Mowbray, the summer and beyond

[TheRovers1994]

With mowbrays contract running out this summer makes it an interesting summer indeed. So what’s your views on it ? Should he be offered a new deal or let go ? 
 

I for one only think he should be given a new deal is if he manages to get us up, a 1 year deal max as a reward, but I cannot see that happening nor do I think he will wanna stick around in the championship when he’s expressed clearly before he misses his family time. promotion as of January was there for the taking, no other team look like they are good enough apart from Fulham, Bournemouth are there by default and the rest simply not good enough excluding forest and boros rise of course, it says it all when a mediocre team of journeymen and cloggers like Luton are knocking on the door, but also says a lot about their manager as much as I dislike him cause of how he is I wouldn’t be against recruiting him as our boss if he gets the best out of his team like he is doing now, he certainly doesn’t lack passion and would be a refreshing site on the touch line compared to sleepy Mowbray who looks lost when it’s not going well.

SQUAD TURNOVER: this summer should rovers do the likely and fail to win promotion will be the biggest transitional squad building process since 2013 so whoever the manager is will need to Recruit smoothly, so many key departures with loans and contracts expiring, khadra and JPVH going back to Brighton and lenihan, nyambe, Rothwell all leaving with their deals up which again falls back on Mowbray and waggot for leaving it so late to start negotiations, aswell as other squad players who are unlikely to get new deals. BBD will also be sold, coming down to the last year and will not be short of suitors and will probes be sold due around 16m like Armstrong, which will be needed to rebuild the team. Of course it all changes if he do manage to work a miracle and get promoted.

NEW MANAGER IDEAS?: I know there isn’t a lot of available managers out there who could definitely do a better job nor can we be too fussy given our budget, but it’s not as though I for one expect us to be in a promotion battle every year, it’s not like I want Mowbray gone cause he’s bottling it when I’ve not wanted him for years cause of the same shite every year, the only thing making this one that little bit more stand-able is cause of that November to January run we went on that shot us up the league and the new system he stumbled upon that payed off until we was inevitably sussed out, mowbrays lack of Plan B and square pegs round roles mentality is what’s drove rovers fans with an eye site bonkers for a good 3 years at least, I couldn’t care less if the new man comes in and play's football that but kore uglier as long as it gets us the results and makes us a tough dude to beat and brings back the basics. You look at Sam Gallagher and john Buckley as examples of being victims of mowbrays stubborn and bizzare ways, being thrown under the frustrated and angry fan bus by playing them completely out of position, Buckley who is a sit deep type of playmaker beijg thrown up top as a false 9 expected to score goals, 6 foot 3 Sam Gallagher thrown out on the left wing expected to cut in and smash in a curling 25 yarder, it’s absolutely awful and Others will no doubt judge the lads on the performances they put in while being mismanaged like this but I know there is two good players right there if implemented and managed properly that’s why it’s key to bring in a manager who doesn’t using square pegs for round holes, and doesn’t fancy himself as some smart arse tinker man thinking he can outwit and outsmart every manager with his predictable dull system like he’s pep or klopp!. I won’t claim to know of anyone we can bring in from abroad as I don’t know much about any league outside of Britain anymore as I haven’t payed much attention for a good 10 years, plus they are a gamble anyways and mostly turn sour but my options would be 👇and of course please give me your suggestions too.

 garage ainsworth: done a fantastic job on a budget, gets the best out of what he’s got, would bring us back to basics and a respected figure who will maintain a tight knit dressing room, and it’s a local lad and rovers fan through and through will certainly not lack passion and enthusiasm like we’ve seen with Mowbray at times when things go sour. 

nathan jones: working miracles at Luton, currently in the top 6, full of passion, and as said above he’s getting the best out of a crappy squad, only signed loans, and journeymen and look at where they are ? Very hard team to beat with a never say die attitude and I don’t think it would take much to bring him away from that shithole. 
 

THE SQUAD FOR 22/23: looking at the squad we have left after the likely departures should we remain in the championship this is what we have left in terms of first team players 

GK’s: kaminski, pears 

Defenders: Wharton, Ayala, Carter, Pickering, JRC, edun, brown 

Midfield: travis, Buckley, Garrett, 

Attack: Gallagher, Dolan, hedges, mackanday, dack, burns

this squad is of course thin and lacks depth in every department but with sensible recruitment and more promotions in the academy and a system implemented to get the best out of the players we have and will have it certainly does not lack the foundations to rebuild a solid team again. Also expect to see the likes of ash Phillips come into the mix soon.

 

I look forward to reading all your opinions. 

[DeeCee]

Great post, I can't think farther ahead than the next match tbh 

[JHRover]

Lots of good thoughts in there.

In terms of Mowbray's future, if I was running the Club it would be as follows:
 

- Gets us promoted = 1 year extension and substantial bonus, given the summer and early next season to see how we start but with a contingency if we are struggling to roll the dice on a top manager

- Gets us in the play offs and we lose = a conversation to be had, slightly ambivalent tbh and much would depend on what the owners had planned budget wise, who else was available and what the senior players were thinking. I know it isn't something that will happen here but yes at other clubs the owners and directors listen to noises coming from the dressing room and factor those into considerations.

- Miss out on the play-offs = off you go, thanks for your efforts, time for someone else to have a go

 

I say 'if I was running the club' because I think we all know that there will be no such considerations here, and I firmly expect that Mowbray will stay if he wants to. Venkys will not take him to India to sack him and I very much doubt they have any appetite or interest in axing the coaching staff, embarking on another recruitment process and then having to 'get to know' the new man who won't bring a CEO with him.

The only issue might be whether Mowbray wants to stick around. I don't buy the whole family man, long commute, hard life talk from him. He's got a great job, is effectively his own boss doing what most people in football would love managing a good club how he wants. He's been doing it for nearly 20 years straight so obviously loves it and during that time has worked in Ipswich, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Coventry so he's obviously happy to commute and move around as most in football have to do if they want to last in it.

One thing that occurs to me is that maybe he will throw in the towel due to being fed up with Venkys. It is obvious there was a serious issue around this time last year. A surprisingly good run up to January seemed to overcome that and reignite things with him but after another shambolic transfer window he might be at the end of his tether, especially if there's no money in the summer and the players leave on frees.

Then again if they offer him a deal and some sort of backing I don't think he could resist.

 

If this run continues and we miss out and then Mowbray gets another contract I think we will be looking at a further drop in season ticket sales, especially with idiotic pricing and sales windows again.

As for who to replace him with most of the obvious names have been snapped up by rivals. People like Steve Bruce, Chris Wilder, Alex Neil, Danny Cowley and Mark Hughes would have been on my list but all now employed elsewhere. Gary Rowett another who consistently overachieves.

There are options like Slaven Bilic, Daniel Farke, Valerien Ismael tried and tested at this level and available but likely to cost. 

But of course when paying people the money Venkys are there is a big wide world out there to explore and recruit from rather than limiting ourselves to familiar names or the lower leagues. 

If we were to look down the divisions I'd like to consider poaching Evatt from Bolton, or looking at Liam Manning at MK Dons, or Mark Bonner at Cambridge, all of whom have done very well in short managerial careers. Ryan Lowe would have been another before Preston moved for him.

But I think it will be the agency scrapheap to find someone without compensation who will work with the existing setup. So come on down Nigel Adkins or Tony Pulis, 

[Miller11]

Some predictions…

Mowbray will go. He looked like he’d had enough 18 months ago. We will be linked with loads of managers but will take ages before inevitably raiding the HSH scrapheap. My money is on Pulis.

We will lose Nyambe, Rothwell and Lenihan. All will get far better deals than we offered, and at least one will be a premier league squad player. People will deludedly start saying “I bet he regrets leaving, he hardly plays for them”, completely ignoring the fact they are now firmly in millionaire territory.

We will sell Ash Phillips for a couple or three million plus add ons to a big club, which will be enough for some people to excuse losing the three mentioned above for nothing.

We will sign Harry Chapman up for another year and play him in the first couple of games next season before loaning him out to Doncaster. Bradley Johnson will sign a new deal in November.

Talks with Travis over a new deal will stall, and our entire transfer budget will go on Zeefuik.

There will be a Brereton Saga. He will be linked with half a dozen clubs throughout the summer before joining one of them on deadline day for half the initial fee that was rumoured.

Season tickets will go up in price and go on sale 48 hours before the opening game. There will be no kits in the club shop until the end of September.

We really do need to get promoted.

[Armchair supporter supremo]

Unless TM gets us promoted, it's time for him to move on

I don't mean that in a callous way, he's done some excellent work at the club, but it's really time for a change! The team needs reinvigorating and fresh new ideas brought to the table

As for who next then! Well that's the conundrum isn't it and the reason why so many would just prefer to stick with Mowbrays relatively safe hands. 

It took the owners the best part of 5 years and half a dozen mostly disastrous attempts before they found a respectable manager in Mowbray

Edited March 9, 2022 by Armchair supporter supremo

[AllRoverAsia]

He should be given a sentence ................. just not at Ewood.

[tomphil]

I really hope those in power aren't even thinking about it until May 

It's a dilemma as with so many likely to depart (and some of it is down to the manager) it's going to need a steady hand to rebuild again. Other side of the coin is it would be an ideal opportunity for new blood and much needed new ideas. Although there has been a fresh approach and its been good but the same old dithering, over loyalty and muddled thinking has finally crept in again.

All we are short of is more genuine goal threat in the opposition box - quite important for a promotion chasing football team. Then there probably wouldn't be much argument against him sticking around a bit longer.

Potentially massive upheavel in summer if he did go though and all the backroom lot had to be replaced as well. Be no surprise if they just gave it to Venus instead 😲

Edited March 9, 2022 by tomphil

[Waggy76]

Be no surprise if they just gave it to Venus instead......

I had similar thoughts , god it is scary !!

[Gav]

Not sure why we need a new thread here, not taking anything away from the first post, excellent stuff.

Mowbray has been excellent this season, the players have been excellent and the fans that walk through the turnstiles have been excellent too.

If we make the playoffs the manger deserves a new contract, sign him up.

Venkys Out.

Edited March 9, 2022 by Gav

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

We’re doomed !

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

6 minutes ago, Gav said:

Not sure why we need a new thread here, not taking anything away from the first post, excellent stuff.

Mowbray has been excellent this season, the players have been excellent and the fans that walk through the turnstiles have been excellent too.

If we make the playoffs the manger deserves a new contract, sign him up.

Venkys Out.

Would you like them to give him a new contact before they leave ?

[Upside Down]

If we are not in the Premier League by the summer then Mowbray should definitely be gone. Whether that happens or not is yet to be seen. 

The question is of course, who would be his replacement? 

Firstly, there is not likely to be a big wage on offer. 

Then there is the reality of attracting someone who will have something about them that can offer us more than just meandering around in the second division. They will have to do a total squad rebuild, likely with little to no funds.

What can Rovers offer to anyone coming in? We are a club with no ambition, no drive, no desire no heart, no soul and no purpose. We are marching into our second decade of disgrace.

We are a joke, a shadow of what we used to be and the owners have shown no ambition to do anything other than potter about in the middle of this piss poor league. 

[Gav]

28 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Would you like them to give him a new contact before they leave ?

Them leaving is all that matters Tyrone, everything else is incidental. 

[roversfan99]

I think if we fail to get into the top 6, then we need a change of manager. If we go up, Mowbray 100% deserves a new contract. For me the grey area (many seem to have already backed themselves into a corner and want the manager out no matter how well/badly the season ends which seems illogical to me) is if we finish in the top 6 but dont go up. To me that would still be a very good season under the circumstances and would signify progression and warrant a renewal. Im not convinced that we will finish in the top 6 although one thing we can be sure about is that Venkys will not act logically no matter what happens. 

Assuming we are in the Championship, the playing squad overhaul would be very difficult. Lenihan, Nyambe and Rothwell will all leave after seemingly a couple of years of failed negotiations, and along with the loanees will leave big holes. Had the manager been allowed autonomy over transfers in January, we would now have 2 further assets into next season and beyond, but Venkys allowed their stubornness to overrule business sense. An almost certain Brereton sale should allow us not only to sign a replacement for him (we will struggle to get an equal replacement of course) but also replacements for Nyambe and Lenihan, should Venkys allow funds for reinvestment which there is no excuse not to do especially considering the unspent Armstrong millions. I doubt that they will though.

Dacks return to fitness will be key, Markanday and Carter are more uncertain. The former is a rookie at senior level and the latter impresses at League 1 but has always looked shaky in the Championship.

[TheRovers1994]

4 hours ago, JHRover said:

Lots of good thoughts in there.

In terms of Mowbray's future, if I was running the Club it would be as follows:
 

- Gets us promoted = 1 year extension and substantial bonus, given the summer and early next season to see how we start but with a contingency if we are struggling to roll the dice on a top manager

- Gets us in the play offs and we lose = a conversation to be had, slightly ambivalent tbh and much would depend on what the owners had planned budget wise, who else was available and what the senior players were thinking. I know it isn't something that will happen here but yes at other clubs the owners and directors listen to noises coming from the dressing room and factor those into considerations.

- Miss out on the play-offs = off you go, thanks for your efforts, time for someone else to have a go

 

I say 'if I was running the club' because I think we all know that there will be no such considerations here, and I firmly expect that Mowbray will stay if he wants to. Venkys will not take him to India to sack him and I very much doubt they have any appetite or interest in axing the coaching staff, embarking on another recruitment process and then having to 'get to know' the new man who won't bring a CEO with him.

The only issue might be whether Mowbray wants to stick around. I don't buy the whole family man, long commute, hard life talk from him. He's got a great job, is effectively his own boss doing what most people in football would love managing a good club how he wants. He's been doing it for nearly 20 years straight so obviously loves it and during that time has worked in Ipswich, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Coventry so he's obviously happy to commute and move around as most in football have to do if they want to last in it.

One thing that occurs to me is that maybe he will throw in the towel due to being fed up with Venkys. It is obvious there was a serious issue around this time last year. A surprisingly good run up to January seemed to overcome that and reignite things with him but after another shambolic transfer window he might be at the end of his tether, especially if there's no money in the summer and the players leave on frees.

Then again if they offer him a deal and some sort of backing I don't think he could resist.

 

If this run continues and we miss out and then Mowbray gets another contract I think we will be looking at a further drop in season ticket sales, especially with idiotic pricing and sales windows again.

As for who to replace him with most of the obvious names have been snapped up by rivals. People like Steve Bruce, Chris Wilder, Alex Neil, Danny Cowley and Mark Hughes would have been on my list but all now employed elsewhere. Gary Rowett another who consistently overachieves.

There are options like Slaven Bilic, Daniel Farke, Valerien Ismael tried and tested at this level and available but likely to cost. 

But of course when paying people the money Venkys are there is a big wide world out there to explore and recruit from rather than limiting ourselves to familiar names or the lower leagues. 

If we were to look down the divisions I'd like to consider poaching Evatt from Bolton, or looking at Liam Manning at MK Dons, or Mark Bonner at Cambridge, all of whom have done very well in short managerial careers. Ryan Lowe would have been another before Preston moved for him.

But I think it will be the agency scrapheap to find someone without compensation who will work with the existing setup. So come on down Nigel Adkins or Tony Pulis, 

Oh no 

[TheRovers1994]

3 hours ago, Waggy76 said:

Be no surprise if they just gave it to Venus instead......

I had similar thoughts , god it is scary !!

That would finish me off and I would end up spending the season ground hopping instead

[TheRovers1994]

2 hours ago, Upside Down said:

If we are not in the Premier League by the summer then Mowbray should definitely be gone. Whether that happens or not is yet to be seen. 

The question is of course, who would be his replacement? 

Firstly, there is not likely to be a big wage on offer. 

Then there is the reality of attracting someone who will have something about them that can offer us more than just meandering around in the second division. They will have to do a total squad rebuild, likely with little to no funds.

What can Rovers offer to anyone coming in? We are a club with no ambition, no drive, no desire no heart, no soul and no purpose. We are marching into our second decade of disgrace.

We are a joke, a shadow of what we used to be and the owners have shown no ambition to do anything other than potter about in the middle of this piss poor league. 

It’s not that bad all we are lacking is a manager with sense attleast. We are in the same boat of a lot of championship clubs when it comes to budget and ffp stops the owners investing 

[TheRovers1994]

2 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

I think if we fail to get into the top 6, then we need a change of manager. If we go up, Mowbray 100% deserves a new contract. For me the grey area (many seem to have already backed themselves into a corner and want the manager out no matter how well/badly the season ends which seems illogical to me) is if we finish in the top 6 but dont go up. To me that would still be a very good season under the circumstances and would signify progression and warrant a renewal. Im not convinced that we will finish in the top 6 although one thing we can be sure about is that Venkys will not act logically no matter what happens. 

Assuming we are in the Championship, the playing squad overhaul would be very difficult. Lenihan, Nyambe and Rothwell will all leave after seemingly a couple of years of failed negotiations, and along with the loanees will leave big holes. Had the manager been allowed autonomy over transfers in January, we would now have 2 further assets into next season and beyond, but Venkys allowed their stubornness to overrule business sense. An almost certain Brereton sale should allow us not only to sign a replacement for him (we will struggle to get an equal replacement of course) but also replacements for Nyambe and Lenihan, should Venkys allow funds for reinvestment which there is no excuse not to do especially considering the unspent Armstrong millions. I doubt that they will though.

Dacks return to fitness will be key, Markanday and Carter are more uncertain. The former is a rookie at senior level and the latter impresses at League 1 but has always looked shaky in the Championship.

Unfair to say that about Carter when he’s out on loan for that purpose 

[roversfan99]

33 minutes ago, TheRovers1994 said:

Unfair to say that about Carter when he’s out on loan for that purpose 

I havent said that he wont be ready for the Championship upon his return, we dont know either way.

[Upside Down]

1 hour ago, TheRovers1994 said:

It’s not that bad all we are lacking is a manager with sense attleast. We are in the same boat of a lot of championship clubs when it comes to budget and ffp stops the owners investing 

The problems they have with FFP are entirely of their own making. The amount of revenue the club generates is unacceptably low. 

The owners invest as little as possible. The stae of the pitch and the deterioration of the stadium are proof of this. Investment in these areas is not subject to FFP.

Our piss poor performances and league positions over the last 11 years are the symptoms. The owners are the disease. 

[roversfan99]

Its incredible after the last 11 years that anyone defends the owners based on the assumption that FFP is hindering them and a genuine want to invest more.

The pitch is the perfect example that such a theory is untrue.

[Nuttall is lost]

2 hours ago, Upside Down said:

The problems they have with FFP are entirely of their own making. The amount of revenue the club generates is unacceptably low. 

The owners invest as little as possible. The stae of the pitch and the deterioration of the stadium are proof of this. Investment in these areas is not subject to FFP.

Our piss poor performances and league positions over the last 11 years are the symptoms. The owners are the disease. 

The stadium is starting to show its age alright.  The steel has mould growing on it and is corroding in places.

[lraC]

We are not going up and we are not getting into the play offs. Mowbray needs to go in the summer, as we simply cannot carry on seeing these death spirals. The losing streaks were bad enough, but to go on a streak of one goal in 8 or 3 goals in 12 tells me the man is a loser, who simply can’t work out, how to arrest a slide.

How we ended up getting into the position we did under him, baffles me, but the dramatic fall away and inability to score, makes it all pointless.

Ten more games under his management is plenty and as we stumble to around tenth, anything other than the end to his tenure, will sicken me.

[Wheelton Blue]

I don't see what difference it makes whether we finish 3rd or 7th with regard to offering him a new deal.

If we go up, fair enough, he deserves a new deal.

If we don't go up, either by falling out of the top 6 or losing in the play offs, he has to go.

He's had more than enough backing and time.

[Miller11]

5 hours ago, Nuttall is lost said:

The stadium is starting to show its age alright.  The steel has mould growing on it and is corroding in places.

Ostentatious enough to gold plate the taps in a multi million pound house they never use, but can’t be arsed with the most basic of upkeep for the ground. Venky’s all over. And Waggott and co are desperate for the Riverside to be condemned.