A Mixed Bag For Boro – Assessing The Teessiders’ Season
- Middlesbrough are the visitors to King Power Stadium on Saturday
- Boro currently sit 13th in the Sky Bet Championship table
- Michael Carrick’s side are aiming to return to winning ways
- Teesside Live’s Craig Johns looks at their recent results and season so far
Evaluating Michael Carrick’s side is somewhat difficult, given that they finished fourth last term, reaching the play-off semi-finals, but then lost a large proportion of that team, with wholesale changes necessary.
A new blend of players took time to gel, but Carrick has remained true to his principles, leading the North East outfit to a Carabao Cup Semi-Final as well as embarking on an improvement in league form.
“It’s been a disappointing one, really, albeit with some positives,” the journalist said on 2023/24. “At the start of the season, there was a lot of outside expectation because of how last season went, but unfortunately a lot of that was built on loan signings and Chupa Akpom’s brilliant form as well.
“Having gone close but not quite made it, they lost so much of last season’s squad, which then required a big rebuild in the summer, which then led to a poor start. They were winless in seven and bottom of the league at that point. From then, they’ve turned it around.
“Michael Carrick has done well to stay calm, stick to his beliefs and got six wins in a row to bring themselves back into it and not long after, they got a big win against Leicester. It felt like a big moment, but it hasn’t quite transpired that way. They’ve had 15 games since then and have only managed to win five.”
Johns identified several absentees and, in turn, a lack of goals, as the key factors behind a drop off in recent results. Boro could be boosted by the return of Ivorian Emmanuel Latte Lath for the visit to King Power Stadium this weekend, however.
“Injures have really affected them,” the reporter explained. “They’ve not suffered many long-term ones, it’s been relatively short-term injures but losing key players Tommy Smith and Darragh Lenihan in October, that ended their seasons. They’ve had about 10 players out all the way through.
“Since the turn of the year, the form has took a bit of a nose dive and they head into this game with no wins in four. They’ve played well in the majority of those, but just can’t finish their chances.
“They are really lacking a no.9 at the minute with both Latte Lath and Josh Coburn out injured, their only two centre forwards. Latte Lath could be back on Saturday, he’s touch and go for Leicester. He’s really fast and looking to break the lines and that unsettles defences and creates space for other players.
“When you look at the team, they do so much well, but they are prone to conceding sloppy goals at times. Getting beat 2-1 at Preston in midweek, for both goals, you would look at them and call them avoidable from a defensive point of view.
“They had over 60 per cent possession and 20 shots on goal compared to Preston’s seven, but only four of those were on target. I think that does tell the story.
“It’s not just putting the ball in the net, it’s somebody who is good with their back to goal and links play and offers defenders a bit of a rough time. And also those instinct runs that a good centre forward will make to be in the right place at the right place.
“Boro lack that but get into so many promising positions in the final third, particularly from wide areas. In general, they tend to dominate most games they play. Carrick has an easy-on-the-eye style that he employs, with Middlesbrough dictating the game with possession and territorial control. They work it through the lines.”