Numero Uno

1 minute ago, TV Tom said:

Do you honestly believe that the football wasn’t poor before Manning came

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.

26 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Thought the Sunderland game wasn't too bad. While we absorbed a lot never thought we were much danger of conceding. At that time they were decently placed, not so much entertaining but enjoyable in a tough it out way.

Swansea, Cardiff, Millwall these 3 especially were all soporific, parts of the Norwich game too IMO.

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

1 hour ago, cellist said:

Has 2 wins in 2 changed anyone's mind and led to early renewal? What are you hoping to see in the last 6 games?

(Not trying to start a fight - genuinely interested! I'm not an ST holder, don't live in Bristol so try and go away more than home. Respect the decision to delay renewal to make a point - a point that needs making!)

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.

16 minutes ago, richwwtk said:

A couple of games aside I really don't agree with this.

I have been more entertained at Ashton gate under Manning than I ever was under the last couple of years under Lee Johnson, all of Dean Holden and a large part of Nigel Pearson's time with us.

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.

33 minutes ago, johnbytheriver said:

There is no guarantee he will come good next season,certainly not 1st choice at the moment,Antoine's performances have been much more impressive! Looks a little lost at times when i watch Bournemouth. Might go on and become a better player,on the other hand could disappear into obscurity.Either way he does not play for us anymore so i don't really care.

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?

37 minutes ago, Herta said:

Who cares that Plymouth board appointed totally the wrong man who lasted three months, they can write a good letter and that’s what matters. 

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.

Just now, Peter1450 said:

Can you imagine anyone at Bristol Sport penning something as articulate?

No.

1 hour ago, Silvio Dante said:

Fair play, that’s a bloody good communication. Open, treating fans like grown ups.

It’ll never catch on.

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.

3 hours ago, TV Tom said:

And to think there were many on here that said he wasn’t good enough and compared him to a “headless chicken” !!!

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.

5 hours ago, Andy082005 said:

Really big talent but don’t underestimate just how big a jump it is from Championship to consistently performing in the Prem 

He was by no means the finished article at City - drifted in and out games - and some people saying he could make the England set up at the time of the move were clearly getting ahead of themselves 

Next season will be a big one for him 

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.

9 minutes ago, cider hoss rules said:

From a mate of mines FB account, I’ve removed his name to save his shame!
Proper tinpot, a bar in a horse box

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

3 minutes ago, Simon bristol said:

I think its the embarrassment of losing to us that finally finishes managers off

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?

28 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Not saying it’s the right call, but when Schumacher went they put Dewsnip and Nancekivell in temporary charge.   Played against Nancekivell back in the day.  One of those players who got a late career shot at being a pro.

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.

1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

Here’s why.

+++++

Just to add, I don’t want him gone, I want him to be a success because he’s Bristol City’s manager (head coach).

But if I were running the club, I would’ve sacked him after Cardiff.

I don’t think he’s a Fraud, I just think he’s underperformed having taken over in a good position.

+++++

The reasons for supporting Nige were because the circumstances were very different.

FWIW I don’t understand why posters revert back to comparing with Nigel Pearson to frame their reasons for supporting Manning.  Frame the argument on why Manning is right.  I’ve seen some things I like.

 

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.

4 hours ago, Sandhurst Red said:

Irrespective of the fact he was doing a rebuilding phase during some of this period, the lack of consistency was alarming. Also, so many seem to forget the football was woeful to watch at times.

I struggle to understand some of our fans who have allowed Manning less than 20% of the time NP had and yet want him gone. Give the bloke at least a preseason and the first 15 matches of the 24/25 season to judge him. 

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.

7 hours ago, mozo said:

Yes but not that many in my opinion.

Certainly enough to be seriously concerned. Cardiff and Swansea were enough to make me wonder whether watching pro football was worth the time and cost tbh. I think one or two (well one in particular) would do well to wait and see a bit longer before proclaiming themselves right all along and everyone else wrong.

It’s improved significantly “over a weekend” after two weeks on the grass but nothing has been finally cracked just yet. That 44% defeat record simply has to come down which means he has to keep picking up results - the longer that remains the less that fans who aren’t convinced yet will be prepared to back down on their view of him. 44% is 20 defeats a season for context.

3 minutes ago, mozo said:

The issue I have with your framing of it is that it sort of implies that everything pre Leicester was rubbish, when it clearly wasn't. We all know that he won three in a row early doors, he has the FA Cup games, the big performance that shall be not mentioned, plus games like Coventry and Ipswich that were far better performances that the 1 pt yielded shows.

If we beat Sunderland Manning will be on nearly 40% win ratio for City. 

So I'm not saying he's had an amazing start to his City career, but you'd think from some rhetoric that before Easter came he was a shocker. Also not true.

We had a bad patch. It wasn't enjoyable, and clearly confidence sapped from the players. That's football.

He did ok up to and including Boxing Day then the wheels came off in terms of our league form which is all I care about really. It was poor bar six to seven halves of football (out of 28) for three months in the league. Even after a very impressive Easter he’s still on a 44% Defeat Ratio (you brought stats into it!!) and that is unimpressive in anyones book.

If and when Liam shows this isn’t a false dawn (and we don’t go on another post Southampton run) many people will revise their views and that is fair enough imo. I can only think of one obvious poster who has not praised anything about the last two games. One.

6 minutes ago, The Swan and Cemetery said:

U turns would imply people now think LM is definitively is the right person for the job, having previously been desperate for him to go. Not sure there are many signs of that change in view, but people can recognise performances for what they are, good and bad. If @W-S-M Seagull comes on demanding a 10 year contract for LM, fair enough. Overall I remain very unconvinced, but last two games have been solid/strong performances, so if that progress continues, all good. Never quite reached wanting him out, equally a long way from expecting great things next season - with a fair wind I’ll be wrong. 

Exactly that. People who have been critical of Manning are calling out two much improved performances. Not just improved, chalk and cheese to what preceded them. Don’t see that as a problem tbf. If that trend continues into the early part of next season then there will be full U turns. For me he needed these performances to even make it to next season and that’s a given now.

Speaking for myself there is one person in a Senior position in our club I wouldn’t U turn my view on and it definitely isn’t Liam.

1 minute ago, luke_bristol said:

Ipswich booed off at half time, WTF 

Very harsh albeit Saints are schooling them. Probably fan frustration.

1 minute ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

Anyone know how many could be arsed to stop going through the bins round the back of Lidl and rock up to the swamp?

Not been announced which tells you the crowd was shite……..

You cannot be a clown AND have his goals conceded record at the level we play at. Anyone who thinks you can knows eff all about goalkeeping.

4 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

Well well well, Rotherham cling on to the very slimmest of hopes.

Need to win every game and move the dial on GD from -49 to about -15 if they're to stand a chance though. And even then it's not in their hands.

So they need maybe six 6-0 wins plus the perfect set of results in other games.

Yeh I mean it's possible...

Rotherham we’re always going to win a game. I’m glad it was today because we all know………………….

2-1 Saints.