Brian: The right decision?

[Ian Royal]

You have all completely missed the point..though someone must have made it in 101 pages..

It is the sacking of Brian without a plan to replace him with someone who can take us further forward
that has lost me..

and that is where we are now....no further forward....therefore wrong decision..

We know he can get us out of this division .

It's difficult to see how we could be much further forward than we are given Brian had all but confirmed relegation for us.

[Man Friday]

It was good to see Bri and Noel get a decent reception. A nice way to bring closure to the whole thing (hopefully).

That's an interesting point. I'll be the first to admit that I've struggled to move on since Brian's sacking. I read some of the disrespectful comments on here by a handful of "people" (well, low-lifes) who I mistakenly thought represented the views of a significant minority of fans. As such I wondered whether I wanted to be associated with a club with such a moronic fanbase. However, it's now clear from the reception that Brain deservedly received on Wednesday night that that it is literally just a handful of people that feel that way about McD and whilst a large proportion of fans were ready for, indeed supported, a change of manager, all fans with the exception of 4-5 nutcases appreciated what Brian achieved. I therefore feel able to move on now. I still wish that McD was our manager, however, and believe that he would have kept us up and learned his lessons (he's still a relatively new manager). (Whether he would have been supported by the twitchy new owner is another matter.) However, I have no problem with NA and his record suggests that he's a very good manager. Often though it's a case of "fit" and whether the "fit" is right is yet to be determined as I've seen very little so far that gives me confidence. As for Anton, I have very grave doubts that he's good for this club. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

Go along with a lot of what you say but anyone who really thinks he would have kept us up (have they really forgotten how we had just thrown away vital points to our relegation rivals with dreadful, and more importantly completely dispirited, perforances? At that point McDermott and his 'team is greater than sum of parts, spirit and commitment means everything', type approach was dead in the water. Of course he will come good again but it wasn't going to happen at Reading last season and I don't think it would have done so this season either.

The results and performances against Villa and Fulham weren't great but I still feel Brian would have come good if the owner had held his nerve. Just my view . (Also, the ref cost us the Villa match.)

[Avon Royal]

Respect your view Man Friday - it really is deluded though.

[windermere_royal]

two defeats on the trot. won`t be long before they turn on him

[Royalee]

That's an interesting point. I'll be the first to admit that I've struggled to move on since Brian's sacking. I read some of the disrespectful comments on here by a handful of "people" (well, low-lifes) who I mistakenly thought represented the views of a significant minority of fans. As such I wondered whether I wanted to be associated with a club with such a moronic fanbase. However, it's now clear from the reception that Brain deservedly received on Wednesday night that that it is literally just a handful of people that feel that way about McD and whilst a large proportion of fans were ready for, indeed supported, a change of manager, all fans with the exception of 4-5 nutcases appreciated what Brian achieved. I therefore feel able to move on now. I still wish that McD was our manager, however, and believe that he would have kept us up and learned his lessons (he's still a relatively new manager). (Whether he would have been supported by the twitchy new owner is another matter.) However, I have no problem with NA and his record suggests that he's a very good manager. Often though it's a case of "fit" and whether the "fit" is right is yet to be determined as I've seen very little so far that gives me confidence. As for Anton, I have very grave doubts that he's good for this club. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

Go along with a lot of what you say but anyone who really thinks he would have kept us up (have they really forgotten how we had just thrown away vital points to our relegation rivals with dreadful, and more importantly completely dispirited, perforances? At that point McDermott and his 'team is greater than sum of parts, spirit and commitment means everything', type approach was dead in the water. Of course he will come good again but it wasn't going to happen at Reading last season and I don't think it would have done so this season either.

The results and performances against Villa and Fulham weren't great but I still feel Brian would have come good if the owner had held his nerve. Just my view . (Also, the ref cost us the Villa match.)

Are you having a laugh?

[Ian Royal]

Respect your view Man Friday - it really is deluded though.

Not only that, but he can't even get the two games right. We beat Fulham under Adkins. He means Wigan.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

To find ourselves almost 2ppg now when we're in 'transition' is quite something. Especially given we've played quite a few of the top half sides as well.

Well done to all & we can now lock this thread.

[Maguire]

I noticed once again we had less possession than our opponents today (same v Leeds, same v Brighton). Wasn't possession what the haters on here were shouting about last season when we weren't doing so well?

Just goes to show, eh?

[Ian Royal]

I noticed once again we had less possession than our opponents today (same v Leeds, same v Brighton). Wasn't possession what the haters on here were shouting about last season when we weren't doing so well?

Just goes to show, eh?

No, it was pumping the ball aimlessly into the channels bypassing midfield and having no idea how to retain decent possession. And we're now retaining possession very well on the whole, patient when necessary and moving the ball forwards quickly when appropriate.

[LoyalRoyal22]

I noticed once again we had less possession than our opponents today (same v Leeds, same v Brighton). Wasn't possession what the haters on here were shouting about last season when we weren't doing so well?

Just goes to show, eh?

We were brilliant on the ball today. Did you see the game? The thought of Brian`s tactics make me cringe now.

[Maguire]

I noticed once again we had less possession than our opponents today (same v Leeds, same v Brighton). Wasn't possession what the haters on here were shouting about last season when we weren't doing so well?

Just goes to show, eh?

No, it was pumping the ball aimlessly into the channels bypassing midfield and having no idea how to retain decent possession. And we're now retaining possession very well on the whole, patient when necessary and moving the ball forwards quickly when appropriate.

Well we're not are we, that's the whole facking point. We have less possession than our opponents.

I don't care about this myself, but it makes me laugh that you lot always latch on to some pearl of received wisdom (in this case that we need to increase our % possession, Brian McDermott's teams never have enough) and repeat it ad infinitum.

7 pts in a week whilst having the least possession in all three games. Well I never.

[Hoop Blah]

Keeping the ball well doesn't mean the opposition can't still have more of the ball than us, it just means that we're not making it quite as easy for them to get it off of us in the first place.

Away from home against a decent footballing side like Derby I'd say an almost 50/50 share of the ball is pretty reasonable. The same at home to Leeds is a bit lower than I'd expect, but I think we were surprisingly direct on Wednesday night.

[Maguire]

Personally I don't think % possession as an absolute statistic is as useful as others do (guess it's an easy one to understand). And, shock, I think there's a place in football for a long ball into the channel as well.

Nothing's as black and white as it's painted on this portal.

[LoyalRoyal22]

The football under Adkins is so much better to watch. He used 2 formations today, 4231 first half, and 433 second half and they worked a treat. The way we keep hold the ball and play out from the back is improving every game.

[Ian Royal]

Always more about quality of possession Mags. And a little less possession isn't a huge issue. A lot less is.

44%, 43%, 50% and 48% our last four games.
42%, 41%, 40% and 30% for Brian's last 4 games in charge.

We're still clearly a work in progress too.

[LoyalRoyal22]

Always more about quality of possession Mags. And a little less possession isn't a huge issue. A lot less is.

44%, 43%, 50% and 48% our last four games.
42%, 41%, 40% and 30% for Brian's last 4 games in charge.

We're still clearly a work in progress too.

Well played.

[Maguire]

Always more about quality of possession Mags. And a little less possession isn't a huge issue. A lot less is.

44%, 43%, 50% and 48% our last four games.
42%, 41%, 40% and 30% for Brian's last 4 games in charge.

We're still clearly a work in progress too.

Well played.

Yeah, it's almost like we're in a shitter division or something

[Maguire]

The football under Adkins is so much better to watch

Didn't go to Yeovil then?

[Royalee]

The football under Adkins is so much better to watch

Didn't go to Yeovil then?

One game...and one that we still won despite confidence being rock bottom because our idiot fans couldn't wait to get on Adkins' back after Peterborough after their beloved Brian was sacked. Leeds were well entertaining to watch on Wednesday night where I believe they recorded one shot on target and they followed that up with a sterling performance at home to Burnley today. 3 defeats from 4 - can we close this thread now?

[Maguire]

The football under Adkins is so much better to watch

Didn't go to Yeovil then?

One game...and one that we still won despite confidence being rock bottom because our idiot fans couldn't wait to get on Adkins' back after Peterborough after their beloved Brian was sacked. Leeds were well entertaining to watch on Wednesday night where I believe they recorded one shot on target and they followed that up with a sterling performance at home to Burnley today. 3 defeats from 4 - can we close this thread now?

You can't compare Leeds and Reading and extrapolate anything about the managers. Different financial situations.

I do agree that getting on Adkins' back after 1 win in 5 was ridiculous so early in the season. As I've said many times, I think he'll do very well with Reading and the resources available to him.