Michael Carrick’s telling comment about Dael Fry as defender returns to Boro team
Michael Carrick’s telling comment about Dael Fry as defender returns to Boro team
MICHAEL CARRICK feels Dael Fry has evolved to a point where he is now one of the key leadership figures within the Middlesbrough squad.
Fry turned 27 last August and needs just eight more senior Boro appearances to break through the 250-game barrier with his hometown club.
The centre-half has long been an influential figure within the Teessiders’ first-team group, but Carrick has sensed a shift in his status in the last year or so.
With a number of senior players having moved on, and with Boro’s recruitment team having made a major effort to try to bring down the average age of the squad, Fry’s influence has gradually grown.
He might not wear the captain’s armband, and he hasn’t always been one of Carrick’s first-choice centre-halves, but the Boro-born defender is undoubtedly one of the key leaders within the first-team group, with his boss having been delighted with his approach and input over the course of the current campaign.
“I just think he’s at an age now where he’s got plenty of experience and he’s seen an awful lot at this club and in his career,” said Carrick, whose side moved back to within two points of the play-off places when they beat Derby County at the weekend.
“You go through natural stages in your career, where you’re young and then you’re middle-aged in terms of a career and finally there’s the end. As you go through those stages, the responsibilities evolve and how much influence you have on the group changes too.
“Dael is at an age now where that next step naturally happens. He’s a big presence for us at the back and he’s done really for us in this last week.”
Fry was not involved in last month’s defeats to Sunderland, Sheffield United and Watford, but he returned to the side for last week’s trip to Stoke.
He then retained his starting spot for the home game with Derby, and it is hardly coincidental that Boro’s fortunes immediately improved when he was restored to the team.
Strong in the air, committed in the tackle and comfortable with the ball at his feet, Fry is the epitome of the current-day centre-half, and if Boro are to force their way into the play-offs in the final two months of the season, he will surely be a key performer.
“He’s really positive in the way that he plays,” said Carrick. “He defended the box so well when he had to (against Derby). I just thought he was good all-round, and he has a good impact on us in general.”
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