Deej

Last season is irrelevant in terms of points on the board, yes.
But not when it comes to things that can contribute to a team’s success moving forward - momentum, belief, confidence, mentality, character and spirit.
All of it can be carried from one season into the next, both positively and negatively.
If we had stayed up after a storming run of form, you can bet the mood around the club throughout the summer and up to now would be much more positive.

I really enjoyed our time under Jim Smith, Billy Davies and George Burley. McClaren too.
Even under Nigel Clough, there were good times and memorable days.
So let’s not exaggerate too greatly.
Maybe Rooney will be added to the list. Time will tell.

We didn’t go down, no. But the manner of our survival was less than convincing, which is why doubts are present over Rooney for many fans.
I never said results last season count this season. But we have seen time and again that struggling teams which have long spells where wins are hard come to by can have a hangover from one season to the next and struggle to find good momentum again.
Will that happen with us? Who knows. But it is easy to see why people have doubts.

If you believe that Rooney has had such a raw deal, it begs the question: why did he take the job in the first place and why is he still here? It doesn’t add up such is the way you describe the state of the club.
We don’t know the specifics of the deals for Jagielka and Morrison or indeed their motivations for signing, do we? We don’t know how they will perform and contribute to the team over an extended period of time neither. So to say signing them is an achievement in itself is again based on assumptions.
No two managers have the same backing or the same circumstances to work under.
It’s wishful thinking to believe that Rooney can’t be judged until he gets millions in backing. And that’s no guarantee of anything either.

Coming from the person who pointed out Cocu’s failings with great notoriety?
I may point out the failings of our managers to one and all, but at least I am consistent and hold all of them to the same standards.
If someone more appealing like Wilder or Cooper came in and did a poor job, then absolutely they would get the same level of criticism as those who went before them.

Doesn’t make sense Macca ?

I like the way your opinion becomes a statement of fact ?

It is also worth mentioning Rooney is reported to be one of the highest paid managers in the Championship.
If you think there aren’t capable managers out there who would jump at the chance of managing this club even in its current state, fair enough.
Let’s hope Rooney is a roaring success, so we don’t have to find out.

It is not hard to imagine there being managers in the Championship and League 1 who would see the appeal in such a job despite the challenges.
Do you think the likes of Nathan Jones, Mark Robins, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Ryan Lowe, Ian Evatt, Michael Appleton and Gareth Ainsworth would wave away advances from a bigger club?
Then you have experienced Championship managers out of work - Neil, Monk, Karanka, Cooper and Wilder - who may be sold by the upside of turning the club around and taking on such a challenge. All have more pedigree than Rooney at the very least.
Sunderland and Ipswich, who have been in League One for a number of years, can still attract managers with good reputations.
Clubs in the Championship like Birmingham, who have had their own share of financial difficulties and mismanagement, can still attract managers with good pedigree too.
So why wouldn’t we be able to if the job became available?

Ian Evatt? Took Barrow & a penniless Bolton to promotion, now has Bolton unbeaten in 7th place in L1 and plays great football. 

It’s very convenient to say nobody else would want the job. Who knows who would apply but my guess is there would be 30 plus applications, most of whom would be more qualified and experienced than Wazza. However, it ain’t happening anytime soon so let’s hope he learns from his mistakes and we can put some points on the board in the meantime. 

I am sorry you feel that way. But I think it’s an unhelpful comment to make. 
We are all just sharing our opinions, different as they may be. People like myself are just saying it as they see it.
I could understand you if this was 2014 and I was pouring cold water over McClaren’s team.
But look at how the club has been run and look at how the team has been managed in recent years. Can you blame people for struggling to find the positives?

You may get down and outers but in terms of anything better than Rooney theres no chance.

Where is the evidence that no-one would touch the Derby job at the moment and Rooney is the best man for the job?
They are both assumptions which can’t be tested while the job is unavailable.
By the same token, I could say if Rooney left tomorrow, there would be tens of managers lining up to take on the challenge of reviving a club like ours.
Managers will always be judged come what may, and you can only take it as it comes. The circumstances will never be optimal, so why wait to judge Rooney?
Rooney has been given a more than fair chance if you consider he’s not even officially qualified to do the job.
Backing the manager is fine, but we came within a whisker of relegation whilst playing uninspiring football and we have won three league games since the spring.
You can’t be surprised that some fans will still have reservations over the manager, surely? This is modern football and managers are scrutinised more fiercely than ever.

We don’t know that do we. I bet plenty would apply if the job became available……..

I'd rather have gene wilder than Rooney....

Hope Rooney surprises me but I'd much rather we had Chris Wilder.

Boro were lucky to get away with a point when they dominated the second half? The one where they had all the ball and an absolute free header at the back stick and a one on one that was diverted clear by a great tackle as well as at least two set piece and headed chances that they had. Seriously I'm all for optimism but not for delusion. 

Watson wasn't through on goal...  he had a chance at a shot from 16 yards that he shanked well wide and Stretton offered nothing except a rushed shot that was never going in. He looked out of his depth and the team dynamic changed a little once Sibley went off. 

Yes, just as I was at the Huddersfield and Hull away game as well as this one at great personal expense. 

A decent point against a solid warnock team. I think especially after the second half they'll feel very unlucky not to have won. In the first half we went toe to toe and did a really good job. Bird and Shinnie did a great job controlling the ball and the front 4 provided an intermittent threat. Defensively, the big guy from wycombe we struggled with but generally we looked okay only giving away as much as they did. In that sense it was really pleasing to see us go toe to toe with a good championship team. 

Second half was pretty miserable; struggled to pass, struggled to defend and really struggled to do anything. It's only thanks to Roos, a couple of last ditch tackles and Boro's poor finishing that we got away with a point. I'm sorry but anyone thinking Stretton is better than Sibley for a prospect needs their head checking. He needs some time in the lower leagues for me before getting time here ideally. As soon as Sibley replaced we looked toothless and it only got worse once Baldock made way. I think watson made 0 impact and buchanan as a lw didn't work either. 

If Boro is closer to the skill of opposition we'll face week in week out it'll be a long season with little to shout about. A fair few people got carried away with 4 points from 3 games against relegation sides and we were very lucky not to lose today. I'd settle for 20th right now tbh over the course of the season and try to build from there. I'm not really blaming anyone it's just obvious we're quite bad and there's not much we can do about it. 

I know. Loathsome stuff from Colin who clearly had the ref on strings.

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?

The referee and the idiot running the East Stand line were embarassing. There was one incident in the second half when I think it was Forsyth winning the ball with a good tackle, the Boro muppet went down - ref hesitated for a few seconds, looked to the lino for guidance, the lino was struck dumb, looked at the ref for guidance and the ref must have thought to himself 'I'd better make some sort of decision here' and awarded a foul against Fozzy.
Crazy where they get these idiots from.

It was a super tackle. The fact that the ball went 50 yards down the pitch told you everything.
However, let us put petty rivalries aside and pray for their  number 7 who was so badly injured today, numerous times, that it will probably be the end of his career. The fact he kept jumping back up and smiling at the crowd must only have added to the intense pain he must have been feeling. 
Warnock’s teams never change do they. At least we had a strong ref who wasn’t fooled by it….oh…

If ever there was a game which demonstrated the value of Shinnie to the team then todays' was it.  Granted there were a couple of wayward passes but the number of ball-winning tackles and interceptions went a long way to stifling the Boro attacking threat.
Some of the criticism he's had on here this week has been laughable.

After everything warnock experienced alongside jagielka in their careers he should be ashamed of how he conducted himself today.
Despite his wwe striker elbowing jags and splitting his face open, pulling his shirt in every single challenge and then promptly falling over every time its jags who should be sent off.
Jags should be proud of how he conducted himself today. Warnock, who I used to have some respect for, can get ducked.