Breaking News: Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers fell into the same Tony Mowbray trap Following……

Taking on the top job at Birmingham City in January, he looked set to guide Blues away from the relegation zone, but he has been forced to stay away from the touchline due to health reasons and this was a big blow for the Midlands side.

They may have Gary Rowett at the helm for now, but having Mowbray in charge from the time of his appointment until the end of the season would have been ideal for Birmingham.

However, Mowbray’s health must come first and even if he retired tomorrow, he can be extremely proud of what he has achieved during his managerial career.

Having multiple promotions on his record, the 60-year-old has brought a lot of happiness to many football supporters and can bow out of the game with his head held high, whenever that may be.

Before he was forced off the touchline, he looked refreshed and eager to take on a new challenge at St Andrew’s, so it may be some time yet before he retires.

His two jobs before his current one at Birmingham came at Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland, taking on the former job first before spending a brief period of the game ahead of his appointment at the Stadium of Light.

He left both clubs in a better position than he found them in – and both teams haven’t gone on to do better since he left. Without Mowbray, the grass has certainly not been greener on the other side for either team.

Blackburn Rovers’ decline following Tony Mowbray’s departure

It’s right to point out that Blackburn were in a great position during the 2021/22 campaign and had a favourable set of fixtures, but blew it and finished outside of the play-offs in the end.

That was a travesty considering how well they did for much of the campaign, but Mowbray should have been the man to take them forward into the next campaign.

Helping Ben Brereton-Diaz raise his game and developing some of Rovers’ younger players at the time, including John Buckley, he did an excellent job.