Ahead of Saturday's Wear-Tees clash, we spoke to Football League World's Middlesbrough journalist James Barker to give us a rundown on how Boro have done so far, their best players and his predictions for the match and season...
So, tenth in the league with two wins, two draws and a defeat. What's been the story of your season so far?
It’s been a real mixed bag so far this season. From an instant classic 3-0 win at Elland Road, and a comfortable 2-0 away win at Cardiff, to a 5-0 cup drubbing at the hands of Stoke, and dropping a frustrating number of points to Derby, Portsmouth and Preston respectively. Typical Boro one might say.
Boro have largely been dominating the ball in games, often hitting between 60-70% possession come full-time, but just haven’t been able to break teams down. Even in that 5-0 loss to Stoke in the Carabao Cup, we still ended the game with 66% possession. So with all the sharp objects in attack, it’s been incredibly frustrating to see them fashioned into blunt instruments against low and mid-block sides.
There’s still large amounts of optimism that Middlesbrough’s 2024/25 story will have a happy ending, but the opening chapter has certainly teased an all too common Riverside tale of falling agonisingly short once again.
What are your thoughts on manager Michael Carrick?
I’ve been burnt using this phrase to describe Chris Wilder in one of your previews before, but am I going to say it again? Well aye. Michael Carrick is the best thing that has happened to Middlesbrough Football Club - from a managerial standpoint - in a very long time.
He doesn’t beat around the bush or lead supporters down garden paths. His honesty, transparency, and the football we’ve largely enjoyed watching under him, has been such a breath of fresh air - go on Sunderland reader, make a joke about the Smog and a lack of clean air on Teesside, I’ll let you off because I did set that one up in fairness.
After murmurs of a move to a Premier League club, practically every Boro fan was delighted to see him pen a new three-year deal this summer. Since his arrival, we’ve become far more shrewd operators in the transfer market, been able to attract players we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to due to the weight of his name, and have come as close as we have in many years to winning promotion.
If there’s one slight criticism I have, I do think Boro play slightly below the tempo I would like them to at times, which has, at least in my opinion, contributed to some of the frustrating results we’ve seen.
Tommy Conway and (randomly) Matt Clarke are your joint-top scorers with two each. What kind of players are they?
Conway looks a really smart signing by the club. He looks sharp, he's got an excellent work rate about him, confident in front of goal, and his versatility has seen him fill a number of roles in the side already this season.
We lacked strength in depth up front last season (sound familiar?) but with his arrival combined with the other attacking additions we made, Carrick has an embarrassment of riches in forward areas this term.
Matt Clarke, where to begin with him? He returned after a 14-month injury lay-off due to back problems at the halfway point of last season, and since then, you can make the case for him being Boro’s best player.
He’s certainly been a standout so far this campaign too. A brick wall in defence and a siege weapon in attack, he’s a presence that must be accounted for and respected in both boxes. Don’t be fooled though, he’s not just in the side because of his aerial presence, he’s a very confident and competent ball-playing defender, and being left-footed, he plays a vital role in Carrick’s tactical approach too.
Two excellent players, who look set to play leading roles for Boro this season.
Boro did well to hold onto Emanuel Latte Lath in the summer, how has he done so far this campaign? Do you reckon he'll start against us?
After ensuring that no Middlesbrough fan would be able to enjoy a stress-free, relaxing Deadline Day, a reported £20m approach from Ipswich Town was rejected. Lath then hurried down to Cardiff to link up with the squad after previously being told to stay at home that weekend.
Lath looked like a player who’d perhaps been impacted by all the outside noise of transfer interest during August, as he hasn’t scored since the opening day. That’s not to say he’s been playing badly, but with the window now behind us and Teesside being his home until January at least, Boro fans are expecting Manu to get his head down and start firing in the goals sooner rather than later. Conway played in the number 10 role behind Lath in our last match vs Preston, and I fully expect that’s what Carrick will go with on Saturday.
Which other players should we be keeping an eye on at the weekend?
Two men instantly come to mind for me, with one honourable mention too…
Firstly, Neto Borges. Signed from Clermont Foot on 27 August, the Brazilian left-back has looked every bit of the answer to Middlesbrough’s left-back problem in his opening two games. An all-round player, Borges is stout in defence, and has also shown that he can get forward and be a threat in attack too. He’ll be a tough puzzle to crack for any Championship winger this season.
Secondly, Aidan Morris. Boro’s American Boy, Morris has been a revelation for us in midfield since his move from the MLS this summer. Seldom is he seen giving the ball away, and wherever there’s space on the pitch to come and receive the ball, you’ll find Morris. He’s forming a hugely exciting central midfield partnership with Hayden Hackney, and I don’t think it will be long before he’s plying his trade in the Premier League, with Boro ideally.
The honourable mention is Liverpool loanee Ben Doak. Yet to make his first start for Boro, Isaiah Jones’ wishy-washy form could pave the way for Carrick to unleash him from the off at the weekend. He’s very highly-rated at Anfield, and at 18, is already a full Scotland international. Keep an eye on him.
From the outside looking in, what have you made of Sunderland's start to 2024/25?
Outstanding. It’d be silly to say anything other than that and I have to admit, I didn’t see it coming. I wasn’t taken by the Regis Le Bris appointment, as his record in France was okay, but it didn’t elicit that fear of ‘how good could they be if they get him?’ like the Will Still rumours did.
But, credit where credit is due, Le Bris has worked wonders so far. What’s made it even more impressive is the calibre of opponents you’ve dispatched of too. I expect Burnley to be right up there at the end of the season, whilst Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff and Portsmouth are no mugs either.
I’m not reading anything into the Plymouth result, Home Park is a tough place to go for any side let alone one that has to travel the length of the country to get there. On another day, you take a hard-earned point from that game.
So, you’ve been excellent, and I don’t see why you can’t carry your strong start into the meat and bones of the season.
Which Sunderland player worries you the most?
Going off their early season form, I think Romaine Mundle worries me the most from the standpoint of an individual player hurting us. He’s quick and skilful, and I do worry that he could prove to be too much of a handful for Luke Ayling over 90 minutes.
However, what worries me the most is your central midfield options of Dan Neil, Chris Rigg, Jobe Bellingham and Alan Browne. Our central midfield duo of Morris and Hackney have been able to win the battle in midfield in pretty much every game they’ve played so far. But with whoever starts for you in the centre, our lads will undoubtedly be facing their toughest test yet. With so much of our tactical approach being centred around ball retention and dictating the tempo of the game in midfield, I worry that our game plan could go out the window should they lose that battle.
Where do you expect to finish this season?
I think play-offs minimum is where I, and indeed most Middlesbrough fans, expect us to finish this season. By turning down big-money approaches for a number of our key players, Boro have laid their cards on the table for us supporters, and the rest of the Championship to see. It’s Premier League football in 2025 or this season will have been a failure.
We’ve been building our squad up with largely excellent recruitment over the last few windows and quite frankly, if promotion wasn’t the absolute target this year then we’d have cashed in on Lath and others in the summer. I do think the league is wide open this year, so I think it will come down to which teams can hit form at the right time, and win those big games like this one. I’ll go with a fourth-placed finish for Middlesbrough.
Equally, where do you reckon Sunderland will finish?
This is really tough to predict - is the early season form a red herring? Or are you as good as what the scorelines suggest? I’m going to side with the latter. A really smart defence that has kept clean sheets in three of your five games, and you’ve been hitting the back of the net at a very impressive rate.
Given how largely youthful your side is, my only concern is whether you can sustain your impressive form throughout the season, especially when injuries, suspensions and general fatigue comes into play. That was evident last season when Jobe was obviously burnt out but would still play 90 minutes each week. Is the strength in depth strong enough? That would be my only question.
I do think you’ll be right up there though, but I’ll say you just miss out on automatic promotion and finish third.
Finally, what's your score prediction for the game?
4-0… no, I’m only joking. I think last season’s performance was perhaps a bit of a one-off, even though we won’t be allowing anyone on Wearside to forget it for the foreseeable future. This year's renewal looks set to be a really, really close game. I can see both sides cancelling each other out, and I don’t see it being a high-scoring affair.
Derby, not a derby, whatever you like, the bottom line is that neither side wants to lose this one. I’ll go with a 1-1 draw. Latte Lath the goalscorer for Boro, and I’ll say Jobe Bellingham gets off the mark for the season for Sunderland. All the best until we meet again!
