Oslo_Syd

Well, if you want to be pernickety… “his manager in Spain thought he wasn't good enough then, which is what I said was most likely” = speculation. You don’t know what the Spanish manager thought. “there might be a reason beyond some weird Wilder vendetta” = speculation. We don’t know whether there was any vendetta. And you say “might”. “Schalke were relegated, you'd think they would want the young star striker to stick around but they sold him” Maybe he wanted to be sold. Many players do when their team gets relegated. Maybe they just wanted the cash. Who knows? Your recoun

There's a fair amount of speculation in that, but that's where the fun lies, isn't it? What seems fairly certain is that Hoppe hasn't impressed enough in training to get a start. And our current position does not afford us the luxury of experimenting with him.

You may well be right. Who knows? He's a big fella and has plenty of time ahead of him.

I feel a bit sorry for Hoppe. He must have expected more from his transfer than he actually got. It's a pity when someone's career gets derailed by internal wranglings.

I'm not talking about WHAT is said, but HOW it's expressed. I work with words every day. It's my job. Although it's by no means always the case, people who think clearly tend to express themselves clearly too. Carrick does that; Wilder did not.

I wasn't.

I was very impressed with Carrick's presser. He speaks clearly and logically and what he says makes sense. Not a scrap of egocentricity. That's a refreshing change in itself after the self-aggrandising gobbledygook that Wilder and Warnock spouted, to name but two.

I just hope that Woody recognises that Carrick is the boss and not him.

Wigan were poor, yes, but we've played against other teams that were equally as poor and lost. And there were some people here who were more or less saying that we only won because Wigan were poor. I agree that there's a long way to go and one swallow doth not a summer make. But the second half of this match gave me every reason to think that these players have all it takes to do well. They just need confidence and the right manager.

Always amazes me with Boro fans. We won so the other team must have been crap. There are no really crap teams in the Championship and you can see that from the number of points separating them. Why not give credit where credit is due and admit that we put four goals past another team in an away match? I'm still pinching myself. Well done, Leo and the lads.

As I read it, René Meulensteen will not be available. The Guardian article is rehashing old news.

This was my big doubt about Carrick - his commitment (or lack thereof). It looks as if he's been talked into a job and that's not good enough. We need a manager who is at least 100% committed, not a Bryan Robson clone.

I was under the impression that we were being sold a package - Carrick, Phelan and Meulensteen. Assuming that this package was all in place and ready to rock.

You know, when a lot of organisations are setting great store in being "transparent" - in other words letting the punters know what's going on - MFC seem to be going in the opposite direction. I'm not suggesting that the fans should be consulted on every detail but a little bit more information would not have come amiss. As it is, I think the last two weeks have disappointed and maybe even alienated a lot of people.

Me too. Maybe he was more enthusiastic than we've been led to believe. If that's the case, it's a positive sign. We need at least a manager who is 100% behind the club and its plans for the future - if indeed there are any such plans.

Sounds like another money issue. That package would not come cheap.

Aside from all the juvenile bickering, I'm very concerned with the appointment of a frankly rookie manager who was approached rather than applied and was apparently reluctant to take it on. I would be delighted to be proven wrong - my nipples would explode with delight - but I have a bad feeling about all of this.

Got this sorted It's Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior who went on to play for Sydney FC, hence Bruce. I knew TLF would be back one day.

Fairly predictable.

From who?

Hm, for me Carrick is still a rookie, despite his experiences at Man U. I'd be happier with Wolf, tbh.

There does seem a bit of reluctance to consider employing a foreign manager, which is kind of weird when you consider that one of our most successful managers in recent years was Spanish. Look at the current top five in the premier league - all but one of them have foreign managers. It's not because they like spaghetti.

Nah, there's such a thing as pride you know.

A return to Pulis-ball?

When I wrote "a top-flight manager" I really didn't have anyone in mind. We're all going around in circles and most of us seem to be pretty definite about who we don't want but not about who we DO want. It's all a lottery anyway. No one wants Cattermole, that's for sure. Carrick looks attractive but he's an unknown quantity really. None of the other UK also-rans excite me in any way. Personally, I think Boro's best option is to look further afield and to reconcile themselves to the fact that there will be no promotion this year. Stability and then progression. We need a European manager with a