Manning's MK Dons were pumped full of money too when he took over a ready made decent team and didn't really need to do anything different. When the good players left and the money was reduced his team was rubbish and he was completely lost with what to do, and was quickly sacked as his team ended up being relegated.
Manning's Oxford were pumped full of money too with a very competitive league 1 budget this season and he managed to do well with it on an incredibly small sample of 15 games. When he first came in and he had no money to spend and had to make do with what he had got in his first 10 games he just about did enough to escape relegation, he certainly didn't pull up any trees and look anything more than very average.
All we need is a manager to get us promoted this season. This could be the best chance we have before we move to the new ground and having a club in the Championship next Summer is going to give a far better look to justify our need for a new stadium. On this basis I really couldn't care if it was Lampard, Eustace, Whitehead, or even Ainsworth, there is one job to do and as long as they do it then there can be no complaints. It's not just the manager, the owners need to realise the opportunity and player investment in January is an absolute must. Once in the Championship you then need to plan to stay there. But getting there in the first place is the most difficult part, and if this is achieved with a compromise on the style of play then maybe we just need to accept this when looking at the bigger long term picture.
