Failure to improve players in keeping with the value-adding business model being one of the main accusations levied against Thorup, you'd expect that to loom large when it comes to selecting the "winner" from the six on the short list. On that score, wouldn't Ljinders rate higher than either Manning or O'Neil?
Of the known candidates, Manning also has a good record for developing young players, including Declan Rice at West Ham, but I'd lean towards O'Neil because he has played in the top two leagues and can relate to the players. He has also successfully managed in the PL which suggests he has good man management skills and tactics.
Farioli could be a possibility given that he left Ajax 6 days ago, but would he drop down to the Championship after Nice and Ajax? Same doubt about whether Motta would be willing to step down the Championship.
With the expectation that the new manager will be announced mid to end of next week, Sam Seaman of the PinkUn has stated that the fee to get Manning out of Bristol City would be minimal and would not affect our transfer budget. Is this being put out because they know the decision has been made? From Twitter a breakdown of several reasons why Manning would be a good move by Knapper: https://x.com/norwichpure/status/1926635287544762619?s=46&t=eNUxKZQ4GDywJtSbgmpm6A
"I think this is the best domestically based coach that Norwich could attract." So why are we going for a domestically based coach?
Looking more and more like it's going to be Manning: "Norwich City are set to approach Bristol City on Monday as they look to appoint Robins boss Liam Manning as their new head coach. Manning was revealed by the Pink Un to be the front-runner in the process to replace Johannes Hoff Thorup at the Carrow Road helm, and sporting director Ben Knapper will now move to make the deal official by speaking to the Norwich native's current club. Reports from national outlets including the Telegraph and BBC earlier this evening stated that City would have to pay a fee around £800k to bring the 39-year-old back to Norfolk, with that figure understood to be accurate. Manning has a release clause that means any club willing to pay that compensation has the right to break his current contract, with City free to speak to him about taking over once they do so." https://www.pinkun.com/sport/norwich-city/25190414.norwich-city-approach-bristol-city-liam-manning/
I would guess that the hope is that they shouldn’t need so long to bed into the culture, the environment, language, league and stand a better chance to hit the ground running. That would hopefully benefit the players and aid the Head Coach in developing them. Potentially easier to get players settled and moving forward if the one leading them is comfortable in the country, better still the region. We’ve seen plenty of players and managers take time to adapt, that can also be difficult with a young side, but not impossible. From what has been written there has been 3 managers based outside the UK in the final running, 4 if you include Lijnders. I doubt being domestically based is a deciding factor but it may be a mark in the positive column.
Liam Manning may well be a good call, but I'm surprised they didn't give Willshire a go first - he showed a lot in those 2 games in charge. To me, the Norwich way has always been to find unpolished diamonds as players, polish them and sell them on for profit to keep the accountant happy. Some might feel that is unambitious, but I like seeing seeing what these players go onto do and thinking we had a part in that. Why can't we do the same with managers? Farke is the only one that springs to mind that has gone on to be even better.
His playing career was far from impressive but, apart from a bad spell at MK Dons, his coaching career is not too bad. Not really excited but better than others mentioned. I also would have given Wilshere a chance but, to be fair, that could have gone horribly wrong.
I also thought Wilshere should be given a chance, but can also see that Knapper couldn't take the chance after last season's disappointing end. At least Manning won't have to adjust to a new country and league, given the need for a solid start. Guiding Bristol to the playoffs last year is a definite plus but much will depend on recruitment and the way players respond to him. A solid but not particularly exciting change.
Nobody seems to be contemplating the possibility that Manning might prefer to stay where he is. Can someone please tell me why he would choose us over Bristol City? And how is it that we are "close to appointing" Manning while at the same time "no official approach" has yet been made? "The Canaries are close to agreeing a deal to bring Manning to Carrow Road as Johannes Hoff Thorup's replacement. No official approach has been made, but one is expected in the next 24 hours, with the Canaries ready to pay Norwich-born Manning's release clause." (Nick Mashiter, BBC website)
A/ Family ties. B/ Norwich have far bigger budget. The only possible negative for you guys is I think he played at Ipswich, albeit at youth/reserve level.
This from Paddy Davitt: "Norwich City have identified current Bristol City manager Liam Manning as Johannes Hoff Thorup’s replacement. Manning emerged as a leading contender early in an exhaustive process conducted by sporting director Ben Knapper and his assistant, Neil Adams, which is now in the end game. Knapper is in the process of making a formal approach to the Robins, and City are willing to trigger his £800,000 compensation release figure. Manning’s camp are believed to be open to a Norfolk return, with the focus then expected to switch to bringing his long time backroom team Chris Hogg and James Krause with him to Carrow Road. No announcement is expected on Monday, but Norwich-born Manning could be officially unveiled later in the week if negotiations are concluded swiftly." https://www.pinkun.com/sport/norwic...ity-assessing-bristol-city-boss-liam-manning/
I understand that his wife is from Norfolk as well and the couple lost a young son in tragic circumstances last year so they would want to be nearer family.
Bristol were very supportive at the time, with Manning being granted leave of absence for as long as he felt was necessary.
You would assume that Manning would have expressed an interest in the job at the very least, he wouldn't have interviewed for the job otherwise. The "official approach" I assume is contacting Bristol about buying out his contract, he has an £800,000 release clause so it could be as relatively simple as offering to meet that or maybe we try to negotiate something different (although doubtful Bristol City would accept anything else). So the "official approach" SHOULD be a bit of a formality. Final negotiations will be about negotiating his backroom staff, if Manning does decide he wants to come. We are 3 staff members down currently after the exit of JHT, GR and JW so the 2 staff members mentioned and Manning would fill out the staff from a numbers point of view. The below is a bit of further information regarding those 2 staff members: James Krause spent eight years at Arsenal, most recently as Lead Football Analyst in the First Team, before joining Manning and Hogg at the U’s in July 2023, having previously also worked with them at Ipswich Town. Krause will have a hybrid role between coaching and analysis and Manning said: “James has a great deal of experience at the top level of football and is an important addition to the coaching group. James will provide detailed analysis and coaching to enable the players to get the most out of their training and improve all areas of their game.” Chris Hogg played as a defender, his youth career was spent in York and Ipswich, the majority of his senior career was in Scotland. He retired from playing in 2015 to take up a full-time coaching role within the Ipswich Town Academy. He subsequently worked for their under-18 and under-23 teams, and was added to the first team coaching staff during the 2018–19 season. Hogg moved to Newcastle United in February 2020, working with their under-23 team. On 13 August 2021, Hogg was appointed Assistant Head Coach of League One side Milton Keynes Dons, assisting the newly appointed Liam Manning. In March 2023, following Manning's appointment at Oxford United, Hogg again followed him as assistant head coach. On 7 November 2023, Hogg followed Manning as his assistant once again at Championship club Bristol City.
Manning's approach in his own words when he joined Bristol City: "It starts with the behaviours. That is the most important bit. Especially for fans who are paying hard-earned money to get behind the team and come and watch. Fans are realistic, fans are honest, if they see players putting in a real shift, run their hardest, be brave and try things then fans will be forgiving sometimes, in terms of the outcome of the game. So it starts with that. The culture we have demands people are willing to compete, to win duels. In terms of the team aspects, out of possession, we want to be on the front foot, we want to be aggressive. We want to be hard to beat. In possession, for me, we’re in an entertainment industry so you want people to be excited by the team. Of course we want the ball. If we have it the opposition can’t score, but I want us always to attack, to create opportunities and to score goals. They are probably the fundamentals of how we work. We want players to be open to learning. To be coachable. We will give them everything we have got, in terms of understanding their roles when they step out on that pitch, in terms of creating that alignment and clarity. Instead of focusing on outcomes, we tend to put all our energy into the day-to-day. I would say I am ‘principle’ driven not ‘system’ driven. All those game elements, in possession, out of possession, transitional moments, we want control. How do we control possession or how do we control the way we press or control those transitional moments? We don’t give the players patterns, we try to give them solutions, and then it is on the players to own those decisions. Mentality is important. Maintaining discipline and focus. However we play, the mentality of the players is always key. We work on that every single day and it runs through every piece of work we do. Developing behaviours to create the right mentality to go and perform at a high level. We do a lot of work with the players on decision-making. I want them to challenge us. If they make a decision and it was the right one, why was it the right one? And vice versa. Because the second a game starts it is on them and we can support them from the side. We all love the unpredictability of the game. Every weekend results happen you wouldn’t predict. The games I don’t find interesting are the system-based, the pattern-based, when the ball moves from A to B to C and you know what is going to happen. It looks very robotic. We want to see moments of magic and people do things out of the ordinary. Get the behaviours right, and then it is about educating the players and developing them." My hope is that means the players really will be free to express themselves rather than being shaped by predictable tactical patterns, as he says. He talks the talk, but we'll have to wait to see if he walks the walk.
