Boro Click In Five Star Show
FIVE goals. Hit the woodwork twice. One penalty and could have had two more. Kitson made it three goals in two games. Leroy Lita got a well deserved brace and almost snapped the post with a piledriver - plus he leathered his penalty as hard as Hickton. A fine show by Yeates, an imperious return for O'Neil, an efficient use of tidy short passing by ever available Osbourne, another deft display of guile by Arca and, after a shaky start, a rock solid defensive performance. All this and no Adam Johnson!
Bubbling Boro finally clicked as they laid two ghost to rest: an atrocious record of never having won at Loftus Road and the negatively charged millstone of new broom Gordon Strachan's run of four games without a win. They pressed high up the pitch, won the midfield battle and put pressure on the wobbly QPR defence to force errors and for once mistakes were punished by some clinical finishing.
It was the first five goal away win since post-Lennie caretaker boss John Pickering took charge for a 5-2 at Charlton in 1994. Before that there was a 5-2 win at Oxford under Colin Todd in 1991 when Ian Baird got a hat-trick. These games are the stuff of terrace legend. Fantastic. Much needed. Sizzling stuff. More superlatives later.
And for readers abroad who can't use the BBC I-Player here's the goals from Loftus Road. Handheldcameratatstic!
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Anthony Vickers
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An excellent and emphatic result, just what the area needed after the news of Corus yesterday. Plenty of positives with good performances across the park from individuals some of whom till now have stuttered in parts this season but Yeates, Arca, Osbourne, Lita and co. all stepped up a gear and it showed. GON of course was up to his usual standards and even Wheats started looking like his old self.
The fact that this was achieved at a ground which hitherto had not been a happy Boro hunting ground and without the talismanic Jinky was all the more remarkable.
All that said it will count for nothing if we don't build on it and string some results together. The league position at least looks a bit healthier this weekend. It has to be maintained and that level of performance has to become the benchmark.
Kitson looks to be the real deal despite mine and others reservations about his hunger and desire over just 6 weeks at the club. If we can get a string of results together and are well placed come January it will be easier to attract a similar type of striker or try and work a deal which allows him to spend time with his family and flying up to Tees Valley on a day tripper ticket.
My impression of him is that he comes across as sensible, articulate and reasonable individual so a "win-win" arrangement for club and player allowing him to meet his family needs whilst perhaps training on his own during part of the week may be workable. Its been a few years since we had a bloke up front who knows where the Onion bag is and it would be a shame if he left just as we were hitting form because he is becoming an integral part of the team.
It makes a nice change to have a few days (until Tuesdays game at any rate) of positivity and optimisim, not to mention dry sheets!
Two things that was noticable yesterday,St.Ledger was obviously told to stay back and concentrate on his defending,made the pairing much more solid, and Pogi had Routledge a bag of nerves,he didnt want to know.
We kept the ball well and that's the only way we can overcome the physical route one teams, although QPR did try and play a bit, a big mistake on their part
Jingle bells, jingle bells.........
Thanks to Strachs, the coaches and the team for a fabulous afternoon in the Loftus Road Away End!
Pre season my view was that we would be too good for most teams and get in the play offs. Didnt think we would make an automatic promotion spot. I expressed the same view during our good early season run with the caveat that we hadn't really played any of the promotion contenders.
I expressed the same view during our run of dismal run of home matches but with a little concern. A great result yesterday, I could hear John Powls Loftus Road eioing up in Derby. My view still hasnt changed, should make the play offs, think an automatic place is too much for us.
I think yesterdays win is the start of the rise to success that will result in automatic promotion this season (along with West Brom) and will lead to qualification for European football next season. The team that Gordon Strachan is assembling has pace power and quality in abundance. Success is inevitable.
How many goals for an away win? Five will do nicely thank. But ( typical Boro again) one swallow doesn't make a promotion bid. No. 100?
Paul Bell -
Spoken like a true Geordie (or in fact a true plastic one, as real ones aren't bothered about us). Great boost for the team, fans and the area. Roll on Tuesday.
Is this the Paul Bell (at 11.08am) who was sending posts a while back that were positively schizophrenic?
Have I got it wrong or was it often the case "We are rubbish and going down" followed a short while later by "Someone has been using my name; I really think we will be staying up" etc.
**AV writes: Yes. Or no.
patrick steele -
Who said anything about Newcastle? I have it to take it from your post that you have not yet developed the ability to read properly. Never mind hinny! :)
Kitson just looks like he wants to score goals. After the Posh game he wasn't too bothered that we hadn't won, he was happy that he'd scored two. We need a striker with that sort of attitude.
**AV writes: I'm not sure that is true. He told me he was "bitterly disappointed" to have thrown it away after the Peterborough game. But yes, he does like to score goals and he doesn't care how they come.
The BBC website noted that Strachan didn't win with either Southampton or Coventry until his fifth game in charge.
Great win and performance. I hope this is the confidence boost that will turn things around.
**AV writes: McClaren lost his first four.
I'll tell you what AV, it will be quiet on here this week without the moaners.
HolgateEnder
Just for you. Why oh why didnt we keep a clean sheet and come to think about it we should have scored six.
AV
When did you have your hair cut? Was that why there was no live blog second half?
**AV writes: Haircut first thing this morning. I went for the Joe Strummer "Taxi Driver" look circa 1982. Thank God.
The live blog went belly up and I didn't know how (or indeed, have time) to fix it.
What a powerful and positive performance. AV sums up the good individual performances nicely. I said don't get hysterical, we can make the playoffs, and on this showing, if we can learn to repeat it on a regular basis on home soil, then we can enjoy an exciting second half to the season.
I think we looked more balanced without Jinky - maybe a first look at how we will perform once he disappears out the window in Jan! Well done Boro, some real positives at last! We must repeat it at home - starting on Tuesday.
Stupendous result. The general consensus was that Boro looked more balanced without Johnno in the side. Instead of worrying about trying to play through him, they just got on with it and played a good game of counter attacking football.
The conundrum now is, can they transfer that form to the Riverside? All will be revealed on Tuesday night. Come on Boro....
Ra Ra Ra Ra!
The Live Blog may have gone belly-up in the second half (AV's response at 3.18pm) but only from AV's end. I'm not sure whether he could still access it, see the posts coming in from the punters' side (even if he couldn't post from his end) but those who had been sending in messages before it went wrong seemed able to continue sending messages for the rest of the game.
There was lots of food-based banter and news of other scores elsewhere. And, as a win seemed more and more likely, many comments on where AV had got to (still under the table in the Press Room after a tidal wave of champagne and smoked salmon, or maybe that he'd sneaked out for a quick visit to the barber?). Mostly good clean fun.
But the evening afterwards at the "Bald Badger", that was something to behold! People making 5-1 signs with their fingers to friends at the far side of the room, the guest beers going down like nectar, good company and music at a level which allowed the eardrums to survive (which tends NOT to be the case when bands play, whatever sort of music they claim to play). And then some more nectar, and then just a little more (after all, why should the gods have it all?).
And to watch the Football League Show on i-Player (it would have been churlish to leave whilst there was still some of the nectar left) was a joy. And to be first on!
Come on lads. I want more of these evenings. If we ask nicely, could we start on Tuesday at home to Blackpool? PLEASE?
I think more nectar has been ordered and it would be good to start the Christmas festivities early (the spectators, that is, not the players).
Holgate Ender... I must be one of the moaners you are talking about.
I am not happy that the club have slipped from Eindhoven to people getting excited because we have nudged back into the play-off places in the championship in three years.
I am not happy that the new boss is being hailed a tactical guru after finally winning in his fifth game (after taking one point from two games against the bottom two in what was a very easy start.)
I am not happy that our best two players can talk to other clubs in January and look almost certain to go
I am not happy that we are miles behind the two other teams that came down from the PL with us last season.
I am not happy almost ever PR/marketing move the club makes seems caluculated to upset or insult the most loyal of fans.
If you expect me to shut up now becxause of one win you are mistaken. This means nothing unless we beat Blackpool. And it will soon be forgotten if we don't get something against Cardiff and the Geordies.
Ask me again if I am happy or moaning in May
I think this result has been coming for a while. Now we must make it the catalyst for a long run of winning games.
I think we could go for most of the season unbeated - but then again!
Great win and performance, but is it too late for anything other than the playoffs?
Neil M.
Forget the past, stop worrying about the future and enjoy the moment. We won 5-1. If you can't enjoy that, I'm not sure what you can enjoy.
See below article from a sunday paper which claims players were angry that their Christmas night out in london was spoiled.
"The incident angered Boro players who are still trying to come to terms with Strachan's style of management, although it seemed to have had the desired effect judging by their superb 5-1 win at QPR yesterday. Many Boro players have not warmed to Strachan's training techniques. And a source close to the dressing-room said: "Some of the players are not happy. They think some of the training is 20 years out of date."
I know this is newspaper talk AV but have you heard anything in relation to the training methods.
"There is an emphasis on running and more running and the players feel they should be doing more technical stuff."
**AV writes: I think some of the players, especially the younger ones, may find it a bit of a culture shock that some managers shouts and get angry over mistakes and what he perceives as a lack of application but the ones I have spoken too - the ones in the team - seem to enjoy the intensity of the new training regime.
Still, you can't argue with "a source close to the dressing room" talking to a journalist who hasn't to my knowledge been anywhere near the place since Strachan took over.
Neil M........ I concur!
Well that's lifted the gloom a little!! I took my 4 year old daughter to see Santa Saturday lunch time and he told herhe was going to try and sort out 3 points for Boro for Dad before Christmas.
Two hours later we'd banged 5 goals in, clearly Santa is real and not at all an Irish man who supports Utd and has a sense of humour!!?
No doubt many will have seen this story already in BBC's gossip column or in NOTW.
Both Chelsea and Sunderland are on the trail of Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson, but the 22-year-old looks set to stay at the Riverside Stadium with a new contract worth £1.5m a year.
Full story: News of the World
**AV writes: There has certainly been an improved new offer made in recent weeks but I don't know if there is any indication that he will sign. To be fair, I think he has other things on his mind at the moment with his Mam being seriously ill.
To Peterboroangel.
Newcastle have form when it comes to throwing away a seemingly impregnable lead at the top of the table..
I would love it..
Well that's a bit better, and should keep 'most' people happy for a few days at least.
To be honest I've been a bit surprised at how quickly the negativity has enveloped our season. It doesn't seem to tie in with the season so far. Let's face it, it's only early December and already we have more wins and more goals than we managed in the whole of last season, despite the recent patchy form.
In fact we're only three points short of our season total from last year. We also have a new manager which most people seemed to want, and he's not a rookie which is what most people were asking for.
For the most part I very much enjoyed the "12 years of humiliation" we have apparently lived through (that quote is going to live forever!), and for the most part I've very much enjoyed this season so far, and looking forward with a reasonable amount of optimism to being involved in a promotion challenge.
I am convinced that we only won and by a large margin because we had all expected the reverse. in fact had we been beaten by a similar margin we would not have been surprised at all.....
I think there is a sickness involved with being a long time Boro supporter, a sort of pragmatic desolation which keeps you in touch with the realities of a harsh life in the North East. Anyhow three more points on Tuesday please with another four goal margin and you never know I may even start being an optimist again.
After all, if Boro do finally turn this around we still have the inevitable disappointment of the World Cup to look forward to. You know, typical England....
Great result. I said in a earlier blog that somebody was going to be on the receiving end of this team.
AV thanks for the goals was at Sun City for the golf this weekend and missed it all maybe should go away more often if this is what happens.
As for Tuesday same team GS2 if Adam is over his problems put him on the bench to come on later. 2-0 Boro. Have not seen the table yet, how does it look.
**AV writes: It looks better. Boro are sixth.
AV - Remiss of me not to mention Johnno's mum, I hope she gets well soon and I am sure many fans echo best wishes.
Fans are often guilty of elevating their sport beyond its true status. It is always just a game. A defeat is taken as a disaster but that should be reserved for the likes of a tidal wave wiping out whole communities etc.
Family is always more important than a game of football. I wish Johnno's mum well.
Allan, spot on! If you expect the worst you might be surprised sometimes. Living in the Nordic (Scandinavian) region I know it's the same over here, too. Perhaps the people from the North East have that in the genes? See the Vikings connection here.
Anyway, I like to go against the tide and enjoy the win. I changed the brake pads and discs to my wife's car outdoors yesterday. And I felt absolutely fine and happy - even though I did it with my foam hands and it was cold!
Of course the Tuesday's match is a home match so anything can happen.
Up the Boro!
Allan in Bahrain - this was very much a Typical Boro result, I didn't expect a lot from the match to be honest, I was prepared to let the revival start on Tuesday night.
Of course Typical Boro would now fall flat on their faces against Blackpool.
**AV writes: I think some of the players, especially the younger ones, may find it a bit of a culture shock that some managers shout and get angry over mistakes and what he perceives as a lack of application but the ones I have spoken to - the ones in the team - seem to enjoy the intensity of the new training regime."
Culture shock?
About bloody time, if you ask me - including that there is a correlation between those working hard and enjoying the intensity of training and those in the team.
I know it isn't Summer, and the Swallows we're talking about are more from The Feathers than feathered - but the key thing now, after the real Xmas party at Loftus Road, is to ensure it gets followed up in the next two home games.
Success in those would confirm that Saturday's very welcome and enjoyable thrashing of QPR was about finding the winning formula - not just a fluke.
I saw signs of that for the first time on Saturday - and beyond just getting goals, important though that is. More please!
Thanks AV sixth heady heights indeed and very welcome. To be in a play off position after the run we have been on is incredible but just shows how close this league is.
The Barcodes are surely going to have a slump at some stage as are the baggies i think they have been lucky with injuries so far and i dont think they have the back up to keep up the form once that happens.
Six points from the next two games also two of our rivals for a play off place will go a long way to getting the confidence back in the team and the fans and could cost the club some money too.
If Kitson cant stay (hope he can) believe Beattie at Soke has had a fall out ideal for the Cship. Finaly congrats to GS2 on his first win took a while but was worth the wait.
Wow, great stuff. Went to Loftus Road more in hope than expectation, so fab weekend. Its easy to go over the top with the result, but like John Powls I to felt signs of all round improvement.
Neil M.. Whilst almost everyone shares your sentiment, whats gone has gone and we are where we are. Rightly, we can and do blame those who's decisions have led us to this place,although some of it was magic while it lasted, thanks to those same people. Time to move on me thinks.
AV,is GON settled now. He really is playing like he loves the club(perhaps thats a bit strong)and seems to be enjoying the new regime..Long may it last.
Great result and still got our best player to come back.
**AV writes: We are entering the dangerzone on GON. Boro have a two year option on his current contract but have to exercise it before December 31. I think they have got the calculators out working out the figures. Can we afford to gamble on keeping him if we may not go up? We must hope we can.
PS re my last post. I'm not a foam hander and never have been. I always find the things fall off.
Although I said before the game that I fancied us to beat QPR, I never for one moment thought we'd manage to hit five - it seems having Kitson up front has taken the pressure of other players and has given the team more confidence.
Let's hope we build on this result and put a run together so that we're able to capitalise should the top two have a dip in form.
If you think when Southgate was 'relieved of his duties' six games ago Boro were one point from the top but are now 13 points behind - This is down to our bad form coinciding with good runs from Newcastle and WBA.
Newcastle - 18pts
WBA - 14pt
Boro - 6pts
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why there have been some 'moaners' posting on the blog - was HolgateEnder expecting to hear glowing praise from everyone after winning only one game from eleven?
This result won't mean much in the grand scheme of things unless winning becomes the norm rather than a pleasant surprise.
I would also like to wish Johnson's mum well. And kudos to the club for allowing him time off to deal with the situation.
Football is just a career, and a fleeting one. Family is forever, and I'm sure Johnson appreciates the club's attitude.
Werdermouth:
"This result won't mean much in the grand scheme of things unless winning becomes the norm rather than a pleasant surprise."
Dead right! And even more so if they don't pull off some good wins at the Riverside also.
Great win and terrific goals on Saturday - it has to be said. But unless we get more of that at the Riverside, the home crowds won't come back. A hard fact of life is that discerning people won't continue to shell out hard currency for inferior wares.
Home crowds want something positive to shout about and get involved with. They don't want to be shouting abuse and booing their own team. It's depressing. And why should they continue to spend higher and higher proportions of their hard-to-come-by net disposable income on depression induction??
If Boro did at home what they've been doing away more often, there'd be no debate about the stupidity of season ticket marketing schemes. Because there'd be no need for forced incentivisation. The crowds would still be coming!