Middlesbrough and Aitor Karanka part company – what next for Boro?

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Middlesbrough have today sacked first team manager Aitor Karanka with the club stranded in the Premier League relegation zone.

The 43-year has been in charge at the Riverside Stadium for three and a half years and was lauded for guiding the club to promotion to the top flight of English football last season. However, after making a positive start to their Premier League campaign performances and, more importantly, results have tailed off in recent months.

Middlesbrough have not won any of their previous 10 league fixtures, a run that extends back to mid-December, and a two goal defeat against Stoke City two weeks ago left the club second from bottom. Whilst Karanka has been able to successfully mould a relatively solid defensive unit his side have lacked creativity and have been stunted by an inability to find the back of the net. They are the Premier League’s most impotent team in front of goal having scored just 19 times in 27 games leaving supporters frustrated and, at times, simply bored.

Karanka has often had a strained relationship with some players and certain sections of the Middlesbrough support during his time in charge at the Riverside Stadium. In January the Spaniard openly criticised the atmosphere created at home fixtures by fans, a move that was not universally well received. More recently a number of first team players have been omitted from the match day squad, including Stewart Downing and Patrick Bamford, with Karanka saying that he needed “18 fighters”.

The club’s hierarchy have decided to take action with Middlesbrough three points from safety with just eleven games remaining. Assistant head coach Steve Agnew will take control of first team affairs on a temporary basis but a new manager is expected to be named within seven days. However, any new arrival will only have a short period of time in order to turn the club’s fortunes around – a difficult, but not impossible challenge.

Credit to Karanka but who is next?

It is also important to recognise the impressive achievements that Karanka has overseen at the Riverside. He became Middlesbrough’s first ever non-British manager in November 2013 and inherited a side that were just five points clear of the Championship relegation zone. The Spaniard was able to swiftly turn around the club’s fortunes and in his first full season in charge the team secured automatic promotion to the Premier League.

However, life in the top flight of English football has been one challenge too far for Karanka with Middlesbrough slowly being sucked into a relegation fight after a promising start to the campaign. The Spaniard was handed a significant transfer war chest to improve the playing squad both in the summer and January with in excess of £40,000,000 being spent over the duration of both windows. In addition to this, the high profile arrivals of Victor Valdes (free transfer), Alvaro Negredo (loan) and Calum Chambers (loan) would not have been a cheap investment in terms of wage expenditure. Yet, despite being backed by the club’s hierarchy in the transfer market, Karanka has been unable to steer Middlesbrough clear of the relegation zone and has been heavily criticised for a negative, defensive style of play.

There is no lack of experienced Premier League managers that will be interested in the vacant managerial position at the Riverside Stadium. Claudio Ranieri, Nigel Pearson, Alan Pardew, Roy Hodgson, Steve McLaren and all currently out of work whilst Ryan Giggs is still looking to step into management.

Featured Image: All Rights Reserved Francisco Fernandez (Francisco Fernandez)