The £6 million Middlesbrough spent on Southampton, and their star’s Indian summer
The majority of Middlesbrough’s affairs are going smoothly at the moment, but head coach Rob Edwards is facing a £6 million dilemma.
For Saturday’s draw at Southampton, Morgan Whittaker returned to the Boro starting lineup, but the struggling forward once again found it difficult to contribute in any way. Sverre Nypan’s illness earlier in the week was the reason for his inclusion, but Edwards trusted the former Plymouth Argyle player more than other possible choices in his team. Whittaker’s selection was made against the backdrop of his final club start at Preston, where he was ironically jeered off the pitch following yet another lacklustre showing. After that one, the Boro manager vehemently defended him and stated that he didn’t want to hear it again.
Few would have been impressed or encouraged by Whittaker’s most recent 60 minutes of struggle in a Boro shirt, but there was no repeat from the amazing travelling Boro army at Southampton this weekend. He simply cannot seem to start. It should be mentioned that he wasn’t only responsible for Southampton’s lack of participation. All three of Boro’s starting forwards had rather quiet and uninteresting afternoons on the south coast as a result of their inability to play through the press in the first half. Boro needs to improve the way they serve their forwards.
However, when Boro did get the ball to Whittaker in the first half, he hardly ever did enough to keep his team safe or advance them. After the half, things did get better for Boro and Whittaker, but even then, he was not convincing until he was substituted on 62 minutes. Whittaker was in and around the kinds of places he used to enjoy on a few occasions, where he had room to hit a man from a distance, cut in on his left foot, and defeat him from a wide position. Recent attention seems to have had a significant impact on his confidence, as he lacked the conviction he once possessed in these parts of the play.
It’s a problem for Boro and Edwards because, while it’s fair to question Whittaker’s suitability for the current setup and system—pace, athleticism, and hard running are important fundamentals in the forward areas—is Whittaker the player you’d change everything for, given how well Boro is currently doing? The 24-year-old must try to find a way to make his strengths shine again; he must find a way to make sure what he brings to the table does fit within the team’s overall system. Individuality in attack is encouraged, but there must be results.
It’s something Boro will be keen to attempt and help make a reality. The £6 million they paid Plymouth Argyle for him back in January is a substantial amount for any Championship club not in receipt of parachute payments. Since he arrived with a large reputation, it is reasonable for them to have higher expectations of him. However, he has also had some bad luck at Boro. He joined a team that was losing some important players and going through a very difficult time in the winter. The sales of Emmanuel Latte Lath and Isaiah Jones, and the injury to Ben Doak, completely sapped Michael Carrick’s team of all its pace.
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