Match Day Thread Middlesbrough v Hull City with Poll!!

It's becoming a bit of a theme. He's meant to be all about technical quality but when it comes to the critical moment whether it's a simple finish or a simple square ball to give Oscar a tap in, he keeps messing it up. His City spell as a whole has basically been looking vaguely tidy but never really cutting it when it counts.

 

Agreed, aside from a little 3 game spell early doors under Rosie he’s been so underwhelming. Probably my pick for the most disappointing of the season

 

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick told BBC Radio Tees:

"It wasn't a terrific first half by any stretch but I think they're a really good team with how they make you work and I knew if we weren't quite at it it would be a tough night for us.

"We spoke about going for it and being brave at half time and we were at a different level in the second half.

"I'm delighted with the boys who came off the bench because they were ready when we needed them. They've maybe not always been my biggest fans because I've not played them but I told them they would get an opportunity.

"It's good to have goals in the team and I think (scoring in quick succession) shows the belief and momentum we have. We had chances to score more tonight."

Hull City boss Liam Rosenior told BBC Radio Humberside:

"I watched them have five shots on target against Norwich and score five goals. They can do that to teams. The disappointment for me is when we are under pressure we have to stick to the plan and keep calm. The second goal was just a long kick down our throats from the goalkeeper and we started to panic after that.

"I think everyone watching that game can see that we can play some top stuff at this level but we have to find the consistency.

"We had complete control in the first half. Their fans were booing before half-time because they were frustrated.

"There are real plus points to take from this even though it doesn't feel like it at the moment."

 

Completely agree. Having so much work to do in the forward areas is why I think a top 6 finish next season is extremely ambitious. We need 3 wingers, that's an absolute non-negotiable and 2 of those have to be top-performing championship wingers. Obviously we need additions in other areas too but the success rate in this summer window is going to have to be ridiculously high for us to have a strong season

 

It probably isn't a coincidence that he's done better when he's been more central and peeling off to the back post as we've played him wide recently which he can do but isn't ideal.

But we don't need more no 10s. Especially not at 35k a week.

 

Good bunch of the squad tonight can’t be playing big roles/at all if we are serious about pushing up the table. Doc, Coyle, Elder all looked exposed technically/tactically. All 100% without a doubt but it only gets you so far when trying to get higher up the table. Should be the bare minimum, not treat as a good thing.

 

If you look at the form over Liams tenure then we have actually been 6th or 7th now in the table - that's with the injuries, shortcomings etc.

So it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to see top 6 as realistic even if we went again with the current squad and a bit better injury record.

Because over the last 25 games or so we have been in playoff challenging form.

Now if we hope to challenge automatics then we're not going to have that budget so will have to overachieve. So we might well be in a position well below the parachute clubs when it comes to securing talent - but there's ultimately **** all we can about that.

 

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pelkas stay or go. He’s clearly better than he’s been showing recently on the pitch and we know Rosey thinks quite highly of him but he definitely hasn’t been making a case to earn a permanent contract. I think it would have to be some paycut for him to stay here.

It appears to be a confidence thing, falling completely to bits at the key moments, and that is something that can be turned around. One thing I do think is that he doesn’t seem to struggle with the rough and tumble of the championship, he at least has that much going for him.

If he’d take 10 grand on a 1 or 2 year deal I don’t think that would be a bad punt.

 

I thought Coyle had an excellent game personally.

 

We're 10th since he took over but we're also 10 points off the playoffs in that time too. To bridge that 10 point gap we need a massive upgrade in our attackers

 

Elder as a backup might make sense. He was roasted for pace when Jones came on granted but for the rank and file he's probably adequate at this level but we need a Christie equivalent on the left.

Don't see Doc, Woods, Figueredo, Pelkas, Ebiowei, Baxter, T. Smith, Fleming as part of next years picture and there's a kitty to be had from making those available or not pursuing options or re-loans.

It'd be interesting to know the thinking on Connolly too. Looks to have an edge but is he just another sicknote?

 

Shows how quick the championship can change. We were 6th under Rosenior on a projected 63 with the 4th best defensive record immediately following Millwall.

But we'd have taken 10th at the start of the season and seen it as progress. And remember the injury situation he's had to deal with also.

I don't see us losing shape capitulating to quickfire goals when we have a focal point up front. Not under Rosenior anyway.

 

He'll get offers at 20 plus I'd have thought. He needs to do something significant in the last 3 games to justify us shelling anything like that out, so much as though I want him to do well here, I can't see it at this late stage.

 

I wasn't trying to be critical, just an observation, most players have a weakness, and from what I have seen Macca does get caught by pace on occassions. Defenders are usually slower than forwards, but make up for it with anticipation. Macca reacted a bit too slowly when Archer started his run, and allowed him to get the upper hand.

 

I think that sums it up pretty well, tidy player but just doesn't have the X factor when needed.

 

I've watched every game so far this season both home and away, and from what we saw in the 2nd half Boro are head and shoulders above the other teams likely to be in the playoffs. I will be very surprised if they don't make it to the EPL. Of course, upsets can happen, but they do look at the present IMO ahead of even the Blunts as a team.

On to the game certainly, a game of 2 halves, first half we were excellent, and some of our football is as good as I have seen City play! So we have to take a lot of positives from that.

Carrick changed their right side at halftime and bring Jones on change the game. for 10-15 minutes they tore us to shreds. Good teams can do that, go up a gear or two for 10 minutes to put the game to bed, and Boro has the ability to do that.

Liam seemed to hit the nail on the head when he said we panicked and lost our shape, it happened at Sunderland and it happened again last night, conceding a couple of goals in quick time. Something Liam will sort out I am sure.

However, not to be too downhearted, first-half we were excellent, Traore, Allahyar and Vaughan were very good as was Coyle, and in fact, Coyle for me was our MOTM. Slater was good as usual, Seri fell off the pace 2nd half and look tired, whether that was fatigue or just the fact we conceded 3 quick goals I am not sure.

Liam will take a lot from this game, good things from the first half to work on and equally bad things from the 2nd half which also need rectifying.

At the end of the day good finishers are the difference, and we are missing all of ours at present. If Pelkas scored which he should have after some lovely build-up play, then maybe the outcome would have been different.

On the plus side we are safe for another season, time now to access the situation and plan for next season.

 

Ironic it took an injury to their player for him to get on! Sky were hailing Carrick as a tactical genius for changing things at half time, but it was down to injuries and Jones was the obvious replacement for one. Apparently they put an extra man in midfield, but would that have happened so early if Forss was n’t injured too?
To be fair, I think Ros will have learnt a lot from that game.
The first half showed what we are capable of. We played some beautiful football against one of the top teams in the league. They have two strikers on fire and we don’t have any, which was ultimately the difference.
That 6 minute spell second half was horrendous. As Ros said, you look at your experienced players to manage the game and just survive the onslaught until we can get back into the game. We didn’t do that, and it’s not the first time this season.
The emergence of Vaughan is an unexpected bonus, which will save us a few million plus wages, maybe sealing the end of Pelkas? Unsurprisingly, he needs to work on his strength and probably consistency over the summer.
Overall, for me it showed Rosenior is on the right track. He admits himself he is learning his trade and having to pit his wit against Carrick will do him no harm. Boro made some fantastic loan signings, and **** knows how Carrick has got a tune out of Akpom who has never done anything to suggest he would ever be prolific in this country.

 

I seriously doubt that