How Long Will BM Last at this rate?????

[bracksroyal10]

If that doesn't push AZ over the edge I don't know what will.

We practically used our full strength team via Guthrie and we still can't beat Arsenal's kids after a 4-0 lead. Geniunely think San Marino would of defended that lead better than we did and they are shocking!

Tell me where you draw the line I think its evident changes need to be made if we want to remain PL you just cannot have a defence like this if you want to stay up. My sunday team could of defended that lead better.

Chemistry counts for nothing at this level if the majority of the players aren't able to perform consistently in the PL. This club needs to get realistic and note that they need to make a transition. None of the rubbish about Guthrie changing his style of play because it seems to of gone down well at every other club he has been to.

I hope Hammond has started that shortlist if we are bringing in anyone come January because quite frankly this squad isn't good enough and if we carry on like this no one is going to want to join us who is of a good level already.

AZ is talking about all these visions he has for the club well now is the chance to make your mark it was embarrassing the way we bottled it tonight.

[E. Andrew]

Gutted for Brian, has to be the worst night of his professional life.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Gutted for Brian, has to be the worst night of his professional life.

Quite. He literally went from hero to zero in minutes. Absolutely gutted for him. What a night it could have been..

Still stunned at what I've seen TBH. Total euphoria to utter despair "Surely even we can't fcuk up a 4 goal lead?" to...."Bollox of course we can this is Reading".

[Para Handy]

If that doesn't push AZ over the edge I don't know what will.

We practically used our full strength team bar Guthrie and we still can't beat Arsenal's kids after a 4-0 lead. I geniunely think San Marino would have defended that lead better than we did and they are shocking!

Tell me where you draw the line? I think it's evident changes need to be made if we want to remain PL, you just cannot have a defence like this if you want to stay up. My sunday team could have defended that lead better.

Chemistry counts for nothing at this level, if the majority of the players aren't able to perform consistently in the PL. This club needs to get realistic and note that they need to make a transition. None of the rubbish about Guthrie changing his style of play because it seems to have gone down well at every other club he has been to.

I hope Hammond has started that shortlist, if we are bringing in anyone come January, because quite frankly this squad isn't good enough and if we carry on like this no one is going to want to join us who is of a good level already.

AZ is talking about all these visions he has for the club, well now is the chance to make your mark, it was embarrassing the way we bottled it tonight.

HTH. Now oxf*rd of (sic) back to school.

[Paul Cowin]

Who expected us to be a Premier league side this time last year?

Who never expected us to in a relegation fight when the bookies all have us as favorites to finish bottom?

We are where we are, but we are Premier league, it says so on our shirts.

Brian got us there and like any man in a new job (coz being an EPL manager IS a new job), he will make mistakes and he will learn from them, as will Adkins at Southampton, now if you were a QPR fan and had a manager who had experience managing 4 EPL sides and were bottom,(which they are) then you could be calling for his head, but we have Brian who does not have any EPL management experience...but he WILL LEARN from his mistakes, it may not be enough to save us this year, but he will be the man to bring us back up if the worst happens. Don't blame Brian for the new signings either, that's Hammond's territory

[E. Andrew]

We practically used our full strength team

I don't know what this is based on.

[bracksroyal10]

If that doesn't push AZ over the edge I don't know what will.

We practically used our full strength team bar Guthrie and we still can't beat Arsenal's kids after a 4-0 lead. I geniunely think San Marino would have defended that lead better than we did and they are shocking!

Tell me where you draw the line? I think it's evident changes need to be made if we want to remain PL, you just cannot have a defence like this if you want to stay up. My sunday team could have defended that lead better.

Chemistry counts for nothing at this level, if the majority of the players aren't able to perform consistently in the PL. This club needs to get realistic and note that they need to make a transition. None of the rubbish about Guthrie changing his style of play because it seems to have gone down well at every other club he has been to.

I hope Hammond has started that shortlist, if we are bringing in anyone come January, because quite frankly this squad isn't good enough and if we carry on like this no one is going to want to join us who is of a good level already.

AZ is talking about all these visions he has for the club, well now is the chance to make your mark, it was embarrassing the way we bottled it tonight.

HTH. Now oxf*rd of (sic) back to school.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sorry! Someone had to say it how it is it was embarrasing get your head out of the clouds. Even if we aren't the best team in the PL no other team would of given up a lead that big take a look at the bigger picture.

And what I mean by that is that the majority of the team who featured tonight or were included in the squad would usually play in the PL for us lets face it.

[yappy]

Feeling completely and utterly deflated tonight. Can't help but think this is the end for McDermott. I've absolutely loved him as manager, but this season is turning into a bit of a farce. Don't know where to begin really, we didn't buy enough quality over the summer, his team selections have been questionable, he hasn't seemed to decide which formation is best and his man-management skills have been called into question too. Obviously we don't know the full story behind Guthrie's and Pearce's exclusion, but why they aren't in the team is beyond me.

Every game is like watching the same crap over again. We just sit behind teams and let them pass until they score, we don't even seem to attempt to pass the ball. Our tactic for trying to hold onto leads seems to be just to hoof the ball whenever we get it, when actually if we tried keeping possession for more than 5 seconds it'd be alot more effective.

Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and have forgotten all about it, but right now I think I've lost faith in Brian.

[Para Handy]

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sorry! Someone had to say it how it is it was embarrasing get your head out of the clouds. Even if we aren't the best team in the PL no other team would of given up a lead that big take a look at the bigger picture.

And what I mean by that is that the majority of the team who featured tonight or were included in the squad would usually play in the PL for us lets face it.

I can see we're not there yet are we? Let me try to put it phonetically... Shud uv is a contraction of "should have" not "should of". Likewise wood uv. Go to bed, knock one out. It will all seem better tomorrow.

[JordCot]

I personally think Brian has done enough in his time with Reading to deserve a whole season in the premier league. I can think of a lot worse situations than having Brian in charge come the start of next season whether that be in the premier league or championship. Hopefully it wont come to that and with some strengthening in Jan we can stay up

[Libertine]

The thing is we just can't pass the ball well. I heard Brian lamenting recently that he couldn't understand why our passing is so bad in the games we've played seeing we pass the ball so well during practice. Ummmmmmm, Brian, see here is the deal...you aren't going up against Arsenal, Liverpool, Swansea, Tottenham, etc, in practice. Give us a bit of space and we'll complete some passes, like we did in the first half of this past game. Pressure us and we'll invariably pass the ball to a player wearing a different color shirt, which we also did in the second half, and aet, of this past game. I don't know what can be done to change this fact...

[Royal91]

If we get relegated then McDermott is the only man to get us straight back up. Use this year as another learning curve for himself and AZ.

[larry1971]

I personally think Brian has done enough in his time with Reading to deserve a whole season in the premier league. I can think of a lot worse situations than having Brian in charge come the start of next season whether that be in the premier league or championship. Hopefully it wont come to that and with some strengthening in Jan we can stay up

I agree but when you have just invested £20m plus in the club and stand to lose £50m per season i tv money you can't afford to give some one a whole season because they deserve it when the club is clearly heading for relegation.

If we get relegated then McDermott is the only man to get us straight back up. Use this year as another learning curve for himself and AZ.

since the Premiership started barely half the teams relegated have got back at the first attempt - if Reading go down they will need to strengthen the squad because when you look at the clubs who could still be in the championship next season winning promotion is going to be a lot harder than it was last season.

[Vision]

no other team would of given up a lead that big take a look at the bigger picture.

I think you'll find the team we played last night did, not so long ago. They also conceded 8 in a game not so long ago and I remember everyone saying how their manager had lost the plot and had to go. They finished 3rd.

Last night is on McD because he really needed to change formation in the 2nd half when we were put under pressure and didn't. However some people need to get a grip here. We were going to struggle this season regardless of who our manager was and McD has certainly made mistakes but we need to have a long hard look at ourselves as a club if the bloke that has given us so much with so little to work with, isn't given every chance to prove he can repeat the feats of the previous seasons.

[oldvictor]

Well after what, a 1/4 of a season and only 4 points.

Probably one of the biggest failures by a Premiership team captured on TV.

The complete inability to hold a lead and make subs that can turn a game around, he has to go.

His ability as a Championship manager should never be questioned, he was brilliant.

His ability as a Premiership manager although he is doing the job is non existent.

The problem is, we are eight weeks best case scenario from new blood in players and if the wounds are so critical by January, then nobody will really want to come and we will also probably not be in a position to invest.

Brian needs to gracefully step aside and we need to have a replacement who might be able to make a difference to make us more tenable for players by January.

Personally, I think if we change now, we will have a very outside chance of survival if Premiership is our goal. If it is not, then I am not sure what the point is playing football anymore... ...why be in the Championship if you don't want to progress up a league?

[soggy biscuit]

In all honesty I would rather be relegated with Brian staying on than some Mick McCarthy/Steve Bruce type taking over. Though I imagine I am in the minority here.

[Big Foot]

In all honesty I would rather be relegated with Brian staying on than some Mick McCarthy/Steve Bruce type taking over. Though I imagine I am in the minority here.

Nope, I agree 100%

[RFCSPACE]

In all honesty I would rather be relegated with Brian staying on than some Mick McCarthy/Steve Bruce type taking over. Though I imagine I am in the minority here.

Fully agree. Fact is no other manager will be able to get this "average" group of players to score 4 against Arsenal. McDermott knows these guys inside out, unfortunately with the exception of our 2 best players (Pog and Guthrie), but has to be given the time. The only issue is himself, naive. Once he changes, realises that we aren't good enough to play 4-4-2 all game, then we will grind some results out. The identify of Reading scoring goals is a McDermott 4-4-2, we just need a new identity for the second half I.e. with Guthrie making us pass the ball.

Pls no old has been failure manager instead.

[bobbybottler]

In all honesty I would rather be relegated with Brian staying on than some Mick McCarthy/Steve Bruce type taking over.

Well said.

[Royal Lady]

Do you know what I'd do if I were McD and still in the job for Sunday? I'd bring in Guthrie and tell him no uncertain terms that THIS is his moment, he plays out of his oxf*rd skin and shows everyone what we've been missing. I'd drop Gorkss for Pearce. Pearce has done nothing wrong when he's played and I don't blame him for not wanting to sign a new contract - so maybe Pearce will sign after Sunday, when he realises he'll be first choice again.

I'd speak to Hammond/AZ and tell them I need a new coach, with proven experience at PL level and shunt Gibbs out. There's no room in football for sentiment. This is a business. He needs to be tough, starting on the training ground this morning and he needs to take another look at the tactics of last night and where it went so badly wrong and ensure that we NEVER make the same mistakes again. That's what I'd do.

And I'm available if anyone wants to give me the call!