Mowbray's future in doubt?

26 May 2009

Mowbray is bookies choice for Parkhead

Hot on the heels of the end of the season comes news that the majority of Albion fans will be dreading. Tony Mowbray has been made favourite by some bookmakers to succeed Gordon Strachan at Celtic following their parting of the ways at the weekend. Rangers took the SPL title for the first time in four years and Strachan felt he had taken them as far as he could.

The rumour isn't helped by the lack of any statement from the Club, or by recent stories about Mowbray being unhappy with Peace's announcement about the need to reduce the squad size to 20 full time senior professionals, with the remainder being made up from loan signings or youth team players. Chairman Jeremy Peace stopped short of directly criticising Mowbray for his record on signing players, instead suggesting that the Club had more money to spend that it had time available and that perhaps not enough work had been done.

Mowbray is still extremely popular at Celtic because of his time there as Captain, and Celtic fans seem to be generally delighted with the prospect of his appointment. Whether he feels that the SPL presents enough of a challenge and fancies a move back to Scotland remains to be seen.

At the time of writing, a poll on Scotsman.com has Mowbray in second place on 19%, trailing well behind David Moyes on 38%. It also features articles on how Strachan was forced out by the fans who hated him, and how the lack of resources for team strengthening helped him make the decision to quit. It doesn't exactly sound like an enticing job...

UPDATE

Albion have now issued a (brief) statement on the Official Web Site which simply says that Tony Mowbray has a contract for the next two years and that they fully expect him to be their manager next season.

No more badge kissing

Meanwhile, defender Paul Robinson has made it clear that he wants to leave the Club this summer having supposedly proved himself in the Premiership. "I can't face playing in the Championship again" said the possibly-soon-to-be-ex-Baggie full back. Mowbray has said he won't stand in his way if he attracts a suitable offer from elsewhere, but that's a big if as Robinson's previous escape attempts have all failed so far.

Previous Stories:

  11 May 2009:  Two Tony Mowbrays!

  08 May 2009:  RIP A little piece of history...

  15 April 2009:  Who's this Chris Woods bloke?

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