Alarming stat shows key improvement Boro must make, with help from transfers

Alarming stat shows key improvement Boro must make, with help from transfers

 

If Middlesbrough are to enjoy a more successful season next term then consistency is a major issue they have to solve.

 

Over the course of this season, Michael Carrick’s side won three consecutive games on just one occasion, while there were only three other times where they were able to win back to back games. The Jekyll and Hyde nature of Boro ’s performances throughout the campaign summarised what was such a frustrating year.

 

As far as no consistency in performances is concerned, a lack of regularity in team selection can hardly be conducive to that. Carrick often referenced the amount of changes required over the course of the season, as well as the fact that Boro used four goalkeepers over the course of the campaign.

 

While changes now and then to use the squad over the course of a long and arduous campaign are inevitable, a more consistent team helps build confidence, connection and conviction, all of which was missing for large parts of Boro’s season.

 

You only need to look at Carrick’s first season in charge at Boro, and that emphatic period through January to the end of March where they marched towards the play-offs and looked at one point that they might even catch Sheffield United and pip them to second. Throughout that period, changes to the XI were rare.

 

After the March international break that season, however, injuries started to take hold and, two years later, they’ve never really subsided. It’s true that injuries are a rising trend throughout the game. But even with that swing, Boro’s injury impact over the past two seasons has been well above average.

 

Undoubtedly impacting their ability to be consistent, you need look no further than a disturbing defensive statistic to prove that fact. Over 46 Championship games last season, Carrick was forced to use 23 different combinations of back fours. 23!

 

That averages each back four lasting just two games at a time before needing to be changed, and it very much fits with the story of the season and the huge impact that injuries had on it. It’s something that everyone at Boro appreciates has to change. But how?

 

That’s something that will ultimately be discussed during the review meetings currently taking place, but there are numerous ways in which it could be improved. It’s likely to be part of the thinking, but it was indicated that there were no concerns about the workload of players or the intensity of training under Carrick.

 

Instead, there have been considerations over facilities at Rockliffe and how they might be improved, as well as looking at the medical staff and ways in which they might be helped. On top of that though, there is consideration over the players themselves, and their robustness. Quite simply, Boro need players who are capable of playing as close to 46 games as possible.

 

While certain injuries are unavoidable and unfortunate, Boro are likely to look even closer at a player’s injury record when recruiting going forward. Particularly in defence, where they, as a priority, are looking to sign a right-back and a centre-back this summer, finding players who can help them solve that ridiculous record of this season could be pivotal.

 

While defence was far from Boro’s only issue last term, it was certainly up there. As well as conceding far too many soft goals that were, far too often, beyond ridiculous, they just conceded too many in general. There’s no coincidence that the two best defences in the division were the two to go up automatically, while only two sides in the top half conceded more than Carrick’s side.

 

While Boro’s poor defensive record was about so much more than just consistency, it should be obvious how much better it could, and almost certainly would be, if Carrick had been able to name a more settled back four. With that in mind, it has to be a huge priority to rectify this summer.

 

 

Finn Azaz of Middlesbrough scores the opening goal and celebrates

 

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