When the beach starts appearing on the horizon late season and contracts are up for renewal in summer- or moves are on the mind watch the treatment room empty. Hopefully there'll a vaccine as well before then so the latest trend will be stifled as well. Fit footballers sat at home because they 'might; have been in contact with someone. Still on thousands per week whilst their team struggles. Not a bad place to be in these times.

Said it a million times but he'll never change he has a certain way of working and it works up to a point. But going over it over and over again is just going around in circles it doesn't matter how many personnel or what money. It'll still be the same end result give or take a marginal. Must stress this isn't based on last night and so many players out is a nightmare but the alarm bells were ringing after lockdown last season. I'm just not convinced the fresh influx of signings or Dacks return will alter the long standing issues overnight. Some good things that keep it all steady and a happy camp but too many flaws and reluctance to upset the applecart. So all that really changes is his taglines - stability, evolution not revolution, transition to possession, transition to front foot pressing yet the same problems because its been built right from the start on sandcastle foundations. The thing that should have evolved two years ago is the defense and take if from there. Tosin, Ayala, Douglas just sticking plasters really.

But those two bring soooo much more to the team. We've been told enough by the experts who know the experts and the rest. Yes they do when we are battering weaker teams although somebody else usually has to set the ball rolling. Meanwhile in the bread and butter world (the majority of champ games in other words ) good chances, half chances and the one chance in 95 mins go missing consistently. You can't go from Rhodes to DG and Dack to these powder puffs and call it progress.

Brereton is the more natural footballer of the two but Gallagher should probably be the more effective. Yes service was pants as is often the norm but they don't go looking often enough either. Fact is they weren't out of sorts at all they were very much at their standard level. Occasionally they step above it when the rest of the team is on point. Mostly though that is what you expect from those two, piss poor it really is like having the lower league versions of Grabbi and the young Davies in the team at the same time. Nobody to blame here but the players themselves and those who made the awful judgement calls to spew all the money on them.

Agree with this although it isn't based on last night. Difficult one that but the bigger picture is the same. Even though there are players to come back and newbies to bed in it'll be the end of season dead rubbers that yeild any possible marginal gains. It's still very much The TM hamster wheel.

This ? The basics are the basics and we got away with it tonight but he also made a couple of smart stops. Really the bit of praise he's getting is down to the fact he didn't make a cock up and cost us a goal. After Raya and Walton it's kind of expected but he didn't make one of their blunders at least. That's were the bar is these days with keepers here.

He got it right tonight in terms of playing deeper even though the rest of the team was all over the gaff the defense held up well. I think if they'd tried to go for it or push on at any point we'd have shipped a goal or two. His messing around with the wings and forwards defies logic at times but he has a bunch of miss fits out there tonight. Part down to him part not.

What we need is Kaminsky back and a proper back up keeper brought in then you can get away with your 3rd choice in odd games like that.

The traditional dead rubber run at the end of the season will see us comfortable midtable

Very hard earned welcome point from a shambolic performance. Pears done well but needs Kaminsky back asap before he starts costing us. Lads showed character tonight.

Begbie for manager !

The longer it goes.....?

Still in it but how often do we concede after a sub like this.

Gallagher needs taking by the throat his attitude is as blaise' as his managers. Wonder why that it.

Done very well to get to half time 0-0 Still in it so hopefully keep grinding away and Colin decides he'll settle for a point and doesn't pull off a tactical masterstroke. It'll be a good point earned tonight if we get there !

You've got to ride your luck in games like this, longer it goes more frustrated Boro get.

Around 65 mins probably.

It's a tough game tonight it usually is against Boro so i'm not expecting much any point is welcome seeing as we aren't at our strongest. However lets just put to bed the fallacy before we start that defeat is acceptable because of the situation and once more players are back we'll be taking the league by storm. That side tonight if it's set up right and applies itself right IS capable of a result of some sort and it still contains players better than half this league. It's all about how they go about it and what mistakes they might make that they really shouldn't be.

And they happily let him go

The lack of Champ experience didn't look to have affected Kaminski, if you're good enough you'll cope it's as simple as that. Maybe Pears will but we are back to having a raw rookie keeper between the sticks already, someone with far less pro experience than the last number 2. So there can be no surprises or excuses if it back fired. Hopefully it won't but is this the real way to build a promotion squad ? Not imo, it's a risky strategy that yet again puts the experiment of players before points.

Pears has something like 24 appearances in 4 years at Boro and his most games have come not even in the pro leagues for Gatesheed. Hardly surprising if he doesn't look the part he's far from it. If he's been brought in now as number 2 it begs more questions about what actually goes through their heads when they think they are improving the back line. Then again nepotism plays a big part in this regime.

Why bother even having a squad of well paid players with the attitude he and some of his blindest followers seem to have. Might as well just have a first 15 and dip into the U23s every time there's a lot of absentees. At least the shoulder shrugging excuses would become genuinely valid. It's 11 v 11 on the day with the same ball and the same rules but tactics only seem to be relevant when we hammer someone.

Just because Hughes didn't fulfill his early promise as a top end Prem manager doesn't mean he's a bad one either. We are a midtable Championship outfit with the facilities, backing and potential be a top end one. We need to be getting blood out of stones and in some cases using what resources we have to better effect. Hughes was a good fit here last time so maybe he could be again although he'd need to be realistic in his expectations of salary etc. Also would be much better with as many of his Tafia as possible but to write him off given our current status is a bit daft.

Same as here with the agents except the ones here have a scrapheap client list. They seem to specialize in recent failures rather than up and comers. Another reason we won't have the success others seem to have despite heavy agent involvement.

Looks like it's Kabel for Fury how very predictable. The other day he was 15th in WBC ranking. Probably in top 6 now Dosser.