Mowbray leaves Celtic !!

[Scottish Dave]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2907256/Boss-Mowbray-leaves-Celtic.html

Thank Fuck!

He turned Celtic into a Laughing stock this season.

Good bye Tony

[Longy]

sigh, maybe good timing from my point of view. Think Lambert's more likely if offered to turn it down now than in a year or so time.

[Acidmouse]

Well John Barnes has the 2nd highest winrate of the last 8 managers. Maybe the Celtic fans that complained about Ginger nut will eat humble pie and realise he didnt do a bad job.

[TightEnd]

Yup, complain about Strachan,reap what you sow I am afraid (as fans at a number of clubs do)

He doesn't seem so bad now

[Josedinho]

he won't be short of job offers

[Maxriddles]

Surprised to hear this, were referees not to blame for all Celtic's defeats and most of Rangers wins? How can that be Mowbray's fault?   

[TightEnd]

Guardian online this pm

In Scottish football parlance, Wednesday night in Paisley marked Tony Mowbray's George Burley moment. As Steven Thomson slammed home a fourth St Mirren goal against Mowbray's Celtic, the manager's job finally became untenable. Just, indeed, as did that of Burley as Scotland fell to a shambolic friendly 3-0 defeat in Wales last November.

Both managers had been working an unofficial period of probation having failed to meet their key remit: Burley to take the Scots to at least a play-off berth for this summer's World Cup, Mowbray to reclaim the title from Rangers. Thirteen defeats at this stage of the season, seven of them coming in a league in which they are the only team capable of spending meaningful money, proved unacceptable.

Mowbray's response to Celtic's midweek defeat, their heaviest outside Old Firm matches since 1980, their first league defeat in Paisley since 1989 and biggest thrashing by relegation-threatened St Mirren for 51 years, was to cite a discrepancy between his preferred tactical approach and what apparently works in the SPL. Celtic finished Wednesday's defeat with six strikers on the field. Their most creative player, Aiden McGeady, appeared to be deployed at left-back.

In a none-too-subtle dig at Rangers, Mowbray claimed perhaps "negative" and "defensive" football represented his best hope of success. Such a notion is undermined by the fact Rangers have scored eight more league goals than their city rivals this season. Equally pertinently, Mowbray had similar struggles in England's top flight a year ago as his West Bromwich Albion team were relegated with a shocking goal difference of -31.

Some questioned whether guiding a team to the dizzy heights of rock bottom of the Premier League should count as qualification to take over at Celtic, a club with aspirations to European influence, when Mowbray moved north last summer. Others pointed to his appointment as the latest illustration of Scottish football's diminishing standing; Owen Coyle, a Celtic supporter, had made it clear he was unwilling to swap Burnley for Parkhead.

Mowbray could be forgiven a Champions League qualifying exit at the hands of Arsenal and even the inauspicious Europa League campaign which followed. However, falling further behind a Rangers team which hasn't been reinforced by purchases since August 2008 would always prove too much for Celtic's support to take.

His problems have been multiplied by steeply falling attendances at home games. When season ticket holders are not prepared to appear for games they have already paid for, the likelihood of them renewing for next season diminishes, leading to a commercial necessity either for management change or radical squad overhaul.

Mowbray implemented the latter himself and, in his defence, it was required because the team assembled by Gordon Strachan seemed to have run its natural course. Yet there followed little evidence that Mowbray's undoubted ability to spot and sign the quality of player necessary to succeed in Scotland could be matched by the talent to use that personnel effectively. In a city where time is not a football commodity, the inability of Celtic's new signings to hit the ground running was fatal.

If the Scottish media bore the brunt of Mowbray's frustrations, they were perfectly placed to watch the effect his struggles had on his demeanour. While insisting, rightly, that the level of scrutiny afforded to him was considerably more intense than when he was in charge of West Bromwich or Hibernian, Mowbray undermined his subsequent assertions that such attentions did not worry him with an agitated or confrontational manner. Mowbray, in truth, was subjected to no more or less criticism than Burley, Berti Vogts, Paul Le Guen or John Barnes endured during their own traumatic spells in Scottish football.

Even Celtic insiders privately shook their heads at their manager's constant references to football ideology, how he "builds teams" as if instant success is an unexpected by-product, rather than the possible bedfellow of changes in personnel. The fact some of those changes included players signed on loan, the £68,000-a-week Robbie Keane among them, suggested at least someone at Celtic was aware short-term success is necessary for the club.

Neil Lennon, who sat watching Kilmarnock play Motherwell at the same time as Celtic stumbled to a home draw with Falkirk in mid-January, was promptly promoted to a role within Mowbray's dressing room, where he would cajole players at half-time. While the manager publicly maintained Lennon had always played a part in first-team affairs, the former captain's prominent re-emergence during a run of poor form was no coincidence.

Mowbray held more than a simple football association with the club after the tragic death of his then wife, Bernadette, while he was a player there. The closeness of her family to Celtic coupled with Mowbray's bond to them, to this day, meant this was a job that mattered more than most. That it ultimately ended in failure will hurt Mowbray to a far greater extent than anyone who has watched things unravel in less than a year.

[ACE2M]

i still like him, i won a tidy sum on him to become next manager of celtic.

[gatso]

also from the guardian

MOWBRAY, MO' PROBLEMS

It was a cold rainy night in central Scotland so 46-year-old Tony Mowbray went out in his favourite tailored t-shirt. "Bah! It's cold and I'm getting wet!" he observed a short time later. Undeterred, he trudged on, only to be confronted by a muscle-bound mugger with a big sharp knife and an unsightly glob of drool in the corner of his mouth. "Ha! I'll repel him with my fine words and noble intentions!" thought the cunning Mr Mowbray.

Upon awaking in the ambulance a few hours later he demanded to disembark, insisting he needed neither attention nor plasters, and that he had every confidence his broken legs would soon heal themselves if he'd just keep on walking with them and falling down and trying to get up and falling down again and trying to get up and falling down again.

The medics helped him to St Mirren Park all the same, and were not at all surprised when this curious character who turned out to be a football manager fielded a team with no effective defenders, tacklers or plan for dealing with the bleeding obvious. "Cripes, we lost 4-0!" goshed Mr Mowbray. "We've conceded more goals in the league this season than Motherwell!" he realised before an angry rumble from his stomach reminded him that though he'd spent all that morning arranging the furniture in his kitchen into quite a pretty pattern, he'd again neglected to eat.

The next day – today, in fact – he was summoned for a lunch-time meeting with Queen's Celtic big cheese Peter Lawwell. "Strewth, I've been sacked!" he had cause to exclaim a couple of seconds later. Queen's Celtic, it seems, finally ran out of patience with Mr Mowbray and his crazy ways and decided to install wee Neil Lennon as interim manager for the rest of the season.

As the ex-manager stood scratching his head, Lawwell may have paused to reflect that the ultimate humiliation had come at Paisley, birthplace of Owen Coyle, the man whose rejection of the Queen's Celtic job nine months ago paved the way for this fiasco in the first place.

[TightEnd]

Ladbrokes say Nigel Pearson if fourth favourite to take over at Celtic, 8/1. Hands off please

Neil Lennon is 9/2 favourite - no way. Paul Lambert for me.

[bobby1]

How bad a manager ( or arrogant) do you have to be to keep bleating on about 'sticking to footballing principles', whatever that means until you relegate one team and then lose your next job?

[Maxriddles]

Ladbrokes say Nigel Pearson if fourth favourite to take over at Celtic, 8/1. Hands off please

Neil Lennon is 9/2 favourite - no way. Paul Lambert for me.

A lot of talk before the last OF game that Lambert has no desire to have any involvement with the OF again and sees his future outside of Scotland, most likely the Premiership. Would be a good choice though, has done a good job at Wycombe, Colchester, and Norwich.

I actually think wee GS would be not a bad move but think that's highly unlikely, if having a bet my Money would be on Mick McCarthy.

[Maxriddles]

Ladbrokes say Nigel Pearson if fourth favourite to take over at Celtic, 8/1. Hands off please

Neil Lennon is 9/2 favourite - no way. Paul Lambert for me.

A lot of talk before the last OF game that Lambert has no desire to have any involvement with the OF again and sees his future outside of Scotland, most likely the Premiership. Would be a good choice though, has done a good job at Wycombe, Colchester, and Norwich.

I actually think wee GS would be not a bad move but think that's highly unlikely, if having a bet my Money would be on Mick McCarthy.

I now have my money on Mick McCarthy, 40/1 is well worth a speculative tenner IMO.

[Scottish Dave]

Ladbrokes say Nigel Pearson if fourth favourite to take over at Celtic, 8/1. Hands off please

Neil Lennon is 9/2 favourite - no way. Paul Lambert for me.

A lot of talk before the last OF game that Lambert has no desire to have any involvement with the OF again and sees his future outside of Scotland, most likely the Premiership. Would be a good choice though, has done a good job at Wycombe, Colchester, and Norwich.

I actually think wee GS would be not a bad move but think that's highly unlikely, if having a bet my Money would be on Mick McCarthy.

I now have my money on Mick McCarthy, 40/1 is well worth a speculative tenner IMO.

NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

We dont want defensive football at parkhead!!

Lambert has no interest in job

WGS wont come back

Moyes, Ill crack the jokes!

Lennon, would be a nice thought but never managed before.

I do fear the worst


Foreigner Perhaps ??

[Longy]

Lambert ruled out going back to scotland earlier in the month http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8670_6000237,00.html . Whether this proves to be true if Celtic come calling I am not so sure.

He is extremely ambitious and his managerial targets lie beyond managing Celtic, before we start with the how big of a club Celtic is. The reality is they play in a very uncompetitive 2nd/3rd tier European league and that was unappealing to Owen Coyle clearly.

He also despite the great start he has made to the job at Norwich still has bit to prove and there is deffo room for continued improvement to further his reputation at Norwich as well as being given time to do so. Another couple of years with us eventually competing at the top end of the Championship is more likely to help his CV than leaving another job after short period of time to take a bit of a poisioned chalice north of the border.

Of course Celtic are much bigger club than us, but there are quite a few reasons, if Lambert is shrewd to stay put imo. I don't expect him to be at Carrow Road in 5 years time, I am realist he is destined for bigger things.