Karanka has had his own pre-season to put his own stamp on the team…
Karanka has not had it all his own way so far on Teesside. In fact, the eleven game goalless run that followed his appointment threatened to derail his first forage into English football management. A cautious approach did not endear him to the fans that sarcastically chanted “we only want one goal” throughout many away games of goalless football.
It now appears that Karanka was just beginning to administer his own blueprint for success in the Championship. The defensive weaknesses were immediately remedied after prior manager Mowbray’s struggles to stop his team conceding became a joke. Without the ability to hand pick his own team, Karanka first made sure the club was safe from relegation by making them incredibly hard to beat. At first it certainly wasn’t entertaining to watch. But as the season came to its climax supporters began to realize that Karanka’s brand of football was not only highly efficient but also refined for quick-witted attack.
He was dumped with Mowbray’s team, and most importantly Mowbray’s strikers, and now, with his own players and ideas firmly prepared, Karanka could be the manager Middlesbrough need to take them back to the promised land.