Brian is staying according JM on BBCRB

[Fox Talbot]

saw Nick Hammond in the hotel beofre last home match. Not smiling though.

[Snowball]

But OBVIOUSLY the "Mr Mad" on radio wasn't the real one.

He talked of spending money

[maffff]

But OBVIOUSLY the "Mr Mad" on radio wasn't the real one.

He talked of spending money*

*spending someone elses money

[Snowball]

Oh that's OK then

[RoyalBlue]

Yeah! The only difference being we're in the Premiership relegation zone, not the Championship relegation zone

Come off it Madejski talking of spending more money? The world's finest cloth cutter? It was lack of funds and cloth cutting which made it so difficult for Rodgers to change things but at least he tried to do things differently (including blooding youngsters) and the football was more attractive to watch. What's more, his team wasn't performing as badly as the current one.

Sure he might think that changing managers rarely works but there's probably still more chance of that paying off than sticking with one who only has one approach and seems to have completely run out of ideas as to how to make that work.

the man who bailed us out of 5 million pound losses year on year since we moved to the stadium, until he ran out of money?

yeah, you bastard john!

The man who bought fame?

And his supporters still have to define how much he gave/lost (no doubt handled extremely tax efficiently) as opposed to loaned (no doubt also carefully arranged by some skilled financial/tax advisers).

[noelgallagher]

I can understand SJM's frustration, he said he was wanting to sell the club to someone with deep pockets who could take Reading to the next level. Yes Anton has spent a little more than what SJM would have but clearly it has not been enough I think you would of been asking a big job of any manager to keep us up with the current squad. Although I have to question MD's thinking behind leaving Guthrie and Pog out so regularly.

We will find out January but at the moment Anton hasn't majorly spent more than SJM would the difference is big but I don't think it is as big as what some people would have imagined.

So the question is, was Brian restricted by the playing budget available to him on the summer or did he make the conscious decision that the squad was good enough with a few bits of tweaking here and there? He did imply/say after the last signing of the summer that that was it for player movement and that was in late July/early August.

If the former then we have a serious problem.

Absolutely bang on the money. Someone has made a serious error in that management team. If BM went into the summer with a hefty budget yet came to the conclusion that 85% of what he already had was good enough and decided to restrict his purchases then that is poor management and he will ultimately pay the price for this. And rightly so.

If however AZ has provided a small budget in comparison to what would be considered 'healthy' to other PL clubs then he personally should be held accountable for not supporting the manager/club in a way that his status (or should I say his Father's status) would imply he is capable of doing. If the players are out of their depth, and it would seem that way, then as an owner Anton could be classed in the same way too.

Naive springs to mind. Thinking that a top 8 finish would be possible within five years based on the principles that he/the club hold and continue to persevere with is perhaps arrogant. But what it certainly is, in my opinion, is a very naive and very blind form of management which seems to have hit one almighty speed bump.

We shall see over the coming two months the intention of not only the players and management, but ultimately the owner. As to which way the club moves, is anyone's guess.

[melonhead]

Come off it Madejski talking of spending more money? The world's finest cloth cutter? It was lack of funds and cloth cutting which made it so difficult for Rodgers to change things but at least he tried to do things differently (including blooding youngsters) and the football was more attractive to watch. What's more, his team wasn't performing as badly as the current one.

Sure he might think that changing managers rarely works but there's probably still more chance of that paying off than sticking with one who only has one approach and seems to have completely run out of ideas as to how to make that work.

the man who bailed us out of 5 million pound losses year on year since we moved to the stadium, until he ran out of money?

yeah, you bastard john!

The man who bought fame?

And his supporters still have to define how much he gave/lost (no doubt handled extremely tax efficiently) as opposed to loaned (no doubt also carefully arranged by some skilled financial/tax advisers).

my word.


i never said he gave anything tbf.

and massive lol at "his supporters" in some way sneering at him, the bloke who single handedly turned us into a successful club, and the people who appreciate that
pretty sad tbf


you fail to grasp the lack of alternative, and are resolutely refusing to stump up the cash yourself, so your opinion is utterly irelevant and invalid.

[melonhead]

I can understand SJM's frustration, he said he was wanting to sell the club to someone with deep pockets who could take Reading to the next level. Yes Anton has spent a little more than what SJM would have but clearly it has not been enough I think you would of been asking a big job of any manager to keep us up with the current squad. Although I have to question MD's thinking behind leaving Guthrie and Pog out so regularly.

We will find out January but at the moment Anton hasn't majorly spent more than SJM would the difference is big but I don't think it is as big as what some people would have imagined.

So the question is, was Brian restricted by the playing budget available to him on the summer or did he make the conscious decision that the squad was good enough with a few bits of tweaking here and there? He did imply/say after the last signing of the summer that that was it for player movement and that was in late July/early August.

If the former then we have a serious problem.

Absolutely bang on the money. Someone has made a serious error in that management team. If BM went into the summer with a hefty budget yet came to the conclusion that 85% of what he already had was good enough and decided to restrict his purchases then that is poor management and he will ultimately pay the price for this. And rightly so.

If however AZ has provided a small budget in comparison to what would be considered 'healthy' to other PL clubs then he personally should be held accountable for not supporting the manager/club in a way that his status (or should I say his Father's status) would imply he is capable of doing. If the players are out of their depth, and it would seem that way, then as an owner Anton could be classed in the same way too.

Naive springs to mind. Thinking that a top 8 finish would be possible within five years based on the principles that he/the club hold and continue to persevere with is perhaps arrogant. But what it certainly is, in my opinion, is a very naive and very blind form of management which seems to have hit one almighty speed bump.

We shall see over the coming two months the intention of not only the players and management, but ultimately the owner. As to which way the club moves, is anyone's guess.

brian on record multiple times saying he spent the whole budget
AZ has given 10 million more than JM(or me, or you) could have given, and perhaps thats all he felt able to gamble.
not sure your in a position to judge what he should and shouldnt be gambling from his investors personal wealth.

[Arch]

Same as we all supported the previous manager and gave him time to get things going?

Exactly, if JM had done that I think we'd be in a much stronger position playing wise.

It's possible, but you have to ask yourself who would be the players who would be playing that silky-smooth BR brand of football for us?

[urz13]

Excellent news if McD is staying

[noelgallagher]

brian on record multiple times saying he spent the whole budget
AZ has given 10 million more than JM(or me, or you) could have given, and perhaps thats all he felt able to gamble.
not sure your in a position to judge what he should and shouldnt be gambling from his investors personal wealth.

I don't need to be in any sort of 'position' to know that for a team that last year punched above it's weight, entering the PL with a budget of £10m is not a gamble. It's just plain stupidity and quite frankly poor form from those running the club. Lessons were clearly not learned from the last time the club reached this level. If anything, it's a harder & far more difficult a league to remain in.

[Silver Fox]

This is great news, maybe everyone can shut the fvck up now?

[Cypry]

I can understand SJM's frustration, he said he was wanting to sell the club to someone with deep pockets who could take Reading to the next level. Yes Anton has spent a little more than what SJM would have but clearly it has not been enough I think you would of been asking a big job of any manager to keep us up with the current squad. Although I have to question MD's thinking behind leaving Guthrie and Pog out so regularly.

We will find out January but at the moment Anton hasn't majorly spent more than SJM would the difference is big but I don't think it is as big as what some people would have imagined.

So the question is, was Brian restricted by the playing budget available to him on the summer or did he make the conscious decision that the squad was good enough with a few bits of tweaking here and there? He did imply/say after the last signing of the summer that that was it for player movement and that was in late July/early August.

If the former then we have a serious problem.

Absolutely bang on the money. Someone has made a serious error in that management team. If BM went into the summer with a hefty budget yet came to the conclusion that 85% of what he already had was good enough and decided to restrict his purchases then that is poor management and he will ultimately pay the price for this. And rightly so.

If however AZ has provided a small budget in comparison to what would be considered 'healthy' to other PL clubs then he personally should be held accountable for not supporting the manager/club in a way that his status (or should I say his Father's status) would imply he is capable of doing. If the players are out of their depth, and it would seem that way, then as an owner Anton could be classed in the same way too.

Naive springs to mind. Thinking that a top 8 finish would be possible within five years based on the principles that he/the club hold and continue to persevere with is perhaps arrogant. But what it certainly is, in my opinion, is a very naive and very blind form of management which seems to have hit one almighty speed bump.

We shall see over the coming two months the intention of not only the players and management, but ultimately the owner. As to which way the club moves, is anyone's guess.

Thing is, Anton is the owner, and therefore he is accountable to nobody other than himself....

We were told all along that the club would continue to be "prudent", and that is indeed the case, so in that respect he is, in fact, delivering on his promises. A target of being a top ten club in five years? Not out of the question, even if we are relegated this year...

I've said this before, but I believe the club are looking at the big picture, much bigger than throwing the kitchen sink at staying up this year....

Consider EPPP for a moment.....how many of you have looked at what is actually involved with achieving CAT 1 status?
The upgrades that we are putting in place is costing the club multi millions - I was lucky enough to have some insight into this at the weekend, and the requirements, and associated costs are astronomical.....18 full time coaching staff....floodlit pitches.....parent facilities....it's a huge task and very expensive....

Our youth teams are some of the best in the country at the moment.....it's vital that we get CAT1.....

Why?

Well, consider the scenario that we forgo the academy upgrades, and use the cash to try to stay up this year......

1) We could still go down......disaster.....we'd be sat in the Championship, with our best youth players able to walk away to "big" clubs, with next to no compensation. Our youth structure would be decimated.....

2) We could stay up......on the face of it, crack open the champagne....but......we'd be sat in the Premiership, with our best youth players able to walk away to "big" clubs, with next to no compensation. Our youth structure would be decimated.....


Alternatively...we spend the money on the academy and accept that we have a very limited budget for players this year....

3) We get relegated......booooooooo.......but......we've got a CAT1 academy, which means we can plunder the non-CAT1 academy's for their better players.....our youth structure is actually strengthened, and we should be in a very strong position to challenge for promotion back to the Premier League (certainly in a stronger position than most of the other non-CAT1 Championship clubs).....if we can bounce straight up then our long term goals will be set back by just a year...

4) We stay up, by the skin of our teeth, but with a strong academy, and can start to pull in the better youth players to further strengthen and build....this is the Nirvana and truly could deliver the "top ten" aspirations....

If you look at the history of EPPP, it's concept is largely to give the Premier League clubs a competitive advantage over their rivals (in much the same way as parachute payments) - it's history is rooted in the failure of the Premier League to do away with relegation full stop....

So where would you spend the money? Now? On short-term fixes to give us "one more year" in the Premier League?
Or on a longer term strategy, which will allow us to have one of the better youth setups in the country (certainly in the top 10-15 clubs) and thereby cement our position in the upper echelons for years to come?

I believe that Anton has chosen the latter....good news in that, not only does it show that he has his head screwed on, but it would also seem to indicate that he's in it for the long haul, rather than with any aim of making a quick buck....

If this in the case, then I strongly suspect that McD will be safe, even in the event that we are relegated this year....

[noelgallagher]

This is great news, maybe everyone can shut the fvck up now?

Paddle your own canoe.

[Ian Royal]

You can't say we're trying to establish as Prem within 5 years and then blame being relegation certainties on punching above your weight.

Things don't pick up and his position will be untenable and Madejski / Anton will have to make the decision anyway.

[The Beardy Man]

[[/quote]

Thing is, Anton is the owner, and therefore he is accountable to nobody other than himself....

We were told all along that the club would continue to be "prudent", and that is indeed the case, so in that respect he is, in fact, delivering on his promises. A target of being a top ten club in five years? Not out of the question, even if we are relegated this year...

I've said this before, but I believe the club are looking at the big picture, much bigger than throwing the kitchen sink at staying up this year....

Consider EPPP for a moment.....how many of you have looked at what is actually involved with achieving CAT 1 status?
The upgrades that we are putting in place is costing the club multi millions - I was lucky enough to have some insight into this at the weekend, and the requirements, and associated costs are astronomical.....18 full time coaching staff....floodlit pitches.....parent facilities....it's a huge task and very expensive....

Our youth teams are some of the best in the country at the moment.....it's vital that we get CAT1.....

Why?

Well, consider the scenario that we forgo the academy upgrades, and use the cash to try to stay up this year......

1) We could still go down......disaster.....we'd be sat in the Championship, with our best youth players able to walk away to "big" clubs, with next to no compensation. Our youth structure would be decimated.....

2) We could stay up......on the face of it, crack open the champagne....but......we'd be sat in the Premiership, with our best youth players able to walk away to "big" clubs, with next to no compensation. Our youth structure would be decimated.....


Alternatively...we spend the money on the academy and accept that we have a very limited budget for players this year....

3) We get relegated......booooooooo.......but......we've got a CAT1 academy, which means we can plunder the non-CAT1 academy's for their better players.....our youth structure is actually strengthened, and we should be in a very strong position to challenge for promotion back to the Premier League (certainly in a stronger position than most of the other non-CAT1 Championship clubs).....if we can bounce straight up then our long term goals will be set back by just a year...

4) We stay up, by the skin of our teeth, but with a strong academy, and can start to pull in the better youth players to further strengthen and build....this is the Nirvana and truly could deliver the "top ten" aspirations....

If you look at the history of EPPP, it's concept is largely to give the Premier League clubs a competitive advantage over their rivals (in much the same way as parachute payments) - it's history is rooted in the failure of the Premier League to do away with relegation full stop....

So where would you spend the money? Now? On short-term fixes to give us "one more year" in the Premier League?
Or on a longer term strategy, which will allow us to have one of the better youth setups in the country (certainly in the top 10-15 clubs) and thereby cement our position in the upper echelons for years to come?

I believe that Anton has chosen the latter....good news in that, not only does it show that he has his head screwed on, but it would also seem to indicate that he's in it for the long haul, rather than with any aim of making a quick buck....

If this in the case, then I strongly suspect that McD will be safe, even in the event that we are relegated this year....[/quote]

Excellent post. It is through infrastructure growth over time that our club will grow. There may be some lag, but league positions will follow this. If we just throw money at the first team, we are back to square one when we have a bad season.

[Woodcote Royal]

This is great news, maybe everyone can shut the fvck up now?

Paddle your own canoe.

If we stay up, most of the fleet here will be holed below the water line.............................

[andrew1957]

Excellent post Cypry and I hope you are right. Cat 1 far more important than PL survival this season IMO. Fans see things so short term and whilst relegation will be disapointing it is hardly the end of the world (which is Friday week according to the internet in any case!)

[Victor Meldrew]

This is great news, maybe everyone can shut the fvck up now?

Paddle your own canoe.

If we stay up, most of the fleet here will be holed below the water line.............................

If we go down will Brian be seen as Canute doing nothing but just expecting the tide to turn,not realising that the tide won't turn before May next year.

[The Beardy Man]

In fairness to a certain former English king of Danish extraction. Canute is often misrepresented in popular culture. He wasn't some nutter who thought he could hold back the tide because he was king, but rather his meaning was that even as a king there were still many things over which he had zero influence. Like the tide.