Simon Buttle
Player Valuation: £50m
Very surprised at how many people seem to think this is genuine.
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"Having fought for special dispensation from the Premier League to give Southgate the job without him holding the required UEFA Pro Licence, the chairman handed him a five-year contract and charged him with the task of revitalising the squad in challenging financial conditions on Teesside.
The new manager guided his side to a 12th-place finish in his first season at the helm and 13th a year later. But last season proved far more challenging and ultimately unsuccessful as Boro slipped out of the top flight having won just seven of their 38 league games and scored just 28 goals.
Middlesbrough last night sacked Gareth Southgate in a shock move that the club chairman, Steve Gibson, admitted was "the hardest decision I've had to make in football". It came straight after Southgate oversaw Boro's 2-0 home victory against Derby County that left them fourth in the Coca-Cola Championship, a point behind the leaders"
There’s some things you just don’t joke about, genuinely just the thought of it has given me high blood pressureVery surprised at how many people seem to think this is genuine.
Southgate coaching session:There’s some things you just don’t joke about, genuinely just the thought of it has given me high blood pressure
Replacing Dyche with Southgate is pointless, literally.He’s not Sean Dyche so he’s got that going for him
Just to add some balance to the 'Southgate is crap' brigade... (Regardless of whether he is or isn't an option)
So basically, an ex-player in his first managerial job with no coaching badges achieved 2 seasons of decent Premier League finishes under financial constraints (Look at the players purchased during this time and they were frankly awful) before the inevitable happened. Then was 1 point off the top of the Championship and sacked after a win. He beat Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City twice (Under Sven), Newcastle (OK, not the same as now), Everton, Spurs and Chelsea during his 2 and a bit seasons with a pretty crap team.
Then went on to gain 14 years of experience in one of the highest pressure jobs in Football (Including U21's), and it wasn't all bad at all, despite what it might have descended into towards the end as he didn't seem to know his best 11.
I guess what I'm saying is... Is he really worse than Shaun 'Good Outfit' Dyche? Discuss...
(P.S. I fully expect someone to just state 'YES')