Ex-Staff Liam Manning

[Northstandboy]

I wonder who their next home match is against?

It’s funny how football works, Manning’s old employer is the next home game for them.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Manning totally broken post-match.

I get it with everything surrounding Mannings conduct in leaving us and Bristol City but on a humane level that’s a tough watch - rarely have I seen an interview where a manager looks as broken as that. That interview is a procession, he 100% knows what’s coming. He’s obviously endured tougher stuff recently than getting sacked by his hometown club but professionally that’s about as low as he’ll ever be.

Look at Rob Edward’s and his behaviour in departing Middlesbrough, exactly like Manning and there are so many examples of managers doing this. I’ve never quite understood the vitriol towards him from our fans. Yes, he’s boring, yes he’s lacks character, yes he’s repetitive but he got replaced by Des and we got promoted, why there’s this lingering hatred and obsession with him I’m unsure when everything ended so well for us ! Chuck in what happened to him personally and it’s a pretty sad Oxford fans who’s still harbouring such bitterness and resentment.

Move on!

 

[Peterdev]

It’s funny how football works, Manning’s old employer is the next home game for them.

Worrying for us that both Middlesbrough and Norwich have just parted with their managers and have us next

 

[The Voice Of Reason]

As I said before he's been found out.
Never stays long enough so gets a bounce and moves on before he was found out.
L1 next for him

 

[Essexyellows]

We must be setting a record this season for playing the next game against teams who have sacked their manager or averted catastrophe?

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

I thought he did great for us.

 

[Ray_Barone]

I thought he did great for us.

Me too, and I’d have him over Rowlett…

 

[Village-Yellow]

Me too, and I’d have him over Rowlett…

But would you have him over Rowett?

 

[OX14]

But would you have him over Rowett?

I would rather have Karl Robinson (before his midlife crisis) than Rowett.

 

[ubermeistervonmeat]

Exactly where Rowett is taking us.

It's lucky Sheffield Wednesday have had a 12 point deduction and was under a transfer embargo in the summer, Norwich losing all 7 home games this season and Sheffield United losing their first 6 games otherwise our position in the table would look alot worse.

Unfortunately both Sheffield United and Norwich have got rid of the managers who were in charge for their poor run so now they will both likely overtake us and wave goodbye.

Edit - exactly where the Board & Rowett are taking us - they have set him up to fail so why do they get an easy ride

 

[OX14]

Edit - exactly where the Board & Rowett are taking us - they have set him up to fail so why do they get an easy ride

Hopefully they won't be the board for much longer.

Can't fault the effort for the new stadium but on the pitch it's been a half arsed attempt all round. While we can say the squad wasn't ready for the championship when Des somehow pulled off a miracle, the whole club was even further behind.

So many mistakes being made behind the scenes, one of them nearly cost us a 3 x transfer window embargo and that's why our recruitment was slow in our first window as a championship club. Des was set up to fail from the start and if it weren't for Vaulks long throws and teams never trained on how to defend them we would be a league one club now.

The whole Indonesia tour this past summer with no information for fans to travel out there was just another comical decision from the owners/board.

The stadium team have been brilliant but alot of that comes down to the work of Niall McWilliams and John Clarke.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Hopefully they won't be the board for much longer.

Can't fault the effort for the new stadium but on the pitch it's been a half arsed attempt all round. While we can say the squad wasn't ready for the championship when Des somehow pulled off a miracle, the whole club was even further behind.

So many mistakes being made behind the scenes, one of them nearly cost us a 3 x transfer window embargo and that's why our recruitment was slow in our first window as a championship club. Des was set up to fail from the start and if it weren't for Vaulks long throws and teams never trained on how to defend them we would be a league one club now.

The whole Indonesia tour this past summer with no information for fans to travel out there was just another comical decision from the owners/board.

The stadium team have been brilliant but alot of that comes down to the work of Niall McWilliams and John Clarke.

Who do you think is paying for the stadium project? I get you are pissed off with the form of the team right now and on pitch stuff but you really are coming out with some rubbish.

 

[OX14]

Who do you think is paying for the stadium project? I get you are pissed off with the form of the team right now and on pitch stuff but you really are coming out with some rubbish.

Sorry didn't realise Grant , Tim and Ed Waldron were paying for the stadium.

 

[Benox]

Hopefully they won't be the board for much longer.

Can't fault the effort for the new stadium but on the pitch it's been a half arsed attempt all round. While we can say the squad wasn't ready for the championship when Des somehow pulled off a miracle, the whole club was even further behind.

So many mistakes being made behind the scenes, one of them nearly cost us a 3 x transfer window embargo and that's why our recruitment was slow in our first window as a championship club. Des was set up to fail from the start and if it weren't for Vaulks long throws and teams never trained on how to defend them we would be a league one club now.

The whole Indonesia tour this past summer with no information for fans to travel out there was just another comical decision from the owners/board.

The stadium team have been brilliant but alot of that comes down to the work of Niall McWilliams and John Clarke.

It hasn’t all been perfect and there have been moments where things have looked a bit amateur behind the scenes. But if these owners walked away tomorrow they would still have done more than any group we have had in the last 25+ years.
Off the pitch we are closer to a new stadium than we have ever been. On the pitch we are playing at a level we have not seen for decades. People can downplay it if they want but the legacy is there. Nobody else has managed to deliver what they have.

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

But would you have him over Rowett?

He burned his bridges when he left us, especially with the club hierarchy.

 

[Colin B]

It hasn’t all been perfect and there have been moments where things have looked a bit amateur behind the scenes. But if these owners walked away tomorrow they would still have done more than any group we have had in the last 25+ years.
Off the pitch we are closer to a new stadium than we have ever been. On the pitch we are playing at a level we have not seen for decades. People can downplay it if they want but the legacy is there. Nobody else has managed to deliver what they have.

I think @OX14 is referring to the SMT, not the owners, in his post. I'm sure he'll clarify.

There is a world of difference between having owners prepared to bankroll the club, which nobody is criticising, and many of the people they have installed to squander spend that money for them. That is where our problems have always been. The people charged with running our club have made cock up after cock up, and that is why we are not in a far more stable position. They have been provided with the finance/tools to do the job, and have wasted them, time after time.

 

[OX14]

I think @OX14 is referring to the SMT, not the owners, in his post. I'm sure he'll clarify.

There is a world of difference between having owners prepared to bankroll the club, which nobody is criticising, and many of the people they have installed to squander spend that money for them. That is where our problems have always been. The people charged with running our club have made cock up after cock up, and that is why we are not in a far more stable position. They have been provided with the finance/tools to do the job, and have wasted them, time after time.

Yeh I'm on about Tim, Grant etc who oversee the day to day running of the club. Not the owners who bankroll the club.

 

[Village-Yellow]

He burned his bridges when he left us, especially with the club hierarchy.

I wouldn't want him anywhere near the club again.

But I was just wondering who this Rowlett was that @Ray_Barone would prefer Manning replaced

 

[Foley]

I would rather have Karl Robinson (before his midlife crisis) than Rowett.

Wow. That is some comment.
Somebody should is proven in the Championship against somebody who has failed in the Championship and comes with some baggage

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Yeh I'm on about Tim, Grant etc who oversee the day to day running of the club. Not the owners who bankroll the club.

I agree that there are issues with Tim and Grant. It is a concern of mine, and has been for a long time, that we have a chairman who is rarely in this country and whenever he comes over, seems surprised if fans are unhappy.

 

[Old Man]

He looks and I believe, a broken man . He needs a year out and properly grieve for the loss of his Child . I feel very sad for his personal loss and would like to put football to one side.

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

Something must not be quite right at Norwich. Manning got Bristol City into the play offs for the first time in 17 seasons only last season.

In fairness, Bristol City had been a mid-table Championship outfit for years. I really don't think scraping into the play-offs (with a points tally that would have had them 9th the previous season) and then getting humiliated was all that impressive.

And if you dig deeper, he ripped up the framework they had in place in terms of style of play, bringing through youth players. I don't think many of their fans would say he left the club in a better spot (on or off the pitch).

Anyway, that's 180 odd Football League games managed by Manning, across four clubs, and absolutely nothing to show for it.

Can't imagine him getting another club at this level (at least not next). Can see him going back to Belgium or somewhere else abroad (someone with money) where he can hide out while flat track bullying farmers until such time as he can sound out another opening at a top L1 outfit.

 

[Benox]

Yeh I'm on about Tim, Grant etc who oversee the day to day running of the club. Not the owners who bankroll the club.

Ah sorry for the misunderstanding. Hard to disagree with that for sure. The only perplexing thing is that the owners are seemingly happy with what they’re doing.

 

[Colin B]

Ah sorry for the misunderstanding. Hard to disagree with that for sure. The only perplexing thing is that the owners are seemingly happy with what they’re doing.

I think happy may be overstating it.

I can see why you'd say that, as they haven't changed or removed them since appointing them, so you'd imagine that means they're OK with them. I feel it's a lot more nuanced than that. They may have made progress on the stadium, albeit very slowly and at enormous cost (and I don't see that either TW or GF as directly responsible for that, it was the professional team), but pretty much every other area has been sub optimal, to put it mildly.

I see it more as them not doing anything that Erick thinks is so disastrous that he has to remove them. I think Erick has gone with the status quo and this has been to the benefit of TW, GF et al. So rather than happy, I'd say not pissed off enough to make changes, yet.

 

[Northernyellow]

Yeh I'm on about Tim, Grant etc who oversee the day to day running of the club. Not the owners who bankroll the club.

I've never met Tim and/or Grant. But I did have a couple of meetings with Benson a couple of years ago. Hmm. Not an impressive operator. Didn't know what he was talking about (a specialist area that I know really well), but lots of bluster. And was really full of himself.

 

[Swaby39]

I agree that there are issues with Tim and Grant. It is a concern of mine, and has been for a long time, that we have a chairman who is rarely in this country and whenever he comes over, seems surprised if fans are unhappy.

Not to mention lying point blank to the faces of fans on a number of quite serious concerns/talking points.

Easy to sound coherent and on top of things in a written piece but personally any time they’ve spoken live I can just see the arrogance & bullshit dripping off them. The air of ‘we’re untouchable’ they give off makes me so queasy.

It’ll be devastating if we do go down as I think it was well within our gift this year to have a much improved season, and they’d be largely to blame.

 

[38yearsofpain]

Hopefully they won't be the board for much longer.

Can't fault the effort for the new stadium but on the pitch it's been a half arsed attempt all round. While we can say the squad wasn't ready for the championship when Des somehow pulled off a miracle, the whole club was even further behind.

So many mistakes being made behind the scenes, one of them nearly cost us a 3 x transfer window embargo and that's why our recruitment was slow in our first window as a championship club. Des was set up to fail from the start and if it weren't for Vaulks long throws and teams never trained on how to defend them we would be a league one club now.

The whole Indonesia tour this past summer with no information for fans to travel out there was just another comical decision from the owners/board.

The stadium team have been brilliant but alot of that comes down to the work of Niall McWilliams and John Clarke.

Yeah let's get back to somebody like Nick Merry and end up where you will feel more at home.
If there are issues it's nothing to do with the ownership, it's to do with their troops on the ground. Many stupid issues have been created by a lack of clarity and communication.
To move little Oxford after Kassam, Merry, and Eales to a credible forward thinking football club was and still is a huge task. No doubt many fans prefer the homely feel of a league 1 or 2 club but progressing up the league requires so much more than a good team on the grass. You have to move from an organisation that can deal with a few million turnover to one with considerably more. That requires huge changes to do it successfully. You sometimes have to reflect on what you wish for.

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

Getting relegated is highly likely and it’s mostly down to the recruitment. You could make a case for around ten players to be moved on in January if it’s feasible. Not that I think recruitment is easy, it clearly isn’t.

 

[uptheus]

Yeh I'm on about Tim, Grant etc who oversee the day to day running of the club. Not the owners who bankroll the club.

You spelt oversea incorrectly!

 

[OX14]

Yeah let's get back to somebody like Nick Merry and end up where you will feel more at home.
If there are issues it's nothing to do with the ownership, it's to do with their troops on the ground. Many stupid issues have been created by a lack of clarity and communication.
To move little Oxford after Kassam, Merry, and Eales to a credible forward thinking football club was and still is a huge task. No doubt many fans prefer the homely feel of a league 1 or 2 club but progressing up the league requires so much more than a good team on the grass. You have to move from an organisation that can deal with a few million turnover to one with considerably more. That requires huge changes to do it successfully. You sometimes have to reflect on what you wish for.

Where have I said I want us to go back to an owner running day to day. Its not the owners who are the problem it's the people they trust to run their business on their behalf that is.