Middlesboro(home)predictions

[AucklandRover]

Lenihan was roundly criticised in December, but I think we miss his drive and enthusiasm.
Let's be honest, though: four of our most consistent players - Mulgrew, Bennett, Evans and Dack - had absolute shockers in the first half. This meant we had no rhythm at all.
Clearly, Brereton will have to be shelved for now, because his confidence is so low.
It is a puzzle, though. While I was on holiday, I read a lot of criticism of Travis and Bell for their recent performances, but they both had decent second halves.
It's this inconsistency thing again. It has plagued us all season. I don't buy this argument that it's all about managerial decisions, however. If the players are going to show such up-and-down form (look at Reed, for example), any pre-match plans are going to disappear in smoke.
I would personally always start with Nyambe and Smallwood, but I have been openly mocked on the Telegraph site for suggesting that.
At least we saw a reaction from the players in the second half, but Graham and Dack have both lost that ***** sharp edge at the moment.
Fair play to Boro, though. You could clearly see why they have conceded so few goals this season.

[champs95]

Lenihan was roundly criticised in December, but I think we miss his drive and enthusiasm.
Let's be honest, though: four of our most consistent players - Mulgrew, Bennett, Evans and Dack - had absolute shockers in the first half. This meant we had no rhythm at all.
Clearly, Brereton will have to be shelved for now, because his confidence is so low.
It is a puzzle, though. While I was on holiday, I read a lot of criticism of Travis and Bell for their recent performances, but they both had decent second halves.
It's this inconsistency thing again. It has plagued us all season. I don't buy this argument that it's all about managerial decisions, however. If the players are going to show such up-and-down form (look at Reed, for example), any pre-match plans are going to disappear in smoke.
I would personally always start with Nyambe and Smallwood, but I have been openly mocked on the Telegraph site for suggesting that.
At least we saw a reaction from the players in the second half, but Graham and Dack have both lost that ***** sharp edge at the moment.
Fair play to Boro, though. You could clearly see why they have conceded so few goals this season.

7 defeats in 11 games. Playing 2 of the worst sides in the division. And only finding 3 points against both. This isn't good enough. For me, he has 3 games now, or he's gone.
He is very much a 2 season manager throughout his career. And things have gone very very wrong.
If he starts another game with Brereton sack him there and then. For me he couldve gone yesterday. He set us up to fail yesterday. The performance was remiscent of Coyle days. The current run is as bad.
Playing our top goalscorer in his own half picking up balls from the centre half tp plsy 5 yard passes to a centre mid. Pathetic.
Mulgrew ....Pathetic.
Starting with 2 in midfield....Pathetic.

Mikel ran the game, with ease. He's someone we haven't had since Tugay left. While we stick with Evans, we are missing out on some class. And as for leaving us with just Lenihan, Mulgrew and Rodwell. That's the biggest mistake of all.

Simply not good enough.

[champs95]

the next 3 games are crucial.
Birmingham (away) - I can only see another loss. They are no better than us, pretty evenly matched. Only we are no longer doing what we have all season. And neither is the manager. - DEFEAT

Rotherham - (away) - I can only see a draw at the very most. They are battling like mad, not the best side, but one who are currently playing quite well. You fee we would need to score 3 goals to win any game at the moment. Graham is dead on his feet, and Dack is uninterested. Brereton is being ruined by the manager more and more each week passes. DRAW

Preston (home) - They are a better side than us, they just started the season badly. Above us now, and it will stay like that. Local derby, they will come with a game plan and be highly motivated to get all 3 points over us, and do the double. I just can't see us laying a glove on them. We where matching these sides (in most, not ALL games) but not anymore. DEFEAT

if ....and it remains an IF ....we only get 1 point from the next 3 games, we will be at real risk of finishing 1 place outside the bottom 3. Which is actually a disgrace. There is no excuse for this complete falling apart. But facts are facts, something has gone horribly wrong. I'm not buying his pre and post match comments anymore, he is talking absolute nonsense. All this will prevent a good season next year. If Dack left now, we'd be lucky to get £2m. He is that bad. He probably wants to go, infact I'm 100% he does. We wont attract anyone decent. And as I stated last week, its all becoming clear we are going nowhere.

[AucklandRover]

I don't very often say this to you, Champs, but I think your last two posts are massively exaggerated, and contain an element of hysteria.
Football is a game of fine margins, and we have been on the wrong side of the line in those games.
Confidence has inevitably slipped away, and the players looked very unsure of themselves in the first half against Boro. Mowbray's half-time changes made a big difference, though.
As I said, my cousin thought the two sides were very evenly matched in the BC game.
Against Reading, the experimental line-up could easily have been 3-0 ahead at half-time. Fine margins.
Frankly, calling for Mowbray's head is ludicrous and not worthy of you.
Incidentally, I don't think for a moment that Dack was supposed to play that deep. You certainly couldn't fault him on effort, but he ran around like a headless chicken on speed, passing the ball to the linesmen!

[champs95]

I don't very often say this to you, Champs, but I think your last two posts are massively exaggerated, and contain an element of hysteria.
Football is a game of fine margins, and we have been on the wrong side of the line in those games.
Confidence has inevitably slipped away, and the players looked very unsure of themselves in the first half against Boro. Mowbray's half-time changes made a big difference, though.
As I said, my cousin thought the two sides were very evenly matched in the BC game.
Against Reading, the experimental line-up could easily have been 3-0 ahead at half-time. Fine margins.
Frankly, calling for Mowbray's head is ludicrous and not worthy of you.
Incidentally, I don't think for a moment that Dack was supposed to play that deep. You certainly couldn't fault him on effort, but he ran around like a headless chicken on speed, passing the ball to the linesmen!

I know how this is all reading. And I'm starting to sound like the idiots. I've been questioning things for a while now. Those 4 wins? 2 vrs Millwall & Ipswich where standard. Two woeful sides. We played really well against Hull. But was it just a freak result? The four disastrous games after say it was. And Overall 7 defeats in 11 games since Xmas tells me this isn't just a minor blip.
And if Dack wasn't meant to be playing that deep, why did our manager stand watching and do nothing? He looks completely out of ideas. And it's worrying

[Despair]

Typical Pulis side , hard to break down / disciplined, but to me surprising going forward - until the final 1/4 1/3. Then taking out their goal there wasn’t overall all that much in it.
As for the goal , yes CM hugely at fault for not dealing with it firstly, but then the highly fortunate spin and dip on the deflected cross lands absolutely perfectly on Asom’s head.
Yes he followed in well, as all good strikers do, but the fortunate flight of the ball?
The rank poor first half showing is what is colouring the overall assessment of the game.
We all said we will lose games , and we just have , four of them.
I cannot disagree that TM’s decisions and selections I have trouble agreeing with, but given have far we have come and where we are currently I am happy.
Rather than speculating ‘we are at meltdown point’, I’ll just dust off my crystal ball and get the real sp.
there’s gona be further ups and downs, that’s football/sport , it’s not an exacting science.

[champs95]

Typical Pulis side , hard to break down / disciplined, but to me surprising going forward - until the final 1/4 1/3. Then taking out their goal there wasn’t overall all that much in it.
As for the goal , yes CM hugely at fault for not dealing with it firstly, but then the highly fortunate spin and dip on the deflected cross lands absolutely perfectly on Asom’s head.
Yes he followed in well, as all good strikers do, but the fortunate flight of the ball?
The rank poor first half showing is what is colouring the overall assessment of the game.
We all said we will lose games , and we just have , four of them.
I cannot disagree that TM’s decisions and selections I have trouble agreeing with, but given have far we have come and where we are currently I am happy.
Rather than speculating ‘we are at meltdown point’, I’ll just dust off my crystal ball and get the real sp.
there’s gona be further ups and downs, that’s football/sport , it’s not an exacting science.

I do get that. However, when you are a striker, if you complete your runs in the width of the goal posts, the chances are you will get a chance to finish. That's what Asombolonga did. Yes, they got lucky with the defelection. But with Mulgrew playing the way he did, we where always going to gift them chances. He continued to do it in the second half. The major concern is, Brereton will not put himself in positions to miss those chances. His confidence is so low, he wont even put himself in the position to miss.
Dack was putting himself in those positions early in the season, when we where playing well.
Dack picking up the ball from our centre half in his own half, and passing it 5 yards to a midfielder wont hurt the opposition. So if he's taking upon himself to drop back so far, it should've been stopped. If it was the managers idea, then I am confused why he thinks our top scorer is going to hurt them in our own half of the pitch? Either or, its a bit of a shambles. So we are left with an isolated Graham who is very jaded from playing too much football. At an age where he simply cant play every week and be effective.