Middlesbrough FC fired Steven Gerrard warning after Michael Carrick sacking | OneFootball

FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit has given his thoughts on the possible appointment of Steven Gerrard as the club's new manager.

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...

Middlesbrough are currently on the hunt for a new manager after parting company with Michael Carrick earlier this week.

Middlesbrough missed out on the Championship play-offs after a disappointing second half of the season, eventually finishing in 10th place, and after a lengthy internal review of the campaign, the club announced Carrick's departure on Wednesday afternoon.

According to journalist Alex Crook, Robbie Keane, Jon Dahl Tomasson and Rob Edwards are all under consideration as potential replacements for Carrick, while Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl is also "admired", but his high release clause could be a problem for the Teesside outfit.

It remains to be seen whether Boro owner Steve Gibson will consider other candidates outside those already named, but one manager who could potentially come into contention is Steven Gerrard, who has been out of work since leaving Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq by mutual consent in January.

After a stellar playing career with Liverpool and LA Galaxy, Gerrard took his first steps into management with Rangers in the summer of 2018, and he enjoyed a successful three-year spell at Ibrox, with his most notable success coming when he led his side to the Scottish Premiership title and an unbeaten league campaign in the 2020-21 season.

Gerrard then took over at Premier League side Aston Villa in November 2021, but he was dismissed less than a year later with the club sitting just outside the relegation zone, and he did not fare too much better during his 18-month stint at Al-Ettifaq.

Middlesbrough told to avoid Steven Gerrard appointment

When asked for his thoughts on the possible appointment of Gerrard, FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit Liam Day claimed that, since leaving Rangers, the 45-year-old has done nothing to merit being considered for the job at the Riverside Stadium, and he insisted that there are plenty of better options out there.

"I don't think Gerrard should be considered," Liam told FLW.

"He obviously did a great job at Rangers when he went unbeaten and won the title, which is a great achievement to say the least, but his work after has been nothing short of an embarrassment.

"He had Aston Villa near the relegation zone, and Unai Emery has now taken over and got them into the Champions League.

"He then went off to Saudi, I respect the fact he's got some money, but he didn't do very well with that side over there.

"I don't want him, I think there are so many better options out there.

"For me personally, the only reason he seems to be getting jobs is because of his name.

"When he was at Rangers, it was very much said that Michael Beale did all the work for him.

"He doesn't fit what we want, and I don't think we should do that at all."

Steven Gerrard would be too much of a gamble for Middlesbrough

Gibson has previously shown a willingness to give high-profile former players a chance in the dugout at Middlesbrough, with both Jonathan Woodgate and Carrick having spells in charge in recent years, but neither had ever managed before taking over at the Riverside Stadium, so they were more of an unknown quantity.

In contrast, Gerrard has now had three managerial roles, and while he does deserve credit for his work at Rangers, his time at Aston Villa and Al-Ettifaq left a lot to be desired, which would make him a big risk for any Championship club, particularly one like Boro with promotion ambitions.

Gibson should instead focus on candidates with experience of success in the second tier, such as Tomasson and Edwards, while he must also not rule out paying the reported £2 million compensation fee required to release Rohl from his Wednesday contract.