Middlesbrough must learn from the mistakes their former manager, Gareth Southgate, has made with England this summer.
Gareth Southgate’s rise as a coach was quite spectacular, going from being relegated to the Championship with Middlesbrough to being England’s most successful manager of the 21st century.
Southgate led England to their first European Championship final in 2021 and took them to the World Cup final in 2018.
However, the opinion of Southgate and England has begun to shift in the last few tournaments.
Southgate’s football has always been somewhat negative but he was able to get away with it due to the results he was delivering.
At Euro 2024, however, the former Boro boss is having no such luck, especially after the Three Lions’ 0-0 draw with Slovenia on Tuesday evening.
Southgate has been reluctant to change his style or tactics in Germany this summer, leading to a rather concerning decline in form from Harry Kane.
Despite scoring versus Denmark, Kane has looked a shadow of the player who finished as the joint-second top scorer at Euro 2020 and won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup.
Michael Carrick must learn from Harry Kane mistake with Emmanuel Latte Lath
While Kane’s form is a concern for England heading into the knockout phase of Euro 2024, it is also a teachable moment for Michael Carrick.
Kane is obviously one of the best strikers in world football but even top players go through rough patches.
But rather than trying to change things up by starting Ollie Watkins over Ivan Toney ahead of or alongside Kane, Southgate has persisted with the 30-year-old to England’s detriment.
Carrick may face a similar problem at Middlesbrough if the club do not sign a new striker in the current window.
Emmanuel Latte Lath ended 2023/24 in superb form for the Teessiders, scoring 11 goals in Boro’s last 12 league matches.
Prior to that, however, the 25-year-old found the net on just five occasions in 18 Championship ties.
Carrick stuck with Latte Lath and was eventually rewarded, but if Middlesbrough want to make a promotion push in 2024/25, they cannot rely solely on the Ivorian to score the goals – like Southgate has been doing with Kane.
The striker department remains a priority for Middlesbrough in the summer window and Kane’s displays in Germany should serve as a stark reminder to Carrick of what can happen if you rely too heavily on one player.