Tony Mowbray Discussion

[DE.]

Just now, Admiral Nelsen said:

I'm not trying to be facetious when saying this, but you can just as easily say 'periods of good form, followed by a sudden awful dip, then back to good form'. In fact given the progress we've made (and for now, looks like we're continuing to make) I'd say that's a fairer way of putting it. 

Whatever way you look at it we won't get promoted with our form see-sawing throughout the season. Our periods of good form need to be longer than our periods of bad form. Let's not forget our horrific run last season between Feb-Apr was our worst since Venky's took over, and we struggled badly between November-December that season as well. Those nosedives need to stop happening for us to be successful. 

Edited December 9, 2019 by DE.

[BlackburnEnd75]

29 minutes ago, DE. said:

I like Mowbray as a person but I don't like the way he has historically approached football matches. Negative thinking, trying to make out that average opponents are something special, constantly starting matches like the team had just come out of the pub (the dreaded Ewood HT 0-0), strikers being pushed out wide ineffectively, constant tinkering and rotating, playing favourites even when said favourites are in extremely bad form, dropping others for what seem to be smaller indisgressions, wasting our transfer budget on non-performing strikers whilst failing to strengthen the defence ('defenders are (not) coming), criticising certain players in public whilst never mentioning others far more deserving of criticism... I mean, that all happened and four wins doesn't erase history. We won four on the spin last January so we aren't exactly in unprecedented territory here. 

If our form continues and we mount a genuine playoff push then I'll be delighted. I've never had a problem with Mowbray as a person. A month's worth of results isn't enough to sway me yet though. This is how it's always been under Mowbray - periods of awful form followed by unexpected good form and then back to bad form. Maintaining consistent form for longer than a month is what we require and we can only live in hope that the penny has dropped and we'll see a more consistent team and approach adopted for the rest of the season. I don't think we'll see many complaints directed at the manager in that situation even if we do fall short of the top six pre-season target.

At times i agree we've been too negative but that was more last season, playing too deep with defensive wingers and so on. At times he's been too attacking in his selection (holtby in cm for example) and its only now that we have found the correct balance.

My main criticism is we've taken too long to get to this position we are in now with a settled side (we all know which selections i'm talking about) and most importantly a settled core. So my main worry going forward is that he reverts to his old habits. So when Gallagher came on out wide and Armstrong went through the middle it worries me, Gallagher out wide doesn't work, it feels like he did it to allow Armstrong through the middle (he seems to think players need to earn their stripes out wide before they can play up front). Bennett on at left back was another, his pressing in midfield would've really helped and downing was doing fine at LB.

I also worry that one bad game from Nyambe or a quiet game or 2 from Rothwell and they are back out the 11. We need to stick closely to this team if we can.

We're going to have to rotate over xmas so this team will be broken up either way, I just hope that when our winning run comes to an end we can go on another winning run rather than what we did last season and completely collapse.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Thanks for that but I don't need Clark Carlisle or anyone else to tell me how bad Coyle was. His record after leaving the Dingle Dome told me all I needed to know. I gave up temporarily after we appointed him. That was after 50 years, that tells you how sure I was that he'd relegate us.

Okay... just a video mate.

[DE.]

Just now, BlackburnEnd75 said:

We're going to have to rotate over xmas so this team will be broken up either way, I just hope that when our winning run comes to an end we can go on another winning run rather than what we did last season and completely collapse.

This is exactly what needs to change. We've been on winning runs before, but a couple of poor results and we seem to mentally collapse and it takes too long for us to recover from that. We need to be more resilient mentally. If we have a couple of bad results but then turn it around and start winning matches again, then I'll believe it might have finally clicked. Until then I'm enjoying our current run of form but wary about what happens when it comes to an end. 

[47er]

8 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Not at all, equally that is totally unfair. He deserves criticism for quite a lot but he deserves praise for the 4 wins on the bounce, end of.

4 wins are not an end in themselves. We went on a big run of success last season and where did we end up? Back where it started after a disastrous run. Perspective is needed here.

As far as I am concerned, this present run has taken us well away from the relegation struggle I feared. With TM, it is not necessarily a pointer to the future.

I would prefer a more regular graph of wins and I don't believe Tony will deliver it. Hope I'm wrong but I'm sick of wondering whether this 55 year old has" learned his lesson".

Sorry DE, just realised I've said what you said!

Edited December 9, 2019 by 47er

[roversfan99]

Just now, 47er said:

4 wins are not an end in themselves. We went on a big run of success last season and where did we end up? Back where it started after a disastrous run. Perspective is needed here.

As far as I am concerned, this present run has taken us well away from the relegation struggle I feared. With TM, it is not necessarily a pointer to the future.

I would prefer a more regular graph of wins and I don't believe Tony will deliver it. Hope I'm wrong but I'm sick of wondering whether this 55 year old has" learned his lesson".

Sorry DE, just realised I've said what you said!

I never said that it is proof of long term success under Mowbray or even justification that he is the man to take us forward, but for the last 4 games in isolation he deserves plenty of credit.

[47er]

Just now, roversfan99 said:

I never said that it is proof of long term success under Mowbray or even justification that he is the man to take us forward, but for the last 4 games in isolation he deserves plenty of credit.

Why should we take a 4 game run "in isolation" I've already said why I don't!

Make it 20 and I'll definitely be interested!

[Mashed Potatoes]

9 hours ago, 47er said:

Why should we take a 4 game run "in isolation" I've already said why I don't!

Make it 20 and I'll definitely be interested!

But if we lost 4 games in a row - imagine what people would be saying then.

[47er]

2 minutes ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

But if we lost 4 games in a row - imagine what people would be saying then.

It would be pretty much like it was on that awful run last season I imagine.

And you'd be defending him.

Lets be straight, all those demands for his sacking from posters on here, including me, were not about any mini-run of bad results.

[K-Hod]

35 minutes ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

But if we lost 4 games in a row - imagine what people would be saying then.

They probably wouldn’t be happy, because the team they support kept losing. Imagine that...

[Bigdoggsteel]

15 hours ago, Amo said:

I don’t think the implication was that he literally wanted to plod along in mid table, just that he had grown complacent and too stuck in his ways to take the club forward. 

No, it was 100% said that he literally wanted to plod along because doing anymore would raise expectations and therefore make him more likely to be sacked if it went belly up. 

Which was a silly thing to say as he has actually stated he wants to get in the play-offs! 

[DE.]

13 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

No, it was 100% said that he literally wanted to plod along because doing anymore would raise expectations and therefore make him more likely to be sacked if it went belly up. 

Which was a silly thing to say as he has actually stated he wants to get in the play-offs! 

I can remember people saying similar things about Bowyer tbf, although I don't think there's any truth in either scenario.

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, DE. said:

I can remember people saying similar things about Bowyer tbf, although I don't think there's any truth in either scenario.

No, obviously there isn't. It's crazy stuff...

[DE.]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

No, obviously there isn't. It's crazy stuff...

Owen Coyle has essentially built an entire career around one lucky promotion, I think the benefits to a manager's reputation outweigh any hypothetical negatives tbh.

[Bigdoggsteel]

2 minutes ago, DE. said:

Owen Coyle has essentially built an entire career around one lucky promotion, I think the benefits to a manager's reputation outweigh any hypothetical negatives tbh.

Indeed. I think people were implying that if Mowbray got us to the play-offs, but lost, Venkys might sack him as they are clueless. I mean ,as you say, absolutely no negatives for the manager who gets promoted, at worst it's a new contract and a pay off when they are inevitably sacked whilst struggling in the Premier league.   

[DE.]

8 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Indeed. I think people were implying that if Mowbray got us to the play-offs, but lost, Venkys might sack him as they are clueless.

Well it's possible, but evidence suggests they're more likely to sack him if we're mid-table as that's where we were when Bowyer was given the boot. I'm sure Mowbray knows as well as the rest of us that guessing our owners future actions is a pointless exercise. 

[Mashed Potatoes]

4 hours ago, K-Hod said:

They probably wouldn’t be happy, because the team they support kept losing. Imagine that...

Glad to hear that like me you are really happy with the way things are going

[tomphil]

1 hour ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Indeed. I think people were implying that if Mowbray got us to the play-offs, but lost, Venkys might sack him as they are clueless. I mean ,as you say, absolutely no negatives for the manager who gets promoted, at worst it's a new contract and a pay off when they are inevitably sacked whilst struggling in the Premier league.   

I wouldn't want him sacked if we got in the play offs and lost however painful it might be to me just getting there would be an outstanding effort. 

Don't get me wrong i wouldn't want them doffing him an extra 5 years on the back of it either but back in the day Don Mackay had us in there 3 seasons on the bounce.  I don't think anyone wanted him potting then he was our guiding light.

Edited December 10, 2019 by tomphil

[Amo]

3 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

No, it was 100% said that he literally wanted to plod along because doing anymore would raise expectations and therefore make him more likely to be sacked if it went belly up. 

Which was a silly thing to say as he has actually stated he wants to get in the play-offs! 

People say one thing and do another? Fancy that.

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, Amo said:

People say one thing and do another? Fancy that.

Sorry, you have lost me. Nice pic though 

[Mattyblue]

Amazing when we ended up in the play offs for the third time in 4 seasons in 1992 and we were known as a ‘perennial Play off outfit’ we wouldn’t be in them again as of 2020 (getting on for 30 years now).

[booth]

Right Venky's what have you done with the real Tony?!

Not that I'm complaining, keep him in his box I like t'other Tony.

 

[K-Hod]

38 minutes ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

Glad to hear that like me you are really happy with the way things are going

Of course I’m happy, we’ve just won four in a row....

[tomphil]

Just now, booth said:

Right Venky's what have you done with the real Tony?!

Not that I'm complaining, keep him in his box I like t'other Tony.

 

I think he's been threatened or even pranged with the old electronic cattle prod...

Long may it continue.

[Amo]

7 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Sorry, you have lost me. Nice pic though 

People are contradictory. They say one thing and do another.