Middlesbrough were certainly busy during last summer’s transfer window.
In total, no fewer than 12 new players were added to Michael Carrick‘s first-team squad in that period.
Naturally, the goal has been to improve on their run to the Championship play-offs the previous year. Coventry City had put an end to that run in the semi-final.
But with eight games left in the regular season, Middlesbrough is presently seven points outside of the play-off spots in the second tier table, ranked 10th.
It appears that there is a perception that their failure to maximise the potential of one of those acquisitions may have contributed to their failure to reach the top six.
Lukas Engel’s debut season assessed
Lukas Engel was one of the players who relocated to The Riverside Stadium during the summer.
The 25-year-old, who is originally from Silkeborg, Denmark, signed a four-year contract. He has since made 37 appearances for Middlesbrough across all competitions.
He has given Carrick’s team three assists and two goals over that time. However, some people don’t seem to think that Boro has shown his finest side until recently, once the team switched to three centre backs.
Journalist and Middlesbrough supporter Phil Spencer, when discussing Engel on his YouTube channel, stated:
“Over the season, he has been one of the main reasons of irritation. It’s not that he is a bad player; rather, it’s that he hasn’t been able to develop into the kind of left winger that Ryan Giles was last season.
However, Engel hasn’t really been able to accomplish that, whether it’s because he lacks the courage to move forward or because he’s been given tactical instructions to hold back. I may be mistaken, but he hasn’t really been able to accomplish that this season. However, with this back three and these three centre defenders, his role has increased slightly.
Therefore, Middlesbrough are a little bit more equipped to counter if Lukas Engel does advance, get caught in possession, and the other team does the same.
Engel’s next possible game for Middlesbrough is on Friday, March 29. After that, they will go to St Mary’s to play Southampton.
Engel’s next possible game for Middlesbrough is on Friday, March 29. After that, they will go to St Mary’s to play Southampton.
Middlesbrough may have missed a trick
One may argue that Carrick should have switched to a back three earlier.
Both Luke Ayling on the right side of defence and Engel appear to have performed at their peak as a result of the change.
Since the defensive three moved to the centre, both have become far more formidable attacking threats.
Despite having an additional player at centre back, Middlesbrough’s defence has held up well.
In fact, in the four games played after they made that tactical change, they have only given up one goal and scored ten points.
But they had only triumphed once in seven league games before that. Because of this, some could be questioning if they would have had more favourable outcomes if they had made the adjustment earlier in that run.
Middlesbrough might have gained a few more points as a result, which might have given them an advantage in the play-off race.
Therefore, it will be fascinating to see if Carrick continues to use this technique in the long run.
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