Middlesbrough Season Review: Classic case of two halves

It’s been a mixed bag of fortunes for Middlesbrough this season, as they have continued, and failed, their quest to regain promotion back into the Premier League.

The side currently sits 12th in the table, one of three sides on 58 points and with no hope of making the play-offs, but there is no reason why betting sites shouldn’t make them one of the best outside bets to go up next season.

The problem for the side has clearly been their away form, which has seen them lost 15 matches away from home this season with just five wins and two draws to add in. This is the joint highest number of away losses with Bristol City at the foot of the table.

At home, they have struggled to find any sort of consistency using a sort of gung-ho attitude to matches, which has created a clear win or lose set of figures; 13 wins, two draws and seven defeats.

It’s been their defence which has held them back with a high tally of 66 goals conceded this season, which has to be reduced and improved upon next year if promotion is going to be possible.

Early Season Form

Middlesbrough’s early season form was superb and saw them installed as one of the best betting tips to go up by the end of the campaign.

From their first match of the season, right up until the start of November, the side went on a great run of 11 wins in 16 matches across all competitions which had fans and players feeling optimistic.

This run included a winning streak of six consecutive victories, which is something few other Championship sides have managed.

However, they failed to back up that good start to the season with four defeats from six matches heading into the usually busy Christmas and New Year period.

Post Christmas

Ever since Christmas the side has been on a rather dramatic downwards spiral which has seen them lose 15 matches so far, with two games left to play before the campaign draws to a close.

The problem has been that since Christmas the side has not been able to put together a winning streak longer than back-to-back victories, which has prevented the side from building any sort of momentum in the playoff race.

Clean sheets have also been a massive problem with just three since Christmas, which should lead the manager to thinking that defensive reinforcements should be a main priority throughout the summer transfer window.

Conclusion

All in all the first half of the season for Middlesbrough was very promising and saw them as one of the early pace setters in the Championship.

However, ever since Christmas and the turn of the New Year it’s been impossible to predict which sort of Middlesbrough team will turn up and that run, which included seven defeats in nine games, was crippling.