BFTG - Middlesbrough

[SCIAG]

I know he's trying to make it more fluid and more attacking hence the signings of Aluko and Barrow - both of which I thought were good btw but it isn't working.

It really is a difficult one for me. Sacking Clarke and Adkins and to an extent Rodgers were the right decisions, but I'm still not sure about this time.

I agree the signings were with a more attacking approach in mind - please remember that I don't think his starting 3 would be Aluko/Beerens/Gmac we've just been destroyed by injuries and our failure to get Oliveria.

Even Bodvarsson has been out every other game it seems. (Obviously Stam didn't help himself when he didn't play him and chose to play with no striker)

We've got to keep the faith, at least until Christmas. With Yann coming back and a few more returning from injury we should start to see more of a solid side and I believe a better run of results. Where were we in the table before our last promotion ? I seem to remember we had a shite start to the season then.

@anyone still backing us for a top half finish - PM we can discuss.

At this stage in 2010/11 (play-off final season) we were 8th.
At this stage in 2011/12 (promotion season) we were 16th with 18 points from 14 matches.

If we won our game in hand then we'd be three points off our title winning pace.

A top half finish shouldn't surprise anybody.
A play-off campaign is still achievable but I think it would be fair to say that you'd have to be optimistic to still be backing it.

[muirinho]

I know he's trying to make it more fluid and more attacking hence the signings of Aluko and Barrow - both of which I thought were good btw but it isn't working.

It really is a difficult one for me. Sacking Clarke and Adkins and to an extent Rodgers were the right decisions, but I'm still not sure about this time.

I agree the signings were with a more attacking approach in mind - please remember that I don't think his starting 3 would be Aluko/Beerens/Gmac we've just been destroyed by injuries and our failure to get Oliveria.

Even Bodvarsson has been out every other game it seems. (Obviously Stam didn't help himself when he didn't play him and chose to play with no striker)

We've got to keep the faith, at least until Christmas. With Yann coming back and a few more returning from injury we should start to see more of a solid side and I believe a better run of results. Where were we in the table before our last promotion ? I seem to remember we had a shite start to the season then.

@anyone still backing us for a top half finish - PM we can discuss.

At this stage in 2010/11 (play-off final season) we were 8th.
At this stage in 2011/12 (promotion season) we were 16th with 18 points from 14 matches.

If we won our game in hand then we'd be three points off our title winning pace.

A top half finish shouldn't surprise anybody.
A play-off campaign is still achievable but I think it would be fair to say that you'd have to be optimistic to still be backing it.

Never mind play-offs - we're still on to beat 106! Keep the faith!

[Sutekh]

I agree the signings were with a more attacking approach in mind - please remember that I don't think his starting 3 would be Aluko/Beerens/Gmac we've just been destroyed by injuries and our failure to get Oliveria.

Even Bodvarsson has been out every other game it seems. (Obviously Stam didn't help himself when he didn't play him and chose to play with no striker)

We've got to keep the faith, at least until Christmas. With Yann coming back and a few more returning from injury we should start to see more of a solid side and I believe a better run of results. Where were we in the table before our last promotion ? I seem to remember we had a shite start to the season then.

@anyone still backing us for a top half finish - PM we can discuss.

At this stage in 2010/11 (play-off final season) we were 8th.
At this stage in 2011/12 (promotion season) we were 16th with 18 points from 14 matches.

If we won our game in hand then we'd be three points off our title winning pace.

A top half finish shouldn't surprise anybody.
A play-off campaign is still achievable but I think it would be fair to say that you'd have to be optimistic to still be backing it.

Never mind play-offs - we're still on to beat 106! Keep the faith!

106? 106 fans still turning up by xmas?

[muirinho]

At this stage in 2010/11 (play-off final season) we were 8th.
At this stage in 2011/12 (promotion season) we were 16th with 18 points from 14 matches.

If we won our game in hand then we'd be three points off our title winning pace.

A top half finish shouldn't surprise anybody.
A play-off campaign is still achievable but I think it would be fair to say that you'd have to be optimistic to still be backing it.

Never mind play-offs - we're still on to beat 106! Keep the faith!

106? 106 fans still turning up by xmas?

Think it's fair to say we're more likely to beat 106 points this season then have a home game this year with less than 106 fans.

[John Smith]

You lot all got your wish then for Smith to start and he did oxf*rd all. Next excuse?

[genome]

By all accounts (including mine) he did pretty well.

Weird nobbing lately Smithers

[John Smith]

By all accounts (including mine) he did pretty well.

Weird nobbing lately Smithers

I didn't go and won't be going tonight. Have better things to do

[tidus_mi2]

You lot all got your wish then for Smith to start and he did oxf*rd all. Next excuse?

Eh, he started brightly but the whole team just dropped when we conceded the first goal.

This team has no confidence and any set back just seems to destroy them.

[genome]

I believe we were 17th or something in February in 11/12.

Nah, nothing like that. We were already 5th at the turn of the year.

[John Smith]

You lot all got your wish then for Smith to start and he did oxf*rd all. Next excuse?

Eh, he started brightly but the whole team just dropped when we conceded the first goal.

This team has no confidence and any set back just seems to destroy them.

Let's have it right - his job as a forward is to score. Did he score? Did he then fail in his task?

[Snowball]

You lot all got your wish then for Smith to start and he did oxf*rd all. Next excuse?

Eh, he started brightly but the whole team just dropped when we conceded the first goal.

This team has no confidence and any set back just seems to destroy them.

Let's have it right - his job as a forward is to score. Did he score? Did he then fail in his task?

A bit strong, John. Strikers don’t score every game
And TBF the kid gave us an outlet.

Also he made countless excellent runs but the midfield failed to feed them

[double d]

I think John Smith is going on a bit of a meltdown at the moment

[CountryRoyal]

I believe we were 17th or something in February in 11/12.

Nah, nothing like that. We were already 5th at the turn of the year.

You're absolutely correct, not sure why I thought that.

Funnily enough this time 6 years ago (1st November as opposed to 31st October) we had just lost 1-0 away to Forest and were 16th in the table having played 15 games with 18 pts and 0 GD. Win today, and win the next one and we could be in exactly the same position.

[Hound]

As always, there are loads of 'ifs' - but if we had beaten Boro, win our game in hand, we'd be right outside the playoffs even this season

You just need a run or 4 or 5 wins and you can be right in the mix

[Caversham Royal]

Shower of shit and dreadful. Not one player came out of this looking good. For a legendary defender who walked into the best team man United have had, we cannot defend to save out lives. Worst manager we have had and this club is Now in full blown crisis! Sack stam immediately he is a burden to this club. We need an English manager to manage us. Steve Coppell will be spinning in his bed at the team at the moment. All the good work has been dissolved. Stam out now!!!! Sack the board!!! Bring back madjeski. I hope stam saw me sticking my middle finger up at him the tosser

Steve Clarke was worse.

Not so sure about that....

Questions about his loyalty perhaps but was he that bad tactically ?

Nearly got us to an FA Cup final and arguably the best football we have played in the last two and a half years was at the start of 2015-16 season, before the Fulham debacle !

Eeeeeek! Only posting this as I got a notification when logging in to moan about Clarke on another thread (sorry, I guess I really just don't/didn't like him!). For me arguably the worst football we played over that period regardless of the FA Cup run and tactically the most negative approach I've seen (the most positive phrase I could use for him would be extremely conservative!). The only glimmer I currently have with how things are at present is it's better, no sorry, not quite as bad as under his dreadful stewardship. Okay, I'll moan about him somewhere else & log off for another 6 months, sorry!