Mathew Daley

@Champchatpod24 Blend of weak bench and poor finishing has cost us. Not much between the two teams over two legs but we should’ve been a few goals up going into the second leg if we had a proper striker. It would’ve been a very different game at St Mary’s.

Regardless of the Spygate saga, Middlesbrough, on the pitch, ultimately ran out of steam against Southampton last night. 🙁 A lack of depth on the bench was a key difference, highlighting where Boro need to make improvements this summer. 🤞 Do you agree, Boro fans? 🤔 #BORO

@louorns @JoshSFC13578 @J_Tanswell Absolutely spot on. I always feared we’d struggle in extra time with our weak bench. Missing Hackney and Conway going off crippled us.

@JoshSFC13578 @J_Tanswell I did. Don’t agree. Nothing to do with tactics as Saints couldn’t break it down for 120 minutes with a clear talent advantage and Boro having zero depth. Eckert is absolutely dog and everyone knows it. He’s laughed at in football

Eckert’s 4-2-2-2 ground Middlesbrough down until their defenders literally couldn’t move through sheer exhaustion - shown in Charles goal. Downes came on and was outstanding. Constant passing, midfield dominance and Boro couldn’t get out

@Boro_Breakdown When will the pain stop?

Have you got any questions for us for our next episode? If so, pop them below 👇

@UtdForever7 @ManUtd @premierleague You’ll have nothing to worry about with Woody riding shotgun

🚨The Michael Carrick ERA has started! ♥️ Carrick has potential. Middlesborough sold his key players regularly. • Morgan Rogers (£15m) to Aston Villa. • Chuba Akpom (£12m) to Ajax. • Marcus Tavernier (£14m) to Bournemouth. • Djed Spence (£20m) to Tottenham. • Emmanuel Latte Lath (sale to Atlanta United in Jan 2025). He was 4th in first season and in playoffs. Then lost his attack and was 8th and 10th in following seasons. Why? His 40 goal strike force left — That’s quite a loss! • The "Brain Drain" of Summer 2023: • Chuba Akpom: Top scorer (29 goals). Sold to Ajax. • Cameron Archer: The main striker partner (11 goals). Returned to Villa. • Ryan Giles: The main creator (11 assists). Returned to Wolves/Luton. • Aaron Ramsey: Key attacking midfielder (5 goals). Returned to Villa. The Consequence: Entering Season 2 (23/24), Carrick had to replace 45 goals and 20+ assists from his starting XI. It took until November/December for the new signings (Latte Lath, Rogers) to gel, by which point they had already dropped too many points to replicate the 4th place finish. There is hope for Carrick. He has more experience than Fletcher. Maybe not the same positive genius of Ole but he’ll bring calm and control. Maybe we need that. Still, City and Arsenal will be a tough start but let’s hope for the best and let’s push for Europe. 💪👊♥️

@utdrobbo He had no plan b. This was evident in his first season when we had options. I’m really surprised he’s trying to take Woodgate. I think he would be better off with some more experience alongside him.

This is just my understanding as an outsider so any Boro fans feel free to confirm or correct: They lost a LOT of attacking talent, failed massively to adequately replace it & Carrick couldn't find the solutions — which is hard to do when you lose Rodgers, Akpom, Archer (loan) & only keep Latte Lath for 18 months whilst Doak suffers a season ending injury. The leaky defence becomes a problem when you can't outscore it. But I think it's important to state that he didn't really fail: • 22/23 — took over a team 21st & guided them to 4th playing phenomenal football but the goals dried up at the worst possible time & lost in the playoffs. • 23/24 — first cup semi-final since 2004 & beat Chelsea at home (got knocked out in second leg) before finishing 8th after a poor start to the season. • 24/25 — lost his key assistant (Danks) at the start of the season, finished 4 points off the play-offs but had a relatively low points total & got sacked. I also remember that some of their fans (vocal minority) kept clamouring for more route one football. You can make your own conclusion on that front.

@kepsomd @ThatBoroFan @FulhamFC We can only dream of having so few out injured 😂

@ThatBoroFan @FulhamFC Joke's on you. We have 6 first team players out of action (3 at AFCON, 3 injured), started with a makeshift team and still you looked ordinary. Hope you go up so thanks fir 6 points.

Upset avoided and we're through to the fourth round. 😏

@mar_boro14 I think we’ll be fine once Strelec and Nypan are bedded in. Sene looks like a good option to have in the squad too.

I think the argument around Boro’s creativity is valid, but tonight we played a really organised side who’d only conceded 4 before tonight. Against weaker teams 100%, but tonight was always gunna be a tough game with few chances, and we still created the better of them.

@DomShawEcho Will we have to wait until January for him to play?

🚨 #Boro have won battle to sign in-demand Adilson Malanda. ✍️ Centre-half set to sign permanent deal before returning to Charlotte FC on loan, where he'll finish MLS season. 🔎 PSV, Club Brugges and Norwich among clubs keen this summer. Full story 👇 thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/25399812…

@_jonnyb1 I think this formation brings the best out of him. Class role today

I just love watching Finn Azaz play football so glad he’s back on the pitch for us

@DomShawEcho Get Azaz and hopefully McGree back into that squad and we’re not too far off. A striker and lwb both with pace would be very good.

What was so pleasing about that was how comfortable #Boro were after the goal. Swansea were poor but Boro still managed it well and never looked like making a mess of things.

@mar_utb14 @Boro Just shows if you have a team who are mentally tough and can stay on games then you’ve got a chance. Instead we will continue to play out from the back with defenders who can’t pass and won’t stick their bodies on the line.

And the season from hell is complete. - Relegated with Boro in 2017 - Spent 4 years in L1 - 2 playoff finishes in 3 years - Gambled on Le Bris - Promoted before Boro as we remain stuck in Championship mediocrity @Boro, I hope you’re watching closely. Thank god it’s over.

@ShaunyRye Hopefully he’s one of the first ones shipped out. Not good enough for a top 6 team

Footballers have lives too. BUT, i do think they could leave certain elements out of their posts. Boro fans are still hurting, so a dismissive phrase like, 'clear our minds and enjoy vacation' won't sit well with some. Are players detached from the importance of ⚽️ to fans? #Boro

@Chris_BoroUTB Pretty typical of our whole team. The three behind the striker are all lazy too. We’re so vulnerable without the ball and it’s exposed time and time again.

I’m not big on “passion and desire” but this sort of thing drives me crazy as a fan. Hackney easily outfought, picks himself up and jogs back. Then pays zero attention to the free man in front of him, who wanders into the box and has time to control it and score. Infuriating.

@craig_johns How did Iheanacho last the 90?

#Boro ratings with one 8 and one 3 and everything in between... gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football…

@BBCTeesSport 9

30 points are up for grabs, how many will Boro get from their 10 remaining games? 🤔💭 #Boro | #UTB | #BBCFootball

@BBCTeesSport It was probably his best game without the ball too.

"Finn showed us again what he's capable of doing. He's got real quality and he just needs to do it on a more consistent basis." - Maddo #Boro | #UTB | #BBCFootball

@louorns Nobody in the club puts much thought into defending.

I’m still trying to figure out why Hayden Hackney was standing 3 metres beside the wall setup by Mark Travers. Why was he there? Why did he jump despite not being in the wall? Why did he leave George Earthy? I’ve got more questions than answers 🧐

Hmmm. Swansea sacking Luke Williams conveniently around the same time to🧐 is Alan Sheehan behind the EXPOSING of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and TheEuropeanLad? It’s all starting to add up. You might be onto something here David

@DomShawEcho Any half decent manager gets at least a point from the position we were in after an hour. Not to bring fresh legs on is a basic in modern football.

Michael Carrick said there were 'loads of reasons' why he didn't make a #Boro change earlier last night - despite impact of Bristol City subs. 🗣️ 'We're always thinking how we can influence the game. Listen, they are the decisions I make or don't make' thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/24955490…

@DomShawEcho Hes out of his depth. It was clear at 65mins that we needed fresh legs on. He waited until we were 2-1 down in the 82nd.

Liam Manning’s substitutes just after the hour changed the game. By the time Carrick made his first change with eight minutes to play #Boro were 2-1 down and the game was lost.

@izzyslovenian Set up similar to Leicester away last season on Friday.

So how do we sort out the issues using the current squad, now that the “fix everything” new manager option is ruled out? Constructive thinking time! UTB