Brian: The right decision?

[sandman]

He's not a Reading manager! no one likes him, nobody sings his name even when we are winning games and you can go on about his CV all you want but that doesn't mean he is going to be successful here. There is a style that fits this football club and a lot of those who criticise it don't even know what it is, misguidedly calling it 'hoofball'.

We did not play "hoofball" under McDermott or Coppell we mixed the way we played between longer and shorter passing but the main style was fast tempo football with an emphasis on wing play. The only times where it leaned more towards long ball football was when we had lost a few games so the player didn't have the confidence to try more elaborate play and their rhythm was disrupted.

There was certainly a rendition of "Nigel Adkin's Barmy Army" at the game yesterday.

Well I didn't hear it and if it did happen then it is one of a handful of times it has.

[Man Friday]

Look at the teams at the top of each league

Apart from Dyche, look how long they've been in their jobs...

Like with AZ being a rich billionaire, we should be careful what we wish for

Agreed. But I never wished for a rich Russian as some did. (Aside from the fact we ain't seen any of his money.)

[andrew1957]

If you want McDermott style football fine but I thought the whole point of getting rid of him was to try and make this a better football club to watch, rather than simply getting results.

That is honestly the funniest and yet most stupid statement I've EVER read on here.

Think, just think, what you've said. Unfuckinbelievable.

Especially when the football has been the worst I've seen Reading play in terns of enjoyability since the Div 3/4 days. No, actually they were more entertaining.

Wimb is always right. The whole objective is to play tippy tappy football without any penetration and to lose games and then you can enjoy football in League 1 and if you are really lucky - League 2. Why on earth would we want to win any games?

[Royalee]

He's not a Reading manager! no one likes him, nobody sings his name even when we are winning games and you can go on about his CV all you want but that doesn't mean he is going to be successful here. There is a style that fits this football club and a lot of those who criticise it don't even know what it is, misguidedly calling it 'hoofball'.

We did not play "hoofball" under McDermott or Coppell we mixed the way we played between longer and shorter passing but the main style was fast tempo football with an emphasis on wing play. The only times where it leaned more towards long ball football was when we had lost a few games so the player didn't have the confidence to try more elaborate play and their rhythm was disrupted.

There was certainly a rendition of "Nigel Adkin's Barmy Army" at the game yesterday.

Well I didn't hear it and if it did happen then it is one of a handful of times it has.

Heard it at each of the last 6 or 7 games I've been to and that includes Sheffield Wednesday so you're probably deaf as well as dumb.

[Wimb]

If you want McDermott style football fine but I thought the whole point of getting rid of him was to try and make this a better football club to watch, rather than simply getting results.

That is honestly the funniest and yet most stupid statement I've EVER read on here.

Think, just think, what you've said. Unfuckinbelievable.

Especially when the football has been the worst I've seen Reading play in terns of enjoyability since the Div 3/4 days. No, actually they were more entertaining.

Wimb is always right. The whole objective is to play tippy tappy football without any penetration and to lose games and then you can enjoy football in League 1 and if you are really lucky - League 2. Why on earth would we want to win any games?

Once again, laughably short-sighted and totally missing the point

As I said, the idea of Adkins was to get a better brand of football. Of course they haven't realised it yet but anyone that expects a radical change of style to take hold and be complete within 19 games is deluded.

Of course its been dirge football so far, but the idea is you grow and learn over time.

As I said, should be better but there's enough outside factors to attribute our current woes to more than just the manager.

[ZacNaloen]

Defensively, mostly solid, midfield mostly solid in the second third but when it comes to attack we have very little penetration and I think it's because we do everything too slowly and mechanical. It's clear it's still work in progress and considering where we are it would not hurt us to have another year in the championship so lets not get ahead of ourselves yeh?

[KC Royal]

He's not a Reading manager! No one likes him apart from a few oddballs on here, nobody sings his name even when we are winning games and you can go on about his CV all you want but that doesn't mean he is going to be successful here. There is a style that fits this football club and a lot of those who criticise it don't even know what it is, misguidedly calling it 'hoofball'.

We did not play "hoofball" under McDermott or Coppell we mixed the way we played between longer and shorter passing but the main style was fast tempo football with an emphasis on wing play. The only times where it leaned more towards long ball football was when we had lost a few games so the player didn't have the confidence to try more elaborate play and their rhythm was disrupted.

Absolutely +1 to this.

I thought Adkins was the best option to replace McDermott, I was glad we appointed him over Poyet, but a managers CV doesn't always guarantee they fit in at a club. (I don't think Poyet would have fitted in for example).

The talk of McDermott's style of play is something that irks me. His first half season in particular showed that when he has all the players he wants he is naturally an attacking manager. His reserve teams, in particular 2005-2007, seemed to show that too. (It was also interesting yesterday that 2-0 down at half-time Leeds ended up winning the 2nd half 3-1.) I also think of the 3-4 to Man Utd a year ago. The title winning season was the most defensive, but I firmly believe he adopted that approach to make us competitive in the division after the departure of key players and the hurt of losing the playoff final the previous season.

[Wimb]

Defensively, mostly solid, midfield mostly solid in the second third but when it comes to attack we have very little penetration and I think it's because we do everything too slowly and mechanical. It's clear it's still work in progress and considering where we are it would not hurt us to have another year in the championship so lets not get ahead of ourselves yeh?

Sorry Zac, you'll find a vocal minority that just cannot accept that anything takes time and may require a learning curve, to actually spend a season or so rebuilding is a heinous idea that shouldn't ever be taken into account at Reading football club despite the fact that our three most successful managers finished their first seasons, 12th, 9th and 9th

[Maguire]

Of course Brian was going to do well at Leeds. He's taken a group used to playing at that level, having played a direct style under Warnock and a team who can quite easily play a style of football Brian knows does well in this division, helped by the ridiculously in form Ross McCormack

alol at this wise after the event nonsense.

Most people on here described it as a poisoned chalice and mocked his signing of eg. Matt Smith. His resources are nowhere near as large as Adkins' here at Reading yet he's managed to turn out a very competitive side.

He's doing a decent job *so far* and deserves to be credited for it rather than have it passed off as a formality.

[Wimb]

Of course Brian was going to do well at Leeds. He's taken a group used to playing at that level, having played a direct style under Warnock and a team who can quite easily play a style of football Brian knows does well in this division, helped by the ridiculously in form Ross McCormack

alol at this wise after the event nonsense.

Most people on here described it as a poisoned chalice and mocked his signing of eg. Matt Smith. His resources are nowhere near as large as Adkins' here at Reading yet he's managed to turn out a very competitive side.

He's doing a decent job *so far* and deserves to be credited for it rather than have it passed off as a formality.

TBF I think I said to Leeds fans as soon as he was appointed that he'd have them in the play-offs, can't speak for the majority of HNA though. He's a manager that knows this division inside out and despite a 'lack of resources' Leeds have still got a very competitive squad for this division that should be competing inside the top 10.

Agreed though, there's a long way to go and yeah, play-offs or more are by no means a formality.

[Man Friday]

Do you ever stop talking in clichés ("knows this division inside out" etc)? Aspire to a higher level of thinking.

[Wimb]

Do you ever stop talking in clichés ("knows this division inside out" etc)? Aspire to a higher level of thinking.

Oh I'm sorry, would you rather I phrase it that having spent a decade in the Championship with Reading including a 3 year managerial term he's experienced in this division?

Anyone would think you haven't got a cohesive argument to come back with but still, I'm sure you can bold or underline some text to help convince us you're right

[winchester_royal]

It's a shame that Wimble is getting some abuse for making some nicely articulated, well reasoned, and perfectly valid points.

It's fine to disagree, in fact I'm sure he relished the opportunity for intelligent deb8, but let's do it without being massively patronising and overly aggressive eh lads? Especially towards the guy who runs undoubtedly the best RFC blog on the net.

McD did fantastically for us, but his reign wasn't perfect and highlighting the areas we could improve on isn't the inexcusable sin that some would have us believe. Adkins isn't quite cutting the mustard right now, but that doesn't mean it won't happen eventually and it certainly doesn't mean we're wrong to continue to strive for a better (and hopefully an ultimately more succesful) brand of football.

[Cureton's Volley]

He's not a Reading manager! no one likes him, nobody sings his name even when we are winning games and you can go on about his CV all you want but that doesn't mean he is going to be successful here. There is a style that fits this football club and a lot of those who criticise it don't even know what it is, misguidedly calling it 'hoofball'.

We did not play "hoofball" under McDermott or Coppell we mixed the way we played between longer and shorter passing but the main style was fast tempo football with an emphasis on wing play. The only times where it leaned more towards long ball football was when we had lost a few games so the player didn't have the confidence to try more elaborate play and their rhythm was disrupted.

There was certainly a rendition of "Nigel Adkin's Barmy Army" at the game yesterday.

Yeah and it was half-arsed and shit. Look at Bournemouth's rendition for their manager as a better example

[Cureton's Volley]

He's not a Reading manager! no one likes him, nobody sings his name even when we are winning games and you can go on about his CV all you want but that doesn't mean he is going to be successful here. There is a style that fits this football club and a lot of those who criticise it don't even know what it is, misguidedly calling it 'hoofball'.

We did not play "hoofball" under McDermott or Coppell we mixed the way we played between longer and shorter passing but the main style was fast tempo football with an emphasis on wing play. The only times where it leaned more towards long ball football was when we had lost a few games so the player didn't have the confidence to try more elaborate play and their rhythm was disrupted.

Absolutely 100% spot on. But I wouldn't expect some on here to know that - they're too blinkered/thick and unknowledgeable about the game (although, ironically, they think we are!).

+2

[Cureton's Volley]

There was certainly a rendition of "Nigel Adkin's Barmy Army" at the game yesterday.

Well I didn't hear it and if it did happen then it is one of a handful of times it has.

Heard it at each of the last 6 or 7 games I've been to and that includes Sheffield Wednesday so you're probably deaf as well as dumb.

Only 10 people signing it doesn't count

[facaldaqui]

Defensively, mostly solid, midfield mostly solid in the second third but when it comes to attack we have very little penetration and I think it's because we do everything too slowly and mechanical. It's clear it's still work in progress and considering where we are it would not hurt us to have another year in the championship so lets not get ahead of ourselves yeh?

Sorry Zac, you'll find a vocal minority that just cannot accept that anything takes time and may require a learning curve, to actually spend a season or so rebuilding is a heinous idea that shouldn't ever be taken into account at Reading football club despite the fact that our three most successful managers finished their first seasons, 12th, 9th and 9th

Some things do take time, but you need some signs that persistence might pay off. I am not in favour of dumping Adkins, but I have to admit I do feel pessimistic.

I was just reading what Dave Whelan had to say about Owen Coyle:

"Owen had a difficult job but I just don't think he was part and parcel of Wigan Athletic Football Club. Sometimes managers are successful, sometimes they are not. When we lost three games in a row I had been watching the selection of the team and the performance and I wasn't happy with the decisions he was making.We were good friends so there was no personality clash whatsoever. A manager has to come across well and give you the impression he knows the game and you end up interviewing them and it's a finger in the air moment. If he's successful it's great but if in Owen's case he wasn't, the sooner you do something about it the better."

This is from a chairman who has been very patient with managers in the past, even to the point of relegation. There are some similarities in the appointments of Coyle and Adkins, and we will have to see whether Wigan now manage to rise above us or not. But if Whelan went only by a manager's record, rather than what he saw in front of his own eyes, he would not have sacked Coyle. I think I know what he means about Coyle not being part and parcel of the football club--the Wigan way, as it were.

*

People have quoted examples of managers who went on to do well after they were given time; but there are also examples when persisting with managers did not pay off. Both Derby and Ipswich persisted for a long time with Paul Jewell because of his previous record, but he was plainly not able to repeat his past success. Middlesbrough persisted to no avail with Mowbray, who had got West Brom promoted. My point is just that there should come a time when a successful record no longer outweighs present difficulties: after that, persisting with the same set up becomes obtuse.

We should maybe cut Adkins some slack for not being able to buy more players and for the injury rate, but these do not explain selections and tactics that often seem unhelpful to the task of winning games.

*

I am not with those who say that we are a work in progress and therefore will need to consolidate in the championship. You don't buy players like Bridge, Drenthe, and Williams to consolidate in the championship. The aim was specifically to get promoted this season. Sometimes the first season after relegation offers the best opportunity to return (Newcastle, West Brom, West Ham) because you still have prem players--or, at least, players on prem wages. You need to use them to help you get back quickly, before they start to disperse. We tried to do it last time we got relegated, when we still had the likes of Hunt, Doyle, and co in the team. After that failed, it then became necessary to rebuild as a more modest outfit, in less of a hurry.

[Reading4eva]

I'm starting to run out of patience, we might still be in the playoffs and 8 points behind the leaders but Bournemouth are crap.

[Uke]

Paulol Jewelolol

[Snowball]

I'm as peed off as the next person.

Responding to FAQ though

1. Adkins has an amazing record

2. We are sixth, in the PO positions and Adkins has talked for a long time of merely staying in the race until January.

3. He has not (it appears) been allowed to buy as maybe he expected.

4. He has lost two very important midfielders (IMO ESP L-Wood) an England fullback, a first choice CB, and had injuries to Drenthe, Sharp, Williams, Roberts

5. There is almost certainly uncertainty and unrest behind the scenes, which must affect.

6. HRK is hopeless off form


Yet we remain in sixth. WE may say he's making odd selections but the actuality is, despite all the problems, we are still there or thereabouts. IMO it's wrong to suggest Adkins is doing much wrong. ATM 4/5/6th, considering everything, is not bad management.

I worry about the coming 5-6 games and we could easily lost 4/5 of them. THEN we'd have reason to think the boss is failing.

But if we get to January and are within a point or two of the POs, I'd say Adkins is doing alright and will eventually make us a top end competitive side.

Of course the omens suggest that there will be no money in January. If that's the case and we finish top eight, Adkins will have done OK