PERHAPS it's only with time that a true judgement can be made on Middlesbrough's 2023.

After an incredible charge that appeared for long stages destined to end with promotion, was it the most glorious of opportunities missed? Or was it the year in which Boro laid the foundations for success in the future? Was it both?

The Coventry City play-off pain cut deep for two reasons. Firstly, because of what had gone before and how good Boro had been. After that victory at Sheffield United, automatic promotion not only appeared a possibility but maybe even a probability.

And secondly because of what would inevitably follow. It was clear as soon as David Coote blew the full-time whistle at the Riverside on May 17 that the likes of Cameron Archer, Ryan Giles, Zack Steffen and Aaron Ramsey had in all likelihood pulled on the red shirt for the last time and Chuba Akpom's future was plunged into uncertainty. For all Akpom was unplayable at times last season and replacing him has been understandably difficult, getting more than £12m on the back of his one stand-out season and with only a year to run on his contract was fine business.

Those exits presented Boro's recruitment team with the most challenging of summer windows. How on earth do you replace £50m worth of talent while dealing with the expectation that inevitably comes with last season's success? It was the ultimate test for the new model but in the last 12 months we've found out the answer to two key questions and it bodes well for the future: Is everyone on the same page when it comes to transfers? And will Boro commit to this approach and model through testing times?

A year ago Boro had just beaten Blackburn 2-1 to move into the Championship's top six. There'd been a couple of months of exciting evidence of what to expect from a Carrick team on the pitch. But he hadn't yet negotiated a transfer window.

January was hugely impressive and although two of the three signings - Cameron Archer and Aaron Ramsey - were made with the short-term goal of promotion in mind, that was understandable.

The summer was different - it had to be - but what has emerged from both windows in the last 12 months is a clear vision and evidence of everyone pulling in the same direction. It's no longer the case that Boro will sign players purely to fit with the preference of the manager at that time - think, with respect, of Uche Ikpeazu and Neil Warnock. Now, the focus is on signing players who fit the model of the club. And because Carrick is on the same wavelength as club bosses and the recruitment team, they all agree not necessarily on every player identified and discussed but on the type of player to target. Off the pitch, it's been a year of real progress. And there's commitment to making this work. We found out as much in the difficult early stages of the current campaign when Boro held their nerve despite the poor start.

There's an acceptance that the type of players recruited - young and often newcomers to the English game and the Championship - won't necessarily be overnight success stories, hence the fact there was no panic at Rockliffe despite Boro's worrying start to the current season. Again, time will be the true judge of the summer signings, but in the likes of Rav van den Berg, Morgan Rogers and Sam Greenwood there's real promise.

Hayden Hackney has undoubtedly been the player of the year for Boro. Twelve months ago he'd just signed a new contract after his stunning breakthrough. That another deal followed in June tells you everything about the midfielder's brilliance. Is there a better central midfielder in the Championship? He's now an England Under-21 international and is unquestionably destined for the Premier League. The hope on Teesside is that he goes up with Boro but if that wasn't the case this season then bids would likely land next summer.

What was it that cost Boro last season? Did they run out of steam physically? Did the disappointment of coming up short in the bid to catch Sheffield United linger? Did Carrick tinker too much in the final weeks? Did Coventry just do a job on Boro? The fact Boro had looked such likely promotion winners for so much of the second half of last season made the play-off heartbreak all the more difficult to stomach. That in isolation could have had a lasting impact, without taking into account the summer rebuild.

Even then, not many would have predicted that Boro would have made such a slow start to the current season. And not many would have then predicted - after the first half at Sheffield Wednesday, even if Boro did salvage a draw that still left them bottom and winless after seven games - that Carrick's side would be just three points off the top six come the end of the year and in the last four of the Carabao Cup for the first time since winning the competition 20 seasons ago.

Taking the summer rebuild and the brutal injury list into account, Boro's turnaround this season has been as impressive as last.

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Can they now kick on? With key players to return from injury and ahead of a January window in which Boro plan to strengthen, that's certainly the hope. It's hard to imagine any of the current top four falling out of the top six this season, but two places are very much up for grabs.

Keeping players fit, making a couple of important signings and finding consistency are all key factors as Boro look to force their way into that pack.

It's asking a lot to expect a signing to come in and have anything like the impact of Archer last season but a striker in January will be the priority. For all Boro are understandably moving away from the loan market, one temporary addition from the Premier League could be a gamechanger. And signing a striker who'd be expected to come in and hit the ground running in the Championship on a permanent deal in January is the toughest of transfer asks.

Consistency needs to be addressed but then that's the case for the vast majority of the sides in the second tier.

And then there's the small matter of the Chelsea cup ties, which we should have really got to by now. It's true that the draw has been kind but Carrick's side have still impressively taken care of business and negotiated some tricky tests. Bolton have been among the League One pacesetters since the start of the season, Exeter were awkward opponents on a filthy night and Port Vale were revved up for the biggest night in the club's history. That Chelsea first leg now has the makings of being one of the great Riverside nights. The fact the first leg is on home turf gives Boro a sniff. Get a result at home and the pressure is all on a Chelsea team with a soft centre.

Boro have enjoyed some real highs in the last 12 months but have also had to overcome difficulties. Boro don't have the momentum they had this time last year but they have as many points after 25 games and have much to be encouraged by.

In touching distance of the play-offs and a domestic cup semi-final on the horizon - as Carrick said after Friday's Huddersfield win: "There's everything to play for."