Sunderland AFC have taken the decision to sack former Celtic defender and manager Tony Mowbray. The Black Cats are ninth in the EFL Championship, but just three points away from the play-off places. After parachuting in last season when Alex Neil went to Stoke City, Mowbray took newly promoted Sunderland to the playoffs, playing attractive football.
His one and a half-year tenure at the Stadium of Light, however, is officially coming to an end as the team announced the decision on Monday night.
Kristjaan Speakman, the Sporting Director, gave Mowbray recognition for his contributions to the team.
“Everyone at SAFC has had a great time working with Tony, and our players, staff, and supporters rightfully hold him in the highest regard.”
“He guided us to the Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs and played a significant role in our team’s development after arriving at an uncertain time.” Although it was a difficult choice to make, we felt that the time was right to move forward because we are steadfast in our goal and approach.
Former Celtic coach Mark Venus, who worked with Mowbray from 2009 to 2010, is also leaving.
After enjoying successful stints at Hibernian and West Brom, the central defender turned coach was a popular choice for the position and played for Celtic for almost four years in the early 1990s. As of right now, Mowbray’s presidency was brief.
At times, Mowbray’s football was quite appealing and adhered to the Celtic style. But even without the humiliation in Paisley, he would have had a difficult time hanging on to his job due to losses to weaker opponents and missing the big games.
In a midweek match that saw Celtic lose 4-0 to St Mirren, Mowbray’s tenure came to an end. In an amateur league, finding defence that good would be difficult, as the Buddies were ecstatic about their good fortune.
Mowbray’s marriage to Celtic was a mismatch at a time when Celtic started making cuts. In the end, Mowbray’s teams will suffer from having traded defensive sturdiness for pretty, attractive football, in contrast to Strachan’s teams who were realistic and could win ugly. The Celtic supporters held him in the highest regard as a man, despite his unsatisfactory tenure as manager.
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