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Middlesbrough supporters want to see the team’s lack of consistency and character addressed this summer - while the feeling on Michael Carrick’s future as head coach remains very much

divided. Teesside Live launched an end-of-season survey after Boro’s disappointing tenth-place finish. Asking seven key questions on the season just gone as well as future direction moving

forward, over 7,500 fans offered their opinions. Boro officials have been conducting their own review of the campaign and the lessons that need to be learned from it, with supporters clear

in their verdict that last season was an outright failure. 61% of voters chose that option, with another 34% saying it fell below expectations, albeit while being appreciative of the context

as to why. Boro’s review is aimed at finding the answers for last season’s failures and putting things in place to ensure there are improvements next season. It was made clear the review

was not about scapegoating and the feeling going into it was that everyone would be given the opportunity to work on the solutions for moving forward, providing they were on board with what

changes it was agreed needed to be made. That goes for Carrick, whose position as head coach was brought into question as a result of the poor season. Exactly half of the people who took the

survey believed Boro’s biggest downfall last term was down to coaching/tactical issues, with 46% believing the biggest thing that needs to change this summer is a completely new coaching

team. WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST REASON FOR BORO'S DOWNFALL? What was the biggest reason for Boro's downfall? The current expectation is that Carrick will remain in the hotseat next

season, however, with club sources claiming context such as a difficult January transfer window which saw the unwanted sale of Emmanuel Latte Lath, as well as injuries ultimately out of

Carrick’s hands and therefore not something he should be blamed for. With the right guidance and changes, there remains belief from key figures at the club that he can make a success of his

time on Teesside. The context offered didn’t completely absolve Carrick and his coaching team of any blame, but offered explanation as to why, the feeling at that time was that Carrick would

be offered a chance to prove to Steve Gibson he deserves to remain in post. However, in our survey, less than 15% of votes were cast for both injuries and recruitment being the reason for

the downfall. A quarter of voters felt that Boro’s squad last season just simply wasn’t good enough. If Carrick is to remain in charge, then in terms of other changes supporters would like

to see, ‘improved recruitment’ was the second most popular answer with 21% of the vote. January proved a difficult window for the club after the long, drawn out negotiations over Latte Lath.

The good news is that, having only signed Kelechi Iheanacho on loan while paying a fraction of his wages, means that Boro will have money to spend this summer. In terms of recruitment

strategy, only 8% want to see a complete new direction though. Only 6% of people felt that only slight adjustments were needed in a ‘keep calm and carry on’ style approach, which doesn’t

appear to align with the feeling of the key officials at Boro who started the review to affect change. Rather than a complete change to the coaching team, 19% said making changes to the

existing team would be their preferred option, with talk often surrounding whether Carrick needs a little more experience around him. WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE THIS SUMMER What needs to change

this summer That, and recruitment, could both help improve the two biggest frustrations supporters had last season. The overall inconsistency (31%) and the lack of character to get through

tricky periods in games (36%) topped the votes for the biggest frustration of the season. While both could be influenced by coaching and voices off the pitch, it’s widely appreciated that

Boro could do with adding stronger characters to their playing group this summer too. In truth, the votes were split fairly evenly across the four most obvious frustrations of the season,

with Boro’s defensive errors receiving 21% of the vote, while their inability to break down low-block defences received 12%. Plans are in place at Boro to strengthen both defensively and up

top too this summer, though it remains to be seen if, or how, they address the consistency and character issues.