Middlesbrough have today confirmed that Aitor Karanka has left his role as Head Coach. Assistant Head Coach Steve Agnew is set to take charge of the first team with immediate effect until a replacement is found.
Middlesbrough FC released a statement in which they said that ‘Following discussions, both parties have agreed that it is in the best interests of the club to make this change’. Karanka also sent out a farewell to Boro fans on twitter. In the messages, he thanked Middlesbrough for his time there.
Karanka has been Middlesbrough’s best manager in years. He brought them from the bottom half of the Championship to the Premier League in the space of 3 years. During that time he amassed a 49.39 win percentage. This is more than any other Boro boss in the modern era. However, a poor run of form with no wins since December 2016 has forced Chairman Steve Gibson to take action. Middlesbrough are currently 19th in the Premier League and 3 points from safety. Therefore, whoever they get in for the remainder of the season needs to be top quality. Here are 3 potential replacements for Aitor Karanka.
Guss Hiddink
Rumours are circulating the internet that the former Chelsea boss is one of the main targets to replace Karanka. Guss Hiddink is a 70-year-old Dutch manager who is currently Director of Development for North Korea. Hiddink’s last managerial job was in 2016. The Dutchmen took charge of Chelsea from December 21st, 2015 to June 30th, 2016. During that time Hiddink managed 27 games winning 10 drawing 11 and losing 6. Hiddink has also enjoyed a number of managerial jobs across the world. These include international management for Netherlands and Turkey. He has also managed clubs such as Russian side Anzhi, PSV and Real Madrid. Therefore, while Hiddink is not favourites to get the job, he would certainly be a good choice. He has Premier League experience, International experience and a plethora of experience at other foreign clubs.
Nigel Pearson
Pearson is currently the bookies favourite to replace Karanka with his odds currently at 21/10. Nigel Pearson would certainly not be the worst choice to replace Karanka. This is because he has a large amount of Premier League and Championship experience. Pearson’s most notable achievement as a manager has been guiding Leicester to promotion to the Premier League in the 2013-14 season. Following their promotion success, Leicester spent the majority of the next season in the relegation zone. However, despite being in the relegation zone from November to April, Pearson managed to pull off the great escape and eventually finished 14th in the 2014-15 season.
Leicester sacked Pearson at the end of that season because relations broke down between him and the club. This was largely to do with a do with a scandal, his son, a former Leicester player was involved in. Despite the sacking of Pearson, I believe he would be a good replacement for Karanka for a number of reasons. These include the fact he secured promotion from the Championship which could be useful if Boro go down. Also the fact he has already pulled off one great relegation escape with Leicester which shows he could be exactly what Boro need at this time. Because Leicester were in a very similar situation when Pearson saved them from relegation in the 2014-15 season.
Steve Agnew
Steve Agnew is the current assistant coach at Middlesbrough. However, he is now temporally in charge until a replacement for Karanka is found. But he himself could succeed Karanka. While Agnew has never managed before and lacks the experience of a Hiddink or a Pearson, he certainly knows the club and players very well. Agnew became the assistant coach in December 2014 after leaving his post at Hull. This has given Agnew over two years at the club to gain knowledge of the club and the players. Therefore, the Boro players may respond well to Agnew as they already know him and could be more inclined to play better for him. He also knows what tactics the Middlesbrough players respond best to and thus could be the man to get the best out of them.
Appointing Agnew would also save time. This is because instead of getting in a brand new manager and letting the manager get to know the team over time, Agnew already knows the team well. This is especially useful to Boro who only have 11 games left to secure safety and do not really have time for a new manager to come in and spend weeks getting a feel for the squad. Agnew is also the bookies second favourite which indicates he may be in line to take charge permanently.