Since Aitor Karanka left Middlesbrough on March 16th this year, Boro are yet to find a permanent replacement for the former Middlesbrough manager. Steve Agnew has been in temporary charge since Karanka’s departure. Under Agnew, Middlesbrough have played eight, won one, drew three and lost four. Boro have also been royally embarrassed in two of these games losing 4-0 and 4-2 to Bournemouth and Hull City. After failing to get Boro winning, Agnew looks to be leading them to relegation one season after they were promoted.
As Agnew has not exactly set the world on fire during his time in charge at Boro, it would be safe to assume Chairman Steve Gibson will be looking to replace him and find a manager who will be able to guide Boro back to the Premier League.
A name that is being thrown into the hat for the Middlesbrough job is ex-Manchester United player/Assistant manager Ryan Giggs. The Welshman has been a TV pundit for the past year. But could make a shock return to coaching next season. The question is would he be a good fit for Middlesbrough?
Lack of managerial experience
One negative of Ryan Giggs becoming Middlesbrough manager is his lack of experience. The Welshman has never actually been a full-time manager at a club. Giggs has only ever taken charge of four matches as an Interim coach when David Moyes was sacked in 2014. In the four games Giggs took charge, United won two, drew one and lost one to Sunderland. This is not exactly a great record and something Middlesbrough may want to look at before approaching Giggs.
Furthermore, like Giggs, Agnew had never actually managed a club full time before taking charge of Middlesbrough. Unfortunately, this has boded badly for Agnew and Middlesbrough as he has failed to turn around their season and they now look to be going down. While this is not all Agnew’s fault, a big part of it could be due to Agnew’s lack of experience as a manager.
Therefore, as an inexperienced manager is not currently getting Middlesbrough results, would it be wise to go out and hire another inexperienced manager?
Championship football
Another problem with hiring Ryan Giggs could be his lack of experience and knowledge of the Championship. With Middlesbrough on the verge of relegation, Gibson should surely be looking for a manager who knows the Championship.
Ryan Giggs does not fit this profile. He has never played in the Championship or managed there. Also, while people may look down on the Championship, it is a tough league to win. It can also be a tough league to get out of when relegated if you appoint the wrong manager. Middlesbrough fans will be all too familiar with this. Last time they were relegated, Gordon Strachan was appointed the manager. Strachan then proceeded to make ludicrous signings and ruin the club nearly relegating them to League One. Because of this, Middlesbrough should really look for a manager with Championship experience and success. Ryan Giggs is not that man.
Alex Ferguson’s guidance
However, there are some positives that could come of appointing Ryan Giggs as Boro manager. Giggs spent his entire playing career at Manchester United. In turn, this meant he spent his entire career being managed by arguably the greatest manager in modern football Sir Alex Ferguson.
Thus Giggs has gained 24 years of knowledge from Ferguson. In this time he will surely have picked up tips on managing. Whether this is on how to give good team talks, what tactics work best in what games and even when and what substitutes work best.
Sir Alex Ferguson has even backed Ryan Giggs goal of becoming a manager. Ferguson told reporters that ‘I think Ryan is ready to manage and he has a lot of quality’. This shows Giggs could succeed as a manager as one of the greatest of all time believes he can. This can only be a positive if he gets the Boro job.
Assistant coach at Manchester United
Ryan Giggs also spent three years as assistant coach of Manchester United from 2013 to 2016. During this time period, Giggs worked under David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal. Although Giggs did not get kept on as the assistant under Jose Mourinho, he did manage three years at one of the top clubs in the world.
This shows Giggs must have some could coaching qualities about him as he managed to be the assistant coach for three years under two managers at one of the biggest clubs in the world. This is another positive for Middlesbrough if they were to appoint Ryan Giggs as manager as he would bring everything he has learned from his time as a player and coach at Manchester United.
