JP Hampton

Well I think @LondonBristolian has put it in better words, explaining what I’ve tried to articulate in other threads. The plan is being applied to players. NP learnt with the players he had, he had to allow them to play in a way, that brought out the best in them and I think that’s where we were, when he left. He realised a one size fits all approach wasn’t going to work and I think we can agree from the post match interviews , LM either hasn’t discovered that yet or believes his way is the only way it will work in the end. So I could say he needs to have more of this in his coaching, but I really don’t believe that’s going to happen. In short players are either going to have to “get it “ or we’re going to see very much more of the same.

I think given the fact that it’s likely the board will back him, we may have a continuing scenario of winning a couple, losing a few, until those players who can and want to adapt will and those who can’t will be gone. That team that were so called ready for top end football, will be a semi rebuilt, robotically drilled team. Clearly it may work, eventually, but patience will be the watch word. It will be a lot of time wasted and a lot of money spent. I just wonder where the “bravery” will come from, given that word is used time and time again. Does this well drilled, managed processed type of football allow for bravery, spontaneity “honesty”(whatever that means)? I like @Sir Geoff’s idea. Just let ‘em rip boys.

Tbh you can probably do a good job just imagining it. Because it sounds just like any other interview ever at City or MK “the players haven’t stepped up”!

I think it’s being seen through the lens of “he was supposed to improve things” so yes it should really read “no better” in that context.

It’s tricky, do you give him more time, which seems reasonable and fair. We don’t tend to do knee jerk sackings and on the whole give managers time, so why should he be any different or Risk him taking us into next season with the possibility of realising (10 games or so in) it’s not working and potentially have to write off yet another season?

Just wish I hadn’t used up all my reactions

I think this is the point. It’s about players playing to a plan and seemingly, not about individual prowess, until that plan is incorporated into everything they do. Little room therefore for any spontaneity.

Now that’s a completely different statement.

Have run out of reactions but totally agree with this bit in bold. It’s the injustice.

Not that it makes it any better for you I’m sure, but without specific names, you could be writing on any football forum across the uk and beyond. It’s pretty normal for people to want to be hopeful. We all get it at the start of a match and you think this will be the one and you get behind your team then… it isn’t, and you have further to fall, losing isn’t what it’s all about either, necessarily, performance for me if so important. In the great scheme of things it doesn’t really matter, but for some people it does and consequently get wafted along with the ups and downs. That’s why it’s essential for the board (who are hugely accountable for all that being said on the forum, after yesterday), to be honest with their fans.

Have you ever rated a manager who maybe didn’t have a great string of results? If someone said you were part of a cult or a “love in” how would you react? Those sorts of phrases are used to stop people saying anything positive. That it makes people/fans somewhat pathetic in their appreciation. Second bit in bold. If that was true you wouldn’t have posted and I wouldn’t be responding. It’s certainly a lot of people’s perception of Nigel’s bringing the club together and why he’s held in great esteem. Are you somehow denying that the team went from clueless, to at least being United, having superb fitness levels, working hard, albeit not always successful, but in the main and certainly towards the end of his tenure, putting in decent hardworking performances. Are you denying that he massively sorted the financial situation, trimmed staff and saved the club money and in Lansdown’s own words, did great things for the club? If you can’t acknowledge any of the good he did, then well, you just don’t get it. The reason people liked NP was because despite results, they could see that he had the club’s best interest at heart. He was guiding very young and more experienced players through some very turbulent times. The only people I’ve heard call him the messiah are those like you who once again, berate those who have anything good to say about him. You don’t need to be a Messiah to have an impact. The big talk from management comment is really confusing. No one bought into that. No one! And lastly. Yes NP might have got us doing more. I won’t go into the whole context around his time and the very real hurdles and lack of money. We won’t ever know, but being a Football Manager is about so much more than getting results, it’s about leading from the front and galvanising a group of players and in NPs case, back room staff, to want to get those results. Of course he wasn’t perfect. Not everyone will appreciate his at times abrasive tone, but I think the comments of those he left behind, say more than we can ever know.

January Pilot

You’re right and of course how could I have forgotten Vyner!!! What an incredible turn around. Fans had lost all faith in him, but NP clearly knew better. Some of his play yesterday reminded me of those bad old days unfortunately.

Brought through Conway Scott and Bell, some may say he didn’t have a choice, but he did it well and each one of them performed.

No more reactions, but this is much what I’ve said. People are afraid of straight talkers these days. I’d much rather have someone who delivered the truth straight, rather than go all round the houses with cotton wool comments.

No more reactions but a nice little analogy

And as someone else suggested. The midfield and front men are changed from one game to the next. We could never predict who his front men and midfield will be from one game to the next, with any real accuracy, because it doesn’t always seem to be based on previous performances. So where’s the incentive for players? It feels disjointed and inconsistent. Is it any wonder that Conway gets frustrated and confrontational with other team mates? Little service but also never knowing if he’ll start or be benched and swapped in and out for Wells, who goes through the same process. Did we ever see this confrontational side of Conway, while NP was in charge? I think W-S-M put it well when he said words to the effect that, LM doesn’t think he needs a plan B, because he believes Plan A should work and if it doesn’t, then it’s the players who are at fault!

This. He actually did a very good job yesterday of going along with the general criticism of the performance, without actually saying anything negative about Manning at all. Pretty clever really He knew he couldn’t make any excuses for the performance, but couldn’t directly abuse LM, so did everything he could to avoid it and even managed to throw another NP criticism in the mix.

No more emojis but perfectly put.

I want to be able to give LM enough time to see what he can actually do, not wanting to jump up and down on him, given we’ve had a mixed bag so far, but as others have said, my only concern is that if we do either back him with funds or don’t back with funds and in either case see where we are in November, we are going to be writing off yet another season and we’re well into next season, with a new manager, sweeping clean and back to rebuilding once again. We’ll have dismantled by that point, any good NP and his team of staff, did over those two or so, very difficult years. So for me on balance, it has to be give him until the end of this season and review. If there’s been a consistent improvement in performance first and results, then it will be reasonable to fund and back him beyond this season. It did occur to me and not sure if others have suggested this, but one explanation for the varying performances could be, first of all, with the teams that we’ve played from the Prem, our boys are far more likely to want to perform, they’d be up for the challenge, opportunities to get noticed by top clubs, being televised etc. There’s a definite incentive there and an excitement that cup games bring . That can happen without any need to play for the manager. They’re in effect playing for themselves and each other. However if there is discord and he has lost the dressing room, (only speculation of course), it would then make sense that the drive and spirit that we definitely once had, would wax and very definitely wane in the league. There’s definitely a despondency among a good few of the players and that doesn’t look to be improving. He won’t win any dressing room though, by insisting that players have been given the answers, they’re just not capable of translating them into performances.

And how long and how expensive do you think that will be.

Absolutely right. No adapting the game plan to suit what was happening on the pitch. Did the usual bringing people off, putting people on in their place as always around the 60min mark, with absolutely no change in style of play. As said previously substitute players when they are clearly underperforming or aren’t right for the change in formation etc, but that’s not what happens, so the substitutions barely change anything at all.

Yeah that cracked me up that one

I believe when this was discussed under another post, someone produced a statement saying “top end”. I remember because people were arguing that didn’t mean then top six.

This is very confusing from Port Said Red. Yes why would they ask that? And mores to the point why would anyone consider that undermining their position? This was the same senior management who Nige said weren’t communicating with him btw. And that’s not what brought “the wrath of the forum on senior management”. They managed that all by themselves.