Tony Mowbray Discussion

[Sparks Rover]

27 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Worry not folks. Never mind where we end up this season, Mowbray is already busy telling the owners that we should be a force next season. On it goes.

He will be chucking the pandemic right down their throats and buying himself another couple of seasons at least.  

.

 

[philipl]

11 hours ago, Hoochie Bloochie Mama said:

It's still early days but it seems nothing much has changed from our previous 2 seasons in this league - not enough wins to really mount a challenge on the top 6. 

Does anyone genuinely think Mowbray has what it takes to make the PO's and/or get promotion?

I don't think Mowbray has but if we have as much good fortune with player availability from now on as we have had misfortune to date, the squad might be good enough to carry him over the line.

[A Northern Horde...]

It's nowhere near good enough and we all damn well know it.There seems a be general malaise around the Club and apathy is setting in amongst the support.

I said give him until Xmas and matters aren't looking good.

[philipl]

Just now, A Northern Horde... said:

It's nowhere near good enough and we all damn well know it.There seems a be general malaise around the Club and apathy is setting in amongst the support.

I said give him until Xmas and matters aren't looking good.

We don't know do we?

Holtby, Travis and Dack playing like they can would have transformed yesterday.

[A Northern Horde...]

Of course we know!....results,league position and form are NOT good enough.To claim otherwise is folly.

[philipl]

We know how Holtby, Travis and Dack would combine with the current squad?

[arbitro]

1 hour ago, philipl said:

We know how Holtby, Travis and Dack would combine with the current squad?

Pure conjecture Philip. If's, buts and maybes. The fact is we are just not kicking on as many thought we would. Mid table is where the level of Mowbrays managerial ability tells me where we should be. He is Mr Average, good runs, bad runs interspersed with really good play and poor play with very little consistency. After seven turgid years of that lot many thought he is just what we needed and that could well be true of his first couple of years but when we should be kicking on we are still stuck in the long grass.

I just want better for my club.

[47er]

He's way too cautious. As others have said, starting Trybull and Johnson in central midfield does not give us the opportunity to quickly release our forwards.

Always over-thinks it, always over-rates the opposition.

Let's play to our strengths rather than our opponents.

[G Somerset Rover]

Always going to be ‘what ifs’ with Mowbray in charge I’m afraid. Right now the focus is on Dack and Travis. In the new year it’ll be something else. I’d wager we’ll coninue plodding along exactly where we are right now under Mowbray. No huge danger of doing down but we won’t lay a glove on challenging for the top 6.

Edited November 22, 2020 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, 47er said:

He's way too cautious. As others have said, starting Trybull and Johnson in central midfield does not give us the opportunity to quickly release our forwards.

Always over-thinks it, always over-rates the opposition.

Let's play to our strengths rather than our opponents.

What gets me about it all is inspite of our over cautious approach, playing two defensive midfield players most of the time etc, we've never looked remotely like sound defensively. I was just reading in todays paper that the penalty Middleboro conceded yesterday was the first goal they'd conceded in 452 minutes of play. Obviously they are building from the back, we've never attempted to do that.

[tomphil]

1 hour ago, 47er said:

He's way too cautious. As others have said, starting Trybull and Johnson in central midfield does not give us the opportunity to quickly release our forwards.

Always over-thinks it, always over-rates the opposition.

Let's play to our strengths rather than our opponents.

That's one of the regular patterns when we sit off too long we struggle to get anything going attack wise and then predictably at some point we concede a poor one. Lenihen has taken over from Mulgrew as being the chief culprit of that, then we have to get back into and when we do we rarely take games late on. Usually after the standard subs and juggling about leave even less balance on the pitch.

When we go at teams early and press using a higher tempo if we get in front we go on and wallop them. Don't understand why that can't be in evidence at places like Luton away. Are we really just flat track bullies or is there more to it. like as you've said too much fearing certain opponents and too much over cooking the team instead of the emphasis being on encouraging them to do what they are good at ?

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by tomphil

[Hoochie Bloochie Mama]

Verdict: The quest for hard evidence in Rovers' top six bid | Lancashire Telegraph

There isn't any hard evidence...but it's nice to see Sharpe finally raising the issue. Mowbray's got away with baseless 'Top 6' talk for over 12 months now. 

[RevidgeBlue]

So how long does he get?

Should he be allowed to ruin yet another season or should someone else be given the chance to try and salvage something out of it?

If the latter we need to be making the change in no more than four or five games time imo.

[bazza]

Happy Birthday, Tony.   57 today!  Just saying.......

[tomphil]

Top 6 before his 60th ?

[CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber]

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

So how long does he get?

Should he be allowed to ruin yet another season or should someone else be given the chance to try and salvage something out of it?

If the latter we need to be making the change in no more than four or five games time imo.

I reckon he'll leave halfway through next season and he'll jack it in rather than get fired. We'll finish 10th-14th this season and he'll use Covid and the Travis/Dack unavailability to conveniently blame.

We'll then lose Dack and/or Armstrong in the summer and be battling relegation when he finally falls on his sword in Jan '21, with the profits made on Dack and Armstrong to service our monstrous debt the only thing to shout about as 'progress' in his 5 yr tenure  

Fuck you Venkys. 

[davefarnworth]

Reckon you're right

 

 

[Mattyblue]

He’ll go when he’s had enough on his own terms. Remember that and it will save you all a lot of pointless angst.

Edited November 22, 2020 by Mattyblue

[davefarnworth]

No angst for me. I stopped going to Ewood when Anderson took over. Can't wait to return when we don't have casual owners

[JHRover]

1 hour ago, CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber said:

I reckon he'll leave halfway through next season and he'll jack it in rather than get fired. We'll finish 10th-14th this season and he'll use Covid and the Travis/Dack unavailability to conveniently blame.

We'll then lose Dack and/or Armstrong in the summer and be battling relegation when he finally falls on his sword in Jan '21, with the profits made on Dack and Armstrong to service our monstrous debt the only thing to shout about as 'progress' in his 5 yr tenure  

Fuck you Venkys. 

I think there are two ways this could go. Your scenario above is one of them - e.g. Mowbray will leave when he feels like it and that will only happen when we are really struggling and he's nowhere to hide.

The alternative is the Bowyer scenario. This is that the owners have had enough of him and his failure to deliver promotion and get bored of it all again so refuse to meet him, fail to provide any more funds and expect sales to cover costs, and we end up with confusion and chaos.

I've got to say that I am disturbed and unimpressed by Mowbray admitting in his interview last week that he had been on to the owners during the international break and was telling them that we will be a promotion force next season. This to me stinks of self-protection and preservation, once again promising milk and honey months or years down the line and covering for failure this season.

This isn't what was sold to us. Mowbray didn't say in 2018 that it would be 2021-22 before we have a shot at promotion (and surely not even the most delusional people on here would actually have any confidence in that materialising).

Mowbray persuaded us all - owners and fans - that we were doing the slow build. Yet he's now had the allotted time - 5 transfer windows, healthy funds and no enforced sales. Why does he need or deserve more time? Or if he does surely this needs to be weighed against performance THIS season? Or are we already at the stage of writing this season off as yet another transition (seemingly as we are the only side affected by Covid and injuries). 

Next summer will see another major rebuild required and the chances are there won't be the funds or freedom we've had in recent years. Also likely that Armstrong at least will be sold. Then its just more transition as we adjust to a new style or system to fit the new players. It never ends. 

No. For me this is it with Mowbray. He's had more time and money than most managers could hope for. I'd rather he went soon to give us some chance of salvaging this season but if not then this season should be his last before someone else gets a go. 

You only have to listen to Waggott's latest interview to see that he is laying the foundations for more time for him and Tony. Thing is for all of Waggott's talk he isn't a 'Blackburn' fan. He's a very well paid executive who wants to maintain the status quo for as long as possible. Working with his mate on easy street whilst the absent owners pick up the tab and he approaches retirement.

5 years from now he'll have left Ewood never to be seen again looking forward to a cushy retirement whilst we are left with a diminished support base and another glorious shot at promotion missed.

[RevidgeBlue]

Spot on JH. Excellent post.

I only hope someone that matters in Pune is reading it and beginning to see through this "slow build" jam tomorrow nonsense.

[jim mk2]

We've made jokes about Mowbray and his pension fund but there must be a serious side and an element of truth to it ......he will have added a good seven figure sum to his already likely substantial pot while he's been at Ewood. I'm sure his pension adviser will have worked out  that if he can eke out another 18 months he will be able to enjoy a very lucrative and comfortable retirement indeed.   

[RevidgeBlue]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

He’ll go when he’s had enough on his own terms. Remember that and it will save you all a lot of pointless angst.

I'm under no delusion whatsoever that this will actually happen with Swag in charge, unless the owners decide to take a closer look at what's going on and cease to be taken in by the 'we're bang on course" routine.

However whilst I don't think it will happen, the day you don't think a manager who isn't up to scratch SHOULD leave is the day you should give it up as a bad job!

I'm really fed up now, normally I can't stand international breaks but I took a complete two week break from Rovers news, didn't miss worrying about Moggasaurus in the slightest, and returned to it full of idle curiosity wondering if a two week break would have healed some limbs and recharged our batteries.

Sadly not it seems. In that two week period I'd almost forgotten how bad in general we are under Mowbray.

[philipl]

Great posts from JH and revidge.

Yes the ref robbed us blind at Luton but we were never set up right for collecting 3 points and in this game Mowbray had the luxury of up to 5 subs to shake it up.

He had no plan B when we have been in that sort of situation against robust dangerous but frankly limited opposition and totally failed to change approach or energy level.

That observation is probably true of 30% of our games in the Championship under Mowbray.

[tomphil]

He's a good solid manager nothing more nothing less but there are vital ingredients still missing. In truth promotion (and relegation) aside he's not really done anything the inexperienced Gary Bowyer didn't do.  Apart from fill up the infracstructure with his mates,spend millions on single players and increas running costs again of course.

Squad is similar strength wise arguably apart from a Rhodes, style is still bland and over cautious most of the time still. We  have the tools to be challenging towards the top 6 but still look a million miles away. So not much has changed from 5 years ago really but of course we have to consider the intervening years.

TM has had to build it back to that after taking over a mess although we probably arrived at that point over a year ago. Which brings me to what is really the remit here and why does he never seen under any urgency to push it on at all ?

He could well have a job for life here.

 

Edited November 23, 2020 by tomphil