Match Day Thread Blackburn Roves v Preston North End Ewood Park 4/12/2021

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Then and as it is now

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Ewood Park (/ˈiːwʊd/) is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founding members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Road in the summer of 1890. The stadium opened in 1882 and is an all seater multi-sports facility with a capacity of 31,367.[1] It comprises four sections: The Bryan Douglas Darwen End, Riverside Stand (named as such because it stands practically on the banks of the River Darwen), Ronnie Clayton Blackburn End, and Jack Walker Stand, which is named after Blackburn industrialist and club supporter, Jack Walker. The football pitch within the stadium measures 115 by 76 yards (105 m × 69 m).

MANAGER
Coaching career
Once his playing career finished he moved into coaching, starting as a first team coach at Ipswich Town. He had a brief spell as caretaker manager of Ipswich, following the sacking of George Burley and prior to the appointment of Joe Royle.[7]

Hibernian
In May 2004, Mowbray was appointed manager of Hibernian, replacing Bobby Williamson.[8] He gained much acclaim for the job he did, winning the Scottish Football Writers' Association manager of the year award in his first season.[9] Hibs finished in the top four in the SPL in his only two full seasons in charge, which was the first time that Hibs had done this in the top division in consecutive seasons since Eddie Turnbull was manager.

Hibs progressed to the later stages of every domestic cup competition in his tenure and made two appearances in European football. Hibs lost heavily to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the first round of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup and on the away goals rule to OB Odense in the 2006 Intertoto Cup. During mid-2006, Mowbray was interviewed for the vacant managerial position at Ipswich Town, but he rejected their approach.[10] In September 2006 he signed a 12-month rolling deal with Hibs that was due to take effect from July 2007.[11] Just one month later however, Mowbray moved to West Bromwich Albion.

West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion appointed Mowbray as their manager on 13 October 2006.[12] Mowbray faced the task of returning the Baggies to the Premier League after relegation the previous season.[12] Although he managed to turn around the club's poor away form, an indifferent run of results at home towards the end of the season meant that Albion finished fourth in The Championship table behind Sunderland, Birmingham City and Derby County, and faced the lottery of the Championship Play-Offs. Despite two famous victories over old rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi finals, Albion lost 1–0 to Derby County in the Wembley final.

As a result, during the close season, Mowbray set about restructuring his squad, moving out several of Robson's players for multimillion-pound fees, after press reports of dressing room division.[13]

High-profile players such as Jason Koumas, Diomansy Kamara and Curtis Davies were sold to Premier League clubs for large fees, in addition to the departures of Paul McShane, Nathan Ellington, Darren Carter and Steve Watson. Mowbray replaced them by signing a total of 14 permanent and loan players in the summer transfer window, making an overall profit in the process. His most expensive signings were Chris Brunt from Sheffield Wednesday for £3 million, Leon Barnett from Luton Town for £2.5 million, and James Morrison from Middlesbrough for £1.5 million.[citation needed]

Despite the large changes in his squad, Mowbray won the Championship Manager of the Month award in September 2007, after Albion gained 13 out of the maximum 15 points and climbed to 2nd in the Division.[14]

At the start of 2008, Mowbray's young Albion team topped the table, receiving growing plaudits from the media[15] and supporters alike for their attractive brand of attacking one touch passing football, a reflection of Mowbray's staunch footballing philosophy.[citation needed]

Mowbray guided West Brom to the Football League Championship title, meaning promotion to the Premier League and reached the semi-final of the FA Cup. The semi-final, the first to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, pitted West Brom against Portsmouth, the only remaining Premier League team left in the FA Cup. Portsmouth won the match 1–0 with the only goal of the game coming from Kanu. Mowbray won the Championship manager of the month award for April,[16] as well as the League Managers Association manager of the year award.[17]

After a poor 2008–09 season, West Bromwich were relegated from the Premier League, finishing 20th. Mowbray was still thought highly of by the fans, however, and this was evidenced by them wearing Mowbray masks at their last game of the season.[18] Mowbray left the club for Celtic shortly afterwards.

Celtic

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Tony Mowbray as Celtic manager.
On 8 June 2009, it was reported that Celtic had approached West Bromwich Albion for permission to speak to Mowbray about their managerial vacancy.[19] A compensation fee of £2 million was agreed, and Celtic declared Mowbray as their new manager on 16 June 2009.[20] He was unveiled as Celtic manager at a press conference a day later. His coaching team was Neil Lennon, Peter Grant, Mark Venus, and Stevie Woods.[21] On 12 September 2009 was named as the Coach of the Month of August in the Scottish Premier League.

Mowbray was described as "beleaguered" by The Herald after Celtic fell 10 points behind Old Firm rivals Rangers in the SPL title race after a 2–1 home defeat by Hibs.[22]

Mowbray decided to make significant changes to his squad during the January 2010 transfer window, selling Gary Caldwell and Barry Robson, which apparently caused disruption to the team in the immediate aftermath of those deals being completed.[22] Robbie Keane was recruited early in 2010 on a loan deal from Tottenham Hotspur amid great excitement, however further poor results, particularly a record 4–0 defeat by St Mirren, led to Mowbray being sacked on 25 March.[23] It was reported in May 2010 that Celtic had yet to agree compensation with Mowbray and his management team.[24]

Middlesbrough
Mowbray was appointed Middlesbrough manager on 26 October 2010, replacing Gordon Strachan. He lost his first match in charge, 2–1 against Bristol City,[25] but followed this with wins against Crystal Palace and Scunthorpe. Mowbray guided Boro to Championship safety,[26] having joined the club when they were 22nd in the league. The club finished the season well, winning their last four league games and finished 12th in the league table. The same season, Mowbray started giving youngsters a first team place such as Joe Bennett, Luke Williams and Richard Smallwood. Mowbray also started giving Marvin Emnes more playing time after returning on loan from Swansea City.[citation needed]

Middlesbrough began the 2011–12 season well and Mowbray won manager of the month for September.[27] Middlesbrough relinquished the only unbeaten record in the league after a 2–0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in October 2011.[citation needed] After a poor start to 2012, Middlesbrough's form picked up in late February with four wins in five games.[28] Middlesbrough finished 7th in the 2011–12 season, missing out on a play-off place by one position.[citation needed]

After an unbeaten run in October 2012, Mowbray won the accolade of Championship Manager of the Month for that month.[29] On 21 October 2013, it was announced that Mowbray had left the club with immediate effect after a run of two wins in 12 games in the 2013–14 campaign.[30]

Coventry City
On 3 March 2015, Mowbray was appointed manager of Coventry City on a deal until the end of the 2014–15 season.[31] With the club facing the possibility of relegation to the fourth-tier for the first time since the late 1950s, Tony Mowbray's initial brief was to keep the club in the third-tier. A final day victory away at Crawley Town was enough for Mowbray to secure League One football for the Sky Blues for the 2015–16 season.[32]

Following protracted negotiations at the end of the season, Tony Mowbray agreed to sign a two-year contract extension to remain as Coventry City manager.[33]

Mowbray resigned from Coventry City on 29 September 2016 after a string of results without a win.[34]

Blackburn Rovers
On 22 February 2017, Mowbray was appointed head coach of Blackburn Rovers on an 18-month contract, effectively lasting until the end of the 2017–18 season.[35] Despite an improvement in form that offered some hope of survival, Blackburn were relegated to League One at the end of the 2016–17 season.[36]

Mowbray signed a new contract that would keep him at the club until 2019, with an option of a further 12 months after that as well.[37] Under his managership, Blackburn won promotion back to the Championship after a single year in League One.[38] Their promotion was assured on 24 April, after a 1–0 away win against Doncaster Rovers.[39]

In the 2018-19 season Mowbray led Blackburn to a final finish of 15th in the Championship. In the EFL Cup they reached the third round before being eliminated at AFC Bournemouth. In the FA Cup Blackburn were eliminated in the third round after extra time in a replay against Newcastle United.

In the 2019-20 season Mowbray secured an 11th place finish in the Championship. In the EFL Cup they reached the second round before defeat at Sheffield United. The club were beaten in the third round of the FA Cup at fellow Championship side Birmingham City.

The 2020-21 season will be Mowbray's fourth full season as manager of Blackburn Rovers.

LAST TIME OUT

FORM GUIDE

PLASTICS 13 PNE 11

FAMOUS BLACKBURN PERSON

ME

Born in Blackburn famous but dead

Minna Grey (1868 in Blackburn, Lancashire – 1935) was an English actress of the silent era

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PNE Team News

In his pre-match press conference, Frankie McAvoy said that there are a few injury concerns heading into the weekend which would be assessed on Thursday and Friday.

The head coach is hopeful that Patrick Bauer will be back available for this one, having missed the weekend's game against Fulham through injury.

Those who Frankie will not have ready for selection include goalkeeper Declan Rudd and Josh Murphy.

The Opposition

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In his fifth season at Ewood Park, Tony Mowbray is the man in charge of Blackburn Rovers, who sit fifth in the Championship table heading into the weekend.

They should be in confident mood, too, having lost just once in their last seven league games, albeit that defeat was the 7-0 thrashing at home to Fulham.

Mowbray could be without Belgian international goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski for this fixture, with the shot-stopper recently sent for a scan on his lower abdominal, which forced him off in the last game against Stoke City.

Key Stats

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Since that defeat to Fulham at the beginning of November, Rovers have gone the last four unbeaten, with three wins, nine goals and ten points in that time.

Their main man so far this term has been Ben Brereton Diaz, having scored 16 goals in his 20 Championship games, as well as scoring often on the international stage with Chile.

North End have had a good record over Blackburn in recent years on their home patch, with the last defeat at Ewood Park coming in January 2001.

Our Last Meeting





Our last game against Rovers came back in February, when Alex Neil’s side took three points back to Deepdale.

Greg Cunningham opened the scoring with a stunning strike against his former side, before Liam Lindsay then doubled PNE’s lead.

The home side pulled one back before the break through Adam Armstrong from the penalty spot, but North End held on in the second half to come out on top.

Man In The Middle

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Experienced EFL official Gavin Ward will take charge of this fixture, his second PNE game of the season, with the first being the opening day defeat against Hull City.

Ward has refereed 16 games so far this term – the majority in the Championship – and he’s handed out 63 yellow cards and three red cards in that time.

Steven Meredith and Akil Howson will assist him, with Geoff Eltringham the fourth official.

MACS VIEW

Another local derby and any repeat on the non event at Blackpool will be unacceptable, although the Seasiders is considered the main local event for those of us who had to live through the early Jack Walker time from the South Ribble area this one counts a great deal
After last weeks decent performance we need to build on that plus the win at Boro
Not unsurprisngly we have not sold 7000 tickets getting close to Christmas and lets face it we have had a below par season, 100 % required tomorrow no excuses whatsoever

 

Blackburn Rovers 1 Brereton-Diaz Preston North End 0

Blackburn line-up: Pears; Lenihan, van Hecke, Wharton; Nyambe, Travis, Buckley (Johnson, 66), Rothwell (Edun, 85), Pickering; Khadra (Dolan, 77), Brereton. Subs not used: Eastham, Davenport, Butterworth, Clarkson.

PNE line-up: Iversen; Storey, Lindsay, Cunningham (Sinclair, 78); Olosunde (Ledson, 82), McCann (Johnson, 78), Whiteman, Browne, Earl; Evans, Riis. Subs not used: Hudson, Rafferty, Bauer, Maguire.

Referee: Mr G Ward.

Attendance: 18,487 (4,330 PNE fans)

On horror of a day weather wise and a pitch which had any more rain fallen on it would have meant the game would not have finished, both sides gave their all in a game with limited chances, neither keeper could be classed as being overworked. The only goal early in the second half Khadra baal in from the left Brereton-Diaz glancing header into the far corner.
All three main central defenders were out injured for us Olosunde made his debut four months after we signed him, feared the worst but to be honest we were rarely troubled in the first period apart from a very tame Buckley effort and a Browne tackle on the edge of our block to deny a home playrs shot. We started well passing the ball about well when it wasn't stuck in the water, Browne had an early chance final shot tame and in general we bossed the first half
Lenihan launched a sliding tackle which sent Browne into the main stand earned a booking probably lucky that the referee took the conditions into account normal times possible red
We had a possible chance from a corner which led to a scramble in their box but apart from that it was mainly a midfield battle which in the first half we won.
Mowbray picked up a yellow for moaning which was a bonus
Second half they were on top following the goal they were comfortable and were happy to contain us hoping to catch us on the break, bit more scrappier in the second few more bookings the tradition hand bags on the pitch, as we started chasing the game there was a bit more room for the Chilean from Stoke on Trent
and a second goal looked more likely for them than it did for us. We had a huge shout for a penalty couldn't tell at the time but having seen the replay Nyambe clearly handles it, some you get some you don't
Brereton-Diaz forced Iversen into a good save at the end and the hosts celebrated big time having beaten a side in 18th place
For once didn't drown on Livesey Branch Road after the game, disappointing to lose but they put in the effort unlike a Bloomfield

Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray told BBC Sport Lancashire:

"The ball was getting stuck on the pitch all the time. Our team talk was 'Let's not take any chances, not play any square balls - let's just put it behind them.'

"So it's not a very nice game of football. It's not conducive to what we try and do.

"As a derby, with the rain and the pitch like that, there was blood and thunder. There was a lot of challenges and competition for the ball.

"It wasn't a purist's day but it was a day to try and win a game of football. Thankfully I'm sitting here and we've won. We'll put the points in the bag and move on."

Preston manager Frankie McAvoy told BBC Sport Lancashire:

"It's too cheap for us to allow the cross into the box. We had spoke about making sure you don't allow Diaz or anybody to get across the front of you for a header.

"We worked really hard on that to make sure it did not happen, but unfortunately he gets across and it's a great header from him.

"I didn't think there was much between the two teams at all. We probably had more of the ball.

"I've seen the penalty claim back myself. It looks like a penalty kick. The guy's hands are away from his body. I think that wee bit of luck evaded us."

 

Ashould not have been played.