"Very close to an end" - Middlesbrough urged to part ways with Michael Carrick amid "toxic" atmosphere | OneFootball

FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit discussed the growing scrutiny surrounding Michael Carrick's tenure

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Michael Carrick’s time in charge of Middlesbrough looks to be approaching an imminent and sour end, with supporters turning against the once-popular boss in recent weeks.

Carrick was adored by the Riverside faithful in his first campaign at the club, which saw Middlesbrough chalk up outstanding form in the second-half of the 2022/23 term to achieve a play-off finish.

Inconsistencies were more pronounced last time out as Boro finished the season in 9th place, but they have appeared on track to crack the top-six for much of the current campaign.

That was until the turn of the year, though, as Boro have won just once in 2025 and saw their losing streak extended to four matches with a disappointing 1-0 loss at home to Watford on Saturday afternoon, which has pushed them down to 11th in the Championship table.

Middlesbrough were widely expected to kick-on following an action-packed January window, which saw owner Steve Gibson hand significant backing to Carrick by acquiring the likes of Samuel Iling-Junior, Mark Travers and Kelechi Iheanacho on loan and both Morgan Whittaker and George Edmundson amid the sale of top scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath to Atalanta United.

But the window has had the opposite effect and the overwhelming majority of Boro supporters are firmly against Carrick, who now seems to be on borrowed time on Teeside.

Middlesbrough told to part ways with Michael Carrick after dismal run of form

FLW asked our resident Boro fan pundit, Jasper Hudson, if he believes Carrick should stay until the end of the season to help the club to a play-off finish or if he should be relieved of his duties imminently.

Jasper conceded that Carrick’s time may be very close to a conclusion, with recent form and more long-standing defensive issues prompting a considerable change in stance from supporters as of late.

"It does feel like Michael Carrick’s time is very close to an end," Jasper told FLW.

"It’s a really poor run of form, the same mistakes, the same players getting picked when they’re the ones making those mistakes, it’s the same issue. Every press conference is repetitive and it’s getting really toxic now.

"The fans are fed up, he keeps saying he’ll change and it’s on me to change, that we’re close. But for the last eight to nine weeks now, it’s hard to see where the improvement is coming.

"He’s had January, he’s been backed and the results haven’t gotten better. If anything, the results and the performances have gotten worse. At the minute, we look miles off a play-off team in what’s a really weak play-off race with lots of teams underperforming.

"I think Carrick’s time, if it’s not up, is very close to being done. He’s running out of time to turn it around."

Michael Carrick has underachieved at Middlesbrough in 2024/25

Carrick certainly has redeeming qualities, but it’s hard to escape the feeling he has massively underachieved with a talented Middlesbrough side this term.

As Jasper rightly references, many of Boro’s competitors for the final two play-off spots are hardly convincing, meaning the fact Carrick is currently failing to guide the side there has to be treated as a cause for concern.

The likes of Blackburn Rovers, who recently lost head coach John Eustace to relegation-threatened Derby County, West Bromwich Albion, Bristol City and Watford have been inconsistent for large parts of the season and all arguably boast inferior squads to what remains at Carrick’s disposal, while the backing he has been given must not be ignored either.

The 43-year-old is a capable and endearing young head coach who certainly has the vision and nous to lead a side in the Championship, but with the Teesiders now increasingly likely to finish outside of the play-offs in both of his two full seasons in charge, it’s not all that difficult to see why supporters are banging the drum for a decisive call from Gibson.