February 2008 - Posts
It has taken me a few days to right this post. To be honest I was putting it off. It wasn't exactly the best game I have seen, and it wasn't exactly the best performance from Boro.
I think we played better than we had been, but it still isn't looking too good. No offence to Grays but I would have thought we would have beaten them.
Mitchell Cole was extremely quiet, and once again nothing really happened in the game.
There were a few chances, but nothing special. We STILL seem to show little spark, and to top it all off many of the fans booed at the end, showing just how frustrated everyone is.
Crawley now takes a new importance. If we fail to score or win the game, Taylor could really lose his supporters. It is not good enough.
We are gradually slipping down the table, and I do fear that the playoffs may soon be out of our reach. I hope we can change it around, but I have seen little evidence of the previous Boro we knew and loved.
Boro have Grays at home this weekend. It is again another crucial game for us. If we stop picking up the points in the next few games, it will make our promotion/playoffs hope very difficult to achieve.
The table as it stands looks like this:
1 Aldershot 32 25 71
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2 Torquay 30 27 65
3 Cambridge Utd 31 19 58
4 Stevenage 31 25 57
5 Burton Albion 31 21 57
If we win we have the chance to go above Cambridge. They have Forest Green, which will not be an easy game for them. I think that could be a draw, so in which case we would go above them if we won.
Burton are playing in the FA Trophy so for the time being we don't have to worry that they may go above us, if we lose or draw.
Torquay and Aldershot are also in the FA Trophy still, so if we did win, we would start to close the gap between them.
It is a great chance for us to get some points on them.
With our last couple of performances, things haven't exactly been positive or inspiring but hopefully, now with players like Martin and Mitchell back, we can begin to make an impression on this league, once again.
Boro have signed another player this week. He is a central defender and has come from Ipswich Town.
He is called Tommy Smith and has played for the England Under-17s.
We have not been told how long we have signed him on loan, but I assume it is for the rest of the season.
On Boro's website it states that he is an emergency loan signing. I assume he won't take Oliver's or Westwood's place, but he will be a good back up, as he has been described as a highly rated young player.
So, we had a new player playing for us on Sunday, and he did the business and scored for us on his debut.
His name is Gavin Grant and he is 23 years old. He is 5ft 11 and started his career at Gillingham. He then moved onto Millwall, where he is currently at.
We have signed him on loan until the end of the season, and he has previously had a loan spell at Grays, in which he scored 3 goals for them.
He seems like a pacy player, and has come in to replace Ollie Allen whilst he completes his loan deal at Crawley.
He is set to give us some strength and pace up front whilst Willock and Bramble are still injured.
Hopefully he will give us that little spark we need at the moment.
I used to enjoy writing my blog entries, now I am beginning to lose my patience with it all. Every time I write a post it just reminds me of the awful and frustrating football I have just watched, and how we beginning to find ourselves in a very bad situation.
I was hoping, well praying we would get something from the game yesteday. I knew it was a tall order but if we are serious about promotion we can't just beat the lower ranked teams, we have to beat the big ones too.
I guess my hopefulness didn't pay off at all as we conceded 3 goals within the first half an hour, which pretty much sealed the win for the Shots. To go in at half time 3-0 down in an away game isn't exactly the best incentive for a club to go out and think they may have a chance in drawing or winning the game.
We did come out and play a bit better in the second half, as it seemed like the players had finally decided to wake up.
Grant, on his debut scored for us, giving us a glimmer of hope, that we could get back in the game.
Aldershot however, were just too comfortable. Their movement and passing was great. We had no chance against a side like this. We used to play this football. The players need to believe they can still play this football.
Morison was barely there last night. Every ball he got, he lost it. He has no self confidence at the moment. We know he can do it but it doesn't even look like he is trying. I know he is frustrated, but times like this you have to dig in and work hard.
Martin was excellent. He didn't stop running. Ok, he gave away a few free kicks but at least he was showing the desire to get the ball, unlike some of the others.
Something seriously needs to change. It can't go on like this. It isn't all Taylor's fault, but he does have to take some of the blame. I don't know what is going to happen, but right now it seems like we are freefalling. If we are not careful the playoffs could seem a distant dream.
Boro have got Aldershot away on Sunday. The game is being screened live on Setanta at 7.15pm.
This is a massive game for us. If we can beat them, it would be such a confidence booster. We would close the gap further, and show Aldershot that we are a promotion winning side.
The table as it stands at the moment looks like this:
1 Aldershot 31 23 68
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2 Torquay 29 25 62
3 Stevenage 30 27 57
4 Burton Albion 30 23 57
5 Cambridge Utd 30 18 55
If we win we will break the 60 point mark, if Aldershot win, they will be 14 points ahead of us- which in my opinion is too much for us to catch.
Torquay have Ebbsfleet at home, Burton are away to Salisbury, and Cambridge have Halifax away. I would expect Torquay, Cambridge and Burton to win their matches, which puts intense pressure on us to win ours.
The performance from Boro has to be better. They have to go out with a winning mentality. We have to get something from this game. We can't just beat people in the lower part of the table.
Boro need to show they mean business and that they are still in the competition. The Aldershot game could show this. Fans are beginning to turn negative, and the side are reflecting that. They need this confidence booster, so let’s hope they go out and win it!
Fingers, legs, and arms crossed!
Setanta have once again decided to move one of our fixtures, for it to be screened live on TV.
The match will now take place on Thursday March 13th with a 7.45pm kick off.
Ollie Allen has gone on loan to Crawley today for a month.
I don't quite understand this decision, as we are quite short of strikers that can play at this time. Willock is still injured, Rankin and Buchanan have only just come into the team, and Moro is struggling at the moment.
I know Allen is just coming back from injury, but he looked promising when he first came into the side. I know we want him to get his match fitness and sharpness back, but surely he could do this at Boro?
I hope Taylor has made the right decision, because right now I think we need every player that we have got. Allen could of been one of those bright sparks that we need to come on late on in the game.
I guess we will just have to wait and see.
So, Boro played Forest Green last night. I wasn't sure if the game was going to go ahead because of all the fog. The floodlights did the trick and it wasn't too bad but the fog did get heavy at points during the game. Their keeper did disappear for a bit but he came back after a while.
We came out of the blocks well, and I think Taylor must have had a right go at the players after the Cambridge game as they looked a different side.
As Junior Lewis didn't start, it was great to see Jon Martin back in the centre of midfield, as his hard work and effort is a great attribute to the side. He made a few mistakes, but after coming back from an injury he did really well, and he managed to play the full 90minutes.
Mitch didn't look as sharp as we are used to him being, but his pace and vision was still great. He got back and defended, which is what I like to see.
The team generally played well. The first half being the better half with Boro, as they dominated most of it. The second, was a little more frustrating as we kept just hoofing the ball forward and hoping for the best.
Morison was quite isolated but still managed to get the ball quite alot.
Rankin came into the side last night, and I thought he played really well. He held the ball up well and battled hard.
There were a few chances here and there, and Julian made a couple of cracking saves to keep us in it towards the end of the game. I would say the result was probably a good one. It was quite a solid performance and we didn't concede. We do need to start scoring though because up front Morison is starting to look very frustrated.
We have a big game on Sunday against Aldershot, so hopefully they will get their scoring boots back on, and we can begin to see the positives again.
We have Forest Green tonight, in what is a massive game for us. Torquay, Aldershot and Cambridge drew last night, so it is crucial we take advantage of this and get the three points.
I am not sure what the team will be but I guess Luke Oliver will start as Arber has now left. I hope Junior Lewis has been dropped because he has not impressed me at all. It is time to see some other players.
Hopefully Jonny Martin and Mitchell will be back to add that touch of class and spark to the team.
I assume the game is still going ahead but at the moment it is looking very foggy out there...
Guess we will have to wait and see.
Come on Boro!
I found out late last night that Mark Arber - who has been brilliant for us this season - has gone on loan to Dagenham until the end of the season.
I don't understand why this would happen. He was told that he wouldn't be guaranteed a first team position, but he still shouldn't leave. We don't exactly have all that much cover at the back and he has done really well for us this season. He has been more consistent than Luke Oliver, and I feel that if he has a one on one with a player near goal, he is likely to win the challenge, whereas with Luke I know he can make the challenge but I worry that he will foul him.
Don't get me wrong, I think Luke has played really well for us this season, but I don't see why both Arber and Luke can stay and fight out the position with Westwood.
On the club's website it says that we have Henry, Oliver and Westwood now for that position, but considering Ronnie now plays as right back it seems as bit silly to set another player off to another club.
I am growing more and more concerned with all these changes. It's like 'lets see how many players we can transfer out this season'. I know it is not like that, but at some point I am going to do a list of all those who have gone, and all those who have come into the club. All these changes can't be good for a team.
According to Phil Wallace, the club now has all the players there who want to play for Boro. But he also said that a month or so back, so it doesn't fill me with complete confidence.
One thing I do agree with PW about, is that the club needs its fans to get behind them, now more than ever. (Although we are going to have to make up so many new songs now because everyone has left and there are so many new faces!!).
I just fear the worse with the two big fixtures we have coming up in the next couple of days. Forest Green at home and Aldershot away, aren't exactly matches you want to play when you are rebuilding a team. This is why we have to get behind the team. They know what they face, and hopefully the last couple of games has pushed the squad into working really hard and now can play as a team, work as a team, and win like a team.
Boro lost at the weekend to Cambridge in a 2-1 defeat. It was an awful performance. Again there wasn't any spark coming from the team, and it was just so frustrating and horrible to watch the match.
You could sense that Cambridge were going to score because they were actually doing something with their possession. We didn't play as a team, we played as individuals. There were 11 players out there who just couldn't work together as a team. There were too many new players in the squad for the team to gel, and as a result no-one could read what the other players were going to do.
We went 1-0 down in the 64th minute- which was richly deserved by Cambridge. Somehow we managed to get a goal back after Luke Oliver put the ball back in the net. We didn't deserve to be drawing but at least we were. Yet, we let slip and a shot at goal was saved by Julian but in a ridiculous way. He just parried the ball in the area, so Cambridge could score in the 89th minute.
It was a joke. If we can seriously think about pushing for the title then we have to beat the teams who are there with us. We didn't show anything on Saturday night which would make anyone think we were a promotion winning side.
At least before, when we weren't playing all that well, we were gaining results. Now we are playing awful, and not getting any results.
Something needs to change. It was a shocking performance, and if the squad want to stay in the play off position then they will have to start training more and start working as a team, otherwise I fear we may start sliding on a slippery slope.
We know they can do it, they just need to start realising it, and start showing everyone just how good we are and can be.
Boro face Cambridge away this weekend in a tie that is being shown live on Setanta Sports at 5.15pm.
It is an important game for us, as our recent form hasn’t exactly been brilliant. It is a chance for the squad to redeem themselves, and with Cambridge being so close to us in the league, the points are really going to make a difference.
I am worried about the game this weekend. We never seem to play that well when the game is screened on TV and we don’t ever get the points that we desperately need. Cambridge will be well up for the game and we have to be wary of them as they doing well at the moment.
The table as it stands looks like this:
1 Aldershot 29 21 64
2 Torquay 27 24 58
3 Stevenage 28 28 56
4 Burton Albion 28 21 54
5 Cambridge Utd 28 17 51
Aldershot are away to Farsley this weekend but I expect them to beat them, unlike us.
Burton have Woking away, which I would also think they would win.
Torquay are at home to Kidderminster, which I would also expect them to win.
Basically, I think all the teams around us will win, so it is absolutely critical that we get the points on Saturday. We can’t let the gap widen even more.
I wasn't looking forward to writing this post today. Boro put on a dismal display on Saturday at Exeter, where they ended up losing 4-0.
It is an absolute shocking result. Exeter did this to us before in the FA Trophy, but to do it again is unbelievable.
We cannot put out performances like that if we want to get promoted. We are not going to be in contention if we carry on conceding goals. We put ourselves out of the game by half time as we were 3-0 down.
I don't know what happened, but it is atrocious. We have put ourselves under so much pressure now. We have Cambridge and Aldershot coming up, so now they have been turned into must win games. We cannot afford to lose any more points.
I know the team is new, and that can't help matters, but if they all put in 100% that result would not have happened. I hope that performance gives the shock the players need to wake up and start seeing that we are a side that needs promotion and deserves it. If they carry on playing this way then we will never leave this league.At least before when we weren't playing well, we were still gaining results.
I am still reeling from the result and find it hard not to start blaming certain players. I know it cannot be blamed on one player as they are all responsible, but every time I have seen Junior Lewis he has frustrated me. All he wants to do is pass it backwards. We do not play like that. He may well be a good coach, but I don't think he deserves to be in the Boro side.
I will be so glad when Mitchell can play full games and we have other players like Martin comes back because we really need them now.
We need that spark and we just aren't getting it. What with all the transfers, things at the moment aren't looking good. Unless they can suddenly start playing as a team in the space of a week, I fear the worse at Cambridge.
It is just not good enough.
Sorry for the depressing talk. Rant over.
On a positive note (yes there is a positive to this post): It was great to see Mitch and Ollie back in the side for a bit. Hopefully they will be the spark we needed.
And also, even though I have been highly critical in this post (it's only because I care so much), we are still in a great position in the league, and I wouldn't have passed it up at the start of the season, so it shouldn't be ignored. But we are so close, and were so playing so well, which is why everyone's expectations are rising. What with all the transfers, I just think everyone is getting a bit jittery because we haven't been playing all that well of late. Ok, we won against Droylsden, but they are lower in the league, and when you go and draw with Farsley, you do start to ask a few questions.
Anyway, to some up, I am angry, so is everyone else. The next few games are crucial. We have to do well. But we are still in a great position. Hopefully the squad got the wake-up call they needed, and it is going to propell us into winning again.
We have Exeter Away this weekend in what could be a massive game for us. Exeter are just outside a playoff place at the moment, and last time we played them we lost 4-0 in the cup, so hopefully it will be different result tomorrow.
We need to close the gap on the top two, and what with all the signings it is going to be crucial that the team gel and that we get the result.
At the moment the table stands at:
Aldershot - 64
Torquay - 58
Stevenage - 56
Burton - 54
Cambridge - 51
Exeter - 47
If we beat Exeter then we will go above Torquay for at least a day as they are not playing until the Sunday, against Kiddiminster.
It is important we keep up the pressure and winning tomorrow will do just that.
Good luck Boro.
Craig Dobson signed for the MK Dons last night, after they had a five figure fee accepted. It is a shame to see him go. I really liked him as a player, and he was so creative and influential for us. I wish him all the luck and hopefully he will do well for a club that is near to promotion.
We also brought some players in yesterday, with Laird signing a 2 year deal, and we also signed an 18-year-old striker, Elliott Buchanan, on a 2 year deal.
With 5 minutes remaining last night we signed another striker- Isaiah Rankin from Grimsby Town. He is 29 and is expected to give us some experience up front.
I do worry with all these transfers, as the team we had last season no longer exists. But it looks like we have got some great players in. I just hope they can gel quickly and we can get back to our winning ways starting with Exeter tomorrow.