Middlesbrough v AFC Bournemouth

All the intensity that we saw in the early part of the season seems to have dissipated and I do think we need to bolster the squad upfront if we can in January to give us another kind of option.

When I think back to how we played under Eddie when we were challenging in the championship we were unbeatable in terms of intensity and pace, we consistently tore teams apart. Somehow we need to try and recapture that.
 
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afcb_rednblack said:
All the intensity that we saw in the early part of the season seems to have dissipated and I do think we need to bolster the squad upfront if we can in January to give us another kind of option.

When I think back to how we played under Eddie when we were challenging in the championship we were unbeatable in terms of intensity and pace, we consistently tore teams apart. Somehow we need to dry and recapture that.
Click to expand...

Indeed. This is where we need the management to step forwards and show their worth and stop the rot somehow.
 
Well earlier in the season those chances in the first half would probably have ended up in the net.

Things didn’t go for Anthony today, ending with that penalty when it looked like he fouled their player just outside the box but he continued into the box and went down.

The second half at times we were sloppy and gave the ball away a number of times.

Good to see players back from injury, but we didn’t see Zemura firing on all cylinders which was to be expected after the time he has been out.

For me one person didn’t put a foot wrong and Travers was my MOM.
 
This stage last season we were in 3rd place with 42 points.

Norwich were top with 47 points and Swansea C 2nd with 43 points.
 
An extended week off before three in eight days - probably not a bad thing. Auto-promotion position at the turn .... good. Biggest concern at this stage is whether the schedule will get all askew due to Covid.
 
Well we're all aboard the Riverside Rocket heading through the North Yorkshire countryside, don't know what it looks like, it's misty bordering on foggy ( bit like our passing second half, missy bordering on not the foggiest ).
Still it'll be dark soon and I won't know what I'm not seeing anyway. Nice of Scot Cherry to introduce himself and the kind things he said about my ramblings.
Even after that match today, I'd like to thank the club and Riverside Transport for putting on the Rocket, it gets myself and the Good Lady out of the house, spending time with friends and Rob ( after all that's what a matchday experience is, home or away ).
That and the knowledge, next matchday's going to be so much better and triumphant
: )
 
Hi all,

For those who didn't watch it live, the xG timeline shows what a poor second half it was. At half time, I was relatively happy, we should have put away one of the three chances (Antony's shot he put wide of the far post (about 1 in 2), Solanke's header (38%) and Christie's attempt that he put wide following a good ball from Billing). Whilst Phil Bill didn't have his best game, if Christie had put in the pass, this could have been a turning point. Boro had created a close range attempt from Crooks that Travers saved well (1 in 2), and a fairly lucky deflection that again Travers did well to keep out (1 in 25). At the interval, I thought we were more likely to win it as we had dominated the last 20 minutes.

After the break it was again Boro who got off to the better start, but unlike the first half we didn't gain control. On 50 minutes Travers did well to keep out Sporar (1 in 4). 3 minutes later, Jones was professional to win the penalty from Anthony, although if the ref was consistent there could have been a foul earlier in the build up when Jones tackled Anthony, who then showed inexperience as he chased back. Despite changes we created little, and I was puzzled that Cook was taken off and Billing was dropped back to centre midfield when it looked like he was struggling. All key chances then fell to Boro, Jones with a 1 in 5 effort, and Tavernier (1 in 2) as Boro made attack the best form off defence.

Boro.JPG

So another disappointing result. We had lucky breaks / clinical finishing in the early parts of the season, but this has deserted us, although the game may well have been different if we'd gone in 1-0 up. Add in the injuries, the tough fixtures and the fortunate Coventry equaliser and Parker must be cursing his luck / worrying. The fixtures get better soon, so fingers crossed the management / team can put it right.
 
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