Lewis Cox and Jonny Drury give their take on the news West Brom have sacked Tony Mowbray after just three months in charge.
Albion's fifth defeat in their last six games, which has all but completely de-railed their play-off chances, was the final straw for the club's owners who axed Mowbray on Monday evening.
Jonny and Lewis look at the decision, discuss the timing of it and what could be next for the Baggies.
Albion's fifth defeat in their last six games, which has all but completely de-railed their play-off chances, was the final straw for the club's owners who axed Mowbray on Monday evening.
Jonny and Lewis look at the decision, discuss the timing of it and what could be next for the Baggies.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Thank you, fans. Welcome to ExpressAndStar.com. My name is Johnny Dreary. I'm here with Lewis
00:12Cox, who's still at the Hawthorns after what has been a sad, weird, strange day. Albion
00:19has sacked Tony Mowbray after only three months in charge. A dreadful Easter weekend has brought
00:25the end to his second reign at Albion. Nowhere near like the first one. Coxie, I know you've
00:32been still at the Hawthorns. The news was announced around seven o'clock. A lot to decipher, which
00:39we'll do on the podcast tomorrow. There's an awful lot to talk about, but a tad maybe shocked
00:45at the timing. What have you made of the decision that's been taken, a pretty ruthless decision
00:51by Shilin Patel, Andrew Nesta and Bilkel football? What have you made of it all?
00:57The timing, you're right. The timing was surprising, I suppose, Johnny, in terms of 7pm match night,
01:05obviously, evening of the game. We'd had the post-match press conference, which we discussed
01:12in a video that went out, didn't we, ironically enough, before the news of the job. We discussed
01:17what an interesting video it was. Sorry, what an interesting post-match press conference
01:21it was. You know, best part of half an hour, wasn't it? Covered a range of topics, but mostly
01:29looking at the future in terms of the summer and the decisions the ownership have to make
01:35when it comes to recruitment. You know, Tony's position himself was addressed, the position
01:41on individual players, all of that. There was a load of stuff. At times, it was a bit, you
01:46know, certain things it said sort of threw you off, wasn't it? A bit confusing at times.
01:49Didn't quite know what to make of certain things that were said. I do wonder, and I don't know
01:53this, maybe it'll come out in the wash at some point down the line, but I do wonder whether
01:58Tony Mowbray had an idea before we did the press conference, which was quite a delayed one
02:05as well, I would say. It was long after John Eustace's one or two inklings that maybe he had
02:12word from Shillam Patel before that. But I mean, that's by the by, to be honest. I'd
02:17like to hope not, but I'm not sure on that one. I'm probably speculating. What do I make
02:23of the decision, Johnny? Like you say, ruthless? I think it surprised me. Look, obviously,
02:28the form was very poor. Today was very poor. Friday was as desperately poor down at Coventry.
02:36Five defeats in six at this crunch time of the season. You know, this is make or break
02:43time, do or die. And Tony Mowbray has been unable to lead this side, this squad to results
02:49required. They've stumbled, toppled down to 10th. As we speak, still two games of the season
02:55left, of course. And ironically, Albion are only six points only, but six points adrift of
03:00the top six. So mathematically, they're not done. But let's be honest, they are done and they
03:04were done a few games ago. There's no pulling of punches on that score. Look, today, we said
03:10it, Johnny, didn't we, when the game was going on and up full time. Today, it looked like the
03:13players have turned it in, which is a shocking thing to have to say really and to see. But
03:18it was horrific, wasn't it? It was awful watching. As if Friday couldn't have been any worse,
03:27really. You know, you think you'd want to come and show a bit of reaction in the home crowd
03:32today. And by the way, you said on our first video earlier, Johnny, that the crowd or lack
03:38of today, you know, it was probably sub-20k, really, with actual people there. That told
03:43something, didn't it, with owner and chairman Shillam Patel, as I say, watching on today.
03:48And he was obviously in situ on Friday as well. He'd been at the AGM last week. And they've
03:54wasted little time, have they, Bilko? They've wasted little time. Look, it's been a three
03:59or four-week run of bad results. But I think, look, we're coming into the game, Johnny, and
04:06we were debating, weren't we, you and I and other members of the press box in there, you
04:11know, what's going to happen come the summer. And I think, look, it was pretty split. But
04:15yeah, I thought there was an impression that, look, clearly the owners had a big decision
04:19to make come the summer. That was the impression, you know, that there would be talks, there would
04:24be a review, end-of-season meeting with Shillam, with Andrew Nesta and the like, after the
04:29final game, decision made. But they haven't bothered to wait that long, really. They've
04:37pulled the plug much earlier, haven't they? Just three months into Tony Mowbray's, you
04:42know, where he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract on his return. Just three months back
04:46at the helm, just 17 games, return, just five victories, eight defeats. So many desperate
04:53nights, away days, you know, stoppage time goals conceded. Look, clearly, there was much,
04:59much, and this is another topic, but much wrong with aspects of performance, selection, tactics.
05:04I think it came a bit muddled and big things failed. Big things didn't go Tony's way.
05:09But ruthless from Bilko. Obviously, the appointment they made, the decision they made, their first
05:14head coach appointment in January hasn't worked. It's failed, I suppose, you know, and that's
05:20something for them to improve on, clearly. Look, Mowbray wasn't their first choice.
05:22That was Raphael Vicky. Swiss coach, that broke down, so they returned to Mowbray, who
05:27was, you know, part of the, you know, considered initially on the initial shortlist, interviewed
05:31initially. But it hasn't worked, and they've got to improve on that. You know, this is a,
05:35their first appointment was a big one. We built that as a big one, and ultimately, it's
05:38failed after just a few months, Johnny, and it's resulted in a sacking. So, look, there's
05:43much more on this next one now to find Mowbray's successor. The timing is interesting.
05:48Look, the two games left of the season are right off, really, aren't they? And the ownership
05:53have given themselves time, certainly in the opening weeks of the off-season, to get this
05:56right. But they won't want it dragging too far into the summer, although I would have
06:00thought. But, yeah, overall, Johnny, in a nutshell, ruthless from the ownership, you
06:05know, to realise it wasn't working, and they felt it wasn't going to turn around. But
06:10the overwhelming feeling I have, certainly, leaving here tonight, and I think it was the
06:15same for you a couple of hours ago, wasn't it? And one or two colleagues have just left.
06:20And I think most fans have a right mind, really. It's just sadness, really. You know, it's
06:26disappointment for Tony. I'm gutted for him that it hasn't worked. He's come back and
06:30it just hasn't worked. You know, he's not the first Albion boss, is he, to come back for
06:35a second attempt and for it not to work. And just a bit sad. It's a shame that it hasn't
06:39worked, but it's business, isn't it? And Bilko, you know, vowed back then that this
06:45wasn't a sentimental appointment in Mowbray. It wasn't an emotional one. It was one to get
06:49in the playoffs. It hasn't worked. They've acted. Big force for them now.
06:53Yeah, like you said, there's a lot to decipher, you know, an emotional kind of evening. And
06:58there is sadness. I'm sure there's a lot of anger towards, you know, the players.
07:03Yeah.
07:04But there's also, you know, other bits and pieces as well, you know, to go through.
07:09You know, is it the right decision? You know, part of me says yes. Part of me says,
07:13you know, it might be a tad bit surprising. But where do they go from now, Cox? I know
07:17you've put a few stories out. You know, do they go back in for someone of the ilk of
07:22Rafi or Vicky? Do we see a kind of left-field appointment like that? You know, what does
07:26the kind of the future hold now?
07:28Well, I think there's a couple of the names. Obviously, Vicky we've mentioned and one or two
07:32others that made it down to the sort of shortlist first time around back in December
07:37into January were more left-field names, weren't they? You know, names from the continent that
07:44maybe people, you know, football fans over here were more unfamiliar with. And that was
07:48interesting. You know, it certainly showed that Bilko were willing to perhaps look beyond
07:54the obvious, I suppose, look beyond typical championship names. I suppose, ironically,
07:59they then returned to Tony Mowry. But look, I think his appointment at the time, and people,
08:05you know, might scoff and say, oh, they'll just go to another known championship name. Look,
08:09I've been needed to score goals back then. They hadn't scored any goals under Carlos
08:13Gorbran. Tony Mowry is an attacking manager. You know, he was healthy again. He was fit again.
08:18I can see it. I get the thinking. It just hasn't worked for many reasons. Where do they go
08:22again next is a very interesting one? Now, I gather, I understand that, you know, I suppose
08:27as any sort of football club worth its salt, really, in terms of the way it's run. And,
08:32you know, Bilko are obviously a year into this now. Their feet are under the table. They are
08:36very much running this club from on the ground. They have, just as they did with Gorbran's exit,
08:41really, when Gorbran was poached, remember, by Valencia, albeit, you know, had tried to get out
08:46and wanted out realistically. They will have a shortlist ready now, the ownership. You know,
08:50Shilin Patel, Andrew Nesta, Ashish Patel, others. Obviously, Ian Pearce is, you know,
08:55within that football ops as well. They will have their ideas. They will have their names drafted up
09:02for, look, this has been, I don't want to say on the cards, but the results have been poor for a
09:07while, haven't they? So, they will have been thinking, planning. Obviously, this weekend,
09:11you know, Friday went as it went. They'll have come into today, think, you know, will they have been
09:14thinking, well, defeat today, no chance of the playoffs, then we're going to act. So, look, they'll have
09:19their minds over what sort of profile calibre of head coach they want. It'll be interesting to see
09:24if they return to the, you know, continental, sort of young, up-and-coming, maybe foreign head coach.
09:31Part of me thinks that that was kind of the model they looked at, realistically. We mentioned
09:36Raphael Vicky, of course, first choice last time around. It strikes to me that that's how they'll
09:42have a look again. But again, you know, at this very early stage, it's sort of speculation,
09:48really. But you just wonder whether they follow the same sort of blueprint, really. As I mentioned,
09:53what they do have is, you know, his time. And look, nobody, I can't speak for the ownership,
09:59but it took three and a half weeks to appoint Mowbray. It was quite a lot, you know, for mid-season,
10:04that was a long old period, wasn't it? Games went by under the caretaker management.
10:09Now, obviously, we know a target before Mowbray broke down, as we say, but they, I was going to
10:15say they potentially don't want another three-week, four-week job, you know, but they do have the
10:19luxury of that this time, don't they? They have the, you know, they have the two games left,
10:24as I mentioned, Cardiff and Luton. Then they have the end of the season, the off-season, you know,
10:27in May. Yes, there were, you know, players out-of-contract decisions there, but, you know,
10:32those decisions have been made realistically by the football board and the ownership. So,
10:37they do have time. They have that off-season to get it right. There's no, that immediate rush
10:42of three points pressure, you know, we need someone in because we need to get three points
10:45and get in the playoffs. It's all gone. I know it's not mathematically gone, but it is gone.
10:49And, yeah, so it's interesting. They've got time. They won't want it to drag out, you know,
10:54in through the whole summer because, you know, they're clearly a massive appointment and the
10:58new man needs to get in, get settled and then work with the ownership when it comes to recruitment
11:03because it's a massive ordeal this summer, a rebuild, you know, players, significant number
11:08of players need to come in, I think, and out, really. And I think, you know, we've probably
11:12just finished up here in terms of that, you know, how many players in this team, in this squad
11:18have seen through their good share of managers now, head coaches that are still here when push
11:24comes to shove on big games, you know, like the one at Coventry, like the games before it,
11:28just been unable to turn in a performance. You know, when the stakes are high, you know,
11:34when we said it on the video after the game, didn't we, Johnny, immediately after this game
11:38that hopefully readers and viewers have been able to watch you. When was the last time,
11:44you know, an Albion team with some of these players still here really showed up and delivered
11:49on a big stage? And look, Tony Mowbray, I'm going to publish a lot of it so you'll be able
11:54to read it, spoke a lot about character, leadership, courage, bravery, or a lack of all of those
11:59things in his final press conference. And I'm afraid all of those things need to be weeded
12:03out. The players that can't show it aren't up for it. Some might be out of contract.
12:08I don't know. Many remain under contract. And, you know, interestingly, Andrew Nesta was
12:12on a podcast a week or two ago, Training Ground Guru podcast, I think it was. He said he felt,
12:18he said the board felt there were two transfer windows. That was last summer, this January,
12:22out of three windows into a rebuild of the squad. It may, you know, that says to me,
12:28well, this summer is going to be big then because there's a lot left to do to, look,
12:33I don't, to sort out the culture really within some of the players that just let managers,
12:39head coaches down. Mowbray's not blameless. He did some questionable things, I think.
12:44But not, you know, not, I would say dozens and dozens and dozens. Just think, you know,
12:49and it happened at times for Carlos Corbran, didn't it? And what a job he mostly did.
12:53Some players just not delivering, failing to deliver. Showing enough, do they, or do they,
12:59you know, do they downtills? Do they get comfortable in this comfortable championship
13:03zone of the club? I don't know. I said on socials after the news of Mowbray,
13:07some need to do a fair bit of self-reflection. People rightly saying, well, you know, have there
13:13before, why are they going to do it now? But yeah, that's one for the owners, isn't it?
13:16That's one for maybe the new head coach, but certainly the owners to look at that squad
13:21and really address, maybe not just quality-wise, but character-wise, personality-wise
13:25of what is wrong here and those that needed to be, and need to be moved on, frankly,
13:30for, you know, for the next man through the door here to have any type of success.