Liam Manning - CONFIRMED NEW HEAD COACH

[Mr Popodopolous]

2 minutes ago, Spud21 said:

Even if that is the expectation from the on highs, it doesn't change a jot how we are perceived in the footballing world outside Bristol, which is an absolute backwater that has never done anything. 

We would need to be in and around the top 6 consistently for 4/5 years minimum before the footballing world considers us anything more than a below average championship club. 

The board set the tone, the board set the precedent.

May as well have stuck with NP and backed him further.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[TV Tom]

2 minutes ago, Evs said:

The Kieran McKenna who was at Manchester United for about 5 years including 3 as assistant manager when they finished second in the Premier League before moving to Ipswich so its a slightly more impressive CV than 2 years split between MKD and Oxford. The Lansdown's have taken a huge gamble and it feels very much a yes man appointment but as Nige says lets get behind OUR TEAM.

McClaren has been in and out of Man U for donkeys years but has done **** all as a manager

[the1stknowle]

2 minutes ago, RollsRoyce said:

Hmmm but we have done this before, many times. It has always failed. They just fired all of the people who created the platform from Nige, so there is zero continuity. We have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. So if this smacks of having a clear plan, well great, it is the first time in 25 years the Lansdowns have had that, because all I have ever seen is a flip-flop from one plan to another, and a complete ignorance as to why any of those plans have never worked. The reason for that is it would require some extreme self-analysis, and that would highlight where the issues are at Bristol Cty. That you now have Jl and Tinnion inventing the latest strategy, tells me everything. Until we get rid of JL, all of his cronies, and create a world-class recruitment team, Bristol City is going nowhere fast. 

Manning could well be, after numerous attempts, the one that finally breaks the Lansdown duck of unproven managers having success, but there is a big difference to being an up-and-coming manager dropping into Brentford, Brighton or even Luton (latest obsession) and BCFC. It is the lack of understanding as to why that is the case that will hinder Manning. It is only when BCFC have had stronger character managers have the club has been able to create some success or stability. This is because they can resist the Lansdown-led nepotism and cronyism structure more. 

But as we have a a squad that is capable of promotion according to BT and JL, then Manning should be an odds-on success with better training, fitness and coaching. Good luck to him, and he will only get support from the fans. No one wants the club to fail. 

The players are the continuity. I don't think the kind of continuity in lead coaching teams is part of any established recipe for success at other clubs. Its normal to get rid of the roles they have in any coaching set up change. 

Say it is a success (you're setting a high bar for measuring that, but let's see) will you be holding hands up and saying right call (handled badly)? Agree that everyone will get behind team now, but also feel like there are lots on this forum ready to hit Itoldyouso as soon as possible so I'm interested whether there might be a bit of credit given if this does work out. 

Agree on the flip flopping and shifting plan. But that is exactly why I am slightly encouraged by this. As it does feel like following through on a clear plan. Think we all agree the Nige departure was abysmally handled and the messaging has been a bit floundering. And the lack of thanks given to him lack class and is a misstep. But, looking forward, this is first appointment in a while where they have set out with an idea of what they want and stuck to that and the external messaging matches the appointment. 

Again, whether it works out, let's see. We all hope so - and wouldn't it be nice to see some attractive football at the Gate. Been a while.

[TonyTonyTony]

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

All the bullshit bingo he speaks.

Like what? 

[TV Tom]

3 minutes ago, One Team said:

Personally I think the arrogance is in the board room rather than here on OTIB. It’s there where they believe we should be a top championship club and getting promotion. 

And what’s wrong with that ?  

[Spud21]

Just now, Red white and red said:

Not really. I haven’t suggested any established premier or championship managers. We had one of those and he was wrongly sacked. You can’t argue that this appointment fits the yes man criteria, the lansdowns need. Anybody who has their own voice, or challenges their leadership, they don’t know how to deal with. 

You know nothing about the man, I will bet you have watched precisely none of his games and listened to none of his press conferences or paid him any mention at all, so you can to say he's a yes man, and you can't seriously believe we are so massive compared to Oxford that he is going to be eternally grateful to just get the chance at such a behemoth of a club that he will bin all of his professional integrity and pick the players that Lansdown wants. 

[supercidered]

2 minutes ago, Spud21 said:

The man is at Oxford not bloody Taunton town. 

The unbelievable arrogance of some on here is gas levels of delusions of grandeur. We are a middling to small championship side not a ******* giant of English football. 

Yes Oxford. A team that plays the Gas. It's a crap league.

If we aspire to be just a middling to small championship side then this is the type of appointment that we should have expected and accept. 

It's got nothing to do with arrogance. If the hierarchy want City not to be an average team in the Championship then we need to stop acting like we are just an average club. It really is that simple. 

[Merrick's Marvels]

28 minutes ago, transfer reader said:

His points per game over his career is about 1.62, a total that over a season would be about 50% chance of getting to the playoffs.

A near 50% win rate at all clubs he's managed.

Lots of positive spin you can put on this appointment. 

But please don't use stats, he's been beating Accrington Stanley ffs. 

[38MC]

9 minutes ago, transfer reader said:

Had MK in the playoffs, they sacked him and got relegated.

Saved Oxford from relegation and now has them 2nd.

 

I'm sure both of those are just coincidences.

 

If a manager can't be appointed without having managed at a particular level before then you'll soon run out of managers at that level. It's a ******* stupid argument.

I wholeheartedly agree and at some point you have to get the opportunity to step up. No complaints there. 

But it's got to be the right opportunity. Had Huddersfield, QPR, Rotherham, Sheff Weds been looking at Manning it would make sense. He's steered Oxford away from the drop, maybe he could step up and do it in this league, if not he's well placed and knows league one well. Those jobs are the right ones for this type of appointment. 

Bristol City though? Absolutely not. We have done remarkably well to hover around mid-table with an under-invested squad due to an ownership backing the wrong horse (another young manager who had never managed at this level but had done some good things like steering Oldham away from the drop and getting Barnsley high up the league one table... ring any bells). We had to get in an experienced, calm manager who guided us through this period with professionalism and with only brief flirts of worry. We are now looking up and this is too big a job for a rookie. I don't think there were many out there suited to us, which made the sacking all the more stupid. 

Stupid is as stupid does. Here we go again, experienced manager jettisoned after not being backed and a rookie will come in, get the backing their predecessor should have had. 

Edited November 6, 2023 by 38MC

[mozo]

46 minutes ago, George Rs said:

Bold is spot on. He’s taken a risk here if it does happen, would argue he’s dieing to prove himself at this level, and needs to. 
 

And there’s no shying away from what the task is by how much JL has mentioned promotion over the last week. Hopefully he hits the ground running and builds a good relationship with our squad. Would love to see a manager get the best out of mehmeti tbf. COYR

Let's face it, the board don't really expect promotion. They're daft, but not stupid. That was just a convenient narrative to sack a guy that was too confrontational for them.

Could Mehmeti be the creative central midfielder?

35 minutes ago, Slack Bladder said:

I am marginally more excited than I was about the appointment of Dean Holden.

It's not that bad! 

[Sturgess]

7 minutes ago, transfer reader said:

Frustration over NP being sacked is not an excuse for arrogance and snobbery over an incoming manager

Arrogance? I'd not go that far.

Snobbery, we all hold our club in the highest regard, so many will be minded to think their club is superior and want what they perceive as someone who matches their ambitions and necessary experience for the role.
The club was heading in the right direction even if it was slow progress, but the primary cause for that was the circumstances of the journey (clearing out dead wood, lowering wage bill, blooding youngsters).

As much as you emphasise words on a forum of "arrogance" and "snobbery", the person eventually tasked with the job will have the support, the people who put them there less so.

I quite like seeing variety in debate and opinion, it's what makes the forum vibrant and insightful.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Sturgess

[Spud21]

2 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

The board set the tone, the board set the precedent.

May as well have stuck with NP and backed him further.

Disagree, nobody outside of Bristol gives a shit what the board say, ask the footballing world as a whole who we are and they will say who? 

The "board" meerly set our expectations and have minimal bearing on our standing as a club, the only thing that does that is sustained "success" 

[W-S-M Seagull]

1 minute ago, TonyTonyTony said:

Like what? 

The likes of Gary O'Neill etc used to not take LJ seriously because they could see right through the bullshit he spoke. 

The same will happen with our current players and Manning.

[downendcity]

Just now, transfer reader said:

Had MK in the playoffs, they sacked him and got relegated.

Saved Oxford from relegation and now has them 2nd.

 

I'm sure both of those are just coincidences.

 

If a manager can't be appointed without having managed at a particular level before then you'll soon run out of managers at that level. It's a ******* stupid argument.

At the time Ipswich appointed him, everyone's favourite, Kieran McKenna,had a managerial CV comprising 3 years U18s and 2-3 years assistant at Man U.

If we were appointing him on that background how many on here would find it an "exciting" appointment, and especially if paired with Mark Ashton?!

 

[italian dave]

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

All the bullshit bingo he speaks.

And what exactly does “bullshit bingo” mean? 

Give the guy a chance, FFS. It’s pretty clear from your responses the past half hour that you’ve made your mind up already and anything he says or does will be “bullshit”. In much the same way as nothing LJ did could ever be right.

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, Spud21 said:

Disagree, nobody outside of Bristol gives a shit what the board say, ask the footballing world as a whole who we are and they will say who? 

The "board" meerly set our expectations and have minimal bearing on our standing as a club, the only thing that does that is sustained "success" 

What has that got to do with it, I understand your point to a degree but on our own terms if he doesn't outperform the "top 10 wage budget", Manning or more likely the hierarchy, have failed.

[W-S-M Seagull]

3 minutes ago, supercidered said:

Yes Oxford. A team that plays the Gas. It's a crap league.

If we aspire to be just a middling to small championship side then this is the type of appointment that we should have expected and accept. 

It's got nothing to do with arrogance. If the hierarchy want City not to be an average team in the Championship then we need to stop acting like we are just an average club. It really is that simple. 

These stats against them fills be with so much confidence. Rovers had 10 men for a third of the game.

[Bcfc24]

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

The likes of Gary O'Neill etc used to not take LJ seriously because they could see right through the bullshit he spoke. 

The same will happen with our current players and Manning.

Although I understand the comparison due to age, I think that’ll be the end of the similarity. I think Mannings man management will be better i.e. he won’t be walking in a telling the dressing room how much he used to earn as a championship footballer…

[RedM]

40 minutes ago, Homer Simpson said:

I know its Manning.

Ok, just catching up now. I been at work with no access to my phone or this forum all morning. I finished work at everyone who might know have been messaging me. So it's not actually confirmed but beyond strong rumour? Have Oxford said anything, who has confirmed his appointment? Like I said I am catching up.

[TonyTonyTony]

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

The likes of Gary O'Neill etc used to not take LJ seriously because they could see right through the bullshit he spoke. 

The same will happen with our current players and Manning.

Okay, but what has he said to bring you to the conclusion that be speaks bullshit? Examples, because its not obvious to me from the interviews ive watched with him

[Sarumred]

2 minutes ago, downendcity said:

At the time Ipswich appointed him, everyone's favourite, Kieran McKenna,had a managerial CV comprising 3 years U18s and 2-3 years assistant at Man U.

If we were appointing him on that background how many on here would find it an "exciting" appointment, and especially if paired with Mark Ashton?!

 

That was exactly my point in another thread.

[RedRoss]

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

The likes of Gary O'Neill etc used to not take LJ seriously because they could see right through the bullshit he spoke. 

The same will happen with our current players and Manning.

Whats makes our players mentality any different than Oxfords? 

[W-S-M Seagull]

1 minute ago, italian dave said:

And what exactly does “bullshit bingo” mean? 

Give the guy a chance, FFS. It’s pretty clear from your responses the past half hour that you’ve made your mind up already and anything he says or does will be “bullshit”. In much the same way as nothing LJ did could ever be right.

The guy gets a chance to get us promoted this season.

That's the stated aim.

[YGBjammy]

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

I feel he will recieve LJ levels of support because he is their man.

10 game losing streak? No problem, give him a new contract and millions to spend. 

 

Love the LJ comparisons. This guy has much better pedigree, look at where he's been coaching and managing before managing us compared to LJ.

Also remember that no one has got us as high in the league as LJ since he left!

[W-S-M Seagull]

1 minute ago, TonyTonyTony said:

Okay, but what has he said to bring you to the conclusion that be speaks bullshit? Examples, because its not obvious to me from the interviews ive watched with him

Go and watch the countless seminars he's done.

[transfer reader]

2 minutes ago, 38MC said:

I wholeheartedly agree and at some point you have to get the opportunity to step up. No complaints there. 

But it's got to be the right opportunity. Had Huddersfield, QPR, Rotherham, Sheff Weds been looking at Manning it would make sense. He's steered Oxford away from the drop, maybe he could step up and do it in this league, if not he's well placed and knows league one well. Those jobs are the right ones for this type of appointment. 

Bristol City though? Absolutely not. We have done remarkably well to hover around mid-table with an under-invested squad due to an ownership backing the wrong horse (another young manager who had never managed at this level but had done some good things like steering Oldham away from the drop and getting Barnsley high up the league one table... ring any bells). We had to get in an experienced, calm manager who guided us through this period with professionalism and with only brief flirts of worry. We are now looking up and this is too big a job for a rookie. I don't think there were many out there suited to us, which made the sacking all the more stupid. 

Stupid is as stupid does. Here we go again, experienced manager jettisoned after not being backed and a rookie will come in, get the backing their predecessor had. 

When does a manager stop being a rookie?

At 150 games he's certainly not new to the job 

Inexperienced compared to people have been around longer, sure. Thats how time works.

Garry Monk is 8 years older but only managed 120 games more. None would call him a rookie though, and I'd rather have Manning than bring him in.

 

Rookie in other sports generally means someone in their first season professionally, that wouldn't be the case here either.

[red panda]

7 minutes ago, Spud21 said:

Even if that is the expectation from the on highs, it doesn't change a jot how we are perceived in the footballing world outside Bristol, which is an absolute backwater that has never done anything. 

We would need to be in and around the top 6 consistently for 4/5 years minimum before the footballing world considers us anything more than a below average championship club. 

 

3 minutes ago, supercidered said:

Yes Oxford. A team that plays the Gas. It's a crap league.

If we aspire to be just a middling to small championship side then this is the type of appointment that we should have expected and accept. 

It's got nothing to do with arrogance. If the hierarchy want City not to be an average team in the Championship then we need to stop acting like we are just an average club. It really is that simple. 

I get what you're saying.  But Rome wasn't built in a day.  Up to 2017 we were a club yo-yoing between League One and the Championship, spending more time in the former than the latter, and struggling to stay up when we did get promoted.  And two of the seasons since then were disrupted by Covid.  Yes I really want us to kick on further, but it's not long ago at all that we would have bitten anyone's hand off if offered the prospect of being an "average" Championship club.

[Mr Popodopolous]

3 minutes ago, YGBjammy said:

Love the LJ comparisons. This guy has much better pedigree, look at where he's been coaching and managing before managing us compared to LJ.

Also remember that no one has got us as high in the league as LJ since he left!

Nobody was backed like him either.

I was looking through the full 4 seasons of accounts the other day. Wow for us that's a lot. A lot. We don't exist in a vacuum obviously.

Yes I know some major transfer profits too.

He probably wasn't the right manger to get the best out of a fair few either and when his financial backing was at its best, 2019-20, his style went downhill completely

Edited November 6, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[RedRoss]

Just now, W-S-M Seagull said:

Go and watch the countless seminars he's done.

We get it! You're not a fan of him...

[Spud21]

Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

What has that got to do with it, I understand your point to a degree but on our own terms if he doesn't outperform the "top 10 wage budget", Manning or more likely the hierarchy, have failed.

But I am and have not been commenting on the expectations we should have of manning if/when he joins. 

I am commenting on the absolutely laughable arrogance of people saying that a man at Oxford a side a whole 10 or so places below us in the football pyramid is going to be so enamoured at getting his dream move to a championship team aiming for top 10 is going to have no professional Integrity and just allow Jon Lansdown the be defacto manager. 

We would all be pissing oirselfes at how deluded rovers fans were if they were doing the same.