jono

Loved Wardy.
He had skill for sure and turned it on many a time, loved it when he kicked the ball one side and ran round the other - but it was the cheeky grin and the choir boy look he gave to refs when he’d fouled someone .. innocent little me ref ? I’d never be involved in any afters, my mum thinks I’m an angel. NOT ?

If Nigel had one strength .. he could pick a player. Whether it was attitude or skill I think he had a very good eye for a good fit. 
I am impressed with the ones we got. Jags and Morrison are the sort of left field signings that can get the best out of our young guns. Baldock and Stearman are good solid pros that fill some gaps. 
 
it’s transitory given players ages but, less a star striker, we have a team with an appealing balance .. and don’t forget Knighty and Bielik to come back. Quietly impressed with whatever is going on in the background team and recruiting  wise

If Nigel had one strength .. he could pick a player. Whether it was attitude or skill I think he had a very good eye for a good fit. 
I am impressed with the ones we got. Jags and Morrison are the sort of left field signings that can get the best out of our young guns. Baldock and Stearman are good solid pros that fill some gaps. 
 
it’s transitory given players ages but, less a star striker, we have a team with an appealing balance .. and don’t forget Knighty and Bielik to come back. Quietly impressed with whatever is going on in the background team and recruiting  wise

I guess Covid and football finances are part of it but compare Butterfield / Johnson vs Morrison and their relative costs/abilities  .. jaw dropping ! 

If Nigel had one strength .. he could pick a player. Whether it was attitude or skill I think he had a very good eye for a good fit. 
I am impressed with the ones we got. Jags and Morrison are the sort of left field signings that can get the best out of our young guns. Baldock and Stearman are good solid pros that fill some gaps. 
 
it’s transitory given players ages but, less a star striker, we have a team with an appealing balance .. and don’t forget Knighty and Bielik to come back. Quietly impressed with whatever is going on in the background team and recruiting  wise

I am very happy .. a win would have been better of course, but you can see the younger players getting better, stronger and more resilient as each game is played. Watson and Stretton .. let’s face it they are boys .. looked effective and hungry off the bench. Watson is a terrier of considerable finesse. Jack got hugged every time he was near the ball but their temperament was excellent. Either could start and I wouldn’t worry about them being over run.
On to the game ! It was always going to be a tough one. Derby a bit short of front teeth playing a typical Warnock side full of gamesmanship ( AKA cheating ) and a ref who was so dim he couldn’t see it. … So, regardless of this, on the balance of play and chances, probably a fair result. ( That said I am wishing their No 7 an embarrassing stomach upset or something similar .. nasty little cheat who loved being being the east stands bad boy after he cheated his way to a throw in and a free kick ) 
Shinnie .. cover so much ground and fought so hard, Morrison is one of those players like Sherringham .. space just appears around him magically. He is going to be so influential. Curtiss and Jags together remove the set piece jitters. Bird continues to prosper as he now knows he doesn’t always have to be covering the back 4 and can look forward. Everyone else did a sterling  job full of effort. Sibbo and Joz are nearly there .. they just need a goal each, then watch them go ! 
South stand and fans in general … huge shift post Covid .. so much more noise and continuous support despite reduced numbers .. Great job, I am certain the players can feel it. 
Right then, who’s got an axe for some tree felling duties next week ? 

If Nigel had one strength .. he could pick a player. Whether it was attitude or skill I think he had a very good eye for a good fit. 
I am impressed with the ones we got. Jags and Morrison are the sort of left field signings that can get the best out of our young guns. Baldock and Stearman are good solid pros that fill some gaps. 
 
it’s transitory given players ages but, less a star striker, we have a team with an appealing balance .. and don’t forget Knighty and Bielik to come back. Quietly impressed with whatever is going on in the background team and recruiting  wise

If Nigel had one strength .. he could pick a player. Whether it was attitude or skill I think he had a very good eye for a good fit. 
I am impressed with the ones we got. Jags and Morrison are the sort of left field signings that can get the best out of our young guns. Baldock and Stearman are good solid pros that fill some gaps. 
 
it’s transitory given players ages but, less a star striker, we have a team with an appealing balance .. and don’t forget Knighty and Bielik to come back. Quietly impressed with whatever is going on in the background team and recruiting  wise

If Nigel had one strength .. he could pick a player. Whether it was attitude or skill I think he had a very good eye for a good fit. 
I am impressed with the ones we got. Jags and Morrison are the sort of left field signings that can get the best out of our young guns. Baldock and Stearman are good solid pros that fill some gaps. 
 
it’s transitory given players ages but, less a star striker, we have a team with an appealing balance .. and don’t forget Knighty and Bielik to come back. Quietly impressed with whatever is going on in the background team and recruiting  wise

If Nigel had one strength .. he could pick a player. Whether it was attitude or skill I think he had a very good eye for a good fit. 
I am impressed with the ones we got. Jags and Morrison are the sort of left field signings that can get the best out of our young guns. Baldock and Stearman are good solid pros that fill some gaps. 
 
it’s transitory given players ages but, less a star striker, we have a team with an appealing balance .. and don’t forget Knighty and Bielik to come back. Quietly impressed with whatever is going on in the background team and recruiting  wise

I guess Covid and football finances are part of it but compare Butterfield / Johnson vs Morrison and their relative costs/abilities  .. jaw dropping ! 

A good footballer is just a good footballer 

Of the trialists he was the one I thought we could do with most. his age is a risk but like Curtis he’s a proper CB with a touch of class as well.
He’s made a big difference and we look more secure at the back against the teams that play cloggers up top. It’ll be interesting to see how they deal with the teams that play on the break and in behind.

We don’t bring the ball out that fast with Jags and Curtis but we look a lot more composed than when Keogh was there, noticeable it’s giving Roos and others more confidence too.

If Nigel had one strength .. he could pick a player. Whether it was attitude or skill I think he had a very good eye for a good fit. 
I am impressed with the ones we got. Jags and Morrison are the sort of left field signings that can get the best out of our young guns. Baldock and Stearman are good solid pros that fill some gaps. 
 
it’s transitory given players ages but, less a star striker, we have a team with an appealing balance .. and don’t forget Knighty and Bielik to come back. Quietly impressed with whatever is going on in the background team and recruiting  wise

I guess Covid and football finances are part of it but compare Butterfield / Johnson vs Morrison and their relative costs/abilities  .. jaw dropping ! 

SO far so good in difficult circumstances.
Hopefully he can weild a bit more Nigel Clough than Paul Clement when restrictions lift.
 

Early days but - given the circumstances under which he's been operating, the limit on numbers, the massive wage restrictions - he's shown great creativity and a real eye for a player who can not only improve the squad but bring the best out in other players. 
No one would have chosen the embargo but it's quite possible we look back on this window as far more successful than some of those in which we wasted millions upon millions 

I am very happy .. a win would have been better of course, but you can see the younger players getting better, stronger and more resilient as each game is played. Watson and Stretton .. let’s face it they are boys .. looked effective and hungry off the bench. Watson is a terrier of considerable finesse. Jack got hugged every time he was near the ball but their temperament was excellent. Either could start and I wouldn’t worry about them being over run.
On to the game ! It was always going to be a tough one. Derby a bit short of front teeth playing a typical Warnock side full of gamesmanship ( AKA cheating ) and a ref who was so dim he couldn’t see it. … So, regardless of this, on the balance of play and chances, probably a fair result. ( That said I am wishing their No 7 an embarrassing stomach upset or something similar .. nasty little cheat who loved being being the east stands bad boy after he cheated his way to a throw in and a free kick ) 
Shinnie .. cover so much ground and fought so hard, Morrison is one of those players like Sherringham .. space just appears around him magically. He is going to be so influential. Curtiss and Jags together remove the set piece jitters. Bird continues to prosper as he now knows he doesn’t always have to be covering the back 4 and can look forward. Everyone else did a sterling  job full of effort. Sibbo and Joz are nearly there .. they just need a goal each, then watch them go ! 
South stand and fans in general … huge shift post Covid .. so much more noise and continuous support despite reduced numbers .. Great job, I am certain the players can feel it. 
Right then, who’s got an axe for some tree felling duties next week ? 

I'm not missing them. Its fine to be down to the number that we are who are fully behind the team.
I'm sure the missing fans will miraculously return next week and so will the moans and groans when we dont score in the first 10 minutes.

Thought we were as loud today or possibly louder than previous seasons with a full capacity. Great stuff. 

We are missing a lot of supporters but I must say the ones who are turning up are giving fantastic support to the lads which is great to see.

Thats what they're getting.

Multifactorial:
1. COVID 
2. Last season and quality of football
3. Holidays
4. off-field stuff.
Last 2 games I see lots of green shoots of Wazzaball emerging.

After that, I only have one issue - why would you travel all that way to come and watch that? And yet it looked like Middlesboruogh had sold out their allocation. Just why?  Unless it is to get out of Middlesborough for a day.
I didn't realise that Colin has two faces, but he let them both show today when he was bellowing for Jagielka to be given a red card. After all the tricks he has got up to in his career, and all the tricks he has taught his players to put into practice, how could he? Unless having seen the ref give a free-kick when one of his own players tripped a team-mate up and got the free-kick he thought he could get anything he wanted out of the match officials. 
I had quite a a numerously endowed amount of pre-match "refreshments, and went into the ground not worried about the result. Actually that's how I woke up, and like most fans, all i wanted was for the players to turn up and have a go. Whether or not the EFL, in all their machinations, have fostered an 2us against the world" mentality or not, the whole squad seem united together and simply won't lie down. As Wayne and many on here have said, we would have lost that match only a short time ago. Apart from Roos saving our bacon a few times, and them hitting the bar, apart from the last 20 minutes they weren't any bother at all. There was only one team playing football.
One thing I am glad about is that we haven't resorted to trying not to lose, and to faffing about at the back all match. Wherever we could we were on the front foot, and there was even less passing defender to defender than against Hull. Well done Wayne for finding the key to unlocking the team's ability. A major plus is seeing Bird playing where he should be playing, and playing how he should be playing. And above all, we have shown that we can compete against thug football, which we had no idea of how to cope with only a few months ago!
OH. And more baffling thing: why wouldn't Middlesborough allow the ref to have his squad number on the back of his shirt like all the other Boro players?