Where has it all gone wrong for Boro?

A season that started with such optimism following the club’s successful promotion from the Championship now looks like ending in intense disappointment.

So where have things gone wrong since promotion was secured?

SUMMER SIGNINGS FOUND WANTING

Most newly-promoted clubs stand or fall by the quality of their summer recruitment. Boro’s signings last summer have not been a disaster, but they have not provided a deep enough pool of quality to haul the club away from the bottom three.

Victor Valdes and Alvaro Negredo have provided top-class talent at either end of the field, and it is hard to quibble with the impact of either player. However, other signings have not worked out so well.

Marten de Roon has done reasonably well at the heart of midfield, but was overpriced at £12m. The limitations of Antonio Barragan and Bernardo Espinosa have been exposed in the last few games, and while Gaston Ramirez and Adama Traore have shone in flashes this season, neither has been able to make a sustained impact.

Viktor Fischer and Julien de Sart were more speculative signings, but a combined sum of £6m was splashed out on the duo. That money could definitely have been better invested elsewhere.

OPPORTUNITIES SQUANDERED IN THE AUTUMN

Boro started brightly, picking up five points from their opening three games, but by the time they reached mid-October, they found themselves in 17th position. There have been periods where they have climbed a place or two, but they have never really been able to haul themselves back into the comfort of mid-table.

What went wrong in those opening months? Boro were playing reasonably effectively, but a couple of inviting opportunities went begging, most notably at home, and in the final reckoning, they might well prove extremely costly.

September’s home game with Crystal Palace was a great opportunity to cement a strong start, but Boro played poorly and were beaten 2-1. A 1-1 draw against a West Ham side in crisis was a poor return from a game Boro dominated, and worse was to follow in the club’s next game.

Had Boro beaten Watford in mid-October, they could have climbed to 12th. Instead, in a game of precious few chances, they were beaten by Jose Holebas’ long-range stunner. Even at that stage, the list of missed opportunities was mounting.

KARANKA’S REFUSAL TO CHANGE HIS WAYS

As autumn turned into winter, a handful of spirited away performances were papering over the cracks. Boro mounted an impressive rearguard action to claim a goalless draw at Arsenal, and salvaged another notable point when Marten de Roon’s last-minute header secured a draw at Manchester City.

They weren’t winning regularly enough though, and as the Christmas period began to approach, it was clear that Aitor Karanka’s conservative tactics were causing considerable damage.

Karanka had to change things, but he was either unable to unwilling to do so. Boro continued to play in the same unadventurous manner, and consequently embarked on the lengthy winless run that they are still to halt.

Had Karanka loosened the shackles even slightly, perhaps Boro would have been more of a threat, especially in their home games. Instead, unimaginative home draws with Leicester, West Brom and Everton were as good as things got.

JANUARY RECRUITMENT FREEZE

Come the turn of the year, Karanka was able to sense that things were heading in the wrong direction. Hence his desperation for a couple of top-class additions in the January transfer window.

The Spaniard set out his stall early, imploring those above him to land attacking talent. There were talks over Robert Snodgrass, only for the midfielder to head to West Ham.

Karanka thought he had Bojan Krkic, but the Stoke playmaker went on loan to the Bundesliga. By the time Jese Rodriguez was being touted as a viable target, there was an air of desperation to Karanka’s public comments. An approach was made to Paris St Germain, but club sources claim the Spanish Under-21 international was never a likely arrival.

In the end, Boro ended January with Rudy Gestede, Patrick Bamford and Adlene Guedioura. It did not look anything like enough at the time, and that impression has subsequently been reinforced.

THE TIMING OF KARANKA’S DEPARTURE – AND IDENTITY OF HIS SUCCESSOR

By the time of the back-to-back away defeats at Crystal Palace and Stoke, it was clear that Aitor Karanka’s time was effectively up. His tactics weren’t working, he was on the brink of a dressing-room revolt and the majority of Boro’s rivals at the foot of the table were picking up points after changing their boss.

Karanka was eventually dismissed with 11 games of the season remaining. Should Steve Gibson have pulled the trigger earlier? Quite possibly. Had a new boss had three or four more games to work with, they might have engineered a more radical turnaround.

As it was, it felt like the game was already up when Karanka left, and in the eyes of many supporters, that view was reinforced by Gibson’s decision to install Steve Agnew as head coach.

Gibson was justifiably claim that Agnew deserved a crack at the top job. Even if he can’t keep Boro up this season, perhaps he will be an effective manager in the Championship. Might a more experienced manager have created a bigger impact though? Had a Nigel Pearson or a Guus Hiddink come in, might things have been different in the last three games?