Middlesbrough chairman faces dilemma as home stands turn on Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick faced the wrath of Middlesbrough supporters after his team fell to a fifth defeat in six games.
A 1-0 home defeat to Watford, which was met with boos at full-time, followed losses against Portsmouth, Preston North End and Sheffield United since mid-January, with only a win over West Bromwich Albion to lighten the mood. They have also lost at home to Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup.
Carrick is now heading into back-to-back away games at Bristol City, on Friday night, and Stoke City, next Tuesday, under more pressure than he has ever been since taking over at the Riverside in October 2022. They flew up the table to finish fourth in his first season, beaten by Mark Robins' Coventry in the play-offs, but finished eighth last term and are currently 11th, four points adrift of the top six.
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GazetteLive write: "Carrick’s time at the helm of Boro is now under real threat. On a day that could have quite easily turned toxic at the Riverside, the fans actually tried to get behind the team as much as they could. There were audible frustrations cast in moments of sloppiness in possession at the back, but in general, Boro fans played their part. Only when the whistles went at both half and full time did they truly make their feelings known, with long audible boos at full-time as Gibson watched on.
"The Boro chairman (Steve Gibson) has a really tough decision to make now. He really likes Carrick and is craving an end to the recent culture of short reins that inevitably lead to wholesale change at the Riverside. Traditionally a chairman who backed managers as much as possible, and widely praised for it, he craves a return to stability. The three-year contract given to the 43-year-old in the summer was widely celebrated at the time.
"In Carrick’s favour is Gibson’s previous desires to back his head coach as well as the fact he’s previously survived dicey moments at the club and found ways in the past. His demeanours make him a popular figure at the club too. Indeed, if there was any doubt the players were still behind him, the efforts in the second half should negate them, even if the quality was ultimately lacking.
"On the flipside of that argument, however, is that there appears little sign of a change in fortune right now. Carrick and his coaching staff had nine days between Sunderland and Sheffield United to fix things. The performance was worse, and then worse again on Saturday against, in reality, a Watford side every bit as poor as Boro."
TalkSport have suggested that Steve Cooper would be a contender if a vacancy came up - at the same time as saying they understand Cooper "is not expected to return to the dugout having only been out of the game for three months".
Carrick insists he is still the right man for the job.
Asked about support from Gibson, he said: “He’s incredibly supportive. That doesn’t always just come from someone telling me they support me. We’ve got a really good relationship. Listen, I understand the game and how it works. I’ve been in it a long time. It is what it is. If you win enough games you have success, and if you don’t, you’re criticised and ultimately, in the end, things happen.
“But I feel the support and have done since I walked through the door. I still feel it now but it’s up to us to win enough games to see what happens in the future. There’s no getting away from it.”
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