Liam Manning on SOTC

[Robbored]

59 minutes ago, One Team said:

Completely agree. Again I found him a tough listen, although the questions were very bland, apart from touching on the personal aspect very slightly. 

Manning speaks very quickly but manages to say very little and litters statements with almost Lee Johnson level buzz words (really don’t want to hear “principles” again!) that don’t really give any meaning. 

To your point though no one will care if he wins games and gets promotion. 

They were very bland - made wish that GT hadn’t retired.

Talking a lot without saying anything of substance is just like LJ and his father before him……….……

That said LM is very inexperienced at Championship level but probably realises how fans will hang on every word and that realisation led to the rather dull and insipid interview on RB - he certainly wouldn’t want to create any controversy and consequently was very careful in what he said.

Hopefully when he’s more comfortable in the role his communication skills will improve.

[steveybadger]

14 hours ago, Leabrook said:

At some point in the not too distant past, someone was the first person to say ‘getting out on the grass’ and I hope whoever said that is proud of themselves 

It’ll be the same person who started referring to ‘the football club’ rather than just ‘the club’.

[Port Said Red]

May I ask what people expected him to say?  

[Silvio Dante]

11 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Talking a lot without saying anything of substance is just like LJ and his father before him……….……

 

[CodeRed]

5 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Talking a lot without saying anything of substance is just like LJ and his father before him……….…

Back one day and has managed to get Gary Johnson into a thread that has absolutely nothing to do with him.

The fire still burns

[Pezo]

12 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

May I ask what people expected him to say?  

Something insightful rather than just platitudes, something about what's actually happening within the club.

[cidered abroad]

9 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

May I ask what people expected him to say?  

Manning is the new head coach on the block. So why would anyone expect him to be anything but cautious about any questions or comments. I liked his predecessor but he hardly rushed into any answers until  the last few weeks of his time here.

Manning will be cautious until he's been here some time. Even though the Lansdown's employed him, he will not want to upset them. And even above them his prime objective at present is to win the trust and confidence of the players. Honest opinions may be exchanged in the in the privacy of the training centre but to make damaging comments in public are not on.

[Super]

11 hours ago, Henry said:

I probably will eventually but the guy just doesn’t have me rushing to listen to him.

Not the most inspiring of characters.

[DaveF]

13 hours ago, The Humble Realist said:

He comes across as lee johnson without all the BS to me

Doesn't come across like Lee Johnson at all then!

[Davefevs]

8 hours ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

He certainly had a lot of disciples. I was mainly Thomas.

I’m shocked, I’ll tell ye 

2 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

One thing there can’t be is a downturn. I think most people would take similar results to achieved by Nige if performances improved. History has shown though we’re less patient to accept results if performance is poor (I’m thinking Holden). The QPR game was one where we expected a point minimum no matter who was in charge but the poor nature of the performance reflected badly.

Summary: I think, unless results go through the roof with worse performance, we’d take performances improving primarily. If, however, results stay the same/marginally improve or worsen and performance takes a downturn, then I think that’s what causes the most potential issues

The essence of what I posted yesterday.  A lot of emphasis from JL and Tins re the style wanted, and Manning himself said the same.  So that is something to evaluate along with results.

35 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

May I ask what people expected him to say?  

I’m not sure either?

I don’t think there was anything wrong with last night’s SOTC interview at all.  He came across well imho.  Those types of interview ought to be meat and drink to him.  That’s not a criticism either, it is relatively easy to talk about your principles and methods when you’ve been honing them for 20 years, and he doesn’t seem fazed by “public speaking”.  He was probably on auto-pilot to some extent.

Let’s not forget that Nige’s style was hardly exciting at times, although the nuggets were in what he said, not how he said it.  His deliberate slow delivery to avoid saying something stupid was not what most expected from a man with the ostrich incident that was more a one-off than his normal style.

He will be judged on performances, but as is the way, if you win games you don’t get scrutinised for what you say and how you say it, if you lose, you do.  That’s footie.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Davefevs

[Major Isewater]

17 minutes ago, Super said:

Not the most inspiring of characters.

Are we still talking about Robbored ? 

[Chivs]

2 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

One thing there can’t be is a downturn. I think most people would take similar results to achieved by Nige if performances improved. History has shown though we’re less patient to accept results if performance is poor (I’m thinking Holden). The QPR game was one where we expected a point minimum no matter who was in charge but the poor nature of the performance reflected badly.

Summary: I think, unless results go through the roof with worse performance, we’d take performances improving primarily. If, however, results stay the same/marginally improve or worsen and performance takes a downturn, then I think that’s what causes the most potential issues

Performances can't take a downturn. They were grimly awful under Pearson.  Even in victory we were awful.  "Bristol City vs Coventry" is now in the dictionary for "daylight robbery".  The 4-1 drubbing of Plymouth's second team was not without chances for Plymouth etc.

 

Also, people seemed to forget that for the first two years Pearson's interviews were dour and dull. I think this was partly to do with his Covid but it was not a good listen.

For the final 6 months, Pearson seemed to relax and provide good background until he went batshit crazy...

[italian dave]

37 minutes ago, Pezo said:

Something insightful rather than just platitudes, something about what's actually happening within the club.

With respect, a bit unrealistic?

Managers anywhere almost never open up about what’s happening within a club, least of all one who’s only been there two weeks.

They might open up more about their own footballing ethos, beliefs, experiences given the right setting and the right questions. But that wasn’t really the case this time.

But don’t expect them to tell you anything very insightful about events within the club. Manning is no exception to most in that respect. 

[maxjak]

15 hours ago, Will Rollason said:

      He don't half look like John Tracy                                                       (younger readers ask yr dad... or granddad)

Of all the comparisons..........Niles etc?   This by far the best and closest.   Thunderbirds are Go!

[Davefevs]

15 minutes ago, Chivs said:

The 4-1 drubbing of Plymouth's second team was not without chances for Plymouth etc.

Was it not a good performance though?  What makes a good performance for you?

And if they were in your opinion “grimly awful” it ought to be a piece of piss to improve then?

[Port Said Red]

56 minutes ago, Pezo said:

Something insightful rather than just platitudes, something about what's actually happening within the club.

What like, "I have joined a shitshow and I am working with a bunch of backstabbers monitoring everything I say and do"?

It seems anything other than that makes him a Lansdown puppet.

[2015]

I miss Nigel Pearson.

[Out of his pie crust]

Eds a very pleasant interviewer and strays into asking and answering his own questions…..I don’t think you’re going to get too much drama with that style 

[Pezo]

1 hour ago, italian dave said:

With respect, a bit unrealistic?

Managers anywhere almost never open up about what’s happening within a club, least of all one who’s only been there two weeks.

They might open up more about their own footballing ethos, beliefs, experiences given the right setting and the right questions. But that wasn’t really the case this time.

But don’t expect them to tell you anything very insightful about events within the club. Manning is no exception to most in that respect. 

But then it's just anything anyone could tell us about any football club. I'm not interested in Manning and his philosophy until it impacts on Bristol city.

Nige managed to at least imply things that were happening and what he had to change. What is Manning trying to change? Where does he see the problems at the moment with Bristol city?

[Pezo]

1 hour ago, Port Said Red said:

What like, "I have joined a shitshow and I am working with a bunch of backstabbers monitoring everything I say and do"?

It seems anything other than that makes him a Lansdown puppet.

If he thinks that's true then find a way of saying it or implying it maybe?

[Galley is our king]

2 hours ago, CodeRed said:

Back one day and has managed to get Gary Johnson into a thread that has absolutely nothing to do with him.

The fire still burns

So does his backside....

[Kibs]

34 minutes ago, Pezo said:

But then it's just anything anyone could tell us about any football club. I'm not interested in Manning and his philosophy until it impacts on Bristol city.

Nige managed to at least imply things that were happening and what he had to change. What is Manning trying to change? Where does he see the problems at the moment with Bristol city?

I won’t criticise the interviewer, because I’ve never interviewed anyone in my life in this context, but I find it a hard listen when they continually ask leading questions - much like the in house City stuff. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Kibs

[italian dave]

23 minutes ago, Pezo said:

But then it's just anything anyone could tell us about any football club. I'm not interested in Manning and his philosophy until it impacts on Bristol city.

Nige managed to at least imply things that were happening and what he had to change. What is Manning trying to change? Where does he see the problems at the moment with Bristol city?

Oh, agree on that first bit - but again I'd argue that's the case for most interviews with most managers. I've said on here several times that I always felt NP's famed "telling it like it is' didn't really amount to much more than telling us what we already knew!

NP joined us at a time when the need for huge change was obvious to all. Our failed gamble with splashing the cash, coupled with covid, left the club in a state. That was what NP was quite explicitly brought in to sort out. We knew it. The Lansdowns knew it. It wasn't a surprise therefore when he told us how that needed to change. And, even then, he didn't (as I recall) say anything very much about why or how that was going to happen until he'd been here a fair few weeks to get measure of the situation.

Manning joins us in very different circumstances. So I don't know what you really expect he's going to say. He's not inheriting a disaster - he knows that. He's two weeks in: he's just getting to know the players - all of whom you'd assume are doing their level best to impress. he's just been shown a 3.5 year contract level of trust by the owners and the Chairman. He's had no involvement in the events prior to his appointment. He's inherited (as he's acknowledged) a strong squad of players. 

Maybe he thinks that there aren't any fundamental problems. That would hardly be a surprise - it's what most people on here think. 

As I say, I just think you're being unrealistic if you think he's going to set about talking about problems and change when he's barely two weeks into the job. Most don't when they're two years into it! And, incidentally, I don't think NP did so either, even two years in, aside from the above. Last few months he said a bit more, but I think that was more about NP than anything.

[GrahamC]

@italian dave I agree with 99% of your post, but it’s long so I’m not going to quote it.

For me Pearson did make it clear once he got his contract at the end of his first season exactly what he was going to do.

He said the squad was too big (it was) it lacked sufficient decent characters (it did) & that significant change would take time because he was hamstrung by the amount of players he could bring in (just 3 came from outside the club in his first summer) due to our poor financial situation, caused by the pandemic & overspending in the recent past.

As for Manning, I totally agree, as you rightly said he’s been here a fortnight, he inherits a far better situation than Pearson & is a different type of communicator anyway.

I’m certainly not going to criticise an interview carried out by local radio, where the questions might be a bit soft, that’s not on him.

[Davefevs]

@italian dave and @GrahamC

[bcfc01]

1 hour ago, Pezo said:

But then it's just anything anyone could tell us about any football club. I'm not interested in Manning and his philosophy until it impacts on Bristol city.

Nige managed to at least imply things that were happening and what he had to change. What is Manning trying to change? Where does he see the problems at the moment with Bristol city?

Q&A coming up with the man himself.

He can only answer the question he's asked, he doesn't seem the type to volunteer information, much like 90% of people in his position. 

FWIW, personally speaking, I think its going to take me a while to get used to him and his interview style - NP is a hard act to follow in that respect. End of the day, I couldn't give a monkeys about that as long he he gets better performances and results.

[maxjak]

As he is inheriting a completely different set of circumstances, comparisons between him and NP at this time are pointless and misleading?  Considering this a local radio station that would love LM to continue to appear, then the beige line of questioning is to be expected.  i personally thought that given the nature of the questions he was asked, he replied very well, but he is obviously gonna be diplomatic and cautious at this time?

People seem to be looking at trying to find chinks in his armour that they can then use to criticise?, but he needs as much support as we can possibly give him, and time to bring about change. He mentioned Mckenna at Ipswich, and how it took him some time to introduce his ideas and tactics, which are now bearing fruit.  My opinion of LM won''t be properly formed until around next March or so......when he has had time to make us see what he is trying to achieve, and IF it works?

Edited November 21, 2023 by maxjak

[GeoTheCiderHead]

3 hours ago, Robbored said:

They were very bland - made wish that GT hadn’t retired.

Talking a lot without saying anything of substance is just like LJ and his father before him……….……

That said LM is very inexperienced at Championship level but probably realises how fans will hang on every word and that realisation led to the rather dull and insipid interview on RB - he certainly wouldn’t want to create any controversy and consequently was very careful in what he said.

Hopefully when he’s more comfortable in the role his communication skills will improve.

Agreed. When I switched on and realised it was Ed Hadwin presenting, I nearly had to switch off. A competent commentator but a pretty dull presenter and interviewer. 

[Phileas Fogg]

3 hours ago, Super said:

Not the most inspiring of characters.

Agreed. He’s just not very interesting to listen to, but he does have big shoes to fill in that regard.

Obviously results matter more - but I do prefer it when we have a manager who I actually want to listen to. 

[YorksRed]

4 hours ago, steveybadger said:

It’ll be the same person who started referring to ‘the football club’ rather than just ‘the club’.

And referring to football as an “industry”.