Many have questioned Rob Edwards’ decision to leave Middlesbrough for Wolves — Tim Sherwood is not one of them.
Edwards looks set to take charge of Wolves over the international break after agreeing to a three-and-a-half-year contract at Molineux.
Middlesbrough were not happy to let Edwards join Wolves, but the allure of the top job at his old club outweighed the fantastic start he enjoyed to life at Middlesbrough.
Some pundits can’t believe Edwards’ decision, but Sherwood — a former Premier League manager — understands his decision fully, though it may not please supporters of The Boro.
Tim Sherwood on why Rob Edwards is right to take Wolves job
Appearing on Sky Sports News to discuss the move, Sherwood laid out three reasons why Edwards made the right call accepting an offer from Wolves.
He says: “I always say you need to strike while the iron’s hot, and his stock is very high at the moment. He started well at Middlesbrough, he’s put them into that position.
“It’s still a wide-open league and anything can happen. He could lose the next ten games at Middlesbrough and get the sack, and then he’s lost the chance to go to the Premier League. He’s probably scratching around League One.”
That on its own is a valid justification, but Sherwood has more reasons why the move just makes sense.
He continues: “His wages will be tripled, if not quadrupled at a Premier League club. He will have a severance pay which would look after his family for a very long time.”
The main gripe people have with Edwards is that he’s joining a club that looks to be on the way down from one that could go up.
But there’s no guarantee he would get promotion this season with Middlesbrough, and if Wolves are in the Championship next season, as Sherwood says: “They’ll probably be favourites to get promoted again.”
If worse comes to worst, Wolves should go straight back up
You never want to start envisioning the worst scenario, but Wolves have given us plenty of reasons to do exactly that.
The reality is that the Championship is a possibility next season. Opta predicts Wolves are almost certain to be relegated.
If that’s the case, it shouldn’t be long before they return to the top flight. Wolves have a squad that is short of Premier League standard, but their quality would be at the top end in the second tier.
Of course, the Old Gold would lose some of the better players for less-than-optimal fees, but the likelihood of swift repromotion is just something to be slightly optimistic about if the worst does indeed happen.