Liam Manning - CONFIRMED NEW HEAD COACH

[JP Hampton]

39 minutes ago, One Team said:

He’s got a hell of a job getting a lot of fans on side who didn’t want Pearson sacked, along with gaining promotion with having no previous experience of doing so. 

 

Not so sure about that. I understand your reasons but I think most fans even those who didn’t want to see NP gone, will get on board and judge by what they see. If we get good results fans will be on board pretty quickly. 

[fisherrich]

The bloke is going to be on a tightrope from the GO. Under whelming IMO. Still a big risk and I have my doubts. This is a massive step up for him. Lansdown "interference".  Someone who is unproven, untested in the Championship. But probably as good as Bristol Sport (sorry City) will get.

Bound to have to "obey the boss". Odds are stacked against him IMO.

[RedRoss]

1 minute ago, LondonBristolian said:

Potentially a good appointment but, as the Chair and Technical Director have made clear, he doesn’t have much time to settle.

A promotion challenge this season is the promise and it must be the expectation.

Good luck to him but there will be no excuses in May if we are not where we need to be. 

What if we're 7th?

[BrizzleRed]

1 minute ago, cheese said:

Well, 8 goals in one game is pretty entertainment.  Are you not entertained?

Only if they’re going in the right net

[Ziderarmy]

43 minutes ago, Rossi the Robin said:

Assistant Boss Hogg

DW? 

Edited November 7, 2023 by Ziderarmy

[The Dolman Pragmatist]

2 minutes ago, fisherrich said:

The bloke is going to be on a tightrope from the GO. Under whelming IMO. Still a big risk and I have my doubts. This is a massive step up for him. Lansdown "interference".  Someone who is unproven, untested in the Championship. But probably as good as Bristol Sport (sorry City) will get.

Bound to have to "obey the boss". Odds are stacked against him IMO.

But apart from that, a good appointment?

[Southport Red]

1 hour ago, transfer reader said:

Great start 

Could it be as in “Luke who’s our new Head Coach”, d’ya think?

Edited November 7, 2023 by Southport Red

[EstoniaTallinnRed]

Well it's official at last, will always miss NP, but now let's start a new era. Good luck Liam, get the boys performing, starting with 3 points at QPR.

[westonred]

[W-S-M Seagull]

5 hours 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.
 

This is my concern. That everything gets ripped up and we start again. That's not what we need. 

It was stated that whoever we brought in would need to fit into this structure and I have my concerns that this may not be the case with Manning. 

We have been through 3-4 years of absolute crap to get our squad to where it is now. I'd say this is one of the best squads we've ever had in terms of quality and mentality. 

We don't need revolution, we don't even need evolution. We just need enhancement. 

My worry is that Manning is going to recieve LJ levels of support and then we are back to where we started. 

You can hear the excuses already about him not having the right players to play his system and that alone shows this could be the wrong appointment.

We don't need to recruit and give him time to recruit for his preferred system. He needs to work with what he has got.

This has the potential to go very wrong very quickly and that concerns me.

[luke_bristol]

9 minutes ago, the1stknowle said:

“We all wanted Nigel to achieve our ambition to be promoted but, with our recent results, feel that now is the time to make a change to give the club the best possible chance of success.”

This quote?

“Ultimately made the decision (to sack NP) because we think the squad is good enough”

We can split hairs about what exactly he means by “good enough” if you want but I assume finishing 12th doesn’t qualify as good enough in JL’s eyes and he means the POs.

[Fjmcity]

8 minutes ago, downendcity said:

Far too much love for Pearson that was misplaced loathing for SL.

Now I worry that the same sentiment means that many see the appointment as underwhelming and almost wishing it to fail for the same reason.

Manning seems to be a bright young coach and can hopefully inspire our squad - perhaps with different ideas. He deserves more of a chance than many seem prepared to give him.

P.S. I liked NP, but think he's been given legendary status as much to spite to spite SL as that he deserved it. Oh that NP had come in after LJ.

Completely agree, his sacking and the subsequent outrage has been more of a convenient stick to beat the lansdowns with rather than a real footballing loss

nige wasn’t exactly inspiring passion on or off the field was he (until his exit) hopefully some more exciting football and abit more to cheer about will put the off field issues in the background where they should be 

[Shev]

Wycombe fan here. I just wanted to post as we have come up against Liam Manning's sides a few times, and I have been very impressed with what he has accomplished. I was just mentioning him a week or so ago to a friend as the face of a new breed of younger British managers who have a bit more nuance (and almost continental understanding) of the game, compared to the "up and at 'em" ethos of yesteryear.

For context on his MK sacking, he had them playing amazing football in 21/22, coming 3rd and very close to the autos. However, they sold their best player and had a lot of top quality loanees who went back, and they simply could not replace well enough, leading to a bad start to 22/23 and a sacking (MK would end up relegated too). He went to Oxford who were floundering, kept them up, and then cracked on excellently this season.

I really think his style is suited to higher up the divisions, which is why in theory he is an excellent hire. He is one of those (along with Mousinho at Portsmouth and others) who I expect to work his way up one way or another. We are not talking about hiring some clogger from the lower leagues, but someone with a very good grasp of the game.

Of course it could come unstuck - who knows if he will have enough credibility with the players, and the Championship is so competitive that it is easy to go on a bad run. It also may take him a while to bed in. But seeing as you tend to be a pretty loyal club with managers, my money is on him being a success with you.

Oh, and if he could actually develop Mehmeti, so much the better!

[LondonBristolian]

5 minutes ago, RedRoss said:

What if we're 7th?

I agree we need Jon Lansdown to clarify that. He set the expectation so I would expect him to lay out the test of whether the manager he appointed succeeds or fails. Hopefully JL will update the fans in the coming weeks as to whether 7th is good enough or not.

[mozo]

12 minutes ago, downendcity said:

Far too much love for Pearson that was misplaced loathing for SL.

Now I worry that the same sentiment means that many see the appointment as underwhelming and almost wishing it to fail for the same reason.

Manning seems to be a bright young coach and can hopefully inspire our squad - perhaps with different ideas. He deserves more of a chance than many seem prepared to give him.

P.S. I liked NP, but think he's been given legendary status as much to spite to spite SL as that he deserved it. Oh that NP had come in after LJ.

The board have created this problem by choosing to sack a popular manager. 

[Southport Red]

33 minutes ago, RedHienz said:

Still time by the sounds of it 

@RedHienzcongratulations, you have just won the internet

[W-S-M Seagull]

7 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

Potentially a good appointment but, as the Chair and Technical Director have made clear, he doesn’t have much time to settle.

A promotion challenge this season is the promise and it must be the expectation.

Good luck to him but there will be no excuses in May if we are not where we need to be. 

Indeed. That's the expectation he has signed up for. 

There is no grace period for him. 

Hes been given a 3.5 year contract and that concerns me that this may turn into another project. 

He's got a squad that the owners think is good enough to challenge. There would be absolutely zero buy in from me if he says we need X amount of players to be able to challange. He's got what he's got and he needs to work with that and get them to out perform the budget and their ability.

[Lack of Action Man]

Meh. I’m certainly not gonna get on his back. However he’s gonna have to do a lot to convince me this is a decent appointment.

[RedM]

2 minutes ago, mozo said:

The board have created this problem by choosing to sack a popular manager. 

For me it's not so much losing a popular manager, but more the change to Head Coach and the restructuring above. 

From what i read about Manning I like the sound of him, but wish he was here under different circumstances is the best way I can explain it.

[BrizzleRed]

Good luck Liam and we’re all rooting for you to do well here.  

One bit of friendly advice which will help you out no end though …… ffs, don’t come out with any Lee Johnson style gobbledygook bullshit during your pressers, otherwise we’ll be down on you like a pack of wolves.  

Nige was a welcome relief to that crap, so please let’s keep it that way, there’s a good chap!

All the best mate and hope we all enjoy your time here.

[RUSSEL85]

Good interview, articulate, intelligent and has a good record. Lets hope it carries on with us (especially the win %).

[RedRoss]

3 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

I agree we need Jon Lansdown to clarify that. He set the expectation so I would expect him to lay out the test of whether the manager he appointed succeeds or fails. Hopefully JL will update the fans in the coming weeks as to whether 7th is good enough or not.

Do we? Individually surely we can have our own expectations for our new manager. Regardless of what JL says. I'll give him the same expectations as Nige. Better than last year. Top 10 would be good, top 6 would be excellent. Promotion would be unbelievable.

[downendcity]

1 minute ago, Fjmcity said:

Completely agree, his sacking and the subsequent outrage has been more of a convenient stick to beat the lansdowns with rather than a real footballing loss

nige wasn’t exactly inspiring passion on or off the field was he (until his exit) hopefully some more exciting football and abit more to cheer about will put the off field issues in the background where they should be 

That's not to detract from what he did achieve, and that was helping to resolve the financial hole in which MA left us. 

Was NP the future for Bristol City?

I'm not sure, and wonder if sentiment has overtaken some thinking, ie. He managed fir long with one hand tied behind his backeen  so surely he such r deserves a crack without restrictions.

Just to repeat, I like NP and would've had no problem had his contract been extended.

[Dan11]

8 minutes ago, Shev said:

Wycombe fan here. I just wanted to post as we have come up against Liam Manning's sides a few times, and I have been very impressed with what he has accomplished. I was just mentioning him a week or so ago to a friend as the face of a new breed of younger British managers who have a bit more nuance (and almost continental understanding) of the game, compared to the "up and at 'em" ethos of yesteryear.

For context on his MK sacking, he had them playing amazing football in 21/22, coming 3rd and very close to the autos. However, they sold their best player and had a lot of top quality loanees who went back, and they simply could not replace well enough, leading to a bad start to 22/23 and a sacking (MK would end up relegated too). He went to Oxford who were floundering, kept them up, and then cracked on excellently this season.

I really think his style is suited to higher up the divisions, which is why in theory he is an excellent hire. He is one of those (along with Mousinho at Portsmouth and others) who I expect to work his way up one way or another. We are not talking about hiring some clogger from the lower leagues, but someone with a very good grasp of the game.

Of course it could come unstuck - who knows if he will have enough credibility with the players, and the Championship is so competitive that it is easy to go on a bad run. It also may take him a while to bed in. But seeing as you tend to be a pretty loyal club with managers, my money is on him being a success with you.

Oh, and if he could actually develop Mehmeti, so much the better!

They got absolutely 'Ains-worthed' in the play offs! A total shithousing. 

[Malago]

I think sacking Nige was a huge mistake, but that’s water under the bridge now.  FWIW I think we have an upper mid table squad who would have finished 10-12th under Nige.  If the new Mann can do better than that I’ll be pleased.

COYR.

[JP Hampton]

5 minutes ago, downendcity said:

Was NP the future for Bristol City?

 

Trouble is we’ll never know. 

[robin_unreliant]

22 minutes ago, One Team said:

You make some pretty good points there and I’d agree, he’s got no honeymoon period, a few losses on the bounce and it could get toxic.

It may get toxic on here but I suspect the crowd at AG will be more patient than that.

[Shev]

5 minutes ago, Dan11 said:

They got absolutely 'Ains-worthed' in the play offs! A total shithousing. 

Very true! That was a rather satisfying win, to say the least, though we came out completely flat against Sunderland in the final.

Either way, we have moved on too - still somewhat direct, but playing more football and much less dark arts under Matt Bloomfield.

[the1stknowle]

12 minutes ago, luke_bristol said:

“Ultimately made the decision (to sack NP) because we think the squad is good enough”

We can split hairs about what exactly he means by “good enough” if you want but I assume finishing 12th doesn’t qualify as good enough in JL’s eyes and he means the POs.

Fair enough but, if that really is the quote everyone is using to back up the 'promoted or sacked' posts, then that is pretty tenuous.

[Top Robin]

57 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

F me

Ive heard it all now

 

Liam , let me introduce Bristol City’s infamous whiner from afar 

I dont think we will ever agree on this one SA.......I whinge about underperforming managers and you accept them. We both find each others views hard to comprehend.

But so long as we keep it civil, and at the end of the day, we both are big City fans.