Tony Mowbray has spoken to West Bromwich Albion about a return to football management with his former club, although it is unlikely to happen as he felt the time was not right due to his recent health issues.
Mowbray was most recently manager of Birmingham City, replacing Wayne Rooney last January, but was forced to take a leave of absence in March and formally resigned in May. West Brom are seeking a successor to Carlos Corberan, who left the club on Christmas Eve to take over at Valencia.
It has been revealed by Birmingham World’s Charlie Haffendan that Mowbray held talks with the Baggies this week and is “flattered” to have been asked, but his health issues mean he does not feel it is the right time.”
Previous spell at the Hawthorns
Mowbray took over as West Brom manager in October 2006, replacing Bryan Robson as the club looked to return to the top flight. They finished fourth in the Championship that season and beat Wolves in the Play-Offs, but were beaten by Derby County at Wembley.
The following season, despite a major overhaul of the squad, West Brom won the Championship title and reached the FA Cup semi finals. That earned Mowbray the LMA Championship Manager of the Year award.
Their return to the top flight proved to be a brief one as they finished bottom of the table with 32 points, although he was still highly regarded by fans but left the club shortly after the season concluded to return to Scotland with Celtic.
Struggle at Celtic, success in England
His spell at Celtic proved to be short and unsuccessful, being sacked after just nine months, but he then returned to England, with his next destination being Middlesbrough, where he gained a seventh placed finish in 2011-12.
He then had spells at Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers, guiding Coventry to League One safety and securing Blackburn an immediate return to the Championship following relegation. He then guided Sunderland to the Championship play-offs in their first season after promotion.
Mowbray had been brought in by Birmingham to try and steady the ship following Rooney’s disastrous spell in charge and won four of his eight games in charge before being forced to step down. He later revealed he had been diagnosed with bowel cancer.
What next for West Bromwich Albion?
West Brom are looking to secure a spot in the play-offs and are currently sixth in the table with 40 points, having won nine and drawn 13 games so far. Yesterday they exited the FA Cup at the Third Round after being thrashed 5-1 by Bournemouth.
Swiss coach Raphael Wicky, most recently in charge of BSC Young Boys, now appears to be the favourite for the job after Mowbray ruled himself out. If he is appointed, he will have 20 league games to secure a play-off spot.
The first of those will be a home clash with Stoke City, before rounding off January with a midweek trip to fellow play-off chasers Middlesbrough and a home clash with Portsmouth, who are finding some form in the relegation battle.
Will Mowbray return to football?
The fact Mowbray held talks with West Brom suggests that he intends to return to the game at some stage, but it will only be when he considers his health is good enough to withstand the rigours of life in the dugout.
Should the time come when he feels ready to return, he would be likely to find himself in demand. Not only is he a hugely experienced manager, especially at Championship level, but he is also highly regarded wherever he has previously worked.
