First impressions post Nige

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

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

Yet again another post from you would shows you're at least 30 years behind the rest of us.

It was actually 1977. So that makes me 46 years behind the "rest of you" or possibly I just love that song .

[EstoniaTallinnRed]

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

Lots of positives? What game was he watching? 

I'm sorry, but I amost went to sleep when listening to him, doesn't seem very forward.

[One Team]

2 minutes ago, EstoniaTallinnRed said:

I'm sorry, but I amost went to sleep when listening to him, doesn't seem very forward.

Likewise, and TBF a lot of the Oxford fans did say he’s emotionless, robotic  and weren’t keen on his pre and post match stuff. Doesn’t matter if you are winning I guess.

[red panda]

Positives for me were the clean sheet and we no longer simply hoof balls in the general direction of Sam and expect him to work miracles. Work in progress. 

[Top Robin]

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

Because QPR were absolutely shite? 

No there weren't 

[Sheltons Army]

There seems to be numerous attempts and suggestions as to who is going to play whose role from Mannings Oxford side

is this a new fantasy type game ?

I was always under the impression that Manning is not set on a formation or set up , as any decent coach ,just some underlying principles .

 

Do people really think he’s going to simply try and replicate his Oxford side ? 

 

 

* You can’t lay any blame at Mannings door already 

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Sheltons Army

[robin_unreliant]

32 minutes ago, Harry said:

This is no dig at Manning. I actually liked his style of play and I want him to succeed here. But he’s gonna need a number of replacements to do so. 

No doubt the fact Manning knows L1 players is part of why we wanted him. We'll be shopping in the lower leagues, picking up players he has seen are top-end at that level. Problem is they aren't gonna be top-end at this level. So I don't see much likelihood of anything other than rinse and repeat the same old failed strategy.

[redkev]

Ffs how can you judge a manager after a game , even 10 games , let’s be fair even a lot of the ( I love Nige supporters and I’m one of them ) would have had up and down moments of wanting Nige in or out over the last couple of years 

give the bloke a chance , my positives for today were that he deffo made the right substitutions the 3 he took off were very poor .

also my patience with wiemanm is wearing thin , cannot knock his commitment or effort but the bloke hardly gets on the ball , I would be very surprised if over the last 4 or 5 games if any players has had less touches .

[Bat Fastard]

In his post match interview he spent most of the time looking down and not looking at the interviewer.  To my mind that looks a bit "shifty".  Maybe he is just not very confident - not ideal for someone in his position. Early days and he will have to spend the next two weeks of the international break without his international players - hard to coach his new ideas when so many senior players are absent.  This may be a long, hard winter. 

[UncleRed]

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

So if he's far better than the players he's coaching then he has the ability to make them better? 

With Nige we were capable of challenging for the top 6 this season. We would have won today and been 2 points off the play offs.

Ripping up everything and starting again with heavy investment is going back to the LJ days.

Jesus

[glynriley]

40 minutes ago, Harry said:

It’s highly relevant. We looked at how he played there and liked it. 
Yes it’s a step up in quality in this division. The players at his disposal at Oxford (the midfield trio at least) are high end League 1 players, nay, even championship level players. 
The key difference here is that the central midfield trio are not high end players in this division. Therefore we will struggle to impose OUR game onto them. 
So Oxford is very relevant, because the manager has been recruited because of his style he played there. But I’m afraid he will have quickly learned today that JL and BT have not built a promotion challenging squad. 
 

This is no dig at Manning. I actually liked his style of play and I want him to succeed here. But he’s gonna need a number of replacements to do so. 

I’d imagine he’ll completely revamp the midfield in the summer. Weimann, King, James and Williams all OOC I believe. Think he’ll let all of them go and rebuild. 

[EstoniaTallinnRed]

47 minutes ago, Frenchay Red said:

My thoughts are that it is irrelevant how Oxford play. They're in League One. Championship is the players in the way they were to [laybig step up(apart from Ipswich )

Also any new coach/manager would surely have encouraged the players to stick with Pearson's style of play for today's game and then use the international break to work on their own particular way that they want to affect change.

I was going to post exactly the same, but thought I would get shot down in flames so didn't. It would have been the best thing to do, even keeping on Fleming until after todays game and just let Manning observe. Then, as you said Manning and crew would have the international break to coach the players in the way they wanted them to play. I'm not saying it won't take longer, but still it would have the sensible thing to do and we may have taken all three points then.

[cidercity1987]

2 minutes ago, Bat Fastard said:

In his post match interview he spent most of the time looking down and not looking at the interviewer.  To my mind that looks a bit "shifty".  Maybe he is just not very confident - not ideal for someone in his position. Early days and he will have to spend the next two weeks of the international break without his international players - hard to coach his new ideas when so many senior players are absent.  This may be a long, hard winter. 

Totally agree. He doesn't look anything remotely like the bloke for us

[redkev]

1 minute ago, cidercity1987 said:

Totally agree. He doesn't look anything remotely like the bloke for us

After 90 mins and 3 days in charge , oh ok then , 

seem to remember sir Alex Ferguson ( the best British manager by a mile ) not quite ripping it up in his first 6-9 months never mind first game , 

[luke_bristol]

1 hour ago, citywest30 said:

I don't get the argument that we don't have the players to play Manning's style.

Surely if he can get players in not just one, but two League 1 squads to play it then surely our lot can. Granted we may need to add some more that do it better but you'd like to think players like Weimann, TGH, James, Bell, Conway, Mehmeti are good enough.

Depends how stark the gap is between their style and his I suppose. He couldn’t have taken over Harry Redknapp’s Spurs side and had Crouch running through at pace and latching onto cute through-balls in the space behind the CBs  

 

One for Fevs?

[noize]

The reason i was disappointed with the hiring of Manning is because i was expecting performances like this.

You can get some information from a first game in charge, see how the new manager impacts the team, what they do differently. How many times have you seen a team at the bottom of the league, completely awful, new manager comes in and first game they beat someone at the top? Everyone usually says its because the players need to show the new manager their value so they work harder....not happened today though.

I just thought QPR are so bad this season we would win this game, we have a top ten budget and a squad to challenge for the Prem right?.. or was that just Lansdown dross, i forget.

[Andy082005]

54 minutes ago, WayOutWest said:

Exactly. We would be a comfortable mid table side. Now I fear we could be an uncomfortable mid table side with our eyes looking over our shoulder. 

Hope I am wrong. But said it before this has set us back 12 - 18 months 

 

You’ve based this opinion on what exactly?

[steviestevieneville]

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

Come back to me when you have a footballing understanding.

Do you Bristol Sport bosses approve of you saying such things? 

 

**** me pot kettle applies here.  

[Andy082005]

15 minutes ago, cidercity1987 said:

Totally agree. He doesn't look anything remotely like the bloke for us

And people give me stick on here for over reacting at times 

Honestly. Some people are acting like heart broken teenagers because ‘Nige’ isn’t here anymore 

[citywest30]

1 hour ago, Harry said:

Not necessarily. 
All players are different. You wouldn’t expect Vinnie Jones to be able to play like Paul Gascoigne. 
I think the only name you mentioned above who might be able to play Manning’s way might be TGH. But even then I don’t think he’s quite ‘all action’ enough and can be very laboured in possession and not brilliantly defensive-minded in recovery positions  

Everything about our central midfield is slow slow slow. 
Slow passing, slow on the turn, slow speed of thought. 
Honestly, it’s a stark contrast to how Oxford play. We have no one-touch football. It’s all 3 or 4 touches and ponderous. Stark contrast. 
 

Manning has a huge task trying to get some of these players to play that same way. 
 

Caveat - Yes, I know Oxford are league 1.

No, I get that but do we know what the Oxford players were like before he got them playing that way. I'll be honest, I've no clue but I can't believe players of the calibre I mentioned can't adapt to some extent. I would have thought the starting point for these players is better than those at Oxford and MK.

[Frenchay Red]

50 minutes ago, Harry said:

It’s highly relevant. We looked at how he played there and liked it. 
Yes it’s a step up in quality in this division. The players at his disposal at Oxford (the midfield trio at least) are high end League 1 players, nay, even championship level players. 
The key difference here is that the central midfield trio are not high end players in this division. Therefore we will struggle to impose OUR game onto them. 
So Oxford is very relevant, because the manager has been recruited because of his style he played there. But I’m afraid he will have quickly learned today that JL and BT have not built a promotion challenging squad. 
 

This is no dig at Manning. I actually liked his style of play and I want him to succeed here. But he’s gonna need a number of replacements to do so. 

I respect your thoughts and am aware that you have worked in scouting etc. However Oxford's high end midfield players didn't stop us putting 9 past them in two games earlier this season/preseason.

My limited knowledge/observation is based on over 70 years following this club. During that time only three managers have really impressed. AD for obvious reasons, GJ who almost pulled it off, and Cotts who gave me the most enjoyable season ever.

I was starting to think that Pearson, given time and backing might have added to the very small list.

I have real doubts about the new guy. Mainly because of those in control and making the decisions. I wonder whether getting rid of Pearson was more important to them than appointing Manning.

I so want to be proven wrong.

[Kibs]

9 minutes ago, noize said:

The reason i was disappointed with the hiring of Manning is because i was expecting performances like this.

You can get some information from a first game in charge, see how the new manager impacts the team, what they do differently. How many times have you seen a team at the bottom of the league, completely awful, new manager comes in and first game they beat someone at the top? Everyone usually says its because the players need to show the new manager their value so they work harder....not happened today though.

I just thought QPR are so bad this season we would win this game, we have a top ten budget and a squad to challenge for the Prem right?.. or was that just Lansdown dross, i forget.

But what happens when both teams have a new manager? Like today. 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Cristored said:

We don’t have the players to suit Mannijg style but new that already, this season will show us those with a future and those without, heavy investment required.

Whattttttttttttttttt!  Are you serious.

You clearly haven’t been listening to anyone at the club these past 7-10 days, including Liam Manning this week.

In a perverse way a draw was a perfect result today to see people’s true colours.  Yours shining through.

 

[Top Robin]

Manning has seen today how much work needs to be done to improve Pearsons team

[steviestevieneville]

He’s had three training sessions . If anyone thinks he can get the players playing the way he wants in that time then they need their heads read. Now , with a international break & not many players away with their countries he’ll have more time on the training ground & hopefully we’ll see a few more tweaks . Tough first home game though . 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Harry said:

Too early to judge Manning and that would be extremely unfair. 
I could see a couple of things that he tried to tweek. Based on watching a few Oxford games this week I could see he was trying to do a couple of the things he did there. 
 

The Oxford centre midfield is quick in possession and quick in recovery too. I think by starting Knight in the deeper CM role alongside James was designed to get some more legs/energy in that position. Then trying Weimann as a 10 was designed to get plenty of legs in that area too. 
However, I think Manning might have been a little surprised at how poor some of our players are in possession. 
Knight, for all his energy and determination, made a number of passing errors.  And Weimann just didn’t get in the game. 
So those 2 little tweeks didn’t work. Manning will learn from that I hope. 
 

Again, having watched Oxford a number of times this week, his centre backs aren’t necessarily pinging the ball around. They tend to play short passes into the midfield or into the number 10 coming toward them. They then rely on the 2 CM’s and the AM to retain possession and begin to force the play and play forward. 
I think Manning will again have learned today that Vyner isn’t the best distributor of the ball, but if he gives it short to James he basically just gets it back off of him again. This doesn’t happen with Oxford. The CB’s aren’t continually exchanging passes with the CM’s. It’s the CM’s job to turn and create and force. Because our CM’s aren’t very good at that they tend to knock it back to the CB’s too much and don’t take responsibility themselves. It’s too easy for them to pass the responsibility on to someone else. 
Plus there is no AM who can confidently receive the ball with back to goal coming back deep, so our CB’s are forced to play long - which they’re not good at. 
 

So, I think he’ll have discovered today that he doesn’t have the players to play the way he wants - which was my primary concern from day 1. 
And that’s not Manning’s fault. He has his style of play, we recruited him, but we don’t have the players that suit him. We have runners, tryers, grafters, but not much ball quality. 
Good luck Liam……. 

A very measured post, Harry.

[Cristored]

4 minutes ago, Spreadsheet Boy said:

Whattttttttttttttttt!  Are you serious.

You clearly haven’t been listening to anyone at the club these past 7-10 days, including Liam Manning this week.

In a perverse way a draw was a perfect result today to see people’s true colours.  Yours shining through.

 

What and you believe them? They have mugged you off good and proper.

[Davefevs]

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

Lots of positives? What game was he watching? 

There were some, not many.  We defended pretty well, we finished the game strongly.  Dickie might need to take more responsibility on the ball than LM thought unless he gets TGH in as a distributor.

We saw several negatives too.  Both full-backs left one on one far too many times.  We have to be more compact.

It is far too early to judge Manning.  He should’ve learned a lot today.  That’s a positive in some ways.

[REDOXO]

30 minutes ago, Bat Fastard said:

In his post match interview he spent most of the time looking down and not looking at the interviewer.  To my mind that looks a bit "shifty".  Maybe he is just not very confident - not ideal for someone in his position. Early days and he will have to spend the next two weeks of the international break without his international players - hard to coach his new ideas when so many senior players are absent.  This may be a long, hard winter. 

When you know so many never wanted you in the first place it’s going to have an effect!

[Monkeh]

1 hour ago, And Its Smith said:

And we had 7 injuries today. 

We also had those injuries while nige was here at least the team we're committed, today they didn't look like wanting to play for the "head coach"

Early days but you can't use the I juries as an excuse and at the same time not use it as one for nige