Rob Edwards was relieved of his duties prior to Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Birmingham City at Riverside Stadium, and Steve Gibson is now searching for the next person to take over as manager of Middlesbrough FC.

The 42-year-old, who took over his previous role at the North East club in June after Michael Carrick was fired, is anticipated to assume leadership at Wolverhampton Wanderers this week after Boro finally gave him permission. The club was deeply disappointed with Edwards’ behavior.

Heading into the two-week international break, Adi Viveash, Harry Watling, and Craig Liddle were tasked with managing the victory that put the Reds back in the Championship’s automatic promotion spots. However, it has been reported that Watling, at the very least, will be reunited with Edwards once it is confirmed that he will be joining Molineux.

A number of names have, predictably, already been connected to the position, even though local media claim that the Middlesbrough hierarchy—which consists of Gibson, Neil Bausor, and Kieran Scott—will quickly create a shortlist of possible applicants.

One of those is Brian Barry-Murphy, the manager of Cardiff City, who has just been in his current position since June.

Football League World’s Middlesbrough fan pundit Liam Day, however, feels the team should have started looking elsewhere despite his efforts in the Welsh capital.

A parallel between Michael Carrick and Brian Barry-Murphy of Cardiff City and Middlesbrough FC has been made.

As the Bhoys continue to look for Brendan Rodgers’ replacement at Parkhead, the aforementioned connections came to light on Sunday morning when Alan Nixon stated that Barry-Murphy fits the bill as a long-term candidate the Middlesbrough hierarchy is looking for. However, they will reportedly face competition from SPFL giants, Celtic, for his services.

After leaving Rochdale, then in League One, after two years in 2021, Barry-Murphy had positions in Manchester City’s academy system and briefly served as Ruud van Nistelrooy’s assistant at Leicester City. His current position with Cardiff is his first EFL position since that time.

With such a young and new-look team, his start at Cardiff City Stadium has been comparatively impressive. The Bluebirds are currently fourth in League One, one game ahead of Stevenage and Bradford City, who complete the automatic spots, and he is leading them to the forthcoming EFL Cup quarterfinal matchup with Chelsea.

However, Day thinks it would be too close to the manner of the aforementioned Carrick, who was fired in May after Middlesbrough missed the playoffs for the second straight season, given that his team’s strategy encourages them to work their way through the thirds.

“I think it’s a big risk if we were to appoint him, to be honest,” he stated to FLW.

Michael Carrick would be comparable. Day said, “I understand that most young managers want to play football on the field, but I’m not too keen to see that.”

“A firm side that attacks others on the defensive is what I desire. It appears to be the most popular way to play football right now. Take a look at Sunderland’s Premier League performance.

“Whilst I don’t think it would be the worst appointment, we could do a lot better,” he said.

“I want a manager with experience. To get a lot out of this team right now, I don’t think a manager would need to do much. Without a manager, we were really remarkable and won on Saturday.

“All it would take is a mediocre manager to defeat our excellent team. However, I would prefer that an experienced management take over.

If Brian Barry-Murphy left Cardiff City, he would have the same emotions as Middlesbrough FC.

Of course, there will inevitably be interest in the Celtic or Middlesbrough positions. But Barry-Murphy would be the target of the same annoyance and rage that folks at the Riverside showed Edwards over the weekend if he were to depart South Wales so quickly.

In his first senior position in a while, the Irishman is currently enjoying relative success and is undoubtedly setting the groundwork for what may be the next prosperous era at Cardiff City Stadium.

Should he be at the top of Gibson’s previously indicated shortlist, he may have to carefully consider his next course of action because there is a chance that all of his hard work and his relationship with the supporters would be instantly thrown out the window.