Social media safety tips: Parents support Government plans to limit children’s social media use
Former Town chief returns to Molineux
Former Luton boss Rob Edwards has left Middlesbrough been named as the new manager of Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The 42-year-old spent just over two years in charge at Kenilworth Road, leading Town to the Premier League via the play-offs in the summer of 2023, but couldn’t keep the Hatters in the top flight as they were relegated back to the Championship. Edwards then struggled in the second tier, as he was relieved of his duties in January of this year with the club struggling near the bottom of the table, as they were eventually relegated back to League One at the end of the season.
The former Forest Green Rovers and Watford chief was out of the game for a few months, before given an opportunity by Boro, signing a three year contract in June. He made a brilliant start to life at the Riverside, named the Championship Manager of the Month for August after winning his first four league games in charge, and had kept the club in third, before expressing a desire to speak to Wolves over their vacancy after the recent sacking of Vitor Pereira.
Former Luton manager Rob Edwards has taken over at Wolverhampton Wanderersplaceholder image
Former Luton manager Rob Edwards has taken over at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Edwards has strong links with his new club too, first moving to Molineux as a player in 2004 when joining for £150,000 from Aston Villa, making 111 appearances across four seasons, heading back to his old club when taking his first steps into coaching with the club’s U18s in 2014. Within a year, he was working under Kenny Jackett as first-team coach, and in October 2016 took charge of two first-team matches on an interim basis, following Walter Zenga’s time at Molineux.
After a first taste of senior management with AFC Telford United, Edwards returned to Wolves once more as U23 head coach in July 2018 and won a first promotion to the highest level of youth football, the Premier League Two Division One. He left the club once more in October 2019 to work for the FA and then move to Forest Green, but is now back to lead his old side, who have taken just two points from their opening 11 Premier League matches to prop up the table.
Wolves executive chairman Jeff Shi said of his appointment: “I know Rob very well and I have seen his growth in different jobs. He’s a very good person, he knows the club very well, he knows the city, the fans and he is very talented. When he was a youth coach here, he showed his tactical awareness, but after he took first-team jobs he started to grow his own identity, character and leadership. We need to refresh the whole club with a new coach’s philosophy, bringing his own identity and ideas, and we can build on that. We are at a new chapter for the club and Rob will be a key piece of that.”
Head of professional football development, Matt Jackson, an ex-Hatter himself, added: “Rob and his staff have demonstrated previously that they can be really good in shifting the culture, getting confidence quickly into players and building foundations for a really positive future. He loves being on the grass and making a change to a team, embracing the tactics of different situations. The energy that he brings off the field, we have to get it on to the pitch. We have to be realistic about where we are, and we definitely need to be held accountable. We now need to get that belief into the players quickly and think Rob will be great culturally for the whole football club.”
A statement on Middlesbrough’s official website said: “Middlesbrough FC can confirm that Rob Edwards as now officially resigned his post as head coach after agreeing a contract with Wolves. Rob had signed a three-year contract with ourselves during the summer, but after he made it clear he was keen to join Wolves, we reluctantly agreed a figure of compensation for both himself and one of his first team coaches, Harry Watling.”
Continue Reading