Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney believes Rob Edwards has made a "crazy decision" to join bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Edwards had a great start to life at the Riverside Stadium since joining over the summer. He lost only two of his opening 14 Championship games and guided the team to second in the table.
However, when Premier League side Wolves came calling, Edwards was quick to make the switch despite only being with Boro for five months. Now, the 42-year-old drops from a play-off battle into a relegation fight with the Midlands club.
It is now Edwards' job to save a Wolves side that haven’t won a league game this season and are already eight points from safety. Some odds give the former Boro manager a 5/1 chance, but Deeney disagrees.
He told talkSPORT: "I think even those odds are being kind. I reckon it's close to 50/1 in my opinion. Looking at it, who do you pin your hopes on? Nobody's playing well. Not one area of the pitch do you go, I don't know, 'my goalkeeper’s been great or my back line have been great; we're just not scoring.'
Middlesbrough head coach Rob Edwards
Rob Edwards has left Middlesbrough to join Wolverhampton Wanderers (Image: Leicester City FC via Getty Imag)
"Every single facet of the team is not doing well so it's a tough one. I'll be totally honest, I like Rob, I've got a lot of time for him. I think it's a crazy decision. I really do.
"I can't comprehend why Wolves, other than the emotional attachment of obviously Rob was there before, he has a connection with the fan, obviously he's closer to home. I don't understand why Wolves would say, 'this is the person to keep us up and/or bring us back up.'"
When asked whether Edwards’ time at Luton might be a factor, with the Englishman having taken the Hatters to the Premier League, Deeney responded: "But he's also taken Luton down, and he's also part of the problem Luton went down twice. So it counterbalanced itself.
"I just think in that selection process, it would be interesting. But I think he's a good character. Obviously I know Harry [Watling] who's gone in with him as well.
"They're good lads and they will try and get the feel-good factor there. I always just worry for those guys, when they go in and they place a certain style of football which is obviously to try and be progressive.
"Can the Wolves players pick themselves up after not learning that through pre-season? And they're already as low as a snakes' belly when it comes to confidence.
"It's a real tough ask for them but, if there is a project and they need to spend some money. Forget Rob for a moment. Wolves have continuously for the last three to four years sold their best players, bought in mediocre players considering what they've got rid of, and then expected to survive each year.
"And I think they've fallen into that trap, a little bit like West Ham, where they think, 'we're just better than the three teams that have come up.' And this year it's caught them out by surprise because all three that have come up have given it a go in their way."
Edwards’ first game in charge of Wolves will be a home match against FA Cup champions Crystal Palace. Clashes with Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest follow shortly after as the December fixtures kick in.