GARETH SOUTHGATE FIGHTS FOR FUTURE

Middlesbrough boss set for summit talks with board

UNDER PRESSURE - Gareth Southgate

GIBSON EXPLAINS SOUTHGATE SACKING

Steve Gibson feels he had to axe manager Gareth Southgate.

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By MARTIN HARDY, 17/10/2009

GARETH SOUTHGATE is fighting for his future at Middlesbrough.

The Boro boss is set for summit talks this week with the club's board following his side's 1-0 defeat to Watford.

Southgate was given 12 games to prove he could plot an immediate return to the Premier League.

He has done that so far, with his young team among a cluster of clubs battling for an automatic promotion spot.

However question marks remain about the fragility of the squad he has put together after more than three years in charge at the Riverside and his strained relationship with the fans.

Middlesbrough have suffered two punishing home defeats against West Bromwich Albion and Leicester and in each loss there was vociferous criticism from their own supporters.

That unrest has been magnified by disappointing gates, with average league attendances dropping beneath 20,000 for the first time since the club moved to their new stadium in 1995.

Middlesbrough have struggled so far this season against the fancied sides in the Championship, failing to beat any outfits in the top half. That is a key area of concern with the squad now light in terms of experience following key sales over the last two years. Stewart Downing, Robert Huth, Afonso Alves and Tuncay all left in the summer.

Southgate will have to assure those in power he can address that situation.

Southgate took over from Steve McClaren in the summer of 2006 after a successful five-year spell at the club as a player in which he became the first captain to lift a major trophy when they won the Carling Cup in 2004.

The 39-year-old has repeatedly insisted he would never resign but he faces an uphill battle to convince Boro's decision makers his side can stay in the promotion hunt.

Your comments

This article has 18 comments

Southgate publicly stated "Judge me after 3 years" Well your 3 years is up & wev`e never been worse off in a long time Gareth!! Iv`e NEVER, NEVER lshouted for a managers head but mate---Your time is up!

By Daveyparkender.. Posted October 20 2009 at 12:15 AM.

5 wins out of 22 in 2009 tells its own story about Southgate's ability to manage and the players inability to perform. If you flood your team with rejects what can you expect. Brad Jones has been in goal for most of those defeats. He doesn't inspire any confidence in the defenders around him. Both Turnbull last season and Coyne this season did but Southgte discarded both. Sums his judgement up.Take Gibson and Lamb with you and lets start again before we sign up Reo Coker!

By RAY PALLISTER.. Posted October 19 2009 at 5:28 PM.

Southgate just doesnt seem to have tactical nouse or know his players best positions. He's also quick to discard players (dont understand why Josh Walker has been made available. He's looked decent and is England U20 captain for Gods sake). the strikers are a mess. All the noise about deals in the window came to nothing. We have to accept that with GS we'll not get anywhere. I think its given a lot of fans food for thought regarding their lack of support for McClaren. Silverware, UEFA cup final and 7th in the Prem. I'd shake the bloke by the hand and ask him to come back if I was in charge,

By jeremy hobbs.. Posted October 19 2009 at 4:14 AM.

2006 uefa cup finalists 2009 struggling in the championship says it all.This guy dosen t hav a clue.He just doesn t learn from his mistakes.First season avoided relegation second just escaped the drop plus beaten by Cardiff in cup we would never get beter chance unforgivable shud hav gone then but no Gibson gives him another chance, then the enevertable happens RELEGATION.How is this man still in ajob? We er going down the same road as Leeds.Stop the rot now before its TOO LATE.

By Dave Smith.. Posted October 18 2009 at 8:07 PM.

Reason money is tight is because Gareth Southgate wasted about £20M on strikers. Sold cattermole, failed to sort out central midfield. And inability to sort out any decent strikers. He should have gone last january when we had a chance of staying up. 11 consecutive away defeats last season should have been the final straw. As a player he was a legend and a fan's favourite. All that has gone now. It is getting the stage where fans are writing this season off and d hoping we lose more games so will then leave.

Do the honourable thing and resign. You don't need the money.

By Mark Appleton.. Posted October 18 2009 at 6:40 PM.

David the stats say he is the worst manager in the lubs history.

And andy forget the financial restrictions, we have a good enough squad to be doing as well if not better than newcastle this season, the only things holding us back is the manager.

Look at the team at the end of the game yesterday.

GK: Jones
RB: McMahon
CB: DIGARD!
CB: Wheater
LB: ST LEDGER!
RM: HOYTE!
DM: O'NEIL
AM: JOHNSON
LM: ARCA
S: Lita
S: Aliadiere

more than half the team were playing a position then have never played before.

By Peter Swallow.. Posted October 18 2009 at 4:34 PM.

Could be worse, you could have Keano

By Syd.. Posted October 18 2009 at 2:48 PM.

SOUTHGATE AS HAD ENOUGH CHANCES HES DONE WELL TO GET THIS FAR BEFORE THE FANS START GETTING ON HIS BACK,AT ANOTHER CLUB WHAT WE DID LAST SEASON HE WOULD HAVE GOT HAMMERED FROM THE START OF THE BAD RUN, SO I THINK US BORO FANS HAVE DONE WELL TO GIVE HIM THIS LONG. LETS GET A NEW MANAGER AND START AGAIN....COME ON BORO

By STE vaughan.. Posted October 18 2009 at 11:23 AM.

It is True, gareth Southgate is not the manager for Middlesbrough football club,
He has had 3 years to get the team he wants and has had the backing of Stve gibson and the fans to a large extent.
But now! he just cannot go on as manager the team is not performing well at home and you can't blame the fans for their disaproving chants. He has to take full responsability in his tean preperation and tactics,which don't seem to show any.
I feel he has his favourites that he will play no matter what ie Jones the keeper who should not even be playing for a league 2 below Middlesbrough.
It is time to pull the shutters down over his managerial career at Boro and while there is time and we are still in the playoff places get a new and EXPERINCED manager in.
Sorry Gareth but, sadly you are just not good enough for Middlesbrough and Middlesbrough football club.Please go now instead of us having to suffer more anguish, you know it is going to happen again.

By Allan Bartliff.. Posted October 18 2009 at 11:09 AM.

'its so funny to see the smogies and the toon get beat to those crap teams'

Why? We're not your rivals remember.

By shakey_blakey.. Posted October 18 2009 at 10:07 AM.

southgate must go he shouldn't have been given the job in the first place especially as at the time there was a lot of good experienced managers available too nice a guy he may be but i think that is his undoing,nice guys dont win leagues ask fergie

By roger.. Posted October 18 2009 at 10:00 AM.

i've read the comments on here and i have to say its the same week in week out why can't the fans see it the club are not intrested in what the fans have to say the club just lie to you take alves a few weeks ago I read it was a joint decison to buy him this was in the local news paper in a interview with gareth southgate if this is so why did keith lamp on a local radio phone in say when asked it was him that made the decision to sigh him i know he couid not score to save his life but in the championship i believe he wouid as for southgate well just ask yourself how long wouid you be in a job if you performed like him

By eter speed.. Posted October 18 2009 at 9:03 AM.

its so funny to see the smogies and the toon get beat to those crap teams

By sunderland fan.. Posted October 18 2009 at 8:52 AM.

I wonder how he's going to meet with the board this week when we don't have one?

Totally agree with Andy Smith - the armchair managers seem to know a lot more than the real managers. Sadly it wouldn't matter if it were Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger in charge because there are a high percentage of blowhards that take a dislike to someone and from that point onwards are more concerned about being proven right than supporting the club.

By paul.. Posted October 18 2009 at 5:18 AM.

I'm as fed up of Boro fans whinging about Gareth Southgate and Steve Gibson as I am hearing about the financial restraints the club is under.

No-one knows more than the fans that money is tight and perhaps a more pertinent reason for the decline in attendances is the cost involved in going to the games. Which (if you're an adult without kids) the club has not helped with.

Additionally, few of us fans know as much about football as the ex-England centre back managing our team. I'm still prepared to listen to him on team matters because I think he knows more than I do about football and about running a team.

Why do I believe Gareth Southgate knows about football and football management? Because some of the most respected managers in the game have said he is a manager for the future - Wenger, Ferguson, even Martin O'Neill are all of the opinion that GS is going to be a great manager. I'm more inclined to believe their opinion than that of the fans who have (so far) posted here.

Gareth Southgate is not yet a good manager but he has something that as a club we are blessed with, Potential. It is in our benefit to help him realise that. I don't see how abusing your own club and the people who have helped lift us from destitution and anonymity is going to help in fulfilling that potential.

Then again, you may know more about football than me. Or Gareth Southgate or Arsene Wenger, Alex Ferguson etc...

By Andy Smith.. Posted October 18 2009 at 3:37 AM.

Nearly every fan I know who has chosen not to renew their season ticket this year said that Southgate is their reason for doing so.

Well we can criticise him all we like, and he remains arrogant and ignores the fans, so not going to games seems logical. Hopefully Gibson realises he is still not forgiven, and finally tells him to get stuffed.

Wishful thinking, he'd only leave if he picked up 0 points.

By Lewis Day.. Posted October 18 2009 at 2:32 AM.

that's going a bit far 2 say he's the worst manager of all time plus to say he'll never get another job in football is just daft there will always be people willing to give such a nice bloke a job plus he will be able to say he never got the financial support that he needed.he should never have been given the job in the first place because last time we needed some1 with experence

By david simpson.. Posted October 18 2009 at 2:18 AM.

Please be true, and I hope to god the thickos running our club have a moment of clarity and sack the fool. Gareth Southgate is the worst manager in MFC's history and will never work in football again.

By Peter Swallow.. Posted October 18 2009 at 12:18 AM.

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