What is not clear about Howson opting to take up a coaching role with Leeds U21's is whether that decision was made based on Boro not giving him another year contract.
I made an argument earlier (as opposed to whinging of course) why I thought another 12 months contract would've been justified - plus lets not forget during Boro's last ten games, Howson played 90 minutes in all but the final Coventry match (subbed as we chased the game), which showed he's still fit and can still perform in the Championship.
I don't regard this the same as advocating Danny Ings or Patrick Bamford (I must've missed who championed his cause) as they've failed to prove in recent seasons that they can perform - neither of whom could be justified as anything but hopeful gambles and would be under pressure to settle in and perform.
I suspect Howson wouldn't have wanted to start again as a player at a new club given he intended to pursue a coaching career after hanging up his boots - sounds like the Leeds job has offered him a fresh start in a new environment without the feeling of something missing if he'd taken up a similar role at Boro without playing - not to mention Boro currently have Mark Tinkler doing a good job in that U21 role so probably wasn't an option.
The simple fact is that we don't know who approached whom and which decision came first. The Leeds job gives him the chance to move into a potentially long term role which may well not have been available at MFC. All I would ask is that people don't get carried away by this 'huge loss' and use it as a stick with which to beat the recruitment team.
UTB
I'm sure recruitment will have enough on their plate to worry about the Howson decision - I suspect Barlaser will not be offered a new deal when his contract ends next summer so he's likely a player who could be offloaded - plus if offers for Hackney start firming up then it's just Morris as the only senior midfielder.
There's a long way to go in this window and I'm pretty much accepting this next season is going to be one of transition where we may see a few academy prospects given more opportunity to show they can step up. We may also see the club targeting PL loans to fill the gaps too - which historically tend to turn up late once the PL clubs have finalised their squads.
OK, I missed this sentence on a report by Craig Johns on the matter of a new contract in the Gazette...
Howson’s Boro contract expired at the end of the season and after discussions it was decided that he would not be handed a new contract at Boro
So it wasn't Howson deciding the Leeds offer to coach the U21 team was a better offer.
To be honest, I think there is an amount of underlying frustration at the moment amongst members on here and with the fans generally.
It all started with, is he staying, is he going. Then we had, is he coming or isn’t he.
We all know there is going to be probably, a large turnover of the playing squad. It started in with the sale of Josh Coburn which was a little controversial and the release of a few others, including Dijksteel. Since then, nothing.
I read that only MFC have not signed anybody, apart from the two clubs under an embargo.
As Werder said, it is very likely going to be a season of transition. Not really what we were hoping for last May.
I suppose Boro could still sign 5 players, sell a few key players and get in 5 loans and loan out a few before the windows closes - the squad could be completely different come September.
Nevertheless, the season starts 2 weeks on Saturday!
Some reports via dutch media that Feyenoord expect to sign Rav van den Berg soon with an agreement with Middlesbrough getting close to completion after talks between the clubs.
Contrary to the Dutch media reports - Sky reporting that Boro have rejected 2 bids from Feyenoord as their respective valuations are 'far apart' and unclear if they will make a third bid - so make of all that as you wish 🤔
I'm on record here a few weeks ago in saying that I would have offered Howson an extension if the numbers add up. Versatility and experience, well settled, a known quantity - I don't see any footballing measure - particularly with uncertainty surrounding some important players like Hackney - where offloading Howson made sense.
However, like all of Boro's incomings and outgoings for some time now, the focus has been on perceived value. It strikes me that Boro did not view Howson as worth whatever salary and bonuses would be needed to retain him. I suspect that once that became known, his agent offered his services elsewhere, alerting Leeds to an opportunity that neatly bookends his playing career whilst offering him a next step. I imagine both Boro's hierarchy and Howson himself are quite happy with the outcome.
The problem, however, is similar to that of many other "value" transactions of recent windows - the squad has been left weaker.
We can only hope that we have a number of incomings ready to be announced shortly, and that they will be ready to go from the off. Unfortunately, I don't share Jarkko's view that we have a good team at the moment - not by the measure of the promotion hopefuls or by comparison with previous promotion-winning Boro squads.
and that is exactly what we all do, "make of it what we wish".Contrary to the Dutch media reports - Sky reporting that Boro have rejected 2 bids from Feyenoord as their respective valuations are 'far apart' and unclear if they will make a third bid - so make of all that as you wish 🤔
We all want to know, but few, if any, of us will know for sure, exactly what lies behind any decisions made that concern what we all consider as "our club".
I am determined not to allow myself to be frustrated at this. After all, I consider that would be a wasted energy. That said, I do get it, the curiosity along with the arms and legs that speculation encourages to grow, so I am not going to be critical of anyone that does indulge in conjecture about the internal machinations at MFC - and Lord knows there are plenty of things to wonder about!
Que sera sera
@andy-r That's a fair and reasonable assessment of the situation. At the end of the day, professional footballers know exactly what their chosen working environment is like and that loyalty counts for very little in the modern game --- actually loyalty counts for very little in the corporate workspace generally, not just elite professional football. Individual footballers (with and through their agents) are out to maximise the returns they can get out of a contract, while individual clubs are also out to maximise what they can get out of any contract. I think (at least for the most part) it is only us fans that add in emotion into the mix.
I agree that it looks like it will be several weeks yet before we begin to get a picture of what our squad will look like, let alone how we will prefer to play. That is one of my biggest bugbears, that if we are to have a transfer window in the close-season, that it does not close at least a week before hostilities begin. No team should have to start the season without having a settled squad.
@werdermouth And yet other media reports, indicate that personal terms have been agreed. Probably tentative, to see if he would be happy to join PSV.
Andy, although I was in the “let him go camp”, I can certainly understand, the “make him an offer” opinion.
Especially when put against the unknown, what will we get, how many games will he play comparison of Danny Ings. That rumour just does not make any sense at all.
Patrick Bamford, just has to be Leeds trying to offload a well paid player who will most probably not play any games this coming season in the EPL.
It all seems a long time since we ended the season one win short of a playoff place.
@werdermouth And yet other media reports, indicate that personal terms have been agreed. Probably tentative, to see if he would be happy to join PSV.
Andy, although I was in the “let him go camp”, I can certainly understand, the “make him an offer” opinion.
Especially when put against the unknown, what will we get, how many games will he play comparison of Danny Ings. That rumour just does not make any sense at all.Patrick Bamford, just has to be Leeds trying to offload a well paid player who will most probably not play any games this coming season in the EPL.
Agreed, Pedro. Neither Ings nor Bamford appear to fit the recruitment profile / "value" strategy. I simply don't believe either rumour.
I guess we're just trying to build a picture of where the club are heading with what little information is flowing out behind all the PR noise that floods the local media these days.
From what I can determine is that this is a period of financial tightening where player sales are funding future business and existing wage costs - with the club looking at free agents or low ticket price additions.
Add to that the possibility of 'new additions' comprising of a return of the long-term injured and frequently injured players like Lenihan, Bangura, McGree and Forss plus the rehabilitation of fringe players like Silvera and possible breakthrough academy youngsters like McCabe, Finch or others - then this season may well be a low-key realignment on a budget with a few new faces and loans.
Edwards sounds very accommodating to this make do and mend approach as it unfolds but as yet we won't see how his team will perform on the real stage - I suspect the last two weeks of August will be hectic in the window as offers for key players get accepted and the loan market starts moving - what we don't know is whether Edwards will have a balanced squad to take him through to January.
Not to mention that a couple of injuries to key players could make the squad look very thin in places - imagine if Morris was laid up after selling Hackney! So I hope the club are busy planning for all the various scenarios but as things stand another 10th place finish wouldn't be the worst outcome this year.
Still too early to have any sense of what the season holds - much can change in the coming weeks and we could even find some players like Lenihan and McGree are back to their best and an unexpected signing like Doak appears and adds a new dimension to the team - Hackney may stay too!
Dutch media reporting that Feyenoord are no longer pursuing van den Berg and plan to sign different defenders instead after having bids rejected by Boro - so not as close as previously reported...
I'm a little concerned going into the season , how some players are going to react when they know clubs have inquired of their availability, agents do talk ,will they be in the right frame of mind.
I,am told enquiries for Hackney, RVB, Azaz , Conway, even Morris , the main ones out there, I know the club can fob them off but your looking around £ 60m , can a club like ours afford to refuse that kind of income,
If we have a slow start, I hope apathy doesn't creep in. I've seen it before with certain players,
CoB
@werdermouth. “Howson’s Boro contract expired at the end of the season and after discussions it was decided that he would not be handed a new contract at Boro”
I am having some difficulty in accepting this explanation. Why if his contract was not being renewed did it take so long to make the announcement; why was it not announced when Dijksteel’s release was announced or when the retained list of players was issued. 🤔
All very strange and to me just an other example of poor management/communication. 😎
OK there were discussions but must've had something on the table to discuss and then maybe Boro offered him a coaching role but he had other options on that front.
Or it's just another PR statement from Craig Johns...
Live stream available on the Boro website. Bangura off injured after 10 mins. 🙁😎
0-0. McGree off injured after 37mins. 🙁🙁😎
Powderpuff football from Boro. Neat interplay with Whittaker having the freedom of the park and Hackney playing well within himself, but very few chances created. i couldn't discern why we conceded the penalty, but that makes three given away in a game and a half. That may be the biggest contrast to last term, when, if memory serves, we didn't concede even one all season.
Since we started with our strongest X1 this doesn't augur well for the opening games
0 - 2, I do worry boro 0 may be a theme next season any bets when we will see mcgree again
So Boro give away a second goal with the last kick of the game after Law McCabe is brushed too easily off the ball in a dangerous area.
Zero firepower from the Boro, and that must be our main concern, but who can be surprised that neither Forss nor Burgzorg filled the bill in this regard. The selling of Coburn to make room for two players who have demonstrated to the satisfaction of most Boro fans that they will never make mainline strikers is something we will come to regret, particularly as Conway's all action style makes him a prime candidate for knocks and injuries throughout the season.
What I fear we are seeing are the earliest episodes of a full-scale horror movie, Scott Unchained
I reckon two things will bring McGree from the bench
1 it stops raining and it’s a very warm day !
or
2 when Australia come calling to join up with the squad !
Or am I being just a tad cynical??
🤔
OFB
What I just cannot understand as I have previously posted. Irregardless of what we thought of Michael Carrick, bringing in Edwards and trying to play a completely different system without the players to carry it out, just does not make any sense at all.
We did not have sufficient good enough players last season, and we certainly do NOT have them now. See how Man U coped last season under Amorim.
I think we learnt this evening that PR won't win you football games - this is basically what's left of last season's squad that finished a disappointing 10th minus around half-dozen of those who were key first-teamers now replaced by failed loanees, previously bench options and the long-term injured.
We already know how Boro without Latte Lath and Ben Doak struggled to score and our defence was already lacking pace and adding an over-30 Lenihan who hasn't kicked a ball for over a year won't change that.
Boro have a tough opening ten fixtures and no indication there's going to be a team to handle them. Our only potential wing-back goes off injured within minutes and we have no genuine centre-forward in a system that has one less attacking player on the pitch.
None of last season's problems have yet been addressed with the risk that injuries are starting to mount after just a few run-outs and we may yet sell key players if acceptable offers arrive.
At the moment we appear only to have a central midfield pair (subject to sales) and maybe one attacking forward who looks comfortable and perhaps one central defender ready to go if indeed Rav is likely to go elsewhere.
The rest of the team is based on hope - hope we sign proper wing-backs and a centre-forward, hope the long-term injured can be rehabilitated, hope squad players can step up and hope we don't sell Hackney.
At least it's still pre-season and defeats are meaningless except for what you learn and players get closer to match fitness if they don't get injured of course. Boro simply need more quality through the door but it will take while for them to settle so it's fingers crossed we avoid a poor start in those tricky ten opening games!
@original-fat-bob I like McGree as a player but if he's not available on a regular basis then it's time to move on.
Sounds like hope against hope there. I watched some of the game but saw nothing whatsoever to inspire, er, hope. . .
UTB,
John
PS OFB, you are not being cynical.
Werder: Whilst Alfie Jones appears to be possibly the closest signing, he alone is not going to solve our obvious issues at the back.
His internet profile shows that he is a reliable available player, with 180 games since signing for Hull in 2020, a steady Eddie. However apparently he does NOT have an abundance of pace, something we are short of in bucket fulls.
The mismatch of players to Edwards chosen preferred system is so large, one really has to wonder what MFC were thinking about when they decided Carrick’s time was up.
Whilst it has been said that Edwards is more pragmatic and flexible than Carrick, the last couple of games has shown he still wants to play with 3 at the back.
How on earth is he going to do that. How are the recruitment team going to facilitate the required players. All we have is some saleable assets, which we probably need to sell before we buy in anywhere near they numbers needed for the system to work.
Looking at the first ten games, which as werder pointed out, are very tricky. One can easily imagine Boro being mired in the bottom half dozen by then.
Chris, who in their right mind would buy, McGree (a high earner with I believe three years contract remaining) Bangura, Dieng, Forss and any number of the others not fit for purpose to the new regime.