With the season thankfully all but over, the question of who will be in charge for the next one has yet to be decided - though Neil Warnock appears to be in pole position to prolong his retirement for one last hurray or possibly whimper given the current state of affairs.
Although, given his age and southern base, is he the right man to take the club forward or is he just yet another short-term fix (I use the term fix loosely). If you add to that the departure of many out-of-contract players and some who really should be moved on and the risks of the bigger fish with cash cherry-picking some of the club's promising youngsters, then it could well be quite a major reshuffle in the comings weeks.
Anyway, feel free to speculate on the comings and goings as we head towards the late summer break and hopefully still in the Championship...
I am grateful for NW coming in and hopefully completing a rescue mission. I am, however, less convinced that he should stay next season as a major rebuild is required both defensively and offensively and this in my view will take more than a season to complete.
SG should be looking at a medium to long term strategy as short term fixes and regular changes of managers are clearly not working. He needs someone with the experience of managing at this level but younger than NW and to be prepared to rebuild the squad with a target of challenging for promotion in 2/3 years.
In addition to letting go those out of contract, it may be necessary to sell some of the present first team to generate funds as we need probably 7/8 players to arrive which will be a monumental achievement given our previous recruitment record, in addition to trying to get them to gel as a team.
We may well have survived this season but there are a lot more challenges ahead. 😎🤔
@k-p-in-spain I agree with most of your post but I would be happy for NW to continue as manager next season. We need someone like him who has seen it all before and won't suffer fools gladly. He would sort out the jobs for the boys scenario which has existed at the club for a long time. He also has a great record of getting teams promoted.
@k-p-in-spain I agree with most of your post but I would be happy for NW to continue as manager next season. We need someone like him who has seen it all before and won't suffer fools gladly. He would sort out the jobs for the boys scenario which has existed at the club for a long time. He also has a great record of getting teams promoted.
I agree 100% with Malcolm. Next season the club needs a manager who is not going to be pushed around by the management of the club or those who have indulged in any nepotism in the past. If the club escapes relegation this season, even if it is thanks to Wigan being docked 12 points, it has been such a shambles that it absolutely needs an old hand to steady the ship.
Apparently Woodgate is to be made head of recruitment for the Boro !
You couldn’t make it up could you ?
OFB
So nepotism is still rife in the club. I’m sure most of the supporters will be appalled that someone who has failed so miserably can be given a job which he so clearly doesn’t have the skills to do. They will see it for the cronyism that it is. If that’s the way the club is going to continue to be run if I were Warnock I would walk away.
Apparently Woodgate is to be made head of recruitment for the Boro !
You couldn’t make it up could you ?
OFB
Bizarre to say the least. If you want to be charitable then you could argue that he is better at spotting talent than managing it.
in my career I have seen many people who are better at certain roles than others, get promoted into a position which they were clearly unsuitable for and make a right hash of it.
just because you are a great salesman, doesn’t make you a great sales manager. Maybe JW is one of those people?
still it is a bit soon for SG to be making those appointments.
Does that mean Mr Gill will be going then?
Apparently Woodgate is to be made head of recruitment for the Boro !
You couldn’t make it up could you ?
OFB
It could have been worse - they could have made him Director of Football...
Head of Recruitment Replaced....
Woodgate as Director of football? Surely that was never a possibility. It's a role which will probably have been earmarked for Stewart Downing.
@lenmasterman And we all thought things could not get worse Len.
Apparently Woodgate is to be made head of recruitment for the Boro !
You couldn’t make it up could you ?
OFB
That surely has to be wind up?
If true it just sets in concrete all the things that are sadly coming to the fore about SG's leadership. It also says just as much about Woodgate if he is serious about becoming a Manager. Working on the assumption that it is true then its appears that the Chairman and his Teesside nepotism is blinkered to a degree that is a worry for the future of the club. It also highlights that Woodgate doesn't have any desire let alone credentials or belief in himself to become a Manager so how on earth was he considered the "outstanding candidate".
No doubt Woodgate will be slipped in again when Warnock departs. I will guess in a temporary stand in basis to begin with to test the water and then when he crashes and burns again it will be another 18 months of setback to repair the damage.
I'm guessing that Warnock is only getting the job now because he once played for Hartlepool and lived at the Headland so that makes him an honorary Teessider.
The thought of Woodgate as head of recruitment makes my blood boil. I have said on here a few times we need to get rid of the stigma of Jobs for the Boys at the club. If NW becomes manager and I hope he will, I doubt he would entertain Woodgate in any position in his backroom staff.
Wasn’t Woodgate employed in a scouting role of some sort for Liverpool?
I think that the inmates are slowly taking over the asylum.
All this rubbish with one slightly important game to go? Is some form of distraction to take the simple minds of supporters of things like winning games, goals and staying in the Championship?
In amazement I stand, staring vacantly over the West Norfolk landscape, my mind a blank and hoping I wake up soon and it's April 1.
UTB,
John
If Steve Gibson wants to keep on keeping it in the family, there is a young manager out there who came through the Boro Academy and made 24 appearances for the first team. In twelve seasons in management he’s won six league titles, four cups and three league cups.
Any guesses?
Wasn’t Woodgate employed in a scouting role of some sort for Liverpool?
I think Woodgate was Liverpool's Spanish scout.
Adam Clayton left the club on Friday. MFC gave a weak excuse at press conference saying it was a family matter.
But I’ve heard from another player that he’s gone!
OFB
@original-fat-bob. No thanks. Other than NW not sure if any one else would take on the basket case we currently are!😎
Apparently Woodgate is to be made head of recruitment for the Boro !
You couldn’t make it up could you ?
OFB
OFB would you mind posting the link where you got this information as I cannot find anything anywhere to substantiate this comment. We all hear rumours from “a friend of a friend who lives down the street of the tea lady” but on this blog I thought we only posted credible reports or rumours that are in print.
Come on BORO.
Huddersfield sack Cowley! 😎
It would appear Cowley wasn’t the golden boy some people trumped him up to be.
They appear to be in crisis, no, not just the results, I am talking about the unplanned exodus, all players who will get a job somewhere, non of the wasters who are at the end of the road.
The run of four consecutive defeats at home is very disturbing to say the least, all were no show's, all were abject, all were against teams you must beat at home as a natural result of being a bonafide member of the league. This is basic professional football as practiced in this country, you simply cannot function in professional football at this level if you are the drum that everyone beats, because it becomes required that they beat you or they are regarded as deficient in some way. Woodgate (yes, our new scout) left us this can of worms as a punishment for allowing him on the premises.
It's a nice white Rioja for me but if it works don't knock it. Apart from back that is.
UTB,
John
Clayton has gone? We'll definitely be playing the kids at this rate... In fact we'll be playing the tea-lady.
UTB,
John
He lasted longer than Mr Woodgate! He'd probably do a good job for us in Division Three.
UTB,
John
Watford sack Pearson.
Come on BORO.