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'One game in - and Michael Carrick has already seen plenty of Boro's deep-rooted flaws'
“I ALWAYS knew it wasn’t going to be a fairytale from the start.” Fair enough. But as Michael Carrick reflects on the scale of the task ahead…
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ANALYSIS
Michael Carrick saw Middlesbrough flaws in Preston defeat
“I ALWAYS knew it wasn’t going to be a fairytale from the start.” Fair enough. But as Michael Carrick reflects on the scale of the task ahead of him after presiding over his first match as Middlesbrough head coach on Halloween weekend, one of his biggest challenges will be to ensure that his Riverside reign does not turn out to be a horror story instead. Suffice to say that chapter one did not exactly have a happy ending.
Saturday’s stoppage-time defeat at Preston leaves Boro level on points with the relegation zone, and now with just four wins from their opening 17 matches. Clearly, these are early days for Carrick, both in terms of his Teesside tenure and his managerial career as a whole, but thanks to the failings of his predecessor, Chris Wilder, time is not a luxury he has at his disposal. The circus moves on to Hull on Tuesday evening, and the need for a positive result becomes even more pressing.
Understandably, Carrick was keen to accentuate the positives after watching his side in action for the first time yesterday, and despite the late sucker-punch that understandably left the former England international feeling deflated, it wasn’t all doom and gloom.
The decision to field Chuba Akpom as a ‘number ten’, playing off the shoulder of Rodrigo Muniz, might have come somewhat from leftfield, but in the main, it was a ploy that worked. Akpom opened the scoring with an early back-post header, should have scored a second with a first-half volley that was directed wide, and proved difficult to pick up, with Preston’s defenders not really sure whether to follow the forward when he dropped deep or pass him on to a midfielder. As a result, he was able to link play relatively effectively and also helped his team-mates start to press the opposition higher up the field, something they never really did under Wilder.
Hayden Hackney continues to look assured in the first-team environment, with his energy and movement enhancing a midfield unit that can often look alarmingly one-paced, while Ryan Giles’ delivery into the box from left-back is as good as anyone’s in the division. It is just a shame there is rarely anyone to get onto the end of it.
“I was encouraged with how the boys adapted and started showing some of the things we said we were really after,” said Carrick. “That’s the real positive for me. But listen, it’s not going to change overnight in terms of the way we play football, because it doesn’t.”
Which brings us to the flaws that have become increasingly entrenched within this Boro side, and which Carrick will have to iron out if the season is not to become a protracted battle against the drop.
Defending set-pieces was never really an issue under Neil Warnock, but it became one under Wilder and is already a source of major concern under Carrick.
Both of Preston’s goals yesterday came from free-kicks, with Boro’s defenders failing to take the initiative as a bouncing ball passed across the box in the first half, enabling Emil Riis to lash a fine finish into the roof of the net, and completely losing track of Liam Lindsay in stoppage time, which resulted in the defender prodding the ball back across goal for Jordan Storey to head home.
Zack Steffen and Jonny Howson show their disappointment at Deepdale (Image: Tom Banks)
Individually, Boro’s defenders should be more than capable of dealing with balls into the box, with Dael Fry and Darragh Lenihan aerially impressive and goalkeeper Zack Steffen tending to be proactive when it comes to leaving his line. As a collective, however, they continue to malfunction, and alongside his first-team coach, Jonathan Woodgate, who tended to be pretty good at snuffing out danger in the 18-yard box, Carrick needs to make improving the defending of set-pieces a priority.
“Obviously, conceding two goals from set-pieces hurts,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s that mentality thing of really believing in what you’re doing. We’ll get there.”
Boro also need to improve the cohesiveness of their midfield play, with Jonny Howson’s lack of mobility increasingly becoming an issue and both Riley McGree and Alex Mowatt yet to fully convince that they can provide the kind of invention and creativity their side craves. Perhaps the return of Matt Crooks will help, although he has hardly been in sparkling form this season.
Key players remaining out of form is a wider issue, with Isaiah Jones’ inability to get anywhere near to the levels he was reaching last season a major worry. Constantly shuffling Jones around on the right-hand side does not appear to have helped his attempts to get into any kind of rhythm, but whether he is playing as a winger or a wing-back, he should be capable of getting past him man to deliver crosses into the middle. At the moment, whenever Boro move the ball to the right, it tends to disappear down a dead end.
Muniz is another player who is struggling to make an impact, and while the Brazilian can justifiably claim he often suffers from a lack of service, the quality of Giles’ full-back play in particular should result in him being more of a threat than is currently the case. He had two second-half chances at Preston, but dallied before seeing a shot blocked before glancing a header over the top. Does either Marcus Forss or Matthew Hoppe deserve a shot in his place? That is one of many decisions Carrick will be pondering as he looks ahead to the four remaining games that precede the World Cup break.
“It’s small steps, and we knew it would be unlikely we’d have the complete performance from back to front after just four days, given the games before I arrived,” said Carrick. “We’re well aware we need to improve.”
Saturday’s stoppage-time defeat at Preston leaves Boro level on points with the relegation zone, and now with just four wins from their opening 17 matches. Clearly, these are early days for Carrick, both in terms of his Teesside tenure and his managerial career as a whole, but thanks to the failings of his predecessor, Chris Wilder, time is not a luxury he has at his disposal. The circus moves on to Hull on Tuesday evening, and the need for a positive result becomes even more pressing.
Understandably, Carrick was keen to accentuate the positives after watching his side in action for the first time yesterday, and despite the late sucker-punch that understandably left the former England international feeling deflated, it wasn’t all doom and gloom.
The decision to field Chuba Akpom as a ‘number ten’, playing off the shoulder of Rodrigo Muniz, might have come somewhat from leftfield, but in the main, it was a ploy that worked. Akpom opened the scoring with an early back-post header, should have scored a second with a first-half volley that was directed wide, and proved difficult to pick up, with Preston’s defenders not really sure whether to follow the forward when he dropped deep or pass him on to a midfielder. As a result, he was able to link play relatively effectively and also helped his team-mates start to press the opposition higher up the field, something they never really did under Wilder.
Hayden Hackney continues to look assured in the first-team environment, with his energy and movement enhancing a midfield unit that can often look alarmingly one-paced, while Ryan Giles’ delivery into the box from left-back is as good as anyone’s in the division. It is just a shame there is rarely anyone to get onto the end of it.
“I was encouraged with how the boys adapted and started showing some of the things we said we were really after,” said Carrick. “That’s the real positive for me. But listen, it’s not going to change overnight in terms of the way we play football, because it doesn’t.”
Which brings us to the flaws that have become increasingly entrenched within this Boro side, and which Carrick will have to iron out if the season is not to become a protracted battle against the drop.
Defending set-pieces was never really an issue under Neil Warnock, but it became one under Wilder and is already a source of major concern under Carrick.
Both of Preston’s goals yesterday came from free-kicks, with Boro’s defenders failing to take the initiative as a bouncing ball passed across the box in the first half, enabling Emil Riis to lash a fine finish into the roof of the net, and completely losing track of Liam Lindsay in stoppage time, which resulted in the defender prodding the ball back across goal for Jordan Storey to head home.
Zack Steffen and Jonny Howson show their disappointment at Deepdale (Image: Tom Banks)
Individually, Boro’s defenders should be more than capable of dealing with balls into the box, with Dael Fry and Darragh Lenihan aerially impressive and goalkeeper Zack Steffen tending to be proactive when it comes to leaving his line. As a collective, however, they continue to malfunction, and alongside his first-team coach, Jonathan Woodgate, who tended to be pretty good at snuffing out danger in the 18-yard box, Carrick needs to make improving the defending of set-pieces a priority.
“Obviously, conceding two goals from set-pieces hurts,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s that mentality thing of really believing in what you’re doing. We’ll get there.”
Boro also need to improve the cohesiveness of their midfield play, with Jonny Howson’s lack of mobility increasingly becoming an issue and both Riley McGree and Alex Mowatt yet to fully convince that they can provide the kind of invention and creativity their side craves. Perhaps the return of Matt Crooks will help, although he has hardly been in sparkling form this season.
Key players remaining out of form is a wider issue, with Isaiah Jones’ inability to get anywhere near to the levels he was reaching last season a major worry. Constantly shuffling Jones around on the right-hand side does not appear to have helped his attempts to get into any kind of rhythm, but whether he is playing as a winger or a wing-back, he should be capable of getting past him man to deliver crosses into the middle. At the moment, whenever Boro move the ball to the right, it tends to disappear down a dead end.
Muniz is another player who is struggling to make an impact, and while the Brazilian can justifiably claim he often suffers from a lack of service, the quality of Giles’ full-back play in particular should result in him being more of a threat than is currently the case. He had two second-half chances at Preston, but dallied before seeing a shot blocked before glancing a header over the top. Does either Marcus Forss or Matthew Hoppe deserve a shot in his place? That is one of many decisions Carrick will be pondering as he looks ahead to the four remaining games that precede the World Cup break.
“It’s small steps, and we knew it would be unlikely we’d have the complete performance from back to front after just four days, given the games before I arrived,” said Carrick. “We’re well aware we need to improve.”
