He had a fairy tale start to life on Teesside and a year ago this week his new three-year contract at the Riverside was celebrated by supporters.
But the head coach was fortunate to still be in his position at the end of the season that followed.
Something else Carrick spoke of in his unveiling was his desire to play “winning football” but too often in his third and final campaign did it feel like the former Manchester United player was too wedded to his preferred style of play, rather than getting the most out of the players and options at his disposal.
Boro lost as many games as they won in the most recent campaign and finished closer in points to bottom of the table Cardiff City than they did Sheffield United, who finished third.
Only this week Carrick’s former England teammate Joe Cole suggested the 43-year-old should be considered for the Tottenham job if Ange Postecoglou is sacked this summer. One national newspaper reacted to his dismissal with a headline claiming he’d “led the club’s revival against the odds”. The outside perception of Carrick’s work didn’t tally with the feeling on Teesside.
Carrick undoubtedly deserved immense credit for his first season turnaround as he does for his fine work in so quickly and impressively progressing the careers of the likes of Chuba Akpom, Morgan Rogers and Emmanuel Latte Lath.
But his first season was impressive, second OK and third distinctly disappointing. That, in summary, is par, at the very best.
Steve Gibson is known to be a big fan of Carrick, values the loyalty and integrity of the former England midfielder and was keen to assess every contributing aspect to last season’s failings rather than “scapegoat” the head coach. But the thorough review carried out by club officials – which included extensive talks with Carrick – has clearly led to the judgement that Boro’s promotion chances would be aided by a change in the dugout. It’s hard to argue with that conclusion.
And it’s a conclusion that a large proportion of the fanbase appeared to have come to before last season was out.
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It was hard to ignore the feeling of apathy in the stands.
Even though Boro were still in with a shout of finishing in the top six at the back end of the campaign, there was little in the way of excitement or expectation. Probably because Boro didn’t play like a side with so much at stake. The performances in the games against Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich at the end of the season, when rivals had left the door ajar, were particularly hard to stomach.
Carrick didn’t help himself with his communication. Perhaps the result of so many years spent in the Manchester United bubble, his priority in press conference appeared to be to give away as little as possible.
On most occasions, it was just the local press pack in attendance, none of whom were out to cause any mischief.
Carrick was never going to turn into Neil Warnock and make quips about Coronation Street and riding his bike around the streets of Teesside, but he’d have benefited from letting his guard down at times, as he did when he was clearly relaxed at the end of season Boro On The Road events at the Beechwood and Easterside Club and in Redcar.
Carrick snapped back at Sheffield Wednesday when BBC Tees commentator Mark Drury asked him whether his side was mentally equipped to deal with the end of season pressure, but it was a fair question, for Boro had been plagued by the same issues again and again over the course of the season.
They made a habit of dropping points from positions of strength in games. They scored the opening goal on 25 occasions last season but dropped 23 costly points.
They conceded a catalogue of comedy goals.
They were often too ponderous and predictable in attack.
And Carrick was often found wanting when it came to his in-game management and use of substitutions, particularly costly in the defeats at Bristol City and Millwall. Aaron Danks was regularly in Carrick’s ear in the technical area during his time at the club. It’s not a leap to say the former Aston Villa coach has been a miss since his move to Bayern Munich.
Ruben Amorim has come under fire at Manchester United for his lack of flexibility. The same could be said of Carrick last season.
Up the A19 at Sunderland, Regis Le Bris won the Black Cats countless points with his clever in-game tweaks and surprise formation changes. Sunderland’s success, on the back of a 16th place finish in what turned into a shambolic 2023/24 season, only served to add to the discontent on Teesside. Wilson Isidor hoisting the Riverside corner flag aloft as Sunderland’s players celebrated on the pitch was hard for Boro fans to stomach.
That was the week in which Ben Doak suffered the injury that would ultimately cut short the winger’s loan spell.
That was undoubtedly a huge blow and had Doak stayed fit, it’s hard to imagine Boro wouldn’t have ended the season with a healthier points tally. But it’s worth pointing out that Boro only won three of the last 11 games Doak featured in, which included the shambolic defeats to Preston and Portsmouth and hugely frustrating home draws with Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff.
The same can be said of Emmanuel Latte Lath, who Boro were determined to try and keep in January but the striker felt he couldn’t turn down the life-changing riches on offer at Atlanta United.
Replacing Latte Lath with Iheanacho – a signing Carrick championed – turned out to be a disaster, as did the return of Ryan Giles, a transfer the head coach pushed for.
The good under Carrick was very good. The football in the first season was as good as the Riverside regulars have seen in a decade and more. There was a stage in that campaign when Boro were the best team in the division. Akpom was unplayable, the loanees immense and had Boro won promotion they looked well placed to kick on.
In the next season there was the Carabao Cup run to the semi-finals and the home victory over Chelsea, right up there with one of the great Riverside nights.
Carrick deserves credit, too, for his role in Boro’s transfer progression in recent years. While targets such as Rogers, Latte Lath, van den Berg and Morris were cleverly identified by Kieran Scott and head of recruitment Chris Jones, plenty have told of the pull of playing for the former Manchester United midfielder. Rogers, who has gone on to achieve great things at Aston Villa, credits Carrick for helping turn potential into on the pitch product.
But, in simple terms, Boro have gone backwards on the pitch. Last season they ended up looking up at West Brom, who lost one manager and sacked another, Blackburn, who were in a shambolic state when Boro won there in March, and Millwall and Bristol City, whose squads didn’t rival Carrick’s.
What next? Well Boro don’t have a replacement lined up but whoever comes in will be deemed a good fit for the current squad and the recruitment structure at the Riverside.
Gone are the days of Boro having to rip it up and start again when there’s a managerial change.
It’s a big job and an appealing job and Boro will undoubtedly be inundated with interest in the coming days.
For Carrick, there was no fairy tale finish.