Ex-Staff Liam Manning

tatabanya said:
The whole “he’s achieved nothing” line is quite tired isn’t it? He finished 3rd with MK, and he took Oxford from relegation fodder to 2nd in a short space of time. He may not have won anything, but he’s achieved a level of success that suggests an aptitude, which is why we hired him and now Bristol City have hired him.
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But at MK after finishing 3rd, he then went on such an awful run that he was sacked in December and they were relegated. With us, yes he saved us from relegation - but he hardly turned us into world beaters - he was just more competent than Robinson. I am sure *that* is not a unique talent! We have done well this season, but are only about a third of the way through it, so there is a long way to go. He obviously does have some positive qualities and (especially as an antidote to the KR madness) may have been what we needed and may have achieved something in his career - but it's pretty thin gruel.
 
ZeroTheHero said:
But at MK after finishing 3rd, he then went on such an awful run that he was sacked in December and they were relegated. With us, yes he saved us from relegation - but he hardly turned us into world beaters - he was just more competent than Robinson. I am sure *that* is not a unique talent! We have done well this season, but are only about a third of the way through it, so there is a long way to go. He obviously does have some positive qualities and (especially as an antidote to the KR madness) may have been what we needed and may have achieved something in his career - but it's pretty thin gruel.
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Nobody’s saying he’s a world beater or saying things didn’t go wrong at MK, merely pointing out that he has achieved fair bit of success in short space of time rather than “nothing”
 
tatabanya said:
The whole “he’s achieved nothing” line is quite tired isn’t it? He finished 3rd with MK, and he took Oxford from relegation fodder to 2nd in a short space of time. He may not have won anything, but he’s achieved a level of success that suggests an aptitude, which is why we hired him and now Bristol City have hired him.
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A number of people on here were suggesting that KR had achieved nothing by taking us to the play offs twice. Some even suggested that taking MK up hardly counted as they came back down again!

Agree with you overall point though.
 
MiddleBartonYellow said:
Despite all the flak that KR gets on here, I am not sure that he would have done what Manning has done.
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I think this is in part down to no one taking a punt on KR because he was such a loose cannon. Very far from being a yes man, whereas LM is the new breed of 'head coach' who probably bows down to chairmen's 'behaviours' and club 'environments' and above all else, is most definitely a brown-nose. Also the type that bathes with his coaching staff to save money on the water bill.
 
Not sure anyone could’ve done better. Manning made much better signings and had them playing well from the off. jJames Beadle was a coup. Eastwood was always a worry being in goal. I’m certainly warming to the idea of Crofts, as I’m sure he would be able to help his progress at Oxford.
I haven’t hear if the goalkeeper coach has gone, although losing a manager and his assistant is not good at this stage of the season.
At least whoever comes in will inherit a good squad of players rather than the one left behind by Robinson…can’t believe Robinson is cited as a return at 16-1. Surely he wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the players we have now
 
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tatabanya said:
The whole “he’s achieved nothing” line is quite tired isn’t it? He finished 3rd with MK, and he took Oxford from relegation fodder to 2nd in a short space of time. He may not have won anything, but he’s achieved a level of success that suggests an aptitude, which is why we hired him and now Bristol City have hired him.
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That is slightly debatable. He took on an MK Dons side that Russel Martin built well and bottled the autos then bottled the play offs. The following season he built a team who ended up being relegated.

He took on an Oxford side that had decent players, the 3 previous seasons proved that but with a Trainwreck of a manager at the helm who messed up on and off the pitch. He kept us up by 2 points which most at the time thought most managers could of achieved.

He has then added to this squad that underperformed last season but with the help of Ed Waldron so not just a one man band. It's alot weaker league this season in general and I have no doubts a new man can't come in and keep us near the top.
 
tatabanya said:
Nobody’s saying he’s a world beater or saying things didn’t go wrong at MK, merely pointing out that he has achieved fair bit of success in short space of time rather than “nothing”
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Doesn't 'success' have a conclusion?

If I spent an hour filling my trolley at Tesco and then dumped it by the check out would it be deemed a successful shop?
 
Under Robinson, we had a squad with some very talented individuals, but huge imbalances and a manager with no clear idea of how to get the best out of them and with no clear game plan or strategy. That had been building through multiple transfer windows, coupled with KR's world falling apart around him(down entirely to his own actions, so no sympathy from me). That led us to the absolute bin fire we ended up becoming. Manning did little more that introduce a sane training regime, clear idea of tactics and a recruitment structure that was actually allowed to do its job (in no small part thanks to the intervention of the board when they finally realised how bad they'd let it get under KR).

He got them playing to their abilities, so credit for that, but surely that's the bare minimum you should expect from any professional manager?
 
Foley said:
A number of people on here were suggesting that KR had achieved nothing by taking us to the play offs twice. Some even suggested that taking MK up hardly counted as they came back down again!

Agree with you overall point though.
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Depends how you're defining 'achieving'. If it's true we have the second biggest budget then Manning is about where you'd expect him to be but can it be as precise as that ? I think he's achieved in terms of the turnaround in recruitment, performances and results - that's undeniable. Ultimately though he's achieved nothing, we were in L1 when he came and we are still in L1 when he left.

Robinson, I think, over achieved in probably half his tenure, hit expectation in a quarter of it and under achieved in the other quarter. There was at least a season or two under him when we were up there with Man City in terms of wins, goals etc. and the brand of football was very watchable. Again, he left us where he found us so the record books will say nothing achieved.
 
Northernyellow said:
Oh well. Now I've calmed down, I can say that Manning did a very good job for us. KR would have taken us down. I'm just amazed Manning has jumped ship halfway through a season. Very shortsighted,and I wouldn't be surprised if it backfires on him. In which case, serves him right. What I would also say is that he is very replaceable. He had a very big L1 budget and used it well, but there were signs that clubs were beginning to work him out. And while I do like seeing us win, it was a bit boring at times. Especially sitting on a 1-0, waiting for the other team to tire. Part of reason I liked Manning was that he was not KR, and didn't spout endless rubbish. But, let's be honest, he was a pretty boring bloke. Let's not forget that this club is now a really attractive prospect. New ground, big budget and very supportive board. Onwards and upwards!
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Lets be honest it does not matter if it doesn't work out for him, he has a three and a half year contract as opposed to a one year rolling contract here, and more than doubled his salary. If he gets kicked out after a year he's quids in, have 6 months off and then find another job. Im afraid its the football managers merry go round
 
SirAndyOfCrosby said:
If I spent an hour filling my trolley at Tesco and then dumped it by the check out would it be deemed a successful shop?
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I know who you are now. Couldn’t believe it when you managed to wedge that ironing board between the box of Coke and the slow cooker.
 
tatabanya said:
Nobody’s saying he’s a world beater or saying things didn’t go wrong at MK, merely pointing out that he has achieved fair bit of success in short space of time rather than “nothing”
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So if I paint 2 of the 4 walls in a room to a good standard I can call it a success? This knowledge could come in useful
 
tatabanya said:
The whole “he’s achieved nothing” line is quite tired isn’t it? He finished 3rd with MK, and he took Oxford from relegation fodder to 2nd in a short space of time. He may not have won anything, but he’s achieved a level of success that suggests an aptitude, which is why we hired him and now Bristol City have hired him.
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His C/V is Won nothing , got sacked, Jumped ship ....
 
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