It’s the first trip to this part of the Black Country since 1987 as Boro visit Walsall in the Carling Cup. The first round draw is another reminder of how far the club relegated from the Premier League in 2009 has fallen. Direct entry into the third round has been replaced by opening the competition at it’s inception, in some exotic lower league locale where past glories make you a big scalp to procure.

The Saddlers preserved their League One status in May despite a final day loss to promoted Southampton. Ex-Walsall player Dean Smith oversaw the escape act after taking over from Chris Hutchings in January 2011. After an off-season to bed in and sign some of his own players, the side opened their new campaign with a 1-0 over Leyton Orient this past Saturday – Adam Chambers exacted an epic sense of retribution against an O’s side who released him at the end of last season, scoring via a 30-yard screamer early on in the match. Boro undoubtedly will still be smarting on the drive south after Luke Varney’s stoppage time equaliser earned Portsmouth an undeserved draw at the Riverside. Irrespective of the final result, Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray will be pleased as punch with the imperious display from starlet Rhys Williams. Expect a younger, almost experimental side from the visitors as Rolls Rhys, Scott McDonald, Barry Robson, and Tarmo Kink will be unavailable on international duty.

Official Materials

Tardy all around. There’s a small sense of pride over how we’re banging out our irrelevant drivel before the blokes who get paid for it do…

Know Your Enemy

Great to see an American – midfielder Anton Peterlin – plying his trade in the red and white. He was an unused substitute against Orient at the weekend

Danger Man

Peripatetic ‘Flying Frenchman’ Claude Gnakpa – a defender by trade who’s morphed into a dangerous winger – 15 goals last term for Luton Town in the Blue Square Bet Premier – Dean Smith’s side need a consistent goal threat to avoid the same relegation bother experienced last term – Gnakpa has to prove his heroics at Kenilworth Road were not a happy aberration

On Offer

Both sides will want to triumph at the first asking, avoiding an unnecessary replay that imperils both sides league agendas. A win sees advancement to the second round of the Carling Cup – losing allows a refocusing on designated promotion and consolidation objectives

Boro battle Pompey on Teesside as both clubs look to develop a firm foundation for a successful campaign. The clubs shared the spoils last season: Portsmouth battled back from a 2-0 defecit, with a bit of help from a provocative Aaron Mokoena, to rescue a late point – down south at Fratton Park the visitors produced an overwhelmingly brave display en route to a valuable 0-0 draw.

Official Materials

The travelers have their dossier done and dusted – Boro’s in-house folks ostensibly are finalising the scouting and team news intricacies. Probably a ploy to garner more pageviews…

Know Your Enemy

They’re still an intimate outfit – 15 full time players, including new signings Jason Pearce, Luke Varney and David Norris

Danger Man

Liam Lawrence – when he wants to, he can dominate – surgical from set pieces, tenacious like an agitated rottweiler, composed and direct in midfield – scored 7 in 17 games on loan under Steve Cotterill before making the permanent move as part of the Marc Wilson transaction

On Offer

Three points for either would signal a positive start to the long, hard slog ahead – the loser has to carry the ignominy of inaugural defeat through the league cup interruption on Tuesday – a point apiece should satisfy the centrists out there…

Boro makes two changes from Palace: Steele, McMahon, Hines, Grounds, Bennett, Robson (c), Bailey, Arca, McDonald, Emnes, Lita. Subs: Ripley, Haas, Zemmama, Boyd, Halliday, Franks, Smallwood.

1^st half

• Barry Robson makes his return after a nasty leg injury, captaining the side in the absence of Matthew Bates
• @higs8 in for Gary Gill in the expert summariser role
• Boro have sent out an unnamed side only once in 72 matches. That is absolutely stultifying, stretching back to manager who oversaw the freefall that’s brought us here
• Referee: Robert Madley (West Yorkshire)
• Swansea did their last double over Boro way back in 1925. Higgy seizes the opportunity to ask Ali if he remembers doing those games. That’s a smart and easy way to bed in as a broadcast deputy
• £500,000 paid for the peripatetic Scott Sinclair represents some great business by Huw Jenkins. The outlay has netted 17 goals overall this term
• Marvin Emnes, Swansea Tormentor! 8 minutes in he puts Swansea under the cosh – it’s a neat turn and finish to a chance created by Leroy Lita…Boro 1-0 Swansea
• After the goal Mogga continues to implore his charges to pressurise the Swansea defenders
• Julio Arca still dealing with the foot stamp from Palace…picks up a knock in the same area here, but he appears good to continue
• Another week, another horrific mistake from Seb Hines, this time attempting to dribble the ball across the defence. Nathan Dyer is on hand to capitalise and get Swansea level after a whole six minutes after Boro score
• Leon Britton back as the metronome in the Swans midfield after his Sheff Utd nightmare
• If we are deficient in leadership in the heart of defence why don’t we turn to the Haas? A Bayern captain, even if it’s the B team, is still surely good enough for the current fight?
• This match will be decided by whoever terrorizes the others shaky defence more
• Good link up Emnes and Lita…the latter’s acrid touch killed the move after a decent surge up the field
• Jonathan Grounds opens his senior Boro account – a powerful header from a Robbo free kick…David Who? Boro 2-1 Swansea
• The chance for an unassailable half time lead is cleared off the line; Seb Hines was forward, looping a header destined for goal…3 goals in the first 45 minutes could have shattered this Swans defence

HT Boro 2-1 Swansea

Swansea are behind for not taking their chances – Luke Moore, of all people, hasn’t been his usual assertive-against-Boro self. Maybe he’s just a Prem level bête noir?

Boro flagrantly need to tighten up the defence; Hines has had another shocker so far, refusing to impose himself and be a physical force. Going forward we’ve been bright and effective. Leroy Lita should have scored earlier after Emnes set him up. Substitute ‘Emnes’ for anyone else and you have a line suitable for any Boro match report

Apart from the scoreline, there may not be much to shout about. Swans playing with their usual cavalier, no-fear approach, highlighted by their hypnotic passing

2^nd half

• No changes for either side – surely Zemmama and Haas will get consideration for the second half
• Pratley, Gower, Britton have been a force for Swans. Just as we finished reviewing that statement Brendan Rodgers registered his disapproval by taking off Pratley and Britton. Balls
• Angel Rangel tangle? Oh Higgy!!
• Lethal Leroy Lita!! Barry Robson again with a quality ball into the box…easy header to finish – no mistake…Boro 3-1 Swans
• Attendance: 14825 (267 Swans)
• Swans pull one back from the spot – needless push by Arca on Joe Allen…Scott Sinclair converts to make it Boro 3-2 Swansea
• Seb Hines continues to have a shocker…another poor goal conceded whilst we were temporarily down to 10 men. Ashley Williams nods it home while Joe Bennett waits for clearance to return from the sideline…Boro 3-3 Swans
• If there is any consolation from our 3 awful conceded goals, it’s that Swansea are just as dire and unsure at the back
• Merouane Zemmama – wearing number 5 – and Jonathan Franks now up front after Lita and Scott McDonald exit. Diminutive.
• Harsh challenge Mark Gower on Julio Arca, eliciting a yellow. Could have been another colour rightfully
• Richie Smallwood – who Mogga thinks the world of – comes on for a wounded Arca
• Craig Beattie nets an unbelievable winner that stupefies everybody except the 267 away supporters…Boro have thrown away a 3-1 advantage at home and got fuck all from this match

Higgy MOM – Grounds

FT Boro 3-4 Swansea

Sickening finish. Boro score 3 at home and conspire to lose – shocking defending all around today. Swansea were just as jittery, but we couldn’t punish them sufficiently. Serious questions about Hines now. Jason Steele too…

Tunnel reaction with Tony Mowbray: can’t say a lot really – disappointing for the fans – our defending is indefensible – couldn’t stop the ball from going in the net – Whetaer and Bates a few weeks ago, now this – obviously should’va had the 3 points today…need to continue looking over our shoulders – ‘we will improve,  I’m sure’

Barry Robson, commendably honest: scored some good goals when up 3-1; the last 20 mins was diabolical – it’s not just the defence, the rest of the team, collectively, needs to pitch in – we can match the top teams, just needs to be on a more consistent basis – as a team, we need to learn to calm down and get back into it – we played good football, exciting stuff at times – ‘at 3-1, the game should be out of sight’

Boro with a revamped academy back four: Steele, McMahon, Hines, Bates(c), Bennett, Bailey, O’Neil, Robson, Taylor, Boyd, Lita – Subs: Ripley, Grounds, Arca, Smallwood, Park, Miller, Emnes

pre-match bobs

• Lee Miller, Notts County folk hero, makes a return to the bench – Conor Ripley is named substitute ahead of the injured Danny Coyne

• 4 unbeaten in the league for the hosts – a return of 8 points from 12

• GON/Robbo/Tayls sit on 4 yellow cards – one more merits automatic suspension

1^st half

• PNE – 3 CBs at the back – how does Boro respond to an unconventional system?

• 84 meetings: 37 W 20 D 27 L to the Boro

• Early knock for Robbo as he writhes on the ground favouring his left leg. It must be a hell of an ache to keep him down for this long

• Iain Hume is the new PNE danger man now that Jon Parkin is at Cardiff

• Ref: Mick Russell (Hertfordshire)

• Phil Brown assesses the orange boots of Leroy Lita and thinks ponderously, ‘why flesh coloured footwear?’

• Midway through the first half and we’re seeing betterplay from the full backs, with Tony McMahon enjoying his usual free reign on the right side

• Sean St Ledger on the changes under Phil Brown: things have been much more organised versus the stewardship of Little Ferg, aiding an improved spirit and general goodwill towards their fellow Lilywhites

• For all of the tangible improvement under Tony Mowbray we still struggle mightily with providing quality service for our strikers

• ‘Growing discontent’ from the crowd re: Boyd

HT Boro 0-0 PNE

Lethal Leroy Lita is certainly less so when partnering with Kris Boyd. The links are there with Emnes and McDonald – with the former Rangers hitman it’s a cold a loveless affair. Whoever is upfront needs to be in the box when the full backs are pushing up because  they’re putting balls in. Very important to keep the discipline and not switch off, i.e. don’t get mugged. Ian Hume is ‘a tricky customer’ says Gary Gill

It’s another tremendous start from Nicky Bailey – this is a remarkable run of 5 or 6 games where’s he’s been the midfield stalwart we’ve craved for so long. Seb Hines has acquitted himself well with a confident and composed first half display.

2^nd half

• Robbo off – Arca on…injury gets the better of our resident hard man

• Sustained pressure to start the second half; Bailey in the middle of everything, and Boro are getting more bodies in the box

• Good performance Sean St Ledger. His former loan club are keeping him busy defensively, preventing his patented surging up-field runs

• Phil Brown continues to bend the ear of the ref: Joe Bennett has dived 3 times in his worthless estimation

• Boyd exits for Emnes to wide derision

• Iain Hume and Seb Hines clatter hard, sparking worry for Hume after his head injury at the hands of Chris Morgan last season while still with Barnsley. Both men are good to carry on

• Marvin Emnes has the best chance so far to put Boro further ahead, as the ball falls to him in a Shaun Harrad-esque way. The end product is risibly bad, hit horribly off target

• ‘Like Beckenbauer at his best’ – Matty Bates with a wonder goal to give Boro their reward! Boro 1-0 PNE thanks to a marauding run redolent of a Boro-era Sean St Ledger!

• Andy Lonergan keeping PNE close here – a clutch of stellar saves have kept his side within shouting distance

• Phil Brown and Brian Horton are having kittens on the touchline, denigrating Bennett for perceived continuous diving, and as a result Bennett isn’t getting the benefit of refereeing doubt

• Att: 16157

• Super play from Julio Arca in his limited shift; a terrific resumption of the profitable engine room link up with Nicky Bailey

• Macca keeps buccaneering forward, offering loads of crosses, with varying degrees of success

• Another late switch off, right on the usual cue: PNE deserve fuck all from this match and somehow find themselves level thanks to Billy Jones, who also tallied in the tilt at Deepdale, although less dramatically…Boro 1-1 PNE

GG MOM – Bailey

FT Boro 1-1 PNE

They were dead but not quite buried. We spurned bags of chances to kill this off only to be undone by some dire finishing. That’s what supporters immediately identify at the end of things, and it’s absolutely spot on; Leroy Lita is great in spurts, Marvin Emnes has tremendous promise, but Kris Boyd is a lost cause. The sooner he naffs off to either Glasgow, Grozny, or Bursaspor the better.

Tony McMahon and Joe Bennett were ever-present on the flanks, however the left back was under the keen forensic eye of referee Mick Russell, heavily influenced by the constant shouting and pointing from the opposing technical area. Frankly it was a shocking display of sportsmanship – better yet, a lack of – from the PNE brain trust. This was amateur dramatics at their best from the thespian duo of Brown and Horton

Tunnel reaction with a muted Tony Mowbray: feels worse than a defeat – second half was where we want to go as a football team – the opposition will always have a chance if you can’t put the ball in the net – we should be beating teams like this at home – we want to get the Tayls situation resolved – Robbo: a gaping hole in his foot – Bennett: fiery, he stands his ground exceptionally, going to be a top footballer – Seb Hines: does the basics well – Kris Boyd: needs to get his head down and work hard, his struggles don’t necessarily reflect his approach in training

Nicky Bailey cuts a dispirited figure: they came here to flood the midfield and make it hard, and they did it fairly well – walking off the pitch you obviously look for something or someone to blame – we have to start sticking the ball away, keep working, and look forward to the next game

Final words with Matthew Bates: wants to keep playing the ball from the back – late switch off is the story of the season – we dominate possession, then concede from 1 or 2 half chances – we were miles ahead in everything – maybe there is a bit of nervousness? – confident that Wheats can excel at Bolton – will be a considerable step up from defending Bristol one week and marking Didier Drogba the next – things are going the right way, looking forward to the games as opposed to earlier in the season

4 changes for Boro: Steele, Hoyte, Wheater, Bates, Bennett, Robson, Bailey,

GON, Taylor, Boyd, Lita – Subs: Coyne, Hines, McMahon, Arca, Park, Kink, Emnes

1^st half

• Leroy Lita: 6 matches as an opponent at Ashton Gate – 0 goals and his visiting sides are winless

• Mogga continues to toe the diplomatic line re: Mido – still a very complicated situation with no quick resolution on the horizon

• Referee: Darren Drysdale (Lincolnshire) – his day job? Sergeant in the RAF

• Bristol City looking for their first league double over Boro

• Barry Robson and Andrew Taylor sit on 4 yellow cards – 1 booking away from suspension

• 15 mins and the match lacks a decided shape and pattern – great start from GON – Robbo/Bailey pairing well in the engine room
• Boro: only 3 away clean sheets in the last 16 months – Leicester, Scunthorpe, and…Plymouth last Easter

• Attack Kalifa Cisse – looks short on confidence – poor overall by the hosts -  Brett Pitman also appearing woeful

• Taylor/Bennett bracketing Albert Adomah effectively on the wing, preventing Cole Skuse from getting the livewire involved

• Steven Caulker, on loan from Spurs – highly rated – a big, physical, skillful centre back

• Following a predictable formula so far – dominant for the first 35 mins, but no end product…the longer we allow Bristol City to hang around the more we expose ourselves to a late mugging

• Kalifa Cisse’s shocker of a day continues: Lethal Leroy Lita’s late half drive deflects off the Malian to give us a deserved lead just before the half

HT Bristol City 0-1 Boro

Can Mogga afford to depress the accelerator? They have the pace to punish us on the counter – now with the lead we should perhaps tighten up and be difficult to penetrate. And how will we deal with the supremacy? Do we have the discipline and commitment to see this out and claim a great result? Justin Hoyte – hamstring knack – went off on 38 minutes, replaced with Tony McMahon – no word on the extent of the injury after the interval.

2^nd half

• Surprisingly, there were no Bristol City changes at the break – and for the first 5-8 minutes of the second half it looked like the right decision – best spell of the match so far for the hosts

• Andrew Taylor, however longer he remains a Boro player, can in theory provide the optimal coverage for a foraging young left back like Joe Bennett

• 62 meetings – 27 W 18 D 17 L favouring Boro

• Lethal Leroy Lita! 58 minutes he strikes for his first goal at Ashton Gate since leaving Bristol…outstanding cross from Tony McMahon to punctuate the move ending in the goal that should provide an impenetrable lead

• It’s been better from Bristol City, which really was the only way they could go after a disgusting first half showing – Ivan Sproule has provided a nice boost

• Robbo gets a third with his assiduity and determination – great run and a brute finish to beat David James

• Will Lethal claim the OG? Consider the efforts to discredit Sean St Ledger’s Reading goal from last season

• Cameron Park gets his debut, after being denied by the weather against Hull and the tragic circumstances at Burton

• Attendance: 13699

• The debutant earns a late pen and gets England’s David James sent off! He has the cheek and bottle to petition the senior players to take it, but Lethal doesn’t relent…LL steps up and converts for a nice brace to make it 4

FT Bristol City 0-4 Boro

GG MOM: Lethal

What a strong, controlling, professional performance – ‘a perfect afternoon’. See, we can keep clean sheets, and score goals. Andrew Taylor was so good, so effective; Robbo and Bailey had tremendous shifts – a real selection headache now for Mogga considering Arca was on the bench. All of the sudden we’re overrun with capable footballers.

The Boro away supporters (still waiting on an official number) are holding court in the Wedlock Stand. After the final whistle they’re richly applauded, rewarded with shirts chucked in the crowd by the appreciative players.

Tunnel reaction with Tony Mowbray: most important thing is the points – clinical performance, all the talk of being the better team has finally been turned to action – clean sheet should give the defence lots of confidence – Andrew Taylor: ‘my type of player’ – Kevin Thomson: hairline fracture in the same spot that was damaged originally against Leicester…it’s going to be weeks and months before we know when he’ll return

A nonplussed Andrew Taylor: wasn’t expecting to be back to be honest – enjoyed his role on the left side of midfield – massive changes since Mogga has taken over…didn’t get on with Strachan at all, and the changes in training and approach have been abundantly clear – Watford is in for him, and his future here is still very much up in the air

Barry Robson speaks: glad everything fell into place today – we looked like we could score virtually every time going forward – quite annoyed when Lita demanded the pen – boilerplate Robbo reply that makes us love him: I’m just interested in winning football matches, that’s it

Boro line up in a 4-4-2: Steele, Hoyte, Wheater, Bates (c), Bennett, Kink, Robson, Bailey, Arca, Emnes, Lita – Subs: Coyne, Boyd, L Williams, Hines, Franks, McMahon, Smallwood

1^st half

• Ref: Graham Salisbury – he of the itchy trigger finger: 61 yellows and 3 reds meted out this campaign, including one to Reading’s Brian Howard late in the Boro 3-1 victory back in September

• Norwich have only 2 losses away from Carrow Road, and have won 5 of 6 – both Doncaster and Cardiff handed them 3-1 setbacks on earlier travels

• Sloppy first 10 minutes at the Riverside, very untidy and yawn inducing. So casual that Ali and Gary temporarily forget there’s a match going on

• Norwich have now scored in every match but one – they played a goalless draw w/ table toppers QPR

• The goals were so jammy, so poor, that we refuse to even acknowledge them – it is 1-1, and the Boro tally actually goes down as an own goal against Russell Martin. That’s it, we’re not discussing them…

• 46^th league meeting between these two: 18 W 12 D 15 L to the Boro

• The English football immersion of Tarmo Kink continues. He’s getting constant instruction from Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus to correct his poor positioning and decision-making

HT Boro 1-1 Norwich

Much better from us after a dour start – 2 soft goals contributed to the early haze one would actually have expected two days ago. Fortunately the last 10 minutes were more invigorating. David Wheater attacked a few headers,  Matthew Bates had a goal bound effort cleared at the last. Most worryingly, Tarmo Kink is struggling to comprehend the gaffer’s instructions, further fueling the notion that he’s better as an impact sub. Marvin  Emnes needs to improve his positional awareness too – there’s a huge vacancy in the middle of the gap between midfield and attack that he has to occupy

2^nd half

• The first bit of Tarmo’s football re-education: get rid of them garish yellow boots. A conservative-by-Estonian-standards white pair is favoured for the second half

• Attendance: 16853

• Jonathan Franks completes what seemed to be a furtive recovery. Just like that he’s back amongst the substitutes, and now warming up for a possible appearance. According to Mogga he’s been ‘playing like Lionel Messi in training’.  So no pressure then, eh?

• Shirt pulling is part and parcel of in-the-box tomfoolery, and this incident is no different. An errant whistle nullifies the goal to put Boro ahead – David Wheater has his second goal in two matches struck from the ledger after a moment of refereeing incompetence

• Justin Hoyte yet again has a chance to produce something that snatches the points. This time it’s not a mishit cross, nor is he cogitating over a pass in an advantageous spot: it’s a fantastically shaped shot that scorches the side netting. Much better from the perennial underachiever…

GG MOM – Nicky Bailey

FT Boro 1-1 Norwich

Another commanding second half performance yet again. Once we marry those with equal opening half performances we’ll be mint. The lethargic start was difficult to overcome, and seemingly there’s no proper explanation other than the matter of two little matches within 48 hours or so of each other. Footballers these days are so soft…

Arca continues his excellence – Robbo solid and involved throughout – Bailey masterful all around, and really pleasing with his set piece delivery – Jonathan Franks got a decent run out after replacing a poor Tarmo Kink – Kris Boyd made his compulsory early-transfer window appearance to rev up the punters

5 points from 9 during the holiday programme. Considering our current position it’s a profitable return – draws against two of the top form sides when we bossed them

Tunnel reaction from Jonathan Franks: good to be back – hard earned point after a sloppy start – no reserve appearances, just 20 mins on the pitch – on the Messi critique: unfounded, only getting back into it

Barry Robson too: took about a half hour to get going – missed 8 games total through suspension/injury/illness, needs to sharpen match fitness – relentless division – we’ve dominated two of the top 4 in the last two and it’s very consoling – appreciates the spectre of the cup tie at Burton Albion…glamour tie for them and we need to be alert

Tony Mowbray offers his perspective: started sloppy, a possible by-product of Leeds sucker punch – plenty of positives to take from this nevertheless – not necessarily the fault of Jason Steele on the goal…to be fair, quite a few Boro players were culpable – no concrete offers for any player at this stage – nobody will be leaving on the cheap, no fire sale required

Boro go bold in a 4-3-3: Steele; Hoyte, Wheats, Bates, Bennett, Thommo, Bailey, Emnes, Arca; McDonald, Lita

Is that three men up front? Confirmed – Marvin Emnes starts up with Scott McDonald and Leroy Lita, tasked with dropping back when Boro don’t have the ballh

1^st half

• Ref: Colin Webster – he’s the bastard who sent off Barry Robson against Bristol City last year

• Jonathan Howson and Max Gradel have been two of the most impressive wingers in the division. Gradel is on top goal scoring form with 5 in four matches – Howson played an excellent match at the Riverside

• Leeds displaying a better shape, overall looking a better side from the team that won in Strachan’s last match

• Wheats ‘making a nuisance’ of himself – a clever near post flick for the opening goal – quality corner from Arca

• Another early departure for Kevin Thomson; he’s off after 25 minutes and heads straight down the tunnel after being replaced by Barry Robson. The instructions to the Scots stalwart: stay disciplined and keep the shape

• Great coaching from Tony Mowbray here: Nicky Bailey receives perfect instructions to suss out an intricate move from a set piece – thanks to the astute gaffer he knew where that free kick was going to be taken

HT Leeds 0-1 Boro

Promising display from Boro – fluid formation with Emnes attacking and defending as play dictates – more attacking intent overall, the only disappointments remain Thommo’s exit and not getting that second goal

Is Julio Arca more effective than Thommo in the middle? It seems crass to suggest it, smacking of a bias against terribly injured man, but the Argentine’s resurgence is getting him noticed and Boro’s displays profit from it

2^nd half

• Robbo has a bit of Billy Bremner in him, doing the niggling, grating, sneaky stuff to rile the opposition

• Bradley Johnson, the transfer-listed Leeds winger, has been wretched in his service and delivery today…keep it coming lad

• Attendance: 30452

• Joe Bennett doing his best to fuel spurious Boro-Barcelona links; it’s a supremely skillful run past four defenders, but he spoons his well-worked shot over and out…what a finish it would have been

• Kris Boyd’s festive intake was surely legendary. Now the big man has the sandwich board adorning his neck to firmly signal that he is indeed for sale

• How is it not 2-0 Boro? Boro have three players in the box and do a choreographed Keystone Kops routine, running into each other and completely missing a free ball into the net. Leeds rush forward and amid the ensuing lunacy Luciano Becchio volleys home a gutting equalizer…10 seconds to go from that to this…

• Justin Effing Hoyte just needs to flat out improve on the ball skills. This is the second match running he gets into a promising position with a chance to kill the match, and his end product is simply wasteful. We paid £3M for that?

• Then Ross McCormack absolutely blows a chance to win it for Leeds. We’re usually victimized by that sort of misfortune…new year, new luck, eh?

GG MOM – Nicky Bailey

FT Leeds 1-1 Boro

Initially it was stinging to not get the full three points as we were excellent. In the end it’s a fine point against a side unbeaten in 10 and fresh off beating QPR. Still though, it should have been so much more

no post match reaction from the tunnel today due to we needed to get the eff back to bed

• Tommo decision, playing him straight away after 6 weeks off, very costly – off after 5 mins – still no word on the extent of the aggravation

• Pompey had loads of chances in the first half – all match long they snapped into tackles and were all over the ball

• Boyd played well and quite active and up for it…sadly his finishing wasn’t top notch as 3 or 4 really good chances went begging

• Draw may be the fair result – Boro pretty poor in the first half with a goal against the run of play – at least our pen was stonewall, and Robbo took charge of the situation with authority, shielding the ball from Boyd and Mac before blasting home

• Pompey had loads of chances in the first half – all match long they snapped into tackles and were all over the ball

• Liam Lawrence = fantastic! all over the pitch, central to everything they did, deadly set pieces and balls into the box

• GON: Robbo retaliated against Mokoena after a contretemps in the Boro box – his injury: tight hamstrings, lack of training, didn’t want to risk a tear

• GS: looked comfortable, created chances – didn’t see anything in the Robbo incident…and he’s ‘not interested’ in Robbo’s version of the events – takes drugs/drink and smoke? that’s uncalled for – what to change for Leeds? don’t have a linesman give a penalty when the ball is 50 yards from the box

The power base is contravening their expected strategy to avoid short-term loan options, which is what we’re certainly facing at this juncture. Unless Gordo has a cheeky scheme to raid some Prem clubs of the talent left out of the compulsory 25-man rosters. Loan activity at this level commences 08 Sep 10…a consternated support base eagerly awaits the possibilities for additions prior to the next must-get-a-result outing at QPR.

Vic was gracious enough to elucidate on the net spend since January - the numbers assuage some concerns and potential stigmas…here’s our evocative reply to the post-transfer window postmortem:

Looking at the numbers makes me feel a bit better – such a more positive outlook when including the wage savings from the old big-time earners…

I can’t help but thinking of another area we’ll soon be more deficient in: having/developing marketable players…Wheats has to be the only one of the academy lads who could command a nice transfer fee…Steele may get there soon enough, but after that, who? Any of Park/Pilatos/Luke Williams?

As far as first-teamers and squad players, GON remains the primary attraction – his valuation has dipped to the 2.5m range at best…Boyd would be a profit cos of the free…we could possibly recoup the McDonald spend too…

Gordo ideally wanted to eschew the loan market in favour of weaving together an impenetrable squad…he has to rely on it now – a few more able-bodied mercenaries semi-committed to the cause…

A few more late-week Boro tidbits:

• The second monthly shirt sponsor has been unveiled, and it generated considerable buzz…
• International break – Euro 2012 qualification begins this weekend – the bravehearts aren’t the only ones away on duty…
• Lithuania v Scotland - Robbo and Mick start for the absolutely critical opener away in Kaunas  
• Estonia v Italy – shoot-on-sight livewire Tarmo Kink features for the hosts as they host 2006 WC champions, and 2010 WC laughingstocks, Italy

And finally, an offering to the football blogging deities, hoping beyond hope that we’ll be rescued from the ennui of a cubicle-based work existence…some tossed together notes strained from the frankly wonderful commentary of the local Barnsley radio coverage streamed on that dastardly justin.tv:

Kris Boyd – Tykes commentators/contributors: ‘Boyd born offside’ – a few good half-chances – sliced a really good open chance 10 feet past Luke Steele’s post – ran hard and got into decent positions

Robbo – cracking 25 yd effort saved in the second half – quite active overall – much better individually after Sheffield United

Kink – continued to build confidence – more pops from distance that have increased in marginal success – escaped punishment for coming back onto the pitch after treatment prematurely, w/ out ref consent

post match inquests w/ Gordon Cox:

Gordo: not very contrite – keeper made great saves – away support was brilliant…disappointed for them – unhappy times at the moment – keep working, hope the luck will change and performances improve – I have a ‘terrific life’…didn’t seemed too bothered by the context of a dreadful start

Wheats: couldn’t get the ball to wide men from the back – balls out of play – worked on the crosses extensively in training – keep grafting/training hard – revelation about the first goal from set-piece

callers: where’s his passion – fight! – he sounds like an outsider – no passion for the cause – Kevin Fucking Keegan? – that trumps the outlandish demand for Maradona – Rioch was frequently outraged at the rubbish results and risible performances…he ripped into his teams accordingly

GG sews it up: work very hard in the next 2 weeks boys – in the midfield, when Barnsley lost the ball they battled and willed themselves to win it back…we gave up and looked ragged, lost the shape and were totally overran

What a difference 53 hours makes…except it wasn’t so different. It was really more of the same – a pedestrian and laboured performance, this time punished by a bubbling side who cleaned up their chances and exerted pressure on the visitors. The Sunday league showcase versus Sheffield United proved valuable because it displayed that Boro can win very ugly games, just like the Carling Cup tie last night at the New Den illustrated how the attack still needs sorting – distribution and service from the wide positions has been atrocious – for it cannot always rely on a stingy and stout defence during increasingly desperate and barren spells.

We belatedly offer prized post-match thoughts from Sunday…post-return-to-sleep-after-515a-local-match-start-time thoughts actually:

Woeful match – terrific result. The gaffer has made no secrets that he is supremely uninterested in producing a performance pleasing to the eye if it means we get sod all from the match. Boyd’s supposition on Radio Brownlee the other night was bang on: it’s just 11 guys trying to win a fitba game…

The absence of Mosso – ruptured motherboard – reduced our participation to incredulous internet streams and a rolling Twitter feed…our favourite ex-Rangers blog contributor took quite the pounding from anyone with a mobile and a #boro tag, up until he displayed that excellent predation…

The gamble to throw Halliday and Kink right out there was bold and pleasing…their performances weren’t as optimistic, but their remains the belief that they’ll get stuck in soon enough and play important roles. The Argentina-inspired back line of four central defenders worked a treat too – Kilgallon lent some professionalism to the left back slot and Bates was really good from our vantage. Full credit to Jason Steele too…he’s gripping the chance afforded to him and immersing very well at this level…

Let’s keep building on the positive results in hope that they breed greater confidence and expressionism out on the pitch…

And go ahead – you can cheat off our Spartan match notes too…

Steele; Bates, Wheater, McManus (c), Kilgallon;  Kink, Robson, Bailey, Halliday; Boyd, McDonald

• Wheats only Boro player to start in last fixture between two clubs – 16 Jan 10 – 1-0 Sheff Utd
• 20 mins in – sloppy play from hosts – too many misplaced passes
• Riverside is embarrassingly empty – 14633
• decent 3 min spell around 32 mins – everything strafes the box though, not penetrating enough – balls from the edges by Kilgallon, McDonald…Kink has a 25 yard pop that sails well over
• a banner proclaiming ‘The New Firm’ is caught by the television cameras
• HT – Boro 0-0 Sheff Utd
• deceiving stats – Boro bossing possession 56-44
• Arca on – Kink off
• awful service from the flanks – crosses not beating the first man – easily cut out by the defence
• 52 mins – GOAL – Kris Boyd – Boro 1-0 Sheff Utd – clanger from Chris Morgan – Boydy pounces and beats the advancing Simonsen
• 70 mins – Lita on – Boyd off
• Halliday looks well overmatched – crosses aren’t getting through and he’s being shrugged and strong-armed off the ball often…
• 79 mins – Taylor on – Halliday off
• MOM – Arca – Steele was impressive if largely untested…Bates really good too