Tony Mowbray Discussion

[TruRover]

Unfortunately, now the season is over, and we’re still hearing no noises whatsoever about TM leaving for me clearly shows that we are stuck with him. Disaster. 

[RevidgeBlue]

1 hour ago, Gav said:

Does anyone actually have a shred of evidence that Tony Mowbray played any part in the proposed selling off at Brockhall?

Wake up Gav, why do you think we we training on an already knackered pitch in the middle of winter in atrocious conditions?

Of course Mowbray was instrumental in it just as much as the other two.

They tried (and failed) to pull off the same sort of scam at Coventry as well. You can't pin that on Venky's.

[USABlue]

23 hours ago, PeteJD13 said:

to be honest i think if he was sacked i don't think he'd expect it anyway he's in complete denial atm

He will be here next season.  Bradfords managers lost 6 out of 7 GONE boom, pulled the plug.  Venkies take heed.  I can't stand him being here.  I am tempted to switch my loyalties back to Stanley who I watched home and away at the time of their rebirth in 68.  I was too young for my parents to allow me to go to Rovers alone.  Stanley was ok.  First Rovers mstch I was 6 and was hooked.  Stanley I was 10, I was 13 before I was allowed to go watch Rovers again.

[RevidgeBlue]

1 hour ago, Blue blood said:

Thanks for a very well reasoned reply. Appreciate there is a lot of opinion and conjecture in this although fwiw given his clout at the club I find it impossible to think he didn't know of and at least tacitly approve of the plans. (Plus the Coventrio is a huge coincidence otherwise too!)

 

Where I really take issue is the all managers comments can be seen as talking us down. There is a huge difference between the reality changing BS the current incumbents spouts and previous managers talking us down a bit. Not under Souness, Hughes, Ince or any manager has anyone ever said the fans are measuring against winning the PL. It's an utter lie to discredit fans. No manager has ever said we need to acclimatise to the championship as a league one outfit. No manager has ever effectively said the previous 3 years don't count. No manager has stated as many factual inaccuracies (deliberately) as him. There's a huge difference between what TM is doing and what others have done. It's a bit like comparing someone who goes a couple of miles over the speed limit with someone drink driving along the pavement. 

As you say though it's probably best to leave it here before I start to forget Coyle was utterly useless too. It's a poor do that the competition between the two is so fierce for who is worse and even sadder than neither make the top spot. And all in the last 10 years! Makes me amazed we still have any fans left.

Great post. No-one has ever held the view that we needed to acclimatise in the Championship because we were relegated when arguably we shouldn't have been.

It's just something Mowbray has invented in the last few months to excuse his own abysmal performance.

[Blue blood]

7 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Wake up Gav, why do you think we we training on an already knackered pitch in the middle of winter in atrocious conditions?

Of course Mowbray was instrumental in it just as much as the other two.

They tried (and failed) to pull off the same sort of scam at Coventry as well. You can't pin that on Venky's.

Factor in how he pulls the strings on everything, including his own boss. Bit odd if he then has no say in this after that kind of clout.  

Then there's the fact that even if it wasn't his plan he could have opposed it or the manner in which it was undertaken (i.e. sneaking it through.) 

[RevidgeBlue]

Just now, Blue blood said:

Factor in how he pulls the strings on everything, including his own boss. Bit odd if he then has no say in this after that kind of clout.  

Then there's the fact that even if it wasn't his plan he could have opposed it or the manner in which it was undertaken (i.e. sneaking it through.) 

Exactly.

Can't believe some people are still falling for the nice but dim Uncle Tony jumpers for goalposts routine.

You could just about forgive him for installing his own boss IF the owners were daft enough to suggest it.

However the way Waggott has subsequently defended Mowbray to the hilt despite him pissing money away like water and producing abysmal results and then the three of them all trying to pull off  the same stunt as at Coventry suggests there is something rather more sinister afoot.

[Bigdoggsteel]

At what point do we know 100% he is staying? 

[Boroblue]

I have no inside knowledge but I believe that Oldham, Paul and Mercer are right and that the axe will fall. There are to many coincidences for something not happening. Brockhall and it’s abandonment, contracts not being renewed for Mowbray old boys, we all know he would have renewed them. India have stopped direct communication.

Add into this Phillpl ( I think) who said there were rumours in India of a sale. Strangely this was supported on another message board but from an internal source.Both confirmed IPL owners.

Maybe I just want it to be true but the only person talking like he’s in for the duration is Mowbray no one else.No confirmation from the heirarchy just silence. I still believe Mowbray is making a sales pitch both to our owners and any prospective future employers out there.

[Gav]

38 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Wake up Gav, why do you think we we training on an already knackered pitch in the middle of winter in atrocious conditions?

I'm still not following what any of that has to do with selling Brockhall Rev and Mowbray being involved? Other than the pitch at Ewood has undersoil heating and Brockhall doesn't.

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by Gav

[Blue blood]

20 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Exactly.

Can't believe some people are still falling for the nice but dim Uncle Tony jumpers for goalposts routine.

You could just about forgive him for installing his own boss IF the owners were daft enough to suggest it.

However the way Waggott has subsequently defended Mowbray to the hilt despite him pissing money away like water and producing abysmal results and then the three of them all trying to pull off  the same stunt as at Coventry suggests there is something rather more sinister afoot.

Any CEO who let a manager continue with the run we had - or even part of it - clearly isn't fit for the job. Even if he didn't have the power to sack him he should have been pressuring the owners to do so. 

Sinister is the word. One thing to add to that is that we have so much form for allowing dodgy goings on to occur. In fact it's been the norm under Venkys. 

[Exiled_Rover]

13 minutes ago, Boroblue said:

I have no inside knowledge but I believe that Oldham, Paul and Mercer are right and that the axe will fall. There are to many coincidences for something not happening. Brockhall and it’s abandonment, contracts not being renewed for Mowbray old boys, we all know he would have renewed them. India have stopped direct communication.

Add into this Phillpl ( I think) who said there were rumours in India of a sale. Strangely this was supported on another message board but from an internal source.Both confirmed IPL owners.

Maybe I just want it to be true but the only person talking like he’s in for the duration is Mowbray no one else.No confirmation from the heirarchy just silence. I still believe Mowbray is making a sales pitch both to our owners and any prospective future employers out there.

What's this rumour about a sale?

[Boroblue]

That Venkies are looking to sell all or part of the club to an Indian IPL owner.

[riverholmes]

It's interesting to look back at Mowbray's heyday as West Brom manager, the season they won promotion from Championship, in 2007/08, having lost out in the play offs the previous year. That season, West Brom lost key first team players like Koumas, Ellington, Curtis Davies and McShane. However, with Robert Koren, Zoltan Gera and Jonathan Greening in midfield and some new additions, they were able to mount a successful league campaign and reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Presumably, they were playing 5-3-2 or 4-4-2, back in those days.

It's interesting to have a look at the list of Mowbray signings for West Brom that year. Some seemed to have been flops - such as Pele and Leon Barnett but some successful signings, like Brunt, Morrison, Hoefkens, Ishmael Miller and, I believe, Teixeira, did well, from what I read.

I find it interesting that Mowbray inherited and then assembled a squad of a mix of players from across Europe. They had Robert Koren, Zoltan Gera, Roman Bednar, providing technical ability, alongside players like Greening and Morrison. Whilst foreign players don't guarantee ability, that market has always been a source of less expensive but technically capable players. It makes me wonder why Mowbray has, apparently, abandoned that route, barring the keepers we've brought in lately. (I don't know the rules, but I'm guessing in the post-EU days, it will be harder?).

"West Bromwich Albion 4 Bristol City 1: Bednar fires Albion to the summit" - match team from the Independent online report, 27 December 2007, the season West Brom, led by Mowbray, won the Championship, with Pulis' Stoke finishing second:

West Bromwich Albion (4-4-2): Kiely; Hoefkens, Pele, Cesar, Robinson; Gera, Greening, Koren, Morrison (Beattie, 80); Bednar (Miller, 70), Phillips (Albrechtsen, 85). Substitutes not used: Steele (gk), Barnett, Beattie, Albrechtsen.

West Brom signings 2007/08 (Wikipedia):

• Shelton Martis – Hibernian, £50,000, 2 July 2007.^[17]
• Craig Beattie – Celtic, £1,250,000, 3 July 2007^[18]
• Filipe Teixeira – Académica, £600,000, 17 July 2007^[19]
• Leon Barnett – Luton Town, £2,500,000, 26 July 2007^[20]
• Tininho – Beira-Mar, £230,000, 31 July 2007^[21]
• Boštjan Cesar – Marseille, season loan, 7 August 2007^[22]
• Carl Hoefkens – Stoke City, £750,000, 7 August 2007^[23]
• James Morrison – Middlesbrough, £1,500,000, 7 August 2007^[24]
• Pelé – Southampton, £1,000,000, 9 August 2007^[25]
• Chris Brunt – Sheffield Wednesday, £3,000,000,15 August 2007^[26]
• Bartosz Ślusarski – Dyskobolia Grodzisk
• Michal Daněk – Viktoria Plzeň, loan
• Roman Bednář – Hearts, loan
• Ishmael Miller – Manchester City

 

[Parsonblue]

52 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Wake up Gav, why do you think we we training on an already knackered pitch in the middle of winter in atrocious conditions?

Of course Mowbray was instrumental in it just as much as the other two.

They tried (and failed) to pull off the same sort of scam at Coventry as well. You can't pin that on Venky's.

I'm sorry Rev but I simply don't believe that the owners were not involved in the attempt to sell the training ground.  It couldn't be sold without their approval or knowledge.  It's fantasy to believe otherwise imo.

[CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber]

2 minutes ago, Boroblue said:

That Venkies are looking to sell all or part of the club to an Indian IPL owner.

Frying pan, fire. 

 

[roversfan99]

19 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

At what point do we know 100% he is staying? 

From now until either a sudden press release down the line or his contract expires.

Our absent owners clearly dont consider there to be a question regarding the manager, so he presumably wont be getting a dreaded vote of confidence either. He will just continue indefinitely.

[RoversClitheroe]

26 minutes ago, Boroblue said:

Strangely this was supported on another message board but from an internal source.Both confirmed IPL owners.

Where was the other message board rumour?

[Mercer]

49 minutes ago, Blue blood said:

Factor in how he pulls the strings on everything, including his own boss. Bit odd if he then has no say in this after that kind of clout.  

Then there's the fact that even if it wasn't his plan he could have opposed it or the manner in which it was undertaken (i.e. sneaking it through.) 

Nail on head.

Personally, I have zero trust in either Waggott or Mowbray.

I think Waggott showed his colours a long time ago when he 'represented' Andy Cole in his move to Newcastle and seemingly pocketed Cole's £30k signing on fee.  I would love the two of them to debate that one in a telephone box! 

[Boroblue]

3 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

Where was the other message board rumour?

Roversfans

[DE.]

Got a very Bowyer's-last-season feeling about it. There were rumours all that summer that he was leaving and communications between he and India had stopped. The Sun also printed a story in August that he'd been sacked, with that story having presumably leaked from Ewood. It took until October for the axe to actually fall. Would not surprise me in the slightest if history ends up repeating itself here. 

[Mercer]

12 minutes ago, Parsonblue said:

I'm sorry Rev but I simply don't believe that the owners were not involved in the attempt to sell the training ground.  It couldn't be sold without their approval or knowledge.  It's fantasy to believe otherwise imo.

I would love to know how Waggott and Mowbray initially 'spun' the proposal to Venky's.  I understand Venky's kiboshed the whole thing in the end.

[Fraserkirky]

55 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

At what point do we know 100% he is staying? 

Yesterday

[Bigdoggsteel]

54 minutes ago, Boroblue said:

I have no inside knowledge but I believe that Oldham, Paul and Mercer are right and that the axe will fall. There are to many coincidences for something not happening. Brockhall and it’s abandonment, contracts not being renewed for Mowbray old boys, we all know he would have renewed them. India have stopped direct communication.

Add into this Phillpl ( I think) who said there were rumours in India of a sale. Strangely this was supported on another message board but from an internal source.Both confirmed IPL owners.

Maybe I just want it to be true but the only person talking like he’s in for the duration is Mowbray no one else.No confirmation from the heirarchy just silence. I still believe Mowbray is making a sales pitch both to our owners and any prospective future employers out there.

Wishful thinking I reckon. The "coincidences" are tentative at best, plus he is getting to renew contracts ,for example Johnson. Brokhall has nothing to do with anything, just that the public rejected it and there is no evidence India have changed communication at all. 

Rumours on message boards are all they are. We all know he should be gone, so it's easy to say he will be. However the fact he is still here now alone shows that this is not a normally run club. 

 

[roversfan99]

24 minutes ago, Mercer said:

I would love to know how Waggott and Mowbray initially 'spun' the proposal to Venky's.  I understand Venky's kiboshed the whole thing in the end.

Understand?

[CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber]

Just now, roversfan99 said:

Understand?

Don't fuel the fire, he's no more idea than anyone else.