In spite of the imperturbable tranquility exuded by Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick, there are some issues that need to be addressed in order to arrest the recent slump in form.
To be truthful, you could also add the dying embers of last season’s red hot form into the equation, which translates to grim reading in terms of results.
That said, the head coach has earned the right to have time to turn the fortunes around, given the magnificent job he did when he came into the club.
In an attempt to analyse what is going wrong and how the side can improve, we look at some of the key factors and principles that-if implemented-could see Boro move up the table.
1. A settled starting eleven
Michael Carrick has stated in a number of his press conferences the need to ‘stay level’. By that he means that praise and criticism must be delivered with the same tone in so much as he can not afford to react too emotionally to results. He is a very balanced head coach and is not the sort to launch into a tirade following a poor showing, nor is he likely to offer effusive and over-the-top praise for a win.
There is no problem with that, but this calm and measured approach needs to extend to his team selections. He has already used 23 players in the first team during the first seven league games. That smacks of a slightly panicked and erratic approach.
It is fair to say that sometimes, it is unavoidable due to injuries, suspensions etc. But there have been games where as many as five or six players have started who are new arrivals and have never played in the Championship before.
In an environment where tension is building and the team are searching for a win, that can be an overwhelming prospect for a new player.
That is not to say that the players signed are not good enough, it is far too early to make such snap judgments, but it my help if those arrivals were brought in with a gradual introduction, with experienced professionals around them, whilst they integrate into new surroundings.
Changing the forward line every time a result does not go our way is only going to be detrimental to a player’s confidence.
A settled eleven, with individuals who are familiar with the nature of Championship football is what might just steady the good ship Boro as they navigate these choppy waters. Howson, O’Brien, Lenihan and even the likes of Hackney, Forss and Jones are players who have had at least a full Championship season and know what to expect.
2. Self-belief and confidence
Easy to say and not so simple to implement. You can not just ‘start’ being confident. You would think that the only way for this team to gain in confidence is by getting better results, but maybe it is more about the small details.
A good, solid start to a game would help. Boro have gone behind in every league game so far this season. Concentration, focus and staying in the game early will give them more of a platform to be able to express themselves and show their attacking prowess under less pressure.
If Boro can keep it relatively simple early in the game, maintain shape and stay alert, it will surely go some way to helping that confidence develop.
Intensity is also something that seems to be lacking at the beginning of a match. When Boro are in full flow, they are a joy, but sometimes it takes a thunderous tackle or even closing down the opposition with intent to light the blue-touch paper.
That intensity from a full-throttle performance has been somewhat missing during this campaign, but if we somehow get one or two results go our way, we could see the confidence return. But the basics have to be followed.
3. Individual mistakes
Poor back-passes, own goals, sitters missed, Michael Carrick will feel like he has seen a season’s worth of individual errors already. It must be the single most infuriating thing for him to witness. His staff work on a system and way of playing all week, then a player inadvertently gifts the opposing team a chance to score.
In fairness to Carrick, he has done a very good job on diverting any criticism towards his players, but there now needs to be some redemption in terms of the players themselves proving the doubters wrong.
Those incidents are part of football, but they can not be a recurring theme. As players and professionals, they have to keep going and believe in themselves, especially in the case of our centre-forwards. We have missed a plethora of guilt edged chances in our opening seven games, but as long as the chances continue to be created, then they will have opportunities to put it right.
We knew when we signed Emannuel Latte Lath that he would be a ‘miss a couple before he scores one’ type of striker. Expert reports about the striker told us that.
So we just need to back him (or Coburn or whoever we choose to carry the threat) and ensure we spread that goal tally burden across the team as a whole. For example, one area where we never seem to take advantage in terms of goal scoring, is via set-pieces.
So, sometimes, those ‘errors’ or mistakes can be magnified because as a whole, Boro aren’t helping each other.
Now the team has to implement all of those things together, and hope that they get an element of luck along the way to help end this torrid run of results. If the whole club, including supporters can stick together through this difficult patch, it could still be a season to be proud of.