The best and fastest football news aggregator for the UK
Mark Drury, BBC Radio Tees Middlesbrough commentator
Middlesbrough’s decision to sack Carrick may surprise some outside Teesside but one thing it can’t be described as is a knee-jerk reaction.
A month has passed since Boro’s 2-0 defeat at Coventry on the final day of the Championship season.
That loss was their 18th of a desperately disappointing season and was followed by the head coach insisting “I’m carrying on” in his
Should Frimpong come in, O’Neill believes that the dynamic of that competition will be different for Bradley than it was when vying for minutes with Alexander-Arnold.
“He provided that competition for Trent but he was trying at that point in time to dislodge a player that was very, very established at the club, a much-loved player and a player that had been very successful at the club,” he added.
“I
Boro’s return of 64 points and a finish of 10th is the lowest under Carrick having been fourth and eighth respectively, with 75 and 69 points respectively.
After a strong November, Middlesbrough were sitting fifth with a play-off finish the least fans were expecting from a team that was scoring lots of goals.
But last season’s top scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath was sold to MLS side Atlanta United in January,
Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick is not expecting an “ordinary league game” as his side chases a play-off spot on the final day of the Championship season.
Boro must win away to sixth-placed Coventry City, who sit in the final play-off berth, to have any chance of continuing their season beyond Saturday.
Even if they are victorious at the CBS Arena, they will have to rely on Blackburn Rovers and
Boro finished fourth in Carrick’s first season two years ago, only to lose to Coventry in the play-off semi-finals.
Last year, they were eighth and four points adrift. Now they are one of six sides still competing for the last two play-off places.
The Boro boss is preferring to focus on three seasons of consistent work in a notoriously competitive division.
“History shows that over the last 15 years, it’s
Middlesbrough are now two points behind Coventry with five games to go as they head to The Den on Saturday.
Alex Neil’s Lions have catapulted themselves into play-off contention after a shock win at Sheffield United on Tuesday, leaving them only three points adrift of Boro.
It is getting towards crunch time as games run out in the battle to make the top six but Carrick is calling upon his
With Neto moved across into the middle, on-loan Aston Villa winger Samuel Iling-Junior has been pressed into service at left-back.
But it is the desire of his players to do a job for the team that has struck a chord with the Boro boss.
“A lot of it comes down to your mentality and your approach to it,” said Carrick.
“Some are not too keen and are almost put off
After the match, PGMOL said police were investigating “threats and abuse” directed at Oliver and his family on social media.
Oliver returned to refereeing swiftly, taking charge of Southampton’s 2-1 win at Ipswich a week after sending off Lewis-Skelly.
He then refereed the 2-2 draw between Everton and Liverpool on 12 February.
In that last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park before Everton move to Bramley-Moore Dock, he showed Curtis Jones
Swansea head coach Luke Williams:
“It was quite a dull game. There wasn’t too much going on out there.
“Ultimately it was a bit of an error that cost us and we were nowhere clinical enough at the other end of the pitch.
“We got into a very good positions, we put balls into the box, but I think we made one first contact from a cross. It’s not enough.
Baidoo was close to joining Plymouth in the summer, but Elfsborg’s progress in the Europa League put his move to England on hold.
He scored five goals in the group stage this year, including the winning penalty in a 1-0 victory over Italian giants Roma at the Stadio Olimpico, where the Ghanaian was also Elfsborg’s captain.
“That was a great moment. That’s my best football moment,” he said.
“Playing against