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Wilder's blast a warning & sign of things to come for Boro players
Wilder wants his team to excite and express themselves but not while forgetting the basics, the plan, the team
www.gazettelive.co.uk
Dominic ShawBoro Editor
- 11:29, 24 NOV 2021
Chris Wilder's blast a warning and a sign of things to come for Middlesbrough's players
Wilder wants his team to excite and express themselves but not while forgetting the basics, the plan, the teamChris Wilder isn't one to dress things up. "I'll say it honestly," was his opening line in his post-match press conference on Tuesday night. And with that he set about cutting Middlesbrough's players down to size.
Wilder won't have really seen it as a blast, rather just saying what he saw and felt. He isn't one to hammer his players in private and then protect them in public. He says it as he sees it. And Tuesday's night's assessment of Boro's defeat was a warning to his players and a sign of things to come.
Had Boro seen the game through, Wilder might not have been quite as damning in his post-match verdict but he'd have still made his frustrations known at the way the second half played out. In the first half, he saw a team, a unit and many promising flashes of what he's been working on at Rockliffe. In the second half, he saw arrogance and individuals trying to steal the show.
Boro coasted through the second period but this team isn't good enough to coast. Yet again, they paid the price for taking their eye off the ball in the second half. Yet again, they gave the opposition a second half leg up.
“The result was decided by us, not the opposition," said Wilder.
And when the discussion turned to what happens next and how the players respond to Wilder's criticism, the message was simple: “In quite simplistic terms, it’s not acceptable so if they carry on doing what they want to do then they won’t play. It’s as simple as that."
What needs pointing out here, and is something that Wilder was keen to stress, is the fact the manager doesn't want to stop his players from expressing themselves, especially in the forward third. Anything but. Time and time again since his appointment, he's talked about wanting and needing the fans to feel excited and enthused by what they see. He wants his teams to be good fun to watch.
But what he doesn't want is players forgetting the basics, forgetting the plan, forgetting what is worked on Monday-Friday at Rockliffe.
Preston's players celebrate at the Riverside (Image: CameraSport - Dave Howarth)
"The first half was good," he said.
"I keep saying it’s something we’ve chucked on these players and they’ve adapted well.
“They enjoyed it and I enjoyed it and hopefully the supporters enjoyed it but that’s first half.
"We’ve got to produce that right the way through the second half and if we’d have stuck to the plan, I believe we’d have had a positive result, a good performance and a good night by all but we didn’t.
“If you don’t and if you go off plan and you start doing your own bits, it’s not an individual sport. Go and get a set of golf clubs if you want to do that.
“Even if we had been three or four nil up, it’s still doing the right things, grinding the opposition down, building momentum, pulling them about all over the place like we did for 30 minutes after the initial burst that came from them.
“We had them exactly where we wanted them but we changed script. I don’t want you to think that I don’t want them to do anything individual: a stepover or a drop of shoulder and put a through ball like Crooksy’s to Sporar’s first half.
“I don’t want us to be a mechanical side that’s just pragmatic. I want us to express ourselves. I want somebody to come and do something that is a little bit special but it has to be in a team shape.
“We’re coming across the pitch and we’re trying to force things through instead of just keep moving them about the pitch. Gaps will open and we have that opportunity to be ruthless and we didn’t move them enough and the chances weren’t created.
He continued: “You’re a team player. I’m a team player. I’ve been a team player when I played. There is a balance.
“This club has been renowned for some magicians at the top of the pitch but they are team players and I just thought that we went individual and we played as if we were three or four nil up. We weren’t and we can’t go individual, even if we were three or four nil up. The way they play and the way they approach games is hugely important and we didn’t put them to bed."
As Wilder alluded to there, what was so frustrating was the fact he saw so much to be enthused about in the first half. Boro started slowly but soon got a grip and the goal, a thumping header from Paddy McNair, was what the hosts deserved.
Preston didn't have a sniff other than a couple of penalty shouts - the first of which Marcus Tavernier was lucky to get away with. "Flat" was how one Preston press box regular described the visitors. They offered next to nothing and Boro were comfortable. Too comfortable, clearly.
The early signs in the second half were positive, Lee Peltier buying into Wilder's demands and belting forward to join the attacking, lashing a strike off the underside of the bar. But Boro then dropped down a couple of gears. Duncan Watmore was missed when he went off, his replacement Onel Hernandez too often taking a touch too many, perhaps trying too hard to impress.
As the game went on, Preston - despite their inferiority - sensed an opportunity and when substitute Ched Evans rose to head home the equaliser, the visitors must have felt like they'd got away with one. But for Boro, the damage was only half done. Which takes us to another issue that needs fixing fast.
You'll be aware of the stats by now, I'm sure. Boro's first half success and second half struggles. If the Championship table was decided on the first half of games, Boro would be third. If it was decided on the second half, they'd be 19th.
There's clearly a physical explanation and improving the conditioning of the squad is something Wilder and his coaching team will work on. But resilience - or lack of it - is also an issue.
While Wilder sympathised with his squad for the refereeing decisions that went against them against Millwall, at Rockliffe on Monday the manager spoke to his players about their reaction to the setback. In short, they need to be able to recover, react and dust themselves down. But against Preston, they pressed self-destruct, just as they did against Luton, Birmingham and Blackpool. Too often a blow, be it a goal against or a decision, is followed by chaos. Boro need their leaders to step up.
Having dominated for 45 minutes against Millwall and two thirds of the game against Preston, Wilder will wonder how on earth Boro have only walked away with one point. He's seen a lot to be happy about and praised the players for all that's been good.
But the players also now know what Wilder quite simply won't accept. They need to respond to the manager's warning.
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