Liam Manning pushed Bristol City to become contenders - now Robins can't afford to go backwards | Bristol Live

Bristol City have confirmed that their head coach Liam Manning has departed Ashton Gate to join Norwich City

Liam Manning's time at Bristol City has come to a close. 18 months after he was unveiled to supporters as the Robins' new head coach, the 39-year-old has departed the West Country for pastures new, taking over the reins at Norwich City.

In truth, this last year-and-a-half has been a rollercoaster off and on the pitch for Manning, his squad and fans alike. While there have been more highs than lows, it has been far from plain sailing.

The events of the season just gone will have likely made it easy to forget just what sort of situation Manning took over at BS3. This was a club divided by the departure of Nigel Pearson.

Supporters were frustrated with the decision makers at Ashton Gate who had relieved the then-City boss of his position following a Severnside Derby defeat to Cardiff City where half his squad had been ruled out by injury and illness.

At that time, the Robins found themselves 15th in the Championship having lost five of their last seven matches. The suggestion from the hierarchy was that this group of players had what it took to challenge for the play-offs. That was a sentiment that once again split fans and certainly meant that the pressure was on the next incumbent to deliver on the pitch.

Enter Manning. The then-38-year-old had enjoyed an impressive start to the 2023/24 campaign at Oxford United in League One. The U's were second in League One after 15 matches having guided them to safety in the third tier the season prior.

Of course, given the relationship he had with the fans, Pearson was always going to be a tough act to follow and it would be wrong to suggest supporters immediately warmed to Manning.

Over the coming months, shoots of promise were visible, even if they were irregular and inconsistent. Wins over Hull City and Watford on either side of Christmas ensured fans started to believe but a late New Year's Day defeat to Millwall and a dull 0-0 draw against Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City in the days that followed once again left supporters frustrated.

Then came the brief, all-be-it eventful FA Cup run. A draw against West Ham United at the London Stadium courtesy of Tommy Conway set up a replay at Ashton Gate and a night that will live long in the memory of the 25,000-plus supporters present. Once again, the Scotland international popped up with an important goal to not only kickstart the celebrations in BS3 but send David Moyes' side out of the competition, even if the Robins followed in the next round.

The second half of the season followed a similar pattern with big wins interspersed by poor defeats, up until the March international break. With very little to play for from Good Friday onwards, City went unbeaten in seven of their last eight matches, including a 1-0 win over eventual champions Leicester City and a 5-0 thumping of Blackburn Rovers.

They may have finished 11th and 11 points away from the play-offs but that late run of form was a demonstration of what was to come under Manning's management.

Summer came and went with additions and departures plenty. The success of that window is perhaps a topic for another piece but the headline news was that Conway, Matty James, Andi Weimann and Andy King had all made way with seven permanent signings arriving in their place.

Sinclair Armstrong and Fally Mayulu were expected to provide the goals at the top end of the pitch, Scott Twine was set to be the link between the midfield and attack while Luke McNally brought some much-needed depth to the backline.

In truth, the opening months of the campaign felt like an extension of the season prior. Wins over Millwall and Oxford were cancelled out by miserable defeats to Blackburn and Derby before the Reds headed into the October international break with a draw against Cardiff. Though the more exciting brand of football had brought some fans onside, there were still a portion of supporters unconvinced.

Unfortunately, during that break, City confirmed Manning would be taking a leave of absence following the tragic passing of his baby son Theo. In an instant, the footballing community within Bristol and beyond rallied behind the Robins' head coach to offer their support to him and his family. England Under-21s wore black armbands in their win over Azerbaijan at Ashton Gate while messages from club, players and colleagues alike flooded in.

Without their head coach, the Reds headed to Middlesbrough just over a week later where they managed to beat Michael Carrick's side 2-0. On that day, the game and result were inconsequential. The overriding memory most who made the trip will instead have is the image of the entire squad and staff holding a banner in front of the travelling fans which read 'Fly High Theo.'

What was on show that day was a group that had grown incredibly close prior to this tragic event. While Manning himself will tell you the connections within the club were growing already before that point, that collective experience clearly strengthened those bonds in a manner that cannot be described or easily replicated.

It would be wrong of me to suggest there haven't been bumps along the road since that point but since I started covering the club last November, the unity within the High Performance Centre has been clear to see. Players and staff have been close, welcoming and typically happy. Even after defeats on miserable afternoons or evenings, there remained this underlying buzz and level-headedness, which has proven to be the key to success.

The second half of the campaign demonstrated exactly that. Despite being down to their bare bones after a January transfer window which saw them "weaken" - Manning's words not mine - they rallied and kept finding a way to pick up points.

Before anyone could really stop and think about what was happening, wins over Watford, West Brom and Sunderland in the run-up to and over Easter had seen the Reds put one foot in the play-offs.

In a fashion all too familiar for those of a red-and-white persuasion, the Robins threatened to falter with back-to-back defeats against both Luton and Leeds United but in the end, results elsewhere on the final day of the campaign ensured City's 17-year wait for a play-off finish was over.

Just seven months on from that dreary 1-1 draw with Cardiff where some fans appeared to be losing patience with Manning and his players, they were treated like heroes.

The outpouring of emotion from the Ashton Gate crowd when the top six spot was confirmed in the wake of the final-day draw with Preston North End was a demonstration of that, as was the noise both inside BS3 and the away end at Bramall Lane in both legs of the play-off final defeat to Sheffield United.

A fanbase, which took plenty of time to warm to the 39-year-old having felt his predecessor had been unfairly sacked, now remained in their seats to chant his name despite just witnessing their side slip to a record play-off defeat.

Regardless of your opinion on Manning, his style of football or even the achievements of his tenure as the Robins head coach, it is impossible to argue he hadn't united the football club once again and brought a sense of hope back to being a Bristol City supporter.

I cannot honestly write this and suggest his tenure has been perfect. There have still been occasions where the Robins have looked toothless against a low block, afternoons where they have appeared all at sea defensively, the away record this season was miserable all while Manning's seeming lack of faith in youth has been highlighted by more people than I can name in this article alone.

All of those are fair criticisms to level and there was undoubtedly an element of luck involved in last season's top six finish. However, I think it is fair to suggest the good outweighed the bad over the course of the head coach's time in the West Country.

Of course, that fact makes it even more disappointing and frustrating that for reasons not yet clear, which I am sure will come to light in good time, he won't be the man to deliver on such hope.

Now, the decision makers at the High Performance Centre face the prospect of appointing a appointing their third head coach in under two years and they're not alone in that predicament. At the time of writing, QPR and Hull City are all in the market for new managers while speculation continues to circle around positions that may or may not open up at the likes of Leicester, Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough.

With pre-season looming, the transfer window now open - for the first time this summer at least - and contract talks still ongoing with the likes of Nahki Wells and Lewis Thomas, the Robins need a new head coach in place sooner rather than later.

However, they simply cannot afford to get this appointment wrong and in turn, risk undoing the good work that Manning, his staff and his players have done over the course of the last 18 months.

As rival fans have been quite keen to mention over the course of the last few weeks, you get little more than praise for finishing in the top six if you don't then go on to get promoted.

City will want the 2024/25 season to be the precursor to the club finally ending the wait for Premier League football in the West Country, rather than it becoming the latest benchmark to which fans point when they say, 'It has been x amount of years since we were last in the play-offs.

This is a situation that they wouldn't have wanted or likely expected to find themselves in at this stage of the summer. Now that they have, they simply have to get it right to avoid standing still.

As Manning himself suggested at the end of the term, the moment you stand still in football, you begin to go backwards.