r00fie1
Well-known member
It's that time again>>>>>
EFL Championship. Saturday 10th February 2024. The Riverside Stadium. KO 15:00 hrs
"We're flexible across the front line and we're creating chances. We're looking dangerous. I've got a lot of faith in the boys, whoever plays."
EFL Championship. Saturday 10th February 2024. The Riverside Stadium. KO 15:00 hrs
"We're flexible across the front line and we're creating chances. We're looking dangerous. I've got a lot of faith in the boys, whoever plays."
Michael Carrick has plenty to think about as we head towards the final third of this Championship season. But, unlike before Christmas and into January, it's not so much about injuries, but about options in terms of players coming back to the squad and competition for places.
Marcus Forss has come back sharp as a razor since his month out injured. He gets extra Brownie points for scoring against the Mackems!
Sammy Silvera and Riley McGree are back from down under. Dieng is back in training. Forss is back on the grass and looking as sharp as ever. Hackney is back to firing on all cylinders, and Barlaser is proving to be the quality player Carrick was telling us about earlier in the season. Latte Lath and Jones are further down the recovery route, and Josh Coburn is being managed very carefully after his operation. But we have Aziz, Thomas and Ayling to add to those options. Morgan Rogers reportedly wanted to move to Villa, and it's certainly looking good for the Boro kitty [£££] if reported figures are accurate. Equally, there are options to move players around, to play in different positions. Something Carrick is prepared to do, having faith and belief in the boys to do more than just one job. True, at times changes have been forced on him, but the squad is now getting back to full strength.
Carrick said Riley is fine and ready to play. He'll be like having a new player in the squad!
Carrick isn't prepared to concede defeat in the race for the play-offs. There's still plenty to play for, and Carrick acknowledged the Championship is “tight” and likely to remain so to the final whistle:
We've been saying it a long time, and we'll be saying it for a little bit longer yet. That [position] around the middle to the play-offs is very tight. It's up to someone to kind of grab it and pick up the right amount of points over a period of time. I've said it [before]: a bit of consistency brings you success. Something that we're working towards.
He's not the sort of Coach who speculates on what may be or not. That doesn't satisfy some reporters, but it's better to hear the truth from the man in charge, than creating headlines for the “media”. When asked about how he sees the rest of the season panning out, he was pretty straight-forward:
Who knows? Who knows, you know? I could sit and say anything right now……part of its guess work and, it's kind of irrelevant really. It's for us to make sure we are in and around it and give u`selves a chance. The only way of doing that is winning games and picking up points. It's normally tight. It normally goes close…..hopefully we can do great and be done by then, but the chances are it will go along [to the end of the season] yeah.
Carrick isn't concerned with what might be; as he's always said, what's done is done, and we can't change that. The only thing we can control is what's ahead of us, in terms of how we prepare mentally and physically on the training ground and with the right attitude in the dressing room:
We treat every game the same to be honest. Home or away. There's no easy games in terms of advantage. Whether it's an advantage or not, I just think it's about approaching the next game. One step at a time, you know. We can get caught looking too far ahead….ifs and buts, what you need to do this and what you need to do that….It's about the here, and now, you know, and putting things together that we can [have] a good game Saturday and the weekend after that.
The Robins lost out in penalties to Forest, but Carrick isnt bothered about how that affects their game on Saturday.
Having watched Bristol City in their FA Cup Game against Forest at the City Ground this week, Carrick said the Robins were "a good team and unlucky" to lose in the penalty shoot-out. Bristol put out a strong team against Forest and wanted to win the game. But that result means nothing to Carrick and won't affect his preparation or approach to Saturday's game:
.........so what'll that mean for Saturday, I don’t know, I don’t really know, so won't give it much thought. For us, it's about focusing on what we can do over the next couple of days...to be ready, we need to play well. Whatever the game throws at us, we'll be ready for it.
Whilst focusing on the game, there has also been news this week that Jonny Howson has expressed how much he wants to stay at Boro for another year. He's been a key player, particularly over the last two or three seasons. As Carrick's Captain, he has responsibility for more than just what happens on the pitch on match-days:
There's a difference of six years between Carrick and Boro Captain Jonny Howson.
Jonny's done fantastic. He's the example of how to prolong your career and how to look after yourself, and what it takes to play at this level for so long. He's a real example for that. He's a pleasure to have. The way he trains, the way he's available for so many games and never likes missing anything. He's great. We'll have the discussions in the weeks to come. I think we're both pretty calm about things and relaxed and grown up enough to sort things out.
Howson is certainly the linchpin on whom Carrick depends to lead the lads:
There's certain players you kind of lean on a little bit and speak [to], find their opinion…..they are in and around the changing room. Jonny is certainly that. He's the Captain. He goes about it in his own way in terms of he's not screaming and shouting in your face. He's very kind of thoughtful and, understands what it takes, so yeah, we speak a lot. pick his brains. We're in it together, you know. We're all working together to find the right balance of how to be successful. It's certainly the players who’ve got a good opinion on that, and Jonny's the leader of them.
There is also the situation regarding Matt Crooks, who, at the time of the Media Conference on Thursday, was on his way to the United States of America for a medical and tie up any outstanding business. For Carrick, the departure of Matt Crooks isn't a problem: he understands that football clubs are dynamic places, with personnel changing all the time. For different reasons, players come in and players move on. Crooks is in the latter stages of his football career and has his family as well as himself to consider. Whatever happens, “Big Tree” has been a model professional for Boro, scored some brilliant goals and given us back much more than what we paid for him!
Carrick said:
I can give you the latest. Crooks is gonna travel over to America in the next day or two. It's one of those things…. I said it to Morgan: every situation is different, and we treat it different. For this one, for Matt and his family, it's an opportunity he kind of wanted to explore and, It's too big to turn down. We respected that. It is what it is, you know. At this moment in time, it's not done. Whether it gets done or not, he is travelling over there to have a medical to see what comes of it.
Liam Manning left Oxford United to join the Robins.
During the transfer window, he was hopeful of signing Finn Aziz [!]…. Sorry mate
So finally, we look forward to welcoming Bristol City, who under Liam Manning, are looking a different side to that previously under Nigel Pearson. New personnel have arrived, others have taken a step back from being first team regulars, and we can expect a different challenge to the last time they visited The Riverside.
Carrick had the last word on whether “free agents” might be considered to cover for our injured forwards, and whether the absence of Crooks would create a “problem”. He pointed out, we have options "across the forward line", particularly highlighting Marcus Forss, having the flexibility of McGree and Sammy, as well as the interchangeability of the majority of the squad:
We've got options. We've got really good options. Riley and Sammy coming back around. Manny [Latte Lath] getting fit again in the not too distant future. I think we've got good options. Hayden played well as a ten [10] at the weekend. We're flexible across the front line and we're creating chances. We're looking dangerous. I've got a lot of faith in the boys, whoever plays. Listen! It is what it is. We want to be as strong as we can, we want to be as powerful as we can, and we want to be as dangerous as we can. But I do feel with the players we have, we have a good balance.
Let's give it a good go and see where the end of the season takes us!
Come on Boro!
r00fie1 09/02/2024
Marcus Forss has come back sharp as a razor since his month out injured. He gets extra Brownie points for scoring against the Mackems!
Sammy Silvera and Riley McGree are back from down under. Dieng is back in training. Forss is back on the grass and looking as sharp as ever. Hackney is back to firing on all cylinders, and Barlaser is proving to be the quality player Carrick was telling us about earlier in the season. Latte Lath and Jones are further down the recovery route, and Josh Coburn is being managed very carefully after his operation. But we have Aziz, Thomas and Ayling to add to those options. Morgan Rogers reportedly wanted to move to Villa, and it's certainly looking good for the Boro kitty [£££] if reported figures are accurate. Equally, there are options to move players around, to play in different positions. Something Carrick is prepared to do, having faith and belief in the boys to do more than just one job. True, at times changes have been forced on him, but the squad is now getting back to full strength.
Carrick said Riley is fine and ready to play. He'll be like having a new player in the squad!
Carrick isn't prepared to concede defeat in the race for the play-offs. There's still plenty to play for, and Carrick acknowledged the Championship is “tight” and likely to remain so to the final whistle:
We've been saying it a long time, and we'll be saying it for a little bit longer yet. That [position] around the middle to the play-offs is very tight. It's up to someone to kind of grab it and pick up the right amount of points over a period of time. I've said it [before]: a bit of consistency brings you success. Something that we're working towards.
He's not the sort of Coach who speculates on what may be or not. That doesn't satisfy some reporters, but it's better to hear the truth from the man in charge, than creating headlines for the “media”. When asked about how he sees the rest of the season panning out, he was pretty straight-forward:
Who knows? Who knows, you know? I could sit and say anything right now……part of its guess work and, it's kind of irrelevant really. It's for us to make sure we are in and around it and give u`selves a chance. The only way of doing that is winning games and picking up points. It's normally tight. It normally goes close…..hopefully we can do great and be done by then, but the chances are it will go along [to the end of the season] yeah.
Carrick isn't concerned with what might be; as he's always said, what's done is done, and we can't change that. The only thing we can control is what's ahead of us, in terms of how we prepare mentally and physically on the training ground and with the right attitude in the dressing room:
We treat every game the same to be honest. Home or away. There's no easy games in terms of advantage. Whether it's an advantage or not, I just think it's about approaching the next game. One step at a time, you know. We can get caught looking too far ahead….ifs and buts, what you need to do this and what you need to do that….It's about the here, and now, you know, and putting things together that we can [have] a good game Saturday and the weekend after that.
The Robins lost out in penalties to Forest, but Carrick isnt bothered about how that affects their game on Saturday.
Having watched Bristol City in their FA Cup Game against Forest at the City Ground this week, Carrick said the Robins were "a good team and unlucky" to lose in the penalty shoot-out. Bristol put out a strong team against Forest and wanted to win the game. But that result means nothing to Carrick and won't affect his preparation or approach to Saturday's game:
.........so what'll that mean for Saturday, I don’t know, I don’t really know, so won't give it much thought. For us, it's about focusing on what we can do over the next couple of days...to be ready, we need to play well. Whatever the game throws at us, we'll be ready for it.
Whilst focusing on the game, there has also been news this week that Jonny Howson has expressed how much he wants to stay at Boro for another year. He's been a key player, particularly over the last two or three seasons. As Carrick's Captain, he has responsibility for more than just what happens on the pitch on match-days:
There's a difference of six years between Carrick and Boro Captain Jonny Howson.
Jonny's done fantastic. He's the example of how to prolong your career and how to look after yourself, and what it takes to play at this level for so long. He's a real example for that. He's a pleasure to have. The way he trains, the way he's available for so many games and never likes missing anything. He's great. We'll have the discussions in the weeks to come. I think we're both pretty calm about things and relaxed and grown up enough to sort things out.
Howson is certainly the linchpin on whom Carrick depends to lead the lads:
There's certain players you kind of lean on a little bit and speak [to], find their opinion…..they are in and around the changing room. Jonny is certainly that. He's the Captain. He goes about it in his own way in terms of he's not screaming and shouting in your face. He's very kind of thoughtful and, understands what it takes, so yeah, we speak a lot. pick his brains. We're in it together, you know. We're all working together to find the right balance of how to be successful. It's certainly the players who’ve got a good opinion on that, and Jonny's the leader of them.
There is also the situation regarding Matt Crooks, who, at the time of the Media Conference on Thursday, was on his way to the United States of America for a medical and tie up any outstanding business. For Carrick, the departure of Matt Crooks isn't a problem: he understands that football clubs are dynamic places, with personnel changing all the time. For different reasons, players come in and players move on. Crooks is in the latter stages of his football career and has his family as well as himself to consider. Whatever happens, “Big Tree” has been a model professional for Boro, scored some brilliant goals and given us back much more than what we paid for him!
Carrick said:
I can give you the latest. Crooks is gonna travel over to America in the next day or two. It's one of those things…. I said it to Morgan: every situation is different, and we treat it different. For this one, for Matt and his family, it's an opportunity he kind of wanted to explore and, It's too big to turn down. We respected that. It is what it is, you know. At this moment in time, it's not done. Whether it gets done or not, he is travelling over there to have a medical to see what comes of it.
Liam Manning left Oxford United to join the Robins.
During the transfer window, he was hopeful of signing Finn Aziz [!]…. Sorry mate
So finally, we look forward to welcoming Bristol City, who under Liam Manning, are looking a different side to that previously under Nigel Pearson. New personnel have arrived, others have taken a step back from being first team regulars, and we can expect a different challenge to the last time they visited The Riverside.
Carrick had the last word on whether “free agents” might be considered to cover for our injured forwards, and whether the absence of Crooks would create a “problem”. He pointed out, we have options "across the forward line", particularly highlighting Marcus Forss, having the flexibility of McGree and Sammy, as well as the interchangeability of the majority of the squad:
We've got options. We've got really good options. Riley and Sammy coming back around. Manny [Latte Lath] getting fit again in the not too distant future. I think we've got good options. Hayden played well as a ten [10] at the weekend. We're flexible across the front line and we're creating chances. We're looking dangerous. I've got a lot of faith in the boys, whoever plays. Listen! It is what it is. We want to be as strong as we can, we want to be as powerful as we can, and we want to be as dangerous as we can. But I do feel with the players we have, we have a good balance.
Let's give it a good go and see where the end of the season takes us!
Come on Boro!
r00fie1 09/02/2024
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