'Jonathan has my total support'

[atypical_boro]

I would not want any other man running the club, but this is a very strange hill for him to die on.

Woodgate showed no signs of managerial qualities throughout his entire playing career, and has only ever been 'popular' amongst a certain proportion of our support. A Mowbray/Southgate he is not, and never will be. At present he's making both their tenures as manager look pretty decent, too.

There's no way a half decent manager would let this squad slip from 7th to 22nd, even with the loss of Downing/Besic/Hugill (none of whom were especially key last season).

Come on Steve, wake up.

 

[Humpty]

Still people blame Pulis

I said over and over and over again last season, he was not the problem. He was making an absolute shower of a squad competitive. We spend the overwhelming majority of the season in the promotion or play-off spots, and he got dogs abuse from our ridiculous fanbase.

“It can’t be any worse”, “We just want to see us have a go” was the cry, well our fans got the manager they deserved.

The recruitment hasn’t improved, because it wasn’t Pulis who was recruiting. Just as it wasn’t Monk or Karanka.

The football hasn’t improved, it’s got worse.

We’re in a worse position in every measure.

The person to blame 100% is Steve Gibson, the man is stubborn fool who just is out of touch with modern football and simply isn’t capable of overseeing a football club anymore.

League One will be what he deserves for a decade of incompetence and neglect.

If you consider multiple internationals, up and coming youth, ex-internationals, £15 million strikers, £18 million wingers....amongst others, an absolute shower i'd agree with you, but i don't. Pulis did ok with that squad, i think a pragmatic manager would've done a hell of a lot better. What Woodgate is doing with the squad he has now is criminal.

 

[Pog]

Gibson didn't decide to appoint Woodgate because he no longer wants to spend money, and is happy for us to just float along in the lower leagues, it's because he gambled big time by allowing Monk and Pulis to spend the Premier League money, and sadly, it has backfired.

He appointed him because he wanted a patsy, because they’re cheap, will do as they’re are told and will work with the inner circle of yes men that Gibson surrounds himself with.

He claimed Woodgate was “the outstanding candidate in a robust process which attracted huge interest”.

He’s lying.

We could have had Nigel Pearson, who was willing to step down to League One and manage Sunderland. He was available and affordable.

Woodgate was simply not “the outstanding candidate”, he was by some distance the worst and least qualified.

 

[Michael_Vronsky]

Just amazed that he is willing to allow all his good work to unravel so easily. And don't give me this 'no money' b***ks. You don't need money to get out of this league; we've seen it time and time again. You need a good management team and a good recruitment policy. We have neither. It's 1986 again and I for one don't have the appetite anymore. If he doesn't care, then I don't either. The club is no longer drifting... it's sinking.

 

[McBrid]

The thing I find amazing is, if the worst does happen and we drop to that awful league then what on earth has he seen in Woodgate that makes him think he’s capable of getting us back up? It’s madness

 

[parmoboy]

Im not doubting his commitment, I’m doubting if he’s the right person to be making such decisions as he’s getting it wrong way to much. If he’s really really committed and ambitious, he should hire someone to make football decisions. As His decision making is **** poor.

He certainly got it wrong with Woodgate - big time.

He also got it wrong with the appointment of Monk, but I'd be a hypocrite to criticise him and say he got it wrong appointing Pulis. I was actually really pleased when he was appointed, as I felt confident he would take us up.

It's fine margins - the appointment of Pulis very nearly worked out, as we were 1 point from the play-offs, and who knows what would have happened from there had we qualified.

 

[BoroFur]

See this is why he never gives interviews

An interview requires an interviewer. That piece in the Gazette is just a statement, nothing more.

Any journalist worth his salt would have been over Gibson's comments like a rash.

 

[McBrid]

He certainly got it wrong with Woodgate - big time.

He also got it wrong with the appointment of Monk, but I'd be a hypocrite to criticise him and say he got it wrong appointing Pulis. I was actually really pleased when he was appointed, as I felt confident he would take us up.

It's fine margins - the appointment of Pulis very nearly worked out, as we were 1 point from the play-offs, and who knows what would have happened from there had we qualified.

the only thing is, he is going from different type of manager from time to time and then we are left with other managers who aren’t suited to each other’s players. As soon as Pulis came in we had to sell Christie as he wasn’t his player . Same sort of thing with Braithwaite it’s just been a huge mess.

Were only gonna have about 8 or 9 contracted first team players in the summer. Some serious work needed in the summer.

 

[atypical_boro]

The thing I find amazing is, if the worst does happen and we drop to that awful league then what on earth has he seen in Woodgate that makes him think he’s capable of getting us back up? It’s madness

These are my thoughts too. Make excuses for Woody all you want but look what happened when he did this with Southgate. He realised a few months later that he'd make a mistake in letting him hang on and that Southgate had lost the fans.

He appeared to learn from that by getting rid of Karanka (who HAD shown how good he could be the seasons before) but replaced him with someone the fans didn't want.

On this occasion, he's brought in a manager the fans didn't want, and appears to be doubling down on the appointment to the extent that he might not sack him even if we do go down and maybe not even if we don't look like bouncing back up.

Its sad to see him seemingly willing to tarnish his legacy for someone who frankly didn't appear to give a **** about the club in 2008.

 

[Michael_Vronsky]

I thought I'd be more angry but my apathy has usurped it. Let's be honest, it was expected. Imagine being told your job is safe no matter how badly you perform. And people wonder why Boro mangers never resign!

 

[Subbuteo_171]

Congratulations on the most idiotic post of the day

I’ve watched a decade of mostly s***e.

I want a competent chairman, a manager who knows what he’s doing. A team who give their all and can play decent football.

I want to go to the game knowing there’s a possibility we might score more than one goal.

A team that are competitive.

You compare that to wanting what City or Chelsea have?

Give me strength.

Sooner or later you will realise Steve Gibson isn’t part of the problem, he is THE problem.

Yours is the idiotic post Pog. Mistakes have been made, but if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen.

 

[uncle_rico]

The gazette are finally back up the club's and Gibson's @rse and the likes of Tallentire and Vickers will be loving it. Same for BBC Tees. None of them ever ask the difficult questions. I can understand the leading and staged interviews coming out on the official website, but the local paper and radio station should be asking the questions that thousands of fans are asking. When you have employees of the club also doing the commentary you know they are going to tow the party line. Even Bernie Slaven has toned it down since he got his gig in the Legend's Lounge.

I wonder what the late great Ali Brownlee would make of this utter shambles. I certainly know he wouldn't be afraid to ask the tough questions that need honest answers.

 

[Pog]

Yours is the idiotic post Pog. Mistakes have been made, but if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen.

Know your role. Accept total incompetence and years of awful football or go and support Man City.

Gotcha

 

[nowthen]

Yours is the idiotic post Pog. Mistakes have been made, but if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen.

If a Poll could be made mid thread? Don’t think it can. I wouldn’t put my money on you Sub. Maybe you’re ignoring the general feeling?

 

[Pog]

The gazette are finally back up the club's and Gibson's @rse and the likes of Tallentire and Vickers will be loving it. Same for BBC Tees. None of them ever ask the difficult questions. I can understand the leading and staged interviews coming out on the official website, but the local paper and radio station should be asking the questions that thousands of fans are asking. Even Bernie Slaven has tones it down since he got his gig in the Legend's Lounge.

I wonder what the late great Ali Brownlee would make of this utter shambles. I certainly know he wouldn't be afraid to ask the tough questions that need honest answers.

To be fair to them, BBC Tees ask Gibson to come on their show on a weekly basis and call him out on it, and he obviously hasn’t shown up yet.

 

[nowthen]

He certainly got it wrong with Woodgate - big time.

He also got it wrong with the appointment of Monk, but I'd be a hypocrite to criticise him and say he got it wrong appointing Pulis. I was actually really pleased when he was appointed, as I felt confident he would take us up.

It's fine margins - the appointment of Pulis very nearly worked out, as we were 1 point from the play-offs, and who knows what would have happened from there had we qualified.

We didn’t turn up v Villa in the play-offs the year before. That was embarrassing. Wouldn’t have expected any different to be honest.

 

[Michael_Vronsky]

If a Poll could be made mid thread? Don’t think it can. I wouldn’t put my money on you Sub. Maybe you’re ignoring the general feeling?

Coure he's ignoring the general feeling. There are fans who believe that Gibson can do no wrong. He is the messiah and if he decided to close the club, sell off the ground and turn the pitch into a potato field, they'd say he made the right call. There are none so blind as they who will not see...

 

[uncle_rico]

To be fair to them, BBC Tees ask Gibson to come on their show on a weekly basis and call him out on it, and he obviously hasn’t shown up yet.

Because they know he won't, and even if he did they wouldn't ask anything controversial. They'd just kiss his backside.

 

[atypical_boro]

The gazette are finally back up the club's and Gibson's @rse and the likes of Tallentire and Vickers will be loving it. Same for BBC Tees. None of them ever ask the difficult questions. I can understand the leading and staged interviews coming out on the official website, but the local paper and radio station should be asking the questions that thousands of fans are asking. When you have employees of the club also doing the commentary you know they are going to tow the party line. Even Bernie Slaven has toned it down since he got his gig in the Legend's Lounge.

I wonder what the late great Ali Brownlee would make of this utter shambles. I certainly know he wouldn't be afraid to ask the tough questions that need honest answers.

TBF, Brownlee would have thought we'd climb up to 14th in the league this season and then win the title by 15 points or so next, so I don't really agree with this point. He never even briefly hinted at anything remotely negative in his many decades as commentator, and that was part of his charm. But let's not pretend he used to give the club a regular grilling - he most definitely didn't!

 

[parmoboy]

He appointed him because he wanted a patsy, because they’re cheap, will do as they’re are told and will work with the inner circle of yes men that Gibson surrounds himself with.

He claimed Woodgate was “the outstanding candidate in a robust process which attracted huge interest”.

He’s lying.

We could have had Nigel Pearson, who was willing to step down to League One and manage Sunderland. He was available and affordable.

Woodgate was simply not “the outstanding candidate”, he was by some distance the worst and least qualified.

I'm not disagreeing with you, and I also agree that there were better options out there.

Ultimately though, Gibson will not have truly wanted to make the Woodgate appointment. He made it because of the clubs' current financial position. He will have known he was taking a gamble at the time, but I think he probably over-estimated the quality of our squad, and felt we'd definitely have enough to survive.

Yes, we're in this position largely because of Gibsons' poor decision making, but not because of his lack of ambition.