How Long Will BM Last at this rate?????

[Big Ern]

Starting to think Brian will not be sacked now which in effect 100% confirms relegation.

It is plain to see that Anton doesn't actually have the money we thought he did so sacking Brian and paying up his contract would be costly business. Better to keep him and sign a few free transfers in he summer while unloading the big earners.

Sadly Anton has Champagne eyes, but Coca Cola pockets.

You his Financial Advisor? Of all the nonsense I have read on here in the last however many years, this takes the biscuit. My take is that BMcD made an error of judgement by assuming the squad that gained promotion, coupled with summer signings, would survive in the Prem. This has been acknowledged and an interesting January awaits with regard to comings and goings. If I was Anton would I throw 30-40 million at the problem? No. New players will arrive and their stature in the game will be evidence of Reading FC's intentions for the rest of this season. If a miracle occurs and relegation is avoided, I expect quite a turnover of playing staff in the summer and a sizeable budget to improve the squad.

He hasn't exactly splashed the cash since he arrived, certainly nowhere near the levels even the most sceptical fans would have expected. The time to have spent money was in the summer, but we spent less than any other premiership team and considerably less than the 2 clubs promoted along side us. Even the most simple and niave fans, such as yourself, would find it hard to dissagree that a bit more cash in the summer could have made a difference.

Getting promoted from the Chump is not an easy task, and teams have thrown money at it, such as Leicester, and not been successfull. You would have thought he understood that and would have looked to have invested once the hard work had been done instead of trying to survive on a shoestring budget in the hope Brian could work a miracle.

As far as an intersting summer, I think it will turn out to be a frustrating summer with only loans coming in. We are as good as down and nobody in their right mind would want to sign for us on a permanent basis if they were an established Premiership player.

You defence of Anton is admirable, however actions speak louder than words, and he is yet to deliver in terms of financial backing. We all know it is his father that has the money, and we do not know how much interest his father takes in the club.

[Terminal Boardom]

And how many transfer windows has he been around? Jan 2012 and in comes Roberts, the club goes on an amazing run and wins promotion. How many players came to the club in the summer? All of them will have expected tasty signing on fees and salaries. Where does that money come from? And that is before we actually sign a player from another club. 2m in Agents fees was reported. Who paid for that?

You can do a lot better than that.

As I said earlier, the mistake was BMcD being loyal to the squad that got us promoted. There is no room for sentiment when the rewards are so big and the cost of failure immense.

[Royalwaster]

I think one of the big mistakes on here is to assume that if we go down we will have a very good chance of going up again like WBA did - however, WBA did that by building a strong but not quite strong enough Prem squad and held on to it after relegation which meant that they were in a strong position to mount a strong challenge immediately. I don't think that our current squad would be in the position. But that's just my opinion.

[SydenhamRoyal]

I think one of the big mistakes on here is to assume that if we go down we will have a very good chance of going up again like WBA did - however, WBA did that by building a strong but not quite strong enough Prem squad and held on to it after relegation which meant that they were in a strong position to mount a strong challenge immediately. I don't think that our current squad would be in the position. But that's just my opinion.

You are probably right. I fear you are right. But a lot might depend on the young current fringe players - how rapidly will they improve? I include Morrison in that bit, then Obita, Samuel, Taylor. Will Karacan and Kebe be injury free, Pearce stay, McCartney be back. There is a nucleus of a good side.

[Royalwaster]

I think one of the big mistakes on here is to assume that if we go down we will have a very good chance of going up again like WBA did - however, WBA did that by building a strong but not quite strong enough Prem squad and held on to it after relegation which meant that they were in a strong position to mount a strong challenge immediately. I don't think that our current squad would be in the position. But that's just my opinion.

You are probably right. I fear you are right. But a lot might depend on the young current fringe players - how rapidly will they improve? I include Morrison in that bit, then Obita, Samuel, Taylor. Will Karacan and Kebe be injury free, Pearce stay, McCartney be back. There is a nucleus of a good side.

True - but compare that with some of the current sides in the Champ, like Leicester, Wolves, etc. who are finding it pretty hard and I am certain it won't be a walk in the park. At the same time, it'll definitely be more interesting than the current fiasco. The big plus for me in the Champ is that there is a much bigger chance of academy players braking through - the minus, that if they prove to be very good they get picked off by Prem teams.

[The Beardy Man]

Can't understand how people can think youngsters like Obita and Samuel can be the answer right at this minute.

I don't doubt they have great potential, and probably should be in and around the first team squad gaining experience and some pitch time, but to suggest they would outplay the likes of McAnuff or Pog is just silly.

Obita couldn't hold down a starting spot in one of the weakest teams in league 1, whilst over the season McAnuff has been one of our most effective providers of assists.

Samuel did ok when he came on the other night, looked tidy enough, but also looked like a kid playing a mans game...that will improve over time, but I would suggest Pog's 5 goals mark him out as being a little more effective right now.

Seems to me the Reading approach to blooding youngsters via loan spells then introduction to the first team when they are physically ready is a decent one that has produced some good results.

[Vision]

Also think some are being a little harsh on how reluctantly we blood them in the first team anyway.

Since our last relegation we've played a lot in our side and despite the argument that we could have done so a year or so earlier (esp Gylffi) I definitely think we've seen a shift in policy in recent times. The Premiership is a different kettle of fish though. As I've said elsewhere clubs of a similiar size that have done decently IE Stoke/Norwich/Wigan/Fulham etc haven't done so by blooding kids from their academies.

Of the two clubs mentioned above Palace have but this has mainly been in the Championship and it remains to be seen what Southampton with their wealthy backers will do in the long term in the top division although the inclusion of the young lad Shaw in recent weeks would suggest they might buck the general trend.

The point about kids in our academy playing a certain way up until they reach the 1st team set up and then under McD suddenly being asked to fit into a different style is an interesting one. It's also why I'm still 50/50 on whether we need a new manager.

It's been taken as a matter of fact that McD favours a more direct style than most and that this is his actual footballing philosophy but I'm not 100% convinced that's true. Each of his championship seasons saw a slightly different style. The Gylfi orientated side with Tabb/Howard as central midfielders certainly played a more passing style of football. Even the Shane Long orientated side wasn't anywhere near as direct as the side that (lest we forget) won the Championship last season. All the time it's been a case of utilising the players he has at his disposal in a playing system which best suits them. Certainly for the most part the first few games of this season with the additions made in the summer we played a much more patient game but were getting beat. I think he lost his nerve a bit at that point and back came his tried and trusted formula from last season and there was a slight improvement in results so I think he decided at that point he was going to go with that for the foreseeable future (the one exception was Liverpool which I think was a tactical concession to try and combat Rodgers' style of play). I have a suspicion that we may have seen another change back again but for injury or attitude issues with Pog and Guthrie. Events this week have made this even more difficult.

- NB* One of the things that has been so impressive about Swansea in the Premiership under Rodgers and now Laudrup is that they do not alter one jot from their gameplan whether they play Stoke at The Brittannia or Arsenal at The Emirates. That's pretty impressive when we all know that if they have a bad spell the first thing a manager gets accused of is not having a plan B.*


So I don't think McD's style is especially set in a hoofball Wimbledon mode but the attributes he's looking for are based on tempo, hard work and the notion of the squad being a whole unit pulling together. It's interesting that Samuel has now been included after McD made a point of stating that he is now adding hard work and application to his undoubted talent. With that in mind I don't necessarily think that Reading under McD would continue to play the way we are currently especially if the make up of the side has more of an Acedemy based side over time and those players are suited to a more passing based game.

[cmonurz]

Getting promoted from the Chump is not an easy task, and teams have thrown money at it, such as Leicester, and not been successfull. You would have thought he understood that and would have looked to have invested once the hard work had been done instead of trying to survive on a shoestring budget in the hope Brian could work a miracle.

This is the crux of it for me. By some sort of miracle (yes, we deserved it, but it was a freak run of results) we got promoted without any major outlay - but rather than take the opportunity to then invest in the squad we tried to stay up on a shoestring as well. Slightly mental approach that will only cost more in the long run.

There is no cheap way to establish ourselves in the PL.

[The Beardy Man]

I too find the point about the style our academy play to be an interesting one.

A good number of our current first team academy graduates would have been brought up playing their football under Brendan Rodgers I think? So thus would have been used to playing a patient, passing 4-5-1 formation?

Mind you saying that, I guess of that generation only McCarthy, Pearce, HRK, Karacan and Church left.

Are our current youngsters being brought up to play in any kind of a noticeable style?

[Extended-Phenotype]

As fluke is by definition a chance occurrence, I find it rather amusing people think that it can happen with enough regularity to win a 46 game league, without defying that definition.

It’s almost as if these people are saying: “hey, my brain is just a ballast to keep my head from blowing away in a strong wind. Words are just exotic patterns which denote nothing and regular confusion drives me to hurt small animals with fire and sharp objects.”

[Royal Rother]

Even more pertinent in a 46 game league.

[Esteban]

Starting to think Brian will not be sacked now which in effect 100% confirms relegation.

It is plain to see that Anton doesn't actually have the money we thought he did so sacking Brian and paying up his contract would be costly business. Better to keep him and sign a few free transfers in he summer while unloading the big earners.

Sadly Anton has Champagne eyes, but Coca Cola pockets.

You his Financial Advisor? Of all the nonsense I have read on here in the last however many years, this takes the biscuit. My take is that BMcD made an error of judgement by assuming the squad that gained promotion, coupled with summer signings, would survive in the Prem. This has been acknowledged and an interesting January awaits with regard to comings and goings. If I was Anton would I throw 30-40 million at the problem? No. New players will arrive and their stature in the game will be evidence of Reading FC's intentions for the rest of this season. If a miracle occurs and relegation is avoided, I expect quite a turnover of playing staff in the summer and a sizeable budget to improve the squad.

He hasn't exactly splashed the cash since he arrived, certainly nowhere near the levels even the most sceptical fans would have expected. The time to have spent money was in the summer, but we spent less than any other premiership team and considerably less than the 2 clubs promoted along side us. Even the most simple and niave fans, such as yourself, would find it hard to dissagree that a bit more cash in the summer could have made a difference.

Getting promoted from the Chump is not an easy task, and teams have thrown money at it, such as Leicester, and not been successfull. You would have thought he understood that and would have looked to have invested once the hard work had been done instead of trying to survive on a shoestring budget in the hope Brian could work a miracle.

As far as an intersting summer, I think it will turn out to be a frustrating summer with only loans coming in. We are as good as down and nobody in their right mind would want to sign for us on a permanent basis if they were an established Premiership player.

You defence of Anton is admirable, however actions speak louder than words, and he is yet to deliver in terms of financial backing. We all know it is his father that has the money, and we do not know how much interest his father takes in the club.

That’s not strictly true. Anton hasn’t splashed the cash on the playing squad yet, but there is plenty going on away from the pitch that requires a lot of funding. The difference is, we don’t see it.

[Snowball]

I think we all understand the simple theory that things like luck "should" even out
but luck in front of goal, luck avoiding injuries, luck with other sides having
off days, illness, injuries, sendings-off, CAN randomly favour a club.

Sometimes we all know (and say) "We just need a bit of luck, a goal going in off someone's ass" (or whatever)

A side may be set up to be relatively efficient, avoiding big defeats, looking to nick games 1-0,
then get a bit of that random luck and find four 0-0s were suddenly four 1-0 wins

Then confidence cuts in and suddenly you are on a freak run. Other sides start to be apprehensive,
see RFC coming up on the rails, start to drop points in easy home games (West Ham, for example)

and of course, a club on a run creates a different aura on the pitch.

Those runs can get stronger and stronger or just fall apart.

Look at the Arsenal invincibles. When they finally lost one, they lost a few and were a long way from "invincible"


I maintain that WHU and Saints "should have" finished above us last season.

Perhaps "luck" is not the right word but a peculiarly fortuitous set of circumstances led to us getting wins where
we could easily have lost, and RFC, a solid top 7 side just found everything coming together in a Perfect Storm of teamplay.


It's my strong belief that the exact same squads could easily have seen us fighting for a play-off place, which is where, roughly I felt we deserved to be.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Yep agree with that. Birmingham were a better side than us also I thought & their Europa exploits knackered them out.

Yes we won the league but for people on here to suggest we weren't even remotely fortunate to do so are being a bit naive. In 06 we won the league, in 12 we nicked it right at the death. Quite a difference.

[Snowball]

Brian now a strong favourite at 13/8


Martin O'Neill is out to 5-1 second favourite

[Snowball]

Saints, West Ham, Birmingham and Cardiff lost fewer games, Blackpool the same, Boro one more.


It really was a close run thing.


Of course I was thrilled, like any fan, but I went the whole season thinking WTF?
But just happy to go with the stats

From memory I think there was a lot of that (WTF, we WON that?) on here

[Extended-Phenotype]

I don't want Brian to go, I want Brian to change.

If he won't change, then I do want him to go.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

I don't want Brian to go, I want Brian to change.

If he won't change, then I do want him to go.

I would agree with that in the main.

He needs to swallow his pride a bit & realise going 4-5-1 & settling for a point is a good option sometimes.

[Extended-Phenotype]

He can only realistically do that if he's willing to let Guthrie back in the side. But I'll be careful not to slam Brian in this thread; I know how sensitive you get about it.

In hindsight, we should have stuck at 4-5-1 for longer. Reverting to 4-4-2 was a panic, back-to-what-we-know switch that temporarily gave us a bit more confidence but in the longer term has left us weak in the middle, exposed at the back and lacking chances up front.

[Royalwaster]

He can only realistically do that if he's willing to let Guthrie back in the side. But I'll be careful not to slam Brian in this thread; I know how sensitive you get about it.

In hindsight, we should have stuck at 4-5-1 for longer. Reverting to 4-4-2 was a panic, back-to-what-we-know switch that temporarily gave us a bit more confidence but in the longer term has left us weak in the middle, exposed at the back and lacking chances up front.

But 4-5-1 very much relies on a really effective goal scorer - not sure we've got that. Remember it working for a while under Pardew with an in-form Forster. Not sure we've got that player at the moment - needs to be strong, mobile and a good finisher. Guess Roberts is the only one, but not sure he's sufficiently deadly in front of goal. ALF is mobile and good finisher but not strong. Pg is strong and good finisher but not mobile ... Hunt is mobile. Church is nothing.