Mattyblue

8 minutes ago, Tom said:

TM: "Our opening games are seeing us come up against teams with ambitions to be at the top end of the table this season. It's tough run of games but we're looking forward to them because it gives us an idea of where we should expect to be."

 

 

We played Charlton at home Tony, where’s our own ambitions?

Charlton, a struggling Boro with a new rookie manager, Hull on Tuesday night.

Yes some tough games in August, but some winnable ones too...

I never get it when people call him ‘dour’ or ‘boring’. He seems enormously passionate to me, almost naive in his enthusiasm for the game.  

I imagine he takes poor runs of results extremely badly.

So I can certainly believe that.

Just now, DeeCee said:

He must be close to the captaincy now?

Already appointed. There’s a man to lead you out of a division...

Conway is still training there, he’d be first up, you’d imagine.

Oh of course. I imagine they’ll have a totally different side by September.

Just now, Ewood Ace said:

The thing is though it leaves us with just 3 centre backs 2 of them being Lenihan and Williams who were both a part of those two teams that Mulgrew played in that got relegated and shipped over 60 goals last season.

With two out of the three possibly already injured (not sure on Tosin). Considering Williams and Lenihan have a history of absences, then it really is negligent planning.

Otzumer now gone, so down to 3 fit senior outfield players... and one of those is Jason Lowe 

Maybe, and if that is the case it was extremely negligent not to have a replacement lined up.

I couldn’t put my finger on it until frosty posted yesterday that it has the feelings of the dying days of Souness in 2004 and Bowyer in 2015.

I don’t think they are perfect parallels, Souness had fallen out with half the squad by then, as well as having the other half playing out of position. Bowyer had the rug pulled from under him and was Poundland shopping. But with both it felt like time for a change.

Don’t think we are quite there yet, but the scales have certainly fallen from a few fans eyes in recent weeks.

I hope he does rip into them at Brockhall and in the dressing room.

However young lads shouldn’t be singled out for criticism to the media.

A fair few you’d imagine.

But this was an odd one, club captain who didn’t have a single rumour about him leaving all summer, indeed captained a side that is very short in defensive numbers leaves in double quick time on the afternoon of deadline day with no replacement. Obviously something went on that was not forseen.

Footballers are delicate flowers, the rapid removal of a very popular figure in the dressing room, coupled with months of poor results and an increasingly erratic manager could well change the dynamic. Or it may not bother them at all and it will be ‘the king is dead, long live the King’.

We’ll see how it pans out, but something seems amiss to me.

Just now, OJRovers said:

Just look at the state of that defence!

Possibly the worst since the days of Peacock and Daily. 

How has it come to this after a summer transfer window preceded by “defenders are coming “!!!??

 

What did we have around 2000?

Harkness - Dailly - Peacock - Grayson 

And I thought that was a nadir...

In my opinion Mulgrew is past it and shouldn’t have been given a new deal, however that doesn’t mean the captain leaving in circumstances like that hasn’t upset the camp.

2 minutes ago, 4000Holes said:

Realistically, he cannot leave 10 or 11 million quids worth on the bench, certainly in the championship.

Even if this was the correct decision, he just can’t.  In any walk of life Just imagine if it was you telling your boss, thanks for spending the money, it hasn’t worked so I am going back to what I had last year.

it ain’t going to happen.

7 million of it will certainly be left on the bench for the foreseeable.

Just now, tomphil said:

Tombola will be spinning around for this one good style and god knows what will get drawn out. Maybe this is another of those for the 'seniors' to take in hand ?  Except the leader has gone ?

So all eyes on the manager to come up with a winning formula, tough game at the best of times.  Usual dire first half trying to keep the ball and probably go a goal behind before a rousing second half in front of an angry Blackburn end.

Rovers 1  Boro  1

 

He’s often changed things when the pressure seems to be building. This may be a game in which we see a few more round pegs in round holes.

Don’t doubt it’s been a great camp for some time, however the Mulgrew situation, popular captain bundled out the door on deadline day, coupled with bad results is exactly the change of circumstances that can turn a dressing room.

Just now, AAK said:

Was, Mick, kicking off as per?

Didn’t show up... must be bad!

Just now, Stuart said:

I meant early in the match (90 seconds)

90 seconds was in jest, but certainly in the first 20 minutes or so, I sensed a real shift in mood last night.

Just now, Stuart said:

Pretty early for shouting at Mowbray, even at this stage.

You reckon? I’m pretty sure we’ll be hearing it if things go awry on Saturday, perhaps for the first time since Doncaster at home this time two years ago.

Just now, Stuart said:

Before or after his three head-scratching substitutions?

After the first bit of keystone cops defending... so about 90 seconds in. 

0-0 bore fest? With our defence? Boro drew their last away game 3-3!

Just now, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

Just waiting for Mercer’s prediction:

’Woodgate and Boro are struggling big time so even Mowbray can organise a team to smash their rabble. Can see us winning this one at a canter. Have gone for Rovers 2-0 at X/X and my fun bet of Rovers is 4-1 at X/X’

‘A good friend is a Boro fan, whoever loses has to treat the other to a slap up meal and a Chateau Leoville’

Yeah he’s crap and had a shocker, he still got a good reception.

Just shows that Ewood does ‘get behind them’.

This new sub rule is just asking for fan confrontation, he went off at the Riverside touchline and wandered past the BEnd and JW to the tunnel.

Have to say though, despite having had a stinker and losing to a fourth division side he still had his name sung as he trudged past.

’Just get behind the lads FFS’.

‘Mowbray, sort it out!’ as an opening salvo, you’d imagine