5 Ways Boro Can Increase Their Chances Of Automatic Promotion

On Saturday Boro played out a  dour 1-1 draw at Wigan Athletic. By all accounts, it was  a   pretty poor effort which lacked the intensity and style that have characterised many of our away performances this season. It’s not a match that will live long in the memory, in fact perhaps the most interesting thing about it was not the game itself, but the reaction on Teesside to the result.frustrated-face

Not so long ago, picking up an away point at a team who’ve just changed their manager and who possess, at least some, premier league talent would have been considered a decent effort. Yes, they were in the bottom three and we had an impressive away following cheering us on but, applying typical Boro inevitablility, that usually means a crushing defeat. An away draw in such a competitive league is always a decent result isn’t it ?

Not so it appears. An  overwhelming sense of disappointment has characterised the post match analysis. They were there for the taking, a club in crisis, there was no better time to play them. A month or so ago fans would have taken comfort from  a game “we would have lost last season” but now  an away draw is not good enough and certainly not the stuff that automatically promoted sides are made of.

I’m getting a strong sense that anything less than promotion this season will be viewed by our fans as a major letdown. Karanka has transformed the club  to such an extent that the pressure is really on him and the club to continue that improvement and deliver premier league football. Unfair? Perhaps, but that’s the price of raising expectations.

So, how can Karanka and the club  improve the team and deliver automatic promotion. These are the five key areas:

1. Home Rule

Boro’s home form so far this season has not been good enough, certainly  if the target is automatic promotion. Only four wins out of nine games is pretty average. The impressive 4-0 wins over Norwich and Brentford have, to an extent, glossed over some poor efforts particularly against teams who have defended deep, kept their shape and looked to break quickly. Karanka can expect most teams that visit the Riverside to employ those tactics so he must find the right formula to undermine that approach. It may involve more midfield creativity and him biting the bullet and playing more than one centre forward.

 

2. New Recruits

Steve Gibson has backed Karanka in the transfer market and the club have largely delivered his number one targets for each position. Yet, a niggling doubt remains  that Boro still lack that touch of class in the final third to undo resolute championship defences. It might be the lack of a clinical finisher or a clever midfield schemer who can pick out the crucial final pass. Money is tight in a harsh Financial Fair Play environment but I’m sure Gibson sees this season as a real opportunity to push on. He may well be tempted to roll the dice again in January for that special player who can make all the difference. Is he out there? Can we afford him? Will he come ? The answers to those questions may well be crucial in determining which league we’re in next season.

 

3. Cut out the Cards

Boro have picked up a stack of bookings this season. Leadbitter and Ayala have already served bans and are well on there way to their next one. Adomah and Clayton are suspended for the game against in form Blackburn. Part of the story is our systematic and tactical fouling, cynically breaking up play by deliberately stopping our opponents. That, combined with aggressive pressing high up the pitch, inevitably leads to a high card count but Boro need to be careful. No team, even one with a reasonably deep squad, can afford key players out regularly with suspensions. Some of the bookings have been pointless and petty and need to be cut out. Boro need to be at full strength as often as possible to thrive in this tough league.

 

4. Bums on Seats

Boro took 5,000  fans to Wigan, an amazing effort. Our away following is brilliant and vociferous but at home things are a little flat. The extra few thousand  that went to the Bournemouth game really made a difference and we need to build on that. The difference in  atmosphere was marked and was actually mentioned by quite a few of the players on Twitter. Good performances at home combined with some creative thinking can really boost attendances. For example, how about being able to buy a ticket for the remaining home games at any point in the season at a cost per game equivalent to a season ticket. Increased attendances will not only lift the team on a match day but can boost our January transfer budget.

 

5. You Little Tinker

It’s not in dispute that Boro have their strongest squad since they were relegated. Two good players for each position. The question is how much should Karanka rotate the squad to keep players fresh. Too few changes could leave players jaded for the run in, too many could disrupt team pattern and hinder consistency. It’s a difficult call for Karanka but one that he must get right if the team are to challenge at the very top of the Championship.

 

If Karanka and the club are successful in these key areas then  Boro fans may well be looking forward to a long overdue return to the Premier League. If not,  will the fans ever forgive the club for throwing away our best chance of promotion in years?

The stakes are high, let’s hope we make the right calls.

9 thoughts on “5 Ways Boro Can Increase Their Chances Of Automatic Promotion”

  1. Yes the tinkering at the moment is a little disruptive but I think Karanka feels the league is a brutal one and will take its toll on the “weaker” squads eventually.

    It’s a gamble but if the lads buy into it and we stay in the top 1-3 it could just pay off !!!

    Got to get 1 forward banging in goals consistently though !!!

    Up the boro !!

  2. Spot on , as ever Anthony.

    In the past we have both been typecast as AK uber-critics. In fact what we were aware of were the formidable obstacles to success facing AK in adapting to so many different and unfamiliar aspects of his first managerial post. He deserves enormous credit for what he has achieved so far, and for the way in which expectations have been ratcheted up over the past few weeks. They are, however, our expectations and should not be used as a weapon against Karanka if the team ultimately fails to live up to them. I suspect it will be the uber-critics who will be the first to his defence should this happen.

    By the way, have you yet fathomed how AK manages to do his job so successfully with a command of English that would fail to get him a job at Fawlty Towers?

    1. Thanks Len

      Project Karanka could have gone horribly wrong and, you’re right, he deserves great credit for his achievements so far. A lot of fans get ahead of themselves and the extra expectation can become a burden. One of the Gazette bloggers has just done a piece on preparing for the Premier League! Steady on, we’re third in November.

      On communication I think he’s been very shrewd in choosing his staff. They compensate for his weaknesses. Very McLarenesque.

      1. I’m definitely not getting ahead of myself Anthony! I know that there’s a long, long way to go, but I genuinely like Karanka. For starters, his connections appear to have enriched the squad and not demeaned it. Your understandable fears of Ben Gibson’s demotion have since been rebutted as the local lad has gone on to become our finest centre back of the moment, the perfect compliment to Ayala; so much so, in fact, that the arguably more gifted Omeruo can’t even get in the team.

        What’s more important to me, though, is his image – put aside his mangled English and he truly comes across as Jose’s protege, without the smugness (which, to be fair, Jose appears to have turned down). That is to say, an affable sort with a wise footballing brain on his shoulders. Nothing seems disingenuous about him. (Although I would have hoped Jose’s excellent English would rub off on him too. That said, press conference interviews can be misleading. Lest we forget it took Pochettino quite a while to put aside the interpreter in public.)

        1. Thanks for your comments Si.

          Karanka’s a likeable bloke but pretty ruthless too. He has to make this job work, it’s his first as head coach and if he fails then it may be a while before he gets another shot at it, if he ever does.

          I’ve never been too hung up on the language issue, it was clear in the first few games that he was getting his instructions across. The players know what he wants even though they sometimes don’t quite deliver it.

  3. I think it was Stan Anderson who said a win at home and a draw away is real promotion form and OK, yes, you’ll lose a few too. The part of Boro that needs working on is the home form, the visitors are always predictable with the bus but perhaps Boro are too. I think Karanka needs that extra midfielder, or creative spark and Kike needs help too.

    Maybe a bit less tinkering and some unpredictability, from the team, would sort it out? Anyway, what do I know, I’m just a supporter but Wigan result was a good one in my eyes. Back to Stan Anderson then.

    UTB,

    John R

    1. Thanks John

      A creative spark in tight games could be the difference. It could be Tomlin but he drops too deep for me. If we can turn 4 home draws into wins that’s eight more points and possibly the difference between 4th and winning the league.

  4. Anthony you are right in that assumption and don’t forget the referee howlers for disallowed goals, AA at leeds with the ‘dangerous kick’ and there was another but I can’t remember where. Then there’s the Crappenberg incident on Saturday; I think that he wasn’t concentrating and the same applies to the other officials, their minds were elsewhere. The bar?

    After that I was fully depressed believe me. I was driving back from a local league game and it was Boro 1 – 0 up, decided a celebratory pint was in order parked at the village pub, walked through the door and we’d lost.

    OAP trashes pub in West Norfolk. Sue had a pint open and ready when I got home too! The joys of football.

    UTB,

    John R

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