Middlesbrough BFTG

[bcubed]

On Chris Gunter, he was up against Stewart Downing yesterday and marshalled him superbly throughout the first half. In fact he did such a good job, Downing moved to the right wing in the second half. He didn't get much change out of Obita either.

Agree
These two Gunter and Obita are not getting huge plaudits but are consistently performing at a very high standard

[Bognor Royal]

After many years of visiting HNA, have decided to take the plunge and become a poster.

Thought I would use my first post to say that the attendance yesterday would have been higher if not for the issues on the M4. I and my two boys were "trapped" for nearly 4 hours en route to the game. We had to listen to Radio Berks and finally we were "released" as the final whistle blew so did not make it to the stadium.

I wonder how many other supporters were affected by this? Have been working on my letter to the Highways Agency as it was quite apparent that there was little consideration for us travelers in the way the incident was managed. This is the second time in recent years that have not made it due to motorway disruption. Really must remember to check the traffic reports!!

Needless to say, we were very excited in the car by the first goal after 15 seconds and the team seemed to pretty much control the game thereafter. Just wished we could have been there.........................

What is impressing me most about this season so far is the performances of the players. There is rarely a game where you can say that a certain player had a bad game. The squad looks so strong and SC is in the luxurious position where he has competition for places in the starting line up.

Great result yesterday and we are well placed to chase down the two teams above us. Looking forward to the Halloween massacre that it will be when Brighton visit 31st October and really expect us to be top after that one if not before.......................

[Oilroyal]

Looking forward to the Halloween massacre that it will be when Brighton visit 31st October and really expect us to be top after that one if not before.......................

Me too Bognor, the end of October can't come quick enough for me. Looking forward to putting Brighton and their deluded fans firmly in their place.

[bobby m's syrup]

Derby 29,467
Brighton 26,399
Leeds 24,601
Forest 20,985
Wednesday 20,383
Reading 19,516
Wolves 18,166
QPR 16,026
Bristol City 14,535
Blackburn 12,672

Middle of the pack, but with a pinch of salt, because most of those teams have vastly bigger fan-bases and much more successful histories than we do.

Our 19,515 is up on the season average of 17,659 and if that was our average would put us 8th in the league. Last season's average was 17,059, so it's fair to say that some of the plastics are rolling back in.

Derby do get really big attendances don't they, decent support there.

I would expect the 22000 or around that figure for the charlton game.

This table is erroneous, Brighton quite obviously should be top....

If anyone can be bothered to work out what a £10 Tom is, they will know the details of Real Brighton's ticket promotion, which apparently swelled numbers yesterday.

[melonhead]

Really solid and impressive performance.
Let them have the ball in their own half, and they did bugger all with it. We were clinical, well organised and always dangerous.
Things are seriously looking good and I can give Clarke (and owners) enough plaudits for turning the ship around so conclusively in such a short space of time.
A pleasure to watch.

Williams Moto
Mcshane hector gunter Norwood all very good

Crowd atmosphere half decent

[The Cap]

Their gaffer, Karanka, seemed impress. With us anyway.

“I told them (the players) many times that we had to know what happened between Burnley and Reading (where Reading scored twice early in the game). They are a very good side and are comfortable playing on the counter attack. When you concede after less than 20 seconds it's very difficult to play against a team in that way. They are very organised and it was difficult to equalise because they have good players. Conceding inside 20 seconds changes everything because we couldn't play how we wanted and they were comfortable".

[CHADMOSSWENTWORTH]

Hello everyone!!!

So excited too putty first post on this website. I have been supporting Reading since i was 8 and that makes it 9 years now of supporting Reading as I'm now 17!

I saw this website and found it in the 2012/2013 and have too say I love this website! Thank you for posting such interesting stuff!!

Charles Watts said that Bond is out for 2-4 weeks but with the performance of ali today, i don't mind him being out for that long!!!! (might change my mind if he has another howler like he did against us )

[melonhead]

Hi chadmoss

[furthest flung fan]

Following the posts from New Zealands South Island, I can hardly say that I'm 'back from the game', but the current excitement emanating from this team is a global thing! We have a proper team again! I'm sure that we can all feel something building here...

[Millsy]

I think we're getting a bit carried away.

Lucky early goals have changed games in our favour. Games we would otherwise lose.

The fact of the matter is we lose all our games when were not lucky.

Boro had so much possession they made us look average, which we are.

The only good players are loan players who'll be gone in a few weeks and we'd never keep them if we did go up.

The Thais have done nothing except bring in the above loanees who aren't really ours.

Clarke is a bit clueless given he relies on loanees and early goal luck.

Nothing to see here, move on. I suspect we'll fight off relegation but wouldn't bank on it.

The only plus point is our excellent goalkeeping ability, but I suspect they will also fade into mediocrity as they tire out in this long season.

Oh.. I forgot to mention the official Royals music video. That's the only other plus point to the season, as at long last I can hold my head up high as a Reading fan with such a powerful, moving and inspiring video. Come the end of the season we may be left with an empty squad when all the loanees go back, playing League 1 footy but at least we'll have the song.

Other than that you're all just RTG wearers.

[3points]

Thoroughly enjoyed that yesterday. Just liking going to a game and looking forward to it, rather than dreading another dreary performance.

I think it is very noticeable how both Gunter and Obita are getting forward less often than the past couple of years. A key part to our improved solidity as it means the centre backs are being pulled out of position less often. But for me the main reason we are difficult to beat is that we are defending as a team. Going forward we are almost a 4-2-4 with Williams also breaking forward. But defensively we are often a 4-6-0 with the attackers all dropping quite deep to close down space. It is very impressive how players are putting in a big effort to cover for each other if someone gets caught out of position. Several times HRK sprinted back to help Piazon defend the left hand side from their goal kicks.

Good tactical switch at half time yesterday too with HRK going more to the left and Piazon more central. Piazon just needed a bit too much time on the ball yesterday, but he hasn't played much in the hussle and bussle of the Championship, so hopefully he will get more on the pace soon. I was surprised he started ahead of McCleary or Tish yesterday.

[genome]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLtRptEAUEE

Love that roar when it goes in

[Royal Rother]

I think we're getting a bit carried away.

Lucky early goals have changed games in our favour. Games we would otherwise lose.

The fact of the matter is we lose all our games when were not lucky.

Boro had so much possession they made us look average, which we are.

The only good players are loan players who'll be gone in a few weeks and we'd never keep them if we did go up.

The Thais have done nothing except bring in the above loanees who aren't really ours.

Clarke is a bit clueless given he relies on loanees and early goal luck.

Nothing to see here, move on. I suspect we'll fight off relegation but wouldn't bank on it.

The only plus point is our excellent goalkeeping ability, but I suspect they will also fade into mediocrity as they tire out in this long season.

Oh.. I forgot to mention the official Royals music video. That's the only other plus point to the season, as at long last I can hold my head up high as a Reading fan with such a powerful, moving and inspiring video. Come the end of the season we may be left with an empty squad when all the loanees go back, playing League 1 footy but at least we'll have the song.

Other than that you're all just RTG wearers.

Yeah ok, comedy genius.

[3points]

I thought Williams had a lot of space when I saw it live, but there was absolutely no one near him!

Williams is becoming an old school box-to-box player. Really helps with the dynamics within the team.

[sandman]

Excellent win and a professional performance after going in front so early. MoTM for me was Williams but the likes of Norwood, Hector and McShane were also very good. Al Habsi did well although much like Bond has been he was very well protected and didn't have too much to do so won't be getting too carried away with him just yet.

Al Habsi - 7

Gunter - 7
Hector - 8
McShane - 8
Obita - 7

Norwood - 7.5
Williams - 8 MoTM
Piazon - 6
Blackman - 7
HRK - 7

Sa - 7

[Esteban]

Yesterday felt like the home game against Sheffield United in 05\06 season. We proved to ourselves and everyone else back then that we were genuine promotion contenders and I think yesterday's result did the same.

Excellent performances all over the park, though not Piazon's day. I keep hearing from opposition fans that we weren't all that good, they just had an off day. It's no coincidence, our organisation stops them from playing and when we get the ball, our movement and flexibility is hard to contain.

A successful season is ours to be had, if we want it enough.

[ladida_gunner_graham]

I want to spend my 101st post congratulating Clarke and the players. Tactically we approached the game the right way and although the early goal was a little fluky we let them waste possession and counter attacked, the perfect away performance.

Al-Habsi 7 - Not much to do apart from a fantastic reflex save. His handling was much better today and seemed to communicate well. Nice to see the defence congratulating him after every save/catch, hopefully it'll do wonders for his confidence.

Gunter 7 - Solid if unspectacular.

McShane 8 - Once again a rock, showing just why in my opinion he was the best signing this summer.

Hector 9 - Fantastic on and off the ball. On a side note he made the other Chelsea defender on loan, Kalas, look a mug.

Obita 7 - See Gunter but sprinkle in a few more unnecessary fouls.

Norwood 7 - Decent performance we've come to expect from him this year.

Williams 8 - Drove the team forward well and showed brilliant positioning to be in the box for his goal.

Piazon 6 - Weak link in a very good side, couldn't get into the very physical game like it sounded he could up at Burnley.

HRK 7 - One of his biggest critics I am delighted at his new found form. Looks like he cares again now he plays alongside a decent squad. Never stopped running.

Blackman 7/8 - Although I've always been a bit of a Blackman fanboy, I thought he was excellent in a more defensive role and fully deserved his penalty.

Sa 7 - Lead the line well with a few sharp passes but maybe misplaced a few. As much as I liked Pog, Sa is a massive improvement in every regard.

Subs -
John 7 - Relieved pressure and beat/turned his man a couple times to deliver dangerous crosses.

Tshibola N/A - Didn't really see enough of him to give a rating but looked decent yet again.


P.S Kike just loves missing good chances against us doesn't he?

TL:DR - We were quite good.

Agree with most of this but struggle to see Hector's performance as a 9. Defensively he was magnificent, no question, but it's difficult to overlook his badly judged passing. Too many long aimless balls from the back as well as misplaced shorter passes. Doesn't stop him being a terrific player, but a part of his game he can improve. Same point goes for Obita.

[4EVARFC]

I think we're getting a bit carried away.

Lucky early goals have changed games in our favour. Games we would otherwise lose.

The fact of the matter is we lose all our games when were not lucky.

Boro had so much possession they made us look average, which we are.

The only good players are loan players who'll be gone in a few weeks and we'd never keep them if we did go up.

The Thais have done nothing except bring in the above loanees who aren't really ours.

Clarke is a bit clueless given he relies on loanees and early goal luck.

Nothing to see here, move on. I suspect we'll fight off relegation but wouldn't bank on it.

The only plus point is our excellent goalkeeping ability, but I suspect they will also fade into mediocrity as they tire out in this long season.

Oh.. I forgot to mention the official Royals music video. That's the only other plus point to the season, as at long last I can hold my head up high as a Reading fan with such a powerful, moving and inspiring video. Come the end of the season we may be left with an empty squad when all the loanees go back, playing League 1 footy but at least we'll have the song.

Other than that you're all just RTG wearers.

I have to agree, we are not always going to get an early goal
That is what changed the game and nothing else
Boro build attacks and wear teams down through the quality they have, that cannot be denied
Could anyone of you see 2-0 if we didnt get the the early goal?? no chance
Lets keep our feet on the ground lads

[Oilroyal]

I think we're getting a bit carried away.

Lucky early goals have changed games in our favour. Games we would otherwise lose.

The fact of the matter is we lose all our games when were not lucky.

Boro had so much possession they made us look average, which we are.

The only good players are loan players who'll be gone in a few weeks and we'd never keep them if we did go up.

The Thais have done nothing except bring in the above loanees who aren't really ours.

Clarke is a bit clueless given he relies on loanees and early goal luck.

Nothing to see here, move on. I suspect we'll fight off relegation but wouldn't bank on it.

The only plus point is our excellent goalkeeping ability, but I suspect they will also fade into mediocrity as they tire out in this long season.

Oh.. I forgot to mention the official Royals music video. That's the only other plus point to the season, as at long last I can hold my head up high as a Reading fan with such a powerful, moving and inspiring video. Come the end of the season we may be left with an empty squad when all the loanees go back, playing League 1 footy but at least we'll have the song.

Other than that you're all just RTG wearers.

I have to agree, we are not always going to get an early goal
That is what changed the game and nothing else
Boro build attacks and wear teams down through the quality they have, that cannot be denied
Could anyone of you see 2-0 if we didnt get the the early goal?? no chance
Lets keep our feet on the ground lads

Bring on Brighton!

[SCIAG]

Clarke is a bit clueless given he relies on loanees and early goal luck.

And Blackman, who's rubbish.