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Post by Shireblogger on Oct 21, 2009 9:05:38 GMT 1
^^ Now that one did surprise me. Given all the opportunities to sack Southgate in the past, I assumed he would get the entire season. Only if Boro failed to get promoted next May did I think Gibson would make a change. So for it to happen after a victory which puts them within 1 point of the top is quite a shock.
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Post by Robin on Oct 21, 2009 9:11:47 GMT 1
Exactly. The fact that they've stuck by Southgate for so long makes it a very surprising occurance at this time. He probably should have gone at the end of the season though.
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2009 13:18:58 GMT 1
Whilst I agree with the sacking, I don't like the timing of it. If Gibson was going to sack him, why not do it after Saturday's defeat?
It's thought that last night's attendance (the lowest ever league crowd at the Riverside) was the final straw. Boro get a lot of stick over their crowds but the fans aren't stupid. They won't take any sh*t from the club. They've had very little to shout about over the last couple of years and in these tough financial times, many have decided they've got other things they'd rather spend their money on.
The fact we're just 1 point off the top says more about the strength (or lack, thereof) of the Championship. We're in the promotion hunt despite Southgate, not because of him. As I said in the Forest thread last night, if we'd had a decent manager from the start of the season we'd be well clear at the top now.
Southgate can have few complaints. He took us from UEFA Cup finalists to relegation in 3 years. Although recent financial problems haven't helped, it's not like he hasn't had money to spend during his time at the club but he's been a failure in the transfer market. The few successful signings he did make ended up being sold anyway (Tuncay, Luke Young). Saturday's loss to Watford was Boro's 3rd consecutive home defeat, the first time that's happened for 9 years and I would guess the first time it's happened outside the top flight for 20 years or more.
He started to lose the fans' support last season and the relationship became very strained after he publicly criticised the fans. Many felt he should have gone at the end of last season though few expected it to happen.
I wish him all the best for the future as he's a lovely bloke but he's done very little over these 3 years to suggest he'll make a successful football manager.
Odds on next Boro manager: 1/4 Gordon Strachan 14/1 Alan Curbishley 14/1 Alan Irvine 14/1 Nigel Pearson 14/1 Steve Coppell 16/1 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink 20/1 Slaven Bilic 20/1 Kevin Keegan 25/1 David O'Leary 25/1 Graeme Souness 25/1 Fabrizio Ravanelli 25/1 Darren Ferguson 33/1 Bryan Robson 33/1 Glenn Hoddle 33/1 Paul Ince 33/1 Gary McAllister
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Post by Robin on Oct 21, 2009 13:26:44 GMT 1
Nigel Pearson may be a good choice if you could entice him away from Leicester. Didn't he play for Boro as well, thus making it even more attractive.
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2009 13:34:40 GMT 1
Nigel Pearson may be a good choice if you could entice him away from Leicester. Didn't he play for Boro as well, thus making it even more attractive. Yeah, he was our captain during the Robson era. He's doing OK at Leicester but I'm still not sure about him as a manager. I'd prefer someone with more experience but he would be a popular figure with the fans.
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2009 13:35:56 GMT 1
As it is, Strachan's odds are getting shorter by the hour so it would seem somebody somewhere knows something...
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2009 13:40:02 GMT 1
UPDATE: Coral are getting in on the act and some new names appear on the list.
Colin Cooper and Juninho are both 16/1. Tony Mowbray is 25/1 (I think we're about 5 months too late on that one). Terry Venables, who was Gibson's first choice when McClaren left, is 33/1.
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2009 15:19:13 GMT 1
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2009 15:33:14 GMT 1
Bizarrely, Kevin Keegan's odds have suddenly shortened across the board. He's now as short as 5/1 and a best-priced 8/1. Please no...
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Post by Shireblogger on Oct 21, 2009 16:11:00 GMT 1
Nigel Pearson may be a good choice if you could entice him away from Leicester. Didn't he play for Boro as well, thus making it even more attractive. I've never understood the logic of "he played for us, so he should be a good manager". Almost without exception, the best managers serve their time and learn their trade out of the spotlight, and progress through the ranks. If they do end up managing a club which they played for, and doing well, then it is because they are a talented manager, not because somehow their previous as a player gives them an edge. Pearson has potential. He spent time as a backroom boy, including at Newcastle, where he will have learnt lots from other's mistakes. He did OK in extremely difficult circumstances in his first management job at Southampton. He's doing well at Leicester, but hasn't really been there long enough to make it his club. A leap to Middlesbrough now would be wrong for Boro and wrong for Pearson.
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Post by Shireblogger on Oct 21, 2009 16:14:15 GMT 1
Southgate can have few complaints. I wish him all the best for the future as he's a lovely bloke but he's done very little over these 3 years to suggest he'll make a successful football manager. I agree completely. I think Southgate would make a very useful assistant manager or senior coach. He has experience, maturity and would be completely trustworthy. But he's not the guy to make the big decisions, or front up to the Board / Chief Executive.
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Post by Shireblogger on Oct 21, 2009 16:19:27 GMT 1
UPDATE: Coral are getting in on the act and some new names appear on the list. Colin Cooper and Juninho are both 16/1. Tony Mowbray is 25/1 (I think we're about 5 months too late on that one). Terry Venables, who was Gibson's first choice when McClaren left, is 33/1. Well they have to keep adding names to the list, to encourage people to gamble. Especially if a strong favourite is rapidly emerging.
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2009 16:19:41 GMT 1
But he's not the guy to make the big decisions, or front up to the Board / Chief Executive. That's a really important point and is probably the biggest reason he remained in the job as long as he did...
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Oct 21, 2009 16:34:32 GMT 1
i think it is a perfect time to sack southgate, the club are financially stable after selling several high profile players, they are sitting pretty at the top of the league despite southgate, recent home form has been dire and attendances have dropped to the lowest level for ten year. at the end of the day southgate has done a good job stabilizing the club and keeping wheater, johnson, bates etc but he was never the right man for the job, if he did crap he would get sacked and if he got boro promoted he would either take them back down or get the sack. so what is in the best interest of the club is getting a new manager and this is why it is perfect timing...
to employ a manager at the start of the season and force him to sell tuncay, huth, downing etc, the fans wouldn't take to him and the sense of optimism would soon diminish after a few bad results. often a change in manager means a change in tactics, aswel as having no money for him to spend over the close season he is stuck with southgates squad so they might have done worse results wise with the big shake up, this is the safe option
getting him in now will raise attendances, please the fans whilst leaving the new manager a team one point off top and not 10/15 points adrift. he can get to know the squad just in time to see who he needs to sell/buy in january.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Oct 21, 2009 16:38:52 GMT 1
It's thought that last night's attendance (the lowest ever league crowd at the Riverside) was the final straw. Boro get a lot of stick over their crowds but the fans aren't stupid. They won't take any sh*t from the club. They've had very little to shout about over the last couple of years and in these tough financial times, many have decided they've got other things they'd rather spend their money on. I think this is getting much more common. Certainly at St Andrews crowds have dropped because of high prices and the recession, I reckon the collapse of Longbridge took with it 3,000 season tickets let alone the casual attender. Also, there's no hope of anything other than treading water, with the Big 4 and pretenders spending obscene sums of money. There's talk that Carson Yeung might invest £40m in players in the next transfer window; if McLeish did spend that amount, it would mean in the last five years we would have spent net half as much as Sunderland. The fact we're just 1 point off the top says more about the strength (or lack, thereof) of the Championship. The top two are teams that were not good enough for the Premiership last year. And the year before that Blues and Reading were fighting for promotion right to the end despite relegation. We seem to be nearing a point where we will have a 17 club Premiership and three yo-yoers. Interesting rumour: Hope Powell to Grimsby? Given Mike Newell's views on women in football, that would be delicious...
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Robbie
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Post by Robbie on Oct 21, 2009 16:45:15 GMT 1
Southgate never seemed to have any passion. I'm sure he's a decent bloke but he's never seemed managerial material to me. Hopefully the next manager will be able to inspire Boro, there's the basis of a good team there but the team needs a strong manager to push them forward.
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2009 16:45:18 GMT 1
Interesting rumour: Hope Powell to Grimsby? Given Mike Newell's views on women in football, that would be delicious... That would be great! She deserves a chance. She'd do a better job than some of the managers that are in the Football League, as long as she gets the respect of the players... And given the average footballer's IQ that's not guaranteed.
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Post by Shireblogger on Oct 21, 2009 16:46:14 GMT 1
Interesting rumour: Hope Powell to Grimsby? Given Mike Newell's views on women in football, that would be delicious... That would be fantastic. I'd become Grimsby supporter overnight.
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Post by Shireblogger on Oct 21, 2009 16:54:15 GMT 1
We seem to be nearing a point where we will have a 17 club Premiership and three yo-yoers. No, that won't happen. People have been predicting this for 15 to 20 years, and it hasn't happened yet. It only takes one bad manager to take a club down (Newcastle and Middlesbrough last year); or one good manager to take a club up and keep it there (Fulham, Wigan, Bolton, Stoke in recent times). It only takes one foolish / corrupt chairman to take a club down (Leeds, Southampton, Portsmouth in a few months time); and one wealthy investor to take another up and keep them there (Sunderland being the best recent example).
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Robbie
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Post by Robbie on Oct 21, 2009 17:09:19 GMT 1
It didn't take one bad manager to take Newcastle down last season - it took a crap owner. We managed to have 4 managers last season, a sign that all isn't well at a club. One resigned, one didn't want the job, one had heart problems and one didn't have a clue what he was doing...
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