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S_C

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  1. Exactly this. As harsh as it sounds, Manning needs to succeed or be allowed to fail to facilitate significant change. Great, let’s get a new fall guy in. Maybe he’ll win a few games and the mood can shift from ‘significant change is needed’ to ‘still think there’s room to improve operations’. Anyone who thinks that wouldn’t happen, that they’ll be celebrating wins but still have the same adamancy that the hierarchy is busted, is utterly naive. Everyone wants the club to be successful. If Manning is replaced and we’re suddenly PL bound terrific, happy to admit I was wrong and the current setup was capable of achieving the words they freely throw around. But with BT/JL at the helm we’ll only appoint Manning clones, and just continually paper the cracks with fans declaring they either like or dislike the current coach as a first point of reference. SL genuinely baffles me. He clearly wants to move on but trusts his investment with people who are detriment to the product. Do we think, in any reality, that a buyer is found and they retain the services of BT with his current influence. Some of the criticism is a bit much, I don’t doubt he has what he considers the best interests of the club at heart and, broadly, respect his long-service, but the 30 year stuff as an argument for competency summed up the situation. I can’t rationalise out of it. It’s mind boggling. Shit hit the fan so we SOS’d a genuine outsider in Pearson who didn’t fit the mould. We kept him long enough to remedy the situation then reset to a point with echoes of where it started going wrong. Hi Nigel, we’ve made some bad decisions here and are up shit creek, can you come in and sort this out? Hi Nigel, thanks for sorting that out for us, you’re not needed anymore, we’re going to go the young coach route again and chuck money at it once more. We’ll keep you on speed dial.. Make it make sense.
  2. S_C

    Front foot

    Yep, 1st half was woeful, that sort of something is wrong at the club woeful. Result was important thing today and we got it. We didn’t deserve it, necessarily, Swansea looked very limited to me but were better team on the day, but as you say the product being delivered isn’t the product that was pitched. The one thing I’d take is that it’s hard to say Manning is inflexible after today. There’s no way that’s how he wants his teams to play, we seem to now be set on a restrictive 4-4-2 which must differ from his possession based mindset. Whether it’s too little too late for some, the idea that he’s bluntly forcing his style on his players must be done after today’s structured, direct, showing.
  3. Football fans en masse certainly aren’t recognised for being levelheaded (let’s be fair that’s probably for good reason) and I imagine when you’re rising through the ranks to becoming a head-coach/manager it’s probably drummed into you not to take them too seriously, but there’s a fine line between being tough-skinned and aloof. Manning seems to walk that line. He needs to go careful. There’s already a growing theme of he does x and his players do x, rather than we did x, and whilst it’s true fans are fickle it’s unwise to underestimate the value of effective communication. From the outside looking in he’s very much on the hot seat. It’s interesting, perhaps even telling, that rather than acknowledge and address the mood he dismisses it.
  4. I don’t think/didn’t say that they’d faced comparative challenges. And yes, absolutely agree. I certainly don’t want to be accused of dragging you, or anyone, into a Pearson distraction.. But the task before Pearson was much harder, with significantly greater challenges. Having mentioned him twice (I think) in a lengthy post, one of which was, in my opinion at least, to make the valid point that his exit (which is a different matter to Manning’s appointment) was handled terribly and has contributed to the mood, I’m surprised so many seem so keen to distract from the job Manning is doing.. I havent had a chance to read through the whole thread today but have seen some good posts. The bottom line for me is that BT/JL take ownership of their decision. If Manning goes, they go. That’s not reality, of course, but Manning is merely a part, a currently failing part, of the direction of travel of the club/BT/JL. If they sack him now and start interviewing again (if they even bother, it’s only been four months..) are they suddenly asking different questions? Is the vision different? Does the profile of manager shift? Sacking him just feels a bit futile, for me. Pearson, or anyone of his ilk, isn’t getting the job under the current regime. So we’ll just keep recycling the mouthpiece until we find one which wins enough games to cover up the deficiencies. Don’t let them hide from this. Make them accountable. Put the decision on their shoulders. What will be, will be.
  5. Perhaps I misinterpreted. I don't disagree that the club was in a better position on the whole when Pearson was here. I think we're in the boat now to be honest. The change id like is higher than Manning. I suspect id actually be quite bitter if he were to be sacked, results were to improve, the season ticket drive commenced, we went marquee in the summer and all was forgotten come August. Sacking Manning is papering over the cracks and, whilst I appreciate saying hierarchy arent up to it doesnt mean Manning is, if the question is do I want to finish 13th next season after BT/JL hide behind Manning's failure or consider that relegation may move us toward correcting the foundations, for better or worse, I think we're in stick territory. My personal opinion aside (I also believe that, unless he's lost the dressing room, we won't be relegated), a damaging result against Swansea in the face of an already sour mood feels a loss too many, and I think it's likely they go into self-preservation mode.
  6. I absolutely believe that the manner in which he arrived is contributing to the current mood. That isn’t to say the mood would be dramatically different but I absolutely believe that if JL/BT had been more honest, if they’d thanked Pearson for his work in righting the ship and stated Manning is a promising young coach who will need time and understanding to adapt to the Championship, I think plenty would be more forgiving. Everyone knew the top 6 squad stuff was nonsense, I’m not implying fans swallowed it and are now confused why we aren’t 5th, but they massively fumbled both Pearson's exit (in creating a false narrative about someone who had been hugely media savvy in the run up to his departure) and Manning’s appointment. It left a sour taste in a fanbase already sceptical of the hierarchy, whilst lumping Manning in their corner as their man. It created undue pressure. Had they not, I think for some the tone shifts to ‘we’ve had some good performances, look at Watford, look at Southampton, a nice win over PL West Ham, there are signs of potential, but he needs to improve if he’s going to take us forward' rather than ‘out of his depth, get rid.’ I do get the criticism regarding trying to impose his style of play on a set of players that aren’t suited to it, but managers come in with their own ideas and methods. He isn’t going to play the same style/system as his predecessor, and I think 10/15 games is probably around the mark you’d realise what you want to do might not work. It’s all well and good criticising that he isn’t being flexible but you don't get the green light to implement your methods, struggle for 4 games, and then revert to what the bloke who just got fired was doing. Clearly it will take time, either for it to work or realise it isn’t. Even if its acknowledged that the players don't quite fit, that must be known prior to appointment, otherwise BT/JL sat in an interview with LM and said 'What we're looking for is exactly how we're playing now..' His first 10 games were W4 D3 L3. I’d say that’s pretty fine and argue, actually, that he’s therefore had 15 games to consider what he’s trying to do might be too much too soon. For what it’s worth, we’ve had 14 games between 1st Jan and 2nd Mar, several against PL teams, including an ET and demoralising penalties loss. That’s a lot of games, many against superior opposition. Though I don’t condone it and acknowledge its dangers, there’s been an air throughout that we’ll finish mid table. It's his responsibility to manage that of course, but it isnt hard to see how complacency and fatigue, both physically and mentally, can set in. As has been said elsewhere, poor and lose to Swansea and the club are staring down both barrels. I can’t help but feel, though, that whilst both Pearson and Manning had their challenges, Pearson’s were used to excuse him whereas Manning’s are brushed aside.
  7. Constantly feel the need to make this clear, because it is important to stress this isn’t coming from a pro-Manning (or anti-Pearson) angle. I liked Pearson. I was angry he was let go. I did blow hot and cold with him, but I certainly felt we were heading in the right direction. I’m unconvinced by Manning. Though I think, broadly, post Ipswich was fine, I’m not huge on his talk. I’d like to hear more praise and protection for players. This, and even decisiveness/game management, i’m willing (currently) to accept is inexperience. We’ve had some good performances but, admittedly, more deflating ones. He’s no more than 3/10 but, as there were for Pearson, there are circumstances I sympathise with beyond his control. If we’re poor and lose to Swansea, I agree there’s a very strong argument he should go. That said, and returning to quote.. When Pearson went, after losing to Cardiff, we were 15th and had lost 5 in 7. To say ‘such a good position’ even if you are right to imply we were in a better position, is re-writing history.
  8. So, you expected us to play like we did and were one of the majority who thought we’d make a good game of it (as in, you genuinely believed we would, not ‘would be typical bloody City if we got a result there tonight..’) based on previous performance? Surely we met your expectations in a positive sense, then? Unless, as one of the worst form teams in the league, you’re saying a point was the minimum requirement against a top team who, I believe, have lost once at home all season, and that was in August. Honestly don’t understand your last sentence. Continue to say, will say again, I’m not saying Manning is the answer, I’m not dying on a hill defending him, if he was sacked today I’d be angry at the way the club is being run not send him messages of support.
  9. Sure, not saying there aren't things he could have done that MAY have altered the course of things. I haven't seen the Pring injured comments so unsure how serious it is/was, but not convinced id have fancied throwing Roberts on for him with Burns in full flow. Mehmeti looked tired, yeah, he was also our best player and one of those you'd most like in one-on-ones on the counter. Surely no-one believes that if Roberts had gone on for Mehmeti and we'd have still lost, Manning wouldnt have been accused of being too negative. Maybe if we'd done that we would have taken a point, but maybe if we been more decisive in our defending we'd have comfortably won the game. Battering people with maybe, when it's clearly a maybe, and especially when it's to a backdrop of a good team performance, is a never ending cycle. The issue isnt that Manning didnt do x or y, at least it shouldn't be tonight, it's that we arent discussing Wells hitting the bar, or not reacting quickly enough to either Sykes cross or following the pull back after Mehmeti's shot. We're not discussing McCrorie being reckless in possession, or how Dickie could have taken charge of the equaliser as it came inside Pring. Why arent we talking about Vyner giving a foul away on the edge of the box, or O'Leary's distribution. Sykes goes to sleep for the third. Yet somehow Manning, with a limited bench and having, let's give him his dues, set the team up very well, to such an extent we were the better side and leading 2-1 after 79 minutes, could have made a change which might have altered things. The issue is that we lost due to individual errors during a good performance, in a game we were widely expected to be run through, and the bloke who essentially deserves the {most} credit is the one in the firing line. I'm not typing this telling you Manning is fantastic or Manning is the right guy, I was angry Pearson was disposed of and things clearly arent going great, but when you turn in a performance like tonight and the heat is focused on the manager, it tells you that people are guilty of not fairly assessing what is in-front of them. It tells you that people have made up their mind and are drawing conclusions to fit their pre-determined beliefs.
  10. Crazy how a mood sets in, just becomes a tide which people get swept up in. Thought everything he said was spot on. I’d have liked him to offer more praise for the performance but he certainly didn’t hang anyone out to dry. He’s right, emotion/concentration/decisiveness, however you want to phrase it, cost us. All three goals were hugely avoidable. Blame him when he’s at fault, for sure. He isn’t at fault for tonight.
  11. They scored immediately after making their changes, then had a short spell with crowd behind them. We regained control, scored a fantastic goal, then gave away a ridiculous free kick within a minute. People will rewrite the second half based on 10 minutes after they equalised, which includes chances when we were chasing the game. We were the better team for large periods. Individual mistakes cost us.
  12. He was brought in to fit the model BT/JL wanted, and because a more seasoned head was clearly causing too much trouble. I have little to no doubt the club would prefer to finish this season 16th under Manning than 8th under Pearson. Again, I’m not championing Manning. Again, he does not get a free pass. He has been more successful than not during his career and I don’t see that changing him now, for someone with the same profile, really tackles the issue.
  13. Agree, and I think that’s absolutely fair. Personally, I think we’re in the boat now. If we were to be relegated then the hope is it ushers significant change at higher levels. I’m of the opinion that we’ll be ok, and I think he should be given a summer and opening months. I don’t see that BT/JL replacing him, results improving enough to distance fears of relegation, is particularly beneficial long-term.
  14. Correct me if I’m wrong, but in three and a bit seasons he’s finished 3rd, 3rd and was 2nd, two of which were in L1? As you’ve said, he left MK Dons after a poor few months. That’s a pretty solid record for a mid-table championship club looking for a young coach. Let’s be clear on this, I’m not flying the Manning banner. I’ve stated elsewhere he’s underperforming and criticism is fine. My point is that he’s been put in an incredibly difficult position, presented as {immediately} leading us to the PL with a squad capable of doing so, replacing an old-school, no nonsense manager who was popular in large part and who had cleverly positioned himself against a hierarchy which many despise. If BT/JL now wash their hands of him, hide their culpability behind his performance, it will just be yet more weak management.
  15. He’s a young coach who has been successful at a lower level. For what JL/BT want, which as you say is what we’re stuck with for the foreseeable, I actually think LM is a good appointment. BT/JL are, in my opinion, almost entirely culpable for the situation. Setting a top 6 narrative as opposed to more modest expectations has largely hung him out to dry. He doesn’t get a free pass, criticising his performance is fine, but there’s a huge gulf between that occurring against stated expectations vs reality. Fans are pissed off that they’ve been, pretty transparently, fed a line on NP’s exit, and it’s now the backdrop to the heat LM is getting. The smart play here would be for BT/JL to take the pressure off him. Come out and admit they placed unrealistic expectations on him (which I believe started to happen in some sort of Christmas e-mail that was issued, where JL referenced things taking time), stress the need for patience, and take real ownership of the situation they have created. Certainly wont be holding my breath, but an honest interview acknowledging they put undue pressure on LM would help no end.
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