v Middlesbrough (a) - 26/12/25

[RevidgeBlue]

1 hour ago, onlyonejackwalker said:

If i was in charge i'd be doing everything in my power to keep Tronstad. Strangely, your messiah seemed to like him also, any thoughts why?

Given that our record over the the last 4 seasons with or without either player is:

2022/23 (Travis/No Tronstad) 7th

2023/24 (Tronstad/Mainly no Travis) Stayed up on last day of season

2024/25 (Tronstad and Travis) 7th

2025/26 (Tronstad/No Travis) Sat 4 points outside the relationship zone after half a season

I've really no idea!

Perhaps not even very good Head Coaches can get everything right? He obviously didnt rate him highly enough to take him with him to Derby though.

[RevidgeBlue]

2 hours ago, onlyonejackwalker said:

He got a sideways move to Derby, not a big club, where your other big hero is laughably hardly top of the league ripping it up like you stated he would with absolute certainty. Many of his own fanbase are already questioning the 'project' and can see through his soundbites.

I never mentioned Eustace at all originally, you were the one who brought him up. To be accurate I actually stated  with some certainty that Derby would finish above us this season and you stated with equal certainty the opposite.

Look Im sorry for you that 10 months after he left, you're still so bitter that a former manager who actually did really well for us looks set to have Derby finishing 10-12 points ahead of us over the course of the full season this time round but it's no more his fault now than it was when he left.

Your ire should be directed solely at the owners and their henchmen. Not Eustace.

 

[ageoftherover]

That Hackney tackle was a bigger red than Clifford.

Abominable officiating.

[RevidgeBlue]

5 minutes ago, ageoftherover said:

That Hackney tackle was a bigger red than Clifford.

Abominable officiating.

Was the Clifford one the one on Baradji at Preston?

Not that it matters but whilst they were both the most obvious reds you'll ever see I thought the one today was a petulant swipe whereas the one on Baradji was a real career ender potentially.

[islander200]

9 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I never mentioned Eustace at all originally, you were the one who brought him up. To be accurate I actually stated  with some certainty that Derby would finish above us this season and you stated with equal certainty the opposite.

Look Im sorry for you that 10 months after he left, you're still so bitter that a former manager who actually did really well for us looks set to have Derby finishing 10-12 points ahead of us over the course of the full season this time round but it's no more his fault now than it was when he left.

Your ire should be directed solely at the owners and their henchmen. Not Eustace.

 

They are 6 points ahead of us and we have a game In hand.

They have had injuries but not to the extent we have we also led in two games that were abandoned. 

Iv said before they most likely will but you are talking like it's a done deal and they have been way better than us so far this season which isn't the case 

[RevidgeBlue]

2 minutes ago, islander200 said:

They are 6 points ahead of us and we have a game In hand.

They have had injuries but not to the extent we have we also led in two games that were abandoned. 

Iv said before they most likely will but you are talking like it's a done deal and they have been way better than us so far this season which isn't the case 

Im quite happy to judge it at the end of the season.

I wasn't the one who brought Eustace up or bizarrely started slagging him off when he has them above us in the League. 

[47er]

7 minutes ago, islander200 said:

They are 6 points ahead of us and we have a game In hand.

They have had injuries but not to the extent we have we also led in two games that were abandoned. 

Iv said before they most likely will but you are talking like it's a done deal and they have been way better than us so far this season which isn't the case 

We have to take risks with our signings because we have zero money. We are always going to have a lengthy injury list.

Its no accident!

[ageoftherover]

4 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Was the Clifford one the one on Baradji at Preston?

Not that it matters but whilst they were both the most obvious reds you'll ever see I thought the one today was a petulant swipe whereas the one on Baradji was a real career ender potentially.

No sorry. I meant Clifford the big red dog.

Too many kids movies for me.

[KentExile]

6 hours ago, ageoftherover said:

That Hackney tackle was a bigger red than Clifford.

Abominable officiating.

 

6 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Was the Clifford one the one on Baradji at Preston?

Not that it matters but whilst they were both the most obvious reds you'll ever see I thought the one today was a petulant swipe whereas the one on Baradji was a real career ender potentially.

[NeilInBristol]

Another away result in our favour-

However it’s not a win

but a clean sheet with Pears in goal (!!)

there were times in recent seasons where a win at Middlesbrough was almost expected 

how times (and expectations ) have changed

edging closer to every rovers fan favourite time of the year, what madness will they try and spin this time

 

 

[islander200]

3 minutes ago, NeilInBristol said:

Another away result in our favour-

However it’s not a win

but a clean sheet with Pears in goal (!!)

there were times in recent seasons where a win at Middlesbrough was almost expected 

how times (and expectations ) have changed

edging closer to every rovers fan favourite time of the year, what madness will they try and spin this time

 

 

We have won 3 and drawn 8 of our last 11 league games away to Boro

[chaddyrovers]

8 hours ago, wilsdenrover said:

If the Hackney incident isn’t covered by the second thing on this list then I’m not sure what would be:

no action will be taken by the FA just like it wasn't with Ben Whiteman's reckless tackle.

The ref clearly seen the tackle and what type of tackle it was yet only given a yellow 

[Andy]

12 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I dont rate "holding midfielders" who havent an all round game in general. Travis for example is a far better player imo and coincidentally he's the one that has thus far earned a big (ish) money money.

For me Tronstad just nips in and makes a few nice tackles or interceptions per game and is completely anonymous the rest of the time. Is risk averse and never makes anything happen. 

I know people dont agree so that's fine. I don't mind. 

 

It's no coincidence that you're in a gang of one on this; you're wrong.
Tronstad is a very good player at this level - certainly a lot better than Travis.

Anyway I didn't catch all of yesterday's game due to Boxing Day family commitments, but I was really impressed with what I saw of Baradji again.
Looks the real deal so far and explains why we were keen to take him, injury and all.

Good point away to 2nd/3rd in the league.

Edited 6 hours ago by Andy

[Parsonblue]

What a thoroughly entertaining game of football for a Boxing Day.  Talking to a Middlesbrough fan before the game and he said he was dreading it as we always seem to get a result up there. 

I thought it was a really good team performance with everyone making a contribution.  Pears, in the first half in particular, made some decent saves.  Perhaps the competition that Toth brings is making his raise his game.  Having two 'keepers fighting for the number one spot can only be a good thing.

The defence proved excellent throughout.  These sort of games bring out the best in Miller and McLoughlin whilst young Pratt is really growing into the role of being a first team player.  Litherland gave another promising performance before he began to tire late in the game and Hedges again proved that wing-back is a position he does really well.

The man of the match for me was Tronstad who was outstanding in midfield.  I have to say that Baradji gave a superb performance when he came on and these two could be a really impressive midfield partnership.  Baradji has all the attributes to become an outstanding midfield players - pace, power, quick feet and a wonderful eye for a pass.  Gestede and his team deserve a lot of praise for finding this guy.  Morishita put in his usual energetic display until injured - yet another injury that I suspect will keep a player out for some time.  I can't remember a season when we've had so many long term injuries to senior players.

Cantwell is starting to perform in a way which we haven't seen consistently since he arrived.  He seems far more motivated and is leading by example.  

Up front Yuki was non-stop again.  The energy and fitness levels of this guy are amazing.  He never gives defenders a any rest.   Hendriksson, although not a natural striker, worked hard to keep the pressure on the home defence but with Gudjohnsen out long term, we badly need another partner for Yuki.

All in all it was another good day out at the Riverside Stadium - my least favourite away ground and yet one where we always seem to come away with something!

 

[NeilInBristol]

18 minutes ago, Parsonblue said:

What a thoroughly entertaining game of football for a Boxing Day.  Talking to a Middlesbrough fan before the game and he said he was dreading it as we always seem to get a result up there. 

 

 

Great summary! Agreed with above, we usually do but playing with league one players and youth players we can’t grumble, clean sheet is good and it’s another point on the table, muddling through the season 

[rigger]

From the highlights, it looked like even the Boro players were shocked it wasn't a red (fist pumping the yellow).

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

27 minutes ago, rigger said:

From the highlights, it looked like even the Boro players were shocked it wasn't a red (fist pumping the yellow).

The clearest red card you’ll see all season. The ref’s eyes must be painted on.

[robbojohnno]

28 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

The clearest red card you’ll see all season. The ref’s eyes must be painted on.

The ref was being overly friendly with Hackney first half when he was having a moan about a blatent foul on Tronstad. He had the best view in the house of the red card incident so all I can think is subconsciously he decided to not apply the rules and let him off ''as hes not that sort of player''. 

Regardless, we were superb yesterday given our injuries and the number of young players getting valuable minutes. We seemed to have much better stamina/fitness levels and only one team looked like winning it when we entered the final 10/15 minutes. The defence was strong and every player gave 100%. A shame we didn't have a goalscorer to turn it into 3 points.

[doctorryan]

16 hours ago, bigbrandjohn said:

Whaat. I was watching Paramount. No highlights either.  Were you watching it Doc?

Yeah John, I was watching on P+(next match on there is New Year's Day). I think Golazo Network had a "Soccer Saturday" like thing going on for the entire division.

Here's the webpage to keep track of what matches they've got coming up:

The Football League - CBS & Paramount +

 

[rigger]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

The clearest red card you’ll see all season. The ref’s eyes must be painted on.

That would have been a red in the 1970's

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

34 minutes ago, rigger said:

That would have been a red in the 1970's

A booking when I was playing ! Along with a - “ Next time sonny, you’re for first go at the bath water “.

[RevidgeBlue]

7 hours ago, ageoftherover said:

No sorry. I meant Clifford the big red dog.

Too many kids movies for me.

Ha Ha! 

Whoosh! 

🤣

The kids movies are twenty years or so ago for me. Might be able to get back in to them in 2 or 3 years with the grand son's!

[RevidgeBlue]

3 hours ago, Parsonblue said:

What a thoroughly entertaining game of football for a Boxing Day.  Talking to a Middlesbrough fan before the game and he said he was dreading it as we always seem to get a result up there. 

I thought it was a really good team performance with everyone making a contribution.  Pears, in the first half in particular, made some decent saves.  Perhaps the competition that Toth brings is making his raise his game.  Having two 'keepers fighting for the number one spot can only be a good thing.

The defence proved excellent throughout.  These sort of games bring out the best in Miller and McLoughlin whilst young Pratt is really growing into the role of being a first team player.  Litherland gave another promising performance before he began to tire late in the game and Hedges again proved that wing-back is a position he does really well.

The man of the match for me was Tronstad who was outstanding in midfield.  I have to say that Baradji gave a superb performance when he came on and these two could be a really impressive midfield partnership.  Baradji has all the attributes to become an outstanding midfield players - pace, power, quick feet and a wonderful eye for a pass.  Gestede and his team deserve a lot of praise for finding this guy.  Morishita put in his usual energetic display until injured - yet another injury that I suspect will keep a player out for some time.  I can't remember a season when we've had so many long term injuries to senior players.

Cantwell is starting to perform in a way which we haven't seen consistently since he arrived.  He seems far more motivated and is leading by example.  

Up front Yuki was non-stop again.  The energy and fitness levels of this guy are amazing.  He never gives defenders a any rest.   Hendriksson, although not a natural striker, worked hard to keep the pressure on the home defence but with Gudjohnsen out long term, we badly need another partner for Yuki.

All in all it was another good day out at the Riverside Stadium - my least favourite away ground and yet one where we always seem to come away with something!

 

Glad you enjoyed your day out and Season's Greetings Parson.

Im afraid it's unlikely you'll be able to enjoy a Tronstad/Baradji partnership for very long as the Club seem unwilling to offer Tronstad a new contract, same as the players who left in summer.

[bluebruce]

13 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Given that our record over the the last 4 seasons with or without either player is:

2022/23 (Travis/No Tronstad) 7th

2023/24 (Tronstad/Mainly no Travis) Stayed up on last day of season

2024/25 (Tronstad and Travis) 7th

2025/26 (Tronstad/No Travis) Sat 4 points outside the relationship zone after half a season

I've really no idea!

Perhaps not even very good Head Coaches can get everything right? He obviously didnt rate him highly enough to take him with him to Derby though.

I guess Sammie Szmodics was shit too because we nearly got relegated with him.

It's almost like a team's performance in the league boils down to more than one player.

[RevidgeBlue]

30 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

I guess Sammie Szmodics was shit too because we nearly got relegated with him.

My God! You're right of course.

I mean Sammie only scored 29 League goals! Pathetic.

And Tronstad "sniffed out danger" so well that season, we only conceded 74!

How silly of me.