Former Blackburn Rovers player issues Tony Mowbray claim following Ewood Park departure | OneFootball

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Football League World

·22 November 2022

Former Blackburn Rovers player issues Tony Mowbray claim following Ewood Park departure

Article image:Former Blackburn Rovers player issues Tony Mowbray claim following Ewood Park departure

Former Blackburn Rovers midfielder David Dunn believes Tony Mowbray single-handedly managed to get the club back into a respectable shape following their decline, speaking to Lancs Live.

The current Sunderland boss was appointed Blackburn manager back in February 2017 and despite managing to improve their form, he suffered relegation with the Lancashire outfit to League One.


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That was a major blow for a side that have spent a chunk of this century competing in the Premier League – but they managed to bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking as they secured second place.

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Article image:Former Blackburn Rovers player issues Tony Mowbray claim following Ewood Park departure

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Considering the struggles of Ipswich Town and Sunderland to win a spot in the second tier in recent years, with the latter only just getting back to the second tier earlier this year, this was a major achievement and Rovers have been able to remain at that level ever since.

Although he had great backing during their first couple of seasons in the second tier with the likes of Ben Brereton Diaz and Sam Gallagher coming through the door for sizeable seven-figure fees, his budget was limited during his last two campaigns at the club but still managed to guide Rovers to eighth position at the end of 2021/22.

And Dunn has singled out Mowbray for his work at the club.

He said: “Tony did an unbelievably good job from when he came in. He single-handedly brought the club back to its feet, in my opinion, after the couple of years before.”

The Verdict:

Mowbray did do an excellent job and you feel he’s made Jon Dahl Tomasson’s job slightly easier because some of the younger players at Ewood Park already have a decent amount of experience under their belt.

The likes of Tyrhys Dolan and John Buckley have already had plenty of first-team opportunities and that means Rovers’ current boss can rely on the duo to step up to the plate when needed.

Mowbray should also be given a lot of credit for keeping faith in Ben Brereton Diaz because he didn’t enjoy the best start to life at Ewood Park – but he reaped the rewards of this faith during his last season in charge when the Chilean started firing.

Also operating well within a very limited pot of money, he will be fondly remembered by Blackburn supporters for years to come and although he endured low moments, his time at Ewood Park was definitely a successful one.

Tomasson should also receive a lot of credit though because he has placed faith in Adam Wharton and Jack Vale, with the former proving to be a particularly useful asset during the early stages of this term.

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