[NoSkillz]

Sat. April 1, 2023

Barclays Premier League
Middlesbrough (8-6-17, 30 points, 15th) vs. Dover (19-6-6, 63 points, 5th)
The Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, England

Betting Odds: Middlesbrough: 13-8 Draw: 2-1 Dover: 6-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 6W 1D 4L

Middlesbrough have been in the top flight of English football since the 2010/11 season and only once during this period have they finished below 13th and that was in 2012/13, which they finished just above the relegation line. This is their worst season in recent memory - they will likely stay up but they'll need a few more points to guarantee their spot next year and considering the fact that they finished 6th, 8th and 9th in a four year period, it qualifies as a huge disappointment. Roland Hoxha has done well in his first year with the club, scoring 16 goals in 32 games to lead the club by a mile. We'll need to watch him closely. We beat Middlesbrough comfortably 4-0 at Crabble earlier in the year.

With Shanon Andrea on the shelf for a month, this is now Paul Moses's time to really shine. He'll be given every opportunity to play a big role in our remaining games. The rest of our lineup is unchanged from the Arsenal loss. We need a result today to get back on track - our schedule is very easy, relatively speaking, right through until our final game against Manchester City, which could very well be meaningful. Control mentality today on the road as slight favourites.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, A. Rocca, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - D. Traore, K. Zagos, S. Spall, G. Fanfoni, G. Allan, H. Cruz, Z. Bardi

Middlesbrough are in a 4-2-3-1 with three AMCs. Hoxha is alone up front and we'll be mindful of Thorgan Hazard, a very dangerous midfielder. Sinan Bolat is in goal. I tell the team they can win today and pull aside Chiquinho to tell him I have faith in his scoring ability.

7' - We've already had two great chances early on that were shot wide and now Paul Moses is sent in and his low blast is stopped by Sinan Bolat. The rebound is out to Neil Cairney but the Middlesbrough keeper recovers in time to stop that too! Great chances so far!

32' - Not much happening after that opening flurry. Paul Moses gets a yellow card.

36' - Now it's Rayane Hamon with a yellow.

37' - Right after that yellow, we regain possession and move up field. We start a great little move, with Bolis passing to Andrea Rocca then he one touches it through the defence and Moses gets there first. He's in the area and he shoots low and under Sinan Bolat and it's in! DOVER GOAL 1-0

39' - Chiquinho sends a ball through to Moses but his shot is JUST turned aside by Sinan Bolat!

43' - There's an amazing sequence where Middlesbrough have a corner and Hoxha heads it off the goal post. We immediately start a counter attack, with Neil Cairney running the length of the field down the right sideline and crossing into the box. Moses is there and hits a bullet but it's right at Sinan Bolat and bumped away. Crazy stuff.

45'+1 - We have possession deep in their end and it's Rocca again as the architect, sending a lovely ball through to Bamba. He's in on goal and Sinan Bolat takes a terrible angle to challenge him and Bamba easily puts it past him and IN! Late half dagger! DOVER GOAL 2-0

45'+3 - There's only supposed to be two minutes of extra time but Middlesbrough have possession in our area and win a corner. The ref keeps his whistle in his pocket and they take the corner. Who is there but our former defender, Thomas Andersen, and he heads it in for his first ever Middlesbrough goal. That's not a good time to give up a goal. MIDDLESBROUGH GOAL 2-1

HALFTIME - We are unquestionably the better club but that late goal is a killer. We hold 52% of possession and outshoot them 12-6 (6-3 on target). This is a worrisome scoreline but we're ahead and I tell the team I'm pleased so far. We need one more goal. I may have to eventually drop back into a counter mentality, as their fullbacks are pinching in a lot.

47' - Another crazy event. We win a free kick deep down the right side and Rocca sends it out to Cairney lurking outside the area. He sends a bullet that's destined for the net but Thorgan Hazard is guarding the left post and blocks it. He tries to shoot it out to safety but it hits Tom Cairney on Middlesbrough and deflects backwards right into the net! WOW! DOVER GOAL 3-1

53' - We send a long ball up to Moses and he's speeding in on goal. His shot is stopped by Sinan Bolat but it squirts through and is going into the net but a Middlesbrough defender gets there in time to clear it off the line.

66' - Middlesbrough have changed to a flat 4-4-2.

70' - We work a counter attack and it's Moses again leading the charge, bolting through the defence and in on goal. His shot is saved by a diving Sinan Bolat but the rebound pops right out to Gianluca Bolis and he left foots it into the open net and we are ahead by three! DOVER GOAL 4-1

73' - Time to start looking ahead to our midweek Champions League game. Paul Moses and Andrea Rocca come out. In come Graham Allan and Gian Marco Fanfoni.

81' - Helder Cruz is in and Arsene Bamba is out.

84' - We work the ball up to midfield and Graham Allan, who is playing striker after coming on for Paul Moses. Allan uses his blazing speed to molest Thomas Andersen and he has a breakaway from the midfield stripe. He's in on goal and shoots past Sinan Bolat to the near corner and it's IN! What a second half! DOVER GOAL 5-1

87' - We keep pushing, getting a corner and Cairney's cross is headed to goal by Contreras but it's off the crossbar.

89' - Chiquinho has been incredibly quiet for the last couple games and he is sent in on yet another breakaway. This is a must score situation, as he has all the time in the world but he shoots RIGHT AT the goalkeeper. Oh well.

SENSATIONAL road win!

Middlesbrough 1 - 5 Dover
Goals - Paul Moses (8.3), Arsene Bamba (8.1), Tom Cairney OG, Gianluca Bolis (8.2), Graham Allan (8.0)
Assists - Andrea Rocca 3 (9.0), Neil Cairney (7.6), Paul Moses
Man of the Match - Andrea Rocca
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.5), Salim Loucif (7.6), Rayane Hamon (7.8), Claudio Contreras (7.3), Renato Gaucho (7.3), Chiquinho (7.4)
Attendance - 16,828

Just pure domination in that second half, as I continued with our control mentality and we worked it to perfection. We hold 54% of possession and outshoot them by a wild 31-12 (14-3 on target) margin. GREAT game by Rocca, who has been excellent since his return from injury. Everyone in the starting lineup gets a rating over 7.3.

-- As an aside, Chiquinho has only scored in one of his last eight games, that being a two goal performance against Chelsea a few weeks ago.

-- A HUGE upset sees Tottenham walk into Old Trafford and knock off United 2-1!!! We also get some help as Arsenal and Manchester City battle to a 1-1 draw, so we gain two points on both clubs and vault over City into fourth. On Monday night, we get more good news when Sheffield Wednesday battle Chelsea to a scoreless draw at Zola Stadium in London! We gain two points on the league leaders as well but man, Sheffield simply won't go away! Good for them and a good week of results for us!


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 32 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Chelsea - 73 points
2. Manchester United - 69 points
3. Arsenal - 69 points
4. Dover - 66 points
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5. Manchester City - 65 points
6. Sheffield Wednesday - 62 points
7. Sunderland - 50 points
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Dover U18 Update

-- The U18s draw against Portsmouth 1-1. Striker Tomas Liska scored the only Dover goal.



April Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership of the team. Our League Cup victory is the highlight and our 3-0 loss versus Manchester United is the disappointment.

-- We made a profit of £1,460,000 last month.



Work Permit Issue

-- Mancini has an expiring contract and I had trouble with his agent earlier in the year after talks broke down, with him saying he didn't want to speak to me about another extension. Time and a four month injury changed his mind and I had a nice little extension agreed to but for the first time, I have a work permit denied for a current player. I don't know if this means it's over for Mancini at Dover but I'll try to sign him one more time a bit later.



Transfer News

-- Four teams make contract offers to reserve midfielder Jonathan Gauthier. He's not in my plans whatsoever and he can't even get into reserves games with me. He's a 0.5/1.5 player and has only made 10 non-competitive appearances all year for our reserves.



Contract Extension

-- We've been getting hassled for some time by Arsene Bamba's agent for a new contract and after I got into a little battle with Bamba himself, I relented. In the end, we come to an agreement on a new deal that will see him here until 2027 and his salary increases from £21,000 per week to £38,000. He hasn't been anywhere near as effective this year from a production standpoint but he's still a vital piece to our puzzle.



Premier League Team of the Week

-- Three of our players make the team of the week: Arsene Bamba, Andrea Rocca and Paul Moses.



Injury Update

-- We're pretty healthy right now but Shanon Andrea will still be a couple weeks from returning from his sprained ankle. Steve Reed is likely out for the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder.



Champions League Update

-- Manchester City are feeling the effects of selling the sensational Enrique. After four consecutive Champions League titles and three consecutive Premier League titles, they will likely win neither this year. They get humiliated at their own ground against Olympique Lyonnais 3-0 and I don't see them coming back from that kind of a deficit. Meanwhile, Man United and Barcelona battle to a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.



Dover Reserves Team Update

-- We go with a reserves squad filled with U18s and get humbled by Chelsea's reserves 5-2. Unfortunately, GK Manuel Perez let in all five goals so I hope he doesn't suffer a morale hit after that display. Ben Patterson and Helder Cruz score for our club.



Next Up

-- Here we go! We head to Spain to face powerhouse Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League Quarter Final round!