Brian: The right decision?

[Ian Royal]

Not that any of this matters. It happened over two years ago. We're in a completely different position now. What matters is what happens from here on. Harping on about the past and previous disagreements gets us nowhere and only increases problems by opening old wounds and reinforcing the divide between different camps in the fan base about what should and shouldn't have been done before.

McDermott doesn't matter - other than his excellent achievement in getting to Wembley and taking us up.
Adkins doesn't matter - other than the work he did in blooding some of the youth we're still bringing through now.
What the owners' decide to do next in terms of backing or sacking Clarke matters. What he does next matters, assuming he is the one entrusted with starting to fix us over the summer.

[Lower West]

What the owners' decide to do next in terms of backing or sacking Clarke matters. What he does next matters, assuming he is the one entrusted with starting to fix us over the summer.

Only one aim this season. Stay in the Championship. In Asia there's not the same culture as the West. There's normally a more pragmatic long term approach. the Thai's have bought into Reading in the long term. The rewards from the Premiership are worth waiting for. As Ashley at Newcastle is demonstrating. Simply pocket the money. No chance of the title. Just maintain a good enough squad to stay in the league.

[floyd__streete]

We all agreed this was a 'No' in the end, didn't we

Booting out a manager who over-achieved, one who had a genuine affinity with the club, who took us to an unlikely title without giving him a chance to rebuild (a courtesy afforded to Coppell of course, in fact he was begged to stay). Shame on us, shame on the club, shame on 52% who voted 'Yes' here. Reap what you sow.

[Angry Shed Sex]

We all agreed this was a 'No' in the end, didn't we

Booting out a manager who over-achieved, one who had a genuine affinity with the club, who took us to an unlikely title without giving him a chance to rebuild (a courtesy afforded to Coppell of course, in fact he was begged to stay). Shame on us, shame on the club, shame on 52% who voted 'Yes' here. Reap what you sow.

Jesus floyd that's two posts that I 100% agree with everything you've said.

I feel dirty.

[Tony Le Mesmer]

9th March 2013. Villa home. Club printed a souvenir programme, 25 years since the Simod Cup win. The last day of the old RFC.

Our support? Hurl abuse at our title winning players and manager for not being able to cut it in the PL. They were average Champ players who performed way in excess of expectations and gave everything to the club every week. If that's not good enough for you, we don't deserve success. And we're not going to get any, for a LONG time.

[RoyalJames101]

9th March 2013. Villa home. Club printed a souvenir programme, 25 years since the Simod Cup win. The last day of the old RFC.

Our support? Hurl abuse at our title winning players and manager for not being able to cut it in the PL. They were average Champ players who performed way in excess of expectations and gave everything to the club every week. If that's not good enough for you, we don't deserve success. And we're not going to get any, for a LONG time.

9th March 2013- 25 year anniversary printed in the program, lose the game and Brian gets sacked...
3rd December 2015 - 25 year anniversary printed in the program, lose the game and Clarke... you know the rest

[genome]

The squad we used in the Premiership should have been annihilated week-in week-out, by rights. We did well to finish above QPR!

[Winston Smith]

Still a bit inside when I think of his sacking. Probably my favourite ever RFC manager. A shameful, embarrassing episode in sacking him imo.

[John Smith]

9th March 2013. Villa home. Club printed a souvenir programme, 25 years since the Simod Cup win. The last day of the old RFC.

Our support? Hurl abuse at our title winning players and manager for not being able to cut it in the PL. They were average Champ players who performed way in excess of expectations and gave everything to the club every week. If that's not good enough for you, we don't deserve success. And we're not going to get any, for a LONG time.

We'll be back in the Prem within the next 3 seasons. I'd put my house on it

[tidus_mi2]

I think part of the problem with the situation surrounding Brian was that despite getting a severe lack of funding after promotion, none of this was revealed until after he had been sacked. So as far as I remember it was believed that Brian had intentionally chosen to show faith in the squad that won the league and therefore the blame for the poor performances against relegation rivals fell on his shoulders.

I suspect he would have had more support if we'd known the truth.

[wingnut]

Still a bit inside when I think of his sacking. Probably my favourite ever RFC manager. A shameful, embarrassing episode in sacking him imo.

'Greed. Thought it was wrong then, wrong during Adkins reign and it still looks wrong now.

[Hoop Blah]

9th March 2013. Villa home. Club printed a souvenir programme, 25 years since the Simod Cup win. The last day of the old RFC.

Our support? Hurl abuse at our title winning players and manager for not being able to cut it in the PL. They were average Champ players who performed way in excess of expectations and gave everything to the club every week. If that's not good enough for you, we don't deserve success. And we're not going to get any, for a LONG time.

I don't recall those Championship players giving up their Premier League wages at the time.

We had plenty of players who could've performed better than they did and McDermott mismanaged a lot of things that year that contributed.

I'd have loved for McDermott to have done better that season, even if it meant we were still relegated, but we were worse than we should've been and he was part of that problem. Did replacing him really make anything better? No, obviously not. Does that mean it was the wrong decision to get rid of him? No, not in my book, unfortunately.

[Tony Le Mesmer]

9th March 2013. Villa home. Club printed a souvenir programme, 25 years since the Simod Cup win. The last day of the old RFC.

Our support? Hurl abuse at our title winning players and manager for not being able to cut it in the PL. They were average Champ players who performed way in excess of expectations and gave everything to the club every week. If that's not good enough for you, we don't deserve success. And we're not going to get any, for a LONG time.

We'll be back in the Prem within the next 3 seasons. I'd put my house on it

We've got manager who's looking at options elsewhere, even teams below us in the league.
Owners who nobody knows who they really are or what exactly their motives are.
So many short terms signings we can't play them all, and they seem to be not up for the fight anyway.

Its promotion or bust and even if we achieve that we're just bigging ourselves up for an even bigger fall. I don't share your enthusiasm.

[Hoop Blah]

We've got manager who's looking at options elsewhere, even teams below us in the league.
Owners who nobody knows who they really are or what exactly their motives are.
So many short terms signings we can't play them all, and they seem to be not up for the fight anyway.

Its promotion or bust and even if we achieve that we're just bigging ourselves up for an even bigger fall. I don't share your enthusiasm.

I'm not so sure about the owners, but I do share you lack of enthusiasm for the future, but that's more about the modern professional game than specifically RFC.

What's the real point in getting promoted?

[One8Seven1*]

We've got manager who's looking at options elsewhere, even teams below us in the league.
Owners who nobody knows who they really are or what exactly their motives are.
So many short terms signings we can't play them all, and they seem to be not up for the fight anyway.

Its promotion or bust and even if we achieve that we're just bigging ourselves up for an even bigger fall. I don't share your enthusiasm.

I'm not so sure about the owners, but I do share you lack of enthusiasm for the future, but that's more about the modern professional game than specifically RFC.

What's the real point in getting promoted?

I think that's why a lot of long-time fans have started to drift away. We've had a taste of the so called dream, but staying there is another matter, and if you do, you can end up like Bolton and others who have near perished as a result of over-spending to stay in the top division. In the end you start to ask, what is the point?

[Elm Park Kid]

We've got manager who's looking at options elsewhere, even teams below us in the league.
Owners who nobody knows who they really are or what exactly their motives are.
So many short terms signings we can't play them all, and they seem to be not up for the fight anyway.

Its promotion or bust and even if we achieve that we're just bigging ourselves up for an even bigger fall. I don't share your enthusiasm.

I'm not so sure about the owners, but I do share you lack of enthusiasm for the future, but that's more about the modern professional game than specifically RFC.

What's the real point in getting promoted?

I think that's why a lot of long-time fans have started to drift away. We've had a taste of the so called dream, but staying there is another matter, and if you do, you can end up like Bolton and others who have near perished as a result of over-spending to stay in the top division. In the end you start to ask, what is the point?

It's depressing but in order to 'make it' as a football club you basically have to abandon any idea you have that football is a 'passion' rather than a business.

[Ian Royal]

Don't see how BMc would have done any better continuing to get shafted by Anton. He's done nothing since and did a lot wrong in his last season.

Still, if we'd held on we might have got Adkins under later and better circumstances or not ended up with Clarke at all.

Still think it was a reasonable call, where in hindsight there wasn't a good one.

Probably should have either sacked him a couple of months sooner or stuck out the season to see if he could redeem anything at all.

[genome]

The first reply to thread says "Di Canio IN"

Can you imagine

[genome]

Still think it was a reasonable call

[Cureton's Volley]

We all agreed this was a 'No' in the end, didn't we

Booting out a manager who over-achieved, one who had a genuine affinity with the club, who took us to an unlikely title without giving him a chance to rebuild (a courtesy afforded to Coppell of course, in fact he was begged to stay). Shame on us, shame on the club, shame on 52% who voted 'Yes' here. Reap what you sow.

POTY well done