Brian's Press Conference today

[jellytot]

Just seen Brian's Press Conference today. It is about 7 mins long on the RFC site. He is at least talking about the need for experienced PL players needed in Jan. One thing I thought I noticed is that Brian seems to have lost a bit of sparkle. (Get the tinsel out mate) I wonder what is going on behind the scenes. He admits that he needs to speak to Guthrie and would not really comment on the apology!! Seems that we MAY have a few players back for Monday.

I wonder if Anton may just say at the end of December thanks Brian but here is the new manager followed by 3 or 4 new faces...

Not sure how I feel now., I have felt that Brian needs to go. BUT if we are to spend money then Brian should be given the chance to have a go. However, Brian has to inject confidence. He seems deflated and if he cannot find more fizz then he must go.

What do you think? Crunch time ahead. Only winnable games are Swansea and West Ham coming up. Tough too. Probably need to win them both. Even with that we would be on 15 points with Spurs in the new year..

[Arch]

Good post and worth a new thread if only to step away from the rhetoric. In my view, it would be bad strategy to throw a lot of money and personnel in the hope of a four-month miracle. Long-term strategy to improve the playing staff and develop a structure that can compete at this level is more important. I don't know if we have access to a better long-term option for manager than Brian this winter, but I feel we may look back at this time a few years from now and see that it was when Brian established himself as a manager who would take no shit from the players. It may not be the most fruitful strategy for winning games this winter, but it may reap dividends for him as a manager in the long run. The question is which outcome the club and fans are more interested in.

[Royalclapper]

The trouble is we might end up with less points than a plucked hedgehog during December and that would leave us needing snookers by the time the window arrives.

Probably just a chance to do some stock taking and make some directional decisions depending on what the strategy is for the next few seasons.

[reading_fan]

Haven't seen the press conference yet, but I think realistically we need to see what happens when we get a couple of injured players back, maybe make one or two signings in January and just see how we do. Chances are we will be relegated whether we spend big bucks or go for a gradual improvement strategy.

Knowing us, having lost to all four of our relegation rivals in recent weeks, we will probably pull out another Everton style result and win against Arsenal or City.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Just seen Brian's Press Conference today. It is about 7 mins long on the RFC site. He is at least talking about the need for experienced PL players needed in Jan. One thing I thought I noticed is that Brian seems to have lost a bit of sparkle. (Get the tinsel out mate) I wonder what is going on behind the scenes. He admits that he needs to speak to Guthrie and would not really comment on the apology!! Seems that we MAY have a few players back for Monday.

I wonder if Anton may just say at the end of December thanks Brian but here is the new manager followed by 3 or 4 new faces...

Not sure how I feel now., I have felt that Brian needs to go. BUT if we are to spend money then Brian should be given the chance to have a go. However, Brian has to inject confidence. He seems deflated and if he cannot find more fizz then he must go.

What do you think? Crunch time ahead. Only winnable games are Swansea and West Ham coming up. Tough too. Probably need to win them both. Even with that we would be on 15 points with Spurs in the new year..

Agree he lacked sparkle and sounded downbeat a bit like Terry the Taxi did at the end. In fact this season is starting to resemble the Bullivant relegation season - we lost a load of winnable games on the spin like we have now and he lost the dressing room and fans.

he is clearly feeling the pressure now and in my opinion, with all the player unrest now coming out as well, he should go now - waiting until Jan will give no one a chance to have a good look at the side before the transfer window closes.

[SPARTA]

Interesting how Pogrebnyak is also apparently injured and not sure he's ready to return yet.. yet he himself says today he wants talks with the club if he doesn't start getting games..

All these strange injuries..

Robbo's 'hip' injury he sustained, I imagine, during his supposed outburst at Brian McDermott after the Southampton game might not be ready, said a sheepish McDermott..

I do feel for the guy though. He looks lost and disheartened now. How he's expected to install any confidence in a bunch of players bickering with him and one another I don't know. It looks impossible.

[SydenhamRoyal]

What difference do you really think that a change in manager will bring in terms of who is bought in the transfer window, when it is clear from the names we have most been linked with -that they are Russian - is telling you who is choosing the players.

[SPARTA]

What difference do you really think that a change in manager will bring in terms of who is bought in the transfer window, when it is clear from the names we have most been linked with -that they are Russian - is telling you who is choosing the players.

You can't listen to who we've been linked with. We're a Premiership club, you get linked with everyone, and most of it is from agents touting their players. A change of manager wont keep us up, but it might improve things having a fresh set of eyes come in, change the system, freshen everything we do here up a bit and build for next season. With the dressing room the way it is, next season doesn't look very promising, as we'll need to ship out a lot of trouble makers and then replace them, as well supposedly try and improve the squad which was the first priority..

[The Beardy Man]

Just seen Brian's Press Conference today. It is about 7 mins long on the RFC site. He is at least talking about the need for experienced PL players needed in Jan. One thing I thought I noticed is that Brian seems to have lost a bit of sparkle. (Get the tinsel out mate) I wonder what is going on behind the scenes. He admits that he needs to speak to Guthrie and would not really comment on the apology!! Seems that we MAY have a few players back for Monday.

I wonder if Anton may just say at the end of December thanks Brian but here is the new manager followed by 3 or 4 new faces...

Not sure how I feel now., I have felt that Brian needs to go. BUT if we are to spend money then Brian should be given the chance to have a go. However, Brian has to inject confidence. He seems deflated and if he cannot find more fizz then he must go.

What do you think? Crunch time ahead. Only winnable games are Swansea and West Ham coming up. Tough too. Probably need to win them both. Even with that we would be on 15 points with Spurs in the new year..

Agree he lacked sparkle and sounded downbeat a bit like Terry the Taxi did at the end. In fact this season is starting to resemble the Bullivant relegation season - we lost a load of winnable games on the spin like we have now and he lost the dressing room and fans.

he is clearly feeling the pressure now and in my opinion, with all the player unrest now coming out as well, he should go now - waiting until Jan will give no one a chance to have a good look at the side before the transfer window closes.

Yeha, Brian desrves better from all of us than being remembered as Bullivant mark 2. Does feel that way at the moment though. Not sure we could get anyone better than him in...but a fresh pair of eyes and a fresh start at the training ground might change everything. Not keep us up, but pick us up enough so that we start next season feeling positive.

[Cripple Creek]

Personally, I think the worst case scenario is that Brian gets the push or is "encouraged to resign", we get a new manager in and things remain the same. The outcome being we continue to perform shockingly, lose a talented championship division manager (who may grow into a decent premier manager on the basis of this season's experience) into the bargain and end up relegated anyway. That would put us in a far worse situation than we are currently in.

[SydenhamRoyal]

What difference do you really think that a change in manager will bring in terms of who is bought in the transfer window, when it is clear from the names we have most been linked with -that they are Russian - is telling you who is choosing the players.

You can't listen to who we've been linked with. We're a Premiership club, you get linked with everyone, and most of it is from agents touting their players. A change of manager wont keep us up, but it might improve things having a fresh set of eyes come in, change the system, freshen everything we do here up a bit and build for next season. With the dressing room the way it is, next season doesn't look very promising, as we'll need to ship out a lot of trouble makers and then replace them, as well supposedly try and improve the squad which was the first priority..

Denis Cheryshev from Real Madrid - Anton confirmed this publicly
Pav the £8m flop - all over the papers at the moment
Pog the free flop - I know it might seem like a rumour that he signed for us, but its true, he did!
Arshavin I grant you might be just paper talk

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Were the rest of his coaching staff there as well? Whoever they are, because they seem to be hiding in a hole. You'd think BM was running the whole club on his own at the moment.

[Lacoste]

Can't believe he's still in a job. Probably just the Reading way to allow an inept manager to stay in the job.

Nice club we are

[LoyalRoyalFan]

Just watched the press conference.

Sounded like a list of excuses.

[jellytot]

He has to sort things out soon! Yes all managers fall out with the odd player but not a load. How injured are these players? He was happy with the signings in the summer. Surely he must have feared that we might be low on quality though. It might have been better to sign 3 quality players rather than 7 average/low impact players.. Shorey exempt. The others have been inconsistent.

He also seems unable to get his ideas across. We do not seem to play with any system apart from getting the ball quick and trying to get it into the box!

Have to fear for Brian. he does probably need to find a couple of wins before the Spurs game to keep his job. Not looking good for him or the club.

[Snowball]

Can't believe he's still in a job. Probably just the Reading way to allow an inept manager to stay in the job.

Nice club we are

Without arguing for him to stay or go, I am utterly
amazed that Martin ONeill is a much shorter price
to be sacked than Brian.

[Muskrat]

Can't believe he's still in a job. Probably just the Reading way to allow an inept manager to stay in the job.

Nice club we are

Do you know what it makes me sick to the stomach when I read comments like this. We aren't the first and won't be the last club to get promoted and then struggle in the Premier League on limited funds. We are a small club in this league, it's different to when we were a big team in league one and lording it over the likes of Macclesfield Town (no diss obvs).

Brian has done a spectacular job for Reading and will go down as one of our best and most successful managers ever - saving us from almost certain relegation in his first year, getting to the play off final the second and winning the Football League Championship in his third, with two FA Cup quarter finals thrown in for good measure.

If we do go down (and it looks likely let's be honest), I say stick with Brian, let him build again and learn from the experience. There's nobody I'd rather trust with my team the Brian.

[Born 'n Bred Royal]

Can't believe he's still in a job. Probably just the Reading way to allow an inept manager to stay in the job.

Nice club we are

Without arguing for him to stay or go, I am utterly
amazed that Martin ONeill is a much shorter price
to be sacked than Brian.

Sunderland are an established Premier League side, who sacked Steve Bruce last year when it was going wrong so not a surprise tbh.

Reading are a new Premier League club with a side that is no way near as well established, in fact the quality of the squad is way below what Sunderland's is so is it really a surprise the position we're in? Brian won't be going anywhere.

[Born 'n Bred Royal]

Can't believe he's still in a job. Probably just the Reading way to allow an inept manager to stay in the job.

Nice club we are

Do you know what it makes me sick to the stomach when I read comments like this. We aren't the first and won't be the last club to get promoted and then struggle in the Premier League on limited funds. We are a small club in this league, it's different to when we were a big team in league one and lording it over the likes of Macclesfield Town (no diss obvs).

Brian has done a spectacular job for Reading and will go down as one of our best and most successful managers ever - saving us from almost certain relegation in his first year, getting to the play off final the second and winning the Football League Championship in his third, with two FA Cup quarter finals thrown in for good measure.

If we do go down (and it looks likely let's be honest), I say stick with Brian, let him build again and learn from the experience. There's nobody I'd rather trust with my team the Brian.

Thank god there is a sane human being on this forum.

I had honestly lost hope that Reading had any rational fans left at all!

In Brian we trust

[Eaststandman]

Can't believe he's still in a job. Probably just the Reading way to allow an inept manager to stay in the job.

Nice club we are

Do you know what it makes me sick to the stomach when I read comments like this. We aren't the first and won't be the last club to get promoted and then struggle in the Premier League on limited funds. We are a small club in this league, it's different to when we were a big team in league one and lording it over the likes of Macclesfield Town (no diss obvs).

Brian has done a spectacular job for Reading and will go down as one of our best and most successful managers ever - saving us from almost certain relegation in his first year, getting to the play off final the second and winning the Football League Championship in his third, with two FA Cup quarter finals thrown in for good measure.

If we do go down (and it looks likely let's be honest), I say stick with Brian, let him build again and learn from the experience. There's nobody I'd rather trust with my team the Brian.

Bravo and well done! A big show of support for BM now would be a good move, how soon they forget!