Source: Eurosport
Boateng slams Boro squad shake-up
George Boateng believes Middlesbrough's decision to chop and change their squad too quickly is the primary reason behind their woeful season.
Boro are dangerously close to being relegated to the Championship this term after sliding into the drop zone after winning just one of their last 19 league outings.
Gareth Southgate's troops go head-to-head with former Boro midfielder Boateng's new club Hull on Saturday knowing that anything but a victory will leave their top-flight status hanging by a thread.
Boateng believes the club's decision to part company with the likes of himself, Luke Young, Fabio Rochemback and Mark Schwarzer left the Riverside squad lacking much-needed experience.
"It has been a tough season for them and I do think they have missed the experience of players like Schwarzer, myself and Rochemback," he told The Sun.
"You cannot buy experience in this league. I think they changed a lot of things and maybe some of it was too quickly. The thing is they are now struggling and they have not got the experience to get out of trouble.
"They have an incredible set of young players but that is not enough in a tough, demanding division like the Premier League. You need youth and you need experience, not one or the other.
"I think they have gone too far the other way this season and that has cost them. I don't know whether that was because of economics or whatever, that's none of my business, but that is my opinion.
"There was too much change in too short a period. When things are going right everything is fine but when things go wrong you need older players to put it right."
