Middlesbrough FC warned against replacing Rob Edwards with Cardiff City raid - 'it would be similar to Michael Carrick' | OneFootball

The Bluebirds boss has been linked with the vacancy at the Riverside Stadium

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Steve Gibson is currently on the hunt for the latest man in the Middlesbrough FC hotseat after Rob Edwards was stood down from his position ahead of Saturday's 2-1 success over Birmingham City at the Riverside Stadium.

The 42-year-old is expected to take the reins at Wolverhampton Wanderers this week after eventually being granted permission from Boro, who were extremely disappointed with Edwards' actions, having taken up his previous position at the North East club in June following the dismissal of Michael Carrick.

Adi Viveash, Harry Watling and Craig Liddle were tasked with overseeing the victory which returned the Reds to the Championship's automatic promotion places heading into the two-week international break, although it is being reported that Watling, at least, is set to reunite with Edwards once confirmation of his appointment at Molineux is made public.

Despite local reports stating that the Middlesbrough hierarchy, which is made up of Gibson, Neil Bausor and Kieran Scott, will draw up a swift shortlist of potential candidates, several names have, unsurprisingly, already been linked with the post.

One of those comes in the form of Cardiff City boss, Brian Barry-Murphy, who has also only been in his current post since June.

Yet, despite his work in the Welsh capital, Football League World's Middlesbrough fan pundit, Liam Day, believes the club should be looking elsewhere to begin with.

Michael Carrick comparison made amid Middlesbrough FC links with Cardiff City's Brian Barry-Murphy

The aforementioned links came to the fore on Sunday morning, when Alan Nixon claimed that Barry-Murphy fits the bill in terms of a candidate the Middlesbrough hierarchy are looking for in the long-term, although they will reportedly face competition from SPFL giants, Celtic, for his services, as the Bhoys continue to search for Brendan Rodgers' successor at Parkhead.

Barry-Murphy's current role with Cardiff is his first EFL post since 2021, when he left Rochdale, then of League One, after two years, subsequently taking up roles within Manchester City's academy setup and a stint as Ruud van Nistelrooy's assistant at Leicester City.

His start at the Cardiff City Stadium has been relatively impressive with such a new-look and young side, with the Bluebirds currently fourth in League One whilst having a game in hand over Stevenage and Bradford City — who make up the automatic spots — whilst also guiding them to the upcoming EFL Cup quarter-final against Chelsea.

Yet, with a style which encourages his side to build their way through the thirds, Day believes it would be too similar to that of the aforementioned Carrick, who was dismissed in May as Middlesbrough missed out on the play-offs for a second successive season.

"I think it's a big risk if we were to appoint him, to be honest," he told FLW.

"It would be similar to Michael Carrick. He wants to play football on the ground, I understand that most young managers want to, but it's not something I'm too keen to see," Day stated.

"I want a side that's firm and hits others on the counter-attack. It seems to be the most successful form of playing football now. Look at what Sunderland are doing in the Premier League.

"Whilst I don't think it would be the worst appointment, we could do a lot better," he added.

"I'd like an experienced manager. I don't think it would take too much from a manager, at this point in time, to get a lot out of this squad. We won on Saturday with no manager and we were quite impressive.

"We've got a really good squad, and it would take only a half-decent manager. But, I'd like to see an experienced manager to come in."

Brian Barry-Murphy would be subject to similar Middlesbrough FC feelings if he left Cardiff City

Of course, there are bound to be attractions towards either the Middlesbrough or Celtic vacancy. However, if Barry-Murphy was to leave South Wales so soon, he would become the subject of the same frustration and anger which those at the Riverside displayed towards Edwards over the weekend.

The Irishman is currently enjoying relative success in his first senior post for some time, and is certainly laying down the foundations for what could be the next successful era at the Cardiff City Stadium.

However, there is a risk that all of said good work and his relationship with the supporters would immediately go out of the window, meaning that he may have to think at length over his next move, should he feature at the top of Gibson's aforementioned shortlist.