Karanka: I went to Middlesbrough and it felt like I went to the best place in the world

buffaloboro said:
What type of things did Gaza say?
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Wishing he had never signed for boro being an out and out geordie boy.. wishing he had stayed at Rangers as he was an out an out Rangers lad.. wishing he hadn’t went to Italy as he was an out an out English man.. wishing he’d have signed for Man Utd so he wouldn’t have done his cruciate and went on to be the new George Best..

He loved Rangers, loved Everton but hated Boro.. his biggest regret in football. Lol
 
Given how things have gone for him since he left he no doubt regrets how he went on at the end. He didn't realise how good he had it.
 
TeessideCleveland said:
Well he didn't criticise things.
Very few ex-players actually slag Teesside or The Boro off - even Ravanelli and Emerson are happy to praise us.
Merson did have a go for a bit - but even he's stopped that now
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I read Merson's book. He did slate Middlesbrough but has since said he 100% regrets it and it was during a really bad period of his life (drugs&drink). Any time he speaks about Boro now he's full of positives.
 
I loved Aitor as a manager. I was one of the few who didn't want him sacked in the end.
Some of the football we played under him was brilliant and he brought some very exciting seasons after the Strachan / Mowbray era which had a been a long slog. It was absurd to sack him with no replacement lined up. He was our best chance of staying up, but failing that he was also our best chance of getting us to bounce back at the first attempt.

I guess we'll never really know what happened behind the scenes that season, but the split amongst the staff and players seemed to destroy us. I think we were both unlucky and naive with the recruitment for the PL season. I don't think there would have been many managers that could have kept that squad up. The football was awful in the end but AK was just trying to be as pragmatic as possible and at least make it difficult for other teams. As soon as he went, Agnew turned us into whipping boys over night.
 
newyddion said:
Easy to score points on the after dinner circuit slagging off the north east. He says a lot being made to live with Gazza.. like he wasn’t a fully grown man able to make decisions for himself. Gazza delights in slagging the club on the after dinner circuit.. wish we’d never had signed him personally.
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I never wanted us to sign Gazza - and was delighted when he left
 
B_G said:
I loved Aitor as a manager. I was one of the few who didn't want him sacked in the end.
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This until the very end which was the West Ham game at home, he criticized the fans for not getting behind the team and I knew he had stepped over a line, the funny thing was I read the west ham forum ( Kumb) and they were very complimentary about our support, despite being under the cosh we were getting behind our team.
I hope he is successful in Spain as well as anywhere he goes and as he gets older he learns to chill a bit, he takes things to heart to much and situations that maybe he should ignore because they are temporary such as fans noise etc he learns to do just do that, ignore them and not make unnecessary dramas out of them or anything else.*

* Obviously it is pressure so I hope he deals with pressure better.
 
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Loved the play off and promotion season, felt like there was a real togetherness between staff, players and fans.
Was disappointed when he left but at the time thought it made sense if we were throwing the dice to stay up. To appoint nobody permanently and limp to the end of the season was the worst part. Then we appointed Monk…
 
B_G said:
I loved Aitor as a manager. I was one of the few who didn't want him sacked in the end.
Some of the football we played under him was brilliant and he brought some very exciting seasons after the Strachan / Mowbray era which had a been a long slog. It was absurd to sack him with no replacement lined up. He was our best chance of staying up, but failing that he was also our best chance of getting us to bounce back at the first attempt.

I guess we'll never really know what happened behind the scenes that season, but the split amongst the staff and players seemed to destroy us. I think we were both unlucky and naive with the recruitment for the PL season. I don't think there would have been many managers that could have kept that squad up. The football was awful in the end but AK was just trying to be as pragmatic as possible and at least make it difficult for other teams. As soon as he went, Agnew turned us into whipping boys over night.
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Yep, I used to get pelters on here defending him. Nobody, well very few accepted players were signed he didn’t want (his gifts) I think most now accept thats the case in part from. It was madness sacking him, but I think after the fans abhorrent reaction to him and the players at Stoke away, Gibson probably felt he had no choice. Poor recruitment and a lack of flair and pace cost us, coupled with Ramirez’s personal life leading to him wanting away.

He was a great Boro manager, right man right time. He was meticulous and professional with such high standards that some players did not appreciate it in my opinion. He wanted to win and one or two of the squad didn’t like his way. His choice of clubs post Boro were never likely to see him succeed. I have nothing but admiration for him and wish him well in Spain.
 
coluka said:
Yep, I used to get pelters on here defending him. Nobody, well very few accepted players were signed he didn’t want (his gifts) I think most now accept thats the case in part from. It was madness sacking him, but I think after the fans abhorrent reaction to him and the players at Stoke away, Gibson probably felt he had no choice. Poor recruitment and a lack of flair and pace cost us, coupled with Ramirez’s personal life leading to him wanting away.

He was a great Boro manager, right man right time. He was meticulous and professional with such high standards that some players did not appreciate it in my opinion. He wanted to win and one or two of the squad didn’t like his way. His choice of clubs post Boro were never likely to see him succeed. I have nothing but admiration for him and wish him well in Spain.
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It's crazy to see how many people still seem to hate AK. He always gets slated if the Gazette Live post anything about him.

I agree totally with the comment above saying he over stepped the mark when he slagged the fans. From that point on his days were numbered. He probably wasn't wrong in what he was trying to portray but managers just can't get away with turning against the fans. The fans were booing players etc at the time. It wasn't helpful. I think some of what Karanka was trying to communicate at times wasn't translated exactly how he meant it, as well as being a very emotional man.
 
I agree as we were only ever a meal ticket to Gazza. It was robbo doing his mate a favour.

He never had any emotion toward us infact I don’t really class him as a boro player.

His comments when he joined Everton summed him up for me so I’m not surprised we’re the but of his jokes on the lunch circuit as he took the pee when he was here as well.
 
fmttmadmin said:
Remember Aitor was here for Alastair Brownlee's passing and funeral. He was in the stadium when the funeral cortege passed on to the pitch and the strength of feeling and community on the sad, sad day will have definitely impacted him as it did all present. I saw him that day sitting in the West Stand and he nodded over to me a greeting of shared sorrow. Moving moments and times like that stay with you and perhaps in some ways tie you to a place forever.
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That's brilliant!!
 
A very good nay world class coach but I wouldn’t say very good manager similar to mcclaren in that sense.
 
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TeessideCleveland said:
I never wanted us to sign Gazza - and was delighted when he left
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I was over the moon when we signed gazza but even happier when left.
Biggest disappointment ever,absolutely loved him prior to signing but he just tossed it off and regularly bad mouths us during his after dinner speaking.
Should have been remembered as the greatest English midfielder of all time instead of wasting his career and being remembered as a joke figure.
Truly tragic.
 
viv_andersons_nana said:
Agree with that but there was bitterness from him too. He was briefing against his own players in the press and had lost control of the dressing room. He hired a PR team the summer we got promoted. I think he got ahead of himself.

But time makes the pressures of his final 6-8 months in charge history now really. You’d say that almost all managers leave a club under a cloud of disappointment. Even Brian Clough.

Karanka was brought in to take us up and he did it. That win at Manchester City was and is absolutely remarkable. I don’t think we fully appreciate how good it was, how we completely cut them open on the break time and again. The playoff team he built was brilliant.

Good luck to him in Spain.
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Some big claims there - any evidence.
I have evidence (well, from someone very senior at the club at the time( to the contrary if it helps.
 
newyddion said:
Wishing he had never signed for boro being an out and out geordie boy.. wishing he had stayed at Rangers as he was an out an out Rangers lad.. wishing he hadn’t went to Italy as he was an out an out English man.. wishing he’d have signed for Man Utd so he wouldn’t have done his cruciate and went on to be the new George Best..

He loved Rangers, loved Everton but hated Boro.. his biggest regret in football. Lol
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I would have thought him acting like a chunt in the cup final, trying to injure another player would have been top of his regrets
 
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