By Philip Tallentire
The apparent bust up between Albert Adomah and Aitor Karanka has taken some of the gloss off Boro’s impressive transfer window recruitment drive.
The winger is popular with the fans and the thought that he may have made his final appearance for the club is a sobering one. But a manager must be allowed to manage in this own style.
It’s no secret that Karanka is an autocrat. It’s his way or the highway.
Plenty of managers, including many of the game’s legends, have followed that template.
Brian Clough, Sir Alex Ferguson, Stan Cullis and, Karanka’s mentor, Jose Mourinho, are four title-winning examples that immediately spring to mind.
The Boro players have revealed – on and off the record – that the Spaniard is an autocratic manager.
That’s not meant as an insult, merely a statement of fact.
That also doesn’t mean the players don’t, by and large, enjoy working with Karanka. Most of them have, at one time or another, described his training sessions as the best they’ve experienced.
The immutable law of football reads: ‘if a player is in the team he’s happy, and if he’s not in the team, he’s discontented.’ Simples!
From what we understand, the genesis of Adomah’s feud with Karanka wasn’t anything to do with his inclusion, or otherwise, in the team. But, they did apparently have a verbal disagreement at some point after the draw at Derby.
The ramifications of the row resulted in Adomah, hitherto a virtual ever-present, being left out of the starting XI for the home fixture with Bristol City and subsequently omitted from the squads that travelled to Burton and Sheffield Wednesday.
It looked, at one stage, as if the player would leave before the window closed and no doubt he was keen to move on. But the club have decided to bide their time and weigh up their options.
Not that a serious offer came in for the player before 6pm on Monday.
With almost two years remaining on Adomah’s current contract, the club have time on their side, especially after signing the versatile winger Carlos de Pena.
If Adomah shows contrition, there’s no reason to suspect he won’t be welcomed back into the fold.
Credit: Gazettelive.co.uk