Let's face it. A certain number of our fans still think the sun shines out of Karanka's behind, and always will. I suspect that any number of that dressing room could come out and repeat similar stories to Downing's, and those fans still wouldn't have it.
I mean the 2014/2015 campaign was superb. All the players behind the manager and staff etc. Then the next season the chairman brings in said person and it all goes to hell......Let's face it. A certain number of our fans still think the sun shines out of Karanka's behind, and always will. I suspect that any number of that dressing room could come out and repeat similar stories to Downing's, and those fans still wouldn't have it.
Let's face it. A certain number of our fans still think the sun shines out of Karanka's behind, and always will. I suspect that any number of that dressing room could come out and repeat similar stories to Downing's, and those fans still wouldn't have it.
I mean the 2014/2015 campaign was superb. All the players behind the manager and staff etc. Then the next season the chairman brings in said person and it all goes to hell......
Not fishing in the slightest mate. It's just how it seems to me. Some of our fans appear almost obsessed with the bloke.
Has anyone considered that Gibson pulling the plug on this so called 1 year extension was retribution for the part to play Downing had in Karanka and subsequently the clubs downfall?
Oh 100%, appointing Steve Agnew was the worst manager and decision Steve Gibson has ever made and man we’ve had some turkeys.The PL campaign ended in complete disaster because we employed Steve Agnew after Karanka left. As Karanka kept pointing out we were doing well to be just above the bottom three until we lost at Stoke. While I don't think Karanka would have kept us up we would have been closer with him in charge than we were in the end. People underestimate how difficult it is now for a newly promoted club to stay up and recent examples in West Brom, Fulham and Norwich prove that.
Jeez, how do we not know this, how do we not know that.... The facts are we don't. Why are people so ready to analyze every word out of downings mouth and look for reasons to blame him, I just don't get it? Furthermore if Downing caused Karanka to walk out then Karanka is weak as **** and should be no where near management.
I have no idea what happened, but the evidence we have suggests that downing was badly managed by Gibson, lied to and cast aside. The evidence also suggests that Karanka created divisions in the changing rooms between the spanish lads and the english lads. Again really bad management.
We know for a fact that Karanka walked out on his job, and I would hope we would all agree he should have been no where near the club the moment he did that.
Yes, and it's funny, because it wasn't like that QPR squad that got relegated which was full of obvious mercenaries.I'm so frustrated to hear what Downing has to say about the "Spanish lads" and how they turned up in 2016 for a Prem payday, had their own clique, played rubbish, got us relegated, downed tools and didn't give a s*** about the club. It was blatantly obvious at the time that was going to happen, and it was blatantly obvious when it was happening. We threw away our shot at staying in the Prem because AK signed a load of mercenaries (not all Spanish, to be fair) who didn't care for the Boro at all and had no heart for a fight. This isn't an anti-foreign-players post, of course (and such a thing would be futile in modern football anyway) - it's just a comment on the specific situation we went through and the specific players who caused it.
Yes, and it's funny, because it wasn't like that QPR squad that got relegated which was full of obvious mercenaries.
The only obvious bad apples were Gaston Ramirez and Victor Valdes.
Negredo, probably the biggest name in the squad actually played well, worked hard and as far as I remember got loads of praise from the likes of Leadbitter for integrating. Barragan and that awful centre back were just useless players, didn't seem like bad lads exactly. De Roon, Fischer, Adama, Stuani aren't mercenaries, the first two aren't even Spanish
You can imagine how easy a divide would appear though with half the squad and all the coaching staff Spanish speakers, and the other half English lads. Surprised Wolves get away with it, although they've pretty much gone full Portuguese.
its not the fact they were spanish and i dont necessarily think they were mercenaries which made us fail, it was simply they wernt good enough. Barragan and Espinosa in particular were terrible footballers the fact they were Spanish has fook all to do with it.I can't quite tell if you're agreeing or disagreeing with my post, but either way it's good to discuss!
I'd say the main mercenaries who joined at that time were Valdes, Barragan, Espinosa, Fischer. Had probably never heard of Boro before they joined, and presumably the ones who couldn't wait to get away once the season was done. I wonder which one(s) Downing meant when he said they were trying to get permission to fly home with a couple of games still left to go. We also had Chambers, who was on loan from a big club and therefore wasn't going to live or die by whether or not Boro stayed up. And of course we all know about Gaston.
Anyway - let's hope we make a better effort of it if/when we ever get promoted again. UTB
Bernardo was Colombian, seemed a decent enough bloke on Twitter but not PL standard.its not the fact they were spanish and i dont necessarily think they were mercenaries which made us fail, it was simply they wernt good enough. Barragan and Espinosa in particular were terrible footballers the fact they were Spanish has fook all to do with it.
it was simply they wernt good enough. Barragan and Espinosa in particular were terrible footballers the fact they were Spanish has fook all to do with it.