newyddion
Well-known member
'The Conway Cup'
(normally around this time of the season all games turn into cup finals at the broadcasters request)
Friday 21st February 2025
Venue: Ashton Gate, Bristol
Kick-off: 7:45 PM GMT
Another 'must win game' as a fan base we have not afforded our new signings from the January much if any period of grace to get up to speed settle down or learn the way we play, nor have we allowed time for players returning from injury to get back to full fitness and we most certainly haven't budged an inch when it comes to playing teams at the top of the table during this transition period.
Good news is.. those new signings will find their feet and get better as we go, players coming back from injury will be able to contribute where once they couldn't and even young academy prospects will be that much closer to the first team.
The bad news is Bristol have a very strong midfield and and are very good at attacking down the right wing. At the moment we have looked soft in midfield 'thin' at best and our left hand side has been the source of much concern. As an armchair manager.. stroking my chin from the side-lines I would like to see us pack that midfield and have some attacking talent on our right wing.. definitely shore up the left wing as it is going to take a battering.
For me this game would have been ideal for Ben Doak and that extra defensive midfielder would have come in useful as well.
Current Standing:
Transfer Watch:
Mark Travers [270mins] - we play out from the back. MT has got a very long kick
(Seny Dieng was carrying an injury for quite a while this season btw)
Ryan Giles [196mins] - do not ask or expect this lad to defend.. that's not his game
(anyone remember him being the answer to all of our problems?)
Morgan Whittaker [174mins] - he was an unrealistic signing at one point..
(you would have been mocked on twitter at the mere suggestion of him being a replacement for Isaiah Jones)
Samuel Illing Junior [127mins] - the man brought in to contribute more than Micah Hamilton
(He played left wing back in the champions league.. sounds familiar on two counts)
Kelechi Iheanacho [131mins] - he's not Latte Lath's replacement.. he is Alex Gilberts. So maybe we should judge him based on that.
(Stretlec was to be Latte Lath's replacement just as Morton was to be Barlaser's)
Injury Watch:
Dael Fry - 841mins
Came back and pleased everybody before getting injured again or becoming sick.
Anfernee Dijksteel - 1312mins
We tried to sell him in the window yet we've been crying out for him in the team. Only just back from injury
Aiden Morris -1674mins
We've missed his defensive capability, his type of gravy suits Hackney, Barlaser and McCabe alike.
Marcus Forss - 206mins
Came back from an horrific injury that almost finished his career. Came back early to cover for Latte Lath's 'fall' at Preston
Tommy Conway - 1149mins
Wasn't back in time to cover for Latte Lath's best Bob Mortimer impression after 10 minutes at Preston.
He'll be wanting to prove a few Bristol City fans wrong on Friday tho
Academy Watch:
Josh Dede
Ben Doak's former team mate..
Law McCabe
spookily similar to Hayden Hackney.. could be time to try 'the double Hackney'
Luke Woolston
defensive midfielder, ex Sunderland Academy
(looks like a young Instagram filtered Grant Leadbitter)
Braydon Johnson
Comparisons to Kobbie Mainoo and N'Golo Kante..
George McCormick
He's looked alright coming on as a make shift left back more technical than our usual crop
(can we have another George in central defence?)
Just making sure we are all up to speed there on our two or three areas of concern and possible influences on our recent form..
'The Game Plan'
How about we try switching from a back four out of possession to a back three with the ball, with one full-back moving high and wide up the pitch and another full-back tucking in alongside the two centre-backs?
Except we're not really doing that are we. Luke Ayling ‘The New Tommy Smith’ is trying to roll back the years and just play as an out an out wing back. If we are not going to stick with 'the whip' (Giles bombing down the left) with a back three remaining to cover.. maybe we could take a page out of Chris Wilder’s playbook and to have 'overlapping centre-backs'
Marcelo Bielsa wouldn't be scared of using defensive midfielders in defence and Gareth Southgate sure wasn't scared of using full backs to cover each and every single position. Ayling as an overlapping centre back?
Remember our 3-2-5 shape in possession in early era Carrick? Fast and devastating.. a potential automatic promotion machine. What went wrong? lots of possession, plenty of crosses, a bucket load of sustained pressure in the opposition’s half?
(but often a failure to convert chances while conceding far too many at the other end and a Carrick-teristic lack of intensity out of possession.)
Is Mark Travers adept enough with the ball at his feet to recycle possession effectively?
Yes it does seem redundant and can lead to groans within the ground, but playing backwards can often be the best way to break down an opponent, but having a goalkeeper who is comfortable at passing out and breaking the first line of pressure from the opposition is a highly useful tool for any team.
This is because, instead of using the keeper to pass out from the back during the initial build-up phase, we use our goalkeeper as an outlet to recycle possession and start attacks all over again, inviting the opposition to step up their defensive block and press them, which leaves space for our attackers to play back into.
Is he good enough? Damn right he better be!
So what is the answer?
Make us more solid defensively and increase the team’s potency in front of goal to complement their high ball retention. Dead easy really! just make us more solid defensively despite not having the flexibility in that part of the squad using our conventional first team defensive players.
Losing our top scorer YET AGAIN and not having our ball-playing goalkeeper to call upon straight away has once again hindered us.. but understandably Michael Carrick’s stock remains high. His commitment to going long and playing backwards is unwaveringly and something that should be perhaps revered and celebrated. Playing out from the back is a high-risk, high-reward strategy.
So we keep calm and Carrick on. Worshiping the Dutch-Catalan model of position play.. regardless of the fitness or in recent games suitability to that formula or particular page of the modern manager’s handbook. Is it ‘Karanka-esque’ dogmatism? or simply Extreme Pragmatism? We've set up the game to play and now we just need to hold on for dear life. We wanted exciting football and boy have we got it.. sometimes.
This January window has seen massive changes Carrick hasn’t had a pre-season to work with his new players, plus he demands constant passing out from the back, which has been cataclysmic and lead to unforced errors and atrocious mistakes. It's not even as if we could have had some sort of transitionary period where are new players were slowly integrated into the team. We've needed them straight away, get up to speed, do your homework and fire this team into the premier league.. please.
Maybe a song will fix it all?
I heard there was a secret ball,
Carrick dreamed it would beat them all,
But you don't really play the long ball, do ya
It goes like this the full pitch width,
Giles' cross, and Bergzorg's flick,
The Bristol keeper can't stop Tommy Conway,
Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conwaaaaay...
Defence was strong but you needed Youth
Van Den Berg and Dijksteel too,
Just to stop their strikers running through ya,
When they tied Sol Brynn to the physios chair
With Bangura and Dael Fry there!
From our team they can't take Tommy Conway,
Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conwaaaaay...
Did my best, it wasn't much,
Praying for Iheanacho's touch,
To find the golden boot of Tommy Conway,
And even though it all went wrong,
Come Friday night the Bristol song,
Will be screaming to defend, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conwaaaaay
The largest issues for Carrick’s Middlesbrough have come defensively.
Normally we would be reliant on deliveries into the box by Ryan Giles on the left and Ben Doak from the right (something we might see later on) The frontline now drops off and blocks the central passing options instead of stepping up to press, maybe we don't do that against Bristol? Left-winger Delano Burgzorg works wonderfully between the lines and is superb in pockets of space, while Illing Junior excels when hugging the touchline because he is a natural wingback, which is the role he played for Bologna. We are always direct in the opening fifteen minutes of matches and towards the end of games, but it's not quite working out.
The way we play requires incredibly high level of technical ability, hence the preference for premier league quality loans over league one bargain basement anomalies, we have gambled with form and fitness in the hope that the ingredients will fit the mold and we will be fighting fit in 2-3 weeks.
The double-pivot of Aiden Morris and Hayden Hackney looks excellent in possession, but have struggled defensively. This will be their biggest test this season in my opinion. Being flanked by two more defensively orientated players would help especially using that 'see saw' or 'whip' that has been so effective in the past with Ryan Giles.. just further up the pitch. When we have struggled pressing in our opponent’s third, it has lead to defensive frailties further down the block. Pressing high up the pitch is normally part of being a ‘progressive manager’, and Carrick now needs to integrate a successful high-pressing approach back into our current squad’s tactical profile.
We have a lot of work to do to break 'the voodoo curse' of not having enough premier league quality players fit to play the way Carrick wants us to..
Head-to-Head:
I've gone a bit crazy here over emphasizing a few points.. like to be more defensive on the left hand side and be more attacking on the right hand side. Also changed at the back are difficult due to our limited numbers. Taking a leaf out of Chris Wilder's book (sarcastically) but genuinely adding a whole lot of Marcelo Bielsa in there.. go big or go home.
O’Leary v Travers - get yer big kick out for the lads
Vyner v Burgzorg - Burgzorg knows the score
Dickie v Conway - homecoming treat
Roberts v Whittaker - needs to 'get hard'
Tanner v Giles - McCrorie is out
Bird v Hackney - this will win or lose the game imo
Knight v Morris - another great battle
Sykes v Illing - if he can do it.. then it's on
Mehmeti v Ayling - I think this is the answer
Armstrong v RVDB - cool and calm and classy
Twine v Dijksteel - never disappoints.
Cunclusion: We might look like total losers. But we do have doubles and if we have doubles.. then I think we might have triples.
He's got triples of the Right Back. Triples of the Triples of the Defensive Midfielder. Triples of the Central Defenders. Triples makes it safe. Triples is best.
Carrick still has many issues to iron out, particularly defensively and in terms of making the team less one-dimensional in attack. It will be interesting to see if the January transfer window has succeeded in recruiting players to fix our side’s glaring tactical issues.
We play some excellent football and are able to go toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the division. I don't think it's unreasonable for us to go on a run when we get our act together and make the play offs.. perhaps even cause some upset.. for the opposition fans for a change.
[Bristol City: Swansea Beat them 1-0 February 9th - big midfield wins out]
Lets get it on. We've got the players.. we just need to settle in and find the way.. then run it ragged to the end.
(normally around this time of the season all games turn into cup finals at the broadcasters request)
Friday 21st February 2025
Venue: Ashton Gate, Bristol
Kick-off: 7:45 PM GMT
Another 'must win game' as a fan base we have not afforded our new signings from the January much if any period of grace to get up to speed settle down or learn the way we play, nor have we allowed time for players returning from injury to get back to full fitness and we most certainly haven't budged an inch when it comes to playing teams at the top of the table during this transition period.
Good news is.. those new signings will find their feet and get better as we go, players coming back from injury will be able to contribute where once they couldn't and even young academy prospects will be that much closer to the first team.
The bad news is Bristol have a very strong midfield and and are very good at attacking down the right wing. At the moment we have looked soft in midfield 'thin' at best and our left hand side has been the source of much concern. As an armchair manager.. stroking my chin from the side-lines I would like to see us pack that midfield and have some attacking talent on our right wing.. definitely shore up the left wing as it is going to take a battering.
For me this game would have been ideal for Ben Doak and that extra defensive midfielder would have come in useful as well.
Current Standing:
- Middlesbrough: 4 points off a playoff place with a game in hand
Transfer Watch:
Mark Travers [270mins] - we play out from the back. MT has got a very long kick
(Seny Dieng was carrying an injury for quite a while this season btw)
Ryan Giles [196mins] - do not ask or expect this lad to defend.. that's not his game
(anyone remember him being the answer to all of our problems?)
Morgan Whittaker [174mins] - he was an unrealistic signing at one point..
(you would have been mocked on twitter at the mere suggestion of him being a replacement for Isaiah Jones)
Samuel Illing Junior [127mins] - the man brought in to contribute more than Micah Hamilton
(He played left wing back in the champions league.. sounds familiar on two counts)
Kelechi Iheanacho [131mins] - he's not Latte Lath's replacement.. he is Alex Gilberts. So maybe we should judge him based on that.
(Stretlec was to be Latte Lath's replacement just as Morton was to be Barlaser's)
Injury Watch:
Dael Fry - 841mins
Came back and pleased everybody before getting injured again or becoming sick.
Anfernee Dijksteel - 1312mins
We tried to sell him in the window yet we've been crying out for him in the team. Only just back from injury
Aiden Morris -1674mins
We've missed his defensive capability, his type of gravy suits Hackney, Barlaser and McCabe alike.
Marcus Forss - 206mins
Came back from an horrific injury that almost finished his career. Came back early to cover for Latte Lath's 'fall' at Preston
Tommy Conway - 1149mins
Wasn't back in time to cover for Latte Lath's best Bob Mortimer impression after 10 minutes at Preston.
He'll be wanting to prove a few Bristol City fans wrong on Friday tho
Academy Watch:
Josh Dede
Ben Doak's former team mate..
Law McCabe
spookily similar to Hayden Hackney.. could be time to try 'the double Hackney'
Luke Woolston
defensive midfielder, ex Sunderland Academy
(looks like a young Instagram filtered Grant Leadbitter)
Braydon Johnson
Comparisons to Kobbie Mainoo and N'Golo Kante..
George McCormick
He's looked alright coming on as a make shift left back more technical than our usual crop
(can we have another George in central defence?)
Just making sure we are all up to speed there on our two or three areas of concern and possible influences on our recent form..
'The Game Plan'
How about we try switching from a back four out of possession to a back three with the ball, with one full-back moving high and wide up the pitch and another full-back tucking in alongside the two centre-backs?
Except we're not really doing that are we. Luke Ayling ‘The New Tommy Smith’ is trying to roll back the years and just play as an out an out wing back. If we are not going to stick with 'the whip' (Giles bombing down the left) with a back three remaining to cover.. maybe we could take a page out of Chris Wilder’s playbook and to have 'overlapping centre-backs'
Marcelo Bielsa wouldn't be scared of using defensive midfielders in defence and Gareth Southgate sure wasn't scared of using full backs to cover each and every single position. Ayling as an overlapping centre back?
Remember our 3-2-5 shape in possession in early era Carrick? Fast and devastating.. a potential automatic promotion machine. What went wrong? lots of possession, plenty of crosses, a bucket load of sustained pressure in the opposition’s half?
(but often a failure to convert chances while conceding far too many at the other end and a Carrick-teristic lack of intensity out of possession.)
Is Mark Travers adept enough with the ball at his feet to recycle possession effectively?
Yes it does seem redundant and can lead to groans within the ground, but playing backwards can often be the best way to break down an opponent, but having a goalkeeper who is comfortable at passing out and breaking the first line of pressure from the opposition is a highly useful tool for any team.
This is because, instead of using the keeper to pass out from the back during the initial build-up phase, we use our goalkeeper as an outlet to recycle possession and start attacks all over again, inviting the opposition to step up their defensive block and press them, which leaves space for our attackers to play back into.
Is he good enough? Damn right he better be!
So what is the answer?
Make us more solid defensively and increase the team’s potency in front of goal to complement their high ball retention. Dead easy really! just make us more solid defensively despite not having the flexibility in that part of the squad using our conventional first team defensive players.
Losing our top scorer YET AGAIN and not having our ball-playing goalkeeper to call upon straight away has once again hindered us.. but understandably Michael Carrick’s stock remains high. His commitment to going long and playing backwards is unwaveringly and something that should be perhaps revered and celebrated. Playing out from the back is a high-risk, high-reward strategy.
So we keep calm and Carrick on. Worshiping the Dutch-Catalan model of position play.. regardless of the fitness or in recent games suitability to that formula or particular page of the modern manager’s handbook. Is it ‘Karanka-esque’ dogmatism? or simply Extreme Pragmatism? We've set up the game to play and now we just need to hold on for dear life. We wanted exciting football and boy have we got it.. sometimes.
This January window has seen massive changes Carrick hasn’t had a pre-season to work with his new players, plus he demands constant passing out from the back, which has been cataclysmic and lead to unforced errors and atrocious mistakes. It's not even as if we could have had some sort of transitionary period where are new players were slowly integrated into the team. We've needed them straight away, get up to speed, do your homework and fire this team into the premier league.. please.
Maybe a song will fix it all?
I heard there was a secret ball,
Carrick dreamed it would beat them all,
But you don't really play the long ball, do ya
It goes like this the full pitch width,
Giles' cross, and Bergzorg's flick,
The Bristol keeper can't stop Tommy Conway,
Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conwaaaaay...
Defence was strong but you needed Youth
Van Den Berg and Dijksteel too,
Just to stop their strikers running through ya,
When they tied Sol Brynn to the physios chair
With Bangura and Dael Fry there!
From our team they can't take Tommy Conway,
Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conwaaaaay...
Did my best, it wasn't much,
Praying for Iheanacho's touch,
To find the golden boot of Tommy Conway,
And even though it all went wrong,
Come Friday night the Bristol song,
Will be screaming to defend, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conway, Tommy Conwaaaaay
The largest issues for Carrick’s Middlesbrough have come defensively.
Normally we would be reliant on deliveries into the box by Ryan Giles on the left and Ben Doak from the right (something we might see later on) The frontline now drops off and blocks the central passing options instead of stepping up to press, maybe we don't do that against Bristol? Left-winger Delano Burgzorg works wonderfully between the lines and is superb in pockets of space, while Illing Junior excels when hugging the touchline because he is a natural wingback, which is the role he played for Bologna. We are always direct in the opening fifteen minutes of matches and towards the end of games, but it's not quite working out.
The way we play requires incredibly high level of technical ability, hence the preference for premier league quality loans over league one bargain basement anomalies, we have gambled with form and fitness in the hope that the ingredients will fit the mold and we will be fighting fit in 2-3 weeks.
The double-pivot of Aiden Morris and Hayden Hackney looks excellent in possession, but have struggled defensively. This will be their biggest test this season in my opinion. Being flanked by two more defensively orientated players would help especially using that 'see saw' or 'whip' that has been so effective in the past with Ryan Giles.. just further up the pitch. When we have struggled pressing in our opponent’s third, it has lead to defensive frailties further down the block. Pressing high up the pitch is normally part of being a ‘progressive manager’, and Carrick now needs to integrate a successful high-pressing approach back into our current squad’s tactical profile.
We have a lot of work to do to break 'the voodoo curse' of not having enough premier league quality players fit to play the way Carrick wants us to..
Head-to-Head:
I've gone a bit crazy here over emphasizing a few points.. like to be more defensive on the left hand side and be more attacking on the right hand side. Also changed at the back are difficult due to our limited numbers. Taking a leaf out of Chris Wilder's book (sarcastically) but genuinely adding a whole lot of Marcelo Bielsa in there.. go big or go home.
O’Leary v Travers - get yer big kick out for the lads
Vyner v Burgzorg - Burgzorg knows the score
Dickie v Conway - homecoming treat
Roberts v Whittaker - needs to 'get hard'
Tanner v Giles - McCrorie is out
Bird v Hackney - this will win or lose the game imo
Knight v Morris - another great battle
Sykes v Illing - if he can do it.. then it's on
Mehmeti v Ayling - I think this is the answer
Armstrong v RVDB - cool and calm and classy
Twine v Dijksteel - never disappoints.
Cunclusion: We might look like total losers. But we do have doubles and if we have doubles.. then I think we might have triples.
He's got triples of the Right Back. Triples of the Triples of the Defensive Midfielder. Triples of the Central Defenders. Triples makes it safe. Triples is best.
Carrick still has many issues to iron out, particularly defensively and in terms of making the team less one-dimensional in attack. It will be interesting to see if the January transfer window has succeeded in recruiting players to fix our side’s glaring tactical issues.
We play some excellent football and are able to go toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the division. I don't think it's unreasonable for us to go on a run when we get our act together and make the play offs.. perhaps even cause some upset.. for the opposition fans for a change.
[Bristol City: Swansea Beat them 1-0 February 9th - big midfield wins out]
Lets get it on. We've got the players.. we just need to settle in and find the way.. then run it ragged to the end.
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