Tony Mowbray believes he lost his job at Sunderland due to arguments about team selection with his management.
Tony Mowbray has indicated that his termination at Sunderland was most likely caused by his failure to listen to his managers’ team selection instructions.
The former Middlesbrough, Celtic, and West Brom manager took over from Alex Neil during the club’s first season back in the Championship and masterminded Sunderland’s top-six finish and play-off campaign, with Mowbray’s Premier League dream being ended by eventual promotion-winners Luton Town in the semi-final. Despite speculations that Sunderland were considering other managerial options the following summer, Mowbray stayed at the Academy of Light and led the squad into the new season. However, after 15 months in command, Mowbray was fired, leaving the Black Cats tenth in the Championship. Mowbray would later take over at Birmingham City before being forced to step down due to a bowel cancer diagnosis. The veteran defender is now on the mend and has made numerous appearances in recent weeks, including one on BBC Radio Tees to cover his hometown team Middlesbrough and another at a talk-show in Sunderland with BBC Radio Newcastle analyst Nick Barnes.
During an interview with Barnes on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport broadcast on Monday, November 18, Mowbray strongly implied that he believed his departure from Sunderland was due to team selection issues with owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman.
“I think Sunderland’s a club with a model,” Mowbray told Barnes. “The owner wants to do it his way, which is OK. If anything, it was my first experience working under a sporting director, which was interesting. Some of it was pretty nice, and it was the first time I’d actually talked about the squad and the guys.
“At times, I found it difficult, I think, but I’m extremely mindful of the fact that I understand where football is headed, that every club will have sporting directors, which is wonderful. In my opinion, the sports director’s duty or position is most likely to assist the coach in ensuring that the squad performs properly and wins games along the way. That was interesting to me the first time, but I believe it’s beneficial to my profession in the future since I’m not just a one-man band that relies on the gaffer to get things done.
“I think finally the end came probably because there was a difference of viewpoints selection, I guess, and I discovered
The model made it impossible to choose a different team or give other people opportunity. They want young players to have the opportunity to play and raise their value, and that is OK. I’m almost from a school where it’s all about winning football games for the people who pay to come and watch, trying to earn another three points and feeling pleased to be at the top of the table like they are now.
“They’re doing extremely well, but clearly it’s a long, long season, and the test is in front of them, not behind them, but they’ve done amazing to start the half, and because of those players I mentioned Earlier, it appeared to be the core of the squad, and I have tremendous faith in that group of players to achieve big things because they care about each other, work hard for each other, and I’m excited to watch how this season unfolds.
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