Team Focus: Can pragmatic Karanka guide goal-shy Boro to safety?

As the January transfer window drew to a close, Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka hit out at the lack of investment made by the team. “I always said the aim in the transfer window was to improve the squad. At the moment, we haven't done that. Teams in our position are signing players for £14m – we are signing players that didn't play in the Championship." The Boro manager was perhaps referring to the signing of Rudy Gestede, who joined from Aston Villa after making just eight Championship starts under first Roberto Di Matteo, then Steve Bruce. 

Since his arrival, Gestede has gone on to make just three substitute appearances totaling 35 minutes of Premier League action. The permanent signing of Patrick Bamford, who enjoyed a prolific loan spell at the Riverside Stadium in the 2014/15 season, may have done more to improve Karanka’s mood, but a failure to back up his capture with serious investment in the final third could well come back to haunt Middlesbrough. Boro have scored fewer goals (19) than any other Premier League team this season. Attackers Alvaro Negredo (6) and Cristhian Stuani (4) are their top scorers this term, but a lack of consistency from the pair has certainly hindered Karanka’s side. 

Four of Negredo’s six league goals have come against Swansea and Leicester, two teams around Middlesbrough in the table, while two of Stuani’s four came in the same match – a 2-1 win over Sunderland back in August, which is somewhat less impressive considering the Black Cats never win in August. Of the 10 goals the pair have scored between them, six have come across three games, which is a discouraging return to say the least. 

What’s more is that Boro are averaging fewer shots (9) and are playing fewer key passes per game (6.2) than any other team in England’s top tier this term. An inability to properly build on a victory has often been their downfall, with two draws and two losses following their four wins in the Premier League this season. It comes as little surprise, then, that no team has drawn more games (9) than Middlesbrough in the Premier League this season. 

Karanka is evidently struggling to find the right balance across the pitch to pose the necessary goalscoring threat to ensure Middlesbrough’s safety, reinforcing a statistically calculated WhoScored weakness of ‘finishing scoring chances’. He isn’t helped in that key creative men Stewart Downing and Gaston Ramirez are faltering when it comes to picking the right pass. Ramirez ranks top of all Boro players for key passes per game (1.4) with Downing second (0.8). Karanka has every right to expect more from the Premier League experienced pair, yet he’s being let down by two performers falling to create the opportunities for attacking teammates. 

It’s little wonder then that Negredo is having just 1.8 shots per game in the Premier League this season. While the Spaniard is renowned for his inconsistency – he has missed five of eight clear-cut goalscoring chances this term, while two of the three he has scored have been from the penalty spot – the fact that his shots total is so low points to a wider problem in the attack. What's not a worry though is that Karanka looks to have ironed out any possible defensive issues. 

While they are faltering in front of goal, Boro have become an effective unit at shutting opponents out. Only Tottenham (16), Chelsea (17) and Manchester United (21) have conceded fewer goals than Middlesbrough (27) in the Premier League this season as Karanka implements a very pragmatic approach in his debut campaign in England’s top tier. They are making the most tackles per game (20.2) in the Premier League this season and the sixth most interceptions per league match (15.3). That their three top tacklers are full-backs – Antonio Barragan, Fabio and George Friend – speaks volumes as the Boro backline remains compact. 

Midfielders Adam Clayton (2.3 tackles per game), Marten de Roon (2.2) and Adam Forshaw (1.9) are also key battlers in the middle of the park to help protect the Middlesbrough goal. However, as effective as they may be at winning the ball, the trio struggle to provide creative thrust from midfield, despite Middlesbrough averaging a respectable 49.1% possession. Indeed, of the trio's combined 2838 passes this season, only 26.8% have gone forward. A player to link the midfield and attack is clearly missing and it’s for this reason why Boro are failing to make inroads upon their return to the Premier League. 

With just two points separating the bottom six, Karanka knows he needs to give his team the required shot in the arm if they are to stave off relegation. Defensively, the team are sound, with the Spanish boss now requiring his attack to begin firing on all cylinders in order to move away from the relegation zone. If he can stumble upon the right balance over the course of the next 14 games, then Middlesbrough have the potential to pull away from the bottom three and become a solid Premier League outfit.