Remembering Tony Mowbray’s Hibs revolution of free-flowing football

Kevin Thomson lauds the rookie manager who allowed young players to flourish
Tony Mowbray was unveiled as Hibs manager 16 years ago today. Picture: Neil HannaTony Mowbray was unveiled as Hibs manager 16 years ago today. Picture: Neil Hanna
Tony Mowbray was unveiled as Hibs manager 16 years ago today. Picture: Neil Hanna

Speaking on 24 May 2004, Hibernian’s new manager gave an early insight into what everyone should expect from his time in charge.

“I am well aware of the stature of this club and its tradition for entertaining and attacking football,” said Tony Mowbray, the former Ipswich first team coach, who was stepping out from shadows and embarked on his fledgling management career.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I would like to let the supporters know that my philosophy is all about fast-flowing, passing football with a cutting edge. That is what I will be working to instil here at Hibernian, and that is what I am determined our supporters will see. They want to win, and they want to be entertained. It is our job to give them that.”

Scott Brown and Kevin Thomson training with Hibs in 2004. Picture: SNSScott Brown and Kevin Thomson training with Hibs in 2004. Picture: SNS
Scott Brown and Kevin Thomson training with Hibs in 2004. Picture: SNS

It was not long until the former Celtic defender was delivering on his promise, melding together a squad of hungry young players, complemented by a smattering of seasoned professionals.

Garry O’Connor, Derek Riordan, Steven Whittaker, Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson and Ian Murray had come through the ranks, given a chance under Mowbray’s predecessor, Bobby Williamson. But they were handed the reins by the new manager who firmly believed in the adage that if a player is good enough, he is old enough.

Arguably one of the most exciting groups of players since the Famous Five, men in the know, like club legend Pat Stanton enthused over the style of play and the bullish mindset that saw the young Hibs unbowed by the reputation of opponents, while the footballers who emerged from the spell at Easter Road still look back with fondness and respect.

“To be in the first team with all your pals, guys you had come through the youth teams with, was special and I would say that the biggest thing with Mogga was that what he inherited complemented the kind of football he believed in,” explains Thomson, who became one of the club’s youngest ever captains under the Englishman. “That’s what made it a match made in heaven. Young guys need luck in terms of having the right manager or the right opportunities to get your chance to showcase your talent and we definitely had that luck.”

Scott Brown, Garry O'Connor and Tom McManus celebrate a goal for Hibs in the early days of the Tony Mowbray regime. Picture: Cate GillonScott Brown, Garry O'Connor and Tom McManus celebrate a goal for Hibs in the early days of the Tony Mowbray regime. Picture: Cate Gillon
Scott Brown, Garry O'Connor and Tom McManus celebrate a goal for Hibs in the early days of the Tony Mowbray regime. Picture: Cate Gillon

Together, the debutant manager and his predominantly youthful squad proved a formidable and exciting force, taking the club higher than it had been in decades; the third and fourth-place finish in consecutive seasons the best Hibs had mustered since the days of Eddie Turnbull.

“I think the only thing missing was a trophy,” adds Thomson. “But if you think about the calibre of players and teams we were up against, with such a young team, it wasn’t easy. Guys like Henrik Larsson, Paul Lambert, Barry Ferguson, the De Boers, and the Old Firm weren’t the only ones. A trophy would have made things perfect but I think a lot of fans still look back at that time and think it was one of the best times to be a Hibbee.

“We were inconsistent and we were young and sometimes roughed up in games but Mogga was a great man-manager and one of the best people to help us handle that. He trusted us to go out and play expansive, fast, free-flowing football and to play with no fear. It was a case of believing ‘we’ll score more than you’. That sometimes left us vulnerable defensively but when it clicked we were exceptional and we gave teams a doing a few times playing that way.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mowbray was to spend just two full seasons in charge before West Bromwich Albion lured him back over the border, but while his stay at Hibs was short, it packed a punch.

“He was a breath of fresh air,” recalls Gary Smith, the daddy of the group at 33 in Mowbray’s first season. He was at least ten years older than most of his teammates, although Stephen Glass, at 28, and 25-year-old Guillaume Beuzelin helped bridge the age gap.

“You usually get that with a new manager because players want to impress and show what they can do but he really did give us that lift.

“His training was very good. It was always varied and challenging, which kept us interested and learning. He never gave the impression that it was his first management job or that he was ever out of his comfort zone.”

While those who had watched Mowbray’s appearances during his previous stint in Scottish football, struggled to reconcile the image of the gnarled and no-nonsense centre-half, with the more cerebral, sensitive mastermind of fluid, fast and beautiful football, his compassion and passion combined to give him a personality perfect for the task of moulding young men, winning allies and fostering a good atmosphere in and around the ground.

“I just remember we were still training down at Wardie [playing fields] and that must have been a bit of a shock to the system from where he had come from,” recalls Smith. But from a sow’s ear came a silk purse. It was on those public playing fields that Mowbray won over the players he had inherited and managed to piece together the kind of training that made it possible to recruit more blossoming young talent, in the shape of David Murphy, from Middlesbrough, and Dean Shiels from Arsenal.

A fan of what Hibs fans like to claim as their style of play, Mowbray also quickly won over the support.

“He was always very clear about his philosophy and about how he wanted you to play,” added the former defender. “He was very good at imparting knowledge. It was an exceptional bunch of young players in that squad and he made them better. He allowed them to go out and play.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Taking time to understand his players and build them up was the sign of Mowbray’s qualities as a decent human being as well as his managerial nous.

When he was first appointed, Thomson was sidelined with a cruciate injury but remembers the new boss asking to speak to him. “I was obviously worried about what he was going to say but he called me into his office and told me he had seen footage of me playing and that he felt I was the best player at the club and couldn’t wait to work with me.”

Trawl back through newspaper interviews and more than a few players will tell of being fed the same line but, according to Thomson, it served its purpose. “He made me feel the best in the world.”

It was the same when he was made captain. He built up his young charges and while lots of water has flowed under the bridge since, with Mowbray going on to work with Scott Brown and Gary Caldwell at Celtic and Thomson himself at Middlesbrough, he says the squads of 2004-2006 will always be grateful for the start they were given by the man who generated excitement and has prompted more than a few bouts of what ifs. What if he had stayed longer? What if he had been able to keep that squad together until their prime? What if the club had been able or willing to loosen the purse strings a little and allow him to bolster the ranks while they were pushing the Old Firm and reaching the latter stages of cup competitions?

“You do ask yourself those questions but I think most of us look back and are grateful we were part of that exciting period and allowed to play that kind of football, with our mates, at a club we all either grew up supporting or grew to love,” says Thomson. “He liked to work with talent – who doesn’t – and he got the best out of guys. Mogga was a great mentor, you saw that in the way he handled the dressing room; guys like Deeks [Derek Riordan] and Gaz [Garry O’Connor].”

The pair formed a prolific strikeforce but life off the park was sometimes challenging. There was respect there, though, with Thomson describing Mowbray as a “father figure to us all”.

Working with players in their professional infancy was one reason for such harmony, according to the midfielder, who left for Rangers following Mowbray’s departure.

“Mogga was suited to a younger changing room. He didn’t like confrontation or players with strong personalities or opinions. But when he was at Hibs we all looked up to him as a father figure and that dynamic worked and he likes a certain style of football and that suited us. I worked with him again later in my career and I can’t say that was all amazing and I know that Scottie [Brown] and him didn’t see eye to eye at Celtic. But circumstances were different.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And none of it has tarnished the memories of those early days at Hibs. “I still text him to this day. In fact when I went for the role of Pedro Caixinha’s No 3 [at Rangers], he was the first person I phoned for advice,” explains Thomson. “That’s how much I think of him. I hold him in high esteem as a manager and a gentleman.“I think we would all be happy to take what we learned from him into management. I suppose that reflects how much we all loved that time at Hibs with him and it’s the highest accolade you can give him as a manager.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.