Michael Carrick's Boro Story So Far

Michael Carrick has signed a new three-year contract. Here we look back at his time so far with the club.

It was Monday 24 October 2022 when one of football's most decorated players was appointed as the club's new head coach.

His first game came at Preston North End the following weekend when a last-minute goal from Jordan Storey denied Boro as the hosts secured a 2-1 success.

Three days later, he presided over his first win as Boro head coach - 3-1 at Hull City - and it proved to be the start of a run that saw just one defeat in eight games.

A loss at Burnley was followed by a 4-1 Boxing Day win against Wigan, Chuba Akpom scoring a hat-trick, and Carrick's men embarked on another fine run that saw nine wins come from 10 games, the only blip a 2-0 defeat at Sunderland when Dael Fry was sent-off with the game finely balanced.

When Norwich were beaten 5-1 at the Riverside, it had taken Boro's tally to 60 goals from just 26 matches under Carrick, an average of 2.3 every 90 minutes. In comparison, Premier League-bound Burnley hit 48 over the same period, averaging two goals per game.

Only the league leaders had claimed more points since Carrick’s instalment into the hot seat and no second-tier outfit was hitting the net on a more frequent basis than Boro.

In Championship history, only Marco Silva’s Fulham notched more goals from a manager’s opening 25 matches but Boro still banked more points during this period.

In his first quarter-century of matches, the ex-England international claimed 16 wins from the dugout, only four bosses in Championship history have won more from their opening 25 games.

Boro managed just one more win after the Norwich game. Injuries to in-form players took their toll and the season came to an end when Coventry won through in the play-off semi-final second leg with a single-goal victory at the Riverside.

The summer brought a massive overhaul with the loss of leading goalscorer Akpom joined by the departure of a number of key loan players.

Some shrewd moves in the transfer market saw no less than eleven new arrivals, predominantly young players with big futures ahead.

The influx of new faces was highlighted by a start to the season that saw Boro head into the final week of September still searching for a first Championship win. 

It was testament to the club's head coach that there was a calm air about the club, and that belief was rewarded when Boro beat Southampton and went on to win the next five league fixtures.

During that period, progress was also being made in the Carabao Cup, and when Exeter City were beaten on a grotty Devon night at the end of October, Boro were through to the quarter-finals.

League leaders Leicester City were beaten at the Riverside as Boro continued to show a real appetite for taking on the top sides.

Fine margins lead to defeats at Leeds and against Hull, but Port Vale were dispatched in the Carabao and Boro had a semi-final booked against Chelsea.

Hayden Hackney's goal secured a 1-0 win first-leg semi-final win against the Londoners, but the game saw the loss of Isaiah Jones and Emmanuel Latte Lath and an ever-growing injury list was starting to bite deep.

There were times when Boro were without a dozen players due to injuries, and one of the highlights of the season saw a patched-up side go to Leicester and upset the applecart with a 2-1 victory.

Boro's run to the end of the season saw just one defeat in 11 games, and it's with good heart that our head coach and his players will head into the 2024/25 season.