If Boro play a 5 man midfield how does 4-4-2 counteract this?

[Infant Hercules]

So strong that you haven't won for 3 games, when you beat the mighty Bolton 2-1 with a last minute winner (the day after we scraped a 5-0 win against Fulham).

It's going to be a nervy day for you.

Of course it is but the same goes for you.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Wheel win !!

 

[Arkwright]

How do the Boro fans on here think you will play, sit back and play for the draw or go for it?

If you are playing 4 5 1 we should be able to push our full backs on which is part of our strength.

 

[nwgull]

Of course it is but the same goes for you.

Of course it will. Although failure for us would be far more palatable: Even the most optimistic BHA fan didn't predict anything better than top 6. We also won't have the fear of FFP sanctions if we're still in the Champioshio next year.

 

[Infant Hercules]

How do the Boro fans on here think you will play, sit back and play for the draw or go for it?

If you are playing 4 5 1 we should be able to push our full backs on which is part of our strength.

We attack in stages but mainly defend first. We're happy to let the opposition have the ball and then attack when there's space. I'd expect us to attack right from the whistle.....so we probably won't.

 

[Infant Hercules]

Of course it will. Although failure for us would be far more palatable: Even the most optimistic BHA fan didn't predict anything better than top 6. We also won't have the fear of FFP sanctions if we're still in the Champioshio next year.

FFP again! I can assure you we're compliant but please don't let this thread go down that route.

I'd expect if we didn't go up we'd lose Ramierez and Stuani but retain the rest of the squad and then it'd be loans and one in one out again. However you never know with Gibson.

 

[Boro5707]

How do the Boro fans on here think you will play, sit back and play for the draw or go for it?

If you are playing 4 5 1 we should be able to push our full backs on which is part of our strength.

We will play our normal game at home and go for it. We are totally different at home than away from home. We struggle when teams play for a 0-0 and sit at the 18 yard area, especially away. The game suits us as you have to come at us at some point, as a draw does us. We play a 4-2-3-1 and our full backs will be high up the pitch and Clayton sat in front of the back 2 at all times. If your wide players don't track backs your fullbacks will be left 2 on 1. Even if they do, there is then Ramierz in the hole between defence and midfield. We concede very little at home (7 in 22 games), yet to concede a goal against any of the top 6 at home. If we score you will have to do what no league side has done at home in nearly 2 years and score 2 at the Riverside.

It will be a difficult game and is a one off match, anything can happen but I can't wait. Pubs open at 8am and the Riverside will be bouncing. It is like Brentford last year at home in the Playoff final second leg, a must not loose game. A lot of Brentford fans were saying it was the best atmosphere they had ever experienced.

Home record v top half sides

Burnley W
Hull W
Derby W
Sheff Wed W
Cardiff W
Birmingham D
Ipswich D
Brentford W
Preston W
Leeds W
QPR W
Wolves W

 

[Bozza]

FFP again! I can assure you we're compliant but please don't let this thread go down that route.

No, really you can't. Unless you are Steve Gibson or one of his close advisors you will not have the intimate knowledge required to make such an assertion.

However, I believe you are likely to be compliant. Gibson is clearly a decent man with the club at heart and won't want to put Boro at risk of a transfer embargo should a roll of the dice go wrong. The rules for the 2015-16 season were loosened somewhat, permitting a £13m loss. Some clubs probably saw this as an opportunity to "go for it" particularly with the increased Premier League riches, which come into play for the 2016-17 season, to aim for.

I expect Gibson is one of those who has "gone for it". I would imagine he hoped that the money splashed out on Downing would have proved to be a bit more worthwhile however.

 

[Boro5707]

FFP again! I can assure you we're compliant but please don't let this thread go down that route.

I'd expect if we didn't go up we'd lose Ramierez and Stuani but retain the rest of the squad and then it'd be loans and one in one out again. However you never know with Gibson.

I also don't get how everyone thinks we will fail FFP. Downings fee is over 4 years, as is Rhodes over 4 years. Ramierz took a well stated 20K wage drop, we pay £20K and Southampton are paying 20K. Stuani came in for less than we sold Tomblin for. Nugent was 2m. Steve Gibson has said we will work within FFP and have never failed. .

 

[Infant Hercules]

I also don't get how everyone thinks we will fail FFP. Downings fee is over 4 years, as is Rhodes over 4 years. Ramierz took a well stated 20K wage drop, we pay £20K and Southampton are paying 20K. Stuani came in for less than we sold Tomblin for. Nugent was 2m. Steve Gibson has said we will work within FFP and have never failed. .

Don't get involved mate, they won't have it.

 

[Icy Gull]

We will play our normal game at home and go for it. We are totally different at home than away from home. We struggle when teams play for a 0-0 and sit at the 18 yard area, especially away. The game suits us as you have to come at us at some point, as a draw does us. We play a 4-2-3-1 and our full backs will be high up the pitch and Clayton sat in front of the back 2 at all times. If your wide players don't track backs your fullbacks will be left 2 on 1. Even if they do, there is then Ramierz in the hole between defence and midfield. We concede very little at home (7 in 22 games), yet to concede a goal against any of the top 6 at home. If we score you will have to do what no league side has done at home in nearly 2 years and score 2 at the Riverside.

It will be a difficult game and is a one off match, anything can happen but I can't wait. Pubs open at 8am and the Riverside will be bouncing. It is like Brentford last year at home in the Playoff final second leg, a must not loose game. A lot of Brentford fans were saying it was the best atmosphere they had ever experienced.

Home record v top half sides

Burnley W
Hull W
Derby W
Sheff Wed W
Cardiff W
Birmingham D
Ipswich D
Brentford W
Preston W
Leeds W
QPR W
Wolves W

I would be worrying big time if that was Brighton sequence, I think a defeat is due.....

 

[Icy Gull]

. Steve Gibson has said we will work within FFP and have never failed. .

Bournemouth said much the same last year. If you are honest you have to accept that you have not gone for it before like you have this season and your boss is not going to come out and say "we'll fail FFP if we don't go up " is he?

 

[Arkwright]

We will play our normal game at home and go for it. We are totally different at home than away from home. We struggle when teams play for a 0-0 and sit at the 18 yard area, especially away. The game suits us as you have to come at us at some point, as a draw does us. We play a 4-2-3-1 and our full backs will be high up the pitch and Clayton sat in front of the back 2 at all times. If your wide players don't track backs your fullbacks will be left 2 on 1. Even if they do, there is then Ramierz in the hole between defence and midfield. We concede very little at home (7 in 22 games), yet to concede a goal against any of the top 6 at home. If we score you will have to do what no league side has done at home in nearly 2 years and score 2 at the Riverside.

It will be a difficult game and is a one off match, anything can happen but I can't wait. Pubs open at 8am and the Riverside will be bouncing. It is like Brentford last year at home in the Playoff final second leg, a must not loose game. A lot of Brentford fans were saying it was the best atmosphere they had ever experienced.

Home record v top half sides

Burnley W
Hull W
Derby W
Sheff Wed W
Cardiff W
Birmingham D
Ipswich D
Brentford W
Preston W
Leeds W
QPR W
Wolves W

Looking forward to the trip north, you are due a L in those statistics.

 

[nwgull]

Don't get involved mate, they won't have it.

You sound like the Bournemouth fans telling us the same last year about their FFP compliance. Anything that increases the anxiety of failure and nerves for the home fans on Saturday works for me.

 

[Betfair Bozo]

I couldn't give a monkey's what 'boro have spent tbh. I don't think they have spent it to their best advantage anyway. (A view Karanka obviously shares.)

May the best team win.

 

[Infant Hercules]

You sound like the Bournemouth fans telling us the same last year about their FFP compliance. Anything that increases the anxiety of failure and nerves for the home fans on Saturday works for me.

That doesn't we're all very relaxed about FFP.

Thinking logically about the game we should do it but I've been a Boro fan for far too long to be over confident. I'm bricking it and don't mind admitting it.

 

[boroparmo]

Another boro fan here. I have been reading this board over recent weeks and thought I would add my thoughts to the debate. I am confident that we will get at least a draw but just like every other fan on here commenting I think it is fair to say that no one knows on the day how it will go. No result would surprise me, win, lose or draw. Everyone expects it to be tight but I feel that one team will go for it early and whoever scores first will go on to win, possibly by a couple of goals. I don’t think both will just sit back and wait for the other to come at them.

Recently boro have sat back a lot and teams have found it easy to defend against us but when we actually go for it we look a very good side. When we played Derby at home earlier in the season we absolutely played them off the park and attacked them from the off which caught them by surprise, we could have won by four or five goals easily that day and I expect us to have a similar approach in this game and play a more attacking style than the Brighton fans are expecting. We haven’t played well in recent games and if Brighton fans watched us against Bolton and Birmingham on TV they are probably thinking we are a very poor side who have scraped through and we aren’t playing well enough to beat them, which is why I sense a huge amount of optimism from the Brighton fans on here.

If we do have an off day and play like we did against Bolton, then Brighton will win and win very comfortably. I very much doubt this will happen though. As mentioned we do turn up against the bigger teams. We have lost points against all the bottom teams this season and if we hadn’t lost points against the likes of Bristol City, MK Dons, Charlton and Rotherham to name a few we would be long since celebrating the title. I am confident we will be very much up for this though and you should expect a similar performance to the one we put in at your place, rather than the ones you have seen in recent weeks against the lower sides.

Adomah and Nsue are our most dangerous line of attack down the right. Ramirez has been outstanding for us since we signed him and causes a lot of problems drifting in areas where he goes unmarked. Rhodes has missed a hat full of chances in every game but he does have the knack of getting in a position where he seems to get one on one with the keeper at least a couple of times every game or is there to tap it in from a couple of yards out in to an empty net. Although he does miss a lot of chances one day he will no doubt put away the one on ones and from a boro point of view we obviously hope that day is Saturday. Downing has been a huge disappointment and not done it this season. He is the biggest disappointment from me but he can produce on his day and we will hope that he turns up on Saturday and doesn’t go missing like he has in recent weeks.

I have watched Brighton recently and admire the way they attack with speed. Knockaert is a great player and definitely someone we will need to watch, the obvious danger man who we need to keep out of the game as much as possible. I think Dunk is a huge loss and I’m surprised how Brighton fans don’t seem to be so bothered and think Greer will just step in to his place after months without playing and put in a performance, I would be very worried about this if I were a Brighton fan.

If you turn us over then it will be very much deserved and we can have no complaints as you will fully deserve the promotion party and will have done it the hard way by winning it on our territory. I expect boro to try and get an early goal here though and if they do I think it will deflate Brighton and make it very hard for them. Only time will tell what actually happens though so may the best team win and let’s hope that whoever misses out goes up via the playoffs.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Another boro fan here. I have been reading this board over recent weeks and thought I would add my thoughts to the debate. I am confident that we will get at least a draw but just like every other fan on here commenting I think it is fair to say that no one knows on the day how it will go. No result would surprise me, win, lose or draw. Everyone expects it to be tight but I feel that one team will go for it early and whoever scores first will go on to win, possibly by a couple of goals. I don’t think both will just sit back and wait for the other to come at them.

Recently boro have sat back a lot and teams have found it easy to defend against us but when we actually go for it we look a very good side. When we played Derby at home earlier in the season we absolutely played them off the park and attacked them from the off which caught them by surprise, we could have won by four or five goals easily that day and I expect us to have a similar approach in this game and play a more attacking style than the Brighton fans are expecting. We haven’t played well in recent games and if Brighton fans watched us against Bolton and Birmingham on TV they are probably thinking we are a very poor side who have scraped through and we aren’t playing well enough to beat them, which is why I sense a huge amount of optimism from the Brighton fans on here.

If we do have an off day and play like we did against Bolton, then Brighton will win and win very comfortably. I very much doubt this will happen though. As mentioned we do turn up against the bigger teams. We have lost points against all the bottom teams this season and if we hadn’t lost points against the likes of Bristol City, MK Dons, Charlton and Rotherham to name a few we would be long since celebrating the title. I am confident we will be very much up for this though and you should expect a similar performance to the one we put in at your place, rather than the ones you have seen in recent weeks against the lower sides.

Adomah and Nsue are our most dangerous line of attack down the right. Ramirez has been outstanding for us since we signed him and causes a lot of problems drifting in areas where he goes unmarked. Rhodes has missed a hat full of chances in every game but he does have the knack of getting in a position where he seems to get one on one with the keeper at least a couple of times every game or is there to tap it in from a couple of yards out in to an empty net. Although he does miss a lot of chances one day he will no doubt put away the one on ones and from a boro point of view we obviously hope that day is Saturday. Downing has been a huge disappointment and not done it this season. He is the biggest disappointment from me but he can produce on his day and we will hope that he turns up on Saturday and doesn’t go missing like he has in recent weeks.

I have watched Brighton recently and admire the way they attack with speed. Knockaert is a great player and definitely someone we will need to watch, the obvious danger man who we need to keep out of the game as much as possible. I think Dunk is a huge loss and I’m surprised how Brighton fans don’t seem to be so bothered and think Greer will just step in to his place after months without playing and put in a performance, I would be very worried about this if I were a Brighton fan.

If you turn us over then it will be very much deserved and we can have no complaints as you will fully deserve the promotion party and will have done it the hard way by winning it on our territory. I expect boro to try and get an early goal here though and if they do I think it will deflate Brighton and make it very hard for them. Only time will tell what actually happens though so may the best team win and let’s hope that whoever misses out goes up via the playoffs.

Have to say that the majority of your lot that have come on here have made some reasonable posts ..don't always agree but definitely worth reading ..a completely different class to the Burnley lot even allowing for the Palace trolls

 

[Bozza]

I sense a huge amount of optimism from the Brighton fans on here.

You might want to have your optimism radar checked out - it might be malfunctioning.

I don't think there is huge optimism here at all. Much of what you may be detecting is very much tongue in cheek (and looking at your FMTTM forum, your fans do not seem able to detect very obvious humour and sarcasm written over here).

Everyone knows we face a massively difficult task, but we have hope because at least we have a chance. You should have been promoted weeks ago and we were one of the relegation favourites with some.

 

[Exile]

I would consider ourselves playing 4-2-3-1.

Bruno, Greer, Goldson, Rosenior
------------Kayal-Sidwell----------
Knockeart----Stephens----Murphy
---------------Hemed-------------

Rationale being that Sidwell and Kayal can sit deep enough to break up play, but also initiate play from a deeper position. Kayal is somewhat a bit of a playmaker, so regardless of how deep he is, he'll be able to link the defence with the attack. Sidwell is there for additional assurance.

Stephens playing behind Hemed also gives us the addition link from midfield to attack, he can create plenty but also distribute the ball to Knockeart and Murphy who could play slightly more narrower with overlap from Bruno/Rosenior. If Kayal and Sidwell are deep enough, they can break up a counter attack without exposing our defence too much. We cannot play a higher defensive line due to Dunk's suspension and Greer's legs.

Good plan. Worked an absolute TREAT at Cardiff