Liam Manning - CONFIRMED NEW HEAD COACH

[DaveInSA]

7 minutes ago, Harry said:

I agree that I don’t think he comes in and wants to revert straight into a 3, but I do feel that he’s recruited Leigh and Stevens to be able to move to a 3. And he definitely played 3 all season at MK. 
 

I think he’s an intelligent enough bloke to come in and play to the teams strengths initially, but I do also think that in the long run we will likely see him want to recruit for a 3. 
This might mean us having to bring in a creative 10 and a right wing back who is more attack minded than Tanner and maybe when fit he uses McRorie as the RCB. 
My guess is that his initial requests from the recruitment team will be a RWB, an AM and a DM to replace James (who won’t have his contract renewed). 

Which then goes totally against this EP article https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/lansdowns-put-faith-concept-bristol-8888252, which sketches out that the ENTIRE CLUB is structured around 4-3-3 (of course this article might also be wrong)
I'm no technical or tactical wizard, but if Manning wants to change it to a 3 at the back then we're ripping it all up and starting again. 

Which would be actual peak Bristol City under Steve.
 

[exAtyeoMax]

15 minutes ago, mozo said:

The big question is, when does Manning follow Sting's lead and shave his head. Can't be far off now...

 

 

I'm always here for hard-hitting football analysis...

or take his shirt off

[Harry]

2 minutes ago, Spud21 said:

Yea agreed think he will recruit over time for a 3, not sure if McRorie is a Rwb type as well I haven't seen anything of the poor bloke and Think Tanner can do the Rcb job and you also have Sykes who can do Rwb depending on if you play a 3 up top or a two, so would assume it all depends on McRorie as to if he needs a Rwb or is more looking at a cover type player. 

Will be interested to see how Matty James gets on as I always feel he's not mobile enough to play the way I assume Manning will want us to, but then he's always absolutely everywhere so then I think maybe he does have the mobility. 

I am a huge fan of Jason Knight and how he's been playing so would be I terested to see if he could play the Am role as he looks to have at least some of the attributes. 

James won’t have his contract renewed and I think he’ll replace him - and won’t be surprised if he asks for Brannigan. 
Knight, for me, doesn’t have the creativity to play the AM role that Twine & Rodrigues do in Manning’s teams. 
Knight has a role to play, absolutely, but I think LM will want a more creative player in that AM role. 

[exAtyeoMax]

1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

He’s an “anticipator”.

a space invader…

[downendcity]

1 hour ago, DaveInSA said:

So about 6 more hours of

• ridiculous conjecture;
• crazy arguments about 3 vs 4 at the back;
• and very little in the way of excitement.

6 hours!

We've had years of

Ridiculous conjecture

Crazy arguments

And very little in the way of excitement 

[Harry]

3 minutes ago, DaveInSA said:

Which then goes totally against this EP article https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/lansdowns-put-faith-concept-bristol-8888252, which sketches out that the ENTIRE CLUB is structured around 4-3-3 (of course this article might also be wrong)
I'm no technical or tactical wizard, but if Manning wants to change it to a 3 at the back then we're ripping it all up and starting again. 

Which would be actual peak Bristol City under Steve.
 

Which was my main concern from last Tuesday when Manning was in the frame. 
See my first post on Page 5

Edited November 7, 2023 by Harry

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

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

It's clear he is a big fan of using 3 at the back. 

An apology would be nice.

You had me at "victory against Bristol Rovers"

Edited November 7, 2023 by Marina's Rolls Royce

[Spud21]

2 minutes ago, mozo said:

If Manning likes two at the bass then I guess that would be James and Knight, with Knight given a tad more licence to maraud?

Yea and this is where my concerns or not depending on which way the wind is blowing it seems on James mobility come in, but I would expect that to be the likely set up. 

[soultrader]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

…and that’s fine if those academy players coming through are ready / good enough to keep taking us forward.  When they stop being able to progress you what does he do then?

You could argue that no academy player has broken through this season.  We joke about a conveyor belt, but it’s not.  It’s still impressive the number we have got through, but it’s not linear.  Yeboah hasn’t broken through, he’s yet to start, he’s yet to oust a “first-teamer”.  He’s not done a Bell or Conway yet.  That’s not me trying to put a downer on it, just a bit of realism that we’ve had a purple batch.  I guess Ayman’s return would be a real bonus…fingers crossed.

I think you and @Silvio Dante got there first.

Hugely annoyed they’ve sacked Nige (and his staff - let’s not forget that), but the only connect between Nige and Manning is that he’s his successor.  I don’t see that as a reason to “diss” Manning….not least before he’s been announced and showed what he can do.

I said when Nige was sacked I wouldn’t go down the route of researching prospective rumoured managers because I could probably spin it either way, everyone comes with pros and cons, depends how heavily you want to go on either side.  So no anger re Manning at all, good luck to him.  I hope I see him in as positive a way as I did Nige, even if it’s for different reasons.

And for a piece of pure made-up stuff, imagine Nige was the one who identified Manning as a potential successor.  That would change things wouldn’t it?

I think it’s pretty clear that he played back 3 at MKD and predominately back 4 at Oxford.

My takeaway is that he has a flexible approach, just like Nige did….tries to find the best approach for the players he has.

On an aside, I’m not sure if it’s a sign that Manning is definitely coming or who he’s bringing with him, but Craig Short’s (First Team Coach at Oxford) missus started following me on twitter last night.

 

@Davefevs I wouldn't read that much into it.

She most likely just fancies you

[Silvio Dante]

1 minute ago, soultrader said:

@Davefevs I wouldn't read that much into it.

She most likely just fancies you

To be fair, Craig Short was a big, ugly, uncompromising centre half so she has a type…

[Merrick's Marvels]

4 minutes ago, mozo said:

If Manning likes two at the base then I guess that would be James and Knight, with Knight given a tad more licence to maraud?

Knight is wasted there, if we're insisting on "front foot football". But he's no number 10 either, so where does that leave manning's preference for 2 deep lying CMs?

We're getting ahead of ourselves - let's see if he gets the job first!

[transfer reader]

15 minutes ago, Ian M said:

• multiple reminders that he was sacked by MK just one year ago.

Hang on, who was sacked from MK just one year ago?

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

2 minutes ago, soultrader said:

@Davefevs I wouldn't read that much into it.

She most likely just fancies you

I hope that @Davefevs doesnt come up short.

[petehinton]

Has Mark Carter looked at his win % yet? He’s going to get a right hard on!!!

[Davefevs]

6 minutes ago, soultrader said:

@Davefevs I wouldn't read that much into it.

She most likely just fancies you

4 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

To be fair, Craig Short was a big, ugly, uncompromising centre half so she has a type…

You beat me to it, although I was only gonna go as far as the centre-half bit!  You took it too far!

2 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Has Mark Carter looked at his win % yet? He’s going to get a right hard on!!!

His mum has already broken up the sheets with a lump hammer twice this week!

[Henry]

16 minutes ago, Harry said:

James won’t have his contract renewed and I think he’ll replace him - and won’t be surprised if he asks for Brannigan. 
Knight, for me, doesn’t have the creativity to play the AM role that Twine & Rodrigues do in Manning’s teams. 
Knight has a role to play, absolutely, but I think LM will want a more creative player in that AM role. 

I wouldn’t be against James signing a one year deal with a to get replacement being bought it to share the load/take over. James plays ever game when fit which can’t be helpful in keeping him fit.

With Williams probably going, we need to learn lessons from when we tried to replace Pack and Smith in the last few days of a window at once! That ultimately cost LJ his job IMO.

[Dan11]

55 minutes ago, Harry said:

 

 

Sorry chaps. I just wanted to chip in on the 3 at the back debate. 
 

When at MK Dons, I watched a lot of their games that season (as I was watching Scott Twine as much as I could). 
They played 3 CB’s. Darling central, O’Hora right and Lewington left. 
It can be easy to think that Lewington can be listed as a left back but that season he was playing as the left CB in a 3. 
 

At Oxford, he started out with 4 at the back. But has recently changed to 3 after the signing of Greg Leigh late in August. 
 

At the start of the season he was generally playing Ciaron Brown LB, Sam Long RB, with Elliot Moore plus one of either Stephan Negru or Jordan Thornily as the 2 CB’s. 
 

After Leigh was signed (as well as Fin Stevens on loan from Brentford) he’s generally played 3 (5 of the last 7 games). 
Elliot Moore has been the central CB, with Sam Long RCB and Ciaron Brown LCB. 
He’s then had Fin Stevens at RWB and Greg Leigh at LWB. 

Again, if you look at some of the formations listed on various websites, a lot of the time it’s a bit of a guess by the person who input that team onto the site. The 5 names listed above only has 1 true CB in Moore. The other 4 are traditionally full backs. So it’s easy to think that he’s playing a 4 and some sites seem to show Leigh as playing as a left winger. 
From what I’ve seen that’s not the case. Leigh is definitely playing as a wing back. But the way Manning played at MK and from what I can see so far at Oxford is that he likes the wing backs to play very high and the 2 outside CB’s to split very wide. 
 

So yes, you are both technically correct. He’s played both a 4 and a 3 this season. But given he’s recruited Stevens and Leigh (and given he played it at MK) my inkling is that his preference is a 3. 

Much like McKenna, he will avoid all talk about formations and instead talk about 'principles' and moving players about within games and in/out of possession. At MK, he was very fluid between 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2, 3-4-3.

I've flicked through this thread with interest and surprised by the negativity! He would be a great appointment for you. Us Ipswich fans were worried he might end up at Norwich. 

[Major Isewater]

2 hours ago, petehinton said:

Mid afternoon announcement apparently 

Today or tomorrow ?

[Ian M]

We’ve either got 22mins to wait or 3h 22mins to wait. 

 

[TV Tom]

51 minutes ago, pl00peh91 said:

Anyone know who is taking training this morning? 

Sean Donnelly

[22A]

1 minute ago, Major Isewater said:

Today or tomorrow ?

According to this morning's TV, the clubs still have to decide the compensation package. Then LM will be ours.

[Merrick's Marvels]

25 minutes ago, Dan11 said:

Much like McKenna, he will avoid all talk about formations and instead talk about 'principles' and moving players about within games and in/out of possession. At MK, he was very fluid between 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2, 3-4-3.

I've flicked through this thread with interest and surprised by the negativity! He would be a great appointment for you. Us Ipswich fans were worried he might end up at Norwich. 

Very few are negative about Manning.

We are negative, and angry, about the way our owners treated Pearson. We'll need a while to get over that (3 points by 5o'clock on Saturday should do it).

And I'll be surprised if Manning doesn't do well for us but whether that will be good enough for our deluded owners is another thing entirely.

Edited November 7, 2023 by Merrick's Marvels

[BrizzleRed]

3 minutes ago, Dan11 said:

Much like McKenna, he will avoid all talk about formations and instead talk about 'principles' and moving players about within games and in/out of possession. At MK, he was very fluid between 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2, 3-4-3.

I've flicked through this thread with interest and surprised by the negativity! He would be a great appointment for you. Us Ipswich fans were worried he might end up at Norwich. 

Good to hear matey and certainly hoping he can do the business.  

I think much of the negativity stems from our recent poll on here prior to the Pearson sacking, when 95% of the votes were for wanting Nige to stay.

So more pro NP, rather than anti Manning.

 

[Northern Red]

14 minutes ago, Henry said:

I wouldn’t be against James signing a one year deal with a to get replacement being bought it to share the load/take over. James plays ever game when fit which can’t be helpful in keeping him fit.

With Williams probably going, we need to learn lessons from when we tried to replace Pack and Smith in the last few days of a window at once! That ultimately cost LJ his job IMO.

Agreed. Though tbh I'm not sure he'll want to stick around even if we were to offer him something.

[Phileas Fogg]

12 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Today or tomorrow ?

3pm today 

[Harry]

18 minutes ago, Henry said:

I wouldn’t be against James signing a one year deal with a to get replacement being bought it to share the load/take over. James plays ever game when fit which can’t be helpful in keeping him fit.

With Williams probably going, we need to learn lessons from when we tried to replace Pack and Smith in the last few days of a window at once! That ultimately cost LJ his job IMO.

 

3 minutes ago, Northern Red said:

Agreed. Though tbh I'm not sure he'll want to stick around even if we were to offer him something.

From what I understand, I very much don’t expect us to offer him a new deal. 
But…Manning may see something in him and convince the club to keep him. 
I think Pearson would’ve offered him an extension but I don’t believe “the club” thought the same. 

[mozo]

15 minutes ago, 22A said:

According to this morning's TV, the clubs still have to decide the compensation package. Then LM will be ours.

The Post reported yesterday that there was a 6 figure release clause so no compensation issue?

[mozo]

1 minute ago, Harry said:

 

From what I understand, I very much don’t expect us to offer him a new deal. 
But…Manning may see something in him and convince the club to keep him. 
I think Pearson would’ve offered him an extension but I don’t believe “the club” thought the same. 

Matty James has been one of our best players in recent years in my humble opinion. And clearly a good character.

[Show Me The Money!]

1 hour ago, Silvio Dante said:

Jon Lansdown.

He's taking them out into the car park to draw pictures using coloured chalks 

[Harry]

19 minutes ago, Dan11 said:

Much like McKenna, he will avoid all talk about formations and instead talk about 'principles' and moving players about within games and in/out of possession. At MK, he was very fluid between 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2, 3-4-3.

I've flicked through this thread with interest and surprised by the negativity! He would be a great appointment for you. Us Ipswich fans were worried he might end up at Norwich. 

As others have alluded, the negativity is more due to Pearson’s dismissal. 
 

Personally, I’m not as bothered as others about Pearson leaving and am actually quite enthused at Manning’s appointment. 
As I said earlier, I watched the MK team a number of times under his tenure and I really enjoyed the way they played. 
Similarly, I saw Oxford a couple of times last year (before he arrived) and they were dog-awful and I thought they’d go down, but since his arrival he’s turned around the results but also the performances. 
 

I’m probably in a minority on here but I’m actually happy with his arrival.