'Mowbray didn't get best out of the players' - O'Connor
Tony Mowbray did not get the best out of the West Brom players at his disposal, according to Martin O'Connor who worked with him during his time in charge of Birmingham City.Mowbray was sacked by the Baggies on Monday after a run of five defeats from their past six Championship games with the club's play-off hopes increasingly remote with two games of the season remaining.The 61-year-old was appointed in January following the departure of Carlos Corberan to Valencia."Tony is an old-school manager and wants his players to perform on the pitch but I don't think he's got the best out of the players," O'Connor told BBC Radio WM's football phone-in."If I'm being brutally honest and knowing the way Tony works, the players he had at West Brom weren't ones he would have recruited so he's worked with players he knows he wouldn't be next season if that was the case."Albion have slipped from sixth place and three points inside the play-off places at the end of last month to 10th and six points adrift of the top six. They close out the campaign with games at Cardiff City and against Luton Town."Sometimes you have to move your philosophy with who you work with and who you've got," added O'Connor, who is loans manager at Birmingham."I'm not saying Tony didn't do that but when you look at the players under Carlos Corberan they were different to those under Tony - he likes men and characters and people who will put things on the line and he wasn't getting that." You can listen to the Football Phone-in with Daz Hale on BBC Radio WM every weeknight 6-7pm.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
43 minutes ago
- BBC News
🎧 Is Wilder's future as Blades boss in doubt?
A meeting has reportedly been scheduled by Sheffield United to determine the future of manager Chris Blades amassed 90 points in the Championship in the 2024-25 season but missed out on automatic promotion to the Premier League to Leeds and Burnley, who both hit the 100-point United reached the play-off final at Wembley but gave up a first-half lead to lose 2-1 to is 18 months into his second stint with the club since replacing Paul Heckingbottom as boss in December 2023, having managed United for five years between 2016 and speculation that Wilder might be sacked, BBC Radio Sheffield sports reporters Rob Staton and Andy Giddings have been discussing the latest from Bramall to their thoughts on the situation on BBC Sounds here.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Chris Wilder 'set to be sacked' by Sheffield United ahead of crunch meeting
Sheffield United missed out on promotion to the Premier League after losing the Championship play-off final and could now be about to make a shock managerial change Chris Wilder is said to be on the verge of being sacked by Sheffield United just weeks after missing out on promotion to the Premier League in the Championship play-off final. Wilder, 57, was unable to guide his boyhood club back to the Premier League at the first time of asking following relegation from the top-flight in the 2023-24 campaign. After missing out on automatic promotion, the Blades were stunned by Sunderland at Wembley to leave Wilder and Co facing up to another Championship campaign. However, it has now emerged that Wilder's future is in doubt ahead of a pivotal meeting at Bramall Lane. Various reports have confirmed that Sheffield United's powerbrokers will meet to discuss Wilder's future at a recruitment meeting on Thursday. It's said that Wilder could even be sacked on the same day, despite signing a new contract with the Blades last season. The club's new American-based owners, COH Sports, are 'keen' to make a fresh appointment ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, according to The Telegraph, who expect Wilder to be shown the door. Sheffield United's new owners have wasted little time in stamping their authority on the club, implementing a new AI tool to aid their recruitment strategy. Just this week the club announced the signing of Ehije Ukaki from Botev Plovdiv. Wilder confirmed that the 20-year-old winger was signed from the Bulgarian outfit after being identified by the club's 'data driven strategy'. Join the debate! Do you think Sheffield United should sack Wilder? Let us know here He told the club's official website: "Ehije is a player who has been identified through our data driven strategy and is someone we're looking forward to developing. "He's an emerging talent, still only 20, who has enjoyed some experience of European football early in his career, so there's a base to work from." Wilder re-joined Sheffield United for a second spell in December 2023 but was unable to keep them in the Premier League. He had them in the upper echelons of the Championship for the majority of last season, though, only for the Blades to finish 3rd on 90 points behind Leeds United and Burnley.
The Courier
2 hours ago
- The Courier
Dunfermline Athletic explain amended friendly and cup schedule as work continues to lay new pitch
Dunfermline have revealed they requested an amended Premier Sports Cup fixture list next season due to work laying a new pitch this summer. The Pars are confident the surface will be in 'optimal condition' in time for the kick-off to the new Championship campaign in early August. With the SPFL granting their application for away ties in the early League Cup dates next month, the Fifers will have leeway to ensure everything is ready. It is understood the works were expected to last seven months from start to finish, and the extra time fits perfectly into that schedule. All pre-season friendlies have been deliberately arranged away from home to give the surface more time. Dunfermline then open their cup campaign away to Hearts on July 12 before travelling to face Dumbarton a week later. Their first home game is against Hamilton Accies on July 22 before they host Stirling Albion four days later. Chairman and chief executive David Cook said: 'You can now start to see the fresh shoots of grass in the newly-prepared surface. 'And I'd like to thank [owners] Park Bench, the Greentech team and, of course, our groundsman Willie Davis for the work that has been carried out, and continues to be done to prepare the pitch ahead of the new season. 'This pre-season, all our friendly matches will be taking place away from home. 'Similarly, we also requested our away matches in the earlier fixtures in the Premier Sports Cup group stages to allow the pitch to be in an optimal condition ahead of the league campaign.' Dunfermline consulted with experts Greentech Sportsturf after major issues with the East End Park pitch towards the end of last season. Neil Lennon confessed it affected the style of play he wanted to implement after arriving as manager in March, and it also hampered the passing philosophy of predecessor Michael Tidser. The pitch was stripped back and replaced with a mix of sand, soil and polypropylene fibres to help enhance durability, strength and drainage. A new irrigation system, with pop-up sprinklers that can be operated remotely via a phone app, was also incorporated before the grass seed was sown. 'We know the last few years have been difficult from a pitch maintenance point of view,' commented groundsman Willie Davis. 'But the level of investment has been fantastic. 'I can already see a huge change in it, and it will make a massive difference during the second half of the season. 'The weather over the last few days has been good for growth – plenty of rain followed by sunshine – so hopefully there's no stopping it now.'
