I TOTALLY agree with your proposal. Let's enjoy the pre-season and give the new crew a change. Up the Boro!Now that we finally have an announcement, how about we park the Scott issues for now and just get behind the new management team and look forward to the new season?
@rich-llewelyn-evans Rob Edwards was born in Telford and is half English and Welsh. He was a Welsh International and started his playing career at Aston Villa and Wolves. So more Midlands than London.
I think his Welsh background will fit in well with Teessiders. At least Dormo will be happy. Up the Boro!
Well. He had me at "I know we can control the game. We want to be able to control it as far away from our goal as possible."
CoB
Jarkko . No. Not more change. The new coaching team is just in place !!!I TOTALLY agree with your proposal. Let's enjoy the pre-season and give the new crew a change. Up the Boro!Now that we finally have an announcement, how about we park the Scott issues for now and just get behind the new management team and look forward to the new season?
P.S. I know in your head you meant to type give the new crew a chance 😉
Yes, my typo. So a chance. UTB!
Rob Edwards' interview with BBC Tees:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cr5v3pzg1gro
Now we know much more than yesterday. We still do not know how we will be lining up next season. Is it 4-2-3-1 or wing backs, or other. He said he hopes for a couple of new players, so it looks unlikely to change too much from our 4-2-3-1 under Carrick as we do not have wing-backs at the club.
Perhaps he does not know the best formation yet. The practice matches will give a clue to him and us, too.
Up the Boro!
This luton fan is not impressed, make of it what you will
https://youtu.be/AuZu37DnP4k?si=ned4w4UBQy8ymmkJ
In his words "Rob Edwards is a fraud"
His words not mine
Watched it all he said "Edwards is tactically inflexible, no plan B, late substitutions" talk about deja vou
@werdermouth I like the sound of his plan to play with energy, win the ball back quickly and play good exciting attacking football
Have I just read, that Mr Edwards, hopes to get in at least a couple of new players?
We all want him to succeed. We all want to see some good football, win some games and start that off at the Riverside.
However, do we have even the nucleus of players at the moment. Those that have energy to spare, pace and can tackle to win the ball back, high up the pitch.
Whittaker, Azaz, Burgzorg, even Conway. I am not even sure Hackney and Morris have that capability. We won’t mention the defenders.
I appreciate he has to wait and see how his squad perform first. But we all have first hand knowledge.
Interesting post, Paul with a timely warning: "Don't get lost in the eyes and the teeth."
.. but also let us not be hasty to prejudge the man.Interesting post, Paul with a timely warning: "Don't get lost in the eyes and the teeth."
He starts with my (all our?) support which is his to retain or to lose. Which that will be is not for today, but we might begin to see in a few months time.
As I have said before Rob Edwards seems like a thoroughly decent man and a good man manager. His support of Tom Lockyer was absolutely exemplary, the measure of a good man, and it rightly won the admiration of everyone in football. Of course one wishes him well, and if things ever go awry and he begins to bear the brunt of any criticisms, I suspect that I will one of a small minority who is prepared to defend him. The Gazette certainly won't
But until the season starts we are going to have to endure an awful lot of PR fluff that we have all witnessed many times before and will be both entirely predictable and almost totally meaningless. It is unlikely to get to the heart of the difficult structural issues that face our new man and his coaching team.
I'm always sceptical of media-inspired bandwagons, so i won't be jumping on either this one or its opposite which will surely follow at some stage over the next few years.
But Edwards will get my full support both now and when he most needs it, as he grapples with some formidable problems that are patently obvious to everyone on Diasboro and are emphatically not of his making.
@jarkko I'm half and half Welsh too but was brought up in the north-east, hence the Boro. I also opted for Wales as my national team. Not sure what these judgements say about me...
The last few weeks has seen a lot of sniping at the MFC management team, to the extent where i found it easier to back away from the blog and wait for some concrete news. Now we have a definitive announcement, some positive interviews and, finally, a feeling that the club is ready to move forward.
There is one comment that I would like to make about the delay.
It always seemed likely that Rob Edwards would get the head coach/manager gig and none of us really looked beyond that. However, what we now see is that Steve Gibson, Kieran Scott and whoever else was involved have put in place around Edwards some very high quality coaching support, of a kind that might have helped Michael Carrick sort out some of last season's problems.
When Adi Viveash left Coventry there were a lot of suggestions that Mark Robbins would falter and that turned out to be the case. Based on his record, I'm sure that he was much in demand from a range of teams and it may well be that capturing him along with Harry Watling was the reason for the delay.
Either way, it is worth commenting on the fact that we have not only an excellent man manager and communicator as our head coach but also someone who is prepared to work closely with two new coaches who bring a lot of high level experience. This strikes me as unusual in football. How often do we see an announcement that Mr X is new manager and he is bringing his whole coaching team with him. I wonder if the creation of the new MFC coaching team is the reason for the process dragging out a bit. If so, I'm very hopeful that time taken in putting things together will be worth the wait.
I do also hope that Grant Leadbitter stays around the first team.
Anyway, it's a time for optimism and I'm sure that we wish them every success.
UTB
Haydon v Rav Wednesday u21 semi
He certainly didn't rate Rob Edwards in that video but we shall soon see for ourselves - though I think he made a good point that having the experienced Viveash alongside him could ensure any tactically naivety will not be unchallenged. Also, I think it's par for the course that those who have YouTube channels are required to be quite opinionated and controversial to gain views so no surprise to hear 'Fraud' instead of made a mistake.
I should also make the good point I read yesterday in that Edwards managed more points in the PL than any of the six promoted clubs in the last two seasons - including Vincent Kompany at Burnley who also showed tactical naivety in the top flight and he was then snapped up by Bayern Munich. Though Edwards certainly underachieved last season and couldn't stop Luton's slide.
I certainly think Edwards is a confidence man, like many managers, if they get off to a good start their enthusiasm carries everyone along but often struggle to find ways to turn things around. We've seen it with Carrick and in the past with Mogga, Karanka or Robson - indeed most managers ultimately get caught out when trying to get back to winning ways and that's why the average tenure is now less than two years.
Coaches on the up who appear to have all the answers and can vary their tactics and stop losing runs are not applying for jobs at mid-table Championship sides as they soon get noticed. Though even the so-called best ones struggle like Amorim or Postecoglou did and they've even got far superior players.
One thing we know is that nearly every manager will ultimately fail at some point and Edwards will be no different - we can only hope his energy and enthusiasm will lift the players and they will believe in his methods and get results and play well. As always it's another gamble on a less than perfect candidate - we don't know if it will work or indeed fail but this is our next journey!
One thing Edwards made clear in his first interview was that putting in the effort by players was non-negotiable so that will send a message to anyone thinking they will get a pass when it comes to pressing.
Although, I think the lack of pace in defence may be a problem for Edwards and I expect some new arrivals - plus yes maybe some of the existing players are not going to find the style suits them and hopefully that is discovered early and they can be moved on.
OK, he only said he wanted a couple of new players but no manager coming into a new job is going to say he needs lots of new players if he isn't going to be greeted by a frosty dressing room - he was obviously diplomatic in saying there were lots of good players at the club but we rarely see any new manager come in and not bring in his type of players.
Hopefully he will surprise all of us and it's good to see experienced coaches put in place next to him and not just friends and family.
I'm glad that the saga of appointing the man we all knew would be in charge has finally happened. We can start to look forward now.
I'm perfectly OK with Edwards being that man but am more encouraged by the installation of Viveash as his assistant. This blog has regularly called for a proven, experienced head to go alongside Gibson's less experienced managerial choices and the noises that AV (not that one) is no "yes man" - another regular complaint on the blog - add some evidence that the club is learning from previous errors.
So we now have a young head coach with a couple of promotions on his record who seemingly - and very importantly - sees eye to eye with our Head of Football, and alongside him a knowledgeable assistant who prides himself on the development of younger players and is not afraid to challenge the manager on tactical issues. This all sounds like good news to me and, much as I sincerely dislike how we've managed to get here, I'm more than prepared to get behind it. Good luck to them.
Whilst we don't yet know how the new coaching team will approach the setup and therefore what kind of players are needed, the focus can now be on the squad.
I believe that if Latte Lath had been retained in January and Doak had stayed fit, Boro would have made the top six last term. Would they have gone on to win the playoffs? Perhaps not, but that squad was not far away from the top six. We may have even made it without Doak had Isiaiah Jones been kept on.
The problem is that ELL was, in the end, a £20m asset and Doak perhaps more like £30m given his age. We might also need a goalkeeper and a striker and certainly a right fullback/wingback. That's a potentially huge outlay needed just to get Boro back to fighting for the playoffs.
Of course, Boro's recruitment team are tasked with finding players at far more affordable prices than those quoted above but the fact remains that the quality of ELL and Doak need finding at sub-£10m. No mean feat.
My first-look summary then, is that whilst I'm encouraged by the new coaching setup on paper, I think the squad remains some way short of competing at the very top end of the league and arguably the hardest work starts now. If we can't get players of that quality, then I think we need to cut the new coaching team some slack.
Totally agree with your comments and Leadbitter. Hopefully room somewhere for Jonny Howson also?
OFB
Good post Len and after watching all the Rob Edwards interviews on you tube he comes over as pleasant, knowledgeable, and also prepared to work as a member of the coaching team.
When Danks left Boro that was the beginning of the end for Carrick as he has no one to turn to mid game to change tactics or how to combat a problem.
Hopefully Boro have made the right choice and this is a forward step.
UTB
OFB
I’m a bit confused by the calls for GL & JH to be found managerial/coaching roles at the club. I thought we’d gone beyond “jobs for the boys” mentality.
JH has been a great asset as a player for the Boro but he’s never been the natural leader on the pitch that we’ve all been crying out for, so I’m not sure what he’d give us as a coach.
GL didn’t seem to be of much assistance to MC last year so, again, what would his role be going forward?
@martin-bellamy Agree with you there. For all of Howson’s attributes and his professionalism, a leader in the Keane mould he is not.
Sadly, as much as I really like what I know about JH, I think it is time to move on with the new Coaching Team and unfortunately let him go.
I'm not sure about Howson as a coach but I would be tempted to give him another year as a player, particularly if Edwards wants to play a back three. I think Jonny can still be a good asset for us when needed as the right sided centre back or the option to bring him off the bench in central midfield if trying to see a game out.
It might also depend on what happens with Hackney as he might be needed early in the season as a centre mid.
Right chaps! I have been quiet on here for a few days and that was partly because I wanted a rest, partly because I had other things on and partly because there seemed little point in serving up rehashed rumours and points that had already been made by others in the absence of any hard news. The lack of news was dispiriting whatever the reason behind it.
The decision has now been made and announced. I will get behind the "new coaching team". I think the least we can do is to give the guy a chance! I hope he turns out to be a lucky manager.
My family was all Welsh apart from one grandmother (English) though I was born in Middlesbrough and lived in Redcar/Dormanstown until I moved to leafy village life in North Yorkshire. Apart from Boro I support Wales at Rugby and football, and Yorkshire plus England (it is, after all, the England & Wales Cricket Board) at cricket. Yesterday saw an absolutely outstanding run-chase by England to beat India on the final day at Headingley (I think the 10th highest of all time and England's 3rd highest). And Yorkshire today managed to get a draw after achieving a staggering first innings lead away at Nottingham. Apart from those two very recent results, I was beginning to despair of sport as a worthwhile pastime. Maybe my sports supporting life will take an upturn. I hope so!
So it ended Hackney 2 van den Berg 1. Rav played 90 minutes, Hayden was a late substitute but assisted the England winner on the 85th minute.Haydon v Rav Wednesday u21 semi
They hugged each other after the match. England are to the final. Harvey Elliott's double booked a showdown with Germany on Saturday as Lee Carsley's defending champions deservedly beat the Netherlands in the sweltering heat of Bratislava.
So Hackney or Rav won't be anywhere near Rockcliffe today, when most of the Boro squad report back. Up the Boro!
@jarkko Only six minutes or so for Hackney.
I think it may be difficult for him to get past Alex Scott, although I am not sure of both their ages and whether this tournament may be their last
.I remember when Bournemouth paid circa 25 million for him, I think it was werder, posting, something like,
“I think Scott is a year ahead of Hackney in development” I think that still stands true, in fact the former has a two years EPL experience now and HH none. Will that reflect on what we may be able to sell him for, is that comes about?
Josh Coburn signs for millwall 5M+
Don't wish to drag it out ,but I'd like someone to ask the question to Scott if they get the chance and that is how many applications were they, and how many were interviewed .
There must have been a reason for the delay ,I'm wondering if there was a toss up between Edward's and Viveash , for the top job, and made them an enticing offer to bring them together