Kibs

Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

Maybe not so soon then, I'm thinking more medium term.

I agree 1-3, the flak if it arises should be mostly directly at the hierarchy.

Yes and rightly so if it happens. We should absolutely expect to see progress. 

But what the fans say or do (especially on here) won’t make any difference.

Barring an absolute catastrophe, which I don’t think this group of players would allow anyway, Manning will be given every opportunity to succeed because BT and JL will not want to be seen as being wrong. 

6 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Think the fans will be a bit restive if the start is underwhelming or worse.

I don’t see it, not after Boro and Southampton. 

Yeah the vocal minority will be on here kicking off for sure but I think the majority of fans are both sensible and intelligent enough to realise that:

1. They are very difficult games.

2. We don’t actually have a squad or team that should be challenging for promotion.

3. JL and BT are full of shit.

10 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

There is a reasonable prospect that we could lose the next 3 or 3 without a win. Of course it goes without saying I hope that doesn't happen and that we win all 3. 

He needs to hit the ground running in the next week or there is going to be immense pressure. We could then be back in the realms of the LJ tombola where principles get thrown out of the window in order to get results.

Pressure from who? 

Certainly not the people that employed him and gave him a 3.5 year deal. I’m pretty sure that unless we get relegated, he’ll be given every possible chance to prove them right. 

We know just how stubborn the Lansdowns are.

53 minutes ago, Lordofthebling said:

My god this guy loves Anis...

Good. He looked a terrific signing when he arrived. Hopefully Manning can turn him a round and ensure it’s not a load of money wasted. 

34 minutes ago, Pezo said:

But then it's just anything anyone could tell us about any football club. I'm not interested in Manning and his philosophy until it impacts on Bristol city.

Nige managed to at least imply things that were happening and what he had to change. What is Manning trying to change? Where does he see the problems at the moment with Bristol city?

I won’t criticise the interviewer, because I’ve never interviewed anyone in my life in this context, but I find it a hard listen when they continually ask leading questions - much like the in house City stuff. 

Naismith has played centre midfield , I remember him playing there, very successfully so too. 

Played CM alongside James in a run of games last season.

We beat Birmingham 4-2, drew 1-1 against Blackburn, then beat WBA in the cup, won 3-0, he was outstanding.
 

Also played the following game at Preston where we won 2-1 but he went off injured. 

9 hours ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

Indeed. So let’s all hold them to account! 

How do you intend to do that, out of interest? 

2 minutes ago, Son of Fred said:

Could do with getting Naismith on the pitch..

Agree - would be one of the first names on the team sheet for me 

35 minutes ago, pl00peh91 said:

The point is, Manning doesn’t actually have to change that much for us to be a real contender for the playoffs. We just need to figure out a system to get the most out of our attacking players. If we can maintain the same defensive foundation but see even a modest improvement in our goal output I see no reason why we shouldn’t make the playoffs this season, even if it is by consistently winning games 1-0.

Hopefully this will be the area of focus this international break, as I see no need to change anything about a defence which is clearly working.

It would be great if it were that simple. We’re averaging a goal a game now, and we aren’t consistently winning 1-0.

Chances are that we’re going to need to take more risks on the ball in order to score more goals. Whether that is being braver on the ball, getting more bodies forward, asking the defenders to step out etc, but however we achieve it, we are likely to give away more chances too. 

Certainly going to be interesting to see how he tries to add goals to this team with the players at his disposal. 

Personally, as with NP, I’ll be content with a top half finish, happy with top 10, both of which would represent gradual progress.

Fantastic to see Rob Atkinson back out there. Really rate him, both defensively and his bravery carrying the ball forward. 

11 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

I'm sorry that you consider someone having an opinion as them having an agenda. 

You're talking as if we played prime Man City!! Reality check for you, we played a team that has one of the worst defensive records in the league. We barely troubled them! 

We've one of the best in the league for goal conceded so please excuse me if I'm not jumping for joy about looking solid defensively against QPR.

Sounds like you're just using a lot of excuses. We had a team more than good enough to beat QPR and I'd be making these same comments if Pearson was in charge and we failed to beat QPR.

My concern which you label an agenda is that we had a settled team, settled way of playing. Play like we did against Swansea, Hull, Plymouth etc and it's an easy 3 points against QPR. 

My concern is that we have players saying there has been lots of changes since Manning came in, we have the management saying its going to take time blah blah blah. It feels like we have gone backwards to gamble on going forwards and that its now possible this season is another write off as we once again rebuild, when we didn't need to rebuild. 

Well, I don’t agree with much you say, but I can see why you view it as a gamble WSM I do agree here, it is a big gamble, and not one that I would have taken, or felt was needed.  

Unfortunately, we can’t change that now, it’s done, he’s gone, so I might as well support the new man 

5 minutes ago, Randy Marsh II said:

If you're hoping for different style of football you've not been listening. The club have set the system and LM, or anyone else, has to work within that. He needs to adapt to us while getting top 6 this season. 

Tinnion and JL have told us that. 

I seem to recall Tinnion talking about philosophy, not systems - basically being front footed, playing forward and attacking…..which is what every wants isn’t it? 

Someone mentioned this on an another thread so credit to them - can’t remember who, sorry!

I thought I’d post it here to provide some balance and food for thought. 

Very interesting body language from Ange Postecoglu, who is one of the most highly regarded coaches/managers around at the moment.

Love the honesty in his interviews btw. As I did with NP.

4 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

Just like it was a minority who refused to recognise the restrictions Pearson worked under it will be a similar sized minority of different people who won’t give Manning a chance. We have to give him a chance because the alternative is to hound him out and rely on the absolute circus upstairs to pick yet another manager. Who wants that scenario? Nige shouldn’t have been sacked but neither is he coming back. It’s done.

He’s left us in decent shape and the opportunity is there for Manning to take it forward like Nige would have done (whether too slowly for some or not). I would like to think that should the ride with Manning be bumpy to start with most of us have enough intelligence to know exactly where to vent any frustrations.

Agree with every single word here, but the bit in bold sums it up brilliantly. 

What Pearson achieved with his limited resources had him up there as one of my favourite City managers. 

And you’re right, if people aren’t prepared to get behind and support Manning and the team, the alternative is a return to the merry go round - and who knows what master stroke they would come up with next!!!

7 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Agree, I’m pretty happy we got 4 points from these two games. I saw them as a pair of real banana skins whoever was in charge, because we have had injuries (a few returned under Fleming for the SW game). Both opponents with new managers. And above all, it’s the Championship.  With City being the type of team they are I rarely go into a match super-confident we are gonna win.  For some reason I was versus Plymouth, but not sure where that gut feel came from!

We just need to give LM time.

Watch his patterns, see how players adapt / fit into that, etc, etc.

The good thing for me on Saturday was that despite QPR having a decent spell (15 mins???) of “pressure” (retracting my use of the word dominance yesterday”), we were solid, the defensive foundations are there / still there, and we didn’t look like relinquishing the 0-0 scoreline we started the game with.  A bit of luck with 2 or 3 balls slid across the 6 yard box and we maybe get the 3 points.  We again looked strong in the latter moments of games.

I totally get why people are so pissed off, I am too!!!

I was pissed off at the start of the season when Nigel Pearson wasn’t given the funds to bring a couple in after the sale of Scott.  

This league is so tight that I genuinely believed we were only 2 or 3 signings away from being able to really have a go at the top 6, and that Pearson had earned that opportunity.

But he didn’t get those players, we had a horrendous run of injuries and he’s now gone…..but none of that is Liam Mannings fault and it just irks me that people want to lay the blame at his door already.

I feel for him, he’s in for a rough ride. I hope he has thick skin!!!!

1 hour ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

Firstly Nige doesnt drop Bell and TGH. 

What we saw on Saturday was a team that was trying to pas the ball around and failed quite miserably at it. That's a departure from how we played under Pearson. 

I understand Manning wanting to start as he means to go on with his principles. But all this talk of how they worked on out of possession stuff and being solid defensively is absolutely laughable. We wasn't playing Leicester away. We were playing the absolutely woeful QPR away. 

QPR may be a step up in quality to Oxford and other League One clubs but at this level they are horrendous. 

Manning may think we looked solid, but let's remember who we were playing yea? I expect us to look solid against one of the worst teams this league has seen for a long time! 

Nige would have set us up aka Hull Away etc, get at them. 

I'm 100% confident we'd have beat them under Nige.

If we play like that against Boro we will get a hiding from them.

Let’s remember who we are playing???

You talk as if we are prime Man City!!

Saturday was crap. No doubt. Don’t disagree but that’s football. 

QPR are sooooo bad that they nearly took points off Leicester in their last home game. Despite playing the last 35 minutes with 10 men, losing 1-2 to a late goal. 

I fully expect QPR looked at it and thought, bang average Bristol City next, what a great chance to get a win under the new manager.

Sorry to disappoint you but we are an average championship side, with players injured, players coming back to fitness, players out of form, a team out of form, not full of confidence and we’ve struggled to score goals all season……so how can you be so sure we win that with NP in charge?  

You can’t. Absolute nonsense. We have no divine right to beat anybody.

There is so much more to it which you refuse to acknowledge because it doesn’t suit your agenda and your view of football is so simplistic. 

2 minutes ago, Spike said:

but we can't back Manning fully without also backing the board. 

Of course we can, and that’s exactly what many are doing. 

Football fans are so fickle. Do you really think that if we won our next 6 (we won’t have course, because we can’t score goals) that people would still be complaining about how Pearson was treated on here?

This place, and AG would be buzzing, and everyone would be loving Liam Manning. 

And knowing the type of person Nigel Pearson is, I suspect he’d be delighted to see all his hard work and progress continue. 

16 hours ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

After watching that QPR team yesterday, I'm fully convinced that a Nigel Pearson team would now be sitting 2 points off the play offs which imo constitutes challenging. 

But of course that's why they got rid when they did, knowing we had 2 winnable games coming up. 

The irony of course being, that this is in fact, a Nigel Pearson team. 
 

And given we know that there was no lack of effort, mainly because all these players were NP signings, and are therefore good characters who wouldn’t just down tools, and that we know Liam Manning didn’t try to change much at all, choosing to work on the out if possession stuff due to lack of time, is it not reasonable to think that even with NP in charge, we may have seen the same outcome? 

Injured I believe.

I hope he stays on as a coach mind. Think he has a lot to offer

6 hours ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

All the behaviours he desires is already here and in place. 

 

 

I don’t think you’ll find anyone who disagrees. It’s something that Manning and Pearson are both clearly aligned on. Getting the culture right first and foremost. 

That’s why I’m not concerned about the players downing tools for Manning, or “not playing for him”. 

They seem one of the most likeable,  genuine and hard working group of players I’ve seen in my time watching City and the senior pros (King, James, Wells, Vyner, Weimann, Dickie) simply won’t allow standards to drop just because the manager has gone. 

1 minute ago, robin_unreliant said:

Liam gives the impression in interviews of being a bit of an introvert. Somewhat similar to JL, which might be why he saw him as a good fit. This could just be an impression though, maybe I'm wrong. I'm not that confident that this type of personality will inspire the squad to give their best if I'm honest. 

It’s an interesting point. I suppose all managers/head coaches have their strengths and weaknesses. 

I think this squad will always give their best, because that’s they type of personality that NP has brought in. Even if they weren’t playing for the manager, I think they’d play for eachother. 

My biggest concern about losing Pearson (and yes, despite quite a few posts defending Manning tonight, I’m gutted he was sacked), is that Pearson never allowed a couple of defeats to turn into a long winless run. He always turned it around quickly. You always knew a win wasn’t far away. 

That’s massive in terms of preserving confidence, and arguably, it’s more vital in the Championship than any other league, because there is always so little in it. 

5 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

I’m incredibly down about this appointment.

Really? I hadn’t noticed!!
 

I’ll be honest, it’s terrible! Nigel wins that game today, end of.

OK, you’ve convinced me, but only because you said “end of”
 

I’m not getting into a debate on it, I’ve seen better football in non league.

I think you maybe missing the point of a forum.

Nothing against Manning but I’m getting Holden vibes. 
 

To be fair, they are both blonde so I’ll give you that one 

4 minutes ago, glastored said:

I appreciate we all have our idiosyncrasies, but I was getting irritated by his habit of looking down at the ground every time he was asked a question. Hope somebody has a word with him.

Just to confirm, you want HIM to change, because YOU (and a few others) don’t like how he acts on camera?

Yep…..that sounds about right!! 
 

What do you think Nigel Pearsons response would have been if somebody had a word with him, and asked him to speed up in interviews because it irritated a few of the fans? 

1 minute ago, bearded_red said:

But out of possession we’re really? So it’s in possession that all the work needs to be done?

Oh I don’t disagree we’re poor in possession, but that is how Pearson wanted us set up wasn’t it? We didn’t really want the ball. We wanted to hit teams on the break, at pace.

It’s going to take a significant amount of coaching (and probably a few new players) to turn us into a possession based team, which is apparently what we now want to be. 

Like I said, I think Manning likely felt he couldn’t get enough of that across in the very limited time he had, and it may in fact detract from what we’re currently good at. 

1 minute ago, bearded_red said:

So he’s looked at the team that has conceded less than every team apart from one, and thought he needs to work on off the ball? I think that’s weird. 

I think he’s more likely thought, he’s only got a couple of sessions before the first game, and probably doesn’t want to overload/confuse them with new patterns of play in possession when there is a significant break coming up, which will provide a much better opportunity to get started on the “in possession” stuff.

So no, not weird.