| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. 10:25 - Oct 18 with 1922 views | unstableblue |
… are high quality.
Fry played Hirst superbly. And Morris stand-in Browne showed a depth of squad.
Well managed team with excellent settled patterns, and raucous good home crowd.
We had to be at our best to get a result and we simply weren’t. Boro were and have started season well.
BUT we still looked the better side for portions of the game. And our subs improved us.
Boro saw out the game very very well, when we were building momentum. |  |
| |  |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 10:33 - Oct 18 with 1853 views | Garv |
I associate the Riverside with being pretty devoid of atmosphere and noise, but they did all seem up for it last night - team and crowd. |  |
| |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 10:37 - Oct 18 with 1832 views | Swansea_Blue |
I just posted on another thread, it was a good end to end battle for the first half and I was quite enjoying it. It must have made for a pretty decent watch for neutrals. We’re not as bad as some people are making out, although the lack of quality to create openings is frustrating. Keep Philogene quiet and that’s pretty much us neutered at the moment.
‘Boro managed those key moments better and looked more fluid. We seem to look lethargic half of the time. Partially that’s due to teams sitting back, but even when we have space to attack we seem a bit laboured. Not always, but enough that it’s noticeable and bloody frustrating! |  |
| |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:03 - Oct 18 with 1747 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 10:33 - Oct 18 by Garv |
I associate the Riverside with being pretty devoid of atmosphere and noise, but they did all seem up for it last night - team and crowd. |
Unless I’m muddling them up with someone else, haven’t they historically had loads of empty seats there? I’m sure even fairly recently it looked embarrassingly empty on that far side to the cameras. Yesterday it seemed pretty much full, I was surprised. | |
| |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:50 - Oct 18 with 1631 views | darkhorse28 |
That’s pathetic. We’ve spent £200 million. They cost £3.57!
And your happy to be out thought, out fought and out played.
Hackney is good. But also right side…, we have ONE CDM that can play the role, in a system that demands TWO for 50 games! (We might win a cup game, one day).
Your standards are AWFUL. No agency, no accountability, we are the worse without the ball I can remember in decades, and defensively our left channel the worst in 45 YEARS of watching us.
Great with the ball down that side, as good as I can remember, but woeful without it.
When we don’t have the ball.., any professional side can open us up! Any side…, and there are no excuses. It’s not the weather on the training ground, or a tiny little league one club!!!
Wake up.
Stop putting your ego above the club.., the excuses, the bidding dog routine, the desperation for a thumbs up.
Sorry. The clubs bigger then that, more important than you or me, or any individual, and that includes Ashton and McKenna.
This isn’t getting solved with coaching if we stick to this system.
We aren’t going away anywhere and showing defensive solidness and resilience with this group, in this system.
Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. They don’t have the traits .., and we spent £200 million for that, it’s not their fault…, McKenna and Ashton are so far from elite they’re making Evans and Clegg look like football strategic goliaths.
What would Mick have done with £200 million?
Remember when you called him a Dino?
Well who’s the person completely stuck now? One system, one idea, one narrative?
Look in the mirror |  | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:59 - Oct 18 with 1594 views | bournemouthblue |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:50 - Oct 18 by darkhorse28 |
That’s pathetic. We’ve spent £200 million. They cost £3.57!
And your happy to be out thought, out fought and out played.
Hackney is good. But also right side…, we have ONE CDM that can play the role, in a system that demands TWO for 50 games! (We might win a cup game, one day).
Your standards are AWFUL. No agency, no accountability, we are the worse without the ball I can remember in decades, and defensively our left channel the worst in 45 YEARS of watching us.
Great with the ball down that side, as good as I can remember, but woeful without it.
When we don’t have the ball.., any professional side can open us up! Any side…, and there are no excuses. It’s not the weather on the training ground, or a tiny little league one club!!!
Wake up.
Stop putting your ego above the club.., the excuses, the bidding dog routine, the desperation for a thumbs up.
Sorry. The clubs bigger then that, more important than you or me, or any individual, and that includes Ashton and McKenna.
This isn’t getting solved with coaching if we stick to this system.
We aren’t going away anywhere and showing defensive solidness and resilience with this group, in this system.
Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. They don’t have the traits .., and we spent £200 million for that, it’s not their fault…, McKenna and Ashton are so far from elite they’re making Evans and Clegg look like football strategic goliaths.
What would Mick have done with £200 million?
Remember when you called him a Dino?
Well who’s the person completely stuck now? One system, one idea, one narrative?
Look in the mirror |
They have massively underperformed in recent seasons, I think last season a lot of their squad was injured?
For all the hype McKenna gets, you have say Edwards looks a very canny manager |  |
| |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 12:01 - Oct 18 with 1577 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:50 - Oct 18 by darkhorse28 |
That’s pathetic. We’ve spent £200 million. They cost £3.57!
And your happy to be out thought, out fought and out played.
Hackney is good. But also right side…, we have ONE CDM that can play the role, in a system that demands TWO for 50 games! (We might win a cup game, one day).
Your standards are AWFUL. No agency, no accountability, we are the worse without the ball I can remember in decades, and defensively our left channel the worst in 45 YEARS of watching us.
Great with the ball down that side, as good as I can remember, but woeful without it.
When we don’t have the ball.., any professional side can open us up! Any side…, and there are no excuses. It’s not the weather on the training ground, or a tiny little league one club!!!
Wake up.
Stop putting your ego above the club.., the excuses, the bidding dog routine, the desperation for a thumbs up.
Sorry. The clubs bigger then that, more important than you or me, or any individual, and that includes Ashton and McKenna.
This isn’t getting solved with coaching if we stick to this system.
We aren’t going away anywhere and showing defensive solidness and resilience with this group, in this system.
Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. They don’t have the traits .., and we spent £200 million for that, it’s not their fault…, McKenna and Ashton are so far from elite they’re making Evans and Clegg look like football strategic goliaths.
What would Mick have done with £200 million?
Remember when you called him a Dino?
Well who’s the person completely stuck now? One system, one idea, one narrative?
Look in the mirror |
Ah, a fan of Mick’s turgidball. It all makes sense now. Aimless balls down the channels you say lol:
 | |
| |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 12:08 - Oct 18 with 1536 views | itfcsuth |
Probably more a reflection of just how poor our transfer business has been in the past 12 months.
We’ve spent near £200m+ in the past 12 months, and we have managed to build a group that at very best was on par with Middlesbrough.
That in a nutshell is staggering, a perfect indicator to how poorly we’ve operated in the transfer market and just how bad some decisions made have proven to be. |  | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 12:29 - Oct 18 with 1453 views | bournemouthblue |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 12:08 - Oct 18 by itfcsuth |
Probably more a reflection of just how poor our transfer business has been in the past 12 months.
We’ve spent near £200m+ in the past 12 months, and we have managed to build a group that at very best was on par with Middlesbrough.
That in a nutshell is staggering, a perfect indicator to how poorly we’ve operated in the transfer market and just how bad some decisions made have proven to be. |
The lack of straight line speed worries me, I do think that's part of the poor away form | |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 12:54 - Oct 18 with 1379 views | DavoIPB |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 12:29 - Oct 18 by bournemouthblue |
The lack of straight line speed worries me, I do think that's part of the poor away form |
We did seem really slow compared to them. Not sure what has happened to put pace but if we had the ball we were caught really easily and if they had it they seemed to stroll away from us.. | | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 16:09 - Oct 18 with 1219 views | Churchman |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 12:08 - Oct 18 by itfcsuth |
Probably more a reflection of just how poor our transfer business has been in the past 12 months.
We’ve spent near £200m+ in the past 12 months, and we have managed to build a group that at very best was on par with Middlesbrough.
That in a nutshell is staggering, a perfect indicator to how poorly we’ve operated in the transfer market and just how bad some decisions made have proven to be. |
So from 18 October 2024 to 17 October 2025 we have spent near £200m+
Please list those transfers from the Christmas window and this summers window. I’m intrigued and must have missed them.
I see from your other post that you do not trust Ashton and the recruitment team with a penny more. I presume you want them out of the club. Given McKenna approves the transfers, you want him and the coaching staff gone too.
There can be no other explanation. Just stop dancing round the handbag and say it. |  | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 10:23 - Oct 19 with 1000 views | itfcsuth |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 16:09 - Oct 18 by Churchman |
So from 18 October 2024 to 17 October 2025 we have spent near £200m+
Please list those transfers from the Christmas window and this summers window. I’m intrigued and must have missed them.
I see from your other post that you do not trust Ashton and the recruitment team with a penny more. I presume you want them out of the club. Given McKenna approves the transfers, you want him and the coaching staff gone too.
There can be no other explanation. Just stop dancing round the handbag and say it. |
18 months sorry, just over 12 - from PL summer window to present time.
Incomings: Omari, Delap, Muric, Johnson, Greaves, Ogbene, J.Clarke, Philogene, Szmodics, Nunez, Egeli, McAteer, Matusiwa, O’Shea, Palmer, Townsend, Furlong, Young.
By my figures it’s just over £175m spent.
Outgoings: Delap, Hutchinson, Broadhead.
By my figures it’s just over £75m in income.
That leaves us net negative £100m spent to build this group in fees - we look a long way off in quality, balance and cohesion for a squad that has been built on a £100m net basis. | | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 10:32 - Oct 19 with 958 views | itfcsuth |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 16:09 - Oct 18 by Churchman |
So from 18 October 2024 to 17 October 2025 we have spent near £200m+
Please list those transfers from the Christmas window and this summers window. I’m intrigued and must have missed them.
I see from your other post that you do not trust Ashton and the recruitment team with a penny more. I presume you want them out of the club. Given McKenna approves the transfers, you want him and the coaching staff gone too.
There can be no other explanation. Just stop dancing round the handbag and say it. |
I also don’t want Ashton out, he’s done some remarkable things for this club, and his work on infrastructure and commercial side has been outstanding, I have never even mentioned that so that’s a false presumption from yourself.
However, I don’t trust him in the transfer market, especially with fees paid for players - I think the key to any success transfer policy is to find really undervalued players with huge development opportunities blended with really modest, unglamorous but hugely important players - the likes of Palmer, Furlong, Townsend for a combined £6.5m are really shrewd bits of business.
I think McKenna works so much better with a group where the sum is better than the individuals, whereas our recent policy has been more a galactic individual approach - doesn’t sit right with me, don’t think that works when building a successful team. | | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 10:39 - Oct 19 with 930 views | londonben |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:50 - Oct 18 by darkhorse28 |
That’s pathetic. We’ve spent £200 million. They cost £3.57!
And your happy to be out thought, out fought and out played.
Hackney is good. But also right side…, we have ONE CDM that can play the role, in a system that demands TWO for 50 games! (We might win a cup game, one day).
Your standards are AWFUL. No agency, no accountability, we are the worse without the ball I can remember in decades, and defensively our left channel the worst in 45 YEARS of watching us.
Great with the ball down that side, as good as I can remember, but woeful without it.
When we don’t have the ball.., any professional side can open us up! Any side…, and there are no excuses. It’s not the weather on the training ground, or a tiny little league one club!!!
Wake up.
Stop putting your ego above the club.., the excuses, the bidding dog routine, the desperation for a thumbs up.
Sorry. The clubs bigger then that, more important than you or me, or any individual, and that includes Ashton and McKenna.
This isn’t getting solved with coaching if we stick to this system.
We aren’t going away anywhere and showing defensive solidness and resilience with this group, in this system.
Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. They don’t have the traits .., and we spent £200 million for that, it’s not their fault…, McKenna and Ashton are so far from elite they’re making Evans and Clegg look like football strategic goliaths.
What would Mick have done with £200 million?
Remember when you called him a Dino?
Well who’s the person completely stuck now? One system, one idea, one narrative?
Look in the mirror |
Genuine question, have you ever posted anything positive on here? Had a look at your post history, and even after the Norwich game all you posted about was McKenna going to Rangers. | | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 10:45 - Oct 19 with 907 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 10:32 - Oct 19 by itfcsuth |
I also don’t want Ashton out, he’s done some remarkable things for this club, and his work on infrastructure and commercial side has been outstanding, I have never even mentioned that so that’s a false presumption from yourself.
However, I don’t trust him in the transfer market, especially with fees paid for players - I think the key to any success transfer policy is to find really undervalued players with huge development opportunities blended with really modest, unglamorous but hugely important players - the likes of Palmer, Furlong, Townsend for a combined £6.5m are really shrewd bits of business.
I think McKenna works so much better with a group where the sum is better than the individuals, whereas our recent policy has been more a galactic individual approach - doesn’t sit right with me, don’t think that works when building a successful team. |
It's not just the expense, prices are what they are
but some of the decisions I just don't understand
Ogbene out on loan with no recall and then spend £12 mill on mcateer who ogbene
chappers out on loan when our system requires a play making and scoring 10
Akpom seen as a 10 when most of his goals scored as a striker
Egeli appears to have been purchased with no real thought on how best to utilise him ( I don't think it's a RW) |  |
| |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:02 - Oct 19 with 873 views | Blue_Heath |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 10:45 - Oct 19 by FrimleyBlue |
It's not just the expense, prices are what they are
but some of the decisions I just don't understand
Ogbene out on loan with no recall and then spend £12 mill on mcateer who ogbene
chappers out on loan when our system requires a play making and scoring 10
Akpom seen as a 10 when most of his goals scored as a striker
Egeli appears to have been purchased with no real thought on how best to utilise him ( I don't think it's a RW) |
This is the issue the odd player aside we are largely buying players with likely resale value rather than players who suit the system and team. On paper ridiculous squad but it doesn't function in many areas as a team. | | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:11 - Oct 19 with 837 views | longtimefan |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:50 - Oct 18 by darkhorse28 |
That’s pathetic. We’ve spent £200 million. They cost £3.57!
And your happy to be out thought, out fought and out played.
Hackney is good. But also right side…, we have ONE CDM that can play the role, in a system that demands TWO for 50 games! (We might win a cup game, one day).
Your standards are AWFUL. No agency, no accountability, we are the worse without the ball I can remember in decades, and defensively our left channel the worst in 45 YEARS of watching us.
Great with the ball down that side, as good as I can remember, but woeful without it.
When we don’t have the ball.., any professional side can open us up! Any side…, and there are no excuses. It’s not the weather on the training ground, or a tiny little league one club!!!
Wake up.
Stop putting your ego above the club.., the excuses, the bidding dog routine, the desperation for a thumbs up.
Sorry. The clubs bigger then that, more important than you or me, or any individual, and that includes Ashton and McKenna.
This isn’t getting solved with coaching if we stick to this system.
We aren’t going away anywhere and showing defensive solidness and resilience with this group, in this system.
Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. They don’t have the traits .., and we spent £200 million for that, it’s not their fault…, McKenna and Ashton are so far from elite they’re making Evans and Clegg look like football strategic goliaths.
What would Mick have done with £200 million?
Remember when you called him a Dino?
Well who’s the person completely stuck now? One system, one idea, one narrative?
Look in the mirror |
If Mick had got us into the Premier League he would have had money for transfers. Unfortunately, as much as I liked Mick, that proved to be beyond him. [Post edited 19 Oct 11:41]
| | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:36 - Oct 19 with 725 views | GlasgowBlue |
As somebody from a Boro podcast pointed out, we chased Hackney all summer, must have watched hours and hours of footage of him, sent scouts to watch him and we went to the Riverside with no game plan to stop him. We let him run the entire show. |  |
| |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:39 - Oct 19 with 709 views | ReusersTown |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 10:37 - Oct 18 by Swansea_Blue |
I just posted on another thread, it was a good end to end battle for the first half and I was quite enjoying it. It must have made for a pretty decent watch for neutrals. We’re not as bad as some people are making out, although the lack of quality to create openings is frustrating. Keep Philogene quiet and that’s pretty much us neutered at the moment.
‘Boro managed those key moments better and looked more fluid. We seem to look lethargic half of the time. Partially that’s due to teams sitting back, but even when we have space to attack we seem a bit laboured. Not always, but enough that it’s noticeable and bloody frustrating! |
Not really true though re chances, we had chances and a penalty in the first half until we imploded inexplicably. | | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:41 - Oct 19 with 695 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:36 - Oct 19 by GlasgowBlue |
As somebody from a Boro podcast pointed out, we chased Hackney all summer, must have watched hours and hours of footage of him, sent scouts to watch him and we went to the Riverside with no game plan to stop him. We let him run the entire show. |
Think that's the issue with our requirement on having the double pivot only.
He was able to run around the pitch at ease with no one able to pick him up as if we did then we were all out of sorts.
Imo this is the issue we had with cajuste he didn't know how to manage him whilst maintaining his usual position imo.
I know I know we have a set system but if everything at the club evolves is it really to much to think that KM for his own development has to evolve too and that maybe the requirment of changing things.
I appreciate we change individual player roles during games but you are restricted depending on those you've selected so like Friday when we really seemed to need a 3 man midfield we didn't have the players on the field to do so | |
| |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 12:10 - Oct 19 with 607 views | ITFCSG |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:41 - Oct 19 by FrimleyBlue |
Think that's the issue with our requirement on having the double pivot only.
He was able to run around the pitch at ease with no one able to pick him up as if we did then we were all out of sorts.
Imo this is the issue we had with cajuste he didn't know how to manage him whilst maintaining his usual position imo.
I know I know we have a set system but if everything at the club evolves is it really to much to think that KM for his own development has to evolve too and that maybe the requirment of changing things.
I appreciate we change individual player roles during games but you are restricted depending on those you've selected so like Friday when we really seemed to need a 3 man midfield we didn't have the players on the field to do so |
That is the precise problem, no Plan B from the players and most importantly McK himself. Didn’t learn from last season, like for like changes aren’t going to work when the opponent knows how to change the game and their tactics
We have two of the Championship top scorers in Akpom and Szmodics but once again aren’t utilised enough or to the best of their ability our squad seems more like a group of individual talents than a team
Right now we have (according to Transfermarkt) the most expensive squad in the division yet the value isn’t showing, we made Boro look like a Prem team the way they attacked on the counter and press. We can’t seem to keep up when teams go at us, neither can we play around the anti-football teams and the low block
If this continues even playoffs is going to be a tall order | | | |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 12:26 - Oct 19 with 537 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Hackney was our main summer target; and players like Targett.. on 11:41 - Oct 19 by FrimleyBlue |
Think that's the issue with our requirement on having the double pivot only.
He was able to run around the pitch at ease with no one able to pick him up as if we did then we were all out of sorts.
Imo this is the issue we had with cajuste he didn't know how to manage him whilst maintaining his usual position imo.
I know I know we have a set system but if everything at the club evolves is it really to much to think that KM for his own development has to evolve too and that maybe the requirment of changing things.
I appreciate we change individual player roles during games but you are restricted depending on those you've selected so like Friday when we really seemed to need a 3 man midfield we didn't have the players on the field to do so |
This is what I don't understand with McKenna at times. He is quite happy to rotate defenders to deal with perceived threats, as he did with Changing Burges to Fridge to deal with Delap against Hull, but he's very rigid in his tactics from midfied through to attack.
Would have made more sense to put Matusiwa ion Hackney and stick with him all game and bring in Nunez (or Taylor) to support Cajuste at the expense of a ten. Both Nunez and Taylor are attacking midfielders so losing a ten wouldn't have been an issue.
McKenna is in danger of being as inflexible as Russell Martin. [Post edited 19 Oct 12:27]
| |
| |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
