Boro turn to Edwards in search of promotion formula

Rob Edwards has won promotions with Forest Green Rovers and Luton Town

Middlesbrough's decision to appoint Rob Edwards as Michael Carrick's successor marks a change of direction in the Riverside dugout.

Carrick was a managerial rookie (three games as Manchester United's caretaker notwithstanding), while 42-year-old Edwards already knows what it takes to win promotion, once to League One with Forest Green Rovers and subsequently to the Premier League with Luton Town.

His success in reaching the top flight with the Hatters will undoubtedly have been an attraction for Boro, who are still searching for the right formula to return to English football's top table eight years after their relegation to the Championship in 2017.

Edwards is Boro's seventh permanent manager or head coach in that time, and the list of names in those eight years gives an insight into the varied approaches chairman Steve Gibson has employed as he tries to find the solution to the club's promotion woes.

We have seen rookie bosses in Carrick and Jonathan Woodgate (who was Carrick's assistant throughout his two and a half years in charge), veterans – Tony Pulis and Championship specialist Neil Warnock – as well as the men of their particular moments, Garry Monk and Chris Wilder.

What the appointment of Edwards does is fully align Boro's first-team management with the strategic vision of Kieran Scott, the club's head of football.

The pair have worked together in the past. Edwards was under-23s coach at Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Scott was part of the scouting team.

When Edwards began his senior managerial career, Scott went on to become head of recruitment at Norwich City before taking over Boro's football operation.

The pair have kept in touch throughout the intervening years and now have the chance to rekindle their professional partnership at the Riverside.

Michael Carrick (left) and Jonathan Woodgate are two of the previous seven Boro bosses to have failed to return Middlesbrough to the Premier League

Edwards is the fourth Boro manager who will work with Scott. Warnock, Wilder and Carrick were the others, and it is fair to say the working model was particularly tested during the Warnock and Wilder years.

Under Carrick, Boro had some real success in the transfer market – Morgan Rogers, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Rav van den Berg to name a few – but a system that had worked well sprang a major leak in January.

The head coach pushed for signings who proved to be notable failures and Boro's season crumbled after the turn of the year.

That situation is unlikely to be repeated with Edwards in charge. Recruitment, playing style and an ability to work within Boro's structure will all have played a big role in the interview process.

Many Boro fans were excited by the potential arrival of Sheffield Wednesday's Danny Rohl, while the fact Steve Cooper was interviewed shows the job remains one of the most desirable outside the top flight.

What Edwards brings though, is Championship nous and an ability to punch above his weight.

Competing with 'parachute' clubs

The Luton squad he led to promotion two years ago was reputed to have a wage bill that would have placed them 20th in the Championship.

Boro are much more generous payers, but no Championship club without the benefit of parachute payments can afford to turn their nose up at a manager with the ability to improve players and find a way of competing with teams dropping down from the Premier League.

Concerns have been raised by some Boro fans about the way Luton unravelled on Edwards' watch last season, and there is no doubt that was something that would have been discussed by Boro's hierarchy.

However, the fact Luton won promotion under him and then made a good fist of trying to stay up should not be forgotten. For the record, the Hatters finished 18th in their Premier League season, ahead of Burnley, whose manager Vincent Kompany subsequently left them for German giants Bayern Munich.

Edwards may not be the big-name arrival Michael Carrick was, but Boro hope he proves to be the right one.