(h) v Middlesbrough League (Carabao) Cup 3rd Round - Tue 26 September 2023 7.45pm

“Useful”

 

Andy K is having a post match discussion with a listener who wasn't at the match according to his comments. Yet Andy is still asking him what he thought about one of the Boro players!

 

Have we another Nevers signing,he was awful in that first half.

 

I know Middlesbrough far better than us but the chances made at home games worrying,I can count chances made from the last 3/4 games on one hand.

 

Credit to Middlesbrough for doing what I'd expect a championship side to do to an average league 2 side. Expose their limitations. Which they did very well.

 

I hope you wrong on average league two side and so doe’s Hughes

 

He is really poor. Should be nowhere the first team

 

Hughes has no clue how to set up a lower league team to win against a team higher up. Absolutely schooled.

What happened to playing to your strengths. It sure ain’t trying to out football then. Another appalling management of the team.

Boro were far better than us but we didn’t actually push them into errors until after 80 minutes. It’s almost as though he prefers to not get hammered but in doing so not trying to win.
Garbage.

 

Exactly.
We are an average lge 2 side.
Last Saturday doesn’t suddenly make us a good lge 2 side

Get everybody back fit and we may become a good side.

 

Depends if we are lucky enough to come up against teams as poor as Newport every week....

 

That side he started tonight would struggle in league 2, never mind against a championship outfit. To be fair it's nice to watch a team from levels above because it shows exactly how poor league 2 players generally are. The speed of thought and movement is like night and day.

 

That was a pale shadow of previous cup ties under the lights at VP.

Yes Middlesbrough looked a decent Championship side in that first half especially, but where was the blood and thunder you should expect of a league 2 side in a home cup tie.

I was as bored rigid as the rest of our home games this season. Shame, as I had been really looking forward to a good cup tie.

 

I think if you were surprised we had nothing for Middlesbrough, that's on you.

We don't have a huge lump up front who could have caused problems in the air from wild crosses. We don't have scintillating pace on the wings. What we have is a side that should be able to cause enough problems against enough League Two sides to be up there at the end of the season.

It's not "appalling management" at all.

It's no frills, nothing extra football. It's disappointing to be unable to compete in games like that, but it's not a disgrace.

On to Walsall.

Get Cook and Pattison back in there, Tulloch looks useful, get them playing together, Walker has been a threat lately. We should have enough on Saturday.

 

Men v boys tonight.

We offered nothing upfront.

 

We didn’t actually have a go.
Agree Boro were far smarter had more pace and better movement. We weren’t going to be able to better them at that. Parky would play to a teams strengths and he was able to set us up to prove stubborn to beat and offer threat even if it was more direct. We play to win don’t we? Play to our strengths / attributes as opposed to theirs. Today was powderpuff. Boro didn’t break sweat. That’s on hughes and his mis management of the team.
Hughes has done nothing to show he has learned what is required at this level.
To be clear I want us to succeed and will be happy to be proved wrong!

 

I thought the two replacements in Wilson and tulloch were much better than Oduor and especially Afoka.

 

After watching tonight, and listening to both Hughes and Oyegoke after the match, i am seething beyond belief!!!
What an absolute embarrassment of a manager we have got.
I'm saying right now, we have no chance of promotion this season until his contract runs out and we have a manager who has balls and experience in being the figurehead of a club who's fans demand a team with passion, direction and excitement.

 

I just think Parky sets a team up to achieve specific objectives.

What he does works as well against Arsenal as it does against Aldershot. We could easily lose either game if the opposition are more physical than the Parky team. Steve Evans beat Parky pretty much every team with any team he liked. It wasn't difficult to work out, but on it's day, Parky's style was extremely effective.

You wouldn't win the league under Parky's Bradford - but you'd compete.

Hughes has already finished above Parky's League Two side, and for my money, will again. It's a pragmatic style, it's a bit boring at times, but it's not "appalling management".

Who knows, Hughes might lead us to the Championship like this, but what we did see today was players that won't be here if we get into League One. Some of the lads tonight were nowhere near. Some did okay, though, thankfully.

 

Thanks to the stewards in the lower kop tonight for allowing me to move my family, including pregnant daughter, into the Bantams Bar area due to fans constantly standing up in the lower kop all night.

The stewards were very helpful, credit where due