Ten years ago, just before I moved to the Czech Republic, I worked as a McDonald's manager. I remember one new employee we hired called Josh. He was a really nice guy. Josh always turned up on time, worked hard and wanted to do well. Unfortunately he kept making mistakes and wouldn't learn from them. He dropped things on the floor, broke things, lost money and almost got us sued when a customer scolded his arm due to Josh not putting the coffee lid on properly. We wanted him to do well but the mistakes added up and we didn't keep him on after his probation was up. It's a strange analogy I know but Gary Bowyer is Josh with the only difference being he has at least done some good for Blackburn Rovers.
Gary Bowyer is a nice guy, we know that. Gary Bowyer hasn't done a bad job for Blackburn Rovers. He kept us up when we looked like certainties for relegation to league 1, he's made some good signings and steadied the club, helping us recover from the shambles of recent years. Blackburn fans will always be grateful for that and I'm sure he will always be welcome to work at Rovers in a coaching role.
The problem with Gary Bowyer is he simply doesn't learn from his mistakes. This was forgiven in his first full season as we viewed it as progress but now it's just ridiculous. Time and time again we see him being completely outdone by his opposite manager's tactics. Bowyer has a plan A, that's it. In almost every game we play the outcome can be predicted at half time. He is incapable of changing a game.
The tactic issue is old news. What really winds me up is his recent attitude and baffling team selection. The alarm bell went off for me after the defeat away at Bolton when Bowyer, in his post match interview, instead of criticizing his defenders decided to childishly comment on Emile Heskey's eligibility to play in the game which makes a mockery of his comments this past week that he 'was brought up not to throw his toys out of the pram'.
Bowyer openly criticised fans not too long ago for 'jumping on the bandwagon too quickly' and he dared mention the way fans acted during the Steve Kean era. He was an employee at the time and should have known more than anyone what the fans had to put up with during that terrible two year spell.
There were times when Josh looked like he had grasped what was needed and we thought "great! he's slow but he's getting there'' before he made the same mistakes again. Bowyer has had some good results and will probably get some more but consistency is key and that's something he's been lacking since taking the job. His decision on Saturday to leave our two top goalscorers in Rudy Gestede and Jordan Rhodes on the bench for the visit of premier league Swansea was surprising but perhaps understandable. Maybe he wanted to surprise them by throwing a spanner in the works and keep the strikers fresh for the big league match three days later against Derby County. That's what most of us assumed until the teams were announced yesterday and the players were again left out of the starting eleven. It can't be about 'frame of mind' because despite the transfer interest both players have shown a good attitude. Equally as baffling was his decision to replace the man of the match from Saturday's 3-1 win, Shane Duffy, with capatain calamity...Grant Hanley. It's clear to everyone that Hanley and Lowe are complete weak links in our team and will never play at the highest level with any success but they have both been brought through the ranks by Bowyer and he seems to refuse to accept they aren't good enough.
I don't think Blackburn will get relegated with Bowyer in charge but they have no chance of promotion either. Bowyer refuses to take the shackles of a very talented bunch of players. He refuses, or is incapable of changing his tactics when needed and has a dangerous stubbornness regarding players he has personally brought through the youth teams.
Blackburn have no right to believe they are a premier league club. There are bigger clubs above and below us. All we ask, as paying customers, is that we get value for money. We want our manger to try and win games and entertain us. The team selection yesterday was a disgrace and it smacked of a manager admitting defeat before the game. What other manager of a supposed promotion chasing club would leave his two top goalscorers on the bench for an important league match?
It's all well and good saying Bowyer is a nice guy but at the end of the day he's a nice guy who gets paid a very healthy salary to do a job and he simply isn't getting results.
*Update...
Here are the championships longest serving managers. Only one of them is going backwards in terms of progress. Guess who?
1. Steve Evans (Rotherham) - League 2 runners up 12/13 and League 1 Playoff winners 13/14, currently 21st, five points clear of the relegation zone.
2. Eddie Howe (Bournemouth) - League 1 runners up 12/13, currently 1st in the table, one point clear of 3rd place, 7 points clear of 7th.
3. Mick McCarthy (Ipswich) - Guided Ipswich to safety in first season, 9th last season, 4 points off playoffs, currently 4th in the table, 1 point off the top, 6 points clear of 7th
4. Gary Bowyer (Blackburn) - Guided Blackburn to safety, 8th last season, 2 points off playoffs, currently 10th in table, 11 points off playoffs.
5. Kenny Jackett (Wolves) - League 1 Champions 13/14, currently 7th, 3 points off the playoffs.
6. Steve McLaren (Derby) - Lead Derby to 3rd in the league, and playoff final. Currently 2nd, level on points with Bournemouth, 7 points clear of 7
