Middlesbrough, Norwich, Southampton and Swansea chasing same managers as favourites emerge

The international break has given four Championship clubs the time to conduct searches for a new manager after the departures of Rob Edwards, Liam Manning, Will Still and Alan Sheenan, but who will end up where?

The international break is a classic time for a change of manager and this one has seen four Championship clubs take the plunge at once, albeit for slightly different reasons. While Middlesbrough have been left with no choice but to recruit, after Rob Edwards left for Wolves, Southampton, Swansea and Norwich sacked their bosses for poor performance.

Will Still, Alan Sheenan and Liam Manning were all given their marching orders recently, while Edwards jumped ship up to the Premier League. It means that out-of-work coaches, like Gary O’Neil, Michael Carrick, Russell Martin, Steven Gerrard and Still, have all been linked with vacant roles in the Championship.

With nine days until fixtures return next weekend, the race is on for the four clubs to get their man. But who will end up where? And what do the fans actually want?

Mirror Football spoke to fans and experts from each club to get the lowdown on the situation and ponder what might come next.

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Middlesbrough

Chris Cassidy of the Boropolis Podcast

What’s the situation?

“There’s a lot of clashing of heads between Wolves fans and Boro fans about Edwards. I think a lot of the anger, from a Boro perspective, comes from the fact that we picked Edwards up from a position where he probably wouldn’t have been at the top of many shortlists in the summer due to what happened at Luton.

“But, in terms of the start to the season, we can’t say that he hasn’t done a good job. He united the fanbase. He’s made just a lot more resolute defensively. He’s left us in a good position.”

What’s the biggest issue that needs fixing?

“Results-wise, we’ve done alright. Prior to Saturday’s game that Edwards didn’t take, we’ve only won two of the last eight, so it hasn’t been as good as at the start of the season. Chance creation and scoring goals has been an issue of late. It wasn’t too pretty to watch, but we’ve been picking up points. At its very best, Michael Carrick’s football was some of the best I’ve watched of Middlesbrough – it’s night and day between that and Edwards’ best.

“Edwards opted for five at the back a lot, which became an issue with chance creation and the squad has been built for that system, which means we don’t play with wingers. Some natural pace and width would be a welcome addition in January.”

Who will be the next manager?

“Gary O’Neil tops the bookies’ odds, but Boro fans in general aren’t keen because he went on a podcast after he retired and admitted to getting booked deliberately so he’d get time off via a suspension in the season we were relegated from the Premier League.

“Steven Gerrard has been backed because Steve Gibson has a history of appointing big names. He’s also English and out of work and we don’t typically appoint managers who are in a job already.

“Carlos Corberan is still in a job at Valencia, but he’d be my pick. If he doesn’t get sacked soon then it’ll be difficult. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has been linked, but we don’t need to change too much – we just need somebody to steady the ship. I don’t want us to go for an unproven manager because it might just confuse things a little bit.”

Norwich City

Daniel Brigham, contributor to the On The Ball podcast

What’s the situation?

“Last season under Johannes Hoff Thorup we were great going forward but a bit of a nightmare at the back. It was a bit of a shock when he was sacked but everyone expected Jack Wilshere to get the job permanently after coming in as the interim boss. Yet, when the club poached Liam Manning from Bristol City, the fanbase were happy as he’d done well elsewhere.

“The expectation was that he’d be a pragmatic progression from our previous manager – keep the possession football but sure it up defensively. But it’s been an absolute disaster. It’s hard to point at anything that went right. We’ve spent £50m over the past two summers so the expectation was a top-six finish.

“Manning lasted just 17 games and is the shortest-serving permanent manager in our history. And his record of two wins in 15 league games is the worst in the club’s history. And, we’re the first second-division side in English league history to lose our first seven games of the season.”

What’s the biggest issue that needs fixing?

“The fans have been calling for the head of our sporting director, Ben Knapper, rather than Manning. He came in saying he’d recruit players for possession-based football, but the lurch to Manning was bigger than fans were expecting – a massive handbrake turn. That meant Manning didn’t have the squad to suit him. The recruitment hasn’t been a success.

“Where it’s gone most wrong is in midfield. We have three identikit midfielders and sold our most creative midfielder (Marcellino Nunez) to our rivals Ipswich. We have one of the best strikers in the division with Josh Sargeant but haven’t been getting him service.”

Who will be the next manager?

“We’re in a weird position where we’re re-interviewing Gary O’Neil – who we turned down for Manning – and Will Still – who we interviewed the previous summer but turned down for Thorup. We’re 23rd in the league so every manager will come in with big caveats.

“Jon Dahl Tomasson has just had a disaster with Sweden but was very good at Blackburn until he wasn’t backed in the transfer market and it ended acrimoniously. I think he suits our squad the best and is closest in profile to our previous Danish manager Thorup. His Blackburn teams battered us two years in a row at Carrow Road.

“We’ve been linked with Russell Martin, who is a former player. We’re very much going for out-of-work managers because we gave Manning and his staff four-year deals so maybe we can’t afford others. The shortlist is a bit concerning because they’re all very different styles of managers, which suggests Knapper doesn’t know what he wants.”

Swansea City

Tom Coleman, Wales Online reporter

What’s the situation?

“There was a lot of optimism over the summer as it was the most the club have spent on transfer since being relegated from the Premier League. When you combine that with the hype around having Snoop Dogg and Luka Modric on board as investors, there was a real hope that, after Alan Sheenan guided them away from relegation, they could be part of the top-six conversation, but it hasn’t happened. They’ve only won four league games and two in the last 11 and the underlying numbers didn’t suggest it was going to get any better.

“Before Saturday’s 4-1 thrashing by Ipswich there was an expectation that Sheenan would get some time to try and turn things around, but the manner of the defeat and the fan reaction shifted things.”

What’s the biggest issue that needs fixing?

“A lack of creativity in midfield is the biggest issue, but they have one thing to cling onto in the form of Zan Vipotnik, who is a very good goalscorer. My personal view is that if you’ve got someone that good when you’re not creating a lot, if you can find someone or a system to give him service, then there’s every possibility he can kick on.”

Who will be the next manager?

“My understanding is that Hammarby’s Kim Hellberg came very close to getting the job before Sheenan was appointed permanently because of the run he went on in his second interim spell. Swansea are very data-led in their approach and think Hellberg is going to be a good fit. People I’ve spoken to have compared his style to Roberto De Zerbi, or Graham Potter when he was at Swansea: possession-heavy, but not as much as Russell Martin, for example. He likes to dominate the middle of the park.

“Hellberg has come through the leagues in Sweden and is an exciting managerial prospect. Certain people I’ve spoken to are certain that one day he’ll be managing in the Premier League. Other Championship clubs are looking at him, so he’s not guaranteed to land at Swansea, despite him holding talks with the Welsh club on Thursday.”

Southampton

Joe White, Saints fan

What’s the situation?

“It’s been an absolute mess for a long time at St Mary’s, which started before their embarrassing relegation campaign last season. Fans are pointing the finger at owners Sport Republic, who have overseen a dramatic decline since taking over in January 2022. Saints were shambolic in finishing bottom of the Premier League last season and are still paying the price for poor leadership and recruitment from the very top.

“Will Still arrived with plenty of good will, given his successes in France and Belgium, but there was consensus among fans that he needed to go, having failed to get a tune out of the players. Saints looked clueless about their approach on the pitch and Still suffered from muddled thinking, with haphazard summer recruitment exacerbating things.”

What’s the biggest issue that needs fixing?

“Sport Republic have a target on their backs and protests will continue among match-going fans, who they have tried to appease by bringing back Oriol Romeu. Most believe the club is rotten from the top down and sweeping changes are needed, yet that is very unlikely to happen any time soon.

“In the short term, Southampton need a manager who has a clear playing style and knows how to articulate it to the players. Despite the turnover of players, there are still plenty of talented players in the squad, which is much stronger than the league position suggests. Interim boss Tonda Eckert has won back-to-back games, showing that confidence is the main thing missing.”

Who will be the next manager?

“Gary O’Neil is out of the question, as a former Portsmouth player. There is no chance that either Russell Martin or Ralph Hasenhuttl will be coming back, despite what the bookies may say, and Saints shouldn’t fall into the trap of appointing an interim boss permanently again after what happened with Ruben Selles.

“It doesn’t seem as though the club are in a rush after Eckert’s winning start and they really need to get this next appointment right. Sporting director Johannes Spors has made misstep after misstep. He’s said to be keen on appointing a manager from Germany, but Michael Carrick might be a good fit, given his possession-based style with Boro.”

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