Skip to content
Gazette’s end-of-season Middlesbrough awards: Player of the Year, best signing and more
Middlesbrough’s season came to a disappointing end on Wednesday evening when they were beaten by Coventry City in the Championship play-off semi-final.
It wasn’t the end of the season that any of us had hoped for after such an incredible journey to get to that point, with Boro so close to realising their ambition of making it back to the Premier League. Alas, they now face a big summer ahead and a seventh straight season in the Championship.
Despite that, particularly after Michael Carrick’s arrival in October, it was a campaign of so many highs and so many positives – with the club enjoying a rise from 21st in the league table to finish fourth in the end. With the season now complete, we hand out our end-of-season awards.
READ MORE: What lessons Middlesbrough must learn after promotion near-miss
Player of the Year – Chuba Akpom
How could it be anybody but Chuba Akpom? Though he ended up missing out on his 30th goal of the season, to score 29 goals for Boro in the season was a remarkable achievement and an incredible story too. Everyone, including him, thought he’d be leaving last summer until he given an opportunity and grasped it with both hands.
It wasn’t just the forward’s goals over the course of the campaign that earned him this award, however. His overall influence in games was obvious after his switch in roles under Carrick. Playing slightly deeper than his traditional centre-forward role, the 27-year-old shielded the ball and linked midfield to attack as he played a crucial role in Boro’s desire to move through the lines under Carrick.
Young Player of the Year – Hayden Hackney
The academy midfielder had a brilliant season after being introduced to the first-team under interim manager Leo Percovich. Despite only being given a cup appearance under Chris Wilder, Hackney stepped up into Boro’s midfield and looked like he’d played there for years, leading Carrick to keep him there.
Under Carrick’s guidance, the 20-year-old would develop a fearless and positive style that made him a crucial cog in the Boro wheel as he regularly made the team tick. His energy solved a huge problem in the middle of the park for Boro after Marcus Tavernier’s summer exit, and his importance cannot be understated.
Signing of the Season – Darragh Lenihan
There were a few players who would deserve a mention in the running for this award. Ryan Giles provided 11 assists and became the first Boro player since Adama Traore to reach double figures of assists in a single season. Cameron Archer had a superb impact after arriving on loan from Aston Villa in January, becoming Boro’s first-ever January signing of the two-transfer-window era to net double figures.
But Darragh Lenihan just edges the award for us. Overcoming a difficult start to life at Boro, the centre-back established himself at the heart of Boro’s back four under Carrick, not only providing solidity but also leadership in the defence. Stepping forward as an obvious future captain of the club, the Irishman proved a shrewd transfer on a free from Blackburn Rovers last summer. That he was a permanent signing, and a free one at that, just edged this one in his favour.
Goal of the Season – Riley McGree (Norwich away)
There were some special goals scored throughout the season, including some wonderful team goals like the one against Blackpool at home that went front to back before being finished by Akpom, or the top scorer’s other goal in that game – a wonderful solo finish.
But for style and guise and just the overall aesthetic, Riley McGree’s scorpion kick against Norwich City gets our nod. The press box left us viewing that goal from behind it, and the way McGree shaped his body in the moment to leave him in the position to unleash the volley was extraordinary. It was a wonderful goal that fittingly set up for Boro to go and claim a special and important win at the time.
Moment of the Season – Chuba Akpom’s 20th league goal
In the club’s official awards, supporters understandably voted Michael Carrick’s arrival as the moment of the season. In the grand scheme of things that very well might prove to be such an important moment in the club’s history, if Boro can build on the positive rise under him next season and make it back to the Premier League.
But with that still to be seen right now, and with our awards handed out after the season is completed and with hindsight to our benefit, we’re giving the moment of the season to Akpom when he finally reached 20 league goals against Reading.
Completed in an emphatic 5-0 home victory to make it all the sweeter, Akpom became the first Boro player in 33 years to reach the milestone for the club. The last was Bernie Slaven and Akpom put the cherry on top of a perfectly baked cake when he showed a nod of appreciation to the Boro legend in that moment, celebrating on top of the advertising boards in Slaven-esque fashion.
Best performance of the season – Sheffield United away
There were a few contenders for this one, some of which have been noted above. It speaks volumes of that period from Carrick’s arrival to the end of the regular season, as they regularly scored three or more goals in games and beat teams emphatically, with an entertaining and attacking brand of football.
The aforementioned Norwich away win was a big moment early in Carrick’s reign, while Reading was the biggest win of the season and had that Akpom subplot to boot. The home wins over Preston and Norwich were big wins against teams competing for top-six finishes themselves.
But to go away to Sheffield United under the lights, overcome falling behind in the game after just five minutes in a game of such magnitude at the time, to then deservedly win 3-1 was a real highlight. Though it didn’t go Boro’s way in the end, the result gave Carrick’s side real belief that they could potentially chase the Blades down and finish second. It was a superb effort and spoke volumes about the mood Boro were in at that time. Sadly they would lose momentum, and potentially run out of steam too, right at the crucial time.
Prospect of the Season – Sonny Finch
Carrick showed plenty of desire to continue the club’s proud heritage of producing players from its academy, with his regular use of Hackney a testament to that. But he also provided other prospects with opportunities as youngsters regularly stepped up to train with the first team, and Pharrell Willis was handed his debut away at Blackpool before injuries set him back.
Sonny Finch earns our Prospect of the Year award after impressing throughout the campaign and catching both Wilder and Carrick’s eye. Finch initially stood out in pre-season and earned the praise of Wilder, as well as his first professional contract at the club before making his senior debut in the cup defeat to Barnsley.
The 17-year-old continued to impress for Boro’s under-21s over the course of the campaign and eventually caught Carrick’s eye too, with the Boro head coach handing the young forward his league debut and making him a regular feature of the first-team squad in the last few months of the season, injury aside.
Capable of playing as a wide forward or as a striker, the young Durham-born academy star looks like he has a really bright future ahead of him.
