First half we were very good and matched them Bree had a nightmare to be honest and holgate wasn't much better when he came on Not seen much in wilkinson to get excited but early days Scowen, rothwell, pearson and Mawson played very well Second half they showed their class and money and beat us very easily We did play some good football at times and looking forward to Saturday Onwards and upwards Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The central midfield looks strong, but there was absolute zero threat up front or out wide. Middlesborough showed second half how width can cause problems, we tried to go through middle all the time and failed bar a couple of opportunities. Pearson, scowen, smith, nyatanga and mawson all quality in the first half. Wilkinson looked poor as did bree, and watkins or phenix didnt have any real impact on the game from the wide areas.
Shame LJ changed it at half time as we were playing fairly well, Mawson was my Motm in the first half and then got put at left sided centre back. Rothwell looks brilliant on the ball, could have a field day against some team in this division. Pearson looks better than his first spell here.
Agree with that Mawson needs to be on the right looked class first half uncomfortable the second . Bree was up against a decent player , thought Smith did alright . Not sure about Wilkinson had some good touches but a bit lightweight
I think people misinterpret Wilkinson, think people because he's a big lad he'll be a target man, isnt anything like that.
Glad LJ is making those kinds of mistakes today rather than when the season starts. That's what friendlies are all about, trying stuff and seeing what works and what doesn't.
I thought it was a decent work out and LJ will have learned quite a lot from it. Boro's dodgy tackling and ref's lack of response caused a feisty response especially from Pearson in first half. Scowen and Rothwell looked good and Mawson is a class act who struggled when put on the left. It was only when the defence changed at beginning of second half that boro started to dominate. Not blaming Holgate or Roberts - just that the balance was all wrong. Wilkinson may need time but not sure about Phenix's night.
That was exactly what caused our second half capitulation. We took ohenix off and replaced him with nobody. Maris came on and went central leaving no left winger. Result? Smith was pulled all over the place and they scored 4 goals. Not all smiths fault but all related to no winger
Me, too. It was good to see us competing both on the footballing & physical side in the first half. After the two changes at half time, the defence hadn't settled before Boro hit us with two quick goals. From that point on, they moved up through the gears, became comfortable and could've won by an even bigger margin. Credit to our young team for keeping going until the end, creating one or two dangerous opportunities. A couple of points, though. This was only a pre season friendly and it's daft to read too much into results or an individual's performance in these games, good or bad. Twelve months ago, there was plenty of the experts falling over themselves to condemn, and even mock, the performances of Adam Davies in the friendlies, claiming he was a waste of a signing. We played some excellent passing, possession football the Summer we first appointed Keith Hill and won all our pre season friendlies quite comfortably. It counted for nothing once the season started. Also, the opposition last night were of a high quality and will be expected to make a concerted and realistic promotion challenge from the Championship. Sometimes you simply have to admit your opponents are superior to you. Get the injured fit and available for selection again, along with continuing the squad rebuild, and I'm confident for the upcoming campaign. Assuming that's still allowed!!
Scowen and Pearson not allowing themselves to be bullied was the big plus point of the match for me. As was dibble getting a run out and making some fine saves
You're right, old mate. The two young lads certainly weren't intimidated by the strong arm tactics (rarely seen in pre season friendlies) adopted by Middlesbrough. It's unusual to praise a goalie after a 4-0 defeat, but I thought Dibble was fine last night.