Tony Mowbray Discussion

[roversfan99]

Time to go Tony.

Your tactics get more and more bizarre as the games go by. Chasing a game with no striker might make sense in your head but not in reality. False 9s, wide strikers, 2 number 10s, all bizarre ecperiments.

We havent made progress. 60 points last year. At this rate 60 this year. And the main difference is replacing a centre back who kept being responsible for goals leave and loaning one in. So that problem is back again in 2 games. 10 points in 11 games. 12m spent on shite. That clown back captaining us.Thanks for the promotion and the stability but you cant take us forward.

[Amo]

Mowbray has lot the plot. He has the concept of a system but no idea how to implement it. He arbitrarily spent £12m on two strikers that he can barely shoehorn into the team. Not to mention signing an out-and-out winger like Harry Chapman for a team that doesn't want to play with wingers.

I don't see a team hungry for success. They churn out all the right soundbites to the media but when it comes to the crunch most of them don't look assed win, lose or draw. It's far too cushy down Brockhall and that comes from the top. And I'm not necessarily talking about Mowbray.  

[tomphil]

Lets have it right before the bullets start flying from the usual angles, nobody is either expecting or demanding the play offs. It's not the defeats or the fact we've fallen short but the manor of it the Wigan, Barnsley & that tonight were dire efforts really.  Going out to contain teams and just pray something falls your way that's the tactics.  That's 3 awful spineless efforts out of the last 5 or 6 and that reflects itself throughout the season punctuated by the odd spectacular winning run.

When we go on those we aren't setting the bar or turning any corners we are just overachieving briefly.  What we see tonight is what we are and we'll continue to be. Those little periods lift us to where we end up, without them it would be very serious.

Edited July 14, 2020 by tomphil

[unleaded]

Karl Robinson in for me ... Tony Mowbray Out ... Over to you Suhail & Venkys ... 

[Blue blood]

I do worry that TM after reaching expectations (if in an awkward manner and with £7 million wasted) the last 2 seasons may start taking us backwards. 

For starters the squad looks worse at the end of this season then at the end of the first transfer window after promotion. Sure a few youngsters have come through but in terms of buys and holes in the squad we are looking at being no further on. 

[martonrover]

3 minutes ago, unleaded said:

Karl Robinson in for me ... Tony Mowbray Out ... Over to you Suhail & Venkys ... 

Ainsworth would be a good shout. Won't happen though. Tony is nicely embedded.

[roversfan99]

How much of an easy time does he get from journalists too? Just for my sins listened to his Radio Lancashire interview. No questions about the tactical horror show, the constant lack of clean sheets, 2 shots on target, the lack of a striker in the second half, the weird new formation. Spit off a few cliches, and on you go. 

[Darwen Rover 007]

I'm seriously reconsidering getting a season ticket next season... 

To watch this tripe.. really?? 

His whole approach is so Mediocre, we need a forward thinker and he isn't one! 

[savage90]

We are scared to ask for better, that goes to both local journalists and other fans from what I'm hearing. Understandable considering the damage Venky's caused, however, it now means we're forced to be content with mediocrity. It's not where Blackburn Rovers should be but it is where we deserve to be under the current ownership and management. No ambition.

 

[JHRover]

10 minutes ago, Darwen Rover 007 said:

I'm seriously reconsidering getting a season ticket next season... 

To watch this tripe.. really?? 

His whole approach is so Mediocre, we need a forward thinker and he isn't one! 

The club needs to sell them to be able to buy one. 

We could have 20,000 folk queuing down Nuttall St for a season ticket for next year and they wouldn't take the money.

Idiots.

[roversfan99]

Another thing, going into next season you would say only Lenihan, Nyambe, (maybe) Evans, Travis, Armstrong and Dack are first teamers. Only the latter 2 are Mowbray signings. To have only 2 of your own signings in your team, 20m and 3 years down the line is piss poor. The only player that has advanced the team post promotion has been Armstrong who was already here on loan. Its not progression, its not good enough. No one could guess the formation either.

[Peter]

The trouble is, this is a well-trodden route in the Copybook of Tony Mowbray. A week back, prior to Cardiff and following the utterly woeful and woebegone showings against Wigan and Barnsley, we needed to see a late and sustained charge. What did we get? Win one, draw one, lose one. In keeping with the season. In keeping with the managers record. That kind of infuriating and tiresome predictability just creates a detrimental staleness that engenders apathy amongst the ever diminishing fan base, and ensures that any player of talent and therefore ambition will not grace Ewood for long. 

Mowbray has done a solid job here but his usefulness expired long ago. The club needs an injection of something to really get it going again. We need some excitement and this familiar pattern of WDL is not going to create it. Let’s be completely and frankly honest here: you could have stuck a fork in Rovers’ “play off ambitions” before Mowbray uttered a word to the media about the seasons aims. Any notion that a push was on died like a louse in Roy Keane’s beard with any number of Walton’s catalogue of gaffes. A serious push cannot be built on such shifting sands. 

Last night was a disappointing, but entirely expected conclusion to a season that has been more grind than kind to us supporters. So much of the play churned out week after week is disarticulated and banal. Mowbray is a procrastinator and a manager with that habit is diametrically opposed to the club and indeed towns’ need for promotion back to the top flight. 

Tangible concerns have been flagged on here for a while now, which really does beg many pertinent questions. Primarily what are the owners hopes and aims for the club they’ve presided over for what must be its most lugubrious decade? Equally importantly, who within the corridors of Ewood has the expertise to deduce that the manager has ran out of ideas and indeed time? 

The answers, as ever, will not become clear, because it is abundantly evident that these questions are only on the agenda of supporters. The Rao family can be inculpated for many a sin against the club and us the fans. But these vacuums that they have created over the years, beginning with the power vacuum in the boardroom when John Williams was marginalised, through to today with the vacuum for just basic information about targets set, plans made etc. result in what we see on and off the pitch: a very cushy working environment where performance seems to be unquestioned, and fans are unsure what to even expect of their club anymore. There is not a trace of hunger for success at Ewood, and without that you have to ask “what is the point?”

 

 

 

[RevidgeBlue]

Great post Rolo.

?

[Mattyblue]

As always with Rolo!
 

And he touches on why I just don’t bother getting wound up over managers with this regime. Nobody at the club is striving for it to be the best it can be, so why will anything change?

We are a zombie club, from time immemorial we have been run by what I saw as ‘Rovers people’, even if they weren’t local. From John Williams, Jack, of course, and before that decades of the butcher, baker and candle stick makers of east Lancashire. All understood the club, the town, the fanbase (debacles like 1960 aside), making the very best of what we had, even if the club was that skint it had the manager himself fishing balls out of the River Darwen.

Yet now, with the richest owners we’ve ever had, I look at it and the club feels something like a forgotten bowling alley franchise, a neglected part of some big corporation’s portfolio left to slowly rot away (quite literally when you look at Ewood). I see no drive, no vision, no passion for Blackburn Rovers. Club management akin to the brewery appointed ‘pub manager’ who ticks things over until he goes somewhere else as punters drift away and the landlord down the road sees his pub boom with his innovations and passion.

This pandemic is an existential threat for this club, a club that had already lost half of its match going supporters in recent times is now pretty much the only club in the league going into August with 0 season ticket holders on the back of a poor season end as we enter a once in three centuries recession. We are in a big hole yet who in the club even realises, never mind is going to get us out of it? To paraphrase... ‘I’M committed, but are they?’

 

 

Edited July 15, 2020 by Mattyblue

[arbitro]

Two fantastic posts from Rolo and Matty written with passion and obvious care for our club. If anybody from the club reads this board they should take heed of their words.

[K-Hod]

So much I agree with in the last few posts. 
Good work everyone. 
 

Whilst I fully agree that the injury to Dack was a hammer blow, that isn’t the main thing that has cost us, we still could have made it, owing to Arma seriously stepping up (sorry for doubting you lad, you’ve been amazing!) if it weren’t for the below:

Incredibly poor team selections, bizarre and inexplicable tactics, insistence on including Elliott Bennett ahead of superior players in their natural position, playing players out of position, a lack of natural width, a lack of depth in defence, an inferior goalkeeper replacing the one with the joint most clean sheets that we sold to a team now third in the league and the piece de la resistance- £12 Million on two strikers that couldn’t hit a cow’s backside with a frying pan. When you think £7 Million could have signed Patrick Bamford, who’s at table topping Leeds, it’s enough to make you want to put your head in the oven!

The lack of accountability from local journalists is a massive bug bear for me as well. 
I can understand why they treat Mowbray with kid gloves as it might hinder future access to content, but it’s still absolutely pathetic.

 

[tomphil]

'Tony you've mentioned in the past about the signings of Brereton & Gallagher and a different playing style possibility planning for a future without Dack.  How do you feel that would work out next season should it come to pass going off the evidence this season ?'

Or quite simply 'Tony you said in this newspaper last Aug/Sept we've sold the goalie to sign a striker. Do you feel that was a wise move looking at the comparisons now ?'

These are the kind of questions any journalist worth his salt would be asking but we get the standard questions for which the answer is already set. 

[Mattyblue]

Unfortunately a lot of people have forgotten what good, forensic journalism should be.

Remember the grief Sharpe got earlier in the season for a perfectly fair (and mild) critique?

[MarkBRFC]

That article was the best, and most thought provoking one that I've read from Sharpe.

There is a big chunk of the fanbase that go by the "this club and Mowbray must not be criticised ever by anyone" mantra.

[Dolly blue]

Rolo and Mattyblue keep me going ! I feel some kind of pain relief when I read their words, in that, they suffer too, they see the bigger picture . 
If we, ordinarily people can see and feel as we do WHY, OH WHY can no one at Ewood do the same ?
 

Is it can’t...or is it won’t? 
I get angry with myself for allowing Tony Mowbray and his sad, inept band of staff to get me down.....but, boy, do they get me down. 
 

But, wait....there’s always next season ??.....not with this man there ain’t !

[tomphil]

28 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

That article was the best, and most thought provoking one that I've read from Sharpe.

There is a big chunk of the fanbase that go by the "this club and Mowbray must not be criticised ever by anyone" mantra.

When you look on here it tends to be people from elsewhere around the country or even globe who are Mowbrays biggest defenders. I don't think it's a coincidence it's like that.

Then on other platforms it tends to be the young elements who defend him to the hilt, again no coincidence. They've probably only known Rovers under Venkys and all the shower of shite they've served up until TM conjoured up 1 memorable season so it's all they know and cling on to. 

Understandable but they don't see the pattern developing and the little sub plots more seasoned seen it all before fans might see. A change might see a poor season net season and a lower finish whilst a new man beds in his methods. That would be met with derision in some parts, should have stayed as we were etc etc. However you might have 2 or 3 really good seasons after that, that is the gamble yet a lot just like to assume we'll go down again when it really needn't be the case.  The path that lead to that last time was exceptional circumstances all started by the takeover and the instillation of crooks, it was inevitable.

 

[PeteJD13]

5 minutes ago, tomphil said:

When you look on here it tends to be people from elsewhere around the country or even globe who are Mowbrays biggest defenders. I don't think it's a coincidence it's like that.

Then on other platforms it tends to be the young elements who defend him to the hilt, again no coincidence. They've probably only known Rovers under Venkys and all the shower of shite they've served up until TM conjoured up 1 memorable season so it's all they know and cling on to. 

Understandable but they don't see the pattern developing and the little sub plots more seasoned seen it all before fans might see. A change might see a poor season net season and a lower finish whilst a new man beds in his methods. That would be met with derision in some parts, should have stayed as we were etc etc. However you might have 2 or 3 really good seasons after that, that is the gamble yet a lot just like to assume we'll go down again when it really needn't be the case.  The path that lead to that last time was exceptional circumstances all started by the takeover and the instillation of crooks, it was inevitable.

 

Totally agree with this, any sign of descent on twitter and facebook is shut down by the same old happy with mediocrity brigade, twitter is the same the contrarian cheer leading led by one or two well known rovers fans ( well known on twitter ). Who will see positivise in anything don't go against that grain otherwise the ridicule starts. We have the only fan base that actively doesn't want success because then we have to question the manager when we fail. This is one of the few places where you can debate the club properly rather than be shouted down by people who either never go and live miles away and don't see the damage that's done. Or those that will back the club to hilt and ridicule any suggestion that everything isn't amazing and positive.

[Mattyblue]

Element of truth in those observations of social media. However, in ‘real life’, at Ewood, TM has always been highly popular, I can only compare the adulation he receives to that of Mark Hughes (!), no one else since Sparky comes close for blind support.

It all leaves me a bit bemused, not withstanding the overall decent job he’s done, but shows what ‘success’ can do to the mindset of fans of a much diminished club, even if that success is second in the third division with a Championship budget. 

But there’s certainly no groundswell of pitch forkers after his head, though it was building in that Barnsley home game. A poor start to next season and that could well change, but Waggott would be well in his rights currently to tell the owners he has the fans onside.

[PeteJD13]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

Element of truth in those observations of social media. However, in ‘real life’, at Ewood, TM has always been highly popular, I can only compare the adulation he receives to that of Mark Hughes (!), no one else since Sparky comes close for blind support.

It all leaves me a bit bemused, not withstanding the overall decent job he’s done, but shows what ‘success’ can do to the mindset of fans of a much diminished club, even if that success is second in the third division with a Championship budget. 

But there’s certainly no groundswell of pitch forkers after his head, though it was building in that Barnsley home game. A poor start to next season and that could well change, but Waggott would be well in his rights currently to tell the owners he has the fans onside.

a poor start to next season will just be excused - insert any excuse bar blaming the manager. I guess I am guilty to a degree as a match going fan who doesn't want Mowbray out but I think that's more based on A I dont think they would sack him anyway B Its going to be another scrapheap desperado that comes in. If he is ruthless this summer and really tries to re shape the squad then i think that will get quite a lot of waverers back onside

[Dreams of 1995]

The funny thing is that before this season began literally nobody on this forum put play offs down as a realistic outcome. In fact, I remember when TM came out with it pre-season and the attitude on here was that he is reaching and it probably wouldn't happen. In that respect I guess he dug his own grave, for want of a better phrase.

We have scored the right amount of goals to be up there this season, but on the face of it conceded 15 - 20 goals more than we should have. Mowbray shouldn't have promised defenders are coming if they weren't. To put things into perspective after all the melodrama about our defence we have saved ourselves 9 goals so far, with 2 games remaining. On top of that we'd need to score more than 4 to improve on last years attacking performance too. Whilst the maximum points progression is 6.

There were too many promises, too many eye catching headlines and quotes from Mowbray. We have stood still this season but in the process of standing still we have supposed to have replaced some of our poorer players (Johnson for Smallwood, Holtby, Cunningham for Bell, Tosin for Williams). It's all been a bit of a farce really.

I don't know how much money TM will receive in the summer, if any, but anything short of a major play off push next season means he has to go. That leaves him with a lot of work to do because there's just as many holes in his ship as last year despite the spending. I can imagine there will be vultures circling for some of our better players too, whilst the likes of Bennett can think of an easy few months knowing his place in the squad is guaranteed until retirement.

I was scathing about Mowbray's treatment of Nyambe over 12 months ago, and I am still angry by it now. If he leaves it will be Mowbray's fault no question about it - he should be our guaranteed first choice right back unless injured, instead he plays second fiddle to a bloke who isn't really good enough to play in any position, and certainly not good enough to play at full back. 

Edited July 15, 2020 by Dreams of 1995