Former Town academy midfielder and coach Liam Manning has been appointed head coach of Norwich City, leaving his role at Bristol City.

Manning, who has agreed a deal to the summer of 2029, was with the Blues as a player in the early 2000s, having previously been a schoolboy with hometown club Norwich, but moved on without making a senior appearance and after a spell in Iceland played locally in non-league.

The 39-year-old, whose wife Fran also worked at Town, returned to Playford Road later in the decade to coach in the academy before moving on to West Ham’s youth set-up in 2015.

After leaving the Hammers, he spent time running New York City’s academy, then managed Belgian side Lommel, the MK Dons and Oxford before moving to the Robins in November 2023, seeing them into the Championship play-offs this season.

“I’m privileged and honoured to have the opportunity to work for this fantastic football club. It’s a wonderful club with a big history and tradition,” he told the Canaries official website in an announcement which studiously avoids mentioning his spells with Town.

“When I spoke to [sporting director] Ben [Knapper] and the owners about the opportunity here, I was really impressed by their vision and strategy for moving the club forward. I felt a clear alignment in how they want to play and develop players – that is something I was really excited to be a part of.

“It’s clear there has already been a lot of valuable groundwork laid in recent seasons – it’s now important we build further on that and move the club forward.

“I’m really excited to meet the supporters and will do everything possible to give them a club they can be proud of.”

Knapper added: “We’re all thrilled to welcome Liam and his family to Norwich City. This is an exciting appointment, and we are so happy to get it over the line and have him on board.

“It quickly became clear that Liam’s ambitions match our own and we are all committed to driving this club forward towards our targets. Liam knows the league, has consistently demonstrated an ability to outperform resources and his approach aligns with our footballing ideas and strategy.

“He is an exceptionally bright coach who will push himself, and everyone around him, to develop and improve. We are so excited to have him as a key part of our club.”

Bristol City chairman Jon Lansdown said on his club’s official website: “We are disappointed to lose Liam after such a successful campaign.

“I would like to place on record my thanks to Liam for his hard work and commitment over the past 18 months and the memories we have made together and wish him and his family all the best for the future. We are assessing all options as we look to replace Liam.”

Although there has been no confirmation, it’s likely Manning’s regular assistant, former Town reserves centre-half, academy coach and George Burley’s son-in-law Chris Hogg, will join him at Carrow Road.

Manning’s first-team coach analyst at Ashton Gate was James Krause, who was a member of the Town U18s team which win the FA Youth Cup in 2005.

Photo: ITFC

baldman added 18:00 - Jun 3 Why o why would he go from a playoff team to a tin pot club with no chance of promotion who can't even fill a falling down stadium
7

algarvefan added 18:08 - Jun 3 baldman it's amazing the principals people will throw away for money!!!
7

NITFC added 18:12 - Jun 3 Poor sod
5

Elwood added 18:30 - Jun 3 Well done Agent Manning, you know what to do
15

Bert added 18:44 - Jun 3 A decent guy but not sure Norwich supporters will be impressed. Sacking Farke was a huge mistake.
8

westernblue added 18:45 - Jun 3 This is truly mystifying. Bristol City is a very well-run club (which is also very welcoming to away fans). They have given superb support to Liam Manning and his family. Given my western connections, I am totally at a loss. The lure of Norwich eh?
8

Gforce added 18:50 - Jun 3 Apparently Manning was born and bred in Norfolk and their fans see him as one of their own. Hopefully they will soon lose Sargent and Sainz,who will be difficult to replace. All being well they will have a horrendous start to the season, which will continue and ultimately end in relegation! Fingers tightly crossed.
13

ArnieM added 18:58 - Jun 3 Good luck to.him. Returning to your boyhood club ( he was born in narwich), may start well, but they are an ignorant fan vase and once they turn, that's it. As history gas shown, they turn on their managers eith an alarming frequency ..... and I dont think this appointment will be particularly different in outcome.
6

Barty added 19:41 - Jun 3 Let's hope he fails miserably.
6

OliveR16 added 20:15 - Jun 3 It's traditional to wish him all the best - but that ain't gonna happen in this instance.
5

Shineyblueknives added 20:17 - Jun 3 SCUM!!!!
1

monkeymagic added 20:35 - Jun 3 At face value it might seem odd but he lost his little boy late last year and I suspect he wants to be closer to his family and back home so to speak. I was thinking him and Hogg would be a good fit for us if KMc left but I don’t see that happening now.
7

BotesdaleBlue added 20:40 - Jun 3 Like I do with every new Norwich manager, I sincerly hope the appointment turns into a total off the scale, unmitigated, living nightmare for all involved.
5

Broadbent23 added 20:46 - Jun 3 This is a hard pill to spoil with his Ipswich connections. 5-0 will do nicely against them.
2

WeWereZombies added 20:58 - Jun 3 'I’m really excited to meet the supporters and will do everything possible to give them a club they can be proud of.' - so that looks like confirmation that there is nothing to be proud of at Carrot Road at the moment.
0

pablo123 added 22:15 - Jun 3 TRAITOR , nuff said
-1

ITFCSG added 23:00 - Jun 3 Time to give him a warm welcome to PR next season, another prime Judas
-1

DeliasMashedPotato added 05:08 - Jun 4 Liam Manning is a blue, he hates naarwich
-1

slade1 added 05:52 - Jun 4 The abuse on here aimed at Liam Manning, from what I can only describe as immature pathetic morons is unbelievable. He needed a change of scenery and to get away from the Bristol area after the tragedy he and his family went through last October. Whatever team he decided to manage then good luck to him. The poor man is still grieving his Son who passed away just 8 months ago just after being born.

14

PinstripeBlue added 08:22 - Jun 4 They must have kidnapped his family and are blackmailing him. Why else would anyone go there?
-2

Mariner1974 added 09:20 - Jun 4 Good move by Norwich, and obviously a life/family based decision for him. He even used to play for Wroxham! I hope he does well there. Finishing 7th next season should be ample.
2

Thegeniusofmuhren added 10:26 - Jun 4 I couldn't care less who there manager is. They're just another team that isn't Ipswich. Not sure why it's even news on here unless it's because of his past association with us, even then, should it be news on here?
0

smudge57 added 11:28 - Jun 4 Totally agree with ‘Slade1’ sometimes there are more important things than rivalry. Is n’t his assistant GB’s son-in-law and have ties to us as well.
3

del45 added 11:56 - Jun 4 There are many important things in life then all sports let the lad get on for him and his family and stop making ridiculous comments and just keep supporting our team.
5

DocMartyn added 13:04 - Jun 4 @PinstripeBlue You clearly don't know his back story, otherwise you wouldn't make such a comment (or perhaps you would, who knows, based on some of the other people I see on here....)
1

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