When you appoint a club legend, a man who everyone wanted, no matter how popular the appointment, there is always the niggle in the back of the mind, what if it goes wrong? That is a fact Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson had to accept at the weekend.
Options
So what are the options for Gibson?
A Big Name...are there any who really want to come in? Tony Pulis, Roberto Di Matteo both linked but would they be interested in moving to the North East? Possibly not. One other huge name linked is Paolo Di Canio - recently removed from Sunderland.
Untested...this avenue has worked ever so well for Gibson in the shape of Bryan Robson and Steve McClaren, but failed dismally with Gareth Southgate. Could again look at this and perhaps stick to the tried and tested Manchester United link - Sky Sports' own Gary Neville, his brother Phil Neville and Ryan Giggs are all currently coaching in some capacity or even current United number two Steve Round, who served at Boro under Steve McClaren.
Club links...a few contenders out there, one interesting one could be Paul Ince - hugely popular during his couple of seasons as a player with Boro and currently doing very well with Blackpool. And there is Nigel Clough, the son of Middlesbrough legend Brian, and currently available after leaving Derby. Another club legend is Graeme Souness, but he has not worked in management since leaving Boro's North East rivals Newcastle in 2006 - but he did have talks with Gibson prior to Robson's appointment.
Foreign...well it remains to be seen if Boro would go this way, but Gibson and Boro have good contacts on the continent. The likes of former Boro stars Fabrizio Ravanelli, now managing in France, Juninho, director at his own club in Brazil, and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, managing in Belgium, are being linked, but appear hugely unlikely. But the foreign path cannot be discounted.
Best of the rest...Martin O'Neill has long been linked with Boro in the past, and has had talks, and, with him being available, will surely be in the mix again. But does he want another crack in the North East after his recent failure with Sunderland? Former England stars Glenn Hoddle and Terry Butcher are both getting some links - both would certainly be interesting ways to go. If, as many suggest, that Ian Holloway could be available soon, he would also be strongly linked. Karl Robinson, Alex McLeish and Stuart Pearce have also been mentioned.
Left field...Terry Venables helped rescue Boro in 2001, now 70 could he be enticed back to the club with a younger coach under his wing? Would be popular with Boro fans, but another big risk. But, then again, aren't all managerial appointments?
