I Think Middlesbrough Will – Ex-Winger Makes Michael Carrick Prediction | OneFootball

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Former EFL winger Adrian Clarke is of the view that Middlesbrough will part ways with Michael Carrick to start the upcoming season with a new manager.

Carrick was appointed as Middlesbrough boss in October 2022 and in his first season with Boro, he guided the team to an eighth-place finish in the Championship.

This season, Middlesbrough struggled to find consistency in their form and finished tenth in the league table, four points adrift of playoffs.

Carrick has a deal with Middlesbrough until June 2027, but Clarke believes that the Riverside outfit will begin the season with the former Manchester United star not at the helm.

Clarke is of the view that the Boro hierarchy would have expected better than a tenth-place finish from the team, as he thinks that the Championship this season has been wide open and pointed out that Middlesbrough were never convincing enough to make everyone and themselves believe that they could reach the playoffs.

He also added that the players Carrick signed did not click and pointed out that Kelechi Iheanacho’s loan move during the winter transfer window was a flop.

When asked whether Middlesbrough will continue with Carrick next season, Clarke said on What The EFL (6:57): “No, I think they will make a change, actually, if I am being honest.

“He might look at it himself and think, ‘Have I taken this squad as far as I can?’ I think he is a decent fellow, Michael Carrick.

“They would have expected more.

“I think there was a really wide-open Championship this season, certainly was not the strongest we have seen and they were miles off it, were they not?

“There were some great moments and good performances, but a lot of them were really mediocre and they never convinced during the run-in and it never felt like they believed.

“The bits of recruitment did not come off; Ihenacho is the big one, obviously big money. He had a bit of a stinker, didn’t he?

“I think Middlesbrough will start the new season with a new gaffer.”

Middlesbrough won only one game out of their final six Championship outings while accumulating only four points, which resulted in them missing out on the playoff spots.

Now it remains to be seen whether the Boro hierarchy will decide to sack Carrick or if they will keep faith in him to get promotion next season.