Guessing that's a no then...
Are you putting your pint on him not getting the Spurs job? Also, which Buck are we talking about?
@martin-bellamy Hi Martin. I don't think he will be appointed Tottenham's manager. Whichever Buck you like (although there used to be a Buck hotel in Reeth when I was last there on honeymoon) .Admittedly some years ago 😊
@martin-bellamy There is a Buck in Great Ayton. 🍺 🍺
Aaron Danks left Middlesbrough to join Bayern Munich and was very successful at the Boro. Would he come back to us as head coach ????
He joined Bayern Munich to reunite with Vincent Kompany at the German giants bringing an end to his 18 months at Boro, after he joined as an assistant coach almost two months after Michael Carrick was first appointed.The former Aston Villa and FA coach had a particular focus on Boro's thrilling attacking football under Carrick, and was also credited with helping Boro sign a number of players over the last 18 months, notably Cameron Archer, Aaron Ramsey and Morgan Rogers.
The more I think about him as a replacement for Carrick the more I like the idea.
what do you al think ?
OFB
Are you in a position now to enlighten us about the split you mentioned a few weeks ago ?
I gather that Woodgate took the Boro U13s to an international tournament in Croatia
Anyway the Boro lads won it without losing a game and Woody returned to the Uk full of high spirits and confidence in the club's future only to find that he had been sacked.
Mention of this noteworthy achievement by the Boro lads on the Boro website there is none.
Sad and petty in equal measure
That’s a very interesting point about the U13s and Woody. It’s also very sad. By pure coincidence it chimes extremely well with what I was about to write, as follows:-
I’ve re-read Boro’s club statement re the sacking of Carrick. While this is pretty standard stuff, it is remarkable because it lacks any warmth. It reminded me of Wilder’s, when presumably circumstances were very different. There’s a simple thank you for the hard work and commitment, fair enough, but it could have been a bit more fulsome; something along the lines of: ‘Michael was the longest serving manager in the Championship and the club enjoyed some good times under his stewardship,’ wouldn’t have gone amiss. After all, as Pedro pointed out, Carrick had a very high comparative win percentage and he also improved some players very effectively. But the lack of warmth might suggest the club and the coaches didn’t part on the best of terms.
Equally, I have waited in vain for some kind of statement from Carrick himself. It’s probably too soon and I wouldn’t blame him if he’s still smarting inside. Nonetheless, my bet is he and his brother and Woody have been told they mustn’t talk to the press. There’ll be some kind of non-disclosure clause, I guess, as there often is.
All of which prompts me to ask: Is there something rotten in the state of Denmark?
Re Aaron Danks. It’s a good shout, but despite his obvious talents and experience, he’d be yet another rookie with no management experience. I think it’s time to bring in someone who’s a bit more battle-hardened in management terms (and I don’t mean Dyche!) Then there’s the previous close connection with the previous coaching team which Mr Scott might not fully appreciate. It’s probably a non-starter, not to mention that Bayern might just be a tad more attractive to him!
I think everyone can see the split I was alluding to now Len.
There was only going to be one winner unfortunately !
OFB
Conspiracy theories go on and on, I doubt we will ever know the truth of the matter, probably the only people who really know what happened will be Gibson, Carrick, Bauser and Scott, so if anyone is talking to any of them, they will only get their version.
Come on BORO.
I sincerely hope Boro’s decision to sack Carrick doesn’t come back to bite us on the bum by landing us with a second-rate or second choice candidate. Of the suspects being bandied about by the press and the bookies right now, my view is that only Steve Cooper and Danny Rohl would be good appointments, though I admit I know nothing about this Schmidt bloke. But Cooper has allegedly ruled himself out.
Edwards - led a good promotion with a comparatively weak Luton squad, followed by some strong Premiership performances which built on their strengths, but he really didn’t adapt to life back in the Championship second time around and should have done much better.
Dyche - would definitely make us competitive, but would absolutely bore the pants off us. Still, that worked for his old club, Burnley, last season, and he did keep them in the Prem on a shoestring budget for several seasons. I just don’t like the bloke, though!
Tomasson. Please. Yer jokin’ arn’ yer?
O’Neill - Ditto, doubly so.
From the names we’ve heard, it looks a pretty limited field. What do you all think?
@clive-hurren I don't think these are at all the final on the list that Boro have. We have signed these "obvious" choices very, very seldomly. Perhaps Pulis, Warnock and Strachan were sometimes tounted as possible choise.
More often Mr Gibson has gone for something more surpricing. Like Karanka, Woodgate, Southgate, Robson, etc.
So I think these managers mentioned now are unlikely the choise Boro is going to make. So we just need to wait.
Up the Boro!
Given a choice between most on the bookies list and Carrick I'd choose Carrick - Danny Röhl is interesting but it should be noted that he's still only 36 so there's a risk of him being someone who has had early fortune. Many managers often have a good start when they come in and offer a different fresh approach but sometimes struggle when things go wrong.
Dyche is a big no for me and if he got the job I probably wouldn't waste my money on a Boro live season pass and would probably take up playing in the Saturday afternoon darts league again! Just see how Moyes transformed Everton into a team that scored goals and won games is all you need to know.
In truth, none of the names really excite me or inspire the thought that Boro will be going places any time soon. Whoever they appoint it will be a gamble and for me it's more about getting in good quality players as you saw with Carrick how better a manager he was with better players - as are most managers!
@werdermouth I’d agree with everything you’ve said. I’ve not seen anyone suggested who I’d prefer above MC. I’m still convinced that given time, support, encouragement and his own squad, he’d have done a good job - I think he’ll prove himself at another club. I also think his ability to attract players to the club who respect him, will be a big miss
Time will tell, I guess.
Dyche seems a no no with everyone on this site. Why ?
He’s intelligent , was one of the first to embrace modern techniques, he would make Boro competitive, he did a good job at Everton during a difficult period, there would be lots of people betting he would achieve a top 6 finish which we’d probably regard as a success.
So, those against Dyche does it all go back to something which happened 20 plus years ago ?
Philip of Huddersfield 🤔🤔🤔
Agree with you all. It's looking pretty shambolic. I don't think Scott will be looking past his mate and there is certainly no indication that the recruitment team have been busy lining up a stellar range of options. Perhaps Carrick is to blame for that as well
I don't think Dyche would want to touch the job if it meant working under Scott. He's too old school and would want to have control over recruitment.
He wouldn't be considered for the post anyway for precisely the same reasons
In the end, Mr Gibson will make the final decision on who next for the hot seat, just like he has done since he took sole charge of MFC.
As many of us on this blog have said many times, we are grateful for his commitment to the club, including the financial cost borne by Bulkhaul.
However, going back to Karanka and fast forward to Michael Carrick, his choices of Coaches has been somewhat underwhelming.
It started with the Monk debacle and in reality apart from Pulis reaching the playoffs our success and entertainment has been very limited.
Carrick’s first season from a low position to the playoffs was, we all agree, something of a fairy tale with the football played. But the wheels came off against Coventry.
Since then, we have not recovered from that season finale disappointment. As much as we all admire MC, there can be no argument against his loss of a great number of the fan base.
Mr Gibson is between a rock and a hard place. If we started next season as we have done for the last three, two under Carrick, then Mr Gibson would have had to sack him because the Riverside would have been toxic.
In his shoes and looking at how MC has played his system with no variation, how would those for continuing with him answer that really difficult decision.
The issue for me ,Pedro, issn't so much with the criticisms being made of Carrick, some of which are reasonable, even though I would argue against them. It's that the criticisms are not even-handed or balanced. Carrick is now being held responsible for everything from recruitment to the long injury list, whilst Scott-free remains unscathed and a key part of the process of choosing the next coach. And I have tried to show how, throughout this season, the undermining of Carrick has been part of a long-term plan, beginning with the seed being sown from day one that Carrick then had been given all of the ammunition he needed to succeed and that anything outside of a top six place would be deemed a failure. And ending with a torrent of scapegoating lies.
So I'm less concerned with the possible toxicity within the crowd than the actual toxicity within the club. The man who has fallen out big style with the last three managers remains, whilst those touted to replace Carrick looks like pygmies in comparison. Whoever emerges will be handed a weak, decimated, less motivated squad, no doubt augmented by new faces who will need to be bedded in. There will be last minute bids for some of our better players, catching us on the hop and leaving gaps that have not been foreseen or catered for. This latter situation Carrick handled with aplomb until the last transfer window. The new man, handed this kind of poisoned chalice, may not be so lucky. I think the odds are heavily stacked on an early season car crash and in spite an initial boost of good will, such a degree of crowd toxicity that we will all be left wondering what on earth has been done to our beloved Boro.
By the way I loath conspiracy theories and those who propagate them. That is those who start from a committed position and tailor the 'facts' to fit their ideology. I have no skin in this game. I do not know either Scott or Carrick and draw my conclusions from the evidence publicly available. I do not believe in conspiracy theories, but I do believe in conspiracies and the existence of bad faith actors.
@lenmasterman A very good and reasoned post in answer to my last question Len.
The new man, handed this kind of poisoned chalice, may not be so lucky. I think the odds are heavily stacked on an early season car crash and in spite an initial boost of good will, such a degree of crowd toxicity that we will all be left wondering what on earth has been done to our beloved Boro.
I agree Len. I also believe that like last season our chances of a top six place are even less in the coming one. That was with Carrick or our new Coach.
There could possibly be a certain amount of unrest amongst the squad (even though players probably see a number of Coach changes during their own time at a club) just like there was with Latte Lathe and his criptic leaving message.
Add in Hayden Hackney leaving, who I do not believe is being touted to all and sundry. He will want to leave for his own benefit. His age, his salary and even his loss of mentor possibly.
The number of players leaving and joining any club, especially a Championship one in the summer is not unusual. Some mange the “upheaval” well. I just do not believe MFC will mange this next one good enough for the next Coach to have much of a success.
Not unless, we bring in a new choice of man that surprises us all and Scott and Jones pull off some remarkable transfer deals.
The squad is unbalanced and very weak in a number of areas, more so when we lose our better players. We have lost the best goalkeeper we have had for sometime. The defence is porous and lacks leadership. The midfield has not been good enough and will be worse when HH leaves. We are lightweight up front and do not score sufficient goals.
All of the above is going to take some sorting out even if we brought in another Carrick with a more able assistant. Call me a pessimist, but I have more or less already written off next season.
If the above does come to pass, then Mr Gibson, Scott, Jones and Bauser will have to take the blame this time.
There is some urgency in the need to appoint a new head coach as they really need to be in place within 2 weeks to prepare for pre-season and the assembling of the squad.
Unfortunately, Boro have had little success in appointing managers in the last 15 years if the measure is to be gaining promotion - all but one have failed in this time with only Karanka managing the task but imploded on the journey and was damaged goods before he arrived in the PL.
Might be the time to wonder if the decision process is fit for purpose...
Good post ,Pedro.
"If the above does come to pass, then Mr Gibson, Scott, Jones and Bauser will have to take the blame this time."
I think I would be inclined to exclude Jones from that list. Our recruitment has improved markedly since Chris Jones' appointment, and Scott deserves credit for that.
It was the excellent relationship that Jones had with Van den Berg's agent alongside the attractions of working with Woodgate and Carrick that secured that deal. And Morris was already on Jones's watch list at Palace, well before he was appointed here. So he has two exceptional signings to his credit, whilst his fingerprints are not on any of the duds as far as I am aware.
Again I know nothing of Jones's character and personality. I haven't even seen him being interviewed. I'm only going on what I have seen reported
What I do recall is Scott's warning to Jones on his appointment that were he not successful then "there would be no place to hide".
I have never been sure precisely what qualifications or areas of expertise Scott possesses. But he is certainly a master of the art of covering his own back, as the events of the last week have once again proved
There seems to be a growing pessimism with anything and everything connected to Boro. We hear the odd rumour or two which may or may not be true . We will never know everything which goes on behind the scenes. We don’t need to know everything. Just let the powers that be decide what they have to decide.
The one thing we do know is that we’ve got an owner who has Boro at heart and has put his money where his mouth is for many years. So leave him to it.
There are many clubs in the Championship worse than Boro and I would have thought the manager’s job will be attractive to many people - the problem is there is not a lot of talented managers out there who we would put money on to get us promotion.
Have we any more right or expectation to promotion than most of the Championship teams ? We are just one of many who each season hope we can achieve success whatever we individually define as success. For me , it’s playing attractive football, scoring a few more goals than other teams and hopefully finishing in the top 6. But above all for the collective efforts of the team to exceed the individual components and for the manager to play a style of football which best suits his players.
philip of Huddersfield 🤔👍
I would only say it's the club itself that are expecting a top six finish from their manager and Carrick is just the latest to be dismissed for failing to achieve that goal.
The one thing we do know is that we’ve got an owner who has Boro at heart and has put his money where his mouth is for many years. So leave him to it.
However, as much as we are all grateful for the above, as werder and myself have pointed out, Mr Gibson’s choice of Coaches at times has been questionable.
OK, all decisions, whether Coaches or Players have inbuilt risk and therefore are a gamble to varying degrees. Most do not achieve the greater collective than the components.
le Bris did that with a much younger squad. Whilst one could argue that a foreign Coach possibly has a higher risk factor than say a British one, they are as Werder previously pointed out, used to the current system of some kind of Director/Head of Football. They also tend to be more flexible in style, have a plan B and be more tactically aware. Probably Carrick’s biggest weakness and not helped by having an experienced head alongside him.
As for right or expectation to success, be that even a top six place, Mr Gibson has generally made more money available than most other Championship Clubs. Also do not forget, our ST’s overall are generally higher than the other clubs in the division. Parachutes excluded.
For me, the most disappointing thing at the moment is the air of negativity blowing through this Forum.
I understand it, of course, but it felt like the consensus towards the end of the season was that MC wasn’t the man to achieve the success that most Diasborians craved i.e. promotion to the EPL. It’s not a view I subscribed to, but I definitely appreciate why the majority did.
Given that the Club has agreed, and that MC has now departed, surely we should be looking forward to a a golden era of success under a new manager, who not only has a Plan A, but an A to Z of alternative formations, strategies and ways to smash the league. I imagine Boro fans will be buying STs like they’re going out of fashion and dancing the length and breadth of Linthorpe Road in celebration.
Instead, our collective mindset seems to have settled on doom and gloom and a desire for the blame to be set at the door of Scott (who presumably should be doing porridge or frozen out in the Antarctic) - I suspect that there’s more nuance to the situation than we’re privy to, but, in any event, we can’t influence what’s happened, nor what the future holds.
Fortunately, I’m pretty sure that whatever the season holds for us, we’ll treat Kipling‘s two impostors, just the same and enjoy at least some of the journey, come what may.
Sat looking at the vista of Yellowstone park and I have to agree with you, we don't know what happened or is going on at the club and rumours and conspiracy theories flourish in a news vacuum.
Back to the magnificent scenery