Nov 19 1999
Reading chariman JM described his side's display in their 5-0 midweek defeat at Millwall as an "outrage" as the Royals miserable start to their Division Two campaign continued. Having sacked Tomm Burns after a poor start to the season, Madejski had been hoping new boss Alan Pardew would kick start a revival but the humiliating defeat at the New Den left the chairman in angry mood.
"What happened at Millwall is totally and utterly uncacceptable" Madejski fumed. "It's vital the players recognise who they are playing for - Reading FC. They must recognise the privileged positions they are in and that they are paid good money to do their jobs. Everyone, and especially me, expects better. Our fans work hard for their money and it's not fair to take it from them at matches under false pretences. I've gone blue in the face bringing in new players and we now know that doesn't always work. They need to be managed properly".
Pardew, who had dropped Caskey to the bench after some indifferent displays, admitted his injury-hit side were well-beaten and now faced a season long scrap to beat the drop. He said "I look at the squad and where we are in the division and I have to say that is a fair reflection of what we've got. The back four were all over the place, we had no protection from our full backs and we lost out on every tackle. I thought we'd turned the corner following three wins and a draw on the trot, but that was unacceptable. The players need to look at themselves because we're in deep trouble. We're down at the bttom and we don't look like getting out of it."
A few honest words spoken there and no mistake! Where did we finish that season? About 8th wasn't it??
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