Thursday, 26 May 2011

Squad numbers

Somewhere recently I'm pretty sure I read how Boro had used one of the biggest playing squads in League Two this season (in numbers, not in a big, physical sense as most of the division will tell you!) and a quick look at the Boroguide rollcall for 2010/11 will probably back this up.

However that initial glance won't tell the whole story of why we've used so many, so BoroStats has had a more detailed look at those who have pulled on the white (or yellow) shirt for Boro this season:
  • Throughout this campaign we've called upon 37 different players (including assistant boss Dino Maamria).
  • 33 of these have made an appearance - only our three reserve keepers and Dino have yet to play for the first team.
  • Position-wise we have used just 1 goalkeeper, six defenders, 13 midfielders and 13 strikers.
  • In most of their appearances defenders Darius Charles and Luke Foster have actually found themselves up front and in midfield respectively.
  • Only 19 players have played 20 games or more this season.
  • Four players have come in on loan for short spells - Holroyd (12 games), O'Shea (7 games), Daley and Walker (both 2).
  • Two of our squad have been loaned out since January - Odubade and Griffin (both to Newport).
  • Four players have come in on trial, made brief cameos and have since left (Williams, Atieno, Dixon, Kuqi).
  • Lee Boylan (since departed), Darren Murphy, David Bridges, Joel Byrom and Robbie Sinclair have all missed large chunks of the season through injury - particularly Murph.
As with last year's Blue Square Premier winning squad, Boro's success so far in 2010/11 has been built around a solid back five who have all played at least 45-50 games this year. Even when the likes of Jon Ashton or Scott Laird have been injured, squad players such as Luke Foster or Darius Charles have filled in seemlessly and even the rampaging Lawrie Wilson performed well at left back at one stage in the season.

In midfield and up front we've trialled and loaned a number of players for short periods, all of whom have now left, whilst also bringing in striker reinforcements in the shape of Ben May, Byron Harrison and Craig Reid. It's been clear all season that whilst defending hasn't been a problem, finding the back of the net at the other end has, hence the understandable turnover in strikers. However with a full pre-season under their belts, along with the experiences learnt this year, you'd bet on Byron and Reid (and possibly May if fit) scoring more next season - regardless of what league we're in.

If we do beat Torquay on Saturday I actually envisage another season of comings and goings as GW looks to create a side capable of surviving in League One. But should we face a second season in League Two then you'd fancy we'll be right up there again - but maybe this time with a more stable squad.
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Wednesday, 25 May 2011

Four reasons we'll (possibly) beat Torquay

1) We've not beaten them in four attempts (losing three, conceding 10 and scoring just three), so we're overdue a win.
2) Boro have lost only one of six games against teams in yellow this season - though guess who that was against....
3) The Gulls have won just one of their last five away games.
4) We've suffered more heartbreak in the playoffs in recent years. We lost to Carlisle in '05 and ballsed up against Cambridge in '09. Torquay may have lost to Exeter in the Conference semi-finals a few years back but they did win the playoff final the following year. The Gulls need to feel our pain!
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We blow the whistle on the men in black - or yellow - or green....

Some like to stay in the shadows, others prefer to have a more hands-on role. Either way we've been taking a closer look at those men in the middle who've been taking charge of Boro's games throughout this campaign:
  • Of the 45 referees Boro have had this season, just six have been kind enough to keep their cards in their pockets for the entire game.
  • Oliver Langford is statistically our friendliest referee, overseeing 2 Boro games (1 win, 1 defeat) without booking anyone.
  • David Coote has been most card happy, showing seven yellows & 1 red in his two games (Torquay h, Southend a) neither of which we won.
  • Gavin Ward and Pat Miller have both proved to be our lucky referees this season, each overseeing two Boro victories in their two games. One of Mr Ward's games was the FA Cup replay at MK Dons, which technically finished a draw after 120 minutes, however with Boro going on to win on penalties it seems only right to document this as a win.
Boro's Referees in 2010/11 (all competitions)*

Ref
Games
Won
Drawn
Lost
For
Against
Yellows
Reds
Score
A D'Urso
2

1
1
2
3
2
1
7
A Marriner
1
1


3
1
2

2
A Taylor
1


1
1
2
1

1
A Woolmer
1

1

2
2
2

2
B Malone
1
1


2
1
1

1
C Boyeson
1


1

1
2
1
7
C Sarginson
1

1

3
3


0
D Coote
2

1
1
0
1
7
1
12
D Deadman
1


1

2
2

2
D McDermid
1

1

0
0
1

1
D Sheldrake
1
1


4
0
1

1
D Webb
1


1

1
2

2
D Whitestone
2
1

1
3
2
1

1
David Phillips
1

1

2
2
1

1
E Ilderton
1
1


4
0


0
F Graham
1

1

0
0
1

1
G Eltringham
1

1

2
2
1

1
G Horwood
1
1


1
0
4
1
9
G Salisbury
1


1

3
3

3
G Scott
2

1
1
1
2
3

3
G Sutton
1


1

1
3

3
G Ward
1
2


4
1
3

3
I Williamson
1


1

1
2

2
J Linington
1

1

1
1
4
1
9
J Waugh
1
1


1
0
1

1
K Stroud
1
1


2
0


0
K Wright
1
1


1
0
1

1
M Atkinson
1

1

2
2
2

2
M Halsey
1

1

1
1
1

1
M Haywood
1
1


2
1
2

2
M Naylor
1
1


4
1


0
N Swarbrick
1
1


3
1
3

3
O Langford
2
1

1
2
2


0
P Crossley
1

1

0
0
2

2
P Miller
2
2


7
2
4

4
P Quinn
1


1
0
1
2

2
P Tierney
1


1
0
2
1
2
11
R Booth
1
1


1
0
2

2
R East
2
1
1

3
1
4

4
R Lewis
2
1
1

3
1
3

3
R Madley
1


1

2
1
1
6
R Shoebridge
2
1

1
2
1
4

4
S Hooper
1

1

1
1


0
S Rushton
1
1


1
0
1

1
T Kettle
1
1


2
1
4
1
9


* Scoring: 1 point per yellow card, 5 points per red card
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