Maybe AV got out at the right time!
@werdermouth in the same article we also have Viveash took charge of Middlesbrough’s final game before the international break. Goals from Dael Fry and Hayden Hackney saw them secure a 3-1 win over Birmingham City. Appalling.
@rich-llewelyn-evans it is quite shocking really. A perfect example of why we have to be careful about believing what we read. It is quite frightening to think how this all can be manipulated by individuals with an [objectionable] agenda to promote and how many people can be influenced because they lack the means and/or the inclination to test the veracity of the words they read.
Hope this is not controversial, but the NE running with the Kim Hellberg story, plus assistance for Adi Viveash against Oxford.
It's even worse in that this is an updated article that is now purporting to be written by someone new called Stephen Killen with a Senior Football Writer tag (apparently works for the Liverpool Echo and is part of Reach PLC) - it's just more AI generated nonsense - they've become a total embarrassment!
So finally a local journalist with club connections has spoken on the move for Hellberg - Scott Wilson suggests it's a ‘Kieran Scott call’ rather than a ‘Steve Gibson one’.
I'd also agree with another statement he made...
Attracting a world-class name such as Gerrard might have appealed to the Boro chairman, but he has made the right call in ignoring the starlight and instead going for the candidate who has established his reputation through the strength of his coaching CV rather than the global reach of his surname.
He also mentions that it was Hellberg who was keen to retain Viveash rather than having him forced upon him - given his lack of experience in working in the Championship and he will act as a useful bridge between him and the Edwards era.
So looks like Hellberg is going to be our man - apparently it could take time to sort out his work permit though given the rules in a post-Brexit world. He may not be in place until next week given the red tape but who knows...
Northern Echo: Why Middlesbrough have chosen Kim Hellberg as head coach
I still can’t get to grips with the proposed selection of a young manager with no experience of English football. In fact no experience of working outside his native country at all.
The fact that Swansea this season and apparently Sunderland last season were Looking at him must raise hopes that our recruitment team have carried out an exhaustive check on his performances as a manager and not relied solely on statistics.
He may have interviewed well but have they checked with other players what he is like to work for? Has he worked with top quality players? Can he get them on side.? Carrick had a relatively easy ride with the players due to his reputation in the game. Edward’s had the bullcrap to convince everyone he was the best.
Jury still out for me, I’d have rather had OGS but I’ll give the new guy every bit of my support.
Hopefully he can get the forwards scoring goals
UP THE BORO
OFB
@original-fat-bob I suspect KH will be hungrier to succeed and take this opportunity than OGS would.
I’m sure we’ll all get behind him if he’s the one.
@martin-bellamy I agree. He couldn't have a better mentor than Viveash I think....
Unfortunately, I can’t access the Echo article because of the paywall. If you have time, could you possibly summarise it for us very briefly? I know you’re writing the Oxford preview, so only if this doesn’t put too much strain on your limited time.
@clive-hurren I'll try and save Werder the effort ...
I too don't get behind the paywall, but given I have discovered how quickly Google Gemini can write football articles I asked it to summarise the article and this is how it has done that....
please summarise the Northern Echo article "Why Middlesbrough have chosen Kim Hellberg as head coach" that was published today
Based on reports from The Northern Echo and related coverage, Middlesbrough's decision to appoint Kim Hellberg as head coach was a strategic move that favored modern coaching philosophy and potential over established names, signaling strong ambition for promotion.
The summary of the club's rationale is centered on the following points:
1. Rejecting "Safe" Choices
The article highlights that Middlesbrough could have opted for "safer" and more conventional managerial candidates, such as Gary O'Neil or Steven Gerrard. The club, however, viewed these options as "safe, but flawed" and deliberately chose to go in a different direction. This reflects a commitment to a specific strategy and coaching profile over high-profile names.
2. Modern Philosophy and Development Focus
Middlesbrough's hierarchy, led by Head of Football Kieran Scott, was reportedly convinced by Hellberg's reputation as one of Europe's most promising young coaches (37 years old).
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Style of Play: Hellberg is known for an attack-minded, possession-oriented style of football. His approach is built on structure and systematics, typically favoring a 4-3-3 formation, which aligns with the club's desire for a progressive identity.
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Track Record: He has a history of over-achieving in Sweden, notably guiding IFK Värnamo to a historic fifth-place finish and leading Hammarby to consecutive second-place finishes.
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Youth Development: He is also highly regarded for his ability to handle and develop youngsters, which is crucial for the club's model.
3. A Statement of Ambition
Hellberg's appointment is described as a "very rare type of appointment" for Middlesbrough—only their second permanent foreign coach. This willingness to deviate from their usual hiring profile and take a risk on an overseas coach is seen as a sign of strong ambition from owner Steve Gibson to secure promotion this season.
4. Snubbing a Rival
The decision was seen as a major coup, as Middlesbrough reportedly "gazumped" Championship rivals Swansea City for his signature. Hellberg was persuaded by Boro's superior league position and the perception that they were more likely to achieve Premier League promotion, ultimately leading him to choose the North East club.
.... I will have to stop doing this and I promise that will be the last one I post from my new best mate Gemini
The main task for the new boss was always going to be to get our forwards, and especially Scott's new young signings ,bedded in and firing by being brought up to speed with the rigorous demands of the Championship.
So it makes complete sense for us to have appointed a young foreign coach, whose primary task will be to spend his first few months bedding himself in and bringing himself up to speed with the formidable challenges of the Championship.
The Boro players best equipped to help get the new boss settled and familiar with both the on- and off-field challenges will be likes of Hansen, Nypan, Strelec, Kante and Sene, who have all recently been wrestling with these problems themselves and have the kind of first-hand experience which Hellberg will find the most helpful.
To clarify: The players most in need of urgent and experienced help in the Boro squad, are precisely those who will be in the best position to give immediate assistance to the new boss.
Only at the Boro.
Forget about the Theatre of Dreams, this is the Theatre of the Absurd
Use this for any paywall article, Clive. Copy the web address into the red box and Bob's your uncle.
@lenmasterman Len, I see this as an opportunity to improve. Every change in a head coach position will be a risk but we were forced to this.
But this Swede sounds better than any of the previous names mentioned on this blog - except Southgate.
So I have no complaints. And more over, he is not a friend of Kieran Scott as many in here suspected when Edwards was signed.
I think it is naive to think Boro is not run very professionally now. I am happy with Kieran Scott.
Up the Boro!
If Hellberg is to be our new manager then, despite Steve Gibson often turning to rookies, it will be the first appointment of his for which I have zero pre-conception of the man.
And you know what, I like it.
Had we gone for one of Solksjaer, Gerrard, Rodgers etc, you really would have to question what the point of a specialised recruitment team / Head of Football is. They are the obvious - and obviously flawed - choices. No scouting, vetting or reporting is necessary.
As Len alludes to, this appointment comes with a hazard warning. He is very young for a Championship Head Coach, with no experience of any level of English football. If it fails, it will look incredibly daft. It is a bigger risk than many would take.
However those other names all look like certain, and in some cases expensive, failures waiting to happen. In my eyes, partly because of the unknown, Hellberg brings hope.
This is exactly the sort of profile Kieron Scott should be looking at: an under the radar overachiever, ambitious, willing and and affordable, potentially snaffled up before he goes on to win trophies elsewhere and becomes beyond us.
I know absolutely nothing about the bloke but, whilst the risks are obvious, I applaud the thinking.
The last time we went even slightly off the beaten track with Karanka, well you know what happened next…
As many have said we are going into the unknown if Hellberg does take over but it is not sometimes a bad thing, just ask Sunderland supporters if they were over the moon in June 2024 when Regis Le Bris was appointed having just left a team that was relegated from the French first division or Hull fans when Sergei Jakirovic was appointed at the start of this season having spent most of his career coaching in Bosnia and Croatia. They are currently 5th in the table 4 points behind the Boro. I had them down to be relegated in the COTS challenge. I also had Boro to finish 13th.
I have been catching up on posts and see that people have noted that there has been some pretty sketchy print journalism out there regarding our search for a head coach. A lot of the articles seem to be a bit lazy and derivative.
I am no great fan of social media but there are some decent podcasts covering the championship. Here is an interesting one on YouTube:-
https://youtu.be/Vw6i8ZBxL_4?si=RYQ7I88LJLOqit_W
UTB Chris
Just some insights tonight, all.
It's common, expected even, for a football team to reflect who their head coach or manager was as a player. Or assistant coach. I admit to paying little, probably no, attention to Karanka as a player but when he was in charge at Boro I rewatched highlights of that turn-of-the-century quarter-final between Man U and Real Madrid from 2000, where he was in the Real defence. It was implied that in the second leg, the 3-2 win with the Raul double and Roy Keane own goal, that he did a good job of keeping a then-at-his-peak Dwight Yorke quiet. Aligned with how the less-well-known players in that Real team played, that gives the impression of a solid and slick, if unspectacular, player. Not the most exciting, but ultimately worthy of acclaim. Which, I suppose, pretty much sums up our primarily controlled style in the second tier between 2014 and 2016.
Mick McCarthy was another you could call solid but unspectacular, if not slick. But where, perhaps, he and his teams seemingly weren't renowned for stylishness, his approach to playing was earnest and able, and his Ireland set up, at the very least, bravely blooded a multitude of new players while favouring an attractive passing game that was both earnest and able in competing with the best. More than that, he clearly followed Big Jack in seeking to build the equivalent of a family. There may well have been questions over his and Ireland's ambition, but the team, as with Big Jack, had a manager or head coach who clearly cared about the people he was working with.
Hellberg? I've heard he has fifteen years of coaching experience, that people have commented positively on his personality as well as his approach to management, and that he encourages his teams to pass the ball and be energetic. So... I'm optimistic. Very.
Further thoughts...
Rob Edwards' final ten games as Boro manager read as - won three, drawn five, lost two. Three wins in ten looks bad, but then again, only two defeats. On the other hand, that pattern of results kind of reflects the formation it spells out, 3-5-2, and how effective it ultimately was under RE - doesn't give very much away, contains repeated promise of something special happening, but genuine concrete progress is modest and sporadic. And Adi Viveash? It seems he's the Ice (circa West Side Story '61) of Boro, playing a major part in keeping us "Cool" when we could crumble in the aftermath of an equally major shock to the system. I think right now of how quickly Tucker Smith, with the help of Jerome Robbins' timeless choreography, conducted his Jets into a marvellously organised dance movement and kept them stable... if only, alas, for a while. Which hints at the need for a permanent appointment soon, and highlights the difference between the stabiliser and the public force of charisma at the figurehead of a club or group. Something that Edwards all too briefly was, and something that we can hope Hellberg will be.
@simonfallaha I started my love affair with West Side Story as a Shark in the College's production of that in around 1975. I later reprised my role as a Shark in the Stock Exchange Dramatic and Operatic Society's production in London in 1987. I switched sides to lead theJets as Riff in the Geneva Amateur Operatic Society's production in 1994 (the Geriatric Jets as we labelled ourselves as most of us were well into our 30s or even 40s at the time). Still, I will always be a Shark at heart and would love to see us playing with some of the style and slick movement of those Puerto Ricans.
A rare friendly discussion between a Critic and a Performer of musical theatre! And in a football blog. Is it permitted to say I quite liked Romeo & Juliet?
As to the choice of Head Coach and his assistant, if it IS to be Kim Hellberg at the helm I will be nervous but excited. A bit like The Ashes - to begin later this week at an ungodly hour but, I think, on what used to be known as BT Sport, which I have access to!
We must first await word from the club unless information is to be leaked from Swedish sources. But all the indications seem to be pointing to a Swedish outcome.
What a story, Powmill - thank you for sharing it! You'll know George Chakiris has been both a Jet and a Shark too - he played Riff on stage in the West End before becoming the big screen Bernardo.
Me, well… I’ve never had the joy of appearing in West Side, but I have at the very least liked it for a long time. It was a chapter dedicated to Leonard Bernstein’s music in one of my school textbooks that began it all for me, though I didn’t find “Maria” all that as a song back then. I knew I liked “America” however.
Time went by and my knowledge in film and musicals broadened further. Although I returned to West Side from time to time, grew to like the numbers more both as part of a choir and as a listener, and enjoyed the ‘61 film in its entirety, it wasn’t among my very favourite musicals…
…until Steven Spielberg’s unparalleled visual filmmaking aligned with Tony Kushner’s writing, Justin Peck’s choreography and the source material. Two full viewings of that film, several rewatches of individual scenes from both ‘61 and ‘21, and much more reading later, West Side became my all-time favourite musical.
And it still is. Songs like “Something’s Coming”, “Jet Song”, “Maria” and “Cool” have grown on me like never before - I’ve even learned to sing them!
Many thanks for the summary. Really helpful, as it’s a valuable insight.
What a little gem(ini) you’ve discovered!
And many thanks to Eboracum for the technical tip!
@chris-from-barlby that was an interesting listen. Thanks for sharing the link.
Aiden Morris starts tonight for the USA against Uruguay in Tampa
Alfie Jones starts for Canada as does Riley Mcgree for the Socceroos.
Aidan Morris in Tampa, Alfie Jones in Fort Lauderdale, Riley McGree in New York and Sontje Hansen playing for Curucao in a winner take all qualification match against Jamaica (managed by Steve Mclaren). Curucao only need a draw to get to the World Cup.
Quite a Middlesbrough night
Morris played almost the full 90 minutes. Hope he makes it back in time for Saturday.