Chris and Nathan are back with episode ninety of the Boropolis podcast. In this episode, the lads reflect on a wonderful week for Boro, with wins against Chelsea and Millwall on the agenda. Additionally, the signing of Luke Ayling is discussed and Saturday’s game against Rotherham is previewed.
Hello and welcome back to the bopis podcast as usual I’m joined with Nathan and well we’ve got one hell of a podcast to do this week haven’t we Nathan two wins one of the wins I mean it’s you’ve been itching away I’ve had a text almost
Every day oh let’s just do a podcast now of course about the Chelsea game you’re finally going to get your moment now to relive it Nathan and of course we took the risk of waiting and including the mil war game in this podcast as well thankfully we don’t go from one high
Down to a serious low we can just maintain positivity throughout the episode two wins to talk about the mood is fantastic really as good as it’s been and weeks in these episodes and yeah I’m ready to dive straight into it I mean I haven’t even asked how you are but I
Know that you’ll be in a very good mood to be honest yeah I am uh thanks for asking Chris yeah um last week bit of a strange one having to uh discuss Coventry and Villa both defeats but after the Villa game we did feel a little bit more positive but I couldn’t
Get myself too excited last week about the Chelsea game because of ongoing un assessments and even after it really because I I had uni assessments du last Wednesday but they’re all handed in now and I am just kicking back and uh relaxing for the next week before
Starting again so yeah going to chill back with a l here for this episode and uh yeah talk about two fantastic wins one of the one of the best nights at the Riverside I think I’ve ever had uh last week and following it up with a very untypical bough uh result following a
Very big high in the week with another win uh in the league so yeah really excited to get at this episode um but yeah Chris how are you doing as well just uh in general rather than middles bro H yeah I’m good mate do you know what when people ask you this it’s
Probably you’re in the same but what when people say oh how are you and they probably don’t say oh if you don’t Factor middles bre into that but let’s be honest it’s it’s probably about 60% of your mood or at least it is for me anyway majority of the time that’s
Probably quite sad to be honest but I mean it does have a way bigger impact than what it should um so yeah overall I’m I’m absolutely sound I’m happy Nathan um and like you say ready to get into this so um without further Ado let’s let’s delve straight into it um obviously Chelsea
We knew that we were going to have some players back we knew hatney was back of course lty laugh had come on as a sub against Villa had a little run out krooks was an unused substitute but he come into the team L of course started
Hayden hatney was in there as well and then we had the cup ties and suspensions of course aaz wasn’t available Greenwood wasn’t available as he hasn’t been throughout and then Morgan Rogers suspended so similar set up to Villa um as we said last week a little bit of a
Trial run in terms of the formation and it it seemed to work fairly well against Villa and that was from early on quite clearly going to be the exact same tactic against this Chelsea side unfortunately when you’re trying to produce a performance up against everything that you can possibly imagine
And then two of your players go off within the first 20 minutes I mean it it makes that sort of mountain to climb even larger before you’ve even reached halfway I mean it wasn’t an ideal start was it no it wasn’t um obviously the the
Sort of the game plan is you back five you’ve got width with with Jones and bangura there you’ve packed the Midfield even a little bit more than the Villa game because you have barassa house and Hackney in there Hackney did get forward a little bit more often than the other
Two um but still packing the Midfield uh when we are out of possession and then Crooks just supporting L and then yeah obviously you you have the atmosphere everyone’s up for it the scarfs the T4 before the game the atmosphere was absolutely just Top Class prior kickoff
And within 30 seconds L last through on goal and you think oh my God this is it we’re going to start at like like a house on fire going to go one nil up here and he just doesn’t get a good enough connection on the shot P rolls it
To petrovich and gets injured in the process tries to carry on and can’t corburn comes on which doesn’t offer you the same as as L LA and the pacing behind Thiago Silva and uh diassi and then obviously bangura the same on that left hand side so you have to sort of
Alter your way of playing but luckily with some players back on the bench it did allow us to sort of keep the same shape Coburn going up front as mentioned and then Matt Clark filling in at left Center half allowing Engel to play at left wing back so yeah luckily we did
Have those two options just to sort of keep the same shape and keep the game plan as it was um but yeah it was not the ideal start on the injury front um but yeah it would have been uh ridiculous to go one0 in front after literally 30
Seconds yeah I mean like you say you sort of everyone was up out of the chair thinking shoely not we’re only what 50 seconds into the game or something and actually a few people made the case that it might have been a penalty but I think I wasn’t really sure about those I
Think he’d got his shot off and just not made enough contact really um obviously sort of jumping forward a little bit we now know that bangar and l laugh are going to be out for I can’t remember the exact quote but it sounded like a couple
Of weeks at least really judging by the way it was worded which is obviously again a major blow and of course we’ll get on the striker problems further on in the in the podcast and the the the another injury the other injury that we’ve had up there which is making life
Even more difficult yeah but as you say um had the chance to go oneup didn’t had the injury problems the mountain was getting bigger and bigger and then Johnny Aon decides that you know what I’m just gonna give Cole Palmer a chance and for the life of me a player
Of Cole Palmer’s ability in the form that he’s been in so far at Chelsea you’re just expecting him to roll it into the corner and somehow he doesn’t and and I I still can’t quite believe that he hasn’t managed to just roll in to this point now and we’re well nearly a week
On yeah it was a huge let off really um I’m I’m G to be totally honest um with my opinion on on Chelsea um sort of just on the whole game um as we’re discussing them but they didn’t create pretty much anything in the game their chances
Were coming from our own mistakes really this one from from Johnny hon just trying to play a ball into basser and he doesn’t have enough on it I I don’t think he necessarily well he surely must know that pal is there but evidently doesn’t anticipate him being able to latch onto
The ball and he he he gets onto that in his first touch sets him straight away to to fire the shot and yeah as he rolls it you thinking yeah one n Chelsea and somehow he’s missed the target it rolls wide it’s a sitter and a huge let off and you’ve
Just got take a big massive side relief because the the ground just fell silent for a second after the initial sort of sigh as the ball’s been passed to Palmer the ground fall all silent and then it’s it’s greeted with a a slight Gia but it was a Gia
More in in sort of relief than in joking fashion but yeah I couldn’t believe he missed but yeah you’re starting to think that it could be your night yeah and I mean there’s a few other chances Cole Palmer gets another great chance after we take the lead but of course
We do go into the lead I mean we’ve had some really good night at the Riverside we obviously had Brighton Tottenham we had the the playoff game against brenford and there’s a few others that you can throw into there during the promotion season and things like
That but I think this is right up there in terms of our lifetime going to middleb matches of course we were unfortunate to miss out on uh on the run in in Europe and a few other nights around that time but the moment where Hayden hatney
Prods it in with his left foot runs towards the South stand it’s just one of those middle Brown memories for us for younger fans I’m sure even for older fans where it’s just never going to leave us as it and it’s actually a really well worked goal I think that
Kind of got like lost in the moment of everyone just losing it completely the absolute scenes in every stand well apart from where Chelsea were and uh yeah just the general pandemonium of of thinking oh my God we’ve actually gone one up against Chelsea it’s a really
Well worked goal to be fair yeah it is B lass of playing that ball over the top and something that was a regular theme in the first half I I thought was was Jones being able to beat corwell in a foot race um and he gets on the end of this ball
Initially tries to cross it and it’s blocked sort of Ricochet back to him which is fortuitous I suppose um but then delivers across through cwi’s legs and yeah actually 100 million pound mes kaiso doesn’t track Hayden Hackney uh who Sprints towards the edge of the Box
Slows down but then speeds up again gets across that front post and yeah prods it Beyond petravic it’s a really well worked goal as mentioned it’s a good tidy finish uh beyond the goalkeeper and I’m going to be honest I didn’t see You’ scored the goal uh
Because it’s nice to have a full Riverside but at the same time it’s also nice uh sorry not very nice to have uh a lot of fans that don’t usually attend Games stand up every time we enter the opposition half um so yeah saw the ball
Hit the back of the net didn’t see you scored just my my eyesight and I’ve still got the picture in my head now was as I’ve jumped up I can see the bench and just seeing Carrick spin round and give a massive fist to the crowd and
Woodgate and danks jump off the bench flying all over the place in the technical area and yeah just hearing the Riverside pretty much exploded with noise um possibly one of the loudest reactions to a goal I’ve I’ve ever heard from from the Riverside um and yeah it it was a sort of strange
Game as I’m mentioning obviously the Riverside was full on the night and it it sold out on the day of the game because it was on General sale to to fans and the there’s a few uh tourists I knew I knew you were going to this point there’s a few obviously as if
You listen to this podcast you know that Nathan sits fairly close to me so he he comes up the stairs and has a word with me at half time likes to give us well we share our thoughts on the first half performance and despite us being one nil up against Chelsea and Performing
Largely very very well Nathan’s number one complaint was the fact that there was quite obviously some hidden Chelsea fans sat right beside you yeah so they ever so slightly Rose off their seat when Hackney scored and gave it a very Ry Round of Applause um but yeah they certainly
Knew my feelings on them being there by the end of the game and uh yeah we we we we did have a a little conversation about that as they were leaving at fulltime but yeah hopefully we uh we never see them in the Riverside ever again yeah yeah I mean well unless we
Get promoted they’ve got no reason to I suppose um but yeah as you say the atmosphere was just incredible and I sort of skipped over it to be fair I was just wanting to talk about Hat’s goals straight away but just on the SC of course a massive shout out of the
12thman group who organized all of that it was a real good addition as well as the TF and the display that Red Faction we all know how great they are when they do that but I thought the scars added that extra little bit and there was a lot of toall Prior
Kickoff about you know whatever happens if Chelsea go one up and of course they didn’t but they they went very close a few times it was just keep behind the team stay with the team make sure that they’ve got full belief that we can get something out of this game and my
Goodness if do you know what we sit in the west and I mean it’s the it look it’s the quietest part of the ground there’s no we’re not questioning that at all even at times the West was giving it a little bit of a goal and you
Thought fair play you know what there’s a lot of um the older generation that sit where me and you do and he there was a few of them on the feet I mean fair play to them and yeah throughout the full game whether the Chelsea were on
Top and sometimes you need to crowd more when the opposition is you know pegging you back and you feel like a goal is just around the corner just to sort of give you that extra couple of percent to go and just H your body at it and mat PL
My goodness he was uh he was definitely feeling that extra few percent but yeah it was just a a real gritty lovely sort of backs against the wall give everything performance typical Cup tie at the river side and as you say the atmosphere just played such a huge
Part in it and and from the moment that hatney scored the atmosphere didn’t get any worse it didn’t sort of drop it was just constant throughout and I must say as well I thought the Chelsea fans were an absolute embarrassment I didn’t yet I think I heard them once um but to be
They were drowned out by middlesbor fans anyway so it’s not a huge surprise that you couldn’t hear a word from them um but yeah we obviously have that moment and then shortly after Cole Palmer gets his second absolute sitter of the game and I mean a player of that quality as I
Said you expect maybe one chance to go beging but not two I think it’s Enzo has a an effort from the edge of the Box Tom Glover goes to sort of Pat it down I think think or in fact no sorry he tries to catch it the catch sort of bounces
Off his chest he doesn’t quite get it right it falls to Palmer and he just on the volley puts a straight over the bar Glover probably brings him down but he’s he’s already missed by this point and at that moment I’m not gonna lie and and this goes against everything
I am as a football fan you probably know if you listen to this podcast Nathan definitely knows CU he just hears me every day of the week talking about oh well it one slight positive is right well we’re going up and one slight negative is well that’s done then for
This season and as soon as Palmer missed that chance I thought this might just be out night because it’s not often a player of that quality misses two chances that are that good yeah it is exactly that and then moments later it’s it’s the chance where
They they actually car US Open I think with within two passes uh from from Back to Front KERO plays it into into Palmer he chops back in on his left foot hits the shot and Glover is able to sort of Parry it and in the most far to as where
Possible it just comes nicely back off Johnny hon straight back into his gloves and you just you just think when that sort of thing happens that you look is in and it is sort of one of them one of them things in in cup ties we’ve had it
A lot over the years obviously having played United Spurs and and Chelsea um over the years where to beat these sides you do need that little bit of look like obviously I suppose by law the wat more goal should should stand the uh the watmore and and Crooks goal at uh man
United it should stand but realistically it’s handball um the the Spurs game obviously Kane’s offside for for that goal and there’s other other instances where they had a chance in that Spurs game and it comes off Crooks and like lumely gets down and makes a ridiculous
Save for like the first time in his middlesburg career makes a really good save um so look you have to have Lu in these cup ties and from the first leg our luck was in it it really was um I I wasn’t necessarily impressed really with with Chelsea in terms of their chance
Creation um but yeah they they they should have certainly scored at least one on the night and didn’t and yeah I think that we did quite well in terms of being able to limit their chance creation but just need to be a little bit more careful in in actually giving them chances
Ourselves because it it it will it will come B us if if you keep giving them chances the boun score one eventually um because of the quality that they do have it it will shine through eventually um but yeah on the whole was really really impressed with with our
Performance um just because of the ability to dig in in the second half it was backs against the wall um you could sort of see the team falling deeper and deeper and deeper in that second half but they managed it and weirdly I don’t think on the ball it
Was our best performance that I’ve ever seen I thought that we were sloppy at times um but part of that was down to something that did impress me which was Chelsea’s pressing I thought they pressed really well all over the pitch really um but yeah I think you’ve got a factor
The injuries in we didn’t have that sort of Chip over the top or into a channel anymore once L had gone off um corburn doesn’t necessarily give you that but if you have lat I think he I think he causes a lot more problems for for diassi and and
Thiago silver in that second half they’ have probably had to drop off a little bit further than they were because they’d have been wary of his pacing behind um but yeah we we survived and uh yeah one nil in the first leg we spoke last week and just sort of we’re
Both of the opinion that as long as we stay in the tie we’re fine with that as long as we go to Stanford bridge and we’re sort of still in it we take that the odds are stacked against us and we’re more than in the tie I suppose
We’ve actually got a lead going to Stanford Bridge Okay and still I know it’s a bit weird to say having watched Chelsea there but going to their place I I I do expect us to probably lose the game um but you you just never know you you really you really don’t know um
And yeah no matter what happens in the second leg this is the opinion of most no matter what happens in the second leg we’ll always have that that home leg we beat Chelsea and we were deser deserved winners on the night um yeah really really proud of the
Players of the fans as well I thought it was an incredible atmosphere one of the best atmospheres I experienced as a fan at the Riverside so yeah a top top night at the Riverside that uh will live long in the memory yeah yeah absolutely and as you
Say I think it’s the opinion of of most that regardless of what happen happens we’ll always have that night against Chelsea and at first when the draw was made I almost thought well you know if we can go to Stanford Bridge first and then bring it back to the riv
Side and it’s still Within Reach and we can you know really pack out the rivers side and and and hopefully pull off something in the second leg of course we’re all talking about what ifs and it might not have happened and you know we’re all talking about
Stuff that well is not going to happen now but it sort of almost not justified but it made me realize that actually I think all along having the first leg out the r side was always probably the better option and I know it well it wasn’t an
Option it was the better of the draw really but having the ability to you know pack out the r side everyone headed to the game thinking it was unexpected but there was still a chance and obviously we take the lead in the ti going into the second leg but can you
Imagine having that night taken away from you and going to Stanford bridge on the first leg of the tide getting beat by a few and then the r side might have not even been full in the second leg and you think God it could have all been so
Different and listen we might go and get thumbed but as you say we’ve we’re always going to have that night against Chelsea now and just when you said obviously the the look was in on the night I think it was fair to say in certain moments with odd bounces and
Things like that it was definitely the case but I think huge credits got to go to the back five and I know there was some Stand Out performance Johnny Alon just seems to turn into an absolutely different animal on nights like that but I thought Dale fry Matt Clark Both
Deserve huge credit Glover again was very very good and Matt Clark I mean it seems like he’s a sort of common theme on the podcast now week in week out but 14 months out and then he goes and has a performance like that I mean his head was literally a magnet to the
Ball in the second half everything that come into the box he just headed or kicked or used one of his limbs to sort of clear Bill fry had another similar to Johnny Alon that he just comes alive on nights like that he again was incredible Lucas
Angle I mean we’ll get on him in the m w game as well but my goodness Everyone is always just going to point back to that first half at hillsbor as a comparison to where he is now and I mean just incredible first in the tackle getting above Gusto I mean they
Brought mudri on he played against MW first half who did cause him a few problems but nothing of real no Sterling moved over to that side Gusto all night who I actually thought despite him being taken off was one of Chelsea’s better players constantly on the overlap
Constantly wanted to get at the fullback and Engle just seemed to deal with it and without any real sort of oh like lunging challenges where you think oh dear God that’s a bit late or oh he’s in bother there just with no real challenge to be honest what a performance from him
And just over all what a team performance as you say a real Pride at the performance and almost with this current team it’s getting into that territory again where listen we don’t know any players by you know if I walked past a player in the street none
Of them would and of course all support well most supporters were in this bracket where they wouldn’t go you’re all right but it feels like you do know them and you feel that sort of Pride as though that the your mates out there they’re given everything and you’ve got
That pride of they they really know what it means to the supporters and it works both ways because the supporters have got to give them something to build on and it just felt like one of those performances and there is that feeling of Something’s bubbling away something’s
Building at the moment and uh yeah it’s always a great feeling when you have that um sort of relationship and connection between players and fans and yeah as you say just finishing up on Chelsea we have something to go to Stanford Bridge with and protect and
That’s all we ask for I think me and you both said we’d be happy if we just kept it within one goal well we’ve kept it within one goal but we’re in the lead and we’ve got something to protect obviously we’re not going to sort of talk about the second leg now
Because it will be next podcast won’t it um previewing that after Ro but yeah I mean tickets sold out I think minutes after Hackney had scored I made the critical error of being a sort of listen I’m open on this podcast a fair weather cup fan I thought well I’ll
Give it the first leg and then I’ll think about it in regards to attending the second leg well got in to the car of course I made my way back to Newcastle with my Dad I’m sure you’re already home by this point sent you a message Chelsea might be on how many
Points you got got yeah okay you can get a ticket right now went to look no they’re gone and it’s my own fault I should have had more belief I didn’t but uh yeah I’m sure I don’t even know how many it is a couple of thousand you
Included are going to go and Roar on that middle for team and hope that they can pull off the unthinkable but yeah um just overall what night naan and then one that is going to live so so long in the memory and and what’s even better is
I think the reason as I alluded to earlier on in the podcast is you said we need to record a podcast on Wednesday or Thursday and and talk about this because if we go to mil wall and get beat it’s just going to take away from everything
That we done on Tuesday night and I said no honestly I’m I’m feeling quite confident about mil wall it’s our usual upload schedule we’ll do it and we’ll get it up on Monday night well thankfully I did because we’ve got a two- win podcast and it feel I think it
Was last season probably the last time we had that or maybe a good few months ago now and and we do have that now but of course just touching before we go into mil wall confirmation of the sign of Luke aen and it’s sort of just we knew
Of the interest we discussed it last podcast and then literally what was it quarter past seven or something on Wednesday morning David onstein confirmed that he was having his medical and that was pretty much the Luke alen deal was done of course out of contract Elite at the end of this season and
Joining us on loan for the remainder of the Season as we sort of discussed in the last podcast a real solid addition a player that can do both in terms of he’s comfortable playing Center off but he’s also his natural positions right back tons of experience a little bit of no
How got that feeling already of sort of player that you don’t want to play play against but when he’s in your team he’s your [ __ ] house and you love him for it and yeah a really good bit of business and credit again to the recruitment team for getting this done so
Quickly yeah um we we saw and knew that this deal was in the pipeline didn’t we um and then discussing on Tuesday night after the Chelsea game with you and we’re up to disgusting hours of Wednesday morning just waffling uh over a message and both going yeah looks like alien’s gonna
There’s going to be some news on alien in the morning who’s going to be up said yeah I’ll be up at whatever time I have work and stuff to do so I’m there alarm alarm set for quart to eight like that with with my eyes literally hardly even
Open literally bang on Twitter straight away David onstein Luke heing like that post posting on Bolis with my eyes half half awake and half asleep still but yeah that was uh was done pretty quickly um my mate had actually messaged me on on Tuesday night after the Chelsea game
And he sits right beh literally right behind the B dug out where the injured players City he sits sits with them um and he’d said Luke alen was in the tunnel uh at fulltime for the Chelsea game so you knew it was I knew it was close then um
So yeah really pleased to get this one over the line actually uh there was a lot of skepticism from Bor fans uh in the replies to our tweet about him undergoing his medical uh what we signing him for he doesn’t fit the the model yada yada yada
And i’ actually disagree if you look at some of the players that we’ve we we’ve lost this this season to injury Lenahan and Smith uh two of our experienced heads in there two of our leaders that both play sort of in in that back four and especially especially with our our problems at
Right back all season that we’ve had with with Dy Steel in and out of injury in and out of getting himself suspended um andon Smith going down with injury straight away Vandenberg having a play there pretty much most of the season um so yeah really pleased to get
This one all the line didn’t necessarily know how he’d perform uh looking at leads fans saying that he’d possibly lost his legs or was was in the in the process of losing his legs but uh we we’ll discuss on his performance at mil wall but yeah as mentioned by yourself Chris we’ve got
Ourselves a proper horrible [ __ ] house to play for us and I am absolutely all for it because over the years it it has felt at times not all the time but at times that middlesbor are a little bit too nice and quite frankly in those moments where
You can see like leads away this year Archie gray 17y old kid Ball’s going out for a goal kick just jumps on bangura on his back just to try and rile him laughs in his face as bangu is getting all riled up and just gives him
A nice little push just [ __ ] outy and our players getting rled up by it and I’m looking at it thinking how on Earth are you getting wound up by him just laughing his face back at him we finally got a player that’s going to give a little bit back and we we saw
Firsthand at mil wall what he’s like and genuinely I’m not getting too sort of carried away and discussing things that we’re going to discuss later on in the podcast but watching him and watching sort of him laughing at the mil wall fans as he strolls over to waste time
Taking a Thro in I just thought he looks like the least middles player ever like he he doesn’t look like he should play for us I think it’s just because you’re so used to seeing him in that lead shirt now AR almost Al I’ve seen a few people
Saying this and I do kind of agree that look he is a Middlesboro player and it’s definite and it’s there’s no lie like it’s not a photos shop job but actually it just looks strange I know exactly what you mean by that um but yeah it’s always nice to have one in
Your team and if you have a few then even better but yeah I mean I’m sure we’ll get on with performance a little bit later on but as you see mil wall straight into the team both new signings of course finaz made his middles spread debut we had the
Suspensions and and players that were cup tied back as well available Greenwood Morgan roders and then also we had thankfully Nathan finally this sweet finish Prince on the bench again and I think because because like I said with the goal because we’ just taken the lead against Chelsea that
Everyone sort of got lost in the moment because we’d beaten Chelsea everyone got lost in the moment and didn’t actually realize that Carrick had said postmatch that he was starting training with the group and of course that meant that he was available for selection I
Mean I must say before we go into the mil wall performance it really really really excited me looking at that team she come through and seeing a bench where you could actually look at it and think if we need to make changes to try and win
This game or see a game out we actually have options Dawn we have options I think it is it feels like for the best part now of probably four months that we haven’t even had probably 70% of our normal Squad to choose from and I think that in itself of course the
Result had it have gone a different way I would have been in a terrible mood but I was already going into the game with a huge boost just saying some of the names on that bench and yeah Marcus FSE probably top of that list just absolutely delighted to see him back
Involved and of course as we’ll get on to a little bit later as well with Josh Coburn out um Michael Carrick said it’s s of almost a day byday thing with him now um there were sort of the rumors that weren’t really confirmed about a groin Heria injury or operation that
He’d had and I did see him take a kick in the Chelsea game that looked really uncomfortable In fairness so with that being day by day and him having good and bad days and l laugh being out for probably a couple of weeks now we have no recognized
Striker but Marcus Force who we did buy as a striker a development Striker having that option back now is just going to be so great but we’ll talk about that when we inevitably get on to that wonderful sweeping finish at the end yeah Nathan it didn’t actually start
Too well at nor wall they Under New Management well not new management Joe Edwards has been there quite a few games now I think going into the game they were five and beating three wins and two draws I think if I’m correct and I got a complete shock
Because you’re just used to seeing L hasn’t even been playing for years Steve Morrison up top alongside Lee Gregory just punting balls up and just hoping for sort of knockdowns in a little bit of rough and tumble and this side and the other and it it really wasn’t that
Actually credit to milw I thought they started really well and I was just sort of sat back thinking if I my fix gel is wrong on my app this this can’t be a m War side they’re playing like this yeah strange one um obviously sat there waiting for for
Kickoff you see the team announc you’re like pretty good side this notification comes up kickoff delayed sorry what yeah mid middleb haven’t arrived at the ground um because they’ve been stuck in traffic around London obviously yeah this this the state of this country no trains down there uh and
Road works on the uh the biggest road in London yeah infrastructure in the country different conversation but it had all the feelings didn’t it of Leo getting off the bus in the middle of London traffic and trying to guide the bus yeah and you know exactly which game
I’m talking about one n up you sort of felt Here We Go Again almost in you yeah not going to discuss that horrible horrible afternoon um hopefully ever again actually um but yeah obviously you’re you’re looking at the start and you’re thinking right let’s see what Bor turns up and for probably the
First 25 minutes half an hour we were right under the Kos um obviously they get that goal um gets cross comes in sort of half sort of not cleared away but just falls to the edge of the box and Joe Bryan a player who weirdly I’m looking at their side
Before the game and thinking where are their threats and weirdly Joe Bryan has quite The Knack of scoring against us he scored twice previously for Bristol City against us one at the Riverside and one at their place both of which I’ve been at um and seeing the ball fall away on
The edge of the box but on his right foot I’m thinking no danger easy he’s going to probably take a touch and then try and shift it back on his left foot and either deliver a cross back in the box or probably get recycled to the edge
No he’s took it on the half volley as it’s come at the edge of the box right footed and just leathered it in the corner brilliant like genuinely isn’t it it really it’s it’s it’s a top finish um can’t do anything about it can can Tom
Glover and just sat there in my front room um listening to Harley pill’s commentary over their over mil Wall’s goal yeah go in because yeah there was a power outage in the ground or or some something like that but yeah just thinking this could be a long long long afternoon
And it didn’t sort of change the the the the sort of momentum in the game didn’t change following the goal they should they should have doubled the lead cross comes in sorry Conor comes in Cooper at the back post probably five or six yards out on the volley cushions
It with the inside of his foot and knocks it off the bar my God I don’t know how he’s no neither do I and in all honesty I think it’s a really big moment in the game because if they go two up it’s game done
It it really is I I don’t think we get back into it um but following that chance we we did start to sort of grow into it a little bit um sort of just I I actually listened to the mil wall commentary uh for the game
And I’ve listened to them a few times when we’ve played them over the years and they are actually very unbiased and they were speaking very well about us saying yeah look despite them being under the C they w’t change the principles they won’t change the way that they’re going to play they’re going
To play out from the back and they’re going to try and do so comfortably and we did that we sort of just relaxed settled down got back to playing our own way got him behind them a couple of times there was that one where the ball got played
Back to aaz on the edge of the box and he sort of swept it towards Rogers but pass just sort of had a little bit too much on it made the angle a little bit too tight and Rogers couldn’t get his a good enough shot away really um to trouble the
Goalkeeper but then the goal actually to get us back on level terms I thought was really impressive Glover in there sort of brings it to the edge of our box center halfs have split mil Waller sort of pressed up quite high but it it was on all day that if you
Could beat the Press that there was a just Acres of space in the middle of the pitch to drive through and then get you into their their attack in third they were sort of sat in two Banks really um and Glover plays a really good ball through the middle of the pitch I
Think it’s is into Greenwood uh who drives forward plays it out wide to Jones Jones then slides the ball down the side to Greenwood again who continues his run really good run and he does well not to just lash at the cross uh across the face of goal he steadies
Himself delays delays delays and it’s the easiest sort of goal and finish that you’re going to ever score from Lucas Angel um just across the face of goal unmarked probably three yards out Taps it in net easy as and yeah you’re back in the game yeah you are and as you
Say it always felt yesterday there was a few times and I think in the second half especially Rogers had a few moments where he probably got his decision making wrong but if you beat their press then there’s just a gap in Hall really and major credit for me as well as Sam
Greenwood here cuz he’s let’s be honest he he pretty much well he does everything in the goal near enough but the initial pass from Tom Glover must take out probably three or four mil wall players and listen he’s probably not well he’s not he’s not as comfortable as s dang on the
Ball but by no means is it a a real sort of issue either I think he’s just a little bit more sort of safe in a way I guess if he is under pressure sang might you know try and chop the striker or play a pass and
Get a onew whereas Glover will just clip it long in this instance Glover gets his pass so perfect that it is literally he almost plays a bigger role in it than what Jones does and listen we have that sort of conversation last week about Glover but again massive credit to him because I
Thought he had a really good game yesterday and of course and involved in this goal as well and yeah as you say Engle gets his first goal simplest of finish that you could really imagine and it was strange really because throughout the first half obviously with being at home watching
The game you’re able to look on social media and almost get a live sort of gauge of opinions about certain players and who’s doing what and I do think it was probably Justified that Sam Greenwood was getting a little bit of criticism in the first half the fact
That he wasn’t really helping Lucas Angel out too much on the right not tracking back as much as he probably should have and then he goes and produces that moment and listen we’ve had this conversation previously about Sam Greenwood and we were speaking about it before we started
Recording and it’s still interesting to me the fact that we were really yet to see him in his most natural position and you think back to that QPR game when he made his debut and were chasing the game and he was brought on as a number 10 that
Day and had Riley mcgree not picked up that injury that probably would have been his role it was him or KS really when he was brought in to fight it out for that number 10 role and yeah okay you’ve got to factor into that the fact that Rogers has found
Form as well well but when he was brought in it seemed like it was just going to be a straight shootout between him and the big tree and sometimes he does get caught out a little bit with his defensive work rate in terms of helping out Engle or bangur or whoever
He’s playing with on the left but in terms of his output I think that now makes it eight goal contributions for a player that really the jwy was probably out on early on in the season it’s not a bad return at all and again you think of the price that we
Were aware of that 1.5 million option and yeah okay it’s it’s still down to personal terms and things like that but for any Championship club that negotiated a deal for someone that in his first real let’s be honest first professional season in the men’s game consistently playing games you’d be
Really pleased if they come away and I mean the season’s still ongo but to get to this stage of the season and already have eight goal contributions yes okay sometimes he does sort of drop in and out of games and for large spells he’ll drop out of games but he has these
Moments in him and and fair play him because if he’s not doing something and he hasn’t been on the best run but a lot of the time he will crop up with something whether it be a pass or a a good finish or a set piece and yeah
It’s still a little bit undecided on him a lot of the fan base but yeah he’s he’s still making those contributions and whilst he is making those I think he’s still going to be in with a great shout of getting into that forward lining behind the striker and just moving on a
Little bit now in the second half I said about watching games live engaging fan opinion Isaiah Jones has been a little bit of a hot topic of course got the assist midweek again he hasn’t really had that competition for so long now without Marcus being involved and
Yet he sort of I don’t know if it’s because he hasn’t had competition or just because all of our games aren’t on Sky because he always performs when he’s live on sky but there’s been a few criticism thrown at him recently in terms of his his overall performance and
His end product and yet he goes and puts us in front with a chance that over the past few weeks as negative as it sounds you’d probably put money on Isaiah Jones getting his technique wrong and and missing a chance like this but it’s actually a really good finish to put us in
Front yeah it is and he anticipates Brian’s header back inside as well and does really well to to anticipate that just drives into the box and just slots it home nicely does really well to compose himself um just a question did you feel confident as he’s going through on goal
Chris as much as I would like to say yes no it wasn’t at all I really that and that’s probably not so much an overall feeling because of Isaiah Jones as a footballer it’s just that HUD isfield Miss is going to scar me for life I
Think yeah do you want know what I’d even forgotten about that one but just the in other games throughout December having chances where he was going through I think IP switch there was one where he he’d gone was a big one I think whole definitely whole definitely um but
Going through like oneon-one it might have been West Brom actually not I switch going through and um just sort of not even hitting the target putting it like way wide and yeah anyway he’s he’s got this one spot on puts it in the back of the net gets us 2-1 up
And yeah I think to come back from one nil down at the Den’s fantastic to do so without necessarily playing at anywhere near our best is even better um and yeah for for sort of the early part of the second half mil wall look like
Come out and were trying the best to get themselves back in front at 1:1 and they’ve got a player up front in in watar that I think the milw the milal commentator actually said as he did about three kick UPS to get himself round Vandenburg and turned into pretty
Much Messi with his close control gets himself within a shooting opportunity and just sort of passes it into Glover’s hands he said if if Duncan wmar had end products we’d have one hell of a player and my dad’s honest reaction was no you wouldn’t because he’d still be at
Middles bro um and I I couldn’t sort of disagree with that at all we we got rid of him at the right time as much as I love dunk um and yeah milal had those those couple of chances before Boro 2-1 in front and it felt like with that second goal it sort
Of just killed any sort of energy and momentum that they had it looked like the legs of the players were gone really um it looked like they tried so hard in that first half to go full throw and try and get themselves not only into the lead but
Extending that lead Beyond doubt and they failed to do so um with with the Mis chances that they had and yeah they fell foul of that because they made that mistake with Brian Jones finally put an easy chance away and whilst I never get too comfortable watching
Middleb in the second half it it did feel relatively just sort of second gear from then on um we we didn’t have to overextend ourselves we made a few few substitutions which were good um PNE coming off the bench Kooks coming off the bench obviously mark Force comes comes
In Off the Bench as well and goes up front as well which was good to see um a lot of people have made the sort of claim since Carrick come to the club especially last year uh in that December period where krooks was playing as the number
Nine and fce was playing off the right and it was like well why would you do that when you’ve got a number nine playing on the right just shot and obviously we didn’t know Jones circumstances at the time but just shot Jones on that right hand side and then
You don’t have to have Crooks in the side um but yeah we we uh we made changes managed the game well in that sort of instance finally have been able to rotate the squad with sort of without disrespecting the young Lads with with fit and proper Replacements where the
The dropping quality isn’t to too bad and yeah we we finally finally finally finally get to see Marcus FS as a number nine probably the most natural finisher at the football club I think dead yeah one one chance for uh for FS which actually did did come from a pretty good
Goal really would it back in the middle of the park knocked it back to aen aen chips it forward and it is a good ball it it does look at first like a little bit of a punt forward but I think it is actually measured into
Rogers um and yeah he do Rogers does well to sort of get it under and flick it towards force and yeah he just drives that ball in at the bottom corner three points in the back pocket and uh yeah you leave the Den after a very busy week and a week
Where there’s B to have been some hangover from the Chelsea game and yeah you go to a very difficult place to go in the den as you mentioned they’d gone five League games unbeaten uh prior to to playing us and okay again you possibly have a little
Bit of Fortune that the don’t go two n up but you get yourselves back into the game and you win it so yeah full full credit to the boys once again and yeah we’ve got we’ve got options From the Bench now and just looking at the squad
I mean we didn’t even mention ly Lewis O’Brien came in the in the squad in the Chelsea game and in all honesty when when we uh when we signed him me and you were were very pleased with his signing and and sort of of the opinion that he could be
One of the best Central midfielders in the division and he’ll be like a new signing coming into this side now we’ve got two left backs so he’s not going to be shot at left back anymore hopefully um and yeah we’ve got we’ve got four Central midfielders that are all all top
Top draw in this division yeah we’ve got we’ve got one hell of a squad if they’re all fit and available and uh it’s all just let me just not it but it’s all seemingly coming together at a very nice time yeah yeah it definitely is and do
You know what I think there was two really big positives for me from from Saturday and the first one of course was the squad as I said just looking at the bench but seeing those options and finally starting to look like I mean yes okay in the end we get the
Third and Marcus Force comes off the bench and it it means a little bit more because he’s been out for such an extended period of time but you bring on Hayden Hatley and I mean yes Hayden Hatley will inevitably come back into the team as a a start of week in week
Out but even had the the rules being reversed and you bring a d ball ler Off the Bench who has despite being under some really heavy criticism turned it round almost completely in the past few weeks it’s a as you say it’s a midfielder that quite a fair few teams
In the division would happily snap our hands off for and they’re all fighting amongst each other now to get in that Midfield and the other thing for me as well as the squad was Matt Clark comes on yesterday and Carrick slightly tweaks it and we go with the
Five and probably because of almost factoring it in with the squad we haven’t had the options to do so you see that flexibility again yesterday and to be honest milal didn’t really put us under that much pressure where Carrick sort of need well we saw the game out
And it did the job but it wasn’t like the absolute Alamo and balls were coming at the box and you just H Matt Clark on to try and head things away but you see with the options that Carrick isn’t afraid to make that tweak Hackney come
On Clark come on we shift into the five vandenbberg moves over from initially playing Left Center back in it back four to moving over and being the third Center back on the right and then we just look a little bit more solid to see the game out and with the players Morgan
Rogers his ability to carry the ball up the pitch you’re always going to have chances on the cter attack and ultimately it’s a good clip ball from aen and then we see Rogers get another goal contribution which he just seems to be absolutely thriving off at the moment really and that’s just so
Pleasing so so pleasing I mean when you think from where I mean it’s always good to have perspective on things like I was saying earlier you look back at Lucas Angel but where you think the squad was where where the bench was was it for the West Brom game game where literally apart
From I think bangura and Jamie Jones the bench was quite literally the 23s or a teams and to have those options now it’s such a boost and you do think I mean the result puts us within one point of the playoffs and yeah okay there’s four teams that
Are away and gone now and they’re fighting their own little battle now but you look at that Squad and yes okay L vanura we’ve got to add those back in we may even add some more players in January but it’s as strong of a squad that those sort of teams that are compressed
Amongst a few points in and around the playoffs you’d look at us and you think when everyone’s fully fit and firing they’ve got so many good options and then I mean yesterday we’re getting like with Amad Dio naan so so we can talk about that if you want a
Little bit but yeah um really positive the mood is extremely positive as you say and then that link comes out yesterday Nathan we we will touch on it a little bit we won’t get drawn too much into it until we get more sort of concrete confirmation of that interest but
Interestingly enough I messag you yesterday morning and say I’ve seen online that supposedly were being linked with Amad Dio and I thought oh well it’ll be one of those articles where middles BR along with Leicester Southampton leads every other club in the whole world are just thrown into a
Big pile and sort of credited with an interest anyway this link comes from the Sunday Express but it is in the paper version of the paper and usually you just say a journalist tweet this out but I said Nathan pop to a pep garage and have a
Look and see if this really is in the paper in fact no you actually volunteered so credit and na on this one anyway 25 minutes later or what have you get sent through a a picture and it is a little column at the bottom and the story is just about middleb and Michael
Carrick trying to use his middles BR connections to get Amad Dio on loan now when you factor in that with we know Josh Coburn’s going nowhere yes he’s got an injury l laugh of course as well if you then throw Marcus Force into the striker category in this squad there
Is a role off the right that looks vacant in terms of having two in each position now it is incredibly unlikely it would be one hell of a coupe if they could pull it off but there was a little part of me I must admit thinking especially after carrick’s
Comments of force being able to play Central could we do does make a little bit of sense doesn’t it um talking about fce going through the middle and if if he’s sort of in that Striker category now then you are right there is there is the uh the possibility of strengthening
That right hand side I mean we’ve been linked with and signed a lot of players that can fulfill that left hand side role obviously Greenwood Rogers mcgree silver is predominantly off the left I mean we have been I’ve been looking at the squad and thinking well
We we do probably need someone off that right hand side to I mean Jones is predominantly a player that would go down the outside and try and get AC cross in the Box whereas Dio is quite the opposite in terms of he cuts inside and get shots off and in swinging crosses as
Well and you don’t want to get carried away at all but if you do get him then seriously my God what an attack you have there if if that uh comes through and everyone is fully fit and available however we’re not going to get carried away apart from the January transfer window
Obviously ends at the end of the month who’s middles br’s first gear in February Chris no we’re not getting carried away Nathan exactly who you’re alluding to um but yeah as I say we we had to mention it just to get everyone a little bit
Excited but uh yeah I I don’t want to go into it too much because to be honest yes okay it’s a credible link and it is interesting the fact that Nathan no one seemingly could find this specific link given that it was in the paper uh copy of of the Sunday Express
Yet the the link was uh or or the sort of rumor link I don’t know what you want to call it was was being shared from various other news sources um so I guess that gives us some sort of credibility Nathan really um which you know given
That lass would be accused of making things up around the acon situation despite button of source in every post uh I guess it’s um a sign of progress from our perspective um but yeah listen it’s it’s one link but we’ll wait and see if anything’s sort of Mater
Materializes and I I think even if that isn’t the player that we bring in we obviously are still looking for that one final sort of addition and if it’s not Dio then it’s gonna have to be a striker isn’t it and there’s been no sort of I think what’s become
Apparent is since Kieran Scotts come into the club that sort of information leaking out and targets being leaked to the Press is minimal really um there hasn’t really been keam mua was sort of mentioned along in one of those articles where it’s you know this team this team and this team have an
Interest but there’s been no sort of Target not like aen where you knew early on that he was going to be a player that we would like in January there hasn’t been that around a striker so yeah um still no link with that but interesting to see what we do in that department
Obviously with the injuries and to l laugh and Josh corburn who’s who was suffering obviously at the weekend but yeah moving on from transfers and just rounding off the podcast looking ahead to the rodam game I don’t want to call it an opportunity again Nathan because that’s
What I called it during the Christmas period and look what happened then this time we are at home rotheram under Liam Richardson of course uh it’s had a fair few games now hasn’t really probably had the impact that rotheram fans thought he might although he did still beat us over
The festive period so I mean there is that in it but yeah it’s a game that without being aware of typical Bor and alluding to that you think it it is a game that if you want to be in and around those top six positions at home against a
Team of RS League table standing you have to just go and beat them it’s as simple as that and and we have players back now the strug the strug the the squad is getting ever stronger we may even get some movement this week you’ve just got to go and beat them
And it’s a similar start really Nathan yeah it’s um it’s an opportunity and you’re sort of looking at the F uh fixtures of the weekend alongside ourselves and you think well we’ve got the team that are bottom of the league Cent tree are on fire and they’ve they’ve got second
Bottom I’ll be it away from all and then you think of the other sides that are above us in the table Watford are now I can’t remember who they’ve got but Sunderland and Hull are also above us and they play each other on Friday night so that gives you the opportunity that
If you win this game you’re going to Le prog at least one of those sides however as you mentioned uh about typical Bor there and hopefully not alluding to it as you mentioned got rotheram at home rotheram uh a winless in 30 aware games uh so the last 30 aware games haven’t
Won and um in the last 15 games that they’ve played they’ve only won one game against who yeah I think I know who yeah it would be us so yeah uh there’s the typical Bor fire um they’re they’re as side that a really sort of no matter what no
Matter the season that they’ve been in the championship the they predominantly struggled on um and that’s that’s partly down to yes they’re a smaller Club yes they have a smaller budget than a lot of the league but at the same time the recruitment strategy probably has to be
Questioned a little bit on their part you look at sort of Plymouth and like brenford the smaller sides that have come up um from League one over the years who have had the recruitment model in check they’ve signed players that they have the view to develop them and
Then sell them on for profit and you look at rotheram and the sign in the nicest way possible players that have slogged it out in the championship for the careers and they’re at the back end of the careers with no sellon value and in that case you you’re not going
To be able to improve your budget because you keep buying these players that you can’t turn a profit on so yeah in in that in that way I suppose that you can point blame a little bit and and say well it is their own fault it’s not just because they’ve
Got a small budget because other sides have done special things in the past with with with smaller budgets but yeah the top and bottom of it is exactly what you’ve said Chris it’s a massive opportunity to win the game and get yourself another three points on the
Board and keep yourself climbing up that championship table so hopefully we do the business I mean we’ve got a week now um before that game a free week even as you mentioned curns day by day being assessed so hopefully that gives him the the opportunity to get some rest into the
Legs along with a lot of the other players that have been playing Saturday Tuesday recently and yeah a free week ahead of Rother room and then Chelsea on the Tuesday and I think the the main thing that we’re probably going to see from the week is hopefully a little bit more
Transfer news I mean that’s probably a little bit wishful thinking because if may go down on the wire now um with with a probably one more transfer in there may be a couple of transfers out in terms of the younger players but also something that Bor fans will be looking at
Is birmingham’s result tomorrow night because we may have a free weekend in a couple of weekends time uh if they get through the FA Cup against Hull uh on Tuesday night so yeah we will be interesting to see but Bor could have nine or 10 days off after Chelsea
To go out on the Lash if we get a Wembley so yeah sounds pretty good to me sure the players will be uh keeping a keen eye on that in case they do pull off the unthinkable and then they can have uh a couple of nights of one hell
Of a we heading to wly party but uh we’ve seen them sorts of things go terribly wrong in the past so yeah we we definitely don’t want to be getting too drawn into things like that um but yeah uh we hope you’ve enjoyed this week we definitely
Have momentum to build on a very positive mood players coming back from injury players being added to the squad and overall a real Feelgood Factor both at the club and on this podcast this week so yeah if you have enjoyed please do remember to give us a a thumbs up on
YouTube and subscribe to the YouTube channel if you’ve listened on audio platforms give us a review and leave some kind words five stars of course don’t don’t give us four um and yeah I think you can well you can subscribe to our audio sort of feed as well if you
Want to be notified when we upload these podcasts on a Monday evening so yes all that’s left to be said is thank you very much once again for me and Nathan and that has been another episode of the podcast
