I agree with easyflyer, I fly in and out of Manchester regularly and can't remember the last time I had to wait on an aircraft for a stand to become free. However I can think of at least 4 occasions in the last 6 months where it has happened to me at Heathrow.
It seems that several things that are common around the world are quoted here as problems. I am currently in Lisbon having had probably had the longest walk from a stand to baggage reclaim, (with one very short travelator that probably went 10 - 15 metres). If that had been Manchester I am sure many on here would have been quoting this as another example of a problem, when in fact it is just a fact of life travelling to airports around the world.