Rodgers: The 'Truth'

[Millsy]

On second thoughts it takes balls to admit to a horrible mistake and take decisive action.

Well done to the board...

...ONLY if you now actually get someone good in and not fall back on someone with even less of a record (yes oddly enough that is *just* about possible) than Rodgers.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

LOL - Shut up Bodgers

[Barry the bird boggler]

To me it will always be a very odd decision as results and performances had generally been improving and the side was looking more settled. Therefore I think there has to be more to it....

Personally I hope BR goes away and is a success and comes back to Reading in the future and delivers what he might have been able to given more time and a fair crack of the whip.

PS - In the meantime please bring back Sir Steve to mentor McDermott and Gibbs.

[Ian Royal]

To me it will always be a very odd decision as results and performances had generally been improving and the side was looking more settled. Therefore I think there has to be more to it....

Personally I hope BR goes away and is a success and comes back to Reading in the future and delivers what he might have been able to given more time and a fair crack of the whip.

PS - In the meantime please bring back Sir Steve to mentor McDermott and Gibbs.

I still don't subscribe to this. Results & performances did improve, but they were so bad before that doesn't mean a lot. They had already plateaued after about 5 good performances and we'd started putting in more shambolic displays again by most accounts.

Certainly enough was done to give Rodgers an extension until mid-December after QPR where another poor performance straight away probably would have seen him sacked on the spot. But the upward trend was not conitinuing. Our rivals were also reviving themselves and Rodgers was still making big mistakes. If slightly fewer and less obvious ones.

[Pseud O'Nym]

I still don't subscribe to this. Results & performances did improve, but they were so bad before that doesn't mean a lot. They had already plateaued after about 5 good performances and we'd started putting in more shambolic displays again by most accounts.

Certainly enough was done to give Rodgers an extension until mid-December after QPR where another poor performance straight away probably would have seen him sacked on the spot. But the upward trend was not conitinuing. Our rivals were also reviving themselves and Rodgers was still making big mistakes. If slightly fewer and less obvious ones.

Agree with this, also:

More and more over the last three months I've read comments by Rodgers and players on how he was working with someone on some detail aspect of their game and wondered, if SSC and others before him found managing RFC a full time job then how can Brendan find the time to offer one on one coaching?

I think most people who've managed businesses will have seen a manager who doesn't know how to fix a big problem resort to looking for tiny problems he does know how to fix, it's a very common behaviour often called micromanagement. Perhaps the decision to remove him was based on more than simply poor results?

[Royalee]

I still don't subscribe to this. Results & performances did improve, but they were so bad before that doesn't mean a lot. They had already plateaued after about 5 good performances and we'd started putting in more shambolic displays again by most accounts.

Certainly enough was done to give Rodgers an extension until mid-December after QPR where another poor performance straight away probably would have seen him sacked on the spot. But the upward trend was not conitinuing. Our rivals were also reviving themselves and Rodgers was still making big mistakes. If slightly fewer and less obvious ones.

Agree with this, also:

More and more over the last three months I've read comments by Rodgers and players on how he was working with someone on some detail aspect of their game and wondered, if SSC and others before him found managing RFC a full time job then how can Brendan find the time to offer one on one coaching?

I think most people who've managed businesses will have seen a manager who doesn't know how to fix a big problem resort to looking for tiny problems he does know how to fix, it's a very common behaviour often called micromanagement. Perhaps the decision to remove him was based on more than simply poor results?

LOL, never heard of one-on-one coaching and asking a player to work on a specific area of a game? Do you never have appraisals at work or meetings? Have you never heard of players staying behind after training to work on things?

The levels of stupidity and total lack of foresight on here baffle me.

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

Yeah there are quite a few things you can cane the guy over, not sure one on one coaching is one of them.

In fact that's his job to improve our players.

[Man Friday]

To me it will always be a very odd decision as results and performances had generally been improving and the side was looking more settled. Therefore I think there has to be more to it....

Personally I hope BR goes away and is a success and comes back to Reading in the future and delivers what he might have been able to given more time and a fair crack of the whip.

PS - In the meantime please bring back Sir Steve to mentor McDermott and Gibbs.

I still don't subscribe to this. Results & performances did improve, but they were so bad before that doesn't mean a lot. They had already plateaued after about 5 good performances and we'd started putting in more shambolic displays again by most accounts.

Certainly enough was done to give Rodgers an extension until mid-December after QPR where another poor performance straight away probably would have seen him sacked on the spot. But the upward trend was not conitinuing. Our rivals were also reviving themselves and Rodgers was still making big mistakes. If slightly fewer and less obvious ones.

Agree. Well said. He was simply out of his depth. I'll be amazed if he ever "makes it".

[Pseud O'Nym]

Yeah there are quite a few things you can cane the guy over, not sure one on one coaching is one of them.

I'm not caning him, I'm very sorry he failed as I'm sure it was his dream job and I really wanted him to succeed, but the person to do the coaching should not be the manager. The manager should have been spending his time on bigger things like assessing how to counter upcoming opposition, a job he apparently deputised to McDermott

[Royalee]

Coaching is one of Rodgers' main strengths - why not use it? Coppell delegated negotiations and signing players to Hammond because he couldn't do it and most of the coaching the Dillon and Downes...like ways to counter the opposition and defend against certain players.

[The 17 Bus]

dillon led the 'shots to a four nothing win today...

[Royalee]

dillon led the 'shots to a four nothing win today...

...And a 6-1 defeat last time out.

[CMRoyal]

dillon led the 'shots to a four nothing win today...

...And a 6-1 defeat last time out.

Which was pretty much down to 15 freakish minutes at the end of the first half. Four wins, two draws and one defeat in their seven league games since he took charge is pretty good going - I'd take the odd 1-6 defeat for that kind of record at the moment.

[Sir Rodger Doyle]

Why would Rodgers want to talk to Howe? What does Howe have to do with the football side of things? He's too busy trying to rescue all of JM's failing investments.

Trying to save some face me thinks, unless he thinks Howe was sticking the knife in behind his back....

Careful.

[JR]

Sacking Rodgers was so shortsighted and foolish.

I am not saying he was doing everything right, far from it, but those of us who were going home and away and who appreciate football and the need to build over time were seeing a gradual improvement that would have seen us comfortably in mid table.

I think it is disgraceful that the board gave him a long term project and then took that away without giving him a proper chance to prove himself.

The minute they sacked rodgers our chances of relegation increased. For the first time this season i am worried about relegation and unless the board act decisvely and appoint the right man we are in grave danger of going down. In my opinion we were never going down with rodgers.

It makes you wonder whether those who made the decision watch the home and away matches properly and understand the game.

[leon]

Sacking Rodgers was so shortsighted and foolish.

I am not saying he was doing everything right, far from it, but those of us who were going home and away and who appreciate football and the need to build over time were seeing a gradual improvement that would have seen us comfortably in mid table.

I think it is disgraceful that the board gave him a long term project and then took that away without giving him a proper chance to prove himself.

The minute they sacked rodgers our chances of relegation increased. For the first time this season i am worried about relegation and unless the board act decisvely and appoint the right man we are in grave danger of going down. In my opinion we were never going down with rodgers.

It makes you wonder whether those who made the decision watch the home and away matches properly and understand the game.

Not sure about that - we've looked pretty aimless for most of the season - since october/november I've been thinking we were drifting towards relegation. That said if you're going to sack someone make sure you have a decent replacement don't arse about with a short term replacement unless they are sh*t hot and are going to put a rocket up the team. We've an inexperienced team that needs an experienced manager.

[Royalee]

Sacking Rodgers was so shortsighted and foolish.

I am not saying he was doing everything right, far from it, but those of us who were going home and away and who appreciate football and the need to build over time were seeing a gradual improvement that would have seen us comfortably in mid table.

I think it is disgraceful that the board gave him a long term project and then took that away without giving him a proper chance to prove himself.

The minute they sacked rodgers our chances of relegation increased. For the first time this season i am worried about relegation and unless the board act decisvely and appoint the right man we are in grave danger of going down. In my opinion we were never going down with rodgers.

It makes you wonder whether those who made the decision watch the home and away matches properly and understand the game.

Spot on.

[Man Friday]

Sacking Rodgers was so shortsighted and foolish.

I am not saying he was doing everything right, far from it, but those of us who were going home and away and who appreciate football and the need to build over time were seeing a gradual improvement that would have seen us comfortably in mid table.

I think it is disgraceful that the board gave him a long term project and then took that away without giving him a proper chance to prove himself.

The minute they sacked rodgers our chances of relegation increased. For the first time this season i am worried about relegation and unless the board act decisvely and appoint the right man we are in grave danger of going down. In my opinion we were never going down with rodgers.

It makes you wonder whether those who made the decision watch the home and away matches properly and understand the game.

West Brom. QPR (worst performance of the decade by a Reading "team"). Crystal Palace. Scunthorpe. Oh, I think they do.

[ROKERITE]

Sacking Rodgers was so shortsighted and foolish.

I am not saying he was doing everything right, far from it, but those of us who were going home and away and who appreciate football and the need to build over time were seeing a gradual improvement that would have seen us comfortably in mid table.

I think it is disgraceful that the board gave him a long term project and then took that away without giving him a proper chance to prove himself.

The minute they sacked rodgers our chances of relegation increased. For the first time this season i am worried about relegation and unless the board act decisvely and appoint the right man we are in grave danger of going down. In my opinion we were never going down with rodgers.

It makes you wonder whether those who made the decision watch the home and away matches properly and understand the game.

The decision was ridiculous. The media are hammering Manchester City for sacking Hughes, but he had 18 months and £200m. yet still threw away leads at home to Hull City, Fulham and even Burnley, to give The Turferites their only point away from home this season. Laws had three full years at Sheffield Wednesday, but when fired (with Wednesday in the bottom three) there were still some deluded Owls supporters who thought he'd been harshly treated. Rodgers had six months and twenty-one League matches, but the short-sighted fools thought that was enough to judge him on, even though Reading weren't even in a relegation spot. Now, unless somebody like Hoddle is appointed soon, Reading could really be in trouble; and while that might be just what Ideal and his cronies deserve, it will cost me a fortune: most of which I'm sure would have been saved had Rodgers been left in charge.

[facaldaqui]

There's more to it than that. Madejski had to decide whether he thought Rodgers was up to the job, and he realised he wasn't. Six months is enough time to work that out. In that case, you have to act sooner rather than later.

NB: I don't want Hoddle anywhere near our club.