The Straws I Am Clutching At Are Running Out - Notes for Middlesbrough Friday, 13th Mar 2015 10:35 by HarryFromBath HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Saturday’s game at the Riverside Stadium by delving into their forums. “The season’s certainly not over, but my God we really need to get a grip”, “I can see us ending up out of the top six. We are the most out of form team”, “I keep waiting for us to turn in a proper Championship-winning performance but I’m coming to the conclusion that it’s not there within us.” Boro are one of four teams at the top of the league on 66 points, but Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Forest was their third loss in five games. Fans are feeling very nervous given their very difficult final run of games ahead, but it is fair to say that some are handling the pressure better than others. “I will be glad when this season is over. It’s doing my head in now. Seriously, I was enjoying it with us at the top but the thought of us messing it up so close to the end is making me fed up. Others might be enjoying it but I’m not. Hopefully we will finish in the top two but I have just about had enough.” “One thing is certain — we are not dead and buried, as some fans are beginning to intimate. We are still very much part of this bumpy journey and nobody knows the outcome, so embrace it”, “Look at the table and where we are, and look where we were when Karanka took over. Sort yourselves out!” The Week of Destiny“The week of destiny is going to be so intense. It is literally make-or-break for us and could well define our season.” The coming week is seen as a monumental one in Boro’s season as they travel to Derby on Tuesday and Bournemouth next Saturday after playing us. “We will finish in the top six, but not in the top two”, “I’m not so sure, looking at our fixture list”, “I honestly can’t see us finishing there now. We have to visit Derby, Bournemouth, Norwich and Watford and we don’t have the fire power other teams possess if it comes down to goal difference.” Aitor Karanka“Karanka said something last week along the lines of Mourinho. ‘You build teams with the defence first and add the goals after that’, which I think is the case with us.” Fans can see the influence of the current Chelsea boss on their manager from their time working together at Real Madrid. “Karanka is a young manager and this is him feeling his way into management”, “My biggest concern is that he is still a young inexperienced manager in these situations. It’s very easy at this stage of the season to start to doubt your instincts and try and change things too much.” Supporters have faith in their manager, but his odd selection and tactics for the recent Owls defeat made them nervous about his judgement under pressure. “I was glad to hear Aitor come out and admit he was wrong”, “It nice to see him switch back to attacking substitutions against Millwall.” Formation“We are where we are through hard work, teamwork and a bit of quality but we need to stick to playing 4-2-3-1 and consistently with our strongest line-up.” KonstantopoulosFredericksKalasGibsonFriendClaytonLeadbitter (c)TomlinAdomahKikeBamford
Middlesbrough have started with the same XI [above] for their last two games, playing with one striker and one behind in most recent games. While their defence is the meanest in the division, they have missed centre-back Daniel Ayala who has been absent with an ankle injury. Goals have been a far more pressing problem. Kike is praised for his hold-up play but is not a finisher, and the lack of a quality left-winger has seen Albert Adomah switch to this flank with top scorer Patrick Bamford operating on the right. Lee Tomlin has struggled for consistency. Some fans want a return to their earlier 4-4-2 formation but many more want to see attacking players operating in their natural positions. “We need to get back to the Vossen and Bamford partnership up front”, “Get Carayol or Reach on the left-wing and stick Bamford up front.” “Our passing is far too slow.” Supporters were unhappy with the lack of tempo in the two recent defeats at Hillsborough and the City Ground. “Our slow passing gives opponents enough time to get their shape right. We don’t know what to do then other than push it wide and just swing a cross in.” “While fans need to be patient, it has been the same old story from Boro for a while. Our first half performances have been sluggish and lacked desire”, “It would be nice if we didn’t have to rely on Karanka’s rousing team-talks at half-time. Can he not do the game before the game starts?” Nottingham Forest 2 — 1 Middlesbrough“That game was there for the taking. We all saw it. Forest did not look especially strong with or without the ball, but we weren’t able to capitalise and never looked like doing so. It looks like we’re good enough to get so far or do so much, but there’s just a bit missing.” Forest hit back after Grant Leadbitter’s opener last Saturday with a Gary Gardner strike before the break and Dexter Blackstock scored the hosts winner from a counter-attack midway through the second half. “They scored their second from our own corner flag — terrible, terrible, terrible.” “Forest were content to let us attack them because it wasn’t amounting to anything and they knew they would win the ball back”, “We were beaten by a belter and a counter-attack”, “We ran out of ideas long before the end of the game”, “We didn’t really seriously threaten them.” “We have run out of ideas in the final third not just in this game but in this season”, “Creatively we were shocking. We were horrendously slow in our build-up and our attacks were as predictable as Derby fans talking about who the best team in the world is.” Middlesbrough 3 — 0 Millwall“That was a tidy evening’s work”, “It was a good result and a good night all round”, “It was a sluggish start to the second half. It would be nice to have two good halves.” Boro enjoyed a comfortable win in their last outing at the Riverside with fans happy to see all three main strikers on the score sheet. “You could feel the tension in the at the Riverside”, “We were visibly nervous in the first 20 minutes, particularly going forward with extra uneasy touches and over playing the ball. Make no mistake — the players showed signs of nerves”, “The fans must stop getting on the lads’ backs from the start.” “Once we got into the game and settled down, we were much better than in recent weeks. We played the ball around confidently and most importantly our first touch returned. There were fewer mistakes on the ball and good play at times.” Sheffield Wednesday 2 — 0 Middlesbrough“This is a banana skin of a game”, “Nuhiu really scares me. The monster had a blinder at our place and we really struggled to cope with him”, “Having watched them terrifying us at home, I can say that I am worried about this one”, “There’s something ominous about this game.” The Owls won a nondescript match with a brace of second-half goals. Centre-back Kenneth Omeruo was blamed both for the handball which led to the first from the penalty spot, and for the foul which conceded the freekick which led to the home team’s second. Most supporters blamed the manager for changing the formation to 3-5-2 [below]. While allowing two strikers to play alongside each other, it created uncertainty at the back and also left the strikers isolated as the midfield lacked sufficient creativity to connect with them. KonstantopoulosOmeruoKalasGibsonWhiteheadClaytonForshawHusbandAdomahKikeBamford
“We tried this three at the back stuff against Blackpool and were just as dismal, but we got away with it because we were playing a truly awful team”, “All three defenders were in their early 20s. We needed an experienced head to guide them through but didn’t have that.” “There was not enough desire from the midfield to get the ball on the floor and play with our usual determination”, “There was no creativity and no-one willing to put a foot on the ball”, “Our strikers were isolated and given ridiculous long balls that they had no chance of doing anything with”, “This has been abysmal”, “We picked too defensive a side and didn’t make any attempt to really go and win”, “I’d go so far as to say that this is our worst result of the season”, “A truly awful afternoon and one to quickly forget”, “This is the wrong time of the season to start wobbling.” Defence“If we are to get promoted automatically we must get back to being solid defensively as this is what sets us apart from any other team in this division.” Supporters are happy with their defence but feel that Ayala’s aerial presence and leadership have been missed. “Ayala has proven to be a bigger miss than we thought. We are a more settled defence when he is there”, “Defensive problems have crept in since his injury”, “It is frustrating that we have struggled to contain tall players - Emile Heskey must have won 20 headers in the recent Bolton game.” “Dimitrios Konstantopoulos is solid when dealing with crosses and has made a good few decent saves this season.” The Greek is widely seen as a far more reliable pair of hands than Tomas Mejias who deputised during his recent suspension after he was red-carded against Birmingham City.  The 36-year-old ex-Coventry man “is a dependable calm no-nonsense keeper”, “His positioning for the first Forest goal was awful. Dimi gave himself no chance to save it as he was stood a foot away from the near post. It was a brilliant shot but could have been saved if he was positioned correctly.” Spurs loan signing Ryan Fredericks suffered a hamstring injury against Forest and the 22-year-old right-back is unlikely to feature on Saturday. “He has been one of our best defensive outlets”, “He’s lively, but needs to work on his crossing and avoid the temptation to dive in every time.” Emilio Nsue replaced Fredericks on Saturday. The 25-year-old ex-Mallorca man normally plays in a more advanced position. “Fredericks is a more natural defender”, “Nsue did okay going forward but wasn’t urgent enough and his defending was poor. He was outpaced a lot. I thought he was quicker.” “Nsue is better than Fredericks in that he stays on his feet when tackling or jockeying his man. He was better in attack but none of his crosses reached the box. He should back himself and drive into the box from outside”, “His end product is better than Frederick’s but we will miss Ryan.” “Tomas Kalas had a great game on Saturday although he was beaten for Forest’s winner.” The 21-year-old Czech and Chelsea loan signing “was very solid, made some excellent cover tackles and well-timed steady challenges”, “He is a solid centre-back but has slightly indecisive moments.” “Why doesn’t Kalas come up for corners? He has one of the biggest jumps I have ever seen from a footballer”, “He looks a tidy footballer. He will end up being a cracking player”, “He just needs to take charge and not wait to see if someone else is doing something.” “The past few games have seen Ben Gibson look a bit tired mentally.” The 22-year-old youth product “was absolutely sold one dummy by Antonio which almost allowed Forest to bag a third. He needs an extended rest”, “He is steady and no-nonsense and does what is required of him.” “Gibson made some good tackles against Forest but also missed some. He was average, nothing more”, “He has been made to look better playing alongside Ayala, but has made so many mistakes lately which have cost us goals”, “He has looked solid until the last couple of weeks.” “Big Ken needed dropping for a long time.” Chelsea loanee Kenneth Omeruo “has been off the boil most of the season.” The 21-year-old Nigerian “struggles against big men who put their bodies between him and the ball”, “AK can’t have anticipated Ken’s complete implosion at Hillsborough.” George Friend“George Friend is very good defensively.” The 27-year-old former Doncaster left-back “makes great runs forward with sheer determination taking him through challenge after challenge”, “He looked back to his best against Millwall, bombing up and down and winning everything in defence.”  “For all the talk of Friend being a good attacking full-back, he isn’t one that gets to the by-line and gets a good cross in. He almost always cuts inside, drawing his opponents inside only to drag the ball inside them and dart that way. He doesn’t add a great deal of genuine width.” “I don’t mind Friend cutting inside. He just needs to pass it for a quick one-two”, “He never looks to get a quick cross in. He basically always looks to run the ball himself. With right-footed Adomah there, it means you aren’t getting to the byline on the left side of the pitch.” Central Midfield“Knocking the ball around in midfield is fine but we create next to nothing”, “Our build-up play is slow and stupidly predictable”, “Not enough support, pedestrian build-up play and far too much sideways passing makes it easier for defenders to deal with.” “Adam Forshaw is a neat and tidy replacement for Leadbitter. It confuses the team when he plays further forward instead of Tomlin.” The 23-year-old ex-Brentford and Wigan man “has given Karanka the opportunity to rotate things instead of sticking to the tried and trusted Clayton and Leadbitter”. “I don’t think I have ever seen Adam Clayton play as badly as at Hillsborough. His first touch was awful and his second became a tackle.” The 26-year-old former Huddersfield man “looked lost without Leadbitter”, “He has looked a little leggy recently.” “Clayton is a very busy player who breaks up play well in front of the back four”, “He played his normal game at Forest, tackling well, recycling the ball well and keeping us in possession”, “When out of form, his passing suffers and he has a habit of dwelling on the ball in dangerous positions.” Grant Leadbitter“For all the good work Grant has done this season, he is not a creative or attacking midfielder, yet he thinks he is.” The 29-year-old former Blues skipper “needs to be what he is, a box-to-box player. Too many times he dallies on the ball giving the opposition the chance to get back and defend.”  “The Forest game was a perfect example of the limitations of a player like Leadbitter”, “The game passed him by and it wasn’t the first time either”, “He scored but did little else. He took too long on the ball and slowed play down, giving Forest the chance to get back in numbers.” Despite this criticism, he was missed against the Owls. “Grant gives me so much confidence in that midfield and holds things together”, “When he did come on he drove the team and tried to make things happen. He should be the first name on the team sheet if fit. We did miss him today.” Lee Tomlin“Tomlin was useless against Forest, constantly misplacing passes. His shooting was terrible and he shot when he should have passed.” The 26-year-old former Peterborough attacker “tried to be a one-man band too often and failed, wasting plenty of decent attacks. I don’t get the love for him.”  “After a decent month, the dross has returned. He’s too predictable and will mostly try and go it alone. He constantly makes the wrong decisions”, “He showed some neat touches against Millwall but over-elaborated. When it comes off he looks a world beater but it is infuriating when it doesn’t.” “Considering he’s the creative player he creates absolutely nothing. He drives forward only to freeze close to the 18-yard box, lose possession or just pass the ball to Forest defenders”, “Lee is possibly starting to believe his own hype, trying trick and flicks when simple passes would do.” Wide MidfieldBoro fans cannot wait to see the return of left-winger Mustapha Carayol who has been missing since last March with a knee injury. The news on the Boro’s official website that he was “unlikely to figure at the weekend” was glumly received. “Rapid Yanic Wildschut has looked awful technically and has struggled out of possession.” The 23-year-old Dutch left-winger “had some nice touches when he came on against Millwall, suggesting he’s more than just a speedy bulldozer”, “Wildman injects pace but is an attacking bench option.” Albert Adomah“I don’t like Albert playing on the left but we have had a fair few wins playing this system”, “Why did he constantly cut in? We only had width against Forest up to the final quarter and I don’t know why. When we cross from the left, we have a far greater chance of getting Bamford on the end of balls.”  Although some fans have been frustrated at seeing the 27-year-old former Bristol City right-winger on his wrong flank, they are very happy with the form he is in. “We are literally seeing a spring in his step. He enjoys the ball at his feet and is adding attacking invention to his hard-working game.” “He seems to be enjoying the attacking side of the game more and is confident to take players on and make things happen”, “He was wasted on the left against Forest in the second half when he tired, driving forward and then passing backwards to no effect or to lose possession.” Strikers“We haven’t been amazing going forward for a long time”, “If only we would stop trying to walk the ball in”, “As usual it’s our lack of firepower that is so prominent again. The Millwall result should not mask the very evident problem that we are the least clinical in front of goal of all the top six teams.” “We don’t have a clue how to break down a decent defence”, “Our opponents have worked out that we are rubbish in the air when attacking”, “If we do go up, we will be one of the worst attacking teams to be promoted in a long time”, “No-one wants to take responsibility for shooting.” “Jelle Vossen is our best option up front and is more clinical than Kike.” Many would like to see the 25-year-old Belgium international paired with Patrick Bamford up front. “His work-rate would have paid off against Millwall’s poor defenders who weren’t good on the ball had he started.” “Has anyone mentioned Vossen’s lack of goals or is that criticism reserved for Kike?” Not everyone is persuaded by the Genk loan signing. “All I see is an all right player who is a fairly poor striker”, “He did nothing against Forest when he came on. I’m not sure he even touched the ball.” Patrick Bamford“Our top scorer should be playing more centrally”, “We can’t afford to play Bamford — our best finisher - on the right wing when the team is crying out for a finisher.” The 21-year-old Chelsea loan signing and top scorer “works hard and has tidy feet but he can be a little slack in possession”.  “What has Bamford done for the team today [against Forest]?”, “He was pretty non-existent and he scuffed the ball or missed the target when he shot”, “When he is on the right, he basically plays as a second striker and only comes wide when needed”, “He was just a tad greedy on occasions.” ‘Kike’ Garcia Marquez“Great bit of hold up play by Kike — that’s why he’s in the team”, “True, but I think finishing is the paramount quality you look for in a striker”, “And Kike nutmegs himself — why people rate him I do not know”, “He’s a one goal in three games striker at best, but that will not fire us to promotion.”  “Kike is that bad. He is only good at controlling the ball on his chest. Once it drops to his feet he is awful. He takes too long to do anything. He can’t jump, has no pace and his shot power is frankly embarrassing. He has no composure at all. He can run the clock down when winning but that is all.” He has his supporters. “Kike holds the ball up better than any of our other strikers by a long way and chips in with a few goals. He isn’t the most clinical but none of our strikers are”, “He barely had one half-chance, but was all over the pitch against Forest engineering space for himself and others.” Boro Supporters’ Thoughts on ITFC and the Game“The enormity of this game has only just really dawned upon me especially as - and let's face it the two teams we are most concerned about - Norwich and Derby are playing each other on the same day. This simply has to be a must win game going into the ‘week of destiny’.” An overwhelming 87% of Boro fans are predicting a home win on their forecast polls and this game is widely seen as a less daunting fixture than the later instalments in their ‘week of destiny’ at Derby and Bournemouth. They cannot afford to lose given what is coming around the corner. “There has not been as much a crucial game played at the Riverside for quite some time. To lose this game with all the current speculation in my opinion would knock us back and would possibly have a ripple effect on the two away games we have to face.” “We have had a week to prepare for an Ipswich team that are out of form too”, “Ipswich are there for the taking”, “I think we can expect Ipswich to park the bus and try and hit us on the break and through set pieces.” “The Ipswich game is the key to the rest of the season”, “Ipswich will be tough next week because we struggle against direct, physical teams”, “It will be one of our toughest games left even though they aren’t one of the better teams and we will be at home.” “‘We are running out of steam and are definitely going to drop away. We are not good enough. Mick McCarthy is the greatest manager ever and even he can’t save us’ — my impression of an Ipswich fan, the opposite to Derby fans. That Ipswich lot are proper down-to-earth realists.” WebsitesThe busiest Middlesbrough website is One Boro and some interesting discussions can be found on FMTTM.
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