Like many things in this industry, what people vow and what people actually do are often two completely different things.
I fly into MAN a hell of a lot and I have never had to wait for a stand at all. I think the justification made by other posters here is reasonable. That being an early arrival, different aircraft type and the morning peak. I would be interested to hear what the crews explanation was. I think you would find that if they explained that it was a particularly busy time at MAN, that you were early and using a larger than usual aircraft and the complications those things can bring, most pax would have perhaps appreciated the situation. Quite often it's the crews communication that is at fault in these situations.
I would never deny there is room for improvement (there always is as the cliche goes) but I detest some of the posts here that depict MAN as a poorly run third world type airport. The fact that it is consistently voted the best or one of the best UK airports by the travel trade and passengers alike and manages to make a profit goes, on the whole, unoticed.