Don Goodman spoke more in his interview with OLBG about Middlesbrough…
On Middlesbrough’s promotion chances, he told Teesside Live via OLBG: “Consistency is key for Middlesbrough. Look at the way they finished last season, winning seven, drawing four and losing one, which was that incredible home game against Leeds. 25 points from 12 games is promotion-winning form. To highlight inconsistency though, in the 12 games before that they only won four, drawing six and losing two.
“With every passing season, Michael Carrick’s experience becomes more valuable. He’s made mistakes and will continue to do so but he’ll also have learned from those mistakes. He knows this league now, having only played and coached at the top before joining Boro, and the Championship will no longer be a culture shock to him, he’ll know what it takes to win promotion.
“There hasn’t been an awful lot of transfer business done at the moment. But the one factor which jumps off the page is how well Emmanuel Latte Lath finished the season, scoring 11 goals in his final 12 games. He’s clearly found confidence, form and his place within the team.
“He looked like a completely different player from the one that was missing chances at the start of the season. But at least he was still getting into the positions previously. If Boro can start well and create chances for him to score at such a rate, then you would say it will be a more positive season.
“But they are one of those mystery teams when you wonder what type of performance are we going to see and you just never know what they’ll produce.”
Asked who do you fancy for promotion and relegation from the Championship, he said: “Last season was one of the easiest Championship seasons to predict in terms of who would be at the top as Leeds, Leicester and Southampton all retained a plethora of Premier League-quality players They were always going to be competing at the top end of the league.
“However this season I’m not so confident in the relegated clubs. For Burnley and Luton, it depends on what their squad looks like when the transfer window shuts. Will Burnley keep the likes of Lyle Foster, Luca Koleosho and Sander Berge? If they do, you fancy them to be a force. Will Luton keep the likes of Alfie Doughty, Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris? If they do, you’d also tip them to be competing at the top.
“But Sheffield United look like a club in disarray and are coming down from the Premier in a very weak state. A massive overhaul is required for Chris Wilder and his backroom staff. I’m not saying they can’t do it, but he’s up against it at the moment.
“You’d expect Leeds to be towards the top, with the sale of Archie Gray possibly meaning they’ll be able to keep hold of the attacking force that tore apart Championship defences for 80% of the season before falling at the last hurdle.”
“Then with some teams, you don’t really know what to expect from them. You cannot rule out West Brom with Carlos Corberan in charge still, Coventry’s FA Cup semi-final proved a hindrance to their promotion hopes last season, and Middlesbrough ended the campaign very strongly.
“The upcoming Championship season will not be as strong as last season’s, which had the best top-four that I’ve ever seen. That’s going to give an opportunity for some teams to surprise us.
“At the bottom, Des Buckingham has a huge job on his hands at Oxford as play-off winners are notoriously the teams that struggle the most. It’s just brilliant that they’re in the Championship.
“Derby County remind me of Sheffield Wednesday last season as they have one of the oldest teams in the division. Wednesday struggled with the physical side of things early on last year, so it’s interesting to see Paul Warne move on a number of 30-plus-year-olds and bring pace and energy into the club. That gap still needs to be bridged, though.
“I would expect Portsmouth to be the strongest of the relegated clubs and, therefore, I’m looking at the clubs that just about survived. John Eustace has a big job on his hands at Blackburn after they relied so heavily on Sammie Szmodics, it would be some achievement if he could replicate such performances. I’m not sure about Plymouth, and that’s not because of Wayne Rooney, it’s just the nature of them being in the Championship.
“Even Sunderland finished the season winning just two of their last 15 games. They’ve got a new manager in Regis Les Bris, whose background is in developing young footballers but this is the Championship so it’s very difficult for a whole group of young players to succeed and they didn’t have any strikers capable of performing at that level and struggled for goals. Those would be the clubs I’d be concerned about.”
This is how fans reacted to what Don Goodman had to say on Middlesbrough…
@Ki3ran_K: Fuck Don Goodman.
@FTLOB98: We could be the best package, never mind the surprise one! 😝
@paul_yole: Mystery? Surprise? Has he been paying attention?
@craig_johns: Points he makes are quite fair, in his defence. Too often last season you weren’t sure what Boro side would show up. There’s a lot of optimism for the new season, but I’m sure we’ve all been there before!
@paul_yole: Understood. Although I’d suggest most observers would have suggested Boro should be a real contender this season, therefore not really a surprise.
@craig_johns: Yeah I’d definitely take that point. Think they’re joint-third favourite in the odds right now, so winning promotion probably shouldn’t be seen as a big surprise.
Dan Shaw New: I hate this bloke with a passion but i hope he is right 🤣
Richard Mark Atwood: don gobsite
Geoff Wade: Hell soon put the boot in, he normally has nothing good to say about the “Boro”. 😐
Michael JD: Not a surprise to us #UTB
Middlesbrough – Fixtures
Sat 10 Aug (H) Swansea City – 12.30pm
Sat 17 Aug (A) Derby County – 12.30pm
Sat 24 Aug (H) Portsmouth – 3pm
Sat 31 Aug (A) Cardiff City – 12.30pm
Sat 14 Sep (H) Preston North End – 3pm
Sat 21 Sep (A) Sunderland – 12.30pm
Sat 28 Sep (H) Stoke City – 3pm
Tue 1 Oct (A) West Bromwich Albion – 7.45pm
Sat 5 Oct (A) Watford – 3pm
Sat 19 Oct (H) Bristol City – 3pm
Wed 23 Oct (H) Sheffield United – 7.45pm
Sat 26 Oct (A) Norwich City – 3pm
Sat 2 Nov (H) Coventry City – 3pm
Tue 5 Nov (A) Queens Park Rangers – 7.45pm
Sat 9 Nov (H) Luton Town – 3pm
Sat 23 Nov (A) Oxford United – 3pm
Wed 27 Nov (H) Blackburn Rovers – 7.45pm
Sat 30 Nov (H) Hull City – 3pm
Sat 7 Dec (A) Burnley – 3pm
Tue 10 Dec (A) Leeds United – 7.45pm
Sat 14 Dec (H) Millwall – 3pm
Sat 21 Dec (A) Plymouth Argyle – 3pm
Thu 26 Dec (H) Sheffield Wednesday – 3pm
Sun 29 Dec (H) Burnley – 3pm
Wed 1 Jan (A) Hull City – 3pm
Sat 4 Jan (H) Cardiff City – 3pm
Sat 18 Jan (A) Portsmouth – 3pm
Tue 21 Jan (H) West Bromwich Albion – 7.45pm
Sat 25 Jan (A) Preston North End – 3pm
Sat 1 Feb (H) Sunderland – 3pm
Sat 8 Feb (A) Stoke City – 3pm
Wed 12 Feb (A) Sheffield United – 7.45pm
Sat 15 Feb (H) Watford Championship 3pm
Sat 22 Feb (A) Bristol City – 3pm
Sat 1 Mar (H) Derby County – 3pm
Sat 8 Mar (A) Swansea City – 3pm
Tue 11 Mar (H) Queens Park Rangers – 7.45pm
Sat 15 Mar (A) Luton Town – 3pm
Sat 29 Mar (H) Oxford United – 3pm
Sat 5 Apr (A) Blackburn Rovers – 3pm
Tue 8 Apr (H) Leeds United – 7.45pm
Sat 12 Apr (A) Millwall – 3pm
Fri 18 Apr (H) Plymouth Argyle – 3pm
Mon 21 Apr (A) Sheffield Wednesday – 3pm
Sat 26 Apr (H) Norwich City – 3pm
Sat 3 May (A) Coventry City – 3pm
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