Mowbray’s Future

[TimmyJimmy]

I'm likely in a majority of one here but hey ho, opinions and all that - I think that TM saved this club, literally.

Think about the open warfare we had before his arrival, manager after manager, agent vultures, scavengers and the toxic legacy of the recently departed he who shall not be named or spoken about.

Things were as bad and corrupt as they could be. Tony brought stability and decency back to the club. I'm convinced there would be no Rovers (at least worthy of the name) today if he hadn't arrived.

Pedestrian, yes, old fashioned, yes, top quality manager, not so much, but as a package of decent human being with morals and standards, yes in bucket loads.

As said I'm sure everyone will disagree, fair enough but one man's view for what it's worth is that he saved us from extinction.

Stayed to long, discuss, capable of promotion to the prem (no IMHO), odd decisions about players and their positions certainly but I'm still grateful he stumped when he did. I wish him all the best.

[phili]

17 minutes ago, TimmyJimmy said:

I'm likely in a majority of one here but hey ho, opinions and all that - I think that TM saved this club, literally.

Think about the open warfare we had before his arrival, manager after manager, agent vultures, scavengers and the toxic legacy of the recently departed he who shall not be named or spoken about.

Things were as bad and corrupt as they could be. Tony brought stability and decency back to the club. I'm convinced there would be no Rovers (at least worthy of the name) today if he hadn't arrived.

Pedestrian, yes, old fashioned, yes, top quality manager, not so much, but as a package of decent human being with morals and standards, yes in bucket loads.

As said I'm sure everyone will disagree, fair enough but one man's view for what it's worth is that he saved us from extinction.

Stayed to long, discuss, capable of promotion to the prem (no IMHO), odd decisions about players and their positions certainly but I'm still grateful he stumped when he did. I wish him all the best.

I am not sure he has that many morals.

Within first few months got the person who brought him in sacked as we didn't need a director of football. Then had his assistant promoted into the director of football role.

As most in football, he was in it for himself and what he could get out of us/make each year. There are rumours he had a very large bonus for retaining our championship status each year and a smaller additional bonus on top for getting into the playoffs or gaining promotion.

Also convinced Venkys not to invest after winning promotion.

The agent agenda behind the scenes was still here, just had his face above it.

[Tomphil2]

Mowbray certainly provided a great front of house shield for everyone else, something he was more than happy to do. He did well out of the club it was good for him and he was decent for it on a number of levels.

Everyone has a shelf life though and in the end they shafted him as well by the looks of it.

[bluebruce]

2 hours ago, TimmyJimmy said:

I'm likely in a majority of one here but hey ho, opinions and all that - I think that TM saved this club, literally.

Think about the open warfare we had before his arrival, manager after manager, agent vultures, scavengers and the toxic legacy of the recently departed he who shall not be named or spoken about.

Things were as bad and corrupt as they could be. Tony brought stability and decency back to the club. I'm convinced there would be no Rovers (at least worthy of the name) today if he hadn't arrived.

Pedestrian, yes, old fashioned, yes, top quality manager, not so much, but as a package of decent human being with morals and standards, yes in bucket loads.

As said I'm sure everyone will disagree, fair enough but one man's view for what it's worth is that he saved us from extinction.

Stayed to long, discuss, capable of promotion to the prem (no IMHO), odd decisions about players and their positions certainly but I'm still grateful he stumped when he did. I wish him all the best.

I think it's just as easy to argue he kept Venkys around for longer.

What is true is that he helped stabilise the club and detoxify the surface issues. Whether that has actually been a good thing overall in the long run is a matter of highly hypothetical debate. Not that it's his fault if it has slowed our freedom, he was just doing his job of improving things.

But he should have gone a good couple of seasons before he did. And I don't think at all that the club wouldn't exist without him.

Edited 3 hours ago by bluebruce

[DE.]

I don't really have any strong feelings towards TM either way. I don't hate him, nor do I have any real affection for him. I'd probably feel different if he'd left a bit earlier, before the "it's not 1995 anymore" comments and the shady business with Brockhall. Also went down in my estimation with the way he spoke about the club after he left - making us out to be small time compared to the likes of Sunderland and admitting to encouraging staff to leave whilst he was still here. Difficult for me to look past that. 

Nonetheless, I was pleased to hear he was healthy again and remain curious as to how he does at other clubs. The past is the past and I don't think he said or did anything with malicious intent - I just don't think he viewed us with the same ambition and pride as a supporter. So it goes - we aren't his club, we were just one of many jobs he's had. 

[Tomphil2]

Doubt he had anything to do with the Brockhall stuff there were/are others in up to their necks in that and he didn't strike me as being interested in anything other than the football side of things.

However the whole Hedges thing was a bit ropey in my eyes.

[Mattyblue]

Venus was always more the dubious character (but they do come as a pair).

[Tomphil2]

Oh aye he'd be aware of it no doubt but probably not daft enough to get mixed up in it if indeed anyone else actually was of course.

[JHRover]

Mowbray was literally the perfect man for Venky Rovers and probably still is today, which makes their treatment and disposal of him all the more bizarre.

He was happy to plod - I don't mean that disrespectfully but he was not a Lambert, JDT or Eustace who actively looked to get out elsewhere as soon as they saw the reality of what goes on from the inside. He was willing to put up with their shenanigans, either because he was fine with it, happy to coast along each season or just wouldn't get any better offers.

He was doing the job they supposedly want - it is clear they don't want Premier League football and other than his last season we never looked remotely capable of getting there - he was turning their investment in players into enhanced values and they profited significantly from some of them. 

From the fans perspective because he was competent and seemingly a likeable bloke who knew how to handle the fans and players he had most people on side and as a result of that and his League One promotion I'd say 90%+ of the Ewood crowd were quite happy with him.

I had nothing against him personally until after he left Rovers when he then publicly declared that he had advised staff members to look away from Rovers during his time as manager. Totally unacceptable in my book and confirmed a long suspicion that he truly had free reign to do whatever he pleased at Ewood with minimal consequence.

It was abundantly clear that by the end of his last season the end of the long road had been reached - he'd done over 5 years which is hard to find nowadays especially in the Championship and he'd still not delivered the play-offs. Having said that I didn't see any proper backing for him in January 2022 whilst we were sat in a very strong position (sound familiar?).

I am increasingly of the view that his departure was engineered by the curtain twitcher for similar reasons that Gary Bowyer was ruthlessly disposed of despite us being in a relatively comfortable position in November 2015 - behind the scenes politics and power rather than footballing reasons. Curtain twitcher saw an opportunity to bolster his own power and establish control over the manager's office which he didn't have with Mowbray due to his direct relationship with India. 

 

[DE.]

39 minutes ago, Tomphil2 said:

Doubt he had anything to do with the Brockhall stuff there were/are others in up to their necks in that and he didn't strike me as being interested in anything other than the football side of things.

However the whole Hedges thing was a bit ropey in my eyes.

Sure, I'm not saying he had anything directly to do with it - but I think he knew about it and kept quiet until questioned by the media. Now granted I wouldn't expect him to raise the alarm of his own volition, but, it leaves a sour taste regardless.

[islander200]

Mowbray does well initially at most clubs(Inc here) he is at but then usually it goes pear shaped.

I also don't fully buy it when he is described as Mr Nice guy. That goes out the window when he is faced with any criticism. He did it here many times "its not 94/95 anymore.He only criticised the ownership and questioned the running of the club when it became apparent he wasn't getting a new deal ,if he had been offered a new contract he would not have kicked up a fuss over the club refusing to sell Rothwell .

He should have been sacked on the spot when he did an interview and openly admitted he encouraged Stuart Harvey to take the job on offer from massive club Sunderland who were in League One at the time.

[Andy]

12 hours ago, roverandout said:

Nothing against Mowbray as a human being as I have nothing against Steve kean as a human being 

Seriously?

The lying, alcoholic convicted criminal almost single-handedly put us on the track to shiteness; a path we may never recover from.

All whilst smirking and taking digs at the fans.
He was caught drink-driving and literally tried to blame the fans.

There's a reason why he's hid on the other side of the world for the majority of the time since he left us.

I genuinely hope that he dares to show his ratty little face around Blackburn one day.

In short, not a fan.