, we were interested in him a few years back!

http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/competitions/championship/9425125/leeds-1-0-middlesbrough

Hardly a disaster as you say, Bolton on Tuesday night which will be competitive as always.

http://www.mfc.co.uk/news/article/2014/180814-boss-hopes-to-close-striker-deal-1837471.aspx

Latest article on MFC.co.uk is that everything has been agreed between Jose and Aitor in regards to Patrick Bamford - just have to agree it with the lad himself.

by dyrewolfe Tue 19 Aug 2014, 12:39 pm

Lets hope he works out for us. Seemed to do okay last season when he was loaned to Derby. Apparently we're also getting midfielder George Saville, though in his case its a loan with a view to a permanent move.

Both are unknown quantities at this stage, so not getting too excited just yet, but its nice to see AK geting some new bodies in. Hopefully the extra competition for places will keep everybody motivated.

Chelsea's Bamford and Saville to join Midlesbrough

by Sam Tue 19 Aug 2014, 4:38 pm

dyrewolfe wrote:Lets hope he works out for us. Seemed to do okay last season when he was loaned to Derby. Apparently we're also getting midfielder George Saville, though in his case its a loan with a view to a permanent move.

Both are unknown quantities at this stage, so not getting too excited just yet, but its nice to see AK geting some new bodies in. Hopefully the extra competition for places will keep everybody motivated.

Chelsea's Bamford and Saville to join Midlesbrough

Bamford did really well last season I thought 8 goals in 21 apps for Derby (according to Wikipedia) in the second half of the season with the first half spent at League 1 MKDons, hopefully he can kick on.

by TheCelticGarbutt Wed 20 Aug 2014, 12:47 pm

Another strong performance last night, not seen the highlights as of yet, have them recorded for after work but 20 shots and over 60% possession sounds impressive.

Poachers goal from Kike, 3 for the season, looks like he will be a real player in this league.

Sheff Wed on Saturday which I will be at, they've made a decent start but looking for another win, UTB!!

by dyrewolfe Fri 22 Aug 2014, 2:29 pm

Damn! Another midweek match I missed.

BBC match report makes pretty good reading. A penalty for each side before Kike got the winner. Sounds as though Hines was lucky not to get red-carded for his foul on Davies.

Kind of ironic that Wheater hand-balled for our pen. Laugh

They gave possession as 62%-38% in our favour and we had 19 shots at goal with 6 on target, compared to Bolton's 11 shots with 1 on target.

Not bad at all. If we can put on a similar performance against Wednesday, that'll be a very satisfactory start to the season.

by dyrewolfe Mon 25 Aug 2014, 10:52 am

Oh wow - looks like I picked the right thread sponsor.

Awful, shambolic performance at home to Wednesday, who are hardly the toughest team we'll face this season.

To give you some idea of the scale of this upset, the last time the Owls won on Teesside was a 2-0 win in the old Division 2, back in 1991.

With flashbacks to the Mowbray era, we enjoyed more possession, but did very little with it and to make matters worse, our defence was simply absent for most of the match, giving virtually no help to under-fire keeper Mejias, who could be faulted for the first goal, but stood no chance with the others and pulled off a couple of good saves to stop the scoreline being even more embarrassing.

Wednesday were 3-0 up with under an hour played and we never looked like scoring in open play. 2 Grant Leadbitter penalties on 72 minutes (handled shot on goal) and 90 minutes (Kike brought down in the area) gave the final score a lot more respectability than we deserved.

Would like to see Dimi Konstantopoulos brought back in goal as there just seemed to be no communication between Mejias and the back 4. Tomas also seems unable to command his box. Shame really, as he certainly can make a save.

The rest of them just need a rocket up their backsides. We simply cannot afford any more performances like this, if we are to have any realistic hopes of finishing in the play-offs.

by TheCelticGarbutt Thu 28 Aug 2014, 10:49 am

It was a very poor performance against Wednesday - they had a big lad up front who they launched it at but we didn't deal with it at all and the Scottish lad Stevie May looked excellent.

Didn't get to the match on Tues night but 3-1 victory over Preston, reports said a very poor first half but strong showing in the 2nd. Liverpool away in the next round will gain us some revenue but that's about it I think

by dyrewolfe Fri 29 Aug 2014, 3:13 pm

Yep. Apparently the Liverpool game will be on Sky, for thse who can't get to the match. Expect we'll get a spanking, but hey its a cup tie against one of the Premier League big guns. The extra money will be welcome...anything else is a bonus.

Completely missed the Preston game. Reading the match report I thought it was a bit odd all the goals came in the 2nd half inside a 20-odd minute window. A rubbish 1st half showing, followed by a half-time AK rocket would help explain that. Wink

Fingers crossed for a better performance against Reading on Saturday - no real expectations. Would be satisfied with a draw but we really should be looking to win it.

by TheCelticGarbutt Tue 02 Sep 2014, 11:00 am

Well 1-0 defeat on Sat - we bossed the game but couldn't break them down - 2 disappointing home results in a row.

Done really well in the market though - really excited by Vossen - to think Rubin Kazan bid over £5million for him yet we get him on loan - looks a cracking bit of business with Bamford and Wildschut (who I know nothing about - I bow to your knowledge if you have any info on him)

by dyrewolfe Mon 08 Sep 2014, 4:21 pm

Very disappointing start to the season - 2 wins and 3 defeats.

Reading match was hugely disappointing. Lots of effort but not much end product.

Nice to hear we've got Vossen - even if its only temporary. If he does well and enjoys his time with us, theres a chance it could become a permanent move.

If Bamford is anything as good as Omeruo, he could be a very useful addition. According to Wiki, Wildschut is a winger, came through the Ajax academy. Not a prolific goalscorer, but if he can beat players, get crosses in and give our strikers some service, that would be great.

I think we're currently suffering from having so many new faces in the squad. Karanka must be having a few headaches, trying to figure out his best 11 and its going to take time for all the new guys to bed in.

Lets see where we are after another 10 games or so...

by TheCelticGarbutt Tue 09 Sep 2014, 3:10 pm

It has been slightly disappointing but I agree with your sentiment that it may take time for the new faces to bed in.

There is a lot of talk over Mejias being our weak link but I think he deserves time - he was on the books at Real Madrid - playing for Castilla and I don't think Dimi is the answer. The fact Aitor brought in Jamal Blackman might hint that he is undecided for a GK but obvious that he just did not fancy Steele.

Its going to be hard to incorporate all our signings into a formation or Starting XI however, If we take it that the back 7 would be:

Mejias

Damia, Woody, Omerou, Friend

Leadbitter, Whitehead

You then have 3 attacking midfield spots and 1 attacker to chose from:

Adomah, Wildschut, Nsue, Reach, Tomlin, Kike, Vossen, Bamford, Fewster, L Williams.

With Carayol and Ledesma due back towards the new year too.

Might take a few weeks to find the best set up and another few for that to gel and start firing.

I hope Tomlin isn't the fall guy however as I have been impressed with him this season.

by Sam Thu 11 Sep 2014, 3:40 pm

Good to see Jamal Blackman out on loan, hopefully he will get some game time for you guys, he's always looked good for the U21's and Reserves.

by dyrewolfe Fri 12 Sep 2014, 2:50 pm

I think the idea with Blackman, for the moment, is to have him as backup for Mejias.

Must admit I had no idea Konstantopoulos was well into his thirties...he's obviously not a long-term solution. With Steele's move to Blackburn, the #1 GK position will be a straight fight between Tomas and Jamal.

I just hope some of our midfield and forward options start to make a case for first team selection, so Karanka can start naming a reasonably settled line-up, injuries and suspensions allowing.

Reasonably optimistic we can get a result at Huddersfield, though I think that'll depend on whether the players are keen to make amends for earlier results, or if the influx of new faces damages our organisation/communication.

I'd be perfectly happy with a 1-0 win right now.

by TheCelticGarbutt Mon 15 Sep 2014, 10:56 am

A WIN!! Get in - was a game like most this season bossed and could of been 3-0 in front only for arch-nemesis Stead to equalise thought we had blown it until Grant stepped up for his 6th of the season.

Seen the highlights on Football league show (on last of the championship update again) - fantastic free kick from Leadbitter watch it if you can - smashed it.

At first looked a soft pen in my eyes, but Powell had no complaints and blamed his defender for a poor mistake so must of been a bit more clear cut - just seemed to tug Adam Reach over in the box - didn't look to be in any danger either.

Anyway win is a win, roll onto Cardiff on Tuesday night. Always had great memories of the day we ruined Dave Jones' promotion celebration day.
The took us lightly had a big party we hammered them 3-0, Smallwood was excellent that day, they fell into the playoffs and failed again.

by dyrewolfe Mon 15 Sep 2014, 1:00 pm

Yep - Captain Fantastic did the business for us again. A worldie of a free kick and kept cool to slot the penalty home.

Generally a decent performance and we were worthy of the win, but as in so many games, we kept falling short with the final ball, or attempting shots on goal that weren't really on.

Bossed the game for long periods but were rarely genuinely threatening...think the stats were something like 17 shots at goal but only 4 on target.

We need to start being a bit cleverer going forward and making better decisions. Think thats all thats really lacking (although thats quite a big "all").

Anyway it was a good introduction for Bamford and Vossen. If we can maintain that same level of effort and combine it with a bit more intelligence, we could still be at the right end of the table, come April.

Cardiff looks a promising opportunity for more points, but it would be "typical Boro" for us to trip up there. Despite the Norwich game, they're still a good team and can score goals. A draw wouldn't be a bad result IMO.

by TheCelticGarbutt Fri 19 Sep 2014, 10:10 am

A draw wouldn't of been a bad result, so even more pleased with the win Smile

Goal after 95 seconds, Kike completed free in the box, excellent finished and then showed the needed resilience to hold on for the 3 points.

Up to 9th, 4 points off the top 3 and things are starting to look up.

Looks as though Damia will be out for 6 months so will have to see what young Ryan Frederiks will be like a RB, lets give him a chance.

Off to the match tomorrow v Brentford, apparently they didn't deserve the 3-0 scoreline v Norwich midweek so may provide tough opposition.

by dyrewolfe Tue 23 Sep 2014, 1:18 pm

Bit of a smash n' grab result at Cardiff. Caught them with their pants down early on, but not too much afterwards. Again, can't complain about the result, but performance-wise over the 90 minutes, showed there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Which is exactly what we got with the barnstorming performance at home to Brentford. The Bees arrived with a decent record and a reputation for not sitting back. Oddly enough they had quite a bit more possession than Boro, but failed to make it count.

Fantastic long range strike from Leadbitter gave us the lead 10 minutes before half time, then Adomah finished off a great build-up, involving Vossen and Nsue, to put us 2-0 up.

New boy Bamford got his debut goal, thanks to another cross from Nsue, putting the game to bed.

Even losing Whitehead to a straight red, for a daft challenge, with 10 minutes to go couldn't spoil the party and Kike (replacing Bamford with 15 minutes to go) found the back of the net in the last minute of normal time, to put the cherry on a very tasty cake.

Have to say I don't much fancy our chances at Liverpool in the League Cup tonight. Expecting us to get comfortably beaten...especially if Sturridge and Sterling play.

by TheCelticGarbutt Wed 24 Sep 2014, 11:00 am

WOW is all I can say really - such an overwhelming amount of pride over a defeat is a bit of a paradox but I think it points to greater things.

We have been given all the plaudits by pundits and experts a like, the fans out sung the Kop all night and the Justice for the 96 banner was a nice touch from our lot.

Sterling easily worth £30 mil, Balotelli £16m, Markovic £20m, Lallana £20m so I don't buy people saying it was an understrength Liverpool side - they had changes but still would imagine more than enough to beat us.

Showed a never say die attitude, some great quality in attack/defence (Omerou is a beast) and superb nerve and bottle in the shoot out.

14-13 was a ridiculous scoreline, my nerves were in tatters by the end of it.

Although we now say farewell to the cup, a 4th consecutive league win at Charlton seems a possibility as does wins v Fulham & Blackpool.

Maybe that's getting ahead of ourselves but I see no conceivable reason as to why we now cant challenge from promotion along with Forest & Norwich.

by dyrewolfe Wed 24 Sep 2014, 12:49 pm

Boro did themselves proud last night. Think perhaps Liverpool underestimated us as they dominated possession but only had a few more chances at goal that we did.

Classic nerve-shredding Cup match, but the penalty shoot-out felt like it was never going to end. Gutted it had to end like that, but credit to every single one of the lads for keeping calm, not letting the occasion get to them and so very nearly causing a massive upset.

Lets hope they can take that kind of spirit and performance into the league and carry on the good work of the last couple of matches.

We've shown we have the ability - now its just about producing consistently. If we can, I have no doubts we'll be in the top 6 at least, come May.

The million dollar question, of course, is can AK stop Boro doing their now-customary mid-season nosedive?

by dyrewolfe Wed 24 Sep 2014, 2:04 pm

Hi Garbutt - tried responding to your PM earlier, but it seems you've got that option switched off and I couldn't reply.

Message said: "this user does not wish to receive private messages".

by TheCelticGarbutt Thu 25 Sep 2014, 12:25 pm

Oh not sure what happened there then but nothing in your message was worthy of my work server's blocking it lol

I agree it was a proud night, every Christmas under every different manager for about the past ten years there has been that mid season slump - fingers crossed that that isn't the case this year

Thankfully I think we have depth in squad to be able to change it up, maybe keep the team fresh and if Gibson is looking to invest in AK then some new faces in January might be the answer to stop us slumping.

by TheCelticGarbutt Mon 06 Oct 2014, 12:12 pm

Well Dyre - strange vs Fulham, they looked impressive first half with Parker the pivot in their team but they did nothing with it, we just sat in and engaged them once they made it into midfield.

Second half just came out on fire and they have chances but equally we could of had 3 or 4, it was one of those rousing performances that gets the crowd going - was jumping by the end.

If it hadn't been for a poor performance v Blackpool who I think put up more of a fight than many expected, we would be sat top of the league. 5th place one point off the top tho now, got a difficult month v Brighton, Wolves and Watford after the international break but onwards and upwards - In Aitor We Trust

by dyrewolfe Mon 06 Oct 2014, 2:13 pm

Yeah - bit of a weird game. Fulham dominated possession...they just didn't do much with it. Surprising given the supposed quality of their squad, especially with the likes of Ruiz and Rodallega up front.

2 shots on target all game is a pretty poor return IMO.

Despite our lack of possession, we carved out a few decent chances, mostly on the counter-attack and the main difference was we managed to stick 2 of them away.

Its been an awfully congested fixture list (as for everyone else) but we are now 6 games unbeaten, with 4 wins and 2 draws, sitting pretty in 5th place.

Huddersfield 1 - 2 Boro
Cardiff 0 - 1 Boro
Boro 4 - 0 Brentford
Charlton 0 - 0 Boro
Boro 1 - 1 Blackpool
Boro 2 - 0 Fulham

As you siad, if only we could have got all 3 points against Blackpool, we'd be top of the tree. I hardly dare to dream, but if we can keep this sort of momentum going, we could be contenders for automatic promotion.

Norwich, Forest and Watford have proven they can slip up now and again and the Championship is looking wide open right now.

by TheCelticGarbutt Wed 08 Oct 2014, 1:03 pm

It looks like a massively wide open league this year, think Wolves could of went top at the weekend, lost and ended up 8th so really tight in there.

As in previous years it will be the team who is most consistent like Leicester and Burnley last year.

Like you I dare to dream but matches like Blackpool and Fulham were matches we would of lost last year and if you are looking at consistency our back 5 of Dimi, Fredericks, Omerou, Ayala and Friend seems very reliable - conceding very few goals (2 in the last 6 games)

That could easily be a platform to build our promotion push on - tough month this month for us with Brighton Away, Wolves and Watford then Norwich on the 4th Nov - will give us a much better indication as to where we really are then.

by TheCelticGarbutt Fri 17 Oct 2014, 1:30 pm

Brighton Away followed by Wolves away on Tuesday - what are you thoughts?

Signed a young holding midfielder from Spurs, think it was the only position we didn't have 2 in, got Grant, Deano, Clayton and now Milos.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Mon 03 Nov 2014, 5:31 pm

Any of you folks going tomorrow?

Should be a good game

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Tue 04 Nov 2014, 8:24 pm

Sounds like we've decided to defend like a Sunday league side

Congrats on the three points

by dyrewolfe Wed 05 Nov 2014, 1:07 pm

We're definitely on a bit of a roll right now. Only 1 poor performance in our last 5 games. The new players seem to be settling in well, despite Karanka being forced to juggle the squad, with the fixtures coming thick and fast.

There are patchy spells in most games and some exasperating lapses in communication / concentration, which result in missed chances or goals conceded, but generally we're putting some good performances together.

Seems to be a really good team spirit at the moment and its nice to see them acknowledging the fans at the end of games - particularly away games. Just a really good vibe around the club at the moment.

Our current run thats got us joint top of the Championship, only 2nd to Bournemouth on goal difference:

Brighton 1 - 2 Boro
Wolves 2 - 0 Boro
Boro 1 - 1 Watford
Rotherham 0 - 3 Boro
Boro 4 - 0 Norwich

Olly wrote:
Any of you folks going tomorrow?

Should be a good game.

Living down south, I rarely go to home games. Generally settle for listening via the club's online streaming service.

Olly wrote:
Sounds like we've decided to defend like a Sunday league side

Congrats on the three points.

Norwich do seem to be in a bit of a rut at the moment - you also caught us in a run of good form, so I wasn't that surprised to be honest (though I wasn't expecting us to win by that margin).

Bamford and Wildschut are two of our in-form players right now and it looks like Captain Leadboots picked up where he left off, before his injury (or suspension - I forget which).

Absolutely chuffed to bits with how the season has panned out so far.

If its any consolation Olly, Nowich are still 7th and only 4 points off the top. Provided Adams and the lads can turn things around fairly soon, there is no reason why you can't still be in contention for promotion, come the end of the season.

by TheCelticGarbutt Thu 06 Nov 2014, 10:01 am

Was there on Tues night and away at Rotherham and we have been fantastic in both matches - really loving this team at the moment.

There again on Saturday to see us against league leaders Bournemouth - will be a very tough game so not deluding myself about top of the league status as they have won 5 straight - still cannot wait for it.

Yanic Wildschut looks like a really strong acquisition, was a bit annoyed he nicked that goal off Vossen - get him his first goal and the confidence flowing and we might be unstoppable haha.

On a different note - do you know where Woody is - just seems to have dropped off the face of the earth lol

by dyrewolfe Thu 06 Nov 2014, 1:01 pm

Can't find much on the MFC website, apart from an article where AK says Woody will be missed.

He's had the just the 1 start so far this season, in the League Cup game against Oldham, (was also on the bench for the Leeds and Huddersfield games), but seems to have picked up another injury in training last month.

Knowing his record with injuries he'll probably be out for a month or three. My guess is we won't see him in action again until after Christmas.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Thu 06 Nov 2014, 9:17 pm

dyrewolfe wrote:We're definitely on a bit of a roll right now. Only 1 poor performance in our last 5 games. The new players seem to be settling in well, despite Karanka being forced to juggle the squad, with the fixtures coming thick and fast.

There are patchy spells in most games and some exasperating lapses in communication / concentration, which result in missed chances or goals conceded, but generally we're putting some good performances together.

Seems to be a really good team spirit at the moment and its nice to see them acknowledging the fans at the end of games - particularly away games. Just a really good vibe around the club at the moment.

Our current run thats got us joint top of the Championship, only 2nd to Bournemouth on goal difference:

Brighton 1 - 2 Boro
Wolves 2 - 0 Boro
Boro 1 - 1 Watford
Rotherham 0 - 3 Boro
Boro 4 - 0 Norwich

Olly wrote:
Any of you folks going tomorrow?

Should be a good game.

Living down south, I rarely go to home games. Generally settle for listening via the club's online streaming service.

Olly wrote:
Sounds like we've decided to defend like a Sunday league side

Congrats on the three points.

Norwich do seem to be in a bit of a rut at the moment - you also caught us in a run of good form, so I wasn't that surprised to be honest (though I wasn't expecting us to win by that margin).

Bamford and Wildschut are two of our in-form players right now and it looks like Captain Leadboots picked up where he left off, before his injury (or suspension - I forget which).

Absolutely chuffed to bits with how the season has panned out so far.

If its any consolation Olly, Nowich are still 7th and only 4 points off the top. Provided Adams and the lads can turn things around fairly soon, there is no reason why you can't still be in contention for promotion, come the end of the season.

I'm actually weirdly more confident we'll be up there contending, if we can go on a run of 2 wins in 10 and still only be 4 pts off top that bodes well, providing of course we can turn it round soonish.

With the squad we have we shouldn't be losing 4-0 to anybody tho.

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