Numero Uno

This is an interesting one. I wonder how much money Steve will have saved in "efficiencies" through running the Bristol Sport stable in comparison to the price he ultimately gets for the football club (if he can untie it) or the whole lot (if he can't) versus the price he wants/investment he has made? Nobody is really interested in investing in Rugby or Basketball at a huge level (in fact Rugby Union is a basket case of a sport right now below international level) and not many people who might be looking to buy a football club want a Rugby Club and a Basketball Club and their associated running costs "chucked in" as part of the deal. I think Bristol Sport is the heaviest of millstones around the clubs neck.....would be interested if anyone thinks the opposite.

Two, you missed Leicester..............

A bit like you, I think the less crayons we allow the shirt designer to have the better. Wouldn't mind seeing the Purple and Lime away strip return next season.

They shouldn't be any worse (albeit prior to the Bank Holiday weekend that was certainly arguable). Liam is ultimately here to do better to be fair, otherwise you don't sack people and waste money on settlements, and due to the Bank Holiday results will definitely get his chance to show us what better looks like.

I think Manning will do all he can to continue this upturn over the next few weeks and will be sending his sides out to compete, dead rubbers or not. The fact that a large enough number haven't renewed so far, and it hasn't all been hot air spouted on a forum for once, may have woken somebody up above Liam...........and whilst they might think "ahh, it's just a silly little protest, they'll renew" that isn't a given until it actually happens. They will be desperate now to avoid giving fans who haven't renewed yet, but intend to, reasons NOT to renew over the next three weeks.

He was literally appointed by Steve to fight the fires he must have known were on the horizon. His CV literally advertises that he's the man to work on a budget and that's what he did. Had the Board said "we appreciate the fantastic job Nigel did in maintaining our Championship status during a period of extremely tough and challenging circumstances but we feel a modern, progressive, younger manager is what the club needs to increase it's chances of success moving forwards" many will still have disagreed but it wouldn't have been the ham fisted effort around "deconditioning, should be top end, promotion this season, front foot etc. etc." that we were fed and which has led to much criticism of the people who "run" this football club. That is literally the issue for me.

You might be right. The main argument put forward for keeping Manning is "let him build a side then judge" so it would be bloody ironic if the Lansdown's didn't give him the resources to do so!!

Same, I thought it would kick on this season and the hierarchy felt different. My gripes are the way the hierarchy handled it, the messaging behind it that Nige had all this "time" to build a side and their generally poor communications and behaviours (sorry Liam) since. If you don't rate Nige then fine but don't literally make stuff up to pad out your argument!!

Can't agree with that bit in particular. He wasn't able to build anything for two and a bit seasons because our FFFP position was savage. Nige and Richard Gould not only ensured our wage bill was drastically slashed (it had to be to avoid points deductions) but also ensured we stayed in the Championship too. If you believe the last 12 months or so of his appointment didn't see fast enough progression for your liking that's a different argument altogether, and a valid one (that I disagree with!!) but to say he had 3 years to build a side is a plain misrepresentation of what actually happened, not opinion at all.

The football was uninspiring/poor at times, call it what you like but the intent (i.e. play on the counter) suited the players we had available. Manning's BEST performances have proven that was correct too as it goes. I appreciate you are replying to a poster who cites the football as a major reason for not renewing but for most who either aren't renewing or delaying renewing it goes ABOVE Liam Manning. The message isn't aimed at Liam or even Steve (because he's never around) but at Tinnion, Lansdown Junior and Gavin "we are looking to get promoted THIS season" Marshall.

Soporific.......you are far more generous than me Mr P!!

Not for me. I will renew but it will be in a couple of weeks time (as I said previously it won't be on the last day because you just know the system will go down!!). It's nothing to do with what Liam has produced in the last two games or whether he produces it over the next three or four more (which is what we all hope for), it's a tiny protest at the three people running it above him.

Couldn’t agree less. I won’t bother but I could list more games than not which have been utterly boring or poor to watch. That said the last two games have been more like the performance levels I would want to watch.

You don’t care that he plays well for Bournemouth and potentially earns money for the club that can be used to pay for the next crop of players we bring in?

To some the club acting professionally does count. Any club can make a poor appointment and many do. To use a phrase of our manager the behaviours of the club and the way it interacts with fans will ultimately have an affect on fan (or customer) engagement so whilst it’s not all that matters it does matter!! It shows they do care for a start.

No.

That is what you call leadership. No untruths in there. You don’t have to agree with the bloke but you can’t fault the way he’s put it across. No criticism of the failed manager, no digs, not taking fans for idiots, no unnecessary defensive jibes (he doesn’t need to explain to fans he wants the best for the club), no justification of his own position, just a realistic summing up of the clubs position. No comparison to our “leadership”, that’s for sure.

Some said he was “League 1 at best”. Scouts don’t look at one bad performance and condemn a player generally whereas some fans do.

He’s got a good manager there. Giving him a few games then putting him on the bench. Like you say he should be looking to step it up next season.

The horse got sparked out so they thought they may as well make use of his box……..

We did have that one season where we saw off about six managers.....can't remember when it was but I think GJ may have been in charge?

Their game on Friday is massive. Win that and I think it will be a skin of the teeth job for them. Lose and I reckon that will be the first nail firmly hammered in. Not sure a draw helps them much either. If there is one game Plymouth need their travelling numbers (real numbers not Gasflation ones) it's this one.

The problem is that the people who accuse posters of being "Nige Fanboys" are "anti-Nige" themselves and so this debate will never be allowed to settle into a simple "what is Liam doing to hit target" discussion. If Liam shows the same tactical nous and ability to affect a game moving forwards that has been on display for the last two matches MANY DOUBTERS will get off his case. Some won't in the same way that some minimise the situation Nige inherited simply because they don't like/rate him or in a number of cases because he brought in Danny Simpson..........that's the crux of it with more detractors than you might realise. Anyway, moving on, let's see if Liam can replicate on Saturday against another mob who are ripe for the taking after yesterday. Small steps but ones he needs to be taking.

I'm not sure what Plymouth are thinking there. It's not the sacking of Foster so much but the totally unplanned solution they have in place which looks like something they knocked up in a ten minute Board Meeting..........almost like the Owner had another engagement he didn't want to miss so came up with something off the top of his head. If Steve came up with a cunning plan like that this place would be in the meltdown of all meltdowns......especially if it involved Tinnion in charge!!!!! They have to go to Rotherham on Friday - fail to win there and it's looking like dire straits for them. That said Rotherham are an absolutely terrible side at this level (probably won't stop them coming to us and getting something though!!) and despite winning yesterday should have been obliterated by all accounts.

The first two thirds of Pearson's time in charge was either rebuilding a bomb scare of a squad or working to a strict FFFP budget. That is fact isn't it? "Some" is certainly a significant minimisation of the situation to make a point and with a lesser manager we would almost certainly have been in League 1 and not challenging to get back out until next season imo. If you can't acknowledge that then I think you have colours nailed firmly to the mast. I do agree that the football was uninspiring but for me nothing he produced was as bad as those Cardiff and Swansea games recently, that dials straight back to "end of Dean Holden levels". However that should be behind us now (it had better be tbh). The reason some people are less patient is that Liam did not have to "fix" anything and the purse strings are being slowly relaxed for him to "add and improve". He's been dealt a decent hand coming into a new club in effect compared to most managers who are often inheriting a car crash. Ultimately Liam will get his chance next season whatever even his biggest detractor thinks and we'll all judge him on that now with many people considering that he has been brought in by the club to give us "a greater chance of success". That means "matching the last manager" and being on 18 points after 14 games next season will not cut it. He has to exceed the performance of the previous manager and show real signs of improvement next season otherwise he's not hitting target and some fans will have their own opinion on that whether you agree with it or not.