And I wonder where Grant Leadbitter fits into this jigsaw? As he represents the one continuity between the previous team and the new one, I hope he’s not going to have his nose pushed out. He could have a crucial role to play.
Btw, have I missed the outcome of the ongoing talks re Jonny Howson’s contract? I haven’t seen any announcement anywhere? Does anybody know what the situation is?
As far as Jonny Howson is concerned, it sounds like no decision will be made on a possible contract extension until Edwards is officially in place.
Thanks werder. A very prompt response!
@original-fat-bob One would not say, “well they are good credentials for hiring him.
Plenty of failure in amongst those CV’s
The best post I have seen for the secretive goings on at MFC is:
MFC is prolonging the negotiations with Edwards, so that when they finally announce his appointment, the general fan base will be more accepting of the decision.
Thank goodness for that, we thought it would never end, let’s just get on with it now.
Talking of the fan base and its support away from home. Apparently MFC have sold nearly eight thousand of the 8200 ticket allocation for the Rangers game.
Our "new" manager appears to have taken the guise of the scarlett Pimpernel
Are the club still trying to persuade Edwards to take the job? as someone else said it is all descending into farce
Adi Viveash
After retiring from playing in 2007, Viveash took up his first role in management with Cirencester Town.
He then enjoyed several successful years with Chelsea, acting as their U18 and U21 manager before departing in 2017.
Viveash then joined Coventry City as assistant manager to Mark Robins in July 2017, where he helped bring about two promotions in three seasons.
The 55-year-old went on to leave the Sky Blues in July 2024, just over a year after he had signed a new four-year contract.
LATEST RUMOURED TO BE JOINING THE COACHING STAFF
OFB
My fickle self might be warming up to the new coaching staff if it's true
Look what photo is circulating on Facebook
Something I was not aware of. Lucy Pittaway, artist daughter of Willie Maddren.
Maybe our new manager is like a character out of Viz?
In Billy the Fish they had the invisible striker and now MFC have the invisible manager
It does amuse me to read the 'latest' on the Rob Edwards appointment in the Gazette as it was described as 'imminent' then in the 'coming days' to now 'preparing to announce after delay'.
The latest article from yesterday could easily have been ghost written by the club as it carefully sets out how Edwards was chosen after an "extensive search" having "received many interesting applications" and how he "impressed in the interview" - but as far as we know he was the only person interviewed so it was hard not to be the most impressive candidate.
Plus (if you hadn't heard) he has "prior experience working with Kieran Scott" and "impressed Steve Gibson with his knowledge of the squad" to make Edwards "the clear candidate so early in the process".
So why hasn't he already been appointed? This is easily explained as "rather than a delay or hold-up" it is in fact "the natural process of sorting contracts and unveiling plan" as well as details such as "backroom staff and forward planning".
They then add context of the time-frame of Gerhard Struber's appointment at Bristol City and explain they were further advanced and only appointed him on Friday - so this is all normal and that "There aren't expected to be any complications at this stage".
So nothing to see here (literally) and we should all be patient - unless of course you believed their original report that the appointment was imminent!
To be honest, I am not surprised that we have not heard anything from the club. If they say nothing, then they cannot get it wrong. If past experience has taught them anything, it must be:
Mr Gibson: Neil, who is in charge of our Press Releases, not still the chap who issued the ST information that bombed?
Neil: I am afraid so Steve, he was on a long term contract, so a bit expensive to get rid of.
Mr Gibson, Pity. Right then, we say nothing to anyone then. Tell your friend at the Gazette to string this drama out for as long as we need to get our ducks in a row.
Anyway, moving on to what will happen once Rob Edwards is installed as Boro head coach - it will be just over six weeks before the season starts once Edwards and the new coach team is installed so lots to do and work out.
I suspect Edwards will first decide on any players with contracts that may be extended plus deciding who to keep and let go - with I think 7 players entering the final year of their contract.
Then it's pre-season training and at this point the new man's tactics will be explained - there's much talk of Edwards preferring a back three with variations of 3-5-2, 3-4-2-1 and 3-4-1-2.
The big issue for me is who will play in the back three and who will be the wing-backs? It's hard to see how players like Whittaker and Burgzorg fit into that formation and whether Forss has a future as one of the pressing strikers - I'm not sure defensively if wing-back is his strength. I believe Bangura is probably the club's only wing-back but he appears injury prone.
Plus, if McGree is fit does he play in midfield behind a front two or is that Azaz's role or is that the only place Whittaker could possibly play?
Do Ayling or Borges play in a back three? or would 3 from Fry, van den Berg, Lenihan and Edmundson fit better - not much pace in that Boro defence for me if Edwards prefers a high back line!
It's therefore hard for me to not to contemplate that there will be a lot of incoming and outgoing players this summer and a lot of work for the players who remain to adjust to new and different roles - that's a lot to sort out in six weeks but realistically it will be at least three months before Edward's side will begin to take shape.
And another coach expected to join the Boro is Adrian Lee Viveash (born 30 September 1969) is an English football coach and former professional player who was most recently assistant manager at Coventry City. He is most notable for his spells with Reading and Walsall during the 1990s. He played in the Reading team which won the Division Two title in 1994, reached the Division One playoff final in 2000, and achieved promotion to the Championship in 2001. He also helped Walsall reach Division One in 1999.
OFB
@werdermouth That’s probably the biggest issue when you change coaches with different systems and not having the correct players to fit. See Man U and a reluctance to be pragmatic and adapt as you change players.
What will Edwards do? Will he look at what he has inherited and tweak the existing system and players, but not drastically until he has the right type of squad?
If like Amorim, he imposes his preferred system of three at the back, then we will be possibly in bigger trouble than Carrick had with his limited squad.
At the moment, we have no wing backs and not three good enough CB’s. And as werder said, we have no pace at all at the back at this moment.
Moving players out that you don’t want can take quite some time. Getting in players you do want may be expensive. Good loans players may not be available until September.
I hope all of this was the number one topic of conversation in the interview with Edwards and MFC.
I was reading an article on the BBC (What went wrong for Edwards at Luton) from back in January - interestingly one the biggest criticisms was that he persisted with a back three when it clearly wasn't working. That's pretty much what Amorim did at United and it was suggested by some Luton fans in the comments that Edwards had no Plan B.
Well we've heard that before on numerous occasions last season too - so it's perhaps a problem with many coaches in believing something worked in the past so it should work now. I suspect it's even harder to get the same group of players drilled into playing one way to adjust to something different.
Of course, the other missing ingredient at Boro last season was leadership on the pitch - so I wouldn't be surprised to see a new defensive leader used to playing a back three arrive this summer.
Gazette Watch: Estimation of Edwards appointment...
Craig Johns latest threat level has now moved from 'imminent' and in the 'coming days' to 'This week' - too early to say if this new measure will eventually be downgraded to 'this month'...
If this drags on any longer I wonder who is going to take pre season training?
Is MC going to reappear as guest manager for Rangers friendly?
I have seen software releases drop quicker than the appointment of our new manager
One of the most curious aspects of the Edwards appointment and of Scott's role within it is that it does seem to represent a distinct, and perhaps even a major, change of direction in terms of the club's playing style and recruitment priorities.
Quite apart from his record at Luton, Edwards has suggested that he favours a more direct approach, based less on possession of the ball than on hard running, closing down the opposition's space, a greater degree of physicality etc. In short it seems that we will become less of a passing than a longer ball side
In its own way that may be all well and good, and it will certainly be welcomed by many of the Riverside faithful who are tired of slow build-ups and seeing their team pass the ball around in front of their own goal
But the lack of confidence that this is likely to produce next term is based on the fact that the current Boro squad seems particularly ill-equipped to play the Edwards' way, having been specifically recruited and coached over the past three seasons to do the opposite.
Scott's role seems to have morphed somewhat since his appointment. As I understood it he was recruited because of his involvement in and understanding of the Norwich model. This entailed the uncovering of hidden diamonds like Pukki and Buendia, bargain buys who became Championship and then Premier League stars, worth huge multiples of the price originally paid for them, alongside the development and continuity of an attractive playing style based on a passing game that had brought the Canaries promotion and some initial success in the Premier League.
Scott's failure to repeat the Norwich recruitment trick, perhaps best exemplified by his selling of Morsy, under protest from Warnock, in order to provide the funds to purchase James Seliki, and presenting Wilder with a strike force of Hoppe and Forss, was finally sealed with his statement that the days when you could sign a Pukki or Buendia were over, so fierce was the competition, and his appointment of a head of recruitment, which in effect released him from much of the responsibility (and blame)for that role.
Scott could concentrate on what he now defined as his primary role, providing continuity over an extended period of time in terms of the club’s longer term objectives, including its transfer policy and playing style.
Yet Scott is now the architect, not of Continuity but of a Giant Rupture. That line of progression to a more creative fluent style from Warnock through Wilder to Carrick has now been thrown into reverse, and the kind of players shown the door by Scott- experienced pros like Morsy, Watmore, Mowatt and O’Brien - are the type likely to be high on the new coach’s shopping list.
In terms of strategic thinking, none of this strikes me as being coherent or the product of a controlling intelligence. Indeed there does not appear to be a strategy beyond the Director of Football now having as his coach a pal, with whom he thinks he can work.
On the balance of this evidence, it's difficult to see the future as being anything other than a giant car crash, not simply for next season , but well into the future. I'd be interested to see the basis on which anyone else is willing to predict something different, other than hoping for the best.
I don't know enough about Edwards to know the answer but I think the question is, did Luton play the Edwards way, or did Edwards adapt to the squad he inherited?
I sincerely hope it was the latter for all the reasons you mention.
Yes, we have not even heard the new head coach's first interview, and we are already thinking he is a failure.I don't know enough about Edwards to know the answer but I think the question is, did Luton play the Edwards way, or did Edwards adapt to the squad he inherited?
I sincerely hope it was the latter for all the reasons you mention.
I still think the interview process was fair and the best option was (will be) chosen. I have not read anywhere that Edwards and Scott WERE friends, either. They just happened to work in a same football club about ten years ago.
I am pretty sure Mr. Gibson won't allow anybody to choose his buddy as a manager. Really? Come on.
Secondly, what I have read, the player recruitment is working on finding the new players with or without Carrick (or the new lad). So we need about five to six new players. And I sincerely hope the fewer, the better as we need start the season well. It takes too long for a big batch of new players to bed in as we have seen after the past few summer windows.
Also, I hope we can keep to our best players. We have money from Latte Lath's sale and no need to sell now. I hope the new head coach can keep the hackeneys, van deb bergs, morrises and fries happy at the club.
More over, why "panic" already now? The players will be back at the end of the week for tests and we will start training next week. I am sure the new head coach will be behind his table before next week. Besides, Leadbitter and the academy coaches are there if needed. Training is not rocket scince during the first two weeks.
I have two weeks to go before my summer holiday starts. I will try to enjoy the time now and up-coming holiday. Up the Boro!
@lenmasterman I think we will just have to wait and see while hoping for the best. I suppose the one thing about having a low set of expectation is that it means we will be more easily satisfied if things don't go that badly wrong.
Yes, it does appear odd to choose a head coach that utilises a different method of playing than the players were signed for - but Boro's recent history of managers has no obvious continuity in attempting to marry current players with coach.
Karanka to Monk to Pulis to Woodgate to Warnock to Wilder then Carrick - almost a lurch in the opposite direction each time. The philosophy seem to be that didn't work let's try something different. I seem to recall wing-backs being needed then become surplus to requirements and then needed again.
I take Andy's point of Edwards may well be more pragmatic in his style - though it then begs the question of whether it's a good idea to get in a coach to try a style of play he's not attempted in recent years?
I read an interesting interview where Rob Edwards talks about how he decided to play at Luton that didn't change around their previous style too much - he sounds like an intelligent man and what I don't think will change is that trying to quickly regain possession and pressing.
Also likely is that he will want wing-backs as they are integral to his tactics - though since we don't really have any right-sided full-backs or wing-backs then this is not a major issue and on the left are question marks too.
It also sounds like Edwards prefers a target man up top who can hold the ball and occupy defenders - this sounds like a good opportunity for Josh Coburn to impress in pre-season.
But ultimately we should perhaps expect anything to happen next season and my worry is that Edwards will have to be lucky to get off to a good start!
I am pretty sure Mr. Gibson won't allow anybody to choose his buddy as a manager. Really? Come on.
I guess Steve Gibson would need convincing they could do the job - though let's not forget he let Carrick bring his brother in as his assistant!
I think Scott wanted Edwards to be Boro head coach after Chris Wilder and it was reported at the time in some of the national press that Edwards was the favourite over Michael Carrick - though he ended up missing out in what was described recently in the local press as a close decision.
I believe Scott wants someone he knows to be head coach after what appears to have been at best a strained working relationship with Carrick - whether Edwards is going to be as compliant as Scott is hoping for is another matter - though I take your point that there is nothing in the public domain declaring their friendship for each other.
I do actually think it will be better for the club and players if the Director of Football and Head Coach are on the same page but whatever the relationship, Edwards or any manager knows they will need results!
Looking at Werdermouth's listing of the last seven Boro bosses is depressing stuff.
Karanka to Monk to Pulis to Woodgate to Warnock to Wilder then Carrick made me think about the tipping point for each man and only Carrick truly avoided any obvious internal friction or huge public debate. I'd guess he was also the only boss that was still popular with the vast majority of the players at the end.
A good man, it is sad that he has gone and the current drawn only farce only heightens this. But I don't think it was a mistake to part ways: his run-in this season was woeful and the team promised but never really convinced, much like the man himself. Any improvement was difficult to see hence cutting the ties.
I imagine Gibson liked Carrick and wonder whether he was given an ultimatum of dumping his two coaches, Woodgate and Carrick Jnr, in order to stay on? It would account for the radio silence when you'd think we'd have heard something from the former boss. But speculation only.
As a side note, Carrick will probably be the last man who played under Ferguson at Man Utd to give management a go. Great players but a mid 90s purple patch from Robbo aside, none have made the grade. Maybe we should not have expected more of Carrick.
Middlesbrough Are Still Reportedly Eyeing Up A Move For Aston Villa’s Kaine Kesler-Hayden,
Villa Have Reportedly Put A £3m Price Tag On The Wing Back Which Will Aid Their PSR. (Mike McGrath - Telegraph Sport)
Last season he was on loan at Preston and Basically did a Rav and won every award going ( players player of the year, supporters player of the year, young player of the year etc). The kids from Villa … has played on loan at Plymouth… he’s basically been groomed to come to Boro. 😇
I still think a combination of tensions behind the scenes, the selling of Latte Lath and the subsequent January window - plus the injury to Doak were the main reasons Carrick missed out on the play-offs and a shot at promotion. OK, Carrick's game management wasn't great but most of the time there was nothing on the bench to give him something to seriously ponder.
I don't know what 'the review' concluded but if he was basically offered a choice between having Scott replace his backroom staff or leave then it would have been a weak character who could accept the former - besides wasn't Woodgate the club's choice of his assistant much in the same way it seems Edwards team is being picked for him.
I think Carrick's time was up given his working relationship with Scott was over - we've already read in the local press that Carrick was the fall guy for everything that went wrong despite the apparent best efforts of the recruitment team to limit the damage.
It will be Scott's show from now on but hopefully Edwards will find the space to exert some of his personality and intelligence - though it's a win-win for Scott as he'll get the credit if it works and escape the blame if Edwards struggles to adjust and loses the supporters.
It's another gamble by Steve Gibson and we can only hope Edwards is mentally strong enough for the challenge - he needs some breaks early doors as they say!