A Michael Carrick change has led to one Middlesbrough player really struggling for form in recent games.
It has been a mixed start to the 2024/25 Championship season for Middlesbrough.
Boro had promotion aspirations at the start of the campaign but sit 12th in the Championship table after six games.
It is still early in the season and Middlesbrough fans will take solace from the fact they started 2015/16 in a similarly sluggish fashion but ended up finishing second and winning promotion to the Premier League.
But after losing 1-0 to Sunderland on Saturday, it is clear something will need to change at the Riverside Stadium going forward.
Barring some defensive errors brought about by an injury crisis at centre-back, the Teessiders’ main issue this term has been a lack of goals.
Michael Carrick has a plethora of attacking options to choose from thanks to a hectic summer window but one recent change in the final third is costing Finn Azaz.
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Stats show Finn Azaz decline at Middlesbrough
Azaz joined Middlesbrough from Plymouth Argyle during the 2024 January transfer window.
The attacking midfielder took some time to get up to speed but enjoyed a prolific start to the 2024/25 campaign.
At the end of August, Azaz led the Championship in three key statistics and was playing some of his best football in a Boro shirt.
As per Sofascore, Azaz had 50 touches and made three key passes versus Derby County, he made seven key passes and had 67 touches against Portsmouth and had 60 touches and produced three key passes when Boro beat Cardiff City 2-0.
However, the Irishman, who has always been a controversial figure among the Boro fanbase, has seen his form drop dramatically this month.
Against Preston, he had 44 touches and created two key passes and when Middlesbrough lost 1-0 to Sunderland on Saturday, he produced one key pass and 37 touches – his lowest of the season so far.
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Michael Carrick to blame for Finn Azaz struggles
While those fans with a bias against Azaz, who was previously dubbed ‘wonderful’ as per Teesside Live, will simply say he is not good enough, it is clear a recent Carrick change has led to the player’s form declining.
Middlesbrough signed Tommy Conway for £4.5m last month and the Boro boss has been struggling to get the club’s most expensive signing of the summer into the eleven.
Emmanuel Latte Lath remains the primary number nine, with Carrick instead opting to deploy Conway just behind the Ivorian in the number 10 role.
In theory, this has big potential for Boro as Carrick did something very similar with Chuba Akpom in 2022/23 when he scored 28 league goals and 29 in all competitions.
However, the decision to move Conway into the central attacking midfield role has led to Azaz struggling.
The former Plymouth man was poor when used on the left during parts of last season and his stats from the current campaign once again show he is much weaker when deployed on the left.
Carrick must now decide if he wants to continue with his Conway experiment, knowing it will hamper Azaz, or move the 25-year-old back into his preferred 10 role and find a new position for the ex-Bristol City man.