Carlos Corberán, anyone?
https://talksport.com/football/3717568/middlesbrough-carlos-corberan-next-manager-rob-edwards/
Wasn't he being touted by one or two people on here when MC's successor was being discussed?
One thing I noticed at full time was that all the Boro backroom team, coaches,physios, analysts etc came and joined the pitch walk around. I think it was because the event was so special, the crowd and the club bonding to show a united front that
“we are Middlesbrough”
OFB
@original-fat-bob - Maybe the message was: "The rest of this team/family (select your word of choice) is staying to complete the job!"
@stircrazy He did very well on his return to Valencia (his home town club Ithink?) saving them from relegation with midtable finish. This season they are again in the bottom three.
I do not think he is the one for us.
It's Saturday , a deep breath and hopefully the dust is settling,
I wanted to say and this my opinion and insight, I'm very disappointed in the vitriol toward Rob Edward from some in the local and social media, a young man just like anyone of us would , take the opportunity to improve his situation that might not come again, and it came out of the blue, he didn't seek it, he had history with Wolves, also his family situation.
Now we know football is a cruel game at times, worse today than in the past, there's also a lot of lets say tittle tattle between contacts regarding future events.
We know Strachan was tapped by a certain executive at Boro, Karma's a bitch.
I know Edwards was given the job in April, that's why he assembled his backroom staff then , I think Carrick new ,and maybe it's why we tailed off.
All lm saying is ,it's brutal, I hope we don't panic and appoint quickly, look for a young coach with the same vision and enthusiasm, Adi will school him through, and well be fine
COB
@gt - That is a mature and thoughtful comment. Yes, we often take things to heart. Yes, reactions to some events in football, are often given "off the cuff" and without careful reflection. In that, I suppose many of the initial reactions expressed are likely to contain much of the true feelings which would otherwise lie camouflaged underneath the curated impression of events and our feeling about them that many would prefer the outside world to see.
There are always two sides. It's just that if it's YOUR partner who has announced she'd like to have "discussions" with an ex (or someone with whom there'd been a previous relationship) many would find it difficult to say: "No problems. You have those discussions and if nothing comes out of them, you are welcome back and we'll continue as if it didn't happen."
That level of maturity would be remarkable. Admirable perhaps, but remarkable.
@gt Sorry GT but I disagree. Edwards has behaved very badly, a treachery really if we want to take it that far. He has let down his many immediate colleagues and the thousands of supporters whom he owes a duty also.
It's the two faced betrayal that sticks, urging us all on, 'get behind Whitaker' etc, and then when a more appealing/better paid offer came along, jumping ship. His line about his daughters and wife telling him about Wolves was pathetic and disingenuous.
He dumped Forest Green after an excellent managerial start and nobody wanted him this summer. If he'd been like the unappealing Wilder, we'd have cared much less but it was the way he drew everyone behind that is a betrayal.
He's not a young man, he's 42 and will have trousered a stash from his sackings at Luton and Watford and will be on a seven figure salary at Wolves. And when he leaves there/is sacked, he'll pocket even more. Professionally, the move is suicidal.
As for his family living away, tough. Move. He chose to come here and it's a four hour drive (in a very nice car I'd guess) tops. How many north-easterners have moved away for work when they didn't want to? How many people struggle to find even half paid decent work today?
He will be unemployable when Wolves let him go and there will be very few Teessiders not raising a smile.
Dermot Desmond gave a wonderful takedown of Brendan Rogers recently and Edwards can count himself lucky Steve Gibson is not as media inclined. It is a similar betrayal.
So while I will not swear at him in public (with pals or at a match) he cannot complain about the vitriol coming his way. It is of his making.
Part of me hopes he'll fail miserably wherever he goes but the best we can all do is forget him and move on.
Yesterday's win was the biggest for years I think and, like Garry Monk, he will soon be someone no-one remembers at all.
@rich-llewelyn-evans nicely put. GT I would reread Len's earlier posting that set out so eloquently what is just so wrong, and why, about the way Edwards has conducted himself. There is no vitriol in that. I do not really detect much vitriol in here generally. No, just huge disappointment in a man who hoodwinked so many as to what he was all about.
I have just watched the highlights on Sky. It is difficult (impossible) to judge an entire match on 10 or 15 minutes of coverage. But I did get a sense the team was determined to win this one. It has been the perfect way to go into the international break considering what was going on last week. For once, the break comes at a perfect time for Boro and I hope there is a quick decision about who will take charge going forward. I consider this is a golden opportunity for Boro and rather strangely I am feeling more confident about how this season will play out than I was before this weekend.
@philip-of-huddersfield The ironic thing is that a member of this forum asked, after a poor performance, as recently as 1st November whether questions will be asked of RE, implying that maybe he should be replaced.
There’s no loyalty from fans when results aren’t going our way. We’re all angry that he’s gone in the way he has, but would have been happy to see him sacked and replaced in January if we’d gone on a run of successive losses.
Time to move on - he’s gone and will be replaced.
Rich, just in case you happen to wonder why I had to edit a 3 word comment, it was because I addressed you ( as probably only your mother does) as Richard. Apologies.
I may be completely mistaken, but if I am not, then Kieran Scott's apparent absence from yesterday's must-attend-in-solidarity game surely requires some explanation.
As Bob has shown, it was a day when the rest of the staff were out in a very public display of club unity. Quite rightly and understandably so
I wonder if any of the local media's house-trained reporters will take the first baby steps to becoming investigative by posing that simple question.
Scott's cock-and-bull explanation for his all too frequent absences, that he is able take in more through the blinkers of a camera after the event than by attending the real wide-screen version of the match itself is just not credible.And, anyway, he should, of course, do both. One doesn't preclude the other.
Edwards' defection will be acutely embarrassing to the Director of Football, since the coach's controversial appointment was the result of a three year campaign to appoint him, Edwards being Scott's preferred candidate when Carrick was appointed.
Apologies, and ignore most of the above if Scott was there yesterday, but it would be good if Scott could clear the air on the Edwards fiasco with the same alacrity he showed when giving two hour-long interviews with the local media a few weeks back when we were top of the league
I did something in some ways a bit more reprehensible than suggesting Edwards be sacked a few weeks ago.
I predicted he would be gone by November before the season had even started. However I did this on the basis of the evidence available at the time, and I did say that I would give him my full support, because he carried no blame for his own appointment. And I have never expressed a syllable of criticism since then. He'd demonstrably been doing a very good job.
Until...
I absolutely agree, RL. Excellent post.
The fact that I and probably so many thousands more were taken in by the fine words of the chancer, Edwards, and of his professions of love for the club, is nauseating in retrospect. I feel badly betrayed. I am so glad The Riverside let him know in no uncertain times yesterday exactly what we thought of his chicanery. And huge credit to Red Faction for creating two razor sharp banners in record time, one of which read, simply, ‘Edwards you rat!’ white the other rammed his own words, ‘Fans need to see people who really want to be here,’ ( I think), back down his throat. For the first time in 20 years last night I was glad Chelsea had won a game.
I’m with GT on this. I don’t bear any particular grudge against Edwards.
Offered a higher profile Premier League job, close to his young family, at a club at which he has ties and no doubt on a greater salary probably with a sizeable survival bonus. Of course he wants it.
It is only that he’s been here for such a short period that makes the situation remotely contentious.
Thanks for the points and see you later.
The post match comments of Viveash have been well received and so he may be a candidate for the managers job.
Do we know his history ? Has he always been a number 2 or has he experience of being the top man ?
Philip of Huddersfield 👍😁
Just a thought, could the reason that SG invited Brian Robson to yesterday’s match was to discuss the next managerial appointment with him and to obtain information on Ole Gunnar Solksjaer? 😎
I’m not sure why you have such a negative view of Kieran Scott.
The recruitment work done in the last few years has been of a very high quality and delivered some very good profits.
He may have been a strong supporter of RE but so was everybody on this blog until Thursday.
i have no idea whether he was at the Riverside but , if not, I could suggest at least one possible reason …… talking to a prospective head coach.
UTB
On another note
I had a long chat this morning with Jim Platt as we were at the Middlesbrough Cenotaph this morning.
He said that he went to see Stewy Boam a few weeks ago and it was a release for him. RIP A great captain and servant to the club.
i said I liked our goalkeeper Sol Brynn these day and he was the best I’d seen since him ! I was tempted to say Stephen Pears but Jim knows my sense of humour only too well !
We did talk about the way our ex manager had left the club and we both agreed it was not a professional way to depart and a shabby trick after so little time into his contract.
i said that the atmosphere at the ground between the crowd, staff and players yesterday seemed very special. A sense of togetherness which augurs well for the future.
OFB
@selwynoz I think Scott mentioned earlier that he prefers never to watch Boro play live as it is too emotional for him. His job is to look the players as neutral as possible.
So he never attends the home matches normally. So I agree, that there is nothing abnormal for him missing the match.
And perhaps he is very, very busy at the moment looking for a replacement for Edwards. I fully support Scott and Gibson. Also, I don’t bear any particular grudge against Edwards.
Let's hope we can find an even better head coach. I would be interested to know if Southgate would like to try this challenge now that we are second in the league. And averaging 1,93 points per match.
Or even Mogga could do. Last time around we had no money for players when he was here. He deserves a second chance.
Up the Boro!
I accept it must be a bind that his workplace at Middlesbrough/Rockcliffe is so far from where his family lives near Wolverhampton. Similar issues no doubt affect members of the Armed Forces on overseas deployment. Imagine being part of the crew of HMS Prince of Wales being sent on a four-month tour of South East Asia or a submarine sent who-knows-where-or-for-how-long, for neither of which a trip home for a few days like RIGHT NOW would have been possible, as it would for a Head Coach during at least part of an International Break. Of course the pay must be some sort of compensation (for the Head Coach/manager/whatever, rather than the servicemen).
We all know people who work on the oil rigs, or on construction/consultancy work overseas, and those contracts usually involve extended periods offshore/away from family. Of course the pay for those people, too, must be some sort of compensation. I think we can all safely assume that nobody works in those sorts of employment for the wages that a pipe-fitter, an electrician, mechanic or whatever would be paid for doing that work onshore within 20 miles of home. That is part of the equation people consider when deciding what sort of job to go for, and where.
I suppose I might have missed something, but has Middlesbrough Football Club moved its operations since the summer? So far as I remember, the club has ALWAYS had its stadium and its training grounds within a very short commute from central Teesside. The AA tells me that central Middlesbrough is 179 miles (3 hours 15 minutes by car) from Wolverhamption, though I suspect neither Rob Edwards nor his family will live in central anywhere, more likely some leafy suburb or rural idyll. I don't suppose for a second the interview with MFC included any element of "Well, you'll appreciate that Middlesbrough will be a long commute from my family home, so if a job more local to my home comes up, you won't be surprised if I apply for it...?" If your company moves its operations to a different part of the country, that would be a different kettle of fish but it's a bit or a surprise that Edwards didn't factor "location" in when considering to take the Middlesbrough job in the first place.
He would, no doubt, receive more money at Wolves than at Middlesbrough (even if a "reduced wage if relegated" clause is part of the deal), but even on the poor terms he was able to negotiate at Middlesbrough he will be receiving several times the annual salary of the UK Prime Minister - and it's not easy to argue THAT position is free from its own stresses or job insecurity. "I didn't realise the gig meant spending so much time in Westminster or going on frequent away trips!"
Before crying TOO much, consider what Rob Edwards said in his interview with BBC Tees (taken from the subtitles so it's not my summary or interpretation):
"It's (Middlesbrough) a huge football club, this. A proper football club. I'm so lucky. When I go to my office at the training ground, I think 'WOW!' And then I look at the stadium and I think I'm so lucky and privileged to be here. There'll be some tough moments along the way because it's 46 games - it's never smooth but we''ll try to make you proud. We will do everything we can to be successful here. I was just desperate to try and land this job and I feel the luckiest man in the world to be representing MFC and I hope to do everyone proud. I'll certainly try my best."
Perhaps the most important words in there were the ones about being desperate to land the job. The people on the other side of the table during his job interview have not disclosed whether there were any assurances given about how Edwards would cope with the travel element or the distance of his family from Boro's centre of operations. But I think we can take it there was nothing like "I realise my home is 179 miles away so if a suitable job comes up more local to me, you'll understand if I put in an application...?" Not a chance! In his own words, he was desperate to land the job so perhaps would give ANY impression to get it.
His words are only a few months old. It's not as if the passing of a substantial period of time has altered the situation at all. That makes it all the more poignant.
The lad who sits on the seat to my left at The Riverside sent me a picture this lunchtime which I am sure comes from social media. It shows a noticeboard on display outside the "Longlands Club" in Middlesbrough. It contains the message: "Rob Edwards you are ....BARRED. You rat!" with a little cartoon rat's head. The significance, I am told by my friend, is that the Longlands Club is the venue where Edwards "met the fans and touched the flesh of the common people and told them of his ambitions and commitment to the club and he was here for the long haul". Again that could only have been weeks (at most a few months) ago. So those words ring very hollow.
I appreciate some people will say what they think the public wants to hear. But nobody forced Edwards to say what he said, either to the BBC or to supporters in a pub/club. So it can hardly be a surprise when people who have heard those words, perhaps even said face-to-face, might feel either let down or just simply lied to. Diplomacy is one thing, even politeness, but come on....!
I don't expect a manager to say that Boro is only a middling club with some success in the past but very little to show in the recent past. I don't expect him to say that the money available to him here is rather less here than elsewhere, whilst nowhere near the bottom of the pile, so that things may be difficult but that the club is at least stably run and with a decent level of support for The Championship so that, if all goes well and with some good fortune in the transfer market, he would hope to make a decent stab at getting near the Play-Off positions. But on the other hand, if you blow smoke at a football club and up the rear-end of its fanbase by saying the sort of stuff a teenage boy might say to his first girlfriend, don't be surprised if a slap is received when it turns out that the words meant nothing once he speaks to the girl who lives just along the road from his house.
I, for one, will be happier when the vitriol dies down a bit.
I’m pretty sure RE doesn’t read Diasboro, so he’ll not be affected by our disappointment nor feel shame for his decision to accept an offer of a job he’d always have taken ahead of the Boro had it been available at the time.
Analogies reflecting on our own experiences of travelling away from Teesside to work are all well and good, but I’ll readily admit that had I been offered a better deal to move back home in the 80s, after I’d moved to Lancashire for work, I’d have been sorely tempted, especially if I’d not had my family with me across the Pennines. At the time of taking the red rose job I’d have committed to it whole heartedly and done the best work I could, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have accepted my dream job in North Yorkshire.
thanks for your thoughtful views.
I would just stress that it was Edwards’ decision to accept the job knowing full well the implications of being away from his family. These people earn big money and ,if and when ,get sacked get generous pay offs and so they are very well compensated for living away from home.
My fundamental disgust is that he accepted the job in good faith, stressed how much he loved it and after only 3 months clears off. He lacks decency and basic principles.
Enough of this.
In reply to any knowledge of Corboran he was the number 2 at Leeds when they were successful and were promoted to the Premiership. He was then appointed to the Huddersfield managers job and was regarded as successful.
It was no surprise he moved up a division to West Brom and again, I would expect the locals to say they were happy with him being within touching distance of promotion.
He then moved abroad still on an upward career path and as I understand, nearer to his roots probably 2/3 years ago but this season his team are not doing well.
At Huddersfield he was regarded as a very thoughtful manager and was very passionate on the touch line, a bit like the Arsenal manager, and is well known to , not only change formations from match to match, but also during matches.
Would he be ok for Boro? Yes , …..but …..I would like to think they could attract someone a bit better. Who ? No idea !!
philip of Huddersfield 👍👋
Not sure if this is true, but hopefully if it is only part true, then it will be some relief for the recent upheaval.
MFC have negotiated a compensation package of around Ten Million Pounds from Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club for the release of Rob Edwards.
That would give Mr Gibson a wider spectrum of choice if he could find a good replacement who would also utilise the existing staff.
I have just seen exmil’s post and link, so it is looking as though my post is possibly way off the mark. Still any compensation should help with the ultimate choice, if they do not choose from within.
@pedro That’s a good deal more than the figures quoted in @exmil’s article above. I don’t suppose we’ll ever really know the true figure.
so no messy situation to deal with had they not agreed. Good luck to him, although personally I feel he has done much more harm to his reputation than any plaudits he thinks he can earn at Molineux. Certainly for this season any way.Come on BORO.
Out of sight and out of mind. I am only interested in how all of this is going to work to our advantage now. Like I posted earlier I am peculiarly more optimistic about the rest of the season today than before.
CoB.
@forever-dormo rumuor has it that Gibson was the angriest he has ever been when meeting Edwards and him stating he wanted the opportunity to speak to Wolves.
Gibson immediately, whilst fuming, telling his team to get the compensation sorted now with Wolves and telling Edwards to leave the building.
Just what i heard yesterday but sounds very believeable.