Middlesbrough

[CosbehFox]

Yes Father Ted, you clearly were at a different game.

Well I partly agree with him and in particular on Moreno, Boro's sole tactic of the second half to put him under pressure in the air. He does look ideal for the DM role though.

I thought for the nice short passing and work-rate, there was a distinct lack of quality on the final pass and finish. It's sad to say their goalie only had something to save twice and Wheater dealt with Howard with ease.

A lot of people are encouraged today cos they were expecting something worse. The wingers and full-back situation is slightly odd. Dyer's recultance to use his right foot will be an issue as was his failure to work with Neilson who did all the simple things right today and he's improved his crossing greatly. Berner looks cream crackered every time he goes pass the halfway line too but at least Campbell was helping out.

Paulo's biggest problem at the minute is deciding whether to stick with what we've got (he's unsure of our best formation and our best starting 11) or whether to bring in any more additions.

Personally, I think Gally could have a big role to play in an AM position behind the striker.

We're not very far from having a very good footballing team, if the formula can be reached. We'll be good to watch for sure whether the success comes with it in this ultra-competitive and physical division is another question. People will criticise Pearson for this supposed style...it wasn't a style, it was commonsense football, percentage based play and it gained results. O'Neill wasn't far different and success was gained. Under Bloomfield, we played super football but the rewards were little. Given football in it's current environment, what would I prefer? Probably a decent footballing side to be honest.

[Nickfosse]

Well I partly agree with him and in particular on Moreno, Boro's sole tactic of the second half to put him under pressure in the air. He does look ideal for the DM role though.

I thought for the nice short passing and work-rate, there was a distinct lack of quality on the final pass and finish. It's sad to say their goalie only had something to save twice and Wheater dealt with Howard with ease.

A lot of people are encouraged today cos they were expecting something worse. The wingers and full-back situation is slightly odd. Dyer's recultance to use his right foot will be an issue as was his failure to work with Neilson who did all the simple things right today and he's improved his crossing greatly. Berner looks cream crackered every time he goes pass the halfway line too but at least Campbell was helping out.

Paulo's biggest problem at the minute is deciding whether to stick with what we've got (he's unsure of our best formation and our best starting 11) or whether to bring in any more additions.

Personally, I think Gally could have a big role to play in an AM position behind the striker.

We're not very far from having a very good footballing team, if the formula can be reached. We'll be good to watch for sure whether the success comes with it in this ultra-competitive and physical division is another question. People will criticise Pearson for this supposed style...it wasn't a style, it was commonsense football, percentage based play and it gained results. O'Neill wasn't far different and success was gained. Under Bloomfield, we played super football but the rewards were little. Given football in it's current environment, what would I prefer? Probably a decent footballing side to be honest.

I completely agree

[CosbehFox]

Clean sheet is bigger than the 3 points today. Would have been nice to nick it at the end.

I'd have taken 2-1 to be honest. A brilliant maddogism.

No! Far too often it took us too long to get the ball forward after we gained possession in our penalty area/half of the field.

Agree. As much as I like Wellens, he's suspect to this. He gets the ball and looks for a pass because he hasn't got the legs. Reading about Moussa maybe he's the man with the ability.

[buzzy]

You said we "played like last 2 years by hitting it up to Howard", which couldn't have been more wrong. We played the ball out from the back, on the floor, the way football is meant to be played, and Howard did more with his feet than his head, which was never the case in the last two seasons.

As for being too narrow, wasn't it the case that both Neilson and Bruno made a lot of runs foward in the wide channels? Dyer and Neilson spent a lot of time on overlapping runs and Campbell quite often picked the ball up wide before running into channels. For sure it wasn't a traditional 4-4-2 with two wide wingers, but for the players we have at the club I think we have found a good system, and I'm happy with the way the formation worked today.

what do you mean on the floor half the time it was in the air to howard with no one picking up the flick ons.for the record i have not slatted anyone but we have got to be more attacking at home .

[carterfox90]

Good solid performance

A deserved goal would have been nice but can't have everything

Seeing us play proper football puts a smile on my face

Things look promising

totally agree they were there for the taking as well they all played well moreno look classy but abit suspect at heading which worried me slightly but well pleased with the new style & we can only get better :scarf:

[Bryn]

The style of play today was very good, very entertaining. Not quite the finished article yet but we could become dangerous. Pretty much every performance was encouraging, though Moreno would be MUCH better in midfield. I maintain that DJ Campbell is too thick to be a top class player but his pace and trickery really caused the defenders problems - needs to play higher up to be more dangerous.

If anyone saw someone fall outside the stadium before the game, that was me, and it fooking hurt

[davieG]

Our attempts against Boro, + Kings disallowed attempts in slow mo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Vf0A4otoQ

[Corky]

Entertaining match, we again played some lovely passages of football and tested out their keeper on a few occasions, as well as having a goal disallowed. The defence looked much more solid today with Hobbs back to his very best, two magnificent challanges on Boyd especially pleasing and crucial.

Frustrated not to pick up the three points, but still plenty to build on, the attacking play is very encouraging and we are probing the opposition constantly.

Need that first win though.

[Bryn]

Think King probably was just about offside from that vid. As if they didn't show Howard's effort!

[Dylan]

Think I would've taken a point before the game as Boro are promotion favourites, and a good side. Only listened to commentary, and watched on a stream, but we sounded good, just couldn't find a chance. Saying that, commentary suggested we should've had a peno, Kingy should've had a goal, and they possibly should have had a man sent off- will look forward to highlights.

An away win against Burnley would be massive, giving us a LOT of confidence- what we need to get our season started. They look decentish, with one win and a draw so far, getting a last minute goal today. Were capable of beating them though, if we can create and put away our chances when were on top. Also need to work on set-pieces.

From listening to commentary, we've had about 15 corners in each of our 3 matches so far, with no goals coming from them, and only coming close once or twice.

[Jordan]

I think we'd have looked much better with Fryatt up top instead of Howard (maybe Morrison for Moreno? though Moreno settled down a bit).

Fryatt isn't as strong as Howard but I still think he can fit in just fine in the central, hold-up-the-ball role in this new 4-3-3 (4-1-2-2?). Y'know what, fvck it, don't even call it a hold-up role, call it was it is: striker. Fryatt's a better striker, simply put. Fryatt's got a better first touch, and we might not need someone to hold the ball up much if we've got speedy wingers like DJ and Dyer than can catch up to the ball. Plus, tactically, if Fryatt ever needs to drift to the wing (to get a through ball, close down a defender, etc) DJ or Dyer can slide inside. Oh, and besides, since Fryatt's easily the best goal scorer we've got, he ought to be out there.

Not that Steve Howard doesn't have use, mind you--I like him coming on as a sub, as when the game gets ragged as midfield legs tire, he can win balls in the air, play physically up front, and hold the ball at his feet with back to goal. Also, if Sousa decides to go to a formation that resembles a traditional 4-4-2 due to squad constraints or otherwise, Howard + Fryatt (or DJ) is fine.

I agree with C-man that we're going to need Lamey at RB plenty this season if we're going to go with 4-3-3, but like many I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable Neilson looked in this position.

I don't have too many quibbles with Sousa's strategy and tactics but I did think the game got a bit too far stretched out. There were plenty of times when DJ and Dyer pushed forward with the ball (or chasing a ball) but even if they were to beat their defenders, what else would they have been able to do? King (besides the offside that wasn't) and Oakley are never going to catch up to the play at that pace (and as I mentioned I wasn't 100% thrilled with Howard in the "hold-up" role).

Oh, and as for Mr. Weale, you still need to work on getting crosses. And Mr. Wellens still needs extra shooting practice.

[Dylan]

After looking at that vid, quite hard to tell. But I think its one of them decisions where it's that close, and can honestly be given either way. Hard to tell for the lino with defenders running out, attacker running in, and the ball a few yards back.

[Jordan]

After looking at that vid, quite hard to tell. But I think its one of them decisions where it's that close, and can honestly be given either way. Hard to tell for the lino with defenders running out, attacker running in, and the ball a few yards back.

When I saw it in "live" (err, tape-delayed) speed, I thought King was offside, so I can't get too pissed off at the linesman. But the replay showed that he did indeed beat the trap.

[FrankieADZ]

nice 1 Dave

if u go to the 30 sec mark on the vid Dave provided, it shows the ball bout to be released by DJ and Kingy running thru, Shows his on-side at the time, but I can understand it being given as off tho as the linesman didnt have the best view from his position.

oh well cant win them all

[davieG]

Stats

11

Goal Attempts

10

8

On Target

4

12

Corners

4

7

Fouls

7

2

Yellow Cards

3

0

Red Cards

0

48

%

52

<http://www.middlesbr...7#ixzz0wcQslGDq

[Corky]

24 corners in two league games.

[marbelladave]

A few thoughts.

Strange game, very patchy performance in that we played beautifully some of the time but looked well off the pace others…

The game started well, we were dynamic and had plenty of possession but somehow very few real opportunities were created. Perhaps City's early pressure pushed 'Boro into defence and they brought a lot of men back, that made it very difficult for us.

There was a problem though, a lot of pressure yet few, if any clear cut chances, our passing game broke town around the box with our midfield unable to find our forward players in good positions. Maybe our final pass was not good enough but to me it looked like our front men simply did not show well enough for the ball inside the box.

Howard for all his combativeness is slow and easily marked, particularly in the area and neither Dyer or DJ got close enough to him to offer real support, the balance of giving the team width and coming inside to support your center forward is a dificult one and neither of them yet have it right.

King was deployed further forward than usual, practically playing in the 'hole', for me this did not really work, despite one really good attempt I thought he struggled to find space and was less effective as a result. Wellens took on the playmaker role and although heavily involved failed to make a real impact.

As 'Boro fought their way back into the game we showed that in some aspects at least that we were working hard to rectify our defensive problems, Oakley did a decent job in front of the back 4 and despite still playing on the left Hobbs was much improved. Moreno brought a degree of composure to our defending but is clearly vulnerable in the air.

Second half was more even but City's passing play remained slick, in midfield at least. It became more scrappy as the half wore on, several City players seemed to be running out of steam and the substitutions seemed to break up our rhythm rather than provide the boost that was required.

The game evened out towards the end with City running out of ideas and 'Boro looking comfortable and making a late push for all 3 points.

All in all I was slightly disappointed, lots of effort but few really good chances, King's 'goal' looked very close indeed ( I have not seen a replay ) and a couple of decent strikes were defended well but we simply did not make the chances our domination should have given us.

A lot of yesterdays game reminded me of our play at Palace, particularly the 25 minutes between our goals, lots of effort but little creativity and a lack of a real cutting edge, whether this can be corrected as we play more games remains to be seen.

Player ratings to follow after a much needed sleep.

[Salieri]

All in all I was slightly disappointed

Are you ever not?

[Leicester_Loyal]

I thought Moreno was brilliant.

That is all.

[Bryn]

Those highlights were bullshit

[MPH]

Those highlights were bullshit

You can only post what's available to you...

Feel free to post some yourself if you feel you can do better....

[reynard]

A few thoughts.

Strange game, very patchy performance in that we played beautifully some of the time but looked well off the pace others…

The game started well, we were dynamic and had plenty of possession but somehow very few real opportunities were created. Perhaps City's early pressure pushed 'Boro into defence and they brought a lot of men back, that made it very difficult for us.

There was a problem though, a lot of pressure yet few, if any clear cut chances, our passing game broke town around the box with our midfield unable to find our forward players in good positions. Maybe our final pass was not good enough but to me it looked like our front men simply did not show well enough for the ball inside the box.

Howard for all his combativeness is slow and easily marked, particularly in the area and neither Dyer or DJ got close enough to him to offer real support, the balance of giving the team width and coming inside to support your center forward is a dificult one and neither of them yet have it right.

King was deployed further forward than usual, practically playing in the 'hole', for me this did not really work, despite one really good attempt I thought he struggled to find space and was less effective as a result. Wellens took on the playmaker role and although heavily involved failed to make a real impact.

As 'Boro fought their way back into the game we showed that in some aspects at least that we were working hard to rectify our defensive problems, Oakley did a decent job in front of the back 4 and despite still playing on the left Hobbs was much improved. Moreno brought a degree of composure to our defending but is clearly vulnerable in the air.

Second half was more even but City's passing play remained slick, in midfield at least. It became more scrappy as the half wore on, several City players seemed to be running out of steam and the substitutions seemed to break up our rhythm rather than provide the boost that was required.

The game evened out towards the end with City running out of ideas and 'Boro looking comfortable and making a late push for all 3 points.

All in all I was slightly disappointed, lots of effort but few really good chances, King's 'goal' looked very close indeed ( I have not seen a replay ) and a couple of decent strikes were defended well but we simply did not make the chances our domination should have given us.

A lot of yesterdays game reminded me of our play at Palace, particularly the 25 minutes between our goals, lots of effort but little creativity and a lack of a real cutting edge, whether this can be corrected as we play more games remains to be seen.

Player ratings to follow after a much needed sleep.

Agree with most of this,

[Cropwellfox]

My reflection is that it was a really enjoyable game to watch, and although a lot of the passing stuff broke down around the 18 yard box, on another day DJ's header would have crept in and we'd be celebrating the 3 points.

Pleased to see Neilson given a great ovation. We know he's not the most gifted player, but he did the simple things, always was looking for the ball and seemed to have some confidence in his game. Am sure there'll be times this year he'll struggle, but I think he deserves recognition for getting back into a passing team.

Also pleased to see DJ acknowlede the crowd - lots of energy, not much end product, but am sure it will come

I can see Moreno becoming a very important player for us this season, a calm head in our third of the field. On their games, him, Wellens and King in midfield should dominate most other teams in the league.

Too early in the season to read too much into it (after the 4-1 v Watford I thought we'd be a shoe in for the playoffs) but I like the direction Sousa is taking the team in. It was refreshing to see us outpassing and outthinking a team which has a lot of good quality in it, and hope that we can keep improving and gain, or indeed acquire, a real cutting edge, because then we'd see city take teams apart this year.

[Babylon]

For the first 30 minutes our players looked a bit unsure about what they were all supposed to be doing and but for a few last ditch tackles by Hobbs we could have found ourselves a goal or two down. We were always exciting going forwards though and looked a real menace. An entertaining 0-0!!

[marbelladave]

Are you ever not?

I am always dissapointed when we do not win, particularly when we are clearly the better side. Whilst we are still clearly a team in transition, I am actually pleased with the progress we are making, we already look a far better footballing side than we have seen in many years.

In this case the dissapointment comes from not turning our superiority and pressure into a win that we deserved. It is a belief of mine that if you go out and dominate the opposition, then you will win most of your games but yesterday was a reminder that it is not always that simple.

Despite the possession and pressue, I thought we failed to make enough clear chances, we were probably 2-3 goals better than 'boro in general play (look at the corner count!) but failed to score. We really should have taken the lead during the period in the first half when we had 'boro pegged right back but their keeper and defenders kept everything out bar King's offside effort, credit to the 'boro defense but we really should have scored in that period.

No, on this occasion the disapointment is in simply not winning when really we should.