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Middlesbrough parted ways with Michael Carrick last week following two years and eight months in charge on Teesside.
Michael Carrick was appointed Middlesbrough manager in October 2022 and enjoyed a fantastic debut campaign ending in a play-off finish.
They have failed to achieve that feat since, however, and Boro’s 10th-place finish in 2024/25 was the lowest of the Carrick era and the joint-worst since 2021, too.
Middlesbrough will now weigh up options to replace Carrick, with Carrick now considered by Bristol City as he prepares for life after a near three-year stint in charge at the Riverside.
George Elek reflects on Michael Carrick’s time at Middlesbrough
Steve Cooper initially topped Middlesbrough’s managerial shortlist, but that possibility is not an option now. Robbie Keane was also named a Middlesbrough candidate to replace Carrick but Keane links were quickly dismissed.
It’s unclear who it will be but others are reflecting on Carrick’s stint in charge. EFL experts Ali Maxwell and George Elek of NTT20 have discussed the situation.
Maxwell asked: “I guess, in a sense, this is not a knee-jerk decision. George, how do you summarise this from Boro?”
Elek said: “It’s the opposite of a knee-jerk decision, isn’t it? It feels quite weird and quite rare. It definitely doesn’t feel weird that a Championship club have decided to part company with their manager; it’s quite rare for it to happen as late as this.
“I think it’s understandable and harsh at the same time. There is no doubt that Middlesbrough, after Carrick went on such an incredible run when he first took over… for them to miss out on the play-offs isn’t good enough.
“From a performance perspective, I think there are quite obvious mitigating factors to that. I always think, when you’re judging a managers performance, the first question you should be, were there mitigating factors in this?’
“And — probably most importantly with their squad available for selection — were there injury issues? And with Boro the answer is an obvious yes. An absolutely massive yes.
“You would have to think that Carrick would have achieved more had that not been the case. When you appoint a rookie manager to their first job, surely you have to accept that they are learning on the job?
“And you have to factor in some improvement. Maybe the issue for Boro is they didn’t feel like that improvement was necessarily forthcoming. It was a good start and they didn’t really kick on.
“All eyes on who they appoint now. I think — more so than quite a lot of other A-list former former England internationals or Premier League footballers who’ve taken their first job — with Carrick there is quite obvious promise there.
“I think he will go on to be successful somewhere and someone will probably profit from the two-and-a-half years of of learning he’s done at Boro.”
Ali Maxwell outlines Michael Carrick’s work on developing players at Middlesbrough
It’s now possible that Middlesbrough turn to Rob Edwards instead, but QPR’s Marti Cifuentes has emerged as a Boro target in recent days. However, Maxwell is certain that Carrick has left strong foundations for whoever comes in next.
He added: “Yeah I feel sorry for him due to how the team looked in the second half of the season — as you alluded to. I don’t think that helped him.
“Also, I think that the club should give him a lot of credit and thanks because it’s been very clear in the last few years that they want to sort of trade well in the transfer market and.
“That means selling players as much as it does buying players and they should thank him for his part in that, having been the most successful part of the football club over the last couple of years.
“Morgan Rogers, [Emmanuel] Latte Lath, soon to be Hayden Hackney if reports are to be believed. You know, Carrick plays a massive role in both the progression of those players in the belief that he put in those players.
“And in the the tactical setup which, in being quite attacking and gung-ho, slightly to Boro’s detriment at times. However, the team didn’t convince me. Carrick’s management of the team didn’t convince me — specifically out of possession.
“Boro have never looked like a particularly serious team under Carrick and I’m getting more and more boring about this stuff because I want to focus on the fact that they played some nice attacking stuff certainly at their best.
“I think, increasingly, to win in the Championship — first and foremost you need to be really strong out of possession. And I think a lot of the managers that thrive now you could almost pigeon hole as excelling more as what they can do with their team both defensively but also in press and counter-press as much as a specific set attacking style.
“I’ve never been impressed with Carrick defensively; I’ve never been impressed with them out of possession or in the press. I don’t think they were that difficult to play against. Unfortunately, that’s just not a great reflection on on the manager.
“So, I think there’s a chance that they could look better under a different manager next season. I don’t think it’s a guarantee because I don’t think Carrick was a disaster by any stretch of the imagination.
“I think a lot comes down to what they do in terms of recruitment this summer. I think those in charge have a lot of work to do to make sure that the team on opening day looks really strong.
“Rather than, actually, a fair bit weaker than it did 12 months ago — which is is not the direction of travel that you want to go in in terms of squad building.”