Monk could prove to be a good appointment for Middlesbrough

Garry Monk is the man charged with helping Middlesbrough to promotion next season

At the start of last season, I have to admit I thought Middlesbrough would have enough about them to stay in the Premier League. Under Aitor Karanka Boro were a very well drilled team.

Unfortunately, a solid defensive set-up was not enough, as the north east side suffered relegation, having scored the fewest goals in the Premier League.

Karanka’s temporarily replacement Steve Agnew did very little to convince that he was the man to take the club forward. However, the club now have appointed a bright young head coach in Garry Monk.

Monk has shown promise in his short managerial career

Good young British bosses are short on the ground. Clubs prefer to use foreign bosses because they tend to be more tactically astute and that has been the case for a good while.

However, former Swansea boss Garry Monk has shown that he does have promise as a boss. Monk’s managerial career began at Swansea, where for me he was rather harshly dismissed after a bad run of form.

Since then he enjoyed a good spell at Leeds, where he lead the Whites to seventh place in the Championship, just missing out on the play-offs.

That might not have seemed like much of an achievement, but considering the club’s owner had a habit of dispensing with bosses, he did a decent job. Ironically, the club changed hands at the end of May, yet Monk still decided to quit his job.

To say Monk’s decision to head to Boro does not please the Leeds fans would be an understatement. They claim he has used the club. However, he guided the club to stability and their best finish since 2011. To be fair the Whites did not have the best of squads either.

Seems like a good fit

Garry Monk seems to fit well with Boro. The north east club are stable, with an owner in Steve Gibson that really does care about the club. Monk will likely get the time and resources at Boro to build something positive for the future.

Monk comes across as a bright boss, who reports suggest is also an innovator. Boro are a club that are crying out for a boss of that description. The north east club have a history of appointing young bosses, with Aitor Karanka the most recent example.

Owner Steve Gibson is not scared to take a chance on a younger boss if he believes he can help the team develop. The appointment of Karanka saw Boro promoted. Although relegation followed, the Spaniard’s reign was not all disaster.

He left the club with a decent squad of players and a good foundation for a promotion push next season from the Championship.

Priority is promotion

Garry Monk seems to be a popular appointment with the Boro fans. His priority for next season will be promotion, something the north east side are odds of 7/1 to achieve.

The fact that Boro are the second favourites for promotion to the Premier League obviously adds pressure on Monk. However, the young boss has seemed to cope with pressure pretty well in the past.

Monk will no doubt bring a far more attacking style of football than Karanka. One of Boro’s problems last season was a lack of goals, so the former Swansea boss will need to address that issue.

From the outside looking in, Garry Monk looks to be a good appointment for Middlesbrough. He is still a relatively young boss and has made mistakes in the past. However, Monk has shown promising signs during his short managerial career of better things to come.

With more experience, he may well develop into the sort of English boss that is in short supply at the top of the English game.

Is Garry Monk a good managerial appointment for Middlesbrough?