Tony Mowbray Discussion

[Colt Seavers]

On 20/12/2021 at 15:28, tomphil said:

The revamped midfield helps this imo as instead of having one or even two defensive mids sitting back or the likes of Holtby not getting stuck in. These lot have legs they harrie and close down all the time...It ups the tempo of the whole team and encourages the forwards to close down as well.

This is a really good point. Something else that occurred to me in the last few weeks is the positive effect that Tyrhys Dolan has had on the mentality of the squad as a whole. I can't remember when we last had a player who so relentlessly and doggedly chases down his opponents deep in their own half. The opposition hate this and it pegs them back and causes panic and mistakes. I think that this chasing down is now endemic across the whole forward line much more than it used to be and it puts squad players such as Butterworth and Gallagher in a position where they have to follow suit when they come on. 

[Atko's Engine]

To be fair to Gallagher, he's never been one not to put a shift in, whatever other criticisms may be levelled against him ability-wise.

[Mike E]

1 hour ago, Colt Seavers said:

This is a really good point. Something else that occurred to me in the last few weeks is the positive effect that Tyrhys Dolan has had on the mentality of the squad as a whole. I can't remember when we last had a player who so relentlessly and doggedly chases down his opponents deep in their own half. The opposition hate this and it pegs them back and causes panic and mistakes. I think that this chasing down is now endemic across the whole forward line much more than it used to be and it puts squad players such as Butterworth and Gallagher in a position where they have to follow suit when they come on. 

Re: Dolan, that's EXACTLY how we battered Peterborough without even getting past 2nd gear. The first two goals came from relentless badgering of the back four, which just ruined their spirit.

It was always Fergie's attacking mantra 'wave after wave'.

[lraC]

13 hours ago, Colt Seavers said:

This is a really good point. Something else that occurred to me in the last few weeks is the positive effect that Tyrhys Dolan has had on the mentality of the squad as a whole. I can't remember when we last had a player who so relentlessly and doggedly chases down his opponents deep in their own half. The opposition hate this and it pegs them back and causes panic and mistakes. I think that this chasing down is now endemic across the whole forward line much more than it used to be and it puts squad players such as Butterworth and Gallagher in a position where they have to follow suit when they come on. 

Paul Dikov springs to mind and I love a player who does that.

[toogs]

37 minutes ago, lraC said:

Paul Dikov springs to mind and I love a player who does that.

Simon Garner as well. Never gave centre halves a moments rest, closing down, even though he new he wouldn’t get there, he often forced the error from the defender. 

[lraC]

49 minutes ago, toogs said:

Simon Garner as well. Never gave centre halves a moments rest, closing down, even though he new he wouldn’t get there, he often forced the error from the defender. 

I loved Garner and named my son after him.

[Spartakfenni]

15 minutes ago, lraC said:

I loved Garner and named my son after him.

You named him Garner?

[Upside Down]

Dolan has created quite a few goals this year just by hassling people. It's great to see. 

[lraC]

13 hours ago, Spartakfenni said:

You named him Garner?

Simon, although to be honest, his late mother made me use Andrew as his middle name, as he was going to have Garner, had I got my own way.

[Paul Mani]

Out of interest, is anyone still in the ‘Mowbray Out’ camp! Surely not? I’ve conceded defeat! 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

3 minutes ago, Paul Mani said:

Out of interest, is anyone still in the ‘Mowbray Out’ camp! Surely not? I’ve conceded defeat! 

The jury is still out for me.

[Mike E]

56 minutes ago, Paul Mani said:

Out of interest, is anyone still in the ‘Mowbray Out’ camp! Surely not? I’ve conceded defeat! 

Splinters in my arse, currently.

[tomphil]

I'm delighted with the turnaround and current form but i'm wise enough to know it wasn't some grand plan. We are over achieving at the min and at some point it'll probably balance out a bit.  He's probably never had a team like this though so lets see how he handles the next few months.

Hes got to keep the fire under them and let them do what they do imo, top 6 finish is a real possibility. Finishing 10th/12th is more his territory so this is probably his biggest test yet at Ewood.

 

 

[Paul Mani]

4 hours ago, tomphil said:

I'm delighted with the turnaround and current form but i'm wise enough to know it wasn't some grand plan. We are over achieving at the min and at some point it'll probably balance out a bit.  He's probably never had a team like this though so lets see how he handles the next few months.

Hes got to keep the fire under them and let them do what they do imo, top 6 finish is a real possibility. Finishing 10th/12th is more his territory so this is probably his biggest test yet at Ewood.

 

 

I can’t disagree with any of this but we have to be careful we don’t end up slagging him for losing and then claiming he’s lucky because he’s winning…

My thought is that in spite of all the frustrations of the last few years with Mowbray he has given more academy / youth players their debuts than any other Rovers manager in our history (fact) and therefore deserves full credit for this team.

If we’re honest then none of us wanted to start the season with this squad, includingTM. Had we been offered 10th or 11th then we’d have snapped their hand off! Many in here were predicting relegation.

The key, as you say is to keep the fire under this group, lit. But for me he doesn’t need to take us up to have done enough to prove himself. IF the manager takes us up with THIS team on THIS budget then the achievement will be in Leicester winning the PL, Bournemouth fairytale, Rovers winning the PL fairytale league! Mowbray and our best players will be highly sought after!

So, whilst I agree the jury is out, the scales are certainly tipping! 

[JacknOry]

9 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

The jury is still out for me.

Same, i had a read around some of the forums of other clubs Mowbray has managed preivously (Coventry/Boro etc) to see what they were thinking about our position. On all of them, it was "they still have to deal with the post-Christmas Mowbray yet". Many tipping us to fall away - same on the Preston forums.

Its alarming that these second half of the season spirals are not just consigned to his time here. I am just hoping and praying he sticks to what he is doing and we stay in contention. I'm certainly not in the TM out camp at the moment - dont think anyone can be considering our position (even if we still feel he is not the right manager long term). Would be suicide right now. If he gets us up or the playoffs at minimum - it is a great/good achievement. Still not sure he would do much for us in the PL, but I doubt many would - but boy we need that money.

[arbitro]

Whilst I am really enjoying the current run at the back of my mind is that Mowbray has previous for goods runs, getting our hopes up and then crashing and burning. In a really perverse way the Fulham drubbing was the turning point and reading Lenihans comments yesterday it seems the players asked a lot of questions about themselves. There was a resolve, determination and commitment in the Sheffield United match that I haven't seen for years at Ewood and I'm delighted to say that hasn't abated. The bigger picture though from the managers perspective is will he be offered a new deal. My feeling was the powers that be were happy to be mid table and that would be some justification for not offering him a new deal. Our over achieving thus far has given them a real dilemma.

I can't forget the tinkering, constant changing of philosophies, weird substitutions and nonsensical interviews over the piece of his tenure to be swung by the current run.

 

 

[Gav]

I've been one of his biggest supporters throughout the life of this thread because I understand what its like working for a dysfunctional organisation, with incompetent leaders and useless/non existent exec team. In situations such as that you can only come to work and do your best and I believe Mowbray has always done that and will continue to do so.

Sadly for me, this current run is only temporary, we don't have the squad or the strength in depth to continue along this path, but my god I'd love to be proven wrong. When the side hits the buffers the knives will be out wanting Mowbray gone, but the more savvy amongst us will realise that given more time and a few quid to bolster the squad, next season could be even better.

Watching the side right now is the best its been for a decade or more, enjoy it, support it, you just never know...

Happy Christmas to you all.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Gav

[Mattyblue]

I’ve never called for his head, as plodding along season after season has fit with what the present incarnation of ‘the club’ seems to be content with. Objectively he’s done fine, some of the nonsense about him being a ‘terrible manager’ was always silly.

I’ve never for a second expected him to leave before his contract ran out, why would the owners and SW want the bother of a managerial hunt? So I’ve never really given his position much thought, my ire has always been pointed at the carpet baggers running the club in such a tin pot way.

He would’ve have gone at a normal club last season, no question, but we aren’t one, so in a warped way, the detached ownership model and ever changing budgets we have here, gives managers time and space to get stupid ideas and systems out of their head, I.e. SG constantly out wide, the ‘possession game’ that obviously didn’t suit the squad we had etc etc, and can do total 180s of teams and tactics.

I do think we’ll fall away, due to a combination of TM’s team’s tendency to lose form in the second half of the season and a small squad, but with a chance to to go into the new year, at a club that I still feel is shambolic in many areas, top of the Championship, then of course, a new contract would have every right to be offered.

[K-Hod]

I’m absolutely delighted with how we’ve been playing and the results we’ve been getting recently. But as ever, my concern is that a death spiral is never too far away.

I hope we’ve turned a corner and that isn’t the case, but, having been let down so many times before, I never get ahead of myself and just enjoy one result at a time.

Mowbray deserves enormous credit for this run and our turnaround since the Fulham thumping, but they don’t hand out any prizes in December, let’s see how we are doing in May….

[islander200]

6 hours ago, Paul Mani said:

I can’t disagree with any of this but we have to be careful we don’t end up slagging him for losing and then claiming he’s lucky because he’s winning…

My thought is that in spite of all the frustrations of the last few years with Mowbray he has given more academy / youth players their debuts than any other Rovers manager in our history (fact) and therefore deserves full credit for this team.

If we’re honest then none of us wanted to start the season with this squad, includingTM. Had we been offered 10th or 11th then we’d have snapped their hand off! Many in here were predicting relegation.

The key, as you say is to keep the fire under this group, lit. But for me he doesn’t need to take us up to have done enough to prove himself. IF the manager takes us up with THIS team on THIS budget then the achievement will be in Leicester winning the PL, Bournemouth fairytale, Rovers winning the PL fairytale league! Mowbray and our best players will be highly sought after!

So, whilst I agree the jury is out, the scales are certainly tipping! 

I wouldnt say he has been lucky and Mowbray definitely deserves credit however if the budget had been healthier would we be playing with this young team now?Im not so sure.Going off his comments and obvious dissapointment at the time ,he clearly wanted new deals for Evans and Bennett.

We shouldnt be giving out any new deals to managment, the position should be reviewed at the end of the season 

[rigger]

11 hours ago, Paul Mani said:

Out of interest, is anyone still in the ‘Mowbray Out’ camp! Surely not? I’ve conceded defeat! 

I am. I think Mowbrays biggest improvement is that he doesn't seem to be talking as much bollocks to the media. But to me that is still not enough. Long may our success on the pitch continue.

[Gav]

21 minutes ago, rigger said:

I am. I think Mowbrays biggest improvement is that he doesn't seem to be talking as much bollocks to the media. But to me that is still not enough. Long may our success on the pitch continue.

You're more than making up for it on here though Ian 😉

All the best to you pal. 

[tomphil]

24 minutes ago, islander200 said:

I wouldnt say he has been lucky and Mowbray definitely deserves credit however if the budget had been healthier would we be playing with this young team now?Im not so sure.Going off his comments and obvious dissapointment at the time ,he clearly wanted new deals for Evans and Bennett.

We shouldnt be giving out any new deals to managment, the position should be reviewed at the end of the season 

This is where i'm at with it as lets not forget it took that shambles at home to Fulham for him to finally wise up a bit.

What he has done withe team since then is superb and the players also have to be taking the credit in equal measure. 

[rigger]

10 minutes ago, Gav said:

You're more than making up for it on here though Ian 😉

All the best to you pal. 

Which bit do you not agree with. That Mowbray has previously spouted bollocks to the media. Or that he seems to be doing it less now. It's all about opinions. By the way who's Ian ?

Edited December 24, 2021 by rigger

[tomphil]

1 hour ago, rigger said:

Which bit do you not agree with. That Mowbray has previously spouted bollocks to the media. Or that he seems to be doing it less now. It's all about opinions. By the way who's Ian ?

He definitely lost the plot on and off the park for a couple of years. Now he's doing more logical stuff with the team his spiel makes a bit more sense again. He's always been one to waffle though but now he sounds a bit more like the TM of old, not the hybrid excuse making imposter.