Middlesbrough has entered a new chapter with the hiring of Rob Edwards as head coach.
Middlesbrough appeared on track to make the Championship play-offs last season, sitting as high as fifth in the table in mid-January, but a disastrous second half of the season saw them miss out on the top six and plummet all the way to tenth place.
| 2024-25 Championship table | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 9 | West Brom | 46 | 10 | 64 |
| 10 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 8 | 64 |
| 11 | Swansea City | 46 | -5 | 61 |
| 12 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | -9 | 58 |
| 13 | Norwich City | 46 | 3 | 57 |
| 14 | Watford | 46 | -8 | 57 |
| 15 | QPR | 46 | -10 | 56 |
| 16 | Portsmouth | 46 | -13 | 54 |
Boro parted ways with head coach Michael Carrick earlier this month, ending his two-and-a-half year tenure at the Riverside Stadium, following a comprehensive internal evaluation of the season’s events.
Former Nottingham Forest and Leicester City manager Steve Cooper and Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl were among the contenders on the club’s shortlist to replace Carrick, but Boro have instead chosen Edwards, who has been out of job since leaving Luton Town in January.
Edwards will be faced with achieving where Carrick failed and leading his side to the play-offs next season, but if the Teesside club is to be a promotion contender, they will need to sign a new striker this summer.
Middlesbrough needs to find a replacement for Emmanuel Latte Lath this summer.
While Middlesbrough were not very convincing at any point last season under Carrick, the loss of star scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath in January undoubtedly harmed their promotion hopes.
Latte Lath had 11 goals and three assists in 31 appearances during the first half of the season, but he moved to MLS side Atlanta United for a fee of £22.5 million on the final day of the winter window, and Boro certainly missed their talisman as their play-off bid collapsed following his departure.
It’s easy to understand why owner Steve Gibson felt he couldn’t turn down such a large deal, and it might be argued that the bigger mistake was failing to appropriately replace Latte Lath, rather than the decision to cash in on him.
Boro were linked with a late deal for Southampton striker Adam Armstrong on deadline day, but he instead joined promotion rivals West Bromwich Albion, while Sevilla striker Kelechi Iheanacho, whom Carrick had praised, landed at the Riverside Stadium.
The signing of Iheanacho proved disastrous, with the 28-year-old scoring only one goal in 15 appearances during his underwhelming loan spell at the club, and Carrick’s errors in the January transfer window are said to have played a role in the decision to fire the ex-Manchester United midfielder.
Boro now only have one out-and-out striker on their books in Tommy Conway, who scored 13 goals in 37 appearances during an impressive debut season on Teesside last season, but he is unlikely to be able to lead Edwards’ side to promotion on his own.
Middlesbrough should take advantage of Southampton’s surprising Adam Armstrong decision.
Many Middlesbrough fans are outraged by the club’s decision to sign Iheanacho over Armstrong in January, but as they restart their hunt for a new number nine, they may be able to land the Southampton man on the second attempt.
While he fell out of favour in the Premier League last season, Armstrong scored 24 goals in 52 appearances to assist the Saints achieve promotion during their last Championship season, thus it was widely assumed that he would return to St Mary’s following the club’s relegation.
However, it appears that Armstrong has been judged surplus to needs by new manager Will Still, with journalist Alfie House stating this week that Southampton are willing to let the 28-year-old leave permanently this summer, despite having two years remaining on his contract.
When Armstrong joined West Brom on loan, many expected him to succeed after reuniting with former Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray, but he only scored three goals in 16 appearances for the Baggies, who ended ninth.
That disappointing record may prevent Boro from signing Armstrong this summer, but they should look past his problems at The Hawthorns and examine his prolific showing during Southampton’s promotion season, as well as his 29-goal total for Blackburn in the 2020-21 season.
Of course, acquiring the services of a clinical goalscorer like Armstrong would not be cheap for Boro, but they may need to splash the cash this summer if they are to seriously challenge for promotion next season, and completing a deal for the striker would allow them to correct one of their costly January mistakes.
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