Tony Mowbray

[SW4Baggie]

Erm, he had the biggest budget in the league the season we went up and apart from Stoke the division was very weak. The season before with arguably again the best or second best resources we failed to gain promotion. He has since then got relegated from the Prem, walked away to Celtic where he came second in a two horse race and now bobbles around in the Championship. His managerial career is worse than Pulis, Bruce and Allardyce. Megson is the only manager who performed miracles and can be described as a footballing messiah.

We know you dislike Mowbray Derek, but this is one-sided. 
He inherited Barny’s overpaid drinking buddies who gave zero fucks and were heavily out of shape. Yes we had quality on paper but that side for the most part didn’t want to be here. Saying he failed by not getting a side promoted under those circumstances is incredibly one sided. He inherited a much worse position than Bruce, and whilst he had the January window, he hauled the side back into the promotion mix.

The following season the wage bill was dramatically reduced, and we made a large profit. Yes he had a healthy budget but it was through selling the best players we had and then rebuilding an overpaid, ageing squad into arguably the most exciting to watch we’ve had in a long time.

I’m not sure the talk of him “reinventing himself” is quite right, both his Boro and Blackburn sides have been plagued with inconsistency, conceded soft goals and had problems closing out games. For all the progress he’s made with the latter too, they’ve spent a fair bit of money and when you compare the job he’s done to the likes of Robins, Jones and Corbaran he’s not in the same bracket IMO.

A nice bloke, he’d probably give us some entertaining football again, and if the choice was him or Bruce I’d take Tony all day long, but I think there’s better out there.

How so? Our current squad is nowhere near the 06/07 side. We had players such as Phillips, Kamara, Koumas, Greening, Gera, Clement, Koren, Robinson, Davies etc.. Everyone one of those would get in our current side. In terms of having players that didn't want to be here, well we've got that now.

The memory may be playing tricks, but I believe we were in the bottom half when Robson was sacked - we certainly weren't sitting in 5th, and whilst we had some quality players for the division we much like this season had some really rotten eggs in the dressing room. Perry, Quashie and Watson were by all accounts toxic, big John was pining for his drinking buddy and players like Cuntis and Robinson would have rather been anywhere but in our dressing room. The club had been run like a holiday camp for the previous 18 months when Mowbray arrived and he quickly bombed out the trouble makers and brought in the likes of Koren and Sodje who made a difference to the mentality around.

We were 9th when Robson was sacked, then Pearson took us up to 4th when he handed over to Mowbray.

I completely forgot the Pearson run! Fair point!

[Cuzer]

There is better than Mowbray out there. I think I'd sooner stick with Bruce, and I'm pretty meh about that.
I'm inclined to agree with Derek H on this. he had some fine players that year we went up, funded by selling some fine players the year before, when he should have got us up. For all his talk about fine football, when we were losing he'd always stick Brunty left back to fire the ball to Bednar in the box, from the halfway line. Then he buggered off and has done little or nothing since. Thanks for the memory, but no thanks.

Wow

Just wow

Cuzer

[baggie_ray]

Do I prefer him to Bruce, yes. Yet, we can’t afford to keep changing the manager. We have to stick and go with it now. 

We do have to stick with a manager yes, but that is in respect of a manager that the club has absolute faith in. If the club believes that Mowbray is the manager who will ultimately get us promoted, and is more likely to do so than Bruce, then they should go for him. But this should be on the proviso that next season will most probably be just a (limited) rebuilding season.

The club needs to have realistic expectations for next season but will obviously have an ultimate aim of promotion in the next couple of years or four. 

The club also needs to consider what manager would be capable of keeping us up when we get there. Preferably without the need to yo yo again. If the club thinks Mowbray would also meet that criteria, then now would be the opportune moment to get him.

If not, then the club should be doing due diligence on who that "super manager" is. Who is it that is not only a better manager than Bruce, but who is it that will achieve the club's goals? Until that happens Bruce stays in situ.

[Huggybear]

There is better than Mowbray out there. I think I'd sooner stick with Bruce, and I'm pretty meh about that.
I'm inclined to agree with Derek H on this. he had some fine players that year we went up, funded by selling some fine players the year before, when he should have got us up. For all his talk about fine football, when we were losing he'd always stick Brunty left back to fire the ball to Bednar in the box, from the halfway line. Then he buggered off and has done little or nothing since. Thanks for the memory, but no thanks.

No comparison Mowbray builds teams and you don’t stay at one club for five years without having done a good job .Blackburn were a mess and he rebuilt them and proved he hasn’t gone out of date like certain managers.

[Bob Fossil]

I can't really understand why people are disparaging towards someone who achieved a promotion, a play-off final and an FA Cup semi-final with us. I'd welcome Mogga back anytime.

We'd be getting rid of a manager with 4 promotions and an FA Cup Final though.

Don't get me wrong, I have very fond memories of Mogga and he did a great job for us, but he's done nothing of note since, so shouldn't come back based purely on sentiment.

[Derek Hardballs]

There is better than Mowbray out there. I think I'd sooner stick with Bruce, and I'm pretty meh about that.
I'm inclined to agree with Derek H on this. he had some fine players that year we went up, funded by selling some fine players the year before, when he should have got us up. For all his talk about fine football, when we were losing he'd always stick Brunty left back to fire the ball to Bednar in the box, from the halfway line. Then he buggered off and has done little or nothing since. Thanks for the memory, but no thanks.

No comparison Mowbray builds teams and you don’t stay at one club for five years without having done a good job .Blackburn were a mess and he rebuilt them and proved he hasn’t gone out of date like certain managers.

If Blackburn fail to get in the play-off’s this season what has Mowbray achieved since he left us of any note? After five years at a club I would expect more than to potentially finish in the top 8! Megson took a complete and utter embarrassment of a club to the Prem on a shoestring in three seasons, the second season missing out in the play-offs! 

Bruce has a better CV and yet he’s a dinosaur, Mowbray is hailed as forward thinking but has a less impressive CV and is what three or four years younger than Bruce?

[Squid]

There is better than Mowbray out there. I think I'd sooner stick with Bruce, and I'm pretty meh about that.
I'm inclined to agree with Derek H on this. he had some fine players that year we went up, funded by selling some fine players the year before, when he should have got us up. For all his talk about fine football, when we were losing he'd always stick Brunty left back to fire the ball to Bednar in the box, from the halfway line. Then he buggered off and has done little or nothing since. Thanks for the memory, but no thanks.

No comparison Mowbray builds teams and you don’t stay at one club for five years without having done a good job .Blackburn were a mess and he rebuilt them and proved he hasn’t gone out of date like certain managers.

If Blackburn fail to get in the play-off’s this season what has Mowbray achieved since he left us of any note? After five years at a club I would expect more than to potentially finish in the top 8! Megson took a complete and utter embarrassment of a club to the Prem on a shoestring in three seasons, the second season missing out in the play-offs! 

Bruce has a better CV and yet he’s a dinosaur, Mowbray is hailed as forward thinking but has a less impressive CV and is what three or four years younger than Bruce?

CV is irrelevant if the manager doesn't perform well in the here and now. I have seen Mowbray send out a decent team with my own eyes this season. Sadly, I cannot say the same for Bruce.

[Derek Hardballs]

There is better than Mowbray out there. I think I'd sooner stick with Bruce, and I'm pretty meh about that.
I'm inclined to agree with Derek H on this. he had some fine players that year we went up, funded by selling some fine players the year before, when he should have got us up. For all his talk about fine football, when we were losing he'd always stick Brunty left back to fire the ball to Bednar in the box, from the halfway line. Then he buggered off and has done little or nothing since. Thanks for the memory, but no thanks.

No comparison Mowbray builds teams and you don’t stay at one club for five years without having done a good job .Blackburn were a mess and he rebuilt them and proved he hasn’t gone out of date like certain managers.

If Blackburn fail to get in the play-off’s this season what has Mowbray achieved since he left us of any note? After five years at a club I would expect more than to potentially finish in the top 8! Megson took a complete and utter embarrassment of a club to the Prem on a shoestring in three seasons, the second season missing out in the play-offs! 

Bruce has a better CV and yet he’s a dinosaur, Mowbray is hailed as forward thinking but has a less impressive CV and is what three or four years younger than Bruce?

CV is irrelevant if the manager doesn't perform well in the here and now. I have seen Mowbray send out a decent team with my own eyes this season. Sadly, I cannot say the same for Bruce.

Ok, a record of achievement built up over years is now irrelevant and a manager should only be judged on twenty or so games with a team he hasn’t put together or had any real time to influence in terms of playing staff. However five years of mediocrity with a club and a bit of success finally at the end of this process is relevant. Ffs!

[Birdman1811]

Didn't you want Dean Smith who had achieved less than Mowbray?

[wba13]

There is better than Mowbray out there. I think I'd sooner stick with Bruce, and I'm pretty meh about that.
I'm inclined to agree with Derek H on this. he had some fine players that year we went up, funded by selling some fine players the year before, when he should have got us up. For all his talk about fine football, when we were losing he'd always stick Brunty left back to fire the ball to Bednar in the box, from the halfway line. Then he buggered off and has done little or nothing since. Thanks for the memory, but no thanks.

No comparison Mowbray builds teams and you don’t stay at one club for five years without having done a good job .Blackburn were a mess and he rebuilt them and proved he hasn’t gone out of date like certain managers.

If Blackburn fail to get in the play-off’s this season what has Mowbray achieved since he left us of any note? After five years at a club I would expect more than to potentially finish in the top 8! Megson took a complete and utter embarrassment of a club to the Prem on a shoestring in three seasons, the second season missing out in the play-offs! 

Bruce has a better CV and yet he’s a dinosaur, Mowbray is hailed as forward thinking but has a less impressive CV and is what three or four years younger than Bruce?

CV is irrelevant if the manager doesn't perform well in the here and now. I have seen Mowbray send out a decent team with my own eyes this season. Sadly, I cannot say the same for Bruce.

So you didn’t see the Fulham and Bournemouth matches then. Just saying.