Seven huge games remaining – but will they turn out to be a Lucky Seven? Middlesbrough have a vital need to build on the encouraging second half performance against Oxford in order to spark a dramatic improvement on their efforts from 12 months ago against their final seven opponents.
That’s because Boro did not do themselves any favours in 2023-24 in the corresponding fixtures against the sides who stand in their way in the battle to earn a play-off place. Last season, Michael Carrick‘s men took just seven points from the seven games against the opponents who they will meet between this Friday and early May.
In fact, in the corresponding fixtures, Boro won two, drew one and lost four. They only wins they recorded were at Millwall, where they won 3-1, and at home to Norwich, who they beat by the same score. Boro go to Millwall on April 12 and entertain Norwich two weeks later.
Looking at the other games still on the fixture list, Boro drew 1-1 at Sheffield Wednesday last season, but lost to Blackburn, Leeds, Plymouth and Coventry. A mere seven points from the last seven would leave Boro struggling to finish in the top half of the table, never mind the play-offs.
They can draw more hope from the fact that they pulled off a remarkable finale to the final seven games of last season, when the likes of Emmanuel Latte Lath and Matt Clarke were on fire. Boro won four of the last seven and drew another two, losing only to Leeds in a seven goal thriller at the Riverside.
The 14 points gained on that occasion might prove enough this time around, especially as there are several teams in play-off contention with points certain to be lost all around from these dog-eat-dog encounters. Clearly the ball lies firmly in the court of Carrick and his players to do themselves justice. Their second half effort against Oxford at last suggested that they are well capable of saving a season which promised so much when it kicked off.
Key players are returning from injury while the January signings have finally bitten the bullet and blended into the side. Further injuries would naturally make things a little difficult, but then Carrick has every right to believe that the squad has already suffered more than its fair share of injuries this season.
Carrick likes to alternate his players whenever possible, but the key to performing well in the run-in may be in having a settled side. That’s certainly not been possible at the back because of the injuries, though it now looks as if Rav van den Berg is now ready to rejoin the fray, while Dael Fry and George Edmundson are not far behind.
Jonny Howson and Neto Borges have performed miracles since being moved inside, with Borges in particular pressing his acceleration button and showing that he is more than a one-trick pony. However, there is arguably a more pressing need to have familiar faces in familiar positions. It would be great if Carrick could have so many more defensive options in the run-in.
Boro scored 17 goals in the final seven games last season. Naturally a repeat achievement would be a great boost for players and fans alike. In this respect, Carrick needs to stick with the players who have been doing the business, which means that Tommy Conway must start every game up front.
Conway is already well on the way to stepping into Latte Lath’s shoes and potentially doing even better in his time at the Boro, especially if he can stay fit next season. Latte Lath netted eight goals in the final seven last term. It would be wonderful to see Conway coming close to repeating that remarkable achievement.
Carrick has other potential goalscorers in his squad but the main thing is that Boro get their attacking game fully together again. If they can create chances in the way they did in the build up to Christmas, then surely they must put a fair percentage of them away.
The No.10 position still carries a question mark, though Finn Azaz is perfect in the role when he is on song while it looks as though Morgan Whittaker has finally grabbed the nettle. If Boro make the final six, and fail to achieve a promotion spot, then we will still have good reason to look back at the campaign as being relatively successful.
This will create a little bit more stability and hopefully strong foundations from which to push on next season. However, if Boro fall short again then there is a great chance that a completely new rebuild will be needed during the summer. The biggest doubt of all concerns the future of Carrick himself.
We all love his attacking and positive approach but it’s results that count at the end of the day. If Carrick moves on then a new head coach might want to instigate massive changes during the summer. Even if Carrick stays, there is every chance that some of the squad’s star men could be prised away by the opportunity to play a higher level of football elsewhere.
The obvious players in this respect are van den Berg and Hayden Hackney, while there now appears to be a possibility that Boro may receive a couple of big money offers for Conway. It’s important for the club to balance the books. But it’s also vital for us fans that Boro do their best to hang on to their top men.
So there’s are plenty of good reasons why we need everybody to step up to the mark in the final seven games and give us a finish of which we can all feel immensely proud. It all kicks off with the trip to Blackburn on Friday night. The main thing for starters is that Boro make sure they turn up.
Trips to Blackburn always evoke memories of the agonies of 1997 when Boro were unable to fulfil a fixture at Ewood Park because of a devastating double disaster created by a flu epidemic and a spate of injuries. Bryan Robson had just eight available senior players including some who were not regulars in the side. If Boro had had any chance of fulfilling the fixture then they would have been forced to give debuts to three youngsters.
Boro informed the Premier League and the FA of their inability to play the game and for a couple of hours everything was ok. However, when the senior officials returned to their desks they were not happy bunnies. Boro were docked three points, which ultimately led to their relegation from the top flight.
Nowadays of course, in the modern era, illness is treated differently and compassionately and there would be no danger that Boro would have been docked points. They would have survived in the Premier League and taken a huge step forward towards Robson creating a special future for the club, the likes of which we have never previously witnessed.
Robbo had already brought in three world class superstars in Juninho, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Emerson. If Boro had survived the manager would have drawn on his aura and stature within the game to bring in another three superstars to join them including, we were led to believe, the legendary Brazilian Roberto Carlos from Real Madrid. The following season another three top stars would have joined them, and so on.
It’s unimaginable what could have been achieved by Robson and his developing star-studded side if they had stayed up. The history of the club would have been completely different. It’s highly unlikely that we will ever see Boro back in a similar situation with so much potential to be a major force in English football.
However, a return to the Premier League this summer still remains a possibility. So, for starters, Boro need to turn up at Ewood Park – and come away with the three points.
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