How Michael Carrick has turned Middlesbrough into Arsenal of the Championship
If you were to pick one match to show why Michael Carrick has transformed Middlesbrough from a side nervously looking at the relegation zone to one relishing the challenge of reeling in the Championship top two, their 4-1 win over Wigan Athletic on Boxing Day does it perfectly.
It was a masterclass in the way the former Manchester United coach has set his team up to play, one which has brought such quick success that they have moved from 21st to third since his appointment in October.
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With just three defeats in his 15 games — one was his first match — chairman Steve Gibson appears to have made the perfect hire in giving Carrick his first permanent job in management.
Former Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom is in the form of his career at 27, with a league-leading 16 goals, while academy product Hayden Hackney and Australia international Riley McGree are among the other star performers in a tactically-astute attacking outfit.
Carrick has typically set his side up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but it fast evolves into a much more fluid system that is difficult for the opposition to defend against. Whereas former manager Chris Wilder favoured the use of overlapping centre-backs that worked to great success for him at Sheffield United, Boro generate plenty of width under Carrick by shifting their formation when in possession to push one full-back high while the other drops in to create a back three.

The image below, from January’s 1-0 win over Millwall, illustrates that formation perfectly as left-back Ryan Giles has pushed high (at the top of the graphic), creating a back three of central defenders Paddy McNair and Dael Fry and right-back Tommy Smith. When they do this, it shifts their formation to effectively become a 3-2-5 and is similar to the movement of defenders Arsenal have used to good effect under Mikel Arteta this season.
With Giles pushed high and wide, Boro are able to occupy huge width. In the same move in the still below, Giles and right-sided forward Marcus Forss are highlighted. Forss scored the winner from this position because creating so much width is hard for the opposition to defend.
They are left with two options: match Boro’s width (as Millwall have done below), which leaves big spaces between defenders, or track across as a unit which creates its own problems. We will get to those.
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In this case, the distance between Millwall’s defenders makes it easy for Akpom to drop the ball off to right-back Smith, who has pushed forward to support, who then slides a pass through to Forss in the box, taking out five defenders in the process.
This movement of full-backs to create an asymmetrical back three happens time and again in Boro’s matches, and is seen below in February’s 3-0 win over Blackpool.
It helps the system that goalkeeper Zack Steffen is comfortable with the ball at his feet, as you would expect from a Manchester City loanee who has played under Pep Guardiola. Boro will often bounce possession back to him to restart an attack when the midfield gets crowded.
Steffen’s distribution can trigger quick attacks as well, such as the pass (shown below) to McGree — who played in all four of Australia’s matches at the World Cup — in the 2-0 win over Watford in January.
Carrick’s side are not one-dimensional in relying on using width and playing out from the back to create chances. Their most-effective actions come from quick counter-attacks or punishing opposition mistakes thanks to their confidence on the ball and ability to be clinical in front of goal.
The benefit of this tactical fluidity is that it allows them to easily play through big gaps if the opponent tries to spread wide to match their block. When sides have tried to stay more compact, they leave themselves exposed on one wing.
The win over Wigan was another perfect execution of the tactical plan from Giles at left-back, as he assisted three of their four goals. He has seven assists for the season, which is the joint-highest in the Championship.
For the first of Giles’s three assists, Hackney — the 20-year-old midfielder who has come through the academy — exploits a gap between Wigan’s centre-back and right-back to play the ball to his left-back, who then crosses for Akpom.
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For his second assist, Giles drives inside through a wide channel in the centre of the pitch to feed Akpom again. But for his third, a simple give and go allows Boro to exploit space behind at speed — and Giles delivers again as Akpom completes his hat-trick.
The fourth goal against Wigan is similar to another combination between Giles and Akpom against Luton Town in December, illustrating the ease at which Carrick’s team are able to exploit a lop-sided defensive shape if their opponents decide to follow the ball rather than players.
Below is a still of a move on the right, where Isaiah Jones has pulled wide to the touchline and has fed a pass back inside to Hackney.
The problem for Luton in this scenario is that Hackney has a range of options open to him: playing the ball into Akpom’s feet at the top of the box, playing in the channel for a return to Jones, or square to Jonny Howson. In the image, James Bree (No 2) is looking at Giles while Gabriel Osho (central) is pointing, having spotted the danger if play is switched.
Boro did it quickly, with Giles able to exploit the space on the left flank and cross to Akpom, who is one of three players in red running to attack the ball.
It is little surprise that Boro have scored 31 goals in 15 games since Carrick took charge, winning six matches by a scoreline of three goals or more.
With 14 games of the season remaining, it looks a tough ask to close the 10-point gap between them and second-placed Sheffield United, their next opponents. But if life under Carrick has taught fans at the Riverside anything, it is that his team can make up ground fast.
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