Tony Mowbray Discussion

[DE.]

Despite the win tonight only deepens my concerns that Mowbray is really, really struggling. We can only hope tonight galvanises some of the players and cements the end of Evans and Smallwood forever. It might be worth it just for that. 

[G Somerset Rover]

Just now, DE. said:

Despite the win tonight only deepens my concerns that Mowbray is really, really struggling. We can only hope tonight galvanises some of the players and cements the end of Evans and Smallwood forever. It might be worth it just for that. 

The shoehorning in of Gallagher is going to be difficult to watch. Bet he’ll be on the wing come Saturday with Graham back in up top. Can’t have Madame asking any more Brereton esque questions.

Edited August 13, 2019 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[DE.]

Just now, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

The shoehorning in of Gallagher is going to be difficult to watch. Bet he’ll be on the wing come Saturday with Graham back in up top. Can’t have Madame asking any more Brereton esque questions.

As annoying as it will be, I can take Gallagher out on the right wing if Graham is up top with Dack just behind him and Rothwell on the left. Johnson and Travis in the centre, Tosin and Williams at CB and at least the spine of the team will be somewhat useful. We'll obviously be extremely weak on the right with the Gallagher/Bennett combo but if Cunningham starts on Saturday at least the left side will be a little more solid. 

Of course this is all fairly logical so I fully expect to see something totally different around 2PM when the lineup is announced. 

[Blue blood]

Just now, DE. said:

As annoying as it will be, I can take Gallagher out on the right wing if Graham is up top with Dack just behind him and Rothwell on the left. Johnson and Travis in the centre, Tosin and Williams at CB and at least the spine of the team will be somewhat useful. We'll obviously be extremely weak on the right with the Gallagher/Bennett combo but if Cunningham starts on Saturday at least the left side will be a little more solid. 

Of course this is all fairly logical so I fully expect to see something totally different around 2PM when the lineup is announced. 

As you say that right side is horrifically weak. Of all the strikers shunted out wide Gally is the one who will do worst out there and is least suited to it. Mind you questions should be asked if 12 mill later we've still no successor to Graham. I think Gally is the most likely of our strikers to do so and best fit for the team's shape. However it's not easy to become the punch hitter (to borrow a term) in a struggling team. 

[DE.]

Just now, Blue blood said:

As you say that right side is horrifically weak. Of all the strikers shunted out wide Gally is the one who will do worst out there and is least suited to it. Mind you questions should be asked if 12 mill later we've still no successor to Graham. I think Gally is the most likely of our strikers to do so and best fit for the team's shape. However it's not easy to become the punch hitter (to borrow a term) in a struggling team. 

Yeah, agreed. I'm of the opinion Gallagher should have been phased in gradually, starting off with a few appearances off the bench to replace Graham when he's tiring, then eventually starting at home against clubs we'd expect to beat, or in midweek matches when Graham may need a bit longer to recover, and go from there depending on how he's doing. Breaking up the Graham/Dack partnership from the get go was a risk that has not paid off at all and could have a detrimental effect on Gallagher if it continues, as well as the team as a whole. I hope this is how we'll handle it going forward, but I'm expecting Gallagher to be shunted to the right hand side of the pitch. Mowbray might even continue to start him up top. Nothing would surprise me at this point. 

[JHRover]

Mowbray got out of jail tonight. He got his team selection wrong, was saved by the ability on the bench, went his usual way of chucking on attackers and ignoring the defence, lo and behold they get a second out of nothing and in the end we just got away with it. Against sides even marginally better than 4th tier Oldham we'd have been out of the cup.

Have to say I've come away from tonight more concerned and with less faith in Mowbray than when I set off. Got the job done in the end but I'm far from happy with what I witnessed tonight.

 

Edited August 13, 2019 by JHRover

[tomphil]

Graham and Dack will keep him in a job and the money on Brereton and Gallagher will remain wasted at the present time. Good win entertaining game, same old weaknesses and strengths on display whatever side he turns out.

To be fair though it's not unusual in these type of games to rest the big guns then have to wheel them off the bench to get a result Liverpool do it all the time.

Edited August 13, 2019 by tomphil

[47er]

12 minutes ago, DE. said:

 Breaking up the Graham/Dack partnership from the get go was a risk that has not paid off at all and could have a detrimental effect on Gallagher if it continues, as well as the team as a whole.

Its had a detrimental effect on Dack too.

[OJRovers]

Just now, tomphil said:

Graham and Dack will keep him in a job and the money on Brereton and Gallagher will remain wasted at the present time. Good win entertaining game, same old weaknesses and strengths on display whatever side he turns out.

To be fair though it's not unusual in these type of games to rest the big guns then have to wheel them off the bench to get a result Liverpool do it all the time.

Our squad players should be good enough to beat Oldham.

The squad is a disjointed mess coming into this season. We're going backwards.

[DE.]

Mowbray's comments about the youngsters not being good enough against Oldham and sending them out on loan really are pathetic. It wasn't that we had a second string out there, it was who the manager selected and where he selected them.

Completely unnecessary to put the reserve goalie in there, although I guess from Mowbray's perspective if Walton gets injured then we're screwed as he failed to bring in anybody better than Leutwiler as second choice.

Putting two young lads in the centre of defence, OK - but then dumping Evans and Smallwood in front of them? Bit of a cruel joke.

Graham on left wing. Buckley apparently playing out wide as well (then later right back).

But no, it's the young players that are the problem here. Nothing to do with a manager who appears to be losing his marbles.

[barry_]

I saw this comment on another forum... 

Give the  guy chance  hes done a fab job people are forgetting where we were when mowbray took over and hes got the owners on board best weve been   overall since we left the premiership  brought in 6 new players and rotated squad tonight unlucky against charlton and did ok against fulham. Last season we knew we werent strong enough in possesion and mowbray is gradually making us into a quality passing side not catching them.on the break  in mowbray i trust all you haters just give yer head a shek'

Apart from the grammar (which no one seems to care about, anymore), i think this is the majority of fans opinion of the manager ?

[Vinjay]

2 hours ago, DE. said:

Despite the win tonight only deepens my concerns that Mowbray is really, really struggling. We can only hope tonight galvanises some of the players and cements the end of Evans and Smallwood forever. It might be worth it just for that. 

Thought Evans might have been better given there were not too many fans there. ?

[philipl]

Concerns:

- very sensible to see if Platt and Grayson would make the mark BUT select either ONE alongside a first choice CD OR BOTH with first choice GK, LB and RB and at least Travis in front of them. After Mulgrew going, it smells of desperation.

- OK give one of Evans and Smallwood a run but not together because the rhythm and pace of the side is killed if you do

- yes give Buckley a game but in his proper position

etc etc

- unfortunately that's just Oldham but we are getting these schoolboy selection and tactical errors every game

Brave decision to ship out Raya BUT it doesn't give you any leeway to fall out with a senior player like Mulgrew. One senior player being blasted out happens, two is getting careless.

- I bet dressing room morale has cratered after the way Mulgrew was shipped out

Getting a big brute central defender was the one and only PRIORITY for the last window. All else nice to haves. FAILED WHERE IT MATTERED

Mowbray has a habit of bouncing back with a thumping home win against a fancied club and going on a good run of wins. He needs to do that against Boro but recent appearances and reported statements look haunted to me. When Rich Sharpe is clearly tweeting tongue in cheek about managerial decisions, you know the Manager is struggling badly.

[RV Blue]

Don’t know if it’s been mentioned elsewhere, but Tosin has a knock and is a doubt for Saturday. Mowbray being so negligent with our defence, by leaving us so short, is a sacker on its own.

[Stuart]

6 hours ago, barry_ said:

I saw this comment on another forum... 

Give the  guy chance  hes done a fab job people are forgetting where we were when mowbray took over and hes got the owners on board best weve been   overall since we left the premiership  brought in 6 new players and rotated squad tonight unlucky against charlton and did ok against fulham. Last season we knew we werent strong enough in possesion and mowbray is gradually making us into a quality passing side not catching them.on the break  in mowbray i trust all you haters just give yer head a shek'

Apart from the grammar (which no one seems to care about, anymore), i think this is the majority of fans opinion of the manager ?

“All you haters”.

It’s pretty pathetic really.

No-one can change “where we were” when he came in but that argument could be used to keep Mowbray here indefinitely. We need to kick on and he isn’t going to do that.

People need to remember that Mowbray get criticised for what he does and not who he is. Starting line ups and substitutions are becoming increasingly bizarre and we are not picking up points in the league. It’s a very simple equation. It applies to every in the club and manager in the football pyramid. Just for some reason not here.

[tomphil]

7 hours ago, OJRovers said:

Our squad players should be good enough to beat Oldham.

The squad is a disjointed mess coming into this season. We're going backwards.

I agree but it often doesn't work like that when you just throw a random side together. What we lack is a core style of play that they are all being coached in and a bit of cohesion at the back then it's easier for others to slot in.

Mowbray is very much a squad man who seems to want 100% flexibility in formations and players in and out so that results in making games like last night difficult for ourselves. 

 

Edited August 14, 2019 by tomphil

[Mattyblue]

Relegation was the best thing to happen to Mowbray. A lot of these Facebook fans now see us as ‘little old Rovers’ who are lucky to even be on the same pitch as a Derby or Middlesbrough.

If we’d have stayed up in 2017. Then had a couple of 15th placed finishes, he’d have been hounded out by the very same fans by now, ‘we’ll never go anywhere with this guy’ etc.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Mattyblue

[RoversClitheroe]

7 hours ago, barry_ said:

I saw this comment on another forum... 

Give the  guy chance  hes done a fab job people are forgetting where we were when mowbray took over and hes got the owners on board best weve been   overall since we left the premiership  brought in 6 new players and rotated squad tonight unlucky against charlton and did ok against fulham. Last season we knew we werent strong enough in possesion and mowbray is gradually making us into a quality passing side not catching them.on the break  in mowbray i trust all you haters just give yer head a shek'

Apart from the grammar (which no one seems to care about, anymore), i think this is the majority of fans opinion of the manager ?

I'm certain this is a wind up.

[tomphil]

Another season of clenching teeth 'stability' is the plan behind closed doors i think despite what bold words were trotted out previously.  Clearly the focus is on blending youngsters into the squad and a few in the team hence putting so much stock into Bennett, Downing Johnson etc and you'd have thought Mulgrew but his attitude seems to have changed once he's realised he isn't going to be the main man anymore.

Top 6 was just bluster talk now whether that's changed after the Pune meetings and who's presented a plan to who we'll never know but i said all summer how relaxed TM has seemed and how i think that affected him not prioritising the defence.  As we know with V's though they can bite you on the ass and no amount of 'investing' their money wisely in strikers to double your money will save you if they get twitchy.

I reckon TM and the gang thought they were on a real cushy number the past couple of seasons but fans getting tetchy, journos asking probing questions and possibly a few questions being raised from India has pricked the ego's a bit.

Still has a very familiar feel to it all this like an air of inevitability.  A few goods wins spins it on it's head though.

[BlackburnEnd75]

We spent £12 million on two strikers who haven't improved the 1st 11. That in itself is reason enough, I don't really want him near another transfer window.

Gally I think will be a good option for us this season as a CF but we've overpaid. I very much doubt that Brereton will come good for us, at least under Mowbray, just think if we'd used that money to buy a proper wide player instead of forcing strikers out there.

If we lose to Boro at the weekend I think that will be enough to get me off the fence and into the Mowbray out camp.

[Bigdoggsteel]

Classic Mowbrayism

“The only concern at the moment is Tosin. He has picked up a little knock.

“We’ll see whether he trains on Thursday and that’s a concern.

“Lenihan is another concern and if both Tosin and Lenihan miss the weekend then we are really thin.

[BlackburnEnd75]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

Classic Mowbrayism

“The only concern at the moment is Tosin. He has picked up a little knock.

“We’ll see whether he trains on Thursday and that’s a concern.

“Lenihan is another concern and if both Tosin and Lenihan miss the weekend then we are really thin.

I was so for getting rid of Mulgrew provided that we had a replacement on a free lined up. If we go in Saturday with 1 fit centre half then on Mowbrays head be it.

[arbitro]

The most annoying trait of Mowbray is one he does publicly and is quite degrading. He did it several times last night but on really stood out and my opinion of him dropped lower. In the first half Nyambe knocked an easy pass inside when he should clearly have gone forward. Mowbray, on the edge of his technical area stood for a few seconds with his hands on his shaking head. He then turned and walked back to the dug out still shaking his head with his hands in the same position. I just can't see how that helps a young player who doesn't seem to have great self belief. And the fact that Nyambe is still doing things like that after Mowbray has been coaching him for over two years says more about Mowbray than Nyambe in my book.

I saw Mowbray do this several times last night with Grayson too but not Brereton.

[MarkBRFC]

If the expectation is to hover around in 15th place then I'm sure we'll achieve somewhere around that this season.

If the expectation is to kick on and be in the top half, then I just don't see Mowbray achieving it.

Only Mowbray, Waggott and those idiots in Pune really know what they want this season.

 

[Mattyblue]

Just now, arbitro said:

The most annoying trait of Mowbray is one he does publicly and is quite degrading. He did it several times last night but on really stood out and my opinion of him dropped lower. In the first half Nyambe knocked an easy pass inside when he should clearly have gone forward. Mowbray, on the edge of his technical area stood for a few seconds with his hands on his shaking head. He then turned and walked back to the dug out still shaking his head with his hands in the same position. I just can't see how that helps a young player who doesn't seem to have great self belief. And the fact that Nyambe is still doing things like that after Mowbray has been coaching him for over two years says more about Mowbray than Nyambe in my book.

I saw Mowbray do this several times last night with Grayson too but not Brereton.

Indeed. Nyambe and Raya were the only ones at the back last season to get any public criticism, none of the ‘men’ who surely should be taking the flak were in the firing line.

Bell and Brereton have been largely woeful since they joined, but as they aren’t academy grads, but his purchases he avoids any public flogging of them  - obviously doesn’t want his judgement called into question.

The only signing he does go after in public is Rothwell.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Mattyblue