Manager/Coach Next Manager

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

The inertia of our leadership is going to see us down.

I wouldn't be that dramatic, but it's all slow to be honest, as if every event (losing a football match, sacking the manager) has only been realised as a possibility to these people on the day that it actually happens ("Grant, I think I just sacked Karl? What do I do now?")

These are the sort of people who try and book the venue for the work Christmas Party a week into December, as if Christmas was not something that had otherwise been on their radar until Tina from Accounts came into their office draped in tinsel and singing Wham.

Perhaps someone should flag up that this Summer will require some recruitment (both playing and otherwise), a kit will need sorting (ideally with a shirt sponsor this year) and they'll need to sort out matchday and season ticket pricing too. If we tell them it all needs sorting by the end of April we may successfully land all or part of these before the season actually starts, which would be nice.

There's due diligence and thoroughness, but there's also a lack of understanding that football is an incredibly fast moving industry, we don't have the luxury of time or indecision.

At the very least there should be better communication.

 

[Northstandboy]

We

I remember years ago they would occasionally put an embargo on news until like 6am so the Oxford Mail and radio Oxford would both 'announce' it at the same time.
No reason in this day and age, with websites, twatter, Facebook etc etc to kept us hanging on like this.

maybe it’s so the OM can print it.

 

[Mellowyellow]

I have two primary concerns regarding the appointment of Manning.

Firstly, and most pressingly, he is going to have no time whatsoever to implement his philosophy or preferred style of play. We are in a relegation battle and need wins immediately. Moreover, even if he somehow miraculously managed to get his philosophy across to the players before the Morecambe game, we simply don't have the requisite skills/abilities within the squad to implement it properly. The thought of Eastwood and Moore attempting 1-2s around opposition strikers in our own penalty box is going to give me nightmares for the next week.

With this in mind, I don't actually think Manning will attempt to change too much this season. He's a smart guy and will be well aware of the perilous position we're in. I think instead, he will be heavily reliant on Short and LBS, perhaps with the odd tweak here and there, providing specific instructions to certain players etc. Will that be enough? Time will tell I suppose. I am of the school of thought that believed the whole coaching staff should have been let go at the same time as Robinson, but I am not privy to what goes out behind the scenes at the club so that thinking is based on little other than my personal belief that we very much needed a full reset.

Furthermore, I also have concerns about Manning's ability to stop a rot. His MK Dons side was in free fall and he couldn't seem to do anything about it. Again, I don't know enough about what went on there. I understand he was let down by their recruitment in the summer, but we probably have an equally poor, if not worse squad than MK. There's very little evidence to suggest he will be able to change around our fortunes in the very short term.

My second concern relates to the club's supposed desire to move towards a more data-driven model, a la Brighton and Brentford. I think the word 'data' has become a bit of a buzzword in football in recent years. It sounds sexy (in a geeky sort of way), but just saying it isn't anywhere near enough. @Shosho will know much better than I how the likes of Brighton and Brentford have utilised data models, but I think I'm right in saying there needs to be a complete acceptance of the model/approach for it to work. You need a proper structure made up of a DoF (or similar title), scouts, and coaching teams, all of whom buy into the model entirely. Worryingly, however, it was, what, three weeks ago that Tim Williams brushed aside suggestions that we required a DoF because we have people in the building who 'know football'.

If the club truly want to go down the data driven model it's not as simple as appointing a manager that buys into it and employing an agency to scout some players. It's a full blown, live it and breathe it way of running a football club. I'm just not 100% convinced the likes of Tim and Grant see it that way.

Now, all of that said, I really do hope they get it right. Manning is undoubtedly an exciting, fresh, young football manager with lots to prove and lots to give. The data driven model could lead to us going back to signing hidden gems again, watching them develop before selling them for millions. If they do get it right, we could be in for a really fun and exciting few years and potentially a transformative period for the football club. Imagine if we do do a Brighton or a Brentford. It would be absolutely bloody amazing.

Let's just stay up first. Please. COYY.

Huge point and Key point. Manning doesnt have the experience to help him to deal with such a scenario, shown by MKD's free fall leading to his dismissal. Another important point is that if kr's coaches remain he isnt going to have any real help to stop the decline, as they are the coaches who put us in this position in the first place. Hopefully there has been a rethink of decision, as of all the candidates there were manning is not the one to keep us in this division bar a miracle. He is the cheaper option of those available as his football credentials are lower than these other candidates. Yes he had a good season, with the dream squad that he had, but no doubt even kr would have made a good fist of them getting to the play offs.

A manager sometimes shows his true credentials when backs are to the wall, something manning didnt have when the chips were down last season.

 

[bazzer9461]

That's unfair. KR completely lost the plot this season, and we all know why that was. Crazy decisions from January 2022’ to now. Honestly we might as well have had Timmy Mallett on charge for the value Karl was adding. Did he lose interest?

Prior to that, he was very capable of putting out a decent starting lineup that was good enough to beat a lot of what was put in front of it.

The trouble occurred when tactics came into play and we may as well of had a boiled egg on the touchline.

Changed that for you

 

[m]

Huge point and Key point. Manning doesnt have the experience to help him to deal with such a scenario, shown by MKD's free fall leading to his dismissal. Another important point is that if kr's coaches remain he isnt going to have any real help to stop the decline, as they are the coaches who put us in this position in the first place. Hopefully there has been a rethink of decision, as of all the candidates there were manning is not the one to keep us in this division bar a miracle. He is the cheaper option of those available as his football credentials are lower than these other candidates. Yes he had a good season, with the dream squad that he had, but no doubt even kr would have made a good fist of them getting to the play offs.

A manager sometimes shows his true credentials when backs are to the wall, something manning didnt have when the chips were down last season.

Let's be honest though, there will be a constant high-pitched whine whoever is announced.

 

[nige01ox]

Appleton was my who my heart wanted but taking emotion out of it, the more I think about it, the more I like it. The worry is the here and now, and I didn't see Manning as the sort who will come in and get the players fired up in this battle we find ourselves in. But it seems the board are looking at the bigger picture, and how the head coach will fit in to the overall structure it wants to build here. In many ways I like this long term thinking, and of the names linked, and as an ultra modern style manager, Manning is a very good fit for that. He has shown a lot of promise as a manager and I believe he has a higher ceiling than the other candidates.

When he talks he seems very calm and measured, in stark contrast to our previous incumbent who was emotional and would shoot from the hip. As a player, Manning's way of doing things is preferable, because he will not build you up too much in victory, nor be too reactive in defeat. I don't think we will see people being ostracized or cast out by the new manager, as we have done in the past couple of years.

MK are having a terrible season and have looked woeful, and Manning can't be exempt from all criticism for that just because it was the Sporting Director who identified and brought in the replacements for the class players they lost in the summer. However, it is more than fair to say he is still developing as a manager, so he can learn from his experiences and get better. KR had 400+ games as a manager when he joined us - by that stage I think a manager has very much landed on his own formula and is less adaptable to new learnings. Manning has a quarter of that, and I firmly believe he will learn and evolve here.

Naturally from his tutelage with the City Group, he builds a team with possession, fast transitions and high pressing style in mind. This is very exciting as a fan, and will certainly make for entertaining viewing. He will need to learn that at L1 level, not all players are equally comfortable on the ball - we scored home and away against MK last season as a result of them dicking about with it at the back, and it's surely too much of a coincidence for these to have been the only occasions it happened. But even though we did the double over them, I think most of our fans who saw those games went away admiring their play style and fairly impressed. And they were absolutely exceptional when they got it right - don't forget last game of the season they went away to Plymouth and walloped them in their own back yard. Plymouth 0-5 MK. Unfortunately for them, this enabled Wycombe to get into the playoffs instead, and Ainsworth schooled Manning and MK's nice football there. But that was just his first season managing in the EFL, and I refer back to my point that he is not the finished article and is a bright young manager with the possibility of a big future ahead.

There is no point going into this new era with any negativity. He may not have been your or my preferred candidate, but he deserves to start with a clean slate and our full support. His manner is refreshingly different to who we have had at the helm, and it's a good change and indicator of the style of direction the club is heading. Lets enjoy the ride.

(I have actually seen the future, and after staying up by the skin of our teeth this season, Manning leaves us in 4 and a half years time for a job in the Premier League. We are a Championship club with a great reputation in English footballing circles and renowned for attractive football. We are all gutted, but also excited to find the next manager to carry on the work and take us on that next step.)

 

[Mellowyellow]

Let's be honest though, there will be a constant high-pitched whine whoever is announced.

Why should there be if either of the experienced managers supposedly interviewed were appointed, who could have made a fist of fighting relegation. Manning would have taken mkd down last season, so was sacked.
With such a field of candidates why would you chose one with so little experience. The cheapest option, maybe, but with robinsons failures by his side, kept on, to me it doesnt smack of ambition. After they had taken so long to sack kr, it's yet another example of either lack of experience or another way to cut corners. Throw mud at a wall hoping some sticks.
The board had a fantastic opportunity to recruit an experienced manager, recruit wisely in the summer, and for that manager to use their promotion experience to engineer a route to the championship to give us a chance of staying up. I fear for the club in the same way I did last May, when I said robinson should have gone.

 

[Scotchegg]

Throw mud at a wall hoping some sticks.

Is this like you keep screaming about the cheapest option when it's very simply not true?

 

[tonto]

It does seem a bit odd that there has been no announcement. Maybe they are hoping CS gets a win tomorrow and they can hold fire (hopefully not).

 

[tonto]

Hopefully we can get a win!

 

[Canterburyexile]

Data driven is a bullshit buzzword that only ever applies to research. Data informed, combined with pragmatic, assertive decision making is where it’s at. I’m pretty trusting of the folks at the top of our particular pyramid to understand that, and get that bit right. Manning, on the face of it, is a shrewd appointment. Let’s se what happens.

 

[West Oxon U’s]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1634433973165096963

 

[Andy1505]

I just pray that Manning has a bit more tactical nous than KR ever had (jeez surely he must have!) and can actually find a proper way to organise what is a bunch of talented individuals in to something resembling a team over the next 10/11 games, and we can eke out the four(?) wins we need to keep us up.

Morecambe, Cheltenham, Vale, FGR and Accy are all games we should be capable of getting something out of but as we've been absolutely woeful this season then who knows. Win those and grab a couple of flukey draws in another couple and secure our future in League 1.

If not then we just have to accept our fate and then he has to build a proper squad (surely he can do a better job of that than KR!) to get us out of League 2!

 

[oufc1991]

Oh c'mon OUFC just announce who the new man.ning is going to be it's like the worst kept secret now even George down the road knows and he doesn't know what day of the week it is

 

[Bicester Yellow]

Who would want them, complete bottle jobs who through a tired manager under the bus. Form an orderly queue.

I’d imagine you would get quite a few takers for them in the league below. Robinson got himself the sack. He took his eye off the ball & offered the players no direction. We all know why that was. I’ll be glad to have a manager to be proud of again who holds him & his staff to the highest integrity.

 

[Bicester Yellow]

Why should there be if either of the experienced managers supposedly interviewed were appointed, who could have made a fist of fighting relegation. Manning would have taken mkd down last season, so was sacked.
With such a field of candidates why would you chose one with so little experience. The cheapest option, maybe, but with robinsons failures by his side, kept on, to me it doesnt smack of ambition. After they had taken so long to sack kr, it's yet another example of either lack of experience or another way to cut corners. Throw mud at a wall hoping some sticks.
The board had a fantastic opportunity to recruit an experienced manager, recruit wisely in the summer, and for that manager to use their promotion experience to engineer a route to the championship to give us a chance of staying up. I fear for the club in the same way I did last May, when I said robinson should have gone.

Look who MK replaced him with, hardly someone with pedigree. Funding has been pulled back by winkleman and it’s there for all to see. He will do wonders with a proper budget and owners that will back him.

 

[uptheus]

Is this like you keep screaming about the cheapest option when it's very simply not true?

I’m intrigued you even know what the costs are for Manning or even how it compares to the Grant or Appleton cost options etc. I mean, we’re not even sure if the contractual paperwork has been agreed/signed yet.

By the way, I’m NOT saying that Manning is the cheapest, just challenging how you would know that he isn’t, unless you were actually involved in the negotiations.

 

[uptheus]

I just pray that Manning has a bit more tactical nous than KR ever had (jeez surely he must have!) and can actually find a proper way to organise what is a bunch of talented individuals in to something resembling a team over the next 10/11 games, and we can eke out the four(?) wins we need to keep us up.

Morecambe, Cheltenham, Vale, FGR and Accy are all games we should be capable of getting something out of but as we've been absolutely woeful this season then who knows. Win those and grab a couple of flukey draws in another couple and secure our future in League 1.

If not then we just have to accept our fate and then he has to build a proper squad (surely he can do a better job of that than KR!) to get us out of League 2!

Not sure I concur with this bit!

 

[Swaby39]

Look who MK replaced him with, hardly someone with pedigree. Funding has been pulled back by winkleman and it’s there for all to see. He will do wonders with a proper budget and owners that will back him.

I’m with you - I can’t see that there is much negative to say about Manning. I think he’s a super choice for us. The doubts I have are more surrounding how late the board have left this decision. Far too long to sack KR and now 2 weeks and 2 games further down before an announcement. I realised in my mind yesterday, it wouldn’t have mattered who came in, I would’ve had the same reaction in this regard. I still think we’re going to have a tough time staying in the league. But should he do that, there’s not many I’d have picked over him for next season.

Couldn’t give a toss what he earns and again I have no idea why people are so bothered. There will be people all over the world who do a lot less for a lot more and a lot more for a lot less.

 

[oxonian]

I’m intrigued you even know what the costs are for Manning or even how it compares to the Grant or Appleton cost options etc. I mean, we’re not even sure if the contractual paperwork has been agreed/signed yet.

By the way, I’m NOT saying that Manning is the cheapest, just challenging how you would know that he isn’t, unless you were actually involved in the negotiations.

To be fair UTO said the same thing about Manning not being the cheapest option.