Curently trying to focus 100% despite current frustrations...
All our ancestors come from Teesside and all their ancestors come from Hull
The reason why I used the Causeway derby as the post title is very simple. As a team in red, my beloved Boro's mascot beast is a lion. Just like my national team sans the quality. On the away end, Hull City's mascot beast is a tiger.
Problem Thanksgiving?
I believe we need to quit being optimistic. While no punters would fancy us punting the likes of Stoke and WBA, we actually forced a creditable draw against them. When we entered the toughest patch of our fixtures, no one (including me) was willing to say "hey, we're gonna get something out of nothing!"
Turns out we got 1 point each from Arsenal and Man City with Chelsea giving us maximum respect when Antonio "Il Bestia" Conte decided to go defensive in the face of Señor's offensive tactical switch.
After 2 points dropped at the expense of Wes "not Kanye West" Morgan's illegal slap and Marten "he fights like a marten and runs like the Roon" De Roon's sudden acid trip, many are predicting a must-win match that will end up with a win. For us no less.
This comes to mind a certain match at London 2-3 seasons back. We're still in the Championship and Millwall was under the leadership of Ian "that barking mad Ian" Holloway. No one expected us go on an early Boxing Day shopping spree. Turned out we got ourselves a London turkey stuffed 6-1 (or was it 5-1?).
So will we get a 4-0 win? After all, our performances have defied the form book so as to speak. Now let me use an analogy here: There's this beautiful eligible bachelorette in DDR. You never let your thoughts wander on whether she likes you. Then out of the sudden, she did something weird. Photos she previously kept private on FB were made public. Not through a hacker (since FB is founded by a Jew and I'm sure Tim "he nearly got cooked" Cook isn't one), but rather out of self-volition.
What I'm trying to say is not whether said beautiful eligible bachelorette is really attracted to me. Rather, assuming we'll enjoy another Thanksgiving turkey outing is like assuming that beautiful eligible bachelorette really has a thing for me. Simply put, it's... well... *bleep!* *bleep!*
I'd rather be cautiously optimistic here. Optimistic because we have form and quality. Cautiously optimistic because no one had expected a local talent to be better than a foreign talent.
4-3
The three amigos
I need to say something about whether we need to beef up our defence. Lately, we're linked to Harry "not some Pothead" Maguire and Neven "never a sabo'tic" Subotić. Let me be this frank by saying we don't need a 3rd bloke for the centreback role. Unless something disastrous happen where both our first choice centrebacks got crocked, there's no point for us to spend needless money. In particular, Subotić would have been a great addition if not for this guy below.
I'm not referring to Arsène "Mourinho's London home set on fire, bobbies suspect arson" Wenger. Rather, I'm talking about his 16 million GBP man. I like Calum "Calum's got talent" Chambers. He's shaping up just fine without Subotić's signature. Initially, I feared the worst when Señor decided to pair him up with Ben "Le Prince" Gibson. That was against Tottenham. Poor lad got roasted in the first half, he picked himself up come the next half. From there onwards, he matured strength to strength. Against Les Gunners, Daniel "El Ratón III" Ayala did his part to ensure the opposition was reverted to Les Goners. In other words, we have depth. Given the physical demands of Señor's tactics, it also means there no point signing a 3rd guy only to give him a place in the U-21 squad.
One worrying thing about him though is the likelihood of going into pieces against an opposition favouring pace and physique as the firing squad. I've already mentioned Tottenham, Liverpool's goal rush against Arsenal coincided with Chambers starting as a centreback. Against Leicester, it's the same old problem minus Morgan's illegal slap. In particular, raising an arm so damn high is a cause for concern. Against Chelsea, Diego "El Bestia" Costa bullied his way into scoring. Guess who lost his composure even if it's for a mere few seconds?
If Hull decide to play it deep, chances are that Chambers won't have an implosion issue. If Hull decide to pick a fight against our backline, that's where the problem will come. That lad is good, just that he needs to work on his mental strength. At least Joe "he ain't a lass named Allen" Allen has improved greatly on his composure, that's why Mark "not Maes" Hughes signed him. This is where Víctor "El Gato" Valdés and His Royal Highness Gibbo can do something to help. Valdés needs to let his personal heroics do the motivating while Gibbo Jr needs to assure Chambers that he and another central mid will always have his back. Yes, I know it's a crap idea. But hey, something needs to be done before #TeamRoboKlopp decides to shove that poor lad into the footballing gas chamber once more (no Holocaust jokes please. I happen to know my history even though it was Borat who taught us S'poreans about the Jews).
Antonio "El Mariachi?" Barragán, I don't know what to do with him. When Señor signed this guy, critics thought he's gone barking mad like Ian. We have a strong defence in the dressing room, where is this amigo gonna play? As it turned out, Barragán has been a revelation so far. As our default rightback, his transition play is that damn good. At the same time, he's not that kind overlapping player Justin "not a Beliebor" Hoyte was when Mogga was still the boss. However, I have a problem with him. Don't worry, it's not personal even though the daughter of Peter "gotta catch 'em all!" Lim may have been subjected to racist comments even though we signed this guy from Camp de Mestalla (note: I'm just a Chinese Singaporean, not someone related to the Lims since I share the same surname as this historic fellow below).
I don't like Roger "ref should have been Kanye West" East. Then again, I don't expect Mr East to like me as well. A lot may have been said on our 3 penalty calls gone unheard, but the Watford faithful would also point out Barragán's continual existence despite the fact that he should have been sent off. Let me be frank, that amigo had a horrible game. Against Leicester, we'd be given the wrong karma if someone like Riyad "first name sounds like Riyadh, last name sounds like Jason Mraz" Mahrez was deployed on the left. Already Marc "not from Marc Jacobs" Albrighton was having fun down the left. Period. Unlike Chambers, I can't find a tactical reason behind his occasional meltdown.
Ultimately, the only way to ensure both the foreign talent and local talent remain safe is to form an effective shield at the defensive right. That's the only solution I can think of.
Adama "we got the correct Traoré" Traoré has got plenty to learn. On the first glance, he's most likely the go-to guy from the counter-offensive dept. I've seen some of his tricks, let me first get the bad and ugly out of the way first: He really needs to up his final ball. It's not just about decision-making, it's also about the accuracy. Right now, he's merely a black Mark "Scud A" Philippoussis. The forceful style is there, ditto for the mobility and pace. However, he needs to be more like Roger "the Fed" Federer. I'm not telling him to play like Diego "he can fight like Costa" Maradona. Rather, he needs to be calm yet quick on his feet. Against Leicester, his crosses were dealt with easily, RoboHuth or no RoboHuth. Against Hull, he can't afford to have the same thing happening again. Difference between Leicester and Hull lies in the bus parking. Against us, the Foxes had no reason to do that. Against us, please be very sure that Hull will park their own Bas Kilang (i.e. basically a type of bus made in Malaysia). I won't want to give him too much stress though. He's a grown-up man, not some 12 year old Singaporean kid taking the PSLE. Hone the passing/crossing first. Then we can continue talking later.
Now let me say the good things. Or rather the good thing since we all know how fast he can run. His first touch. His first touch is that one thing I noticed apart from the standard fare of pace and mobility. He's not afraid to take risks on this end, some of his passes done on a first touch basis would have gone to Row Z if we're talking about the average player.
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| Note: This guy is NOT the Madrid half of the Super Sergio Bros |
My advice to Señor? Hull will most likely plug the game from the front till the midfield. As for the defence, it's tactically possible for them to play deep in this way so long the rest of the team are willing to run back. Mike "pretty sure his bro isn't Dave" Phelan would have seen videos on Álvaro "sSolo para siempre?" Negredo when it comes to scoring goals. To put things in a nutshell, both goals against Leicester were instigated by Adam "not Clayton" Forshaw's upfield ball. While it's too early to predict anything, a positive draw against WBA would have given some much needed morale boost to the opposition. This will most likely be a low scoring affair. Key to one point, three, or none would depend on whether Señor is willing to play possession across the back with our midfield forming both shield and fulcrum. If Hull wants to play deep, we have to make sure they won't breach our four by two. If Phelan opts for a more aggressive approach, we'll have to play high and compact. Drawing first blood will be Hull's aim, but not necessarily an early goal. In fact, an early goal may backfire spectacularly on them since we've proven ourselves as mentally stronger match by match. Phelan is not a moron, he should know playing against a wounded beast is a dual edged sword. Do it right and the beast will be slain. Do it wrong and... well, think I'll let a bear do the talking for me.
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| Credit goes to a churchmate of mine due to her famous Yellowstone T-shirt. :P |
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