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

[Paul Cowin]

I agree with that.

I am a big Brian fan.......he and he alone got us where we are, better have a crap season in the Premier league than a great one in the Championship.

We are playing United on Saturday...the UNITED, not Sheffield United or Rotherham United...MANCHESTER UNITED.....isn't that what we all want??

[Avon Royal]

if he does end up going, I hope he royally shafts Anton, for enough money to keep him comfortable for the rest of his life, and diminishes our transfer pot significantly. Then I hope he goes off to manage a Cardiff, or a Leeds, and beats us on the last day of the season, to ruin our promotion hopes

That really is quite sad.

[Avon Royal]

I agree with that.

I am a big Brian fan.......he and he alone got us where we are, better have a crap season in the Premier league than a great one in the Championship.

We are playing United on Saturday...the UNITED, not Sheffield United or Rotherham United...MANCHESTER UNITED.....isn't that what we all want??

Pretty much everything in that post after the "I am a big Brian fan" bit is wrong.

He did not get us where we are alone, it is not better to have a crap season in the prem than a great one in the Championship, and Sheffield United are the UNITED and have been since 1889.

[Wimb]

Coppell had better players

Coppell built a better squad you mean?

He was fortunate to take over a good squad from Pardew but he worked wonders in spending very little to bring together those better players. That is very good management, even if he did cock it all up by remaining too loyal to them!

Lets not forget though that McDermott was chief scout while we were building that squad, and was influential behind the signings of Long and Doyle...

And presumably he was influential in the signings of Fae, Cisse, Halford, Matejovsky etc who all flopped when we actually got to the top level.

Reading Football Club have struggled terribly to buy a decent player when they've reached the top division, or at least when buying players to make an immediate impact.

Halford -> Useless, in part down to off field problems but didn't make any impact other than giving away a penno at Spurs.
Seol -> Great to start with but faded badly and off field issues again meant he was so desperate to go we had no replacement lined up
De La Cruz -> Great little bargain
Duberry -> Did OK but was very limited
Bikey -> The other way round to Duberry, awesome on his day but a liability most of the time
Mate -> Scored against Darlington...
Rosenior -> Wasn't terrible, did OK but never lived up to (his own) hype
Fae -> cLOLub ROFLecord Signing, the man we needed to replace Sidwell and we got what 7 games from him?
Cisse -> Again had a few decent games but wasn't PL standard in either midfield or defence
Matejovsky -> Buying a square peg for a round hole, may have worked out if we'd stayed up but his role in our survival fight was minimal
Kebe -> Did nothing the season we signed him, always was one for the future though.
Taylor -> Looks great on the bench
Mariappa -> So good he can't get past Gorkss or a 21 year old who before now hadn't played PL football.
Shorey -> Great, but we knew what we were getting
Gunter -> Jury is still out but his impact has been minimal/negative in 12 games so far
Guthrie -> The one midfielder we've signed and he's fallen out with Brian twice inside the first 3 months.
McCleary -> Can't hold down a place despite the inconsistancies of 3 other wingers
Pogrebnyak -> Dropped 8 games after becoming our record earner.

I'm sorry but whoever has been doing our scouting/recommending players since we've been in the Premier League has so far failed dismally. How much of a role Brian had on the signings from 06-08 I don't know but the responsibility rests with Coppell. This time round it's all on Brian and while there's still 2/3 of a season (+ hopefully more after that) to prove they are good buys, so far they've not helped.

That's 18 signings and I'd say that so far only Shorey, De La Cruz and perhaps Duberry/ Rosenior at a push have helped us during our time in the top flight.

[surrounded by saints]

I agree with that.

I am a big Brian fan.......he and he alone got us where we are, better have a crap season in the Premier league than a great one in the Championship.

We are playing United on Saturday...the UNITED, not Sheffield United or Rotherham United...MANCHESTER UNITED.....isn't that what we all want??

NO!

[Hoop Blah]

That's 18 signings and I'd say that so far only Shorey, De La Cruz and perhaps Duberry/ Rosenior at a push have helped us during our time in the top flight.

Agreed. We've really struggled to improve the starting 11 over the years, especially when we've trying to build on a position of strength.

Whether that's because of the wages we're willing to pay, the clubs standing and inability to attract better players or just our long term ability to recognise the standards required at a certain level.

[Extended-Phenotype]

It’s Brian’s management that saw us sign a load of cheap arse bullshit pre-season. When are we going to stop this arrogant assumption we can do things differently to every other club in the league and that our way is best?

We didn’t have to go out and sign 20 new players, we didn’t even have to sign medium to top priced players. We had (and still have) a team to build on and the injection of some genuine quality, filling the gaps where we were lacking, would have put us in far better stead for life in the Premier League. This doesn’t mean doing a QPR or bankrupting ourselves like Portsmouth (the argument of morons who don’t understand the shades of grey in between black and white) – it means taking a solid, hard working championship team and adding the class needed to compete at the next level.

Instead we cut corners, raided the bargain bins and left ourselves short. People bang on about not wasting money; well – our ridiculous policy of buying f/cking rejects will lose us millions in Premier League money, just as it has in the past.

We have to change our transfer policy and allow ourselves the flexibility to bring in the quality for this level, where we need it. And to those who think this is akin to blowing millions on a team that equally could underperform, they are missing the point of the transfer market – buying to improve, not to replace.

Bringing in three quality players in January could rescue this season. Can’t help but think that if Brian does go, we get two decent players back that he has ousted, Pearce and Guthrie – that would be a start.

[melonhead]

he spent the entire budget

he got every player he wanted to get WITHIN that budget

he adressed every priority area in the squad in the summer, and juggled those prioritys pretty well imo


with that in mind i think hes doing a good job, and we are a dropping of gorkss, and the signing of a decent left sided CB away from being 6-9 points better off at this point, which would see us way out of trouble

[melonhead]

The supporters will almost be split in half...

last poll on here showed something quite different, with the VAST majority wanting him to be given to the end of the season, regardless

[Lacoste]

It’s Brian’s management that saw us sign a load of cheap arse bullshit pre-season. When are we going to stop this arrogant assumption we can do things differently to every other club in the league and that our way is best?

We didn’t have to go out and sign 20 new players, we didn’t even have to sign medium to top priced players. We had (and still have) a team to build on and the injection of some genuine quality, filling the gaps where we were lacking, would have put us in far better stead for life in the Premier League. This doesn’t mean doing a QPR or bankrupting ourselves like Portsmouth (the argument of morons who don’t understand the shades of grey in between black and white) – it means taking a solid, hard working championship team and adding the class needed to compete at the next level.

Instead we cut corners, raided the bargain bins and left ourselves short. People bang on about not wasting money; well – our ridiculous policy of buying f/cking rejects will lose us millions in Premier League money, just as it has in the past.

We have to change our transfer policy and allow ourselves the flexibility to bring in the quality for this level, where we need it. And to those who think this is akin to blowing millions on a team that equally could underperform, they are missing the point of the transfer market – buying to improve, not to replace.

Bringing in three quality players in January could rescue this season. Can’t help but think that if Brian does go, we get two decent players back that he has ousted, Pearce and Guthrie – that would be a start.

^^ My thoughts exactly.

Brian has a poor record in the market and built this team to be what it is today, a boring, uninspiring route one team.

New manager and 3 new players plus the two that are missing would give us half a chance.

[Lacoste]

he spent the entire budget

he got every player he wanted to get WITHIN that budget

he adressed every priority area in the squad in the summer, and juggled those prioritys pretty well imo


with that in mind i think hes doing a good job, and we are a dropping of gorkss, and the signing of a decent left sided CB away from being 6-9 points better off at this point, which would see us way out of trouble

And if my granny had bollocks she'd be my grandad.

[melonhead]

interesting, and relevant point

[Hoop Blah]

he spent the entire budget

he got every player he wanted to get WITHIN that budget

Isn't that as big a leap of faith without the full facts as those that say he didn't spend most of the money he had available? There is so much smoke and mirrors and media friendly cliches and soundbites around professional football you just can't believe a word that comes out of the club or those involved in it.

he adressed every priority area in the squad in the summer, and juggled those prioritys pretty well imo

He did some good business but I do think we were left pretty short to be fair. I didn't think we'd as poor as we have been after the transfer activity but having the likes of Tabb and Gunnarsson in the squad and Roberts (a failed Premier League player) being a key figure were indications of what was to come.

with that in mind i think hes doing a good job, and we are a dropping of gorkss, and the signing of a decent left sided CB away from being 6-9 points better off at this point, which would see us way out of trouble

I think there's more to it than just a couple of changes in personnel. Our approach to games and ability to hold a lead aren't just down to Gorkss being a bit out of his depth at times, it's the whole team that has failed to stand up to real pressure from Premier League teams having a proper go at us when they're behind and chasing the game.

[Extended-Phenotype]

he spent the entire budget

That’s not for certain. And anyway, my point was more directed towards the club, not just BM.

he got every player he wanted to get WITHIN that budget

Well done there. His signings will certainly come in handy if we want to construct a pointless human pyramid on the sidelines.

he adressed every priority area in the squad in the summer, and juggled those prioritys pretty well imo

What is the point in signing players that don’t improve the team?

with that in mind i think hes doing a good job, and we are a dropping of gorkss, and the signing of a decent left sided CB away from being 6-9 points better off at this point, which would see us way out of trouble

So we are two BM mistakes away from being decent? Glad you agree BM is the problem, but I’d add to that; zero creativity in midfield, poor signings upfront and at right back and god-awful tactics.

I don’t want Brian to go, but I do want him to learn and f/cking change. If he can’t do that, then yeah – f/ck off. Club comes above any individual for me, be that manager or player.

[Caskeys Lovechild]

I agree with that.

I am a big Brian fan.......he and he alone got us where we are, better have a crap season in the Premier league than a great one in the Championship.

We are playing United on Saturday...the UNITED, not Sheffield United or Rotherham United...MANCHESTER UNITED.....isn't that what we all want??

Pretty much everything in that post after the "I am a big Brian fan" bit is wrong.

He did not get us where we are alone, it is not better to have a crap season in the prem than a great one in the Championship, and Sheffield United are the UNITED and have been since 1889.

Except £30million of TV money, says that it's better to be shit in the prem, than good in the Championship.

How many Europeans titles have Sheffield United won exactly? On that basis, Stoke City are THE City.

[Lacoste]

But dont forget guys, if we come rock bottom this season it will be out 3rd most successful season in HISTORY - YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Caskeys Lovechild]

Without that fact, would the club have the PL money which would allow us to further invest next season? No matter how much of a spacktard you are, you should be able to understand the magnitude of last seasons achievements, are positive for the future - no matter what happens for the rest of the season.

[Lacoste]

Without that fact, would the club have the PL money which would allow us to further invest next season? No matter how much of a spacktard you are, you should be able to understand the magnitude of last seasons achievements, are positive for the future - no matter what happens for the rest of the season.

Yeah lets waste last seasons achievements and just down without so much of a whimper, great logic Lets not even try to stay up

Brian bought poory in the summer, has no plan B and thats why I want him gone. No room for sentiment at this level.

Oh and as for your insult, brave behind a PC aren't you. Doubt you would say it to my face.

[Extended-Phenotype]

It seems to be retarded to want to compete in the Premier League. Not sure why. Seems more retarded to champion the approach which sees us sign players who are lucky to be involved in training, let alone a game.

[Caskeys Lovechild]

Without that fact, would the club have the PL money which would allow us to further invest next season? No matter how much of a spacktard you are, you should be able to understand the magnitude of last seasons achievements, are positive for the future - no matter what happens for the rest of the season.

Yeah lets waste last seasons achievements and just down without so much of a whimper, great logic Lets not even try to stay up

Brian bought poory in the summer, has no plan B and thats why I want him gone. No room for sentiment at this level.

Oh and as for your insult, brave behind a PC aren't you. Doubt you would say it to my face.

Plan B is a F***ing rapper - what use is he going to be in a Premier League football team?