I wonder who else came close to getting the job before RE was appointed. If they had been on the shortlist but were pipped at the post would their ego stop them from accepting the job as second best.
I offered a first job as office junior to a girl in Wigan after a difficult interview process. School leavers don’t really know what questions to ask about the role and they struggled to answer my general questions too - one of them answered the question, “So, do you think you’d enjoy working in an office?”, with “I dunno but my Dad says I’ve got fer’t get a job”!
Anyway, I offered a girl the job, she accepted, but later rang to say it wasn’t what she really wanted, so I was back to square one - except that it had been a close call and my second choice was delighted to take the role, even though I’d already had to tell her she’d been unsuccessful once.
She started for us at 16 and she’s still working there now at the age of 41 - she’s one of the best appointments I ever made. We could easily have missed out on her - maybe SG should have another look at his list!
.....if there were anyone else on it
If my memory serves me correctly we were told Edwards beat off competition from Steve Cooper and Danny Rohl - but Cooper had ruled himself out and wanted a PL job and Danny Rohl was still employed by Sheffield Wednesday and wasn't interviewed - it was later reported that an unknown foreign-based manager had been interviewed but nobody ever knew who that was or whether he even existed and was just mentioned to give an impression of a process.
@lenmasterman Good point!
I think you may be right with that kind of combination of Solskjaer and Adi - I think Gibson prefers to have a head coach rather than a manager and Brendan Rogers may want more than Gibson is prepared to give in terms of control over footballing matters.
I don't think a complete rookie manager is a good idea in mid season - especially given Boro are in a strong position and need someone to hit the ground running with a clear plan. OK that may favour a more experienced manager with Championship experience so perhaps that may be a disadvantage for Solskjaer.
To be honest Carrick and Viveash would probably have been a great combination but I don't think Carrick left on particuarly good terms given the lack of acknowledgement by the club and there's probably baggage with Scott too.
Best not squander our good position in the league with a third of the season gone with a risky appointment - so it's a tough call.
I’ve been thinking over my reaction to Edwards departing and have finally realised that I don’t care too much. I also can’t condemn him for taking a hugely high-paying job close to his heart and his family.
i liked his pronouncements because they were a statement of faith in the Boro and that along with getting reasonable results is always the most important thing for me. However, I’ve seen every game this season and, apart from the Ipswich game, we have never developed an attacking blueprint and one has to wonder why that is. I recognise that the defence is much more solid but I personally put that down to the acquisitions of Jones, Brittain and Targett and the emergence of Brynn. Adding them to Ayling, Fry and the rest created a pool of experience that was always going to provide a strong base. A wingback or two in January along with our new centre half and we are fine for the season.
That left the real question being focussed on our relatively impotent attack. Are the failings tactical and if so, who has been setting the tactics. I find it a little hard to believe that it was just Edwards but he has to carry the can and now getting a coach with strong attacking principles seems like a good start, particularly if we keep Adi Viveash who seems to be the expert in everything that goes in to preparing the team for the next match. We do also have McGree back and we are seeing how important he is to the structure. Unfortunately, he along with Jones and Morris is travelling during the break and are unlikely to start against Oxford. They should all be available for Coventry.
i don’t have a definite recommendation of who to turn to but I wouldn’t rule out Will Still. He came to Southampton with an excellent reputation and their results with such a strong squad suggest a more deep-rooted problem that just tactics. I would also query whether a manager like Solskjaer is really suited to the rough and tumble of the Championship. Ultimately, I think that this was Carrick’s failing and I still expect to see him doing really well as manager of a top flight club with top flight players who can implement his attacking style without cratering the defence.
One final question; how quickly does this have to be sorted out and what happens short term. With Watling going as well, we need some support for AV and I’m not sure who we have in the club. Maybe Mogga as a shoulder to lean on for a couple of months? I don’t know how unwell he is.
Anyway, it’s a great job for whoever finally gets it.
UTB
@clive-hurren Pardon my ignorance, but I know absolutely nothing about Brian Barry-Murphy. Can you enlighten me?
Doing a very good job with Cardiff, Irish fella who previously managed man city academy for around three years.
In work so going with those in here that Gibson wont employ an in work head coach it wont happen but if he comes can he please convince Rubin Colwill to come with him, what a player that young lad is.
@eboroacum my thinking too. Plus Ole is one of the good guys and that matters. I'd be happy.
The only caveat is that no ex Fergie player has really made it as a manager, Robbo maybe the highlight.
Well Andy’s list as a starter discussion is not at all impressive I think to most on here.
My biggest no no, would be Gerrard. There are number written out straight away if the “employed” stance is taken as already highlighted.
That really does not leave many at all.
O’Neil, not for me. Neither Martin, Solksjaer because of no Championship experience? Rodgers, could we really afford him, and will he probably wait for another EPL club. Robbie Keane, why is he still unemployed?
Then we have Jarrko’s ultimate wish of Mowbray and Southgate. The former sadly appears to have continuing health issues, so he certainly does not need any further stress. The latter, well from what I have read recently, he is not in any rush for a Manager’s job. Plus MFC would probably be to big of a gamble for him, even if could afford his 5/6 million salary.
I think we may have to wait awhile until Mr Gibson finds someone we have not thought of. Unless of course Steve Cooper has changed his mind.
Every new appointment as manager is huge for the club but this next one feels particularly far reaching. Crucially we have momentum right now which is essential for not just success but an overwhelming feeling of optimism and belief.
Crowds are voluble and big and while the player mix is not quite right, we have enough very good players to make it work. We really do. The home quartet of Dael, Hayden, Sol and hopefully now George Mc, have appeared from nowhere almost, and can work wonders for bonding. We need Conway to find his niche and stick to it and if Strelec and Nypan can get moving then we'll be flying. We too have an expensive new central defender arriving soon. And if McGree can arrive back intact next week, he is a key fit, and things seem better when he is on the pitch.
So, the basics are very good. As for Adi, I think his stock has risen dramatically as a result of Edwards' departure. He came across well in interviews and while he appeared uncomfortable cheering the crowd post match, he clearly enjoyed it too. We don't really know what to credit him with over the past few months but can only go on his manner and how he talks and he seems wholly genuine in his commitment to the Boro. I imagine we're all very pleased he's looking after things momentarily. I certainly am.
But... I don't think he's a head coach/boss and don't feel that he does either. If can stay as number two when the new man (Serena is employed as noted...) arrives, then brilliant. We'd all want that surely.
As for the new number one, the earlier list on this thread is deeply depressing. O'Neill is an obvious no, sacked in his only two managerial jobs and his wife didn't like the area 15 years ago. Plus they have a young son at AFC Wimbledon, Wiki tells us. It is a clear red light.
If Gibbo chats to Dermot Desmond at Celtic, then Rodgers is history. He comes across as smarmy anyway and is an inveterate job hopper. Little loyalty.
Steve Cooper, another serial sackee, is now employed at Brondby thankfully.
I like Ole although he doesn't feel like a world beater. But my number two choice.
What about Gareth until the end of the season. If he gets us up then everything changes, and if not, then he is just the stable, uplifting force we need right now. A bit like when Tel took over from Robbo.
I think we need to think big and Gareth fits the bill. The (aparently) four million Wolves pay-off will do him until May surely?
I also wonder why Robbo was in situ against Brum? As a caretaker with Adi for a few weeks, he is a force the players and fans would warm to. Not a great manager but he is a football great and is a good person. It can't be chance surely that he was sat next to Gibbo on Sat?
If a new manager is not imminent, then bring back Robbo, even for a few weeks to keep the beat ticking over. Who didn't smile when they saw him there on Saturday?
I wonder whether the first we will hear of the new Head Coach is when an announcement is made after the fact. And we may all say "where did he come from?"
No idea who it will be but I have faith SG and his advisors/confidants know a lot more than me about these things. Perhaps it will be a magical mystery tour and, to flashes of lightning and clouds of smoke, some hitherto unheard-of Mongolian or Argentinian coach will be unveiled. Or maybe someone from another part of the UK...?
Who knows who it could be, Pullis is available 😉
Read something last night that Rangers are looking at Columbus Crews French manager, Willfried Nancy, interesting, could he be a Regis Le Bris ? i am sure Aidan Morris would welcome him around - but he is an in work manager.
My thoughts are that whilst i would be ok with Viveash taking the reins we dont want this to drag on, i would like to see a new head coach in situ by early/mid next week, appreciating a number of players away until the back end of next week allowing the incoming person a few days to get his feet under the table before another intense period of six games in three weeks begins.
We don't know how long it will take to install a new head coach - when Michael Carrick replaced Chris Wilder it took over 3 weeks but when Tony Pulis replaced Garry Monk it took only 3 days.
If Boro are going for an out of work manager then it should be possible by the end of this week - especially given that Boro are well-placed in 2nd spot - so it will be regarded as a good proposition of any candidate hoping to also manage in the PL. Whether the club have a clear idea of who they want is another matter so it may take time to decide on preferred candidates and what profile they should have.
Boro were 9th when Monk was sacked and had just dropped into the bottom three under Wilder - so this is a rare opportunity to join a club in the top 2 after one third of the season has passed.
@werdermouth fully agree and its more important we get the right person than looking to beat the clock, i just hope it is sooner rather than later.
I think Will Still would be a big risk as Southampton was his first job in England and he only won 2 out of 13 games with a newly relegated PL team - plus they've now won both of their games since he was sacked. They only averaged a goal a game under him and conceded 20 - they scored 5 in those last 2 games without him. He seemed another head coach who couldn't work out his best team and made 6 changes to his starting line-up against Boro.
That seems to indicate the players maybe weren't understanding how he wanted them to play or even the style he was trying wasn't working. He arrived with a good reputation but his experience is working with teams in Belgium and France and maybe he couldn't get it to work in the Championship given the frequency of the fixtures.
So we've no guarantee he won't struggle to adjust at Boro either - so a too much of a gamble for me and still only 33.
I think Solskjær is a credible prospect and fits the profile and as you say one of the good guys but Robbo hasn't been in a dugout for 15 years (in Thailand) and for me there's no reason to choose him other than he was Boro's manager during the Riverside revolution and cult hero.
As for Sir Gareth Southgate, there's no way he'd even contemplate a full-time football job at the moment as he's made it clear in recent weeks he wants to work on other projects outside football. Being a Championship manager preparing a team twice a week leaves zero time for anything else - and he's a man with a full diary of other commitments. Plus of course he earned enough with England never to have to work again. Perhaps 102 games as England manager has satisfied his ambition towards football - at least for several years to come...
@werdermouth Robbo would be a short term PR boost, there to offer an assurance that we have things in hand. Much like he did by sitting next to Gibbo on Saturday. To have someone like that visibly on our side could be invaluable if it takes 2/3 weeks for a new appointment. It deflects and offers surety, whether it's realistic or not.
Southgate, you're right on everything but I do wonder whether he might take a punt if offered four mill for this season only. I do think his mind is not on management though. But it's a nice hope to have.
I think Joey Barton may be available (and probably needs the money right now!). 😉
@martin-bellamy lol, we might get to see him more in court than in the dugout.
The stand out person I’d be delighted in having would be Gareth preferably on the usual 3 year contract or even to the end of the season. I don’t think for a minute it will happen as he doesn’t seem in any hurry to get back into football. Plus , surely if he accepts a job it will be a Premiership club. It wouldn’t surprise me if he found a non football career and doesn’t return to football.
Like most readers I’m not blown away by any of them. O’ Neil probably should be the one but his previous history at Boro puts me off him.
I just don’t see Ole S. as a winner. He seems too nice but behind the scenes he may be different.
Rodgers left Celtic I assume before he was sacked with his blame everyone else attitude. Plus I get the impression that he thinks he’s better than he is. I could see clashes with Gibson and there can only be one winner.
As anaside it is essential to keep Adi for the work he has done, knowledge of the players and continuity . I don’t know enough about him to say whether he’d be suitable . Sowething tells me he has previously expressed a view that he’s happy not being the top man.
So , we will just have to wait and see. As always, we have trust and respect for Gibson to do what is best for Boro. Could there be a better owner over the recent past than him.
Finally, I don’t think there’s a mega rush to get someone in the next few days. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if Adi led the team out for the next game.
philip of Huddersfield 👍🫢😁👍
As long as Robbo agrees not to wear a tweed jacket with football shorts like last time...
@philip-of-huddersfield certainly wouldnt be the end of the world but are we expecting Viveash to now play Head Coach, Assistant Head Coach and Coach - i am sure there will be support in place around him and thats fine for a few days and the odd game etc, however, over an extended period of time it may well be difficult.
@presidentjump Time for the senior pros in the playing staff to step up. The likes of Luke Ayling will be invaluable right now.
I wonder if Jonny Howson has been getting the necessary senior coaching badges?
I wasn't initially too bothered about what Gary O'Neil did 16 years ago when he decided to deliberately pick up his tenth booking of the season and be suspended so he'd be able to watch the Masters golf - definitely unprofessional, particularly as club captain, but probably the biggest mistake was to actually boast about it many years later in a way that he thought he was being clever.
However, O'Neil then served a two-match suspension and Boro, who were third-bottom with 5 to play after he picked up that booking - they gained 2 more points and were relegated three points behind Hull who survived - so did that booking cost Boro a chance of survival and a long exile from the PL!
* Actually having checked the actually fixtures - O'Neil said he was booked against Bolton, which meant there were 7 games remaining not 5 - Boro then won and drew the 2 games he was suspended for but then actually lost the next 3 after he returned and then drew the penultimate and lost the final game. Maybe O'Neil should've got himself sent off and missed more games...
it was widely reported that his wife hated the area as well and couldn’t wait to move away. So if he came to the club would he be in on his own at Rockliffe?
OFB
We can never know if we would have gained 3 more points or not had he been playing. Irrelevant of that, the disrespect the action showed to his team mates and to his employers at the time and then the disdain shown to the same when he bragged about it in later years mark him as unfit to take the management or coaching position at any club, never mind not just at Middlesbrough.
I will be immensely disappointed if he is the chosen one. That said, if the club does go for him, then I am not going to cut off my nose to spite my face and will get behind him.
Regardless of that suspect behaviour, I really dont think his track record is anywhere near good enough. I hope the club thinks the same.
Gibson and Rodgers are good friends and have a good relationship so don’t think they would clash
OFB
Another candidate
Raphael Wicky
His playing career was spent mostly in the German Bundesligawith Werder Bremen and Hamburg, as well as a brief spell in Spain's Segunda División with Atlético Madrid. He earned 75 caps for Switzerland between 1996 and 2008, playing at two European Championships and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
As a manager, he won the Swiss Super League and Swiss Cupdouble with Basel in 2017, and also spent two years in Major League Soccer with the Chicago Fire. He returned to Switzerland in 2022 with Young Boys and won his second Swiss Super League title in 2023.