Credit to ‘Boro

[AWetFlannel]

You were implying that promoted teams can look totally different in the Prem, as per Sunderland.
That doesn't happen without throwing loads of money at it.

I said promoted teams can look totally different in the Prem, which is just a fact. I'm obviously aware it requires loads of money, and I never implied that would happen at Boro.

Do we all not remember every fucker saying it about us when we went up both times recently? It's just something fans say when they're hurting after a loss; Boro are clearly good and are loving what would be an incredible season and promotion, so we say "who cares anyway, they'll be down next season".

When we were charging to promotion and spanking teams left and right, I wasn't giving a second thought to how we'd perform in the PL.

 

[John Street West Terrace]

When you give them the freedom of the park in midfield they are gonna look good , cannot play Peck & Arblaster in there again together.
They’re a tidy side in poor Championship & we has as many chances as they did in the game .
Needed Cannon up top with Bamford tonight O’Hare was getting bullied & Rothwell’s challenge was fkg brain dead when we’d just pulled one back .
Think the last slim chances of the play offs went tonight .. ah well let’s stuff the Pigs & that’s our season

 

[Davalon]

Best side to come to the Lane this season for me.

I could pick holes from our perspective but sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition.

First 15 was end to end but they created clear cut chances they should have taken whilst we didn't.

Fair play, we hung in second half and put them on the back foot even with 10 men.

Needless OTT challenge from Rothwell in that part of the pitch. I dont need to see it back on a screen to know it was a red all day from my seat in the SS.

Brooks our MOTM for me.

Decent brief cameo from Phillips.

Not sure what the best approach is for Oli A to help him get back to his best.

 

[Roygbiv]

They were good and the way they play seems much more likely to succeed in the top flight than teams like Burnley or us. Yes, they'll need pretty much a new team, but there's a definite style there that suggests they could compete.

 

[SwissBlade]

I thought they were great tonight bar the last 20 when they started to tire. If we had 11 v 11 I think we could’ve drawn level but their first half performance was fantastic, let’s give em credit.

Their big lad at the back, composed.

Their triangles in MF, casual.

Their ability to play effective, positive possession based football under pressure, superb.

Their shape and knowing where they need to be and when, polygonic.

Their manager, full marks.

Not saying we were bad, we just couldn’t cope first half and they did the business.

Full credit.

Yep, hats off to them, they were different class and i don't think we were particularly bad. Yes there was mistakes made, but they were just better

 

[Champagneblade]

CW spot on, best side we have played this season. Shame Rothwell screwed it up, we were gaining momentum, and looked more likely to score.

They kind of earned their luck by playing well.

But they did have some. The ref was spot on with the red. But marginal stuff mainly went their way. That foul on Brooks not given was ridiculous for example.

It’s not luck that the keeper made two good saves from Hamer and Bamford. It is luck the ball pretty much ricochet straight to the head for the second. Campbell’s shot hit their lad on the arse and he knew so little about it. There was a similar one from O’Hare first half too.

It very much wasn’t our day in the marginal stuff. Whilst it was a red, I don’t see how he didn’t card Hackney at all for a foul later where he lost control.

Like they said for Rothwell. An orange. But he was no further off a red than Hackney was off a yellow for his foul. You see which way each decision went.

They just seemed to make far less unenforced errors. To me the difference between better and lesser players isn’t the the better ones do amazing stuff. They can do. But it’s that they master the basics far better. I lost count of the number of times we lost possession theough our own careless unenforced errors. They simply didn’t do that. Gus with a 40 year pass backward and intercepted set the tone early on.

 

[Blacksea]

Seen them twice recently, against Blackburn they didn't have a goal in them,at Stoke they went behind to a bang average team and struggled to a workmanlike win with 2 scrappy goals.
Maybe they saw how we started and thought they'd have some of that,an open game of basketball that suited their flair players,we could have played a low block and played them on the break but still lost,who wants to see that,so we went toe to toe with them but we just don't have the players to sustain that high tempo game against quality opponents for long periods, especially when we didn't cash in on our good and well worked chances early on.
In the end,they got lucky with their goals,Seriki did everything but get half a foot in a blocking position and the other came straight off the post onto his head,ours was well worked and a brilliant first touch and finish.
It was one of them games of fine margins,big moments changing things,but in the end,most of the reasons that have dogged our season before it even kicked off continue to come back and kick us again,and we were shown what proper recruitment,a strong squad of good skilful athletes in all the important areas coming together can do in this division.