"Until he does that" - Michael Carrick handed three-year Middlesbrough future verdict | OneFootball

FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit has been speaking on whether they believe Carrick is in it for the long haul at the Riverside Stadium.

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…

Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick is currently under the most amount of pressure he's ever faced since arriving at the Riverside Stadium in October 2022.

Boro have endured a frustrating, inconsistent and mistake-laden campaign so far, with the Teessiders now sitting five points adrift of sixth-placed West Brom heading into Tuesday night's meeting with QPR.

Middlesbrough supporters had hoped they'd turned a corner with back-to-back wins over Stoke and Derby respectively, but a poor and highly disappointing away performance at Swansea on Saturday saw their optimism dashed once again.

With reports suggesting chairman Steve Gibson potentially had a Steve Cooper succession plan in place back in February this year, talk of Carrick's days in the Riverside dugout being numbered has only served to grow with each passing defeat in recent weeks.

"Really unsure" - Confidence in Michael Carrick's long-term Middlesbrough future revealed

We asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit, Jasper Hudson: 'Gut feeling, do you think Michael Carrick is in it for the long haul or not? Can you see him still being Boro's manager in three years time?'

Hudson said: "I'm really unsure with Michael Carrick where his managerial career is going.

"It's his third year now, and we'll have to see whether he gets play-offs or not. But, it's one play-off appearance in three years potentially if we aren't able to improve our league position.

"Whilst there's been some really good spells, there's obviously been some really bad spells as well. When we play our best football, he looks like one of the best managers in the league, and has coached a brilliant passing side with lots of good players, and players developing.

"However, when it's bad, there's no plan b, the team completely falls apart, it's the same mistakes and consistent errors, and a lack of tactical adjustment and willingness to change the game with substitutions on his part.

"So, when it's going well, you can very easily see him moving off to a Premier League side and getting a better job. But when it's going badly, you struggle to see how he's even going to keep his job at Boro. If he loses his job there, where would he go?

"It's really hard to see where he'll be in three years time. I think it depends on his success with Boro, and if he can get them promoted, then that'll be a big stepping stone in him moving on to a bigger club. Maybe a Premier League job.

"But until he does that, I think he'll always be limited by the bad spells that he has as a manager, and where those bad spells are: his lack of willingness to adapt, change and make bold decisions with substitutes."

Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough sides aren't improving in one critical area - defence

One element of Carrick's Middlesbrough sides that has never been an issue is in attack. One that has always been, on the other hand, is Boro's defence under him.

Under the former Manchester United and England legend, the Teessiders consistently field one of the most potent attacking units in the Championship every term.

However, on the flip side of that, Carrick's sides consistently rank in the bottom-half of the table for goals conceded per game, as well as having an incredibly difficult time keeping clean sheets.

That's not all down to him, and the blame for a number of Boro's goals conceded this season lies solely at the feet of individual errors that the Middlesbrough boss can't account for.

But, these constant problems at the back are preventing Middlesbrough from establishing themselves as genuine Premier League promotion contenders, and this lack of progression towards fixing it doesn't make for great reading from a coaching perspective for Carrick.

Therefore, if he is indeed to remain in charge at the Riverside for the foreseeable future, and possibly go on to bigger and better things in his managerial career, addressing his evident shortcomings in terms of understanding what it takes to build and organise a watertight defence may prove essential for his future prospects in the dugout.