We are down. So next season who stays and who goes?

[loyalroyal4life]

Does anyone not think it might be worth actually keeping Brian next season IF we go down???

Who would you realistically see as a replacement?

[Ian Royal]

Does anyone not think it might be worth actually keeping Brian next season IF we go down???

Who would you realistically see as a replacement?

He'll stay, but he should only stay if he actually intends to adopt a new style of play, rather than burying his head in the sand, staying with his current dire hoofmerchant stuff and sulking when people describe us as "direct" or a "longball side". Adkins ideally, but there will other options.

[Archie's penalty]

I really think you should keep your manager.

Any man that has the managerial talent to inspire the sort of form you showed last season to win the Championship must be pretty talented. He's almost a victim of his own success. He wouldn't have been sacked for not getting you promoted last year yet he manages to over achieve and then has to compete in a division where he is woefully under resourced and lacking financial backing. The fact you're still not down and competing in amongst it is, by quite a few measures, still over achieving based on the talent and resources available.

Why do clubs have to keep shifting managers? Reading can now be seriously considered as a yo-yo club (not an insult, so are West Ham) and that brings with it the ability to attract the best Championship talent and some decent Premier League fringe players. I'd give him another couple of years to be able to learn from the lessons of this season in the hope that you'd get delivered back to the Prem in a season or two with a very experienced manger who has built a solid squad who can compete at the top level.

And that's before you look at the alternatives you've got to come in. Some boring journeyman like Curbishley, Warnock etc. I'd hardly back them to do better.

Very good points from a neutral, and granted that for his first 2 and a half years Brian was a miracle maker.

However, if you had watched us this season, you would know that our sit deep hoofball in an attempt to catch teams on the break is ruthlessly exposed at this level. It's embarrassing. If we're serious about settling in the PL, we need to adapt and play more possession football, as in the PL we spend our lives defending. Whilst McD worked miracles at a lower level, he did it playing the style which has proves so hopeless this season. We need a man who can change this if we want to establish at a higher level, I don't think it's McDermott.

Very much a victim of his own success; has shown how outdated on the pitch we are as a club. We would never have had this eye opening season had he been merely good in the Championship.

Excellent post.

[loyalroyal4life]

Does anyone not think it might be worth actually keeping Brian next season IF we go down???

Who would you realistically see as a replacement?

He'll stay, but he should only stay if he actually intends to adopt a new style of play, rather than burying his head in the sand, staying with his current dire hoofmerchant stuff and sulking when people describe us as "direct" or a "longball side". Adkins ideally, but there will other options.

I think previous experience in championship is a big factor and Brian has that, we won't play 4-5-1 next season so can see 4-4-2 and a new style coming into play

[Ian Royal]

Does anyone not think it might be worth actually keeping Brian next season IF we go down???

Who would you realistically see as a replacement?

He'll stay, but he should only stay if he actually intends to adopt a new style of play, rather than burying his head in the sand, staying with his current dire hoofmerchant stuff and sulking when people describe us as "direct" or a "longball side". Adkins ideally, but there will other options.

I think previous experience in championship is a big factor and Brian has that, we won't play 4-5-1 next season so can see 4-4-2 and a new style coming into play

So does Adkins. And even with a better midfield we'd really have struggled playing 4-4-2 this season. There's a reason it's been going out of fashion for the last few years. A newly promoted side can't really afford to play it in the Premier League. McDermott would need someone to explain to him what the purpose of a midfield is before he could implement a new style.

[Divvy]

I think AZ will stick to his promise that no-one has to go unless the club want them too, but we will see Pog, Guthrie and Feds all go to fund the summer rebuild - and I'll be more than happy with that as well.

If McDermott goes then I'd like to see Guthrie stay, but I would expect he wants to get away as soon as possible.

Feds has previous and I expect him to be one of the first out the door, and hopefully so, giving McCarthy the shirt.

[Millsy]

I really think you should keep your manager.

Any man that has the managerial talent to inspire the sort of form you showed last season to win the Championship must be pretty talented. He's almost a victim of his own success. He wouldn't have been sacked for not getting you promoted last year yet he manages to over achieve and then has to compete in a division where he is woefully under resourced and lacking financial backing. The fact you're still not down and competing in amongst it is, by quite a few measures, still over achieving based on the talent and resources available.

Why do clubs have to keep shifting managers? Reading can now be seriously considered as a yo-yo club (not an insult, so are West Ham) and that brings with it the ability to attract the best Championship talent and some decent Premier League fringe players. I'd give him another couple of years to be able to learn from the lessons of this season in the hope that you'd get delivered back to the Prem in a season or two with a very experienced manger who has built a solid squad who can compete at the top level.

And that's before you look at the alternatives you've got to come in. Some boring journeyman like Curbishley, Warnock etc. I'd hardly back them to do better.

Absolutely 100% spot on.

Post of the season.

You may come again.

[Divvy]

I really think you should keep your manager.

Any man that has the managerial talent to inspire the sort of form you showed last season to win the Championship must be pretty talented. He's almost a victim of his own success. He wouldn't have been sacked for not getting you promoted last year yet he manages to over achieve and then has to compete in a division where he is woefully under resourced and lacking financial backing. The fact you're still not down and competing in amongst it is, by quite a few measures, still over achieving based on the talent and resources available.

Why do clubs have to keep shifting managers? Reading can now be seriously considered as a yo-yo club (not an insult, so are West Ham) and that brings with it the ability to attract the best Championship talent and some decent Premier League fringe players. I'd give him another couple of years to be able to learn from the lessons of this season in the hope that you'd get delivered back to the Prem in a season or two with a very experienced manger who has built a solid squad who can compete at the top level.

And that's before you look at the alternatives you've got to come in. Some boring journeyman like Curbishley, Warnock etc. I'd hardly back them to do better.

Can you please do our half-time team talks? Inspiring!

[SCIAG]

He was fortunate that he had Sigurdsson when he inherited his side.

Who would you credit with the signing of Sigurdsson if not the chief scout?

Who would you credit with Sigurdsson's progress at the club if not the reserve team manager responsible for developing 18-21 year olds?

------------------------------------

Manager: McDermott or Dolan please. Big NO to Di Canio. Would be open to Parky and would get behind pretty much any manager who isn't Di Canio or Warnock.

Here's my squad for next season:
Goalkeepers: McCarthy, Taylor, Henly (Feds deserves a chance in the PL, Andersen deserves a chance)
Full backs: Kelly, Gunter, Cummings, Hector (Gunter and Kelly as first choice, both can play on either side. Maybe a new left back, in which case sell Cummings or maybe Gunter)
Centre backs: Mariappa, Morrison, Gorkss, Partridge, Hector (I wish Pearce would stay. If Gorkss goes then bring in Cooper)
Central midfielders: Leigertwood, Karacan, Akpan, D'Ath, Webb (Guthrie will go. No idea about Carrico, put him in and send Webb on loan?)
Wingers and attacking midfielders: McAnuff, McCleary, HRK, Obita, Tanner, Hunt, new signing (allow Kebe to leave with a heavy heart. Sell J.Taylor, again with regret. Bring in senior attacking midfielder with Tanner, Hunt and Obita as back up)
Strikers: Le Fondre, Hunt, Blackman, Samuel (only playing with one striker so no need for anybody new. Roberts to retire, Pog sold)

Leaving a first team of:
-------------------McCarthy--------------------
Gunter-----Morrison----Mariappa-------Kelly
-------------Legs---Akpan/Karacan-----------
McCleary------new player------------McAnuff
-----------------Le Fondre----------------------
Subs: Taylor, Cummings, Gorkss, Akpan/Karacan, HRK, Obita, Blackman

I think that's an excellent team tbh.

[Lower West]

Biggest mistake this club made in recent years was to sack Rodgers.

Rodgers inherited the Swansea style and the majority of the team.

Likewise Liverpool at least had some quality players on which to build a team. Without Gerrard and Suarez a different matter.

[TommyF]

Started reading page 1 but skipped the moment I saw everyone suggested Brian should be first out.

I accept he's been useless this season. But he's been found out because he managed to get an uncreative, unskilled mid table Championship side promoted as Champions. Did anyone at all, having seen us beat Southampton or West Ham at the end of last season, think anything other than we had mugged far superior teams? I was baffled by our success. We couldn't play, but we sure knew how to win!

Brian worked miracles last season and this season has managed to turn by far the worst squad in the league into merely the slightly worst team. That's quite an achievement. His game day squad selection has often been poor and his substitutions atrocious but at the same time his options have been as limited as contraceptive choice at a Catholic choir practice.

He was the reason we were promoted and he will be our best bet at being promoted again. The Reading board will then have the toughest choice of their careers in making a quick, disloyal choice to replace him early on in the next EPL season. But only if they have the balls to have really financiay backed him in the first place. Something they clearly did not do this time.

[leon]

I really think you should keep your manager.

Any man that has the managerial talent to inspire the sort of form you showed last season to win the Championship must be pretty talented. He's almost a victim of his own success. He wouldn't have been sacked for not getting you promoted last year yet he manages to over achieve and then has to compete in a division where he is woefully under resourced and lacking financial backing. The fact you're still not down and competing in amongst it is, by quite a few measures, still over achieving based on the talent and resources available.

Why do clubs have to keep shifting managers? Reading can now be seriously considered as a yo-yo club (not an insult, so are West Ham) and that brings with it the ability to attract the best Championship talent and some decent Premier League fringe players. I'd give him another couple of years to be able to learn from the lessons of this season in the hope that you'd get delivered back to the Prem in a season or two with a very experienced manger who has built a solid squad who can compete at the top level.

And that's before you look at the alternatives you've got to come in. Some boring journeyman like Curbishley, Warnock etc. I'd hardly back them to do better.

Can you please do our half-time team talks? Inspiring!

[Archie's penalty]

Started reading page 1 but skipped the moment I saw everyone suggested Brian should be first out.

I accept he's been useless this season. But he's been found out because he managed to get an uncreative, unskilled mid table Championship side promoted as Champions. Did anyone at all, having seen us beat Southampton or West Ham at the end of last season, think anything other than we had mugged far superior teams? I was baffled by our success. We couldn't play, but we sure knew how to win!

Brian worked miracles last season and this season has managed to turn by far the worst squad in the league into merely the slightly worst team. That's quite an achievement. His game day squad selection has often been poor and his substitutions atrocious but at the same time his options have been as limited as contraceptive choice at a Catholic choir practice.

He was the reason we were promoted and he will be our best bet at being promoted again. The Reading board will then have the toughest choice of their careers in making a quick, disloyal choice to replace him early on in the next EPL season. But only if they have the balls to have really financiay backed him in the first place. Something they clearly did not do this time.

Great post there mate.

[Snowball]

I accept he's been useless this season. But he's been found out because he managed to get an uncreative, unskilled mid table Championship side promoted as Champions.

Did anyone at all, having seen us beat Southampton or West Ham at the end of last season, think anything other than we had mugged far superior teams? I was baffled by our success.

We couldn't play, but we sure knew how to win!

I said this often and was panned for it.

The table doesn't lie etc

[urz13]

Even if someone did come in for ALF I could see him staying loyal for a season or so after we have him his big break. Doesn't seem like the type of player to jump ship

[Gordons Cumming]

Noel Hunt quote:

"We took the lead then gave away sloppy goals and we have to rectify that quite quickly."

You've been trying to do that all season. I don't see it changing over the next 2 games at least.

[windermere_royal]

Noel Hunt quote:

"We took the lead then gave away sloppy goals and we have to rectify that quite quickly."

And todays prize for stating the bleeding obvious goes to.....................

[Blackbag]

Dont bite my head off but next season if McD goes would Guthre make a good captain Mills did ?

[Big Ern]

And that's before you look at the alternatives you've got to come in. Some boring journeyman like Curbishley, Warnock etc. I'd hardly back them to do better.

I am struggling to see how Curbishley could be considered a "journeyman?" He has only managed 2 clubs in a 20 odd year management careers.

[Ian Royal]

Dont bite my head off but next season if McD goes would Guthre make a good captain Mills did ?

No. And no he didn't.