Are Middlesbrough finally back where they belong?

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It was billed as the most expensive game in football, £170 million was the reported figure. Yet before this game Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka said there were far more important things than the extreme riches that promotion to the Premier League would bring. In his pre-match press conference, the Spaniard had voiced just how much the achievement would mean for the fans, the chairman and the players, and just how much they all deserved a place back in the big time.

Boro confirmed their Premier League status for next campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton on the final day of the Championship season, meaning that they avoided the dreaded play-offs, where they faltered last year in the final against Norwich City.

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When the full time whistle blew a sea of red shirts to flooded onto the Riverside pitch, while red smoke billowed and an atomic boom of sound echoed around the ground. There hadn’t been scenes like it since the Teessiders reached the UEFA Cup final ten years ago. Now they have finally ended a seven year drought away from the top flight, and can finally look forward to the rewards of the Premier League. But as Karanka expressed this was about far more than the financial rewards and TV deals which continue to rise year on year.

This was for the town which, in the last 12 months, has hit by the closing of the local steelworks and hurt by the death of their much-loved commentator Ali Brownlee who lost a short battle with cancer in the middle of February. For seven years they have been out of the limelight since their relegation back in 2009. Since then the football has been abject at times and attendances inevitably dwindled. The dark memories of Gordon Strachan are long forgotten now, yet when he departed in October 2010 Boro were on the brink of a relegation battle and just two points off the bottom three.

Even when Karanka took the reins two and half years ago to succeed Tony Mowbray, Boro were slumped down in sixteenth and looked far from a Premier League outfit in the making. Mowbray, a former legend at the club, must still take credit for balancing the books and bringing players like George Friend, Grant Leadbitter and Daniel Ayala to the club. In many ways he paved the foundations for Karanka to turn Boro back into promotion contenders again. Since then the Spaniard’s astute tactics and quick understanding of the English game have been a match made in heaven for the Teessiders, who finished with a total of 89 points to earn promotion.

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Some may point to the money spent by Boro in Karanka’s tenure and it’s true that he has been helped a number of times by Steve Gibson’s generous financial backing. Something which the Boro chairman and fan should receive tremendous credit for.

Yet Karanka has done things his own way. He built a robust defence from the start, and this campaign Boro’s back line only conceded an impressive 31 league goals in 46 games. Defenders like Daniel Ayala, Ben Gibson, Emilio Nsue and fans favourite George Friend have improved immensely under the ex-Real Madrid centre half.

At times Boro have played attractive free flowing football, but like any good team they found ways to dig out results when they were needed most. In the end they beat all of their fellow play-off contenders – who finished in the top six – at least once. Despite unforeseen slip ups against the likes of Charlton and Rotherham in the middle of March they rediscovered their form quickly and produced a significant 10 game unbeaten run at the end of the season. There were clearly fall-outs along the way and it is still unclear what exactly went on when Karanka wasn’t present for the game against Charlton at The Valley.

An emotional Karanka tried to sum up his feelings in front of the swarming camera crews after promotion was confirmed, but not even he could quite believe all that he has achieved in his two and a half year spell in his North East. The financial rewards may be astronomical but the celebrations at the final whistle will have been priceless for the Boro fans. They have waited seven years for this, but at last they’re back in the big time.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Kieron Mathews