Brian: The right decision?

[melonhead]

McDermott should never have been sacked in the first place. We were going down and he would have taken us back up anyway. We've just replaced a man who was very loyal to the club with someone McDermott walked all over in the Championship. Poyet was obviously the first choice, and when that failed, they obviously frittered around with other options, because it took ages to find a replacement. Parkinson should have got the job, couldn't have done any worse than Adkins has done.

apparently not- apparently adkins always first choice, but brighton tried to offload poyet mid process so we had a chat with hin n all

[melonhead]

In fact changing the style so late in the season has proved a disaster.

Brian’s last 8 games – Won 3 Drawn 1 Lost 4 – For 12 Against 16

Adkins first 8 games – Won 1 – Drawn 2 Lost 5 – For 8 Against 16

Brians last 8 games
Newcastle (W) Chelsea (D), Sunderland (W) Stoke (L), Wigan (L), Everton (L), Aston Villa (L), Man U (L)

Nigels last 8 games
Arsenal (L), Southampton (L), Liverpool (D), Norwich (L), QPR (D), Fulham (W), Man City (L), West Ham (L).

Are those matches directly comparable?

So the only reason for sacking him that makes sense is his failure in the transfer market. Well did he fail? Many of last summer’s purchases are now first choices – Mariappa, Guthrie, McCleary, Pog, Kelly and Gunter. The problem was not the players that we bought but the fact that the existing squad was overall so poor and had overachieved so much. So was Brain to blame - or did he indeed spend all that he was given. If the latter then the owner is more to blame.

Then we have tactics. Well to me Brian proved the master of getting the best out of a bad lot. I am sure he is more than capable of playing a passing style, but our squad were not – as proved in the last 8 games. So he made the best of what he had.

And Brian constructed this squad over three seasons. Therefore he has to take the blame for the base of the squad not being good enough in the first place, let alone how attempt at consolidating it this year - because of how he constructed it there was too much to do once we went up.

as to that last bit- how can that be his fault, he was given nothing to work with, had to sell to cover losses before he could buy. was constantly fighting fires, never had a chance to consolidate and truly build.
madejski pulled all money out for scouting budgets, academy budgets. everything. brian performed miracles

[maffff]

as to that last bit- how can that be his fault, he was given nothing to work with, had to sell to cover losses before he could buy. was constantly fighting fires, never had a chance to consolidate and truly build.
madejski pulled all money out for scouting budgets, academy budgets. everything. brian performed miracles

Then I guess we were "promoted too soon". I'm not confident given an extra season with money that we would have gotten more out of the team, bearing in mind his involvement with our biggest signings, Mills, Fae, Halford, Gunter (who under McD was awful), Mariappa (who I do rate highly to be fair) etc - does he actually know how to spend money?

[winchester_royal]

And yet our wage budget was still the 4th highest in the league last season...

He did a gr8 job, don't get me wrong, but given that just about every Championship manager has similar financial constraints placed upon them, and don't have the quality of players bestowed upon Brian when he got the job, I think 'miracle' is a touch strong.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

It's not the results so much as the attitude and the way things were done. .

In winning the Championship we were sold the great con-trick of how great the strength, togetherness and unity of the squad was.

Then at the start of the season we had a player and the manager publicly disagreeing over whether the player was fit enough to play, and the player's girlfriend tweeting about disloyalty; we later had a player refusing to travel to an away because "his head wasn't in the right place", and all the while one player (brought in by the owner's personal efforts alone) was earning a lot more than everyone else whilst a promising young defender (we were shipping goals at the time) was in visible contract dispute with the club and not playing - but the club's publicity machine kept insisting his non-selection was nothing to do with this.

That all smacks of a manager who'd lost control of his fragmented squad, and who couldn't inspire them or manage them to meet the heightened and corrupting demands of the Premier League.. At the same time, he persisted in playing 4-4-2 for long after it was thoroughly discredited, and just appeared to have no Plan B (the player who'd been bought to provide a Plan B wasn't playing)!

As a result, some of the performances were abject. It's all very well being beaten by Aston Villa, Southampton and Sunderland if you compete, but for those three matches, at a crucial point of the season and against potential relegation contenders were just didn't turn up. Those three games were the most gutless and spineless performances I've seen from a Reading team in 37 years - we offered absolutely nothing. No ideas, no desire, no creativity and no fight - just going through the motions of playing without contributing anything positive.

If McDermott had gone then, in early December I'd not have been surprised or disappointed, because he clearly didn't have the ability to lift, inspire or motivate his players (as Wigan and Villa at home later proved) - and perhaps his successor would have had the chance to rescue things in the January window. (But, of course, it wouldn't have been Adkins as he wasn't available then.....)

then he suddenly rediscovered the ability to motivate and direct a team during january, but that went again in feb?

No - he discovered that switching from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 late in a game and bringing on fresh attackers against a tired defence was successful in the short-term as "shock tactics." But as soon as everyone knew about it and was prepared it lost its effectiveness.

He also failed to stick to what had been working - he gave in to the clamour for ALF to come on earlier and earlier and even to start - reducing the effectiveness of his one working tactic.

[Lower West]

Doesn't help when the midfield contributes few goals. Mcanuff only managed 39 shots (including blocked ones) on target in 38 games and scored no league goals.

Suggestions for a new captain next season?

[sandman]

Joby McAnough.

[Royalee]

Doesn't help when the midfield contributes few goals. Mcanuff only managed 39 shots (including blocked ones) on target in 38 games and scored no league goals.

Suggestions for a new captain next season?

Carrico, Guthrie or Karacan.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Doesn't help when the midfield contributes few goals. Mcanuff only managed 39 shots (including blocked ones) on target in 38 games and scored no league goals.

Suggestions for a new captain next season?

Carrico, Guthrie or Karacan.

Pearce, but it ain't gonna happen!

Bemused at the suggestion that if you don't score goals you can't be captain, though - on that basis it ought to be ALF.

[Royalee]

Agreed on Pearce but he's omitted for obvious reasons...for someone who's captained Watford for a reasonable amount of time Mariappa's not really great at organising for me - steady in the rest of his play, but not captain material.

[loyalroyal4life]

Agreed on Pearce but he's omitted for obvious reasons...for someone who's captained Watford for a reasonable amount of time Mariappa's not really great at organising for me - steady in the rest of his play, but not captain material.

As Pearce won't be here do people see Gorkss might be a candidate if he gets in?

[Royalee]

Candidate for what, costing us goals every week? Mariappa, Morrison, Hector plus one other should be our centre backs, Gorkks needs to be released.

[Cypry]

err so I am meant to believe that Brian was offered millions to buy players and yet stubbornly refused to do so - instead looking for freebies - or do I believe him when he repeatedly said "I spent everything I was given". I doubt any football manager has ever refused to spend his budget.

All I can say is what I've been told by a source who's proven to be 100% reliable in the past - Anton was "practically begging" Brian to spend more in the Summer and he said he was happy with what he had....

If you want more, circumstantial, evidence, then just look at the way McD was said to have reacted to me repeating some of the things he said at the STAR forum. The only thing that i could possibly believe that he was upset about was my repeating of his response to someone who asked whether Anton was interfering with team selection, and player choices in the transfer market, to which Brian replied "he tried, but we soon put a stop to that" - could it be that Brian wanted to prove a point to Anton and "believing in the players that got us up" was part of that? Brian also said he wanted 2 players for every position - he did just that.

At the same event, Brian was very candid about the signing of Pog - I believe he was described as a "present" from Anton - you might wonder if it was an effort by Anton to "lead the way" and encourage Brian to look at players other than his established favourites...

Whatever, I believe that it was Brian's failure to deliver in the transfer market that led to his demise (and it's surely hard for anyone to argue that he was successful this year in that department), and suspect that had he not won MotM for January, then he would have gone sooner.

[sandman]

Ah there goes that bloke down the pub again.

"Please Brian spend all my fathers money Brian".

"No Anton, having had my best players sold from under me in the last two years with hardly anything of the fees received coming back to me I don't want to spend money".

[Cypry]

If that's what you want to believe.....

[melonhead]

err so I am meant to believe that Brian was offered millions to buy players and yet stubbornly refused to do so - instead looking for freebies - or do I believe him when he repeatedly said "I spent everything I was given". I doubt any football manager has ever refused to spend his budget.

All I can say is what I've been told by a source who's proven to be 100% reliable in the past - Anton was "practically begging" Brian to spend more in the Summer and he said he was happy with what he had....

.

BOLLOX!

[kwik-silva]

I think the real question we should be asking ourselves, was it right to let go of Rodgers?

(Can this thread die yet)

[Wimb]

err so I am meant to believe that Brian was offered millions to buy players and yet stubbornly refused to do so - instead looking for freebies - or do I believe him when he repeatedly said "I spent everything I was given". I doubt any football manager has ever refused to spend his budget.

All I can say is what I've been told by a source who's proven to be 100% reliable in the past - Anton was "practically begging" Brian to spend more in the Summer and he said he was happy with what he had....

If you want more, circumstantial, evidence, then just look at the way McD was said to have reacted to me repeating some of the things he said at the STAR forum. The only thing that i could possibly believe that he was upset about was my repeating of his response to someone who asked whether Anton was interfering with team selection, and player choices in the transfer market, to which Brian replied "he tried, but we soon put a stop to that" - could it be that Brian wanted to prove a point to Anton and "believing in the players that got us up" was part of that? Brian also said he wanted 2 players for every position - he did just that.

At the same event, Brian was very candid about the signing of Pog - I believe he was described as a "present" from Anton - you might wonder if it was an effort by Anton to "lead the way" and encourage Brian to look at players other than his established favourites...

Whatever, I believe that it was Brian's failure to deliver in the transfer market that led to his demise (and it's surely hard for anyone to argue that he was successful this year in that department), and suspect that had he not won MotM for January, then he would have gone sooner.

lol his reaction to the STAR leak had nothing to do with the information that was released but at the principal that someone was so quick to spout online what he'd heard at a 'closed doors' meeting.

I also remember at the same meeting that he said he'd admired Pog and then Anton went and got him for him, so hardly a present.

From other sources I've heard which again are as reliable to the public as what you say so I can only say it, Brian wanted a long short-list of players but was told this is your budget this is all you've got. So with those demands Brian went for depth rather than quality which obviously proved the wrong move.

As others have said, there can't be a manager out there who would have refused to spend his budget, unless he was worried that Anton didn't have the money and wanted to avoid being labelled the next Redknapp.

Finally, bear in mind that sources can be influenced by who they know, what they want to get out. Of course we don't know your source and nor should you reveal them but how do you know they're not trying to paint Anton in a positive light or just had a dislike of Brian?

[grey_squirrel]

err so I am meant to believe that Brian was offered millions to buy players and yet stubbornly refused to do so - instead looking for freebies - or do I believe him when he repeatedly said "I spent everything I was given". I doubt any football manager has ever refused to spend his budget.

All I can say is what I've been told by a source who's proven to be 100% reliable in the past - Anton was "practically begging" Brian to spend more in the Summer and he said he was happy with what he had....

If you want more, circumstantial, evidence, then just look at the way McD was said to have reacted to me repeating some of the things he said at the STAR forum. The only thing that i could possibly believe that he was upset about was my repeating of his response to someone who asked whether Anton was interfering with team selection, and player choices in the transfer market, to which Brian replied "he tried, but we soon put a stop to that" - could it be that Brian wanted to prove a point to Anton and "believing in the players that got us up" was part of that? Brian also said he wanted 2 players for every position - he did just that.

At the same event, Brian was very candid about the signing of Pog - I believe he was described as a "present" from Anton - you might wonder if it was an effort by Anton to "lead the way" and encourage Brian to look at players other than his established favourites...

Whatever, I believe that it was Brian's failure to deliver in the transfer market that led to his demise (and it's surely hard for anyone to argue that he was successful this year in that department), and suspect that had he not won MotM for January, then he would have gone sooner.

lol his reaction to the STAR leak had nothing to do with the information that was released but at the principal that someone was so quick to spout online what he'd heard at a 'closed doors' meeting.

I also remember at the same meeting that he said he'd admired Pog and then Anton went and got him for him, so hardly a present.

From other sources I've heard which again are as reliable to the public as what you say so I can only say it, Brian wanted a long short-list of players but was told this is your budget this is all you've got. So with those demands Brian went for depth rather than quality which obviously proved the wrong move.

As others have said, there can't be a manager out there who would have refused to spend his budget, unless he was worried that Anton didn't have the money and wanted to avoid being labelled the next Redknapp.

Finally, bear in mind that sources can be influenced by who they know, what they want to get out. Of course we don't know your source and nor should you reveal them but how do you know they're not trying to paint Anton in a positive light or just had a dislike of Brian?

Steve Coppell 2007/8?

[Alexander Litvinenko]

......
As others have said, there can't be a manager out there who would have refused to spend his budget, .....

There's a manager who used to be around in football a few years ago - a bloke by the name of Coppell or something like that, who didn't spend budget because he didn't want to "disrupt his core squad." I wonder if McDermott has heard of him and has ever been influenced by him in the past.....