Redwurzel
Well-known member
Steve Gibson has been a positive for Middlesbrough FC since he became a director when the club were in Administration in 1986. His vision and funds have provided the basis for the club to spend so much time in the Premier League.
However I agree there have been mistakes.
One of his biggest mistake in my opinion was taking funds away from Southgate in the Summer of 2008. At the end of season 2007/8 we looked a solid Premiership side. But that summer Schwarzer, Boateng, Rockembach, Young were sold/released who were key players. I suspect against Southgate's wishes. If we kept them 4 we would not have been relegated in 2009. That relegation led to a series of forced sales in 2009 of key players such as Downing, Johnson, Huth, Tuncay. Then came all the Scottish players who generally were not of Championship quality. Those parachute payments were completely wasted. It wasn't till early 2014 that I felt we had got over the decisions made in 2008. Mowbray spent 3 years cleaning a mess up and then was sacked, when nothing right was happening on the pitch.
Maybe Steve Gibson himself has learnt how difficult it is to run a football club. He seemed to believe too much in his own abilities, just as many fans thought he had a magic touch. An example was buying Alves for £12m from a lower level Dutch club in January 2008. Southgate was not involved in the decision. Alves was not a Brazilian international. it was clearly a big risk. It was completed just as external financial crises had started (Northern Rock went under in September 2007). It became clear after initially starting OK he was not Premier League quality. The Alves money could have used instead to keep the squad together in the Summer of 2008. Sometimes its best to pick the brains of lots of others, its not a sign of weakness but more a sign of strength.
However I agree there have been mistakes.
One of his biggest mistake in my opinion was taking funds away from Southgate in the Summer of 2008. At the end of season 2007/8 we looked a solid Premiership side. But that summer Schwarzer, Boateng, Rockembach, Young were sold/released who were key players. I suspect against Southgate's wishes. If we kept them 4 we would not have been relegated in 2009. That relegation led to a series of forced sales in 2009 of key players such as Downing, Johnson, Huth, Tuncay. Then came all the Scottish players who generally were not of Championship quality. Those parachute payments were completely wasted. It wasn't till early 2014 that I felt we had got over the decisions made in 2008. Mowbray spent 3 years cleaning a mess up and then was sacked, when nothing right was happening on the pitch.
Maybe Steve Gibson himself has learnt how difficult it is to run a football club. He seemed to believe too much in his own abilities, just as many fans thought he had a magic touch. An example was buying Alves for £12m from a lower level Dutch club in January 2008. Southgate was not involved in the decision. Alves was not a Brazilian international. it was clearly a big risk. It was completed just as external financial crises had started (Northern Rock went under in September 2007). It became clear after initially starting OK he was not Premier League quality. The Alves money could have used instead to keep the squad together in the Summer of 2008. Sometimes its best to pick the brains of lots of others, its not a sign of weakness but more a sign of strength.