Thread by @louorns

Neil Warnock’s #Boro are the strangest team in the Championship for me (Blackburn run them close) I’ve seen them a fair bit this season, and I kinda think they underachieved a bit. Warnock is great at certain things, and has adapted more than people give him credit for (cont)

But they seem so dysfunctional as a club on and off the pitch - I’ll elaborate on the pitch. Depending on what site you use (wyscout, infogol - I’ll be using wyscout) Boro’s numbers has them play offs wise, and their numbers seem different from the performances

So I looked at this - Warnock at his disposal has the 5th youngest squad in the league, they’re 5th per 90 for passes per def action (pressing intensity basically) - which is fine, but then they’re 18th for defensive duels per 90 (cont)

I bring up the defensive duels per 90, because the other 4 clubs with them for intensity; are also in the top 10 for defensive duels. I watched them again to see why, and whilst Boro do press, there’s literally no trigger & a gaping hole between the CB’s & DM - this happens a lot

Bettinelli is the worst keeper in the league, so that doesn’t help - because Boro do limit shots on their goal (8.21 per 90 - 3rd best in division) but the chances they give up are good chances - 20th in the league for xG per shot against (cont)

And again, it’s not hard to see why. It’s individual mistakes coming more or less from a dodgy pass into someone who’s not ready - this happens almost every game, and as it’s that frequent, it’s a coaching issue

Warnock claims he doesn’t have strikers, but even if he did I don’t think it would matter. Assombalonga and Akpom are perfectly fine players at this level, but they literally get no service - both players bottom 4 for touches in pen area, received passes (cont)

But he’s not using them effectively at all. Warnock also doesn’t really get the best out of strikers either, rarely get double figures under him. But they’re 22nd for passes per minute and 22nd for progressive passes

Basically Boro are going into every game playing with 2/3 men down given they just won’t be in the game. I’m not sure having the oldest manager in the league with one of the youngest in the league is a wise thing either

Regarding off the pitch - I’ve been privy to some things. Boro’s scouting and recruitment is actually really good, but it doesn’t coincide with what Warnock wants. Warnock wants experience and know how, *parts* of the club want players under 26 from lower leagues

Woodgate for example wanted Dembélé from Peterborough when he was at Boro, for whatever reason that didn’t happen (read between the lines) but it reminds me of a club that are split - 50% want immediate success other 50% want a long term plan (the latter is always the answer)