Middlesbrough fans were ready to give Rob Edwards a cold reception when he returned to the Riverside Stadium, but they will have to wait for now.

Wolves unexpectedly fired Edwards after appointing César Peixoto as manager of Gil Vicente, with the Welshman’s family learning of his dismissal via social media.

The 43-year-old is detested by many Borough fans after leaving barely five months into the 2025/26 Championship season, with the Teesside club second in the table.

The form of the head coach’s dismissal has stunned people the most, but it appears to have had no effect on Middlesbrough fans’ opinions of him as a person.

Did Rob Edwards get what he deserved after Wolves’ sacking?

Edwards’ untimely departure from Borough did not entirely destroy the club’s season, but there will always be a sense of what could have been as they failed to finish in the automatic promotion spots.

The Teessiders replaced the 43-year-old with Kim Hellberg, who performed an admirable job of keeping Middlesbrough in the promotion race, but they faltered, finishing fifth and losing in the play-off final to Hull City.

Ironically, Edwards was ostensibly appointed as Wolves’ manager to bring them back to the Premier League next season because he had little hope of maintaining them in the top tier, but he is now without a club.

When asked if he sympathised with his former head coach, FLW’s Borough fan pundit Liam Day expressed his thoughts openly.In an interview with Football League World, he stated that he has no sympathy.I don’t regard him as a manager, and I don’t think he’s a fantastic person. I believe he is a bit of a snake. He jumps from ship to ship whenever the occasion arises. I understand the point; it’s his hometown club, but he’s committed to us. He was offered a fantastic opportunity, and despite doing admirably, he ran away at the first opportunity.

“But I don’t really rate him. “To be honest, I thought we were falling off under him, and I was quite happy when he left. As strange as that may sound, I’m not trying to sound salty, but I think anyone could see that it was a bad appointment in the first place.”I don’t think it was ever going to work, therefore I have no pity. To be perfectly honest, that was very expected, therefore I’m delighted it happened.”

Is Middlesbrough better off without Edwards?

The fact is that Edwards departed Middlesbrough with the club in second position, but with so much of the season still to play, who knows what the club could have accomplished.

Overall, the results had been encouraging, however there were occasional blips, the most alarming of which were a severe 3-0 defeat to Watford and a loss to Portsmouth.

However, the Welshman had Championship experience, having led Luton Town to the Premier League via the play-offs, which may have come in handy.

Ultimately, however, the 43-year-old revealed his true colours when he left a decent situation, and while he would argue that he was returning to his club, he plainly had no fondness for the Teesside outfit.

Borough knows they have an emotional man committed to the cause in Hellberg, and with the remainder of the summer to organise for the next campaign, it will be interesting to see what he can do.

When managers depart in such situations, it understandably leaves a bad taste in the mouth, demonstrating that the grass is not always greener.

While Edwards is unlikely to face his former team anytime soon, there is a good chance he will, and many believe he got what he deserved.