
But first, it's been a bit of an enlightening experience for me too. After the poor response to the Watford Live Commentary, I realised that it didn't work as well as I thought it would - after all, the BBC can offer the exact same service, and Twitter, as my colleague Brandon Arcuicci has rightly pointed out, is more interactive and has access to more information. So I decided it made more sense to set up a Twitter account for Si's Insights and run a live Twitter feed on the right hand side in the blog. I have a feeling it will be especially lively on match days.
And today was one of those days. After the dourness of the Watford match, not to mention the desperately poor attendance at said game, you wouldn't have been surprised if the powers that be at Sky never wanted to cover another Boro match. Well, today's game was everything the Watford game wasn't - exciting, eventful and heart-stopping, with a higher attendance. Oh, and we didn't win.


I've read some fans saying that they would be more than happy with a play-off place, and that automatic promotion is a pipe dream anyway. But look at it like this - if both the league table and our style of play tantalised us with the promise of automatic promotion, as it has done this season, wouldn't you feel more than a little disappointed if we didn't get it? Wouldn't you be more than a little down if we didn't capitalise on numerous chances to win games that finish in either draws or narrow defeats? Which, let's face it, has happened far too often under both Mowbray and Southgate.

At the same time, Southampton were capitalising mercilessly on a Brighton sending off to move even further away from the chasing pack, and Big Sam's substitutes were turning a defeat into a win for the Hammers at Coventry. They can bring on Cole and Piquonne while we can bring on Nimely and Ogbeche. Proven Premiership forwards against unproven goalscorers at any English level. That seems to be the difference, folks.
Yeah, I know I said a few weeks ago that running the Saints and West Ham close is probably the best we'll be able to do - but it's so frustrating when the team hint that they might, might just prove me wrong.
And, of course, every late goal we concede brings back memories of the previous one. In fact, me and Brandon Arcuicci have been delving into the list of players who have broken Boro hearts with late goals in recent years. The list is, frankly, endless. But I think I can come up with a Top Five, by, say, Monday? All suggestions are welcome...
* * * * *

Here's a link to an emotional interview with Brad and partner Dani on the Liverpool website, that took place last month.
RIP Luca Jones.
2 comments:
Cheers for the mention mate. Live tweeting is the way to go. I scrapped the illustrious Post-Match Fag in favour of just tweeting anything and everything I'd put in my notes during the match - it's unfiltered, potentially provocative, and immediately relevant, for a few minutes anyway.
We should chat about building on the experience - selected matches in addition to the Boro: Prem, Champo, Spain, internationals (Euros!)
You know how popular the BBC live commentaries are, plus Guardian MBMs - they've spawned spinoffs like The FCF and LiveWire Sport. There's definitely a market there...
No problem, Brandon. There *is* a market for live commentary - but you need to have a really good following, or run a service that stands out, to really be successful at it. And this blog is still in its infancy. So yeah, Twitter is definitely the way forward.
That said, I remember when Vic (Anthony Vickers) did a couple of "live blogs" on the Basle and Steaua games - and (a) his blog was in its early days back then, and (b) I'm sure they're still read today. On the other hand, Twitter had yet to be launched in those days. And those games were both very special occasions, unlikely to be seen again. It's worth noting that when we *did* try to repeat the Steaua experience - Vic's live blog, full Riverside, "SPORTING GLORY" message and all - against Cardiff in '08, the team meekly surrendered.
(I also think it's a shame only 24,521 attended the Basle game, but there you go.)
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