Straight off, I have to say I haven’t even seen the goals, let alone the highlights of this game.
I’ve been up to my neck in it at a car plant shutdown, which has involved more than 12 hours a day for the last week or more; hence eating and sleeping has had to be my priority (it’s a hard life isn’t it?).
So I can only go with comments I’ve read on here and other sites, where it seems we were really quite good for the first hour, only for us to collapse when Boro equalised, which led to us not being able to keep the ball or even pass it.
Whichever way you look at it, it seems we have a massive fragility problem, where we don’t believe we can win a game once the opposition score. Which er, is exactly the same as last season, isn’t it???
It’s for this reason that I don’t think we have a chance of getting promoted as things stand, as I’ve said previously.
Perhaps though, I’m being unfair.
After all, Middlesborough are now a Premier league team and we’re deservedly Championship level.
They’re on the way up from their already advanced Championship level and have improved with some decent buys, whereas we’re about to find our real level.
Which is the part that worries me.
We’re apparently equal second favourites to be promoted, along with Norwich, with Newcastle being the absolute favourites.
It’s something that will only add to the expectation and again, I don’t think the squad is up to it, as they’re overall a load of bottlers, in my opinion.
Well, it certainly was the case last season and from the sound of it seems the case yesterday, anyway.
My hope was that whatever manager came in, he’d be able to instil a strong fighting mentality and although it is of course very early days, I’m not convinced we’ll get it under RDM.
Still, as I said, they’re Prem and we aren’t.
And us getting beaten at home to a Premier league team is only to be expected?
Hmm, I’m not in the slightest bit convinced, myself.
A team that hopes to be promoted next season should be fighting to the death, regardless of the opposition, even this early in proceedings.