Middlesbrough's Bristol City loss sums up the story of the season which is why it's so concerning

Michael Carrick head coach of Middlesbrough gives his players a team talk
-Credit: (Image: Anna Gowthorpe/REX/Shutterstock)


Middlesbrough have a real problem that must be solved, and soon.

Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Bristol City was a game that pretty much encapsulated their season. Plenty of possession, plenty of pretty football up until and around the box, but most crucially, absolutely nothing to show for it.

Two goals completely gifted to Bristol City as first Hayden Hackney and then George Edmundson gave the ball away in their own half. Typically for Boro, the Robins were a side bemoaning their own finishing ahead of this game. They finished both chances in a ruthless fashion.

READ MORE: Michael Carrick at pains to have to repeat himself after latest Middlesbrough loss

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'Extrememly punished' is how Michael Carrick described it after. It really feels that way right now. For all the emotion after the game, this is a Boro side that are doing so much right and getting no reward. That said, how much are they enforcing that themselves?

It can't even be said that they're not breaking teams down as they naturally dominate possession and force teams deep. That naturally makes it harder, but the introduction of the lively Ben Doak since the Stoke game has given Boro's attack that outlet to frighten defences and move them about, creating the space to exploit.

Early on against Bristol City, Finn Azaz was played in behind by a lovely Aidan Morris pass to end some good patient build-up. He smashed his chance wide. The more you watch that chance, the more frustrating it becomes.

Azaz then broke with the ball two-on-two and waited until what looked like the opportune moment to send Emmanuel Latte Lath through. At the end of last season, he'd have gobbled up that chance. This season it just isn't falling for him, and you could see his anguish as he curled his effort wide.

You'd have been frustrated going in at the break goalless. It would have still been a copy and paste job of Boro not taking their chances and making their dominance count. That they were 2-0 down to two self-inflicted goals again was just the cherry on top of another frustrating afternoon for Boro.

In the second half, with Bristol City having something to protect, Boro's chances were less frequent. Carrick admitted after it's a problem that needs to be looked at because it's not the first time this season they've had something to chase in the second half but failed so spectacularly. There was the odd opening, such as Ben Doak running in behind with his pace. On the day, however, for as lively as he was, his end product was lacking.

And that's the major problem for Carrick now - end product. He has to find a way to solve it. But doing so doesn't appear easy. We're ten games into the new season and, despite Boro dominating almost all of them, the only four games they've won have been when they haven't had more possession than their opponent. Just an odd coincidence? Surely not at this stage.

It's conflicting. Carrick wants his side to dominate possession, and in every bit until the final part, you can understand why. It looks good and it feels good, until it doesn't... and the part that doesn't is ultimately the only one that matters. If you're not putting the ball in the onion bag, you won't win enough football games to be serious promotion contenders.

And that only adds to the frustration. In reality this season, there doesn't look a standout team in this division. Boro, after heavy investment in recent years, have a squad that could be capable. That their shot conversion rate is the second worst in the Championship and that only three sides have scored less goals, ultimately tells the whole story.

But how do you solve that from a coaching perspective? How do you coach a player or players who are clearly capable, to find form? You can change the tactics, change the shape, change the approach. That'll change the way it looks, but will it matter if they still fail to hit the target?

After the game, Carrick pointed to how quickly football can change. He pointed to recent wins over Stoke, West Brom and 70 minutes against Watford to highlight his side are a good side and are on the right track. He noted that had that collapse against Watford not come, things would feel very different now.

He's not wrong, but that also perfectly sums up the frustrations. This team are on the cusp of being a very good team. Too often, ala Watford, ala Bristol City, they find a way to beat themselves. For this team, 'we were close' and 'if only' simply won't cut it.

That means the onus is on Carrick and his players to find the solution. Carrick was frustrated after the game having to constantly repeat himself and it's easy to understand the sentiment. How often have we now said that already this season?

What is the solution? He ultimately has to find the answer. Will he stick to his principles and believe this will eventually drop for his forwards? George Edmundson recently said he felt someone was going to get a beating soon. Again, that feeling is understandable, but we're yet to see the actual evidence of that happening. Actions speak louder than words.

If he does change it, how? Do Boro set up to be more of a counter-attacking side and lose their 'safety' in control? Do they just mix it up more? On Saturday, in particular, they looked for the perfect goal too often. Who was taking the shot that Riley McGree took against Stoke from range that rebounded to Doak? Who was driving from midfield and firing in from the edge like Hackney did against Stoke? Who was providing a decent set-piece delivery to make use of George Edmundson's aerial strengths like at Watford?

It ultimately just didn't happen for Boro on the day. In isolation, you might just write it off as a bad day at the office and try and move on quickly. It's not in isolation though, it's happened six times already this season, and that is ultimately why there is so much understandable concern.