The King is dead long live the King

[Mendip City]

2 hours ago, NSFF said:

Johnson snr lost 9 out of the first 12 didn’t he ? Its not the current mangers fault it’s all down to the boy and the binman that’s where your anger should be 

He took the job, he knew the expectations…. It’s all their faults.  Manning cannot be excluded. 
We all know it’s not a top end squad. 
We all know Manning isn’t experienced enough…. but he didn’t have to take a job employed by deluded owners or a job above his experience level. They are all to blame. 

[Silvio Dante]

1 hour ago, Harry said:

If you’re not prepared to give Manning time then what is it that you want? 
 

Because Pearson sure as hell ain’t coming back. 
So, if we sack Manning after we lose to Sunderland this week, what do YOU want to see? 
You’re giving a belly load of airtime to how much you don’t want this manager, so what is it that you DO want? Straight answer please, no waffly bollox. 

I think that, as you rightly say, Pearson isn’t coming back and I think the comparisons between him and Manning have run there course. It’s more for me now whether Manning can (a) do it at this level and (b) do it at this club - those are two slightly different things.

As you know, to date I’ve not been impressed - I have seen a coach who has tried to template a system on a squad it doesn’t fit, and more concerningly, has poor in game management. So for me the jury is out on whether he is the right man.

He hasn’t said he needs three windows as some state - he has however stated he doesn’t see it as a rebuild (pre Hudds). That says to me that he expects with maybe 1-2 players to have the squad firing his way - that doesn’t mean playoffs, but it does mean marked improvement from what we’re seeing.

I’m unconvinced given time he gets it right - we can go over the old MK ground and losing Twine, but he had a top 6 budget per their fans and made poor signings (EP article) - although it’s possible Winkleman is related to Lansdown - and got worse. Oxford their fans feel he was backed heavily (and I’d acknowledge recency and bitterness bias) which proportionally he won’t get to the same level here. At best it’s 50:50 for getting it right in time.

So, for me he’s in an audition phase. Hes probably failing the audition at the moment based on (mainly) the in game management. My feeling is he won’t be sacked but I’m equally as unconvinced he’s the man to spend the nest egg. I’d give him the 1-2 players he indicates he wants in January (but not wholesale spend) but if we’re still in the same place in May with the performances and more importantly the in game management I’d be looking at whether he was the right man for this squad and look to bring someone in who may fit it better and evolve as opposed to undertaking a project that may or may not work.

Obviously if we lose 16 on the bounce (or win 16 on the bounce) that changes but I think it looks a realistic approach.

[Harry]

10 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

I don’t dislike the new manager as such but I am highly critical of his management in terms of the decisions that he has made around selection (not picking TGH as a starter, regularly subbing Sykes at 60 minutes) and playing style (going from a counter-attacking strong defence approach to a possession-based slow build-up). It’s also clear that a number of players have lost form since his appointment (Vyner, Conway, Bell - spot the link? All former Academy players). Is that because of the loss of the previous manager and the new manager himself and his ways? It doesn’t really matter but it comes to the same thing. 

Revolution is needed when something clearly isn’t working. Evolution is far better if things are working but might need a tweak to work a little better. We have gone for the former, not because of what was happening on the field, but due to issues of control off it, and so far it’s proved to be not what we needed. Whether or not Manning can adapt his playing style to something that actually suits the players we have remains very open to question. And if he doesn’t we could be in for a very long and difficult second half of the season.

Vyner, Conway & Bell were already way out of form before his arrival. 

Regarding attempting to change our style. Well again, that comes down to those who put him in place. We all knew the style of play he adopted in his previous roles so what were the board expecting? 
If they wanted to buy an orange to replace an orange why would they employ an apple? 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Harry

[Dr Balls]

7 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Absolutely the case that Wilson remains in denial about the pisshead culture he allowed & his side consistently bottled the big occasion.

However his CV in football also pisses all over Tinnion’s, he got a side promoted to the Prem & managed 2 teams in it.

His slightly slanted view still deserves respect.

And as he says himself, a 47% win rate is pretty impressive at any level. Just a shame it was all in League 1!

And at least Wilson’s sacking was after we had lost the playoff final I.e. the end of the season. Bringing in a new manager mid-season is always fraught with a degree of risk.

[GrahamC]

Just now, Dr Balls said:

And as he says himself, a 47% win rate is pretty impressive at any level. Just a shame it was all in League 1!

And at least Wilson’s sacking was after we had lost the playoff final I.e. the end of the season. Bringing in a new manager mid-season is always fraught with a degree of risk.

It was 47% because it was in League One.

He kept beating Colchester & Stockport then losing to Cardiff & Brighton.

He took us nowhere in 4 full seasons & had to go but like Holden no one else would ever have appointed Tinnion as manager & guess what? No one ever did afterwards.

[Dr Balls]

1 minute ago, Harry said:

Vyner, Conway & Belk were already way out of form before his arrival. 

Regarding attempting to change our style. Well again, that comes down to those who put him in place. We all knew the style of play he adopted in his previous roles so what were the board expecting? 
If they wanted to buy an orange to replace an orange why would they employ an apple? 

Because those running the club have so little knowledge and understanding that they can’t tell the difference between an apple and an orange?

Just picking a manager on the basis of being young and a very moderate degree of success at a lower level, without bearing in mind how his teams have played, suggests a complete lack of any football nous. But then if Tinnion is the “football brain” of the triumvirate leading the club now, then that explains a hell of a lot. He achieved nothing as a manager and clearly has been a snake for at least 20 years!

[W-S-M Seagull]

Just now, Harry said:

And as I’ve made quite clear to you before, I am not “smitten by my dream appointment”. I’m just willing to give the new manager a bit more time that 6 games (well, actually you were ripping into him after just 3 games I think!) 

Regarding your comment of playing Bell at wing back. Did you say the same when Pearson played Bell at wing back? Or when he played our best ever player Scott at wing back? Or indeed when Scott was being regularly subbed at 60 minutes despite being our best player. I assume you live in a world where, in 3 years as our manager, Pearson didn’t make one single substitution or team selection that you disagreed with? 

When Manning first came in here, I said this guy doesn't play a style that suits our players. I pointed out that he did not fit the brief that was publicly given. People said "let's wait and see what he does, maybe he will adapt his style to us" The QPR game showed that was not to be the case unfortunately and that we would have to adapt to his style.

Ever since it has been boring shite dull football. You may be a football purist and like cbs passing it between themselves, the majority of us don't. 

Again you're rewriting history. Seems to be a theme of yours. Pearson did indeed play Bell at wing back, out of pure necessity. There wasn't a necessity to play Bell at LWB when Pring could have played there. 

I have no idea why you think Manning shouldn't recieve valid criticisms for his style, his selections, his substitutions and his general management. The fact he was brought in to improve us (which he signed a contract for) highlights these issues even more. 

[Harry]

1 minute ago, Dr Balls said:

Because those running the club have so little knowledge and understanding that they can’t tell the difference between an apple and an orange?

Just picking a manager on the basis of being young and a very moderate degree of success at a lower level, without bearing in mind how his teams have played, suggests a complete lack of any football nous. But then if Tinnion is the “football brain” of the triumvirate leading the club now, then that explains a hell of a lot. He achieved nothing as a manager and clearly has been a snake for at least 20 years!

Exactly. 
And that’s why I’m prepared to give Manning time because it’s not his fault the board are incompetent fools. 

[Harry]

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

When Manning first came in here, I said this guy doesn't play a style that suits our players. I pointed out that he did not fit the brief that was publicly given. People said "let's wait and see what he does, maybe he will adapt his style to us" The QPR game showed that was not to be the case unfortunately and that we would have to adapt to his style.

Ever since it has been boring shite dull football. You may be a football purist and like cbs passing it between themselves, the majority of us don't. 

Again you're rewriting history. Seems to be a theme of yours. Pearson did indeed play Bell at wing back, out of pure necessity. There wasn't a necessity to play Bell at LWB when Pring could have played there. 

I have no idea why you think Manning shouldn't recieve valid criticisms for his style, his selections, his substitutions and his general management. The fact he was brought in to improve us (which he signed a contract for) highlights these issues even more. 

I think you’ll find that I was the first person on this forum to put forward the argument that Manning would not suit our players. So I agree with you there. I presented a rather lengthy post on the Manning thread a few days before he even arrived here. 
 

He’s also not without criticism. I, like you, didn’t agree with the double substitution on Tuesday night. I didn’t agree with Bell playing over Pring. I agree with you on those points. 
 

But I’m willing to give it time, whereas you are not. You are blinded by the cult of Nige. I liked Nige, he did a decent job in rough circumstances, but come on mate, it’s time to bloody let it go, he ain’t coming back  

[Dr Balls]

Just now, Harry said:

Exactly. 
And that’s why I’m prepared to give Manning time because it’s not his fault the board are incompetent fools. 

Unfortunately in football, and particularly the Championship, time isn’t necessarily on your side as a manager. As for Manning’s competence that really depends on whether results start to improve. Stubbornly maintaining a system of play that isn’t working, might suggest strength of character, but also raises questions of competence. Trying to get the tones of a flute out of a tuba would be described as madness. Converting a counter-attacking team, with players who are better out of possession, into a possession-based team, might similarly turn out to be very foolish.

[Harry]

5 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

Unfortunately in football, and particularly the Championship, time isn’t necessarily on your side as a manager. As for Manning’s competence that really depends on whether results start to improve. Stubbornly maintaining a system of play that isn’t working, might suggest strength of character, but also raises questions of competence. Trying to get the tones of a flute out of a tuba would be described as madness. Converting a counter-attacking team, with players who are better out of possession, into a possession-based team, might similarly turn out to be very foolish.

As I’ve said elsewhere, I was the first one on this forum to put a detailed write up about how Manning’s style of football would not suit our current squad. And I wrote that 8 days before he was appointed. 
So again, agree with you on that element. 
My question would be, why does he have to change his beliefs? 
The board should have known what he wanted to play and what our players were capable of, and so again the responsibility firmly rests in their court. 
 

It’s again the reason why I’m prepared to give him time, because he’s been thrown into the deep end by the board, their decisions and their comments. I’m certainly not anywhere near convinced it’ll work, but he deserves a bit of bloody time surely? 

[W-S-M Seagull]

1 minute ago, Harry said:

As I’ve said elsewhere, I was the first one on this forum to put a detailed write up about how Manning’s style of football would not suit our current squad. And I wrote that 8 days before he was appointed. 
So again, agree with you on that element. 
My question would be, why does he have to change his beliefs? 
The board should have known what he wanted to play and what our players were capable of, and so again the responsibility firmly rests in their court. 
 

It’s again the reason why I’m prepared to give him time, because he’s been thrown into the deep end by the board, their decisions and their comments. I’m certainly not anywhere near convinced it’ll work, but he deserves a bit of bloody time surely? 

Cult of Nige?

That probably says a lot about your own thoughts that you think that way so therefore its best to end this debate here. 

[ashton_fan]

13 minutes ago, Dr Balls said:

Unfortunately in football, and particularly the Championship, time isn’t necessarily on your side as a manager. As for Manning’s competence that really depends on whether results start to improve. Stubbornly maintaining a system of play that isn’t working, might suggest strength of character, but also raises questions of competence. Trying to get the tones of a flute out of a tuba would be described as madness. Converting a counter-attacking team, with players who are better out of possession, into a possession-based team, might similarly turn out to be very foolish.

I think Manning has been changing the style of play for each game not "stubbornly maintaining" anything, the style of play in the Blackburn game was quite different from previous matches, not that different from NP's style.

[W-S-M Seagull]

2 minutes ago, ashton_fan said:

I think Manning has been changing the style of play for each game not "stubbornly maintaining" anything, the style of play in the Blackburn game was quite different from previous matches, not that different from NP's style.

Listening to Naismiths comments, that wasn't intended! 

It seems the players have already lost faith and belief in his style and reverted to what they knew.

[BigAl&Toby]

1 hour ago, Galley is our king said:

I'll answer this....

I want the powers that be to own this situation and take full responsibility for it!

THEY sacked Pearson and THEY employed Manning. THEY said we have a squad capable of being top end of the table.

I said in another thread, I feel sorry for Manning because the brief he was given, which was also explained to the supporters, is not possible due to the reasons given for sacking Pearson were a tissue of lies.

Funny how JL and BT have gone silent again isn't it? Just leave this new inexperienced coach to explain everything.

Tell me, who in the hierarchy of the football club management has any experience of running such a club?

JL for example, looking at his LinkedIn profile, he "worked" for 4 years at his daddies company. Executive position? PR perhaps? No, in the ******* call centre! He acts like a spoilt brat, won't take any criticism. He runs the club like a hobby.

BT. Legend of a player but his only management experience was a failure. No one else picked him up and no manager ever made him captain while he played which normally signifies a leader.

I WANT THESE 2 TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS!

I want BT to resign and JL to step down to a more junior position and employ someone who knows what they are doing!

I hope Manning succeeds but that doesn't stop me lamenting the fact that Pearson was sacked for no real reason by 2 people who haven't a ******* clue what they are doing.

I have tried to cut out the waffley bollox @Harry

 

@Galley is our king I’d like to see all of that too.

The thing is though - I think - that there’s as much chance of that as I’ve got of Jennifer Aniston being in my Christmas stocking in a week or so’s time

If the ***** appointed a failed manager to become Technical Director they aren’t going to insist or accept his resignation.

Equally the ***** aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Admission of failure, accountability and responsibility isn’t something these clowns recognise.

Why? Because what they want they’ll get. They don’t give a flying **** about BCFC. If BCFC goes down they don’t care.

They’ve got several revenue stream now, of which BCFC is simply one of them.

Anyway. I’m dreaming of a Jennifer Aniston Christmas……

[Galley is our king]

2 minutes ago, BigAl&Toby said:

@Galley is our king I’d like to see all of that too.

The thing is though - I think - that there’s as much chance of that as I’ve got of Jennifer Aniston being in my Christmas stocking in a week or so’s time

If the ***** appointed a failed manager to become Technical Director they aren’t going to insist or accept his resignation.

Equally the ***** aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Admission of failure, accountability and responsibility isn’t something these clowns recognise.

Why? Because what they want they’ll get. They don’t give a flying **** about BCFC. If BCFC goes down they don’t care.

They’ve got several revenue stream now, of which BCFC is simply one of them.

Anyway. I’m dreaming of a Jennifer Aniston Christmas……

Can't have her mate, she's mine... all mine...

[Sir Geoff]

31 minutes ago, ashton_fan said:

I think Manning has been changing the style of play for each game not "stubbornly maintaining" anything, the style of play in the Blackburn game was quite different from previous matches, not that different from NP's style.

For a 20 minute period when the players had clearly had enough of the insipid football they had been asked to play. Manning then put a stop to it by taking off our best 2 players.

[robinforlife2]

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

Really getting fed up of hearing "give him time"

I believe this is the worst start for a manager of ours for 20 years? 

This guy has come in and with his new style has our decent team looking over our shoulders at the relegation zone. 

So yea, I'm sorry that I'm worried about that! 

At first and still to quite a degree my anger is/was directed at the owners. 

As I said in another post, Bristol City are not a charity. We are not here to give managers work experience and let them learn on the job. Been down that route far too many times now. 

He came in and gave us a style none of us asked for. He's come in and made some baffling selection choices and substitutions. So now, to a lesser extent my anger is shifting from owners to him. 

Will you still be saying give him time if we're in the relegation zone? 

If we're in that relegation zone by the time the transfer window opens then I'd not feel comfortable cracking open the nest egg as a solution to get us back to where we bloody was! 

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when Pearson came in until the end of the season, before he got his 3 year contract, I think we amassed something like 9pts from 14 games. I was actually surprised having lost 9 of 14 games in charge of us, he was actually given a long term contract, so given Manning is on 4pts from 5 games, he is still well on target to amassing more points from his first 14 games, than Pearson done in his. Far too early to be criticising Manning. 

[Gillies Downs Leeds]

3 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when Pearson came in until the end of the season, before he got his 3 year contract, I think we amassed something like 9pts from 14 games. I was actually surprised having lost 9 of 14 games in charge of us, he was actually given a long term contract, so given Manning is on 4pts from 5 games, he is still well on target to amassing more points from his first 14 games, than Pearson done in his. Far too early to be criticising Manning. 

Whilst I agree to an extent LM is starting from a lot better base than NP had. 

[spudski]

It was implied in the past, that the Club throughout would be set up to play a certain way... throughout academy and first team. 

That recruitment for all, would be defined by that way of playing. 

That pathways would be open and not blocked. 

And that any new coach or manager would come in seamlessly, and that our way of playing wouldn't be changed dramatically. 

I look at our squad and some academy players...do any of them scream possession based football to you?

 

[robinforlife2]

Just now, Gillies Downs Leeds said:

Whilst I agree to an extent LM is starting from a lot better base than NP had. 

Not totally sure I agree. We had some good players back then, some of them may have not been performing great for Holden, but there was certainly a lot more quality in that squad, than in the current one, and one might argue that the best of the current quality is out injured, given we can't even fill half a subs bench without raiding the academy. 

[Silvio Dante]

3 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when Pearson came in until the end of the season, before he got his 3 year contract, I think we amassed something like 9pts from 14 games. I was actually surprised having lost 9 of 14 games in charge of us, he was actually given a long term contract, so given Manning is on 4pts from 5 games, he is still well on target to amassing more points from his first 14 games, than Pearson done in his. Far too early to be criticising Manning. 

You’re not wrong but you’re overly simplistic. 

For what seems the umpteenth time:

- The circumstances Manning is taking over in are markedly different to those faced by Pearson, so naturally expectations are different

- And this is why (on both sides) the comparing Manning and Pearson helps nobody. Manning is fair for criticism based on what he’s done so far but that criticism should be based on what he’s done, not “what would Nige do”

The point you make, with respect, has been made before and has no relevance

 

 

[Son of Fred]

2 hours ago, Simon bristol said:

as for the owners,, how many times have they tried the new inexperienced coach/ manager, and then seen it not work? The times we have been stable has been when a stronger experienced guy has been able to build a togetherness, the last time a younger inexperienced manager worked properly for us was joe jordan 30 odd years ago… yet they keep doing it!

Definition of insanity

[ray savino]

It’s simple. love it or loathe it, the Board have made their choice. They will have to take the credit if it works. They will have to take the crap if it goes belly up. They alone own this situation, no pointing the fingers at others. The decision goes back to them. 

In between all of this we can only hope that their decision proves correct. I will back the team each game however angry I feel about the handling of this situation by the Board. What I don’t want is for us to now go back down to League One quickly after managing to survive a difficult period since Covid and the LJ/MA/Holden periods finished. So now the board have made the decision they must back LM in the transfer market (without being so reckless as in the MA/LJ era obviously)  and equally LM will need to get some decent results on the scoreboard pronto to start giving the fans some optimism back. Yep, unfair on NP, would like to have seen him have some real backing, but he’s gone and ain’t coming back.

The overall reality is that if he is to be successful he will need time. For me, achievable success should be aiming to be at least top ten by the end of this season and most importantly with a convincing, settled playing style maybe short of a few final parts of the jigsaw that we should be planning to be be recruited in the summer. This should be judged from the position the club was left in when he was recruited. This would have applied to NP for me this season if he would have been here. Realistically, I always thought that next season is when we could mount a proper challenge at the top with that bit of investment. Of course every season I hope we will go up, but felt next season we should be at least be a credible prospect for the promotion/play-off mix.

Importantly LM has to at least start to show signs of progress by season ticket sales time, cos although us fans generally come back (despite how crap things can be) I would be shocked if sales don’t go downwards if we continue in the current vein of form. Yes, as people have pointed out, GJ lost 9 in a row, but turned things around by the end of the season and set us up to have a convincing go for promotion the next. LM needs precisely that by the end of this season, set us up for a good tilt at next seasons play-offs that we can all be convinced by and optimistic about again. Winning over the fans and giving them optimism is his biggest task at the minute (and a few good wins might just start that process - sorry did I just say process - blimey he must be having an influence already).

 

 

[GrahamC]

8 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

Not totally sure I agree. We had some good players back then, some of them may have not been performing great for Holden, but there was certainly a lot more quality in that squad, than in the current one, and one might argue that the best of the current quality is out injured, given we can't even fill half a subs bench without raiding the academy. 

Wow.

Go and read the Dean Holden thread, this is an incredible view.

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Silvio Dante said:

I think that, as you rightly say, Pearson isn’t coming back and I think the comparisons between him and Manning have run there course. It’s more for me now whether Manning can (a) do it at this level and (b) do it at this club - those are two slightly different things.

As you know, to date I’ve not been impressed - I have seen a coach who has tried to template a system on a squad it doesn’t fit, and more concerningly, has poor in game management. So for me the jury is out on whether he is the right man.

He hasn’t said he needs three windows as some state - he has however stated he doesn’t see it as a rebuild (pre Hudds). That says to me that he expects with maybe 1-2 players to have the squad firing his way - that doesn’t mean playoffs, but it does mean marked improvement from what we’re seeing.

I’m unconvinced given time he gets it right - we can go over the old MK ground and losing Twine, but he had a top 6 budget per their fans and made poor signings (EP article) - although it’s possible Winkleman is related to Lansdown - and got worse. Oxford their fans feel he was backed heavily (and I’d acknowledge recency and bitterness bias) which proportionally he won’t get to the same level here. At best it’s 50:50 for getting it right in time.

So, for me he’s in an audition phase. Hes probably failing the audition at the moment based on (mainly) the in game management. My feeling is he won’t be sacked but I’m equally as unconvinced he’s the man to spend the nest egg. I’d give him the 1-2 players he indicates he wants in January (but not wholesale spend) but if we’re still in the same place in May with the performances and more importantly the in game management I’d be looking at whether he was the right man for this squad and look to bring someone in who may fit it better and evolve as opposed to undertaking a project that may or may not work.

Obviously if we lose 16 on the bounce (or win 16 on the bounce) that changes but I think it looks a realistic approach.

These are the challenges for me.

Can LM’s changes to the “system” bring about improvement in results (and performance level - results don’t always match / align immediately) ?  Can the processes he delivers throughout the week, translate to on the pitch outcomes.

What I see with my eyes from 6 games is two main changes, a predominantly more patient approach with the ball, and a more patient approach to winning the ball back.  This is my emerging view of LM’s approach.  My emerging conclusion re the impact of these changes, is little impact on overall performances, and a slight regression in results.  But I’d counter that by saying we should’ve got a point or two more imho, that ought to even itself out.

I will however add that in the 6th game (Blackburn) we won more high turnovers than the other 5.  Me being me, will take those 12 high turnovers (compared to a total of 24 in 5 games), store it away and see whether this is the start of improvement (ie the training has now embedded and this is the new norm for pressing), or just a one off.  Game 6 also saw Max hit a shedload of long balls too, so I’m not gonna over egg individual games.

You know I love a bit of data!  And even more a nice viz to show that data.

The Analyst website has some nice stuff, and I scrape their data for my own uses.

This is the trend of our possession style.  Plotted from Nige - thru our season average - to LM.  Basically it backs up the patience comment…longer possession sequences (x-axis), slower progress up the pitch (y-axis).

You’ll notice that under LM we are similar in possession style (numerically) to Swansea.  We are trending to Hull, and beyond them Leicester and Southampton.  In each of those 3 cases, we are talking top 6 teams…and attacking quality to fit nicely with their approach.  If we can improve the attacking outcomes from the revised approach, then we will all be happy.

The question outstanding is how do we get that improvement?

That’s what the next 5-6 games will show us, help prove it disprove the methods / system being put in.

 

[Simon bristol]

2 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

J.J was someone whom everybody looked up to. He had the respect of everyone. He was not an unknown from the lower leagues who had achieved nothing in their careers. 

He had a great playing career but his first management gig was with us,,, and was a man that commanded respect.

[Kid in the Riot]

2 hours ago, East End Old Boy said:

When I saw the name of the thread I thought you’d been reading Danny Wilson’s book!

Pocket calling is much more common on touchscreen phones, which weren't around back in 2005. So it's likely Tinnion deliberately phoned Wilson to sing abuse at him.

I'd say that is a pretty worrying personality trait. 

And Tinnion was 37 years old at the time, not some immature kid. 

[Davefevs]

18 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when Pearson came in until the end of the season, before he got his 3 year contract, I think we amassed something like 9pts from 14 games. I was actually surprised having lost 9 of 14 games in charge of us, he was actually given a long term contract, so given Manning is on 4pts from 5 games, he is still well on target to amassing more points from his first 14 games, than Pearson done in his. Far too early to be criticising Manning. 

Arghhhhhhh.  Did you see the attitudes of the club / players he took over?

Irrelevent comparison imho.

12 minutes ago, spudski said:

It was implied in the past, that the Club throughout would be set up to play a certain way... throughout academy and first team. 

That recruitment for all, would be defined by that way of playing. 

That pathways would be open and not blocked. 

And that any new coach or manager would come in seamlessly, and that our way of playing wouldn't be changed dramatically. 

I look at our squad and some academy players...do any of them scream possession based football to you?

 

Yep, not missed by me either Spud.  And in fairness Tins said this was building on recruitment over the last two years, but then show himself in the foot when he forgot that under Nige they’d miraculously stumbled on a notion of aligning “stuff” through academy to first team.  It shouldn’t have been “brilliant minds” 2.5 years ago, and it isn’t now either.  Do they wipe their brains of previous comments when a new manager arrives?

It was why I hoped LM would not be a Russell Martin v2, but would be adaptable / pragmatic, as his Oxford side appeared to be, although still underpinned by trying to dominate the ball.

I actually think the way our Academy was playing - ie not particularly like the possession heavy patterns of typical Academy teams - was actually one of the reasons the Academy kids could step up so quickly and do a “job” for the first team.

[Sir Geoff]

23 minutes ago, robinforlife2 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when Pearson came in until the end of the season, before he got his 3 year contract, I think we amassed something like 9pts from 14 games. I was actually surprised having lost 9 of 14 games in charge of us, he was actually given a long term contract, so given Manning is on 4pts from 5 games, he is still well on target to amassing more points from his first 14 games, than Pearson done in his. Far too early to be criticising Manning. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Manning take over a team that had been 8th a couple of weeks previously and was hailed as a top 6 squad.

Pearson took over a sh*t show that had just been humiliated 6-0 at Watford.