Gareth Southgate’s Middlesbrough ‘what if’ moment and Latte Lath transfer fear
Former Middlesbrough and England head coach Gareth Southgate
I’ve regularly pondered what Gareth Southgate might have achieved if he had ever returned to take up the cudgels as Boro boss again.
I’ve always felt that he learned massively about football management from his time as Boro boss and eventually drew on some of his experiences at the Riverside when managing England. There are no doubts all that he would have done many things differently given the chance to start all over again at the Boro with the same squad of players.
Southgate inherited the Boro hotseat when Steve McClaren left to take up the England reins. At the same time Gareth hung on his boots on a very distinguished playing career.
He inherited a very experienced squad of players, including many internationals, but also took over at a time when Boro were finding it increasingly difficult to compete financially on a level playing field with the big clubs.
Twelfth and 13th-placed finishes in the Premier League were still pretty decent, but then it started to go dismally wrong the following season, which ended up with relegation. The frustrating loss of Yakubu, and some poor replacements, including Afonso Alves, started the rot.
I think Southgate did everything he did to try to avoid the drop and although Boro initially kept faith with him to win an immediate promotion back to the top flight, this began to look unlikely. So he was sacked in the October and the rest, as they say is history.
Even so, there’s something at the back of my mind that tells me if Boro could ever entice Southgate back into club, management, he would be a massive, massive success.
Smiles are back
The Teesside faithful have a smile on their faces again. The change at the helm will restore the fans’ expectation that Boro can go on to enjoy a much better season this time around. A couple of Boro fans who I know quite well both told me last month that they were not going back to the Riverside while Michael Carrick remained in charge.
That being the case, there must have been many more feeling the same way. If crowds dropped then so would the atmosphere at the Riverside, which would potentially have had an adverse effect on team performances. Those who continued to keep the faith would have gone to games more in hope than anticipation.
Certainly the mood of the supporters has dropped dramatically from what it was last summer. The fact that Boro have again fallen short yet again but held on to their marvellous fan-base is an indication of the extra level of support which can be generated if Boro get back on track next season.
If Boro are challenging for automatic promotion then it would be no surprise to see the Riverside filled to capacity on more than one occasion. Once again we look forward with relief and renewed anticipation.
Emmanuel Latte Lath concern
In many respects it will be hugely annoying if we have to watch Emmanuel Latte Lath playing in the Championship next season wearing another club’s shirt. Ipswich Town are reported to be inquiring about the possibility of bringing Manny back to England as a replacement for Liam Delap.
The Tractor Boys were repulsed by Boro with an offer on the last day of the transfer window last summer. They will have noted that he does not appear to have settled in the United States. Naturally we would love to have Latte Lath back at the Riverside, but in the realistic financial world of football this is not going to happen.
Latte Lath took a huge hike in wages when he moved to the States, which would be one of the reasons why he jumped at the chance to cross the water. However not only could Ipswich afford to pay him a big salary if he was to come back here, but they would also be able to afford the huge transfer fee.
The reason for this is that Ipswich are one of the clubs who will benefit greatly from the huge financial income from the parachute payments, following their relegation from the Premier League. This further emphasises the uneven playing field upon which Boro are expected to compete next season, along with the vast majority of the sides in this division.
It also emphasises the fact that winning automatic promotion without parachute payments will be extremely difficult whichever players they are able to sign this summer and whoever is at the helm. Maybe Boro’s only real hope of achieving glory will come via the play offs – but at this moment in time I’ll settle for that.
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