3-0 defeat but we learnt a lot about how crippled injuies have made us!

By: Tom | August 16th, 2009

Firstly I am not worried by the scoreline. The side we put out today and ended the game with was probably the weakest team I could have invisoned. we had one known centre midfielder (Leon Brittan) in a formation that required three. The other two were wingers and for all the skill and speed they possessed we know that wingers are not capable of running a game from the centre of the park. Upfront we looked quality, with Dobbie and Dyer showing dazzling skill and breathtaking one-two’s, just none of the luck required to find the net. I personally feel that Boro are going to struggle this season as they looked to me no better than a midtable side from last season (I mention no names) but that shows how bad the side we fielded today was in comparison to the full strength Premiership side they had at their disposal.

We out passed them and we looked like we had ideas, what we lacked was a centre midfield. When you consider we are missing BODDE, PRATLEY, LOPEZ and ALLAN then I think it is fair to say we were always going to struggle. It was frustrating because we didn’t play badly at all, if anything just one of those injured players back and we would have destroyed Boro, but when you have two wingers playing CM and then have to bring on a striker and another winger (both making there professional debuts) to replace the other two wingers in CM then you have a major problem. My worry is that this period without those guys will put us so far behind everyone else that we will be in a relegation battle before we know what has hit us. Never have i seen so many injuries to one position, and i mean it when i say each player missing is a first team stater, that is how competitive CM is and how vital it is to the whole system.
Boro need to remember how easily we controlled possession and if any other side in the division had played them yesterday, they would have lost, that is the reality of how crippled we are right now.