Football Season Guide

After missing out on the play-offs for the second consecutive season in 2024/25, Michael Carrick’s reign as Middlesbrough manager came to a disappointing end. Touted as one of the most promising young coaches in the country, much was expected after he turned around Boro’s fortunes and got them into the play-offs in 2023, but ultimately there was a decline in his first two full campaigns in charge. Constant injury issues and the departure of key players didn’t help Carrick. Top scorer at the time Emmanuel Latte Lath was sold in January while exciting youngster Ben Doak got injured at a critical stage of the season, having been one of the standout performers after arriving on loan from Liverpool. Boro simply couldn’t find any consistency in their form and ended up finishing in 10th place – four points outside the play-off zone. The club have appointed Rob Edwards as their new head coach and he has previously achieved the ultimate goal of promotion to the Premier League. The former Luton boss represents a change in approach for Boro, given that he prefers a 3-centreback/wingback system and adopts a high intensity pressing style of play – a departure from Carrick’s more patient possession-based football. The summer hasn’t seen an awful lot of transfer business on Teeside yet. Doak has been the biggest loss after he returned to parent-club Liverpool. Veteran captain Johnny Howson was allowed to leave after the expiration of his contract and fellow midfielder Hayden Hackney also looks set to depart. Only two players have arrived so far. Versatile defender Alfie Jones has four seasons of Championship experience under his belt at Hull, whilst 20-year-old defensive-midfielder Abdoulaye Kante is more of an unknown quantity coming from Ligue 2 in France.