Norwich City: Chris Hogg on Liam Manning and Ipswich link
Give him a chance. Liam Manning is not even in the building yet and an urban myth has sprouted about his alleged Ipswich Town supporting allegiances.
True, the incoming Norwich City head coach was once a youth team player for the Blues back in the day, and began his coaching journey in their academy. Where he has since cited Nigel Worthington’s one-time trusted aide, Steve Foley, as a formative coaching influence.
There was also a cryptic post-match line delivered by Manning on his winning Carrow Road visit last season with Bristol City, when the Norwich-born manager revealed he had been a Carrow Road season ticket holder in his early teens. But made it clear he did not support Norwich.
Manchester United is his team, as the super sleuths have discovered in recent days when he emerged as the top contender for City’s sporting director Ben Knapper, with quotes on his affection for the Red Devils to boot from his previous time as Oxford boss.
But there is a family connection to recently relegated Town through his long time assistant, Chris Hogg, who is expected to join him in Norfolk. Hogg is the son-in-law of George Burley, a name with legendary status at Portman Road as player and manager.
Teesside-bred Hogg was at Ipswich with Manning as a player and then coaches in the academy, and has followed him every step of the way on a managerial journey from MK Dons, Oxford, Bristol and soon-to-be Norwich in the coming days.
Hogg revealed the Burley link in a wide-ranging interview with the Bristol Post in April 2024, as part of lifting the lid on his special relationship with Manning.
“He’s an adopted Bristol City fan who’s roaring us on whenever he can,” he said. “What I love about him is he’s all-in in terms of supporting me personally but also the clubs I’m at. He constantly watches the games.
“He’s great. A man of experience and quality and the career he had, he’s someone who I speak to and he’s great with my kids which really helps when I’m away!”
Manning himself has spoken publicly about an intuitive dynamic between the pair forged from their long-standing friendship.
“I was up at Newcastle, taking their Under-23s, and got a phone call and he asked me to go to MK with him,” said Hogg in the same interview. “It was a time where I wouldn’t have done it for anybody else, I was forging my own way in my coaching career and enjoying my time at Newcastle, at a really good club.
“For me, on a human level, we share similar values and like to treat people in the same way and sing off the same hymn sheet on a lot of stuff. But, from a friendship point of view, I know we can challenge each other and we have regular debates, challenges, or however you want to frame it; I’ll push him to try and make him better and I know he pushes me every day to try and make me better.
“I try and test him on his ideas to push him to new levels and I definitely get that the other way. I know how good he is, and we’re quite aligned in terms of how we like things done.
“Life’s all about experiences, and it was one of them where, ‘why not? Let’s go and have an experience’ and no matter what I would learn something from the experience.
“It wasn’t love at first sight, if you want to say that, but just two people who enjoy life and want to do the best we can. Life’s about people.”
