Surprising verdict that should come as no surprise at all

If angry post-match blasts are your thing, then a Michael Carrick press conference isn't for you.

If the early stages of this season taught us one thing, it's that Carrick will always - publicly at least - defend his players and stress the positives from any performance.

His verdict on Wednesday night's game, then, was surprising but at the same time should have come as no surprise at all.

If you didn't hear or read Carrick's reaction post-match, he felt Boro played "ever so well", saw a lot of "good things" and explained which aspects of the performance most pleased him.

It's fair to say that in the eyes of most - certainly judging by social media and those in the press room - that Carrick's verdict on the game didn't tally with the 90 minutes that had gone before.

This wasn't a first half at Sheffield Wednesday performance by any means and Boro should undoubtedly have taken something from the game, but that made aspects of the display all the more frustrating. Boro were flat and lacked oomph, ideas and a cutting edge. The first half was almost too comfortable - with Rosenior admitting after the game that his side's display in the opening 45 minutes was as bad as he can remember - but when Boro needed to shift through the gears after the break, they couldn't, or didn't.

Carrick will have taken positives from the game - we're going to touch on some shortly - but aspects will have surely concerned or disappointed him as well. We know by now, though, that if that is the case he won't make them public. And as much as that might frustrate some supporters, don't expect the head coach to change his approach any time soon.

Was his message the same in the dressing room as it was in the press room? There was one occasion during covid lockdown when an away Championship boss could be heard screaming and shouting at his players in the makeshift away dressing room only to come into the press area and tell those gathered that he "couldn't fault" his side and thought they played ever so well.

That's not for one minute saying that was the case with Carrick on Wednesday night, but the head coach's anger and frustration would always stay behind closed doors in any case.

Midfield reality

One of the things that will have undoubtedly angered Carrick - even if he didn't say so - was the manner of the goals conceded. They were soft, avoidable and Dan Barlaser needs to do better for both. The midfielder lost Liam Delap for the first, with the striker peeling off to head freely into the net at the far post and then failed to deal with a poor cross from the left in the build-up to Ozan Tufan's winner.

Barlaser wasn't the only Boro player to disappoint, with the three forwards playing off Emmanuel Latte Lath all falling flat - particularly in the second half.

The reality for Barlaser is regardless of how well he plays during this stint in the side, Hayden Hackney will be back in when he's fit and most likely at his expense.

It's almost a year since Barlaser swapped Rotherham for the Riverside and Boro are still waiting to see the best of a midfielder who was such a key man at the New York Stadium and looked an ideal fit to kick-on on Teesside. In his defence, it's not easy when he's in and out of the side but he hasn't managed to take his opportunities and nail down a place.

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Three transfer positives

Among the positives Carrick insisted he took from the game will have surely been the displays of three summer signings.

Latte Lath was bright even though he was short of service for the most part and seven goals from 11 starts in all competitions is a fine return for a striker still finding his feet in a new league.

It took a few weeks for Lukas Engel to find his feet but he is clearly Carrick's first choice left-back ahead of Alex Bangura and he was Boro's best player in the first half on Wednesday night, snapping into interceptions and playing with urgency on the front foot.

Rav van den Berg was again cool and composed at centre-half as well. He looks a star in the making and is clearly - as we knew - more comfortable at centre-half than right-back. Even if Carrick had every defender fit right now, it would be incredibly difficult to leave the Dutchman out.

Crucial spell

Boro's season needs a spark. Four defeats in five games has seen them slip into the bottom half of the table and they're now as close to Huddersfield in 21st as they are the top six.

It's far too early to panic or write off Boro's hopes, with key players to return from injury and signings expected in January, but Carrick's side don't want to give themselves too much to do in the second half of the season.

There are four crucial league games between now and the end of the year - as well as the matter of a League Cup quarter-final. It has the feel of a decisive two and a bit weeks.