Oxford United must look at 38-year-old managing in India to replace Manning: View | OneFootball

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After less than eight months, the Liam Manning era is officially over at Oxford United.

Following nearly five years of Karl Robinson's management and two near-misses in the League One play-offs, the U's were hoping for a prosperous new long-term venture when appointing Manning back in March.

The 38-year-old had a glowing reputation as a coach from stints with Lommel in Belgium and MK Dons, getting the latter to the third tier play-offs in his first season as a manager in England, but after a tough few months in 2022-23 which saw him sacked, Oxford decided to give Manning another chance.

Saving the club from relegation last season, Manning got Oxford firing in the first few months of 2023-24, guiding them to second position in the third tier standings, but when Bristol City came calling earlier this week, he found himself wanting to jump ship.

Oxford were pretty powerless to stop the move from happening once Manning made it clear he wanted to speak to the Robins, and on Tuesday afternoon his move to Ashton Gate was complete, leaving the hierarchy to consider their next move.

It would make complete sense if they were to target and bring in a young, progressive coach in the Manning mould rather than an experienced name like Gary Rowett or Danny Cowley - someone of that ilk would perhaps not be able to continue the progression the club is going through.

And the ideal candidate could be a man who was actually born in the city in the form of Des Buckingham, who might be unknown to many English football fans but he is someone who is well and truly on the up in management and also who United fans may remember from the past.

Having not had much of a playing career, spending time in the youth systems of both Reading and Oxford as a goalkeeper, becoming a youth coach with the U's in 2006 and six years later, he was brought into the first-team setup as a coach by Chris Wilder.

Buckingham's career soon progressed and at the end of 2013, he moved to New Zealand to head up their national side's Football Development Manager, and that role led him to join Wellington Phoenix of the A-League as a coach, and then he subsequently managed them for the first half of 2017.

Returning to England in the summer of that year to become an under-23's coach with Stoke, Buckingham headed back to New Zealand in 2018 to be a part of the national setup, and his two years with the All Whites saw him be their under-20's and under-23's head coach as well as an assistant to the first-team.

Buckingham joined the City Football Group in September 2020, becoming a first-team coach Melbourne City and after a year in Australia, he moved on to another CFG club in the form of Mumbai City of the Indian Super League, where he was finally given a head coach role.

The 38-year-old has flourished in Asia, finishing fifth in the 2021-22 ISL season before winning his first trophy in the form of the Super League Winners' Shield for topping the regular season table in 2022-23, although they did not win the ISL play-offs.

After five matches of the new season, Buckingham has Mumbai unbeaten and his stock is only rising, with Charlton Athletic trying to bring him back to the UK in September, only for the City Group to turn down the approach.

What makes Des Buckingham the right Liam Manning replacement for Oxford?

There are multiple factors that make Buckingham the obvious first-choice successor of Manning, with the U's surely wanting to stick to their philosophy that they were developing with the now Bristol City boss.

Manning had a similar background to Buckingham as a youth coach initially before being picked up by the City Group in 2019, working his way through New York City and Lommel to then managing in England.

Buckingham could now do the same and break away to form his own path, and whilst he's a success story in the big city of Mumbai, and subsequently becoming a popular figure, the chance to return to your home city and manage an ambitious club do not come around every so often.

The City Group already turned down Charlton's approach two months ago, citing a desire to keep Buckingham, but this is different - this is a club the promising coach has already worked for and it is his home club too, and considering they are in as good a position as ever to make it back to the second tier of English football, it's hard to think that Buckingham won't be keen.