I wonder if he regrets not taking the managers job instead of following Manning to Bristol City? To late for him now, he will just have to join the dole queue with the snake on Monday morning.
Ex-Staff A Bristol City Fan - U's Thoughts On Liam Manning
- Thread starter Headington hillbilly
- Start date
I wonder if he regrets not taking the managers job instead of following Manning to Bristol City? To late for him now, he will just have to join the dole queue with the snake on Monday morning.
It feels to me like it's a little soon for them to be firing Manning, even if we beat them Saturday.
Would essentially be an admission of utter idiocy from their ownership to fire Pearson who was widely (if not universally) popular with the fans and put their own robot in his place. And owners don't tend to like to admit that they're idiots until it's panic stations and impossible to ignore (which it ain't in September).
Still will feel truly, epically good if we beat them.
Would essentially be an admission of utter idiocy from their ownership to fire Pearson who was widely (if not universally) popular with the fans and put their own robot in his place. And owners don't tend to like to admit that they're idiots until it's panic stations and impossible to ignore (which it ain't in September).
Still will feel truly, epically good if we beat them.
Beating bristol will be....at this moment in time... more satisfying than beating swine,although beating swine is quite normal
Joey
Level: John Aldridge
(141 Apps, 90 Gls)
Big Ronaldo
Level: John Aldridge
(141 Apps, 90 Gls)
More likely to see des at Everton than Bristol City.
Mannings style of play was nothing short of boredom at its very best for me. Yes he got us some decent results the build up play and messing about at the back for 70minutes nearly reduced me to tears. I’m glad he left us we are a far better team for it onwards and upwards
Eric Blair
Level: Yemi Odubade
(158 Apps, 31 Gls)
This will sound like rewriting history but I agree. It was so boring to watch. It says something that he couldnt find room for a player like Josh Murphy in his team
I remember the 3-0 home win against the Shrews last year being just about the most tedious three goal demolition I'd ever witnessed.
Finn Stevens scored a screamer early, Greg Leigh scored a screamer deep into injury time, Ciaron Brown scored from a set piece somewhere in the middle.....and otherwise we just passed them to death for 90 minutes. Never looked in danger at any point, never did anything to raise the pulse either!
707 completed passes in that game - which is about 200 more than we've played in any of Des' big recent wins (Norwich, Preston, Stoke and the playoff final).
It was effective, and Manning did get us a few (although not that many!) high quality players. But DesBall is light-years more entertaining.
werthersoriginal
Level: James Constable
(280 Apps, 106 Gls)
I remember coming out of that game feeling really flat, with not much conversation or discussion of the game going on. Sounds mad but maybe shows there’s more to sport than winning.
- Year of First Game
- 1986
Joey
Level: John Aldridge
(141 Apps, 90 Gls)
Jesus Christ, the stick I got on here for saying that, although I was happy with the win, I felt we could have done a lot more as Shrewsbury were inept and there for the taking. Brown scored from the free kick that their man was sent off for as well and then we spent half an hour actively trying not to score until their keeper went walkies and gave Leigh his chance.
There were plenty of people who disagreed with what I was saying and someone, can't recall who, put a big list together of why we shouldn't have tried attacking, including a chance to work on new system (at about 60% intensity, so useless), not giving opponents a chance to see how we play (?) and not risking injury because the other team get upset that we're still trying to score. I can only assume those people were furious when we battered Peterborough 5-0 off the back of a couple of 4-0 wins.
It would be churlish to not recognise that he did a good job here because he did and he helped raise the standards massively from Robinson. However I stand by what I said at the time, he had just about everything go his way those first couple of months, we scored at a completely unsustainable rate, generally avoided playing the better teams or caught them when they were out of form and I don't recall a game we dropped points where I felt harshly done by.
He reminded me a lot of Southgate, he did a decent job that looks better because he had almost every bit of fortune going, was pragmatic to the point that it was almost detrimental and often dull and was so obsessed with control that he was unable to change things when plan A wasn't working. When plan A works it can look brilliantly controlled but you have to play winning football because fans will soon get fed up being bored to tears and not picking up points.
bazzer9461
Level: Joey Beauchamp
(428 Apps, 79 Gls)
- Year of First Game
- 1968
Des wouldn’t leave whereas Robinson I hope he gets the job
Port Vale at home we absolutely deserved more than nothing
- Year of First Game
- 1995
I hate the way Manning left and I was belting out the song at Leyton orient (and would be on Friday if I was going) but... I mainly went to away games last season and some of them under Manning were very exciting, high pressing, counter attacking at pace, with lots of good goals. I'm thinking Derby, Barnsley and Stevenage especially. I can understand why those of you who went to every home game would have a different opinion, but when I used to have a season ticket, we were losing at home to some shite teams and playing some abject football. Hereford is one I remember feeling absolutely downtrodden leaving the East stand to the sound of their fans celebrating. Complaining after a 3-0 win does seem like a first world problem!
Common Villager
Level: Andy Crosby
(122 Apps, 13 Gls)
TBH I'm well over Manning leaving, ultimately it worked out for the best and we now have a better Head Coach who not only has actually achieved things in his managerial career, he's from Oxford. It could hardly have worked out better.
That said, I always enjoy the pantomime villain aspect of football and I think the added bit of needle will create a really good atmosphere on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it and will be joining in both the anti-Manning and pro-Buckingham songs.
That said, I always enjoy the pantomime villain aspect of football and I think the added bit of needle will create a really good atmosphere on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it and will be joining in both the anti-Manning and pro-Buckingham songs.
I agree and you know what like des said I would rather lose trying to win the game than sitting back soaking up pressure for the majority with no penetration going forward.
Benox
Level: Chris Maguire
(79 Apps, 22 Gls)
i actually understand why Manning left in terms of the opportunity, no hard feelings about that or to Bristol City who seemed to conduct themselves well. It was the narrative around it that left a real dislike for him. He was very repetitive and robotic when he was here, but we could live with that as it seemed to be working. But when he left did he ever mention Oxford again? No goodbye, thanks to the club but this was an opportunity too good to turn down etc. Not that I recall. Then rumours of him just clearing his desk and no goodbye the the players, it all painted a picture that he really didn’t give a toss about the club, players or fans beyond his own self-interests. Maybe that’s how most people in the game feel, but they know how to play the game to at least pretend they cared. To Manning football is just a tactical game, learned in a classroom & refined on the training field. He could play it in front of no fans and it wouldn’t really matter to him, he just doesn’t get it.
I suspect Saturday will be the first time in his relatively short career that Manning hears from 3.5k people what they think of that philosophy.
I suspect Saturday will be the first time in his relatively short career that Manning hears from 3.5k people what they think of that philosophy.
My observations.
1) We have lots of disgruntled and angry people heading to Ashton Gate on Saturday; a fair few won't be in the stand behind the goal
2) I suspect some of our players will play exceptionally well
3) He's a snake. He needs to learn how to follow his good 'behaviours'.
4) He has royally cocked up his career and will be heading back to L1 or L2 soon enough. Appreciate with a bank account load of cash.
5) Football is a funny game - we now have a far superior manager to Manning.
1) We have lots of disgruntled and angry people heading to Ashton Gate on Saturday; a fair few won't be in the stand behind the goal
2) I suspect some of our players will play exceptionally well
3) He's a snake. He needs to learn how to follow his good 'behaviours'.
4) He has royally cocked up his career and will be heading back to L1 or L2 soon enough. Appreciate with a bank account load of cash.
5) Football is a funny game - we now have a far superior manager to Manning.
Eric Blair
Level: Yemi Odubade
(158 Apps, 31 Gls)
I thought the Dub was good on your first point. If we can get up at them in the first 15 minutes, the home crowd will turn.
Marked Ox
Level: Mickey Lewis
(351 Apps, 7 Gls)
Listening to the Not The Top 20 (I think), the way to play them is sit in a low block and let them have the ball then hit them on the break at speed. Basically do a Liam Manning on Liam Manning as he doesn't seem to have tactics to counter it.
One of the things I love about DesBall is the way that we change things up defensively.
I'm sure that we'll be sitting in a low block from time to time, but periodically we'll be hitting them with an aggressive high press. And from the looks of their game on Saturday, they don't like it much either (the second goal came directly from them losing the ball to the high press, the first was them losing the ball under no significant pressure at all).
Again, don't know if McNally has changed a lot over the last few years - but I remember him being deadly if you gave him time to bring the ball down and carry it out, but he certainly had a mistake in him if you put him under pressure.
Marked Ox
Level: Mickey Lewis
(351 Apps, 7 Gls)
Maybe not helping McNally with Dickie being injured.
Benox
Level: Chris Maguire
(79 Apps, 22 Gls)
I watched the Bristol City game against Blackburn as we were the early kick off. There were no marauding runs from McNally like the good old days in yellow. He was more disciplined, not sure if that’s tactical instructions or because it was his debut. Made a rash tackle that didn’t need to be made early on & spent the remaining 80 mins on a booking.
Bristol City were poor overall. Gifted 2 goals to Blackburn and looked vulnerable to pace on the counter attack. At the other end they looked pretty disjointed as well. Blackburn play with a lot of pace and purpose and they didn’t have an answer.
All that said, I’m sure they’ll up it on Saturday, they couldn’t really be much worse. Looked like a team to me who have some good players without knowing how to knit it together to be an effective team. Let’s hope that continues on Saturday!
He may not get many chances due to their relative positions on field, but I would be telling Dembele (or Tyler) to get after McNally from the off.
Who the f*ck is Liam Manning?
