Michael Carrick must now completely ditch ‘wasteful’ ace who is costing Middlesbrough points

Michael Carrick must now completely ditch ‘wasteful’ ace who is costing Middlesbrough points

Middlesbrough had a fantastic opportunity to start gaining ground in the Championship this season after defeating Sheffield United, led by Chris Wilder, in the middle of the week.

When Middlesbrough played Norwich City over the weekend, they fell apart in spectacular way.

Middlesbrough had a fantastic opportunity to start gaining ground in the Championship this season after defeating Sheffield United, led by Chris Wilder, in the middle of the week.

Where it all went wrong for Middlesbrough vs Norwich City

Three points appeared to be certain when they returned to the Riverside Stadium after thoroughly controlling the first forty-five minutes against Norwich.

Riley McGree’s foul in the 69th minute should have won the match, and Conway’s penalty kick put Boro ahead 4-1 and gave the team their first hat-trick.

But the striker’s penalty was feeble, and Norwich was able to square the score thanks to that missed opportunity.

Conway and his compatriot Ben Doak were substituted by Isaiah Jones and Emmanuel Latte Lath a short while after Conway’s miss.

This greatly weakened Boro’s attacking threat with Jones in particular really poor at both ends of the pitch.

Michael Carrick must now axe Middlesbrough winger Isaiah Jones

When Jones entered the game against Norwich, he provided very little offensive threat, and the home club was able to easily regain the lead due to his subpar defensive play.

With the exception of a 20-minute stint against Swansea City on the first weekend of the 2024–25 season, the 25-year-old has been a disappointment. He began the season as Middlesbrough’s main right-winger.

Jones lost his starting spot to Doak after being called “wasteful” following Sunderland’s loss earlier in the season.

But since then, he has replaced Doak in all of Boro’s subsequent Championship games, coming off the bench.

Although Carrick was correct to bench Jones in favour of Doak, it is now obvious that the Middlesbrough manager needs to take things a step further and cut the winger out of the matchday squad entirely.

Micah Hamilton and Marcus Forss are two of the North East team’s many right-wing alternatives, and both would be superior substitutes for Doak should Carrick determine the Liverpool loanee has to be replaced.

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