Red-Robbo

I couldn't stand Pulis (and SOD) more - but they failed at a lower level than Manning is. Maybe, if we were somehow getting relegated this season under another manager (post Pearson) Manning might be fine in League One with us. But he patently ain't at Championship level. I don't hate the bloke, like some do, but he just isn't good enough (and I wonder if he'll ever be) to manage at Tier 2.

Er, I'm not a Manning form but that statement is well OTT for me. Pulis brought in a load of old crocks and we limped on playing hoofball in L1 losing to the likes of Cambridge, Northampton - and the Gash!

He's like a bird, he'll only fly away (If he can!)

Just checked my Touch Sensitive Live Bootleg Box set and it's not on that. Obviously not a concert live performance, but there is the John Peel Sessions version...

Fun fact: They never use RIP (or R.I.P) in Australia or New Zealand. It's always "Vale" - Latin for farewell.

I hate to break it to everyone, but 90% of football managers* speak in cliches - even the revered St Nigel of Nottingham used them - and many of them may not deliver routine press conferences in a very interesting tone. They are paid, after all, to be able to get a team of players to play entertaining and successful football, not to be fascinating after-dinner speakers. This is the only place I'll attack Manning on - his management record here. Not on how interesting he sounds in interviews. * You can extend that to 90% of all sportsmen really.

In the late 70s early 80s, my mate's brother was in his touring band. Anyway, Cliff had just finished a long tour of North America and Europe and wanted them to take on some extra dates in Australia and New Zealand. The band, who'd all been away from their families for months, all wanted a modest increase to undertake the extra two months involved. Cliff's as tight as a gnat's chuff, so he sacked them all and said he'd undertake the Aussie tour with local musicians. Trouble was, his rep preceded him, and few Aussie session men wanted to work with him; the band he hired didn't know his material and on the first night of the tour they were so shambolic they got booed. Cliff's manager quietly rehired the UK band on the enhanced money they wanted.

Very true. I haven't been available for selection for 23 years.

Commercially available DNA tests are something of a nonsense diversion. You'll have a similar halotype to that mostly found in Wales, but as Ancient Britons living in England and Ancient Britons living in Wales were identical that merely means you have neglibile Saxon or Norman (or more modern migrant) ancestry. It doesn’t mean you are not "English". Extremely non-swarthy people I know are routinely told by these kit testers that they have Spanish heritage, when what is probably the case in most tests is that they carry some DNA markets common among the "beaker folk" who migrated to the UK from the Iberian Peninsula in the Bronze Age. Spain didn’t exist back then and modern Spaniards - although many will also have beaker folk halotypes - are of a very different DNA profile than these ancient people. If they are English like Jay, yes. If anything he's more Brazilian than Welsh.

I think the way players are allowed to decide they're one nationality when playing youth football then suddenly switch to being another as an adult on the basis of a grandparent is a loophole that should be stopped. Play for England U21 and you remain English. Especially if you grew up in f-ing Luton.

Nothing really prepares you for it, as I know from experience. My condolences to Scott and his family.

Yep, that's another way of saying he gets stuck in! One of the things always makes me laugh is when footballers are described as "cultured" or sometimes having a "cultured left (or right) foot". Puts me in mind of a football boot holding forth at the opening of some trendy gallery! However, I know what commentators mean by that. Joe Williams is not "cultured". And as such, I think Manning might tell him to curb his riskier instincts and play it safe. But are we going to chuck on a fire the nearest thing we've got to a midfield enforcer, or criticise the bloke who played Dickie onto goal yesterday? Some might, but I'm not.

Joe was one of the better players in a very poor team performance yesterday, I thought. He does at least try to stop players running past him. He's a limited player. Will always favour the short backward pass over the longer one, even when he has more options upfield. Could we fet better? Probably. But if we let go all the players people are saying will either leave or be offloaded in the summer, we'd just have Rob Dickie and 10 newbies starting for us in August. Can't see that happening somehow.

After, not during.

Superb post. Board members who attack Manning in childish terms or use non-important stuff to have a go at him - thinning hair, "boring" voice - undermine their own argument. We have quite enough ammo against him - the way he's coaching our players to play and the in-game football decisions he makes. As a young manager, we hope he learns from mistakes and improves. Just as we do with young players. Anyone wanting us to lose games to "remove Manning" needs to, as they say, give their head a wobble. We are City. I want us to win every game we play.

You lucky sod!

I think Swansea quite enjoyed playing against him yesterday - particularly as he gave them the ball so frequently. Yesterday was HC at his very worst. But of course playing wide and behind a front two is not his strength.

One thing we do know is that they don’t act quickly. Lansdown has said in the past how he dislikes the managerial roundabout and thinks folk should be given time. People can talk about an existing relationship with Lee Johnson, but look at what time he got, despite terrible runs of form. The Lansdowns clearly had issues with Nige a long time before they actually showed him the door. I'd be highly surprised if Manning was let go this season.

This is it, cutting him as much slack as you can possibly cut, Manning is learning on the job. A L1 manager asked to step up and floundering. He needs a wise-old head to advise, not a bloke who was such a disaster at L1 that he fecked off to coach a school in Spain afterwards.

In an ideal world, he'd be a sort of central midfield distributor type - spraying balls about upfield to others who carry much more goal threat than him. He's definitely lost his mojo currently though. Probably our best dead-ball taker, but that says more about the rest if the side than it does TGH.

I think Ronald's surname is McDonald.

What I cannot fathom is if Twine is so far from fitness he couldn't even make a 10 minute token appearance to give us fresh legs up front, why was he on the bench?

I'd rather he continued as a footballer to be honest.

I was thinking what is the opposite of High Press? No Press whatsoever. Cunning of Swansea to deploy that forcefield that meant we couldn't tackle them in their half and needed to stand about 30ft distant of their defence. They obviously "let the shield" down for about 10 minutes in the second, when we had our three little attacks which led to a goal. Seriously, though, quite agree. It was anti-football. Luckily Swansea were even worse and couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo. I might have to wait many years before I see another side who manage to give away a throw in trying to take a short corner.

That's for Sanatogen Tonic Wine drinkers.