Can woody turn it around?

[McBrid]

I think he was the best that we could have got, who else would take this job lets be honest its not the most appealing. No money to spend, players on massive contracts who are impossible to move on, fair few players out of contract, attendances well down. Its really not a very attractive job plus the wage is ***** compared to what you could get elsewhere

You are really underestimating us. We could of and will off attracted better but Gibson wanted Woodgate

 

[JM14]

Sorry but this is nonsense. A job at any good sized Championship club would be attractive to a lot of managers irrespective of constraints.

Job at most championship clubs more attractive than ours, parachute payments ended, players still on prem wages impossible to shift and the expectations are still for the playoffs as were a fairly big club at this level. Plus most clubs will afford to pay their manager more than we can. Who could we attract that would agree to all of that?

 

[McBrid]

Job at most championship clubs more attractive than ours, parachute payments ended, players still on prem wages impossible to shift and the expectations are still for the playoffs as were a fairly big club at this level. Plus most clubs will afford to pay their manager more than we can. Who could we attract that would agree to all of that?

Well Nigel Pearson would of took the job for one

 

[JM14]

Well Nigel Pearson would of took the job for one

Could we have paid his wages? Should have moved on jokanovic but the club clearly couldnt afford those sort of wages which is why we settled with Woodgate

 

[McBrid]

Could we have paid his wages? Should have moved on jokanovic but the club clearly couldnt afford those sort of wages which is why we settled with Woodgate

I don’t think Pearson would of wanted as much as Jokanovic was asking for. Yes Woodgate was the cheap option and partly why Gibson chose Woodgate but i can assure you Pearson would of took the job if offered it which is the point you were disputing at first

 

[Laughing]

It's good to be back arguing about the mundane world of football!

 

[Maccarone]

Not particularly a Woodgate fan but would be very happy for him to be successful .
All I want is for the Mighty Boro to be that again.
Having said that I still don't think we should be starting this season just yet.

 

[gravy173]

We should all be greatful Woodgate was prepared to stoop so low to take the job on.

 

[Redlips]

I honestly believe we are going down with Barnsley and Luton

I fear for us also. 6/1 to be relegated. Barnsley and Luton made us look terrible.

 

[JM14]

I don’t think Pearson would of wanted as much as Jokanovic was asking for. Yes Woodgate was the cheap option and partly why Gibson chose Woodgate but i can assure you Pearson would of took the job if offered it which is the point you were disputing at first

I don’t think he would have, on the back of two failures at lower level clubs he needed the next job to be a success or he would have likely been finished at top level management. Taking a job at a club on a steep decline with nothing to spend makes zero sense for someone in that position.

 

[Redwurzel]

Many fans are never happy......

"No experience" - well Pulis was very experienced and most of the this board wanted him out soon after he came

Karanaka got us promoted made us a winning team and fans wanted him out after 3 bad months in the Premiership.

Personally I would be reluctant to take a manager with no managerial experience, but it generally worked with Charlton, McClaren and Karanka, but not with Southgate. Not sure about Robson if he was a success or not.

Investment in quality is a key for me - Charlton brought in Murdoch and had Souness just in. McClaren was allowed to buy Southgate. Karanka was allowed to bring in , Stuani, Ramirez, Rhodes and Ayala.

This summer any new manager would have been told you have to raise a net £10m in transfer sales and cut the wage bill by approximately 25% - no other Championship manager faced that level of cuts. I don't think there would have been lots of successful and experienced managers qing up.

 

[hopesoboro]

I don’t think Pearson would of wanted as much as Jokanovic was asking for. Yes Woodgate was the cheap option and partly why Gibson chose Woodgate but i can assure you Pearson would of took the job if offered it which is the point you were disputing at first

What qualifies you to know that Pearson would OF taken the job?
Not that it matters.

 

[McBrid]

What qualifies you to know that Pearson would OF taken the job?
Not that it matters.

nothing qualifies me but I’ve seen him before saying he’s applied for it previously and at the time the job was available in the summer I’m sure he would of took as his stock had dropped a little but since then with Watford he’s doing well again. Imo if we offered him the job in the summer he’s taking it all day long and my opinion won’t change on that

 

[Handsome]

nothing qualifies me but I’ve seen him before saying he’s applied for it previously and at the time the job was available in the summer I’m sure he would of took as his stock had dropped a little but since then with Watford he’s doing well again. Imo if we offered him the job in the summer he’s taking it all day long and my opinion won’t change on that

I think Pearson would give his right arm to be manager of the Boro.

 

[TeaCider]

I don’t think he would have, on the back of two failures at lower level clubs he needed the next job to be a success or he would have likely been finished at top level management. Taking a job at a club on a steep decline with nothing to spend makes zero sense for someone in that position.

He outright said himself that he'd applied for the job.

He took the Watford job when it looked all but certain that they were going down, he's somehow managed to turn that around, but taking a job mid-way through the season with a club bottom of the table and 6 points from safety isn't exactly the safe choice.

There was also no great indication the club was on such a steep decline when the job was on offer.

 

[hopesoboro]

He outright said himself that he'd applied for the job.

He took the Watford job when it looked all but certain that they were going down, he's somehow managed to turn that around, but taking a job mid-way through the season with a club bottom of the table and 6 points from safety isn't exactly the safe choice.

There was also no great indication the club was on such a steep decline when the job was on offer.

So why did Gibbo employ Woody instead of Pearson?

 

[Erimus74]

nothing qualifies me but I’ve seen him before saying he’s applied for it previously and at the time the job was available in the summer I’m sure he would of took as his stock had dropped a little but since then with Watford he’s doing well again. Imo if we offered him the job in the summer he’s taking it all day long and my opinion won’t change on that

Yep, cant disgaree with you there

 

[r00fie1]

He was not thrown into the job at all. He knew exactly what he was getting into, lets not pretend otherwise. Mr Gibson runs the ship and will have made it crystal clear exactly what his role was and how he expected him to go about it. Look back at that initial press conference. It was full of corporate positivity claptrap, as were his first few press conferences, his talking up of styles, players, performances, you would have to be naive not to see through it. Everything that was being said bore no resemblance to what we were witnessing on the pitch. As much as I did not want Woodgate as ’head coach’ I truly felt sorry for him. I certainly do not feel we are where we are because of Woody. He comes across not as his own man doing it his way, but as someone saying what his employers want him to say.
I thought we would have a difficult season and predicted so. I do believe a more experienced coach would not have this squad as low in the table as we currently are though. Many on the old board slaughtered me and a few others for daring to be honest before a ball was kicked. I take no pleasure in how things stand presently. It hasn’t gone too well has it.

Not having money to spend is a red herring. The club has spent around £70M over 3 years to transform our performances into a club that may be playing league 1 football shortly. To employ a group of inexperienced coaches to transform a team and its so called new vision seemed barmy and might well prove to be disastrous if relegation happens. Rob, have you or any of the journalists who attend meetings ever thought to question the chairman on the promise to make the necessary changes he quoted following relegation in 2017 and to bring the much needed pace and flair to the squad?

Journalism is a form of writing that tells people about things that really happened, but that they might not have known about already. I am not convinced that happens through any of the journalists attending any of the clubs press conferences, nor am I convinced the club want it to happen. I don’t see anyone asking any ‘difficult’ questions. It all seems a tad cosy from the clips we the fans see.

Blind faith never works well in the long run.

"Journalism is a form of writing that tells people about things that really happened,...."

Nah mate.
"Journalism"...
Its all about opinions and interpretation.
Its about wrapping up fresh air and selling it in silver paper as precious dust from Mars.
Its about manipulation and a gullible public willing to digest it.
Its about agenda`s and who pays.
He who pays the piper calls the tune.
Knowarrameanlyke

 

[r00fie1]

Remember Tony Mowbray bought a wealth of Managerial and Man-Management experience.
In similar circumstances, he had to get rid of some overpaid average players, inherited from previous managers.
He did an excellent job bringing in players who have survived his tenure as a manager.
At times, recovery from a low at any club cannot be as simple as some of us believe it can be [yours truly included].

Every fan has the right to an opinion
and every fan has the right to challenge others.
We none of us know just what goes on in the background - what players are telling others about chances at other clubs - what their contacts are telling them.
These are mostly young blokes who are lead [sometimes] by the wallet and aspirations.
Older players [like Danny] have families to consider.
Im sure its complicated - its not just about writing names on a team sheet.
Just imagine the difference between managing a young lad like Spence and an old hand like Adam Clayton [for instance].

 

[coluka]

I think Pearson would give his right arm to be manager of the Boro.

nothing qualifies me but I’ve seen him before saying he’s applied for it previously and at the time the job was available in the summer I’m sure he would of took as his stock had dropped a little but since then with Watford he’s doing well again. Imo if we offered him the job in the summer he’s taking it all day long and my opinion won’t change on that

I have to admit I was not a fan of appointing Pearson at the time. However, I did not believe for a single second that our owners would compound our then position further and appoint Woodgate. I refused to believe another ill thought through lurch would be allowed. Clearly we knew finances were an issue, but I guess they were much worse than we thought given what has unfolded since. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if I could turn back time I would have a very different view on welcoming Pearson. I do not believe we would have been in relegation trouble with him with this squad.

Woodgate, i am sure has done his best and has the personal will and drive to want to succeed, I have no issue with him trying and do not hold him responsible for our current position although he is in part culpable, but nor do I believe he is made of the right material to be a successful head coach. It is the poor decisions of others that have mainly led us to our current plight, things might just be about to get worse too, lets hope not. Anyway, it seems clear that Woodgate could be the first head coach since Robson to be allowed to try to take us back up after relegation. Let’s hope it never comes to that though.
I think if relegation were to happen, coupled with the uncertainty and risk of Covid-19 to several groups of people, the club could see a significant reduction in SC holders the following season which in turn could impact on the ability to get back at the first attempt, something that the club has always done at that level.