Steve Clarke Sacked

[RoyalinBracknell]

I'm in two minds about this really. Taking away the Fulham issue for the moment, I think it's certainly harsher than the sackings of Rodgers and Adkins. I believe we've got the same number of points we had after 19 games the year we won the league under McDermott and a point more than we had when we made the play-off final the year before. We're not too far off the play-offs and I tend to think if you're close to where the club is aiming for then you should be given time where possible.

On one hand it seems a risk to sack someone who's been involved in a significant rebuild but on the other hand I think this squad could get promoted with the right manager.

Overall it's hard to fully assess the job he's done. I suppose the highlights will be the FA Cup semi-final and the run after the first international break of the season. I think we've needed the rebuild we saw over the summer for a year or two and its to Clarke's credit this happened (and of course due to the backing of the owners, which in part is presumably why Clarke has gone). I definitely think we're in s better place now than we were when Clarke took over.

The Fulham situation set a momentum though I think and so I'm not surprised it's led to this. A month ago I'd have backed Clarke 100% but choosing to speak to Fulham has increased the doubts in my mind. If the manager wasn't prepared to commit long- term to the owners, it's easy to understand why the owners weren't prepared to commit long- term to the owners.

I'd probably have given him longer myself but vital now we make the right appointment as I think this squad should be challenging for promotion.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

I really hope Fulham bin him off now & he ends up with nothing.

Does anyone know much about pay-offs? You'd think in this day & age that clubs would protect themselves & have pre-agreed compromise agreements that don't necessarily equate to paying up the full remainder of the contract.

Hopefully the Thai's have used their business nous on this & he hasn't ended up with much.

[Royal Rother]

I really hope Fulham bin him off now & he ends up with nothing.

Does anyone know much about pay-offs? You'd think in this day & age that clubs would protect themselves & have pre-agreed compromise agreements that don't necessarily equate to paying up the full remainder of the contract.

Hopefully the Thai's have used their business nous on this & he hasn't ended up with much.

and

If there WAS such a clause in his contract it's no wonder he decided it worthwhile talking to another club.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

at you

I would wager most sacked managers do not get the full value of their contract upon dismissal. They are generally being dismissed for not performing after all.

[RG7Fan]

I really hope Fulham bin him off now & he ends up with nothing.

Does anyone know much about pay-offs? You'd think in this day & age that clubs would protect themselves & have pre-agreed compromise agreements that don't necessarily equate to paying up the full remainder of the contract.

Hopefully the Thai's have used their business nous on this & he hasn't ended up with much.

and

If there WAS such a clause in his contract it's no wonder he decided it worthwhile talking to another club.

Like Parjudas' 8 year contract - had a payoff of 1 year I believe.

[Ian Royal]

Will now walk into the Fulham job and watch them fly...

Can't see them going for him now, tbh.

It's like going back to the one night stand and asking them to marry you when the missus finds out you've had a one night stand and kicks you out.

Kinda.

I dunno, but if I was Fulham, I wouldn't want him now.

We might have a legal case that they originally approached him while he was ours, unsettled him and so should still pay a proportion of the compo... plus he's shit so why would they want him.

[RG7Fan]

Will now walk into the Fulham job and watch them fly...

Can't see them going for him now, tbh.

It's like going back to the one night stand and asking them to marry you when the missus finds out you've had a one night stand and kicks you out.

Kinda.

I dunno, but if I was Fulham, I wouldn't want him now.

We might have a legal case that they originally approached him while he was ours, unsettled him and so should still pay a proportion of the compo... plus he's shit so why would they want him.

But we gave permission ...

Not sure how it all works but I would imagine there'd be a lot of negotiation. Legal cases are expensive - negotiation and settlements are quicker and cheaper.

[From Despair To Where?]

Can only echo most comments on here, Clarke's position was more and more untenable in the light of the Fulham nonsense

Which only goes to show how uneducated those people are about football. I was told Fulham made it public, so Clarke should bear no responsibility for it. We'd all potentially look at other jobs if it meant earning more money.

To be honest, if I was offered a job by a company who were performing worse than the one I was currently working for, with no guarantee of being backed with resources to the same degree as the one I was working for and where the job security was so poor that I would be the 5th person to hold the role in 2 years, I would definitely consider avoiding at all costs.

If, as has been reported, the stumbling block was compensation for his backroom staff, then the move fell through because of money, not because he didn't want to leave. To then say that the offer wasn't as good as what he had at Reading is disingenuous because in reality, the offer wasn't as good as he wanted. A very fine and subtle difference but a big enough difference to raise serious doubts about his suitability to remain at Reading. Mix into that, the frankly shit performances and results since October, then it's not unreasonable for the board to think that maybe they didn't have the right man in the job.

[West Stand Man]

I really hope Fulham bin him off now & he ends up with nothing.

Does anyone know much about pay-offs? You'd think in this day & age that clubs would protect themselves & have pre-agreed compromise agreements that don't necessarily equate to paying up the full remainder of the contract.

Hopefully the Thai's have used their business nous on this & he hasn't ended up with much.

and

If there WAS such a clause in his contract it's no wonder he decided it worthwhile talking to another club.

Come lawyers. Surely that would be an unlawful clause?! He'd never be held to it?

[taipairoyal]

Never warmed to him, too dour

SSC next, at least in a caretaker/holding role

Where's Paolo Di Canio these days?

Good Call.

[Millsy]

Can only echo most comments on here, Clarke's position was more and more untenable in the light of the Fulham nonsense

Which only goes to show how uneducated those people are about football. I was told Fulham made it public, so Clarke should bear no responsibility for it. We'd all potentially look at other jobs if it meant earning more money.

No we wouldn't.

If I for one had signed a big money contract for a set number of years that I would stay and do a job, and as part of that secured guarantees that I'd get financial support, which then did materialise as promised and I spent a lot of my employers time and good faith making big money changes developing a system *I* chose and *I* was therefore best placed to get the best out of, I would never in a million years even think about moving sideways for a little more money. A much bigger company several leagues higher and with over double the pay then yes of course...

...but only those devoid of any moral fibre whatsoever or those uneducated about football would consider a strange move to a similar club BELOW us in the table for a little more money.

[Ian Royal]

Could we stop feeding the Kestroll please.

[Extended-Phenotype]

We'd all potentially look at other jobs if it meant earning more money.

And if we were a contract worker who could only work one client at a time, client 'A' would be well within their rights to be unhappy if after only a short time into a contract (which saw them paying a lot for materials up front), their contractor considered ditching them for client 'B'.
 
It’s a little more advanced but once you think about it in more detail and draw the right comparisons, it will make sense to you.

But it wasn't Clarke that made it public, which is the key here. Contract worker or not. I've done contract work before it didn't stop me seeking out another job. I just didn't tell anybody.

But that doesn't make any sense. You are arguing that the action is okay as long as nobody finds out. So you agree, if people find out they would be upset by the action. So you are actually in agreement with me: it's understandable that the owners and fans are upset.

Your only point seems to be, if nobody knew, nobody would be upset. Which in no way invalidates people being upset - seemingly what you were trying to do.

[West Stand Man]

Never warmed to him, too dour

SSC next, at least in a caretaker/holding role

Where's Paolo Di Canio these days?

Good Call.

Hopefully nowhere near Reading.

[Royal Ginger]

Two of my Fulham mates now having a mammoth argument on whether they should go back in for Clarke. Both can't see past Pearson being a Royal next week.

[RoverAndOut]

As an outsider I have to say this decision didn't particularly surprise me. I was confused to see Clarke flirting with Fulham - an absolute basket case of a club who are in a worse position than you. Seems like it would have been a backwards step for Clarke and couldn't really understand his motivation for wanting that job. Regardless, it very rarely ends well for a manager when he's publicly courting another club whilst still employed by another.

It seems like the Fulham incident basically sealed his fate, as otherwise you seemed to be doing fairly well in terms of results and league position. It'll be interesting to see who you appoint next, as you're one of the clubs we're trying to catch, and with the right manager you could be right back into the top six.

[Ian Royal]

As an outsider I have to say this decision didn't particularly surprise me. I was confused to see Clarke flirting with Fulham - an absolute basket case of a club who are in a worse position than you. Seems like it would have been a backwards step for Clarke and couldn't really understand his motivation for wanting that job. Regardless, it very rarely ends well for a manager when he's publicly courting another club whilst still employed by another.

It seems like the Fulham incident basically sealed his fate, as otherwise you seemed to be doing fairly well in terms of results and league position. It'll be interesting to see who you appoint next, as you're one of the clubs we're trying to catch, and with the right manager you could be right back into the top six.

1 win in 8 played a massive part. We haven't been any cop since September.

[genome]

https://twitter.com/RFCdan/status/672909384255713280

[Ginger Ninjas]

https://twitter.com/RFCdan/status/672909384255713280

Play shit, get Sacked.

[CountryRoyal]

Love that. Naaahhhhh m8 get sacked.