It was set to be the match made in heaven, but now Chris Wilder is in the middle of a nightmare as the north-east club sitting in the relegation zone of the Championship.
When Wilder was appointed as Middlesbrough manager last November, there was serious excitement around the Riverside. The former LMA Manager of the Year who took Sheffield United from League One to the Europa League has one hell of a CV, and Boro were keen to bring him on board.
His arrival marked a major change from the Neil Warnock days, and the bouncing Boro fans quickly began to feel the love for their new boss. They were 14th when he came in, but he managed to rally the squad to a seventh place finish and an FA Cup quarter-final. It was a remarkable turnaround for a Middlesbrough squad that didn’t look ready to challenge for promotion.
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That dramatic upturn in performances and the fact that Wilder is on paper the best manager in the division caused many pundits (including this one), to go all in on Boro for promotion. All the signs were there that Boro were in for a mega summer that would see them strengthen across the board and fight for a place in the Premier League.
With the sale of Djed Spence for an initial £12.5m, Boro received a huge sum for a player that wasn’t even playing for them under Wilder. The time the transfer took caused issues and they were only compiled when Marcus Tavernier left for Bournemouth for a similar fee.
What we have seen on the pitch this season has been a reflection of the disjointed ongoings behind the scenes at the Riverside. It looked like owner Steve Gibson would go big this summer given the major sales, but instead differences of opinion regarding recruitment led to a mismatch of inexperienced players, even if some of the signings looked perfect on paper.
Darragh Lenihan from Blackburn on a free, Marcus Forss from Brentford and Matt Clarke from Brighton all looked like smart signings but the expenditure totalled £8m, and having brought in three times that and been left short in several positions, you can understand the fans’ frustration.
Fast forward to the present day and Boro lie in the bottom three of the Championship with a manager that is now coming under pressure.
“We’re ten games in and we’ve not got the points total we want,” Wilder said after Boro's 0-0 draw with Rotherham. “It’s disappointing, but that’s how it is. We just have to keep going and keep trying to come through the little sticky period that we’re in.
“But ultimately we are and we have to take responsibility for that. Tuesday night wasn’t a nice evening. We’ve created this because of the results and at the moment it’s quite a tough place to play. But when you look in the changing room, we haven’t got any deserters or anyone just doing their own thing. There’s nobody not pulling in the right direction. That always gives you an opportunity. When you have any of those things, you’re in trouble. We haven’t.”
Middlesbrough won’t go down this season, there is too much quality in the squad - but they might face a very different future without Wilder. This time last year, bottom of the table Nottingham Forest hired Steve Cooper to turn their fortunes around. It ended with promotion to the Premier League.
Unfortunately for Boro, they don't look likely to repeat that trick. Wilder will need to heal his current relationship as it is understood that he is not in contention for the Bournemouth job.
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