Welcome back Brian!

[Mr.Swainey]

Absolutely delighted to be welcoming back Brian - should never have been sacked in the first place. I don't know why some are so miffed - Brian is Reading through and through and it's a game of oxf*rd football, you're not picking a wife or husband here.

We can all be thankful we don't still have Adkins in charge.

Adkins should never have been sacked in the first place either.

a) attendances were dropping.
b) he is a perma-tanned scouse nonce.

[Lacoste]

Not delighted by this by any stretch but not unhappy at all. I was when Clarke was appointed and have been proved right (as usual)

Brian did a great job for us, yes his football was a bit one dimensional but you have to remember that he had the carpet pulled from underneath him every summer. He couldn't get consistency until the second half of the season because key players, key to the way we play, were always being sold.

We now have a far more stable club and I want to see him build something instead of just plugging gaps with inferior players every window. If he shows he can do that then we're on a winner. With a stable and settled team where the prize assets aren't being stripped all the time we should also see a settled style of play. I really wouldn't want to see some of the football served up this time that was served up last time.

Also, for someone who's profession was scouting, he did buy some complete shit in his fist stint. Griffin and Zurab were great signings initially, Alf was ok as were Leigertwood and Gorkks however the left back Williams, Guthrie, Akpan and at the time Blackman were absolute shyte signings. This time he will have a better budget to play with and I think we will all expect cleverer signings than these.

I am pleased that the Thai owners seem to be going down this kind of route than going for a Sven type or some unknown Thai, shows they have their feet on the ground and aren't selling us to the devil as such. I am pleased with them so far, they seem honest and in this for the long haul. Most importantly, they have put their hands into their pockets to help us. Well done, SJM

All in all not amazingly excited but given the type of club we are now, with more finances and better players, I think we are in safe hands with Brian.

[loyalroyal4life]

I'm certainly not opposed to this and it would be good to see Brian back, very surprised that the owners would go for Brian, maybe after Fulhamgate they wanted a man they felt they could trust.

I think people (myself included) maybe underestimated the importance of loyalty to the Thais. That was the reason they got rid of Clarke, and it will have been the first thing they'd have looked for in a new manager. No point hiring the likes of Pearson/Bergkamp who like Clarke would have dropped their skirt as soon as a slightly bigger club came along. Brian has a real affinity with the club, and that will be important to them.

In addition, if you actually look at McDermott's record it surpasses that of just about every other manager linked with the post. He has a track record of bringing through younger players, and he'll bring a lot of fans back on side.

He'll also come a lot cheaper than most, which is important after we spent a fair amount of money getting rid of Clarke, so really in the absence of better candidates this is looking increasingly like a no brainer.

Stop talking so much sense!

He has track record to get promoted from championship so why not.

If we go up can just get rid of him if needed as not sure he can handle the prem!

[SCIAG]

Also, for someone who's profession was scouting, he did buy some complete shit in his fist stint. Griffin and Zurab were great signings initially, Alf was ok as were Leigertwood and Gorkks however the left back Williams, Guthrie, Akpan and at the time Blackman were absolute shyte signings.

Fair enough if you don't like Guthrie, but to pick him out as an example of a shit signing ahead of, say, Baseya, Sheppard, or Brett Williams is a bit much.

It's a peril of working on a small budget. You're going to sign players who aren't guaranteed to work out. Some of them will, and you'll be lauded for signing a great player for so little (Shorey, Kitson, Sonko; more relevant examples could be Morrison, McCleary, and Le Fondre). Some of them will flop, and you'll look silly (Manset, Akpan). With the real long shots, you'll usually fail dramatically (Williams, Cywka, Baseya, Daley, Sheppard, Mooney, a load of academy players), but there isn't much risk, and the occasional success story (Long, Antonio) makes it all worthwhile.

[percy_freeman]

No announcement until Dave Royal agrees to be his number 2 .
On a more serious note....I'm in.

[Soul Man]

This is great news, if true...Clarke look and learn.

[DangerousDogNonce]

I stuck £60 on Brian this morning at 1/6 hoping for a quick and easy tenner but this has now happened and I now sit here feeling like a bell.

Do any ITKs on here know if it's definite? Did he actually turn up for training this morning?

I love you all so don't mess me about.

[andrew1957]

Apparently Fulham hijacked the deal at the last minute and he is going to be their new assistant manager instead for "professional reasons".

[Lacoste]

Also, for someone who's profession was scouting, he did buy some complete shit in his fist stint. Griffin and Zurab were great signings initially, Alf was ok as were Leigertwood and Gorkks however the left back Williams, Guthrie, Akpan and at the time Blackman were absolute shyte signings.

Fair enough if you don't like Guthrie, but to pick him out as an example of a shit signing ahead of, say, Baseya, Sheppard, or Brett Williams is a bit much.

It's a peril of working on a small budget. You're going to sign players who aren't guaranteed to work out. Some of them will, and you'll be lauded for signing a great player for so little (Shorey, Kitson, Sonko; more relevant examples could be Morrison, McCleary, and Le Fondre). Some of them will flop, and you'll look silly (Manset, Akpan). With the real long shots, you'll usually fail dramatically (Williams, Cywka, Baseya, Daley, Sheppard, Mooney, a load of academy players), but there isn't much risk, and the occasional success story (Long, Antonio) makes it all worthwhile.

Baseya, Sheppard, Brett Williams and Mooney were young players bought in as cheap punts with an eye on the future. Even Coppell made some shoddy signings like these. I named Guthrie because he was brought in specifically for the first team and to add quality to the midfield immediately. Williams was brought in to start. He was being played at left back immediately in his first season and was dropped as soon as it became apparent that he was shit. Forgot about Manset, he was shit and was also bought to take part in the first team immediately, not a long term gamble.

We can all forgive league of Ireland/Non league punts but a lot of the players he purchased especially for the first team were hopeless.

Anyway, as per my post, im not unhappy with this appointment.

[The Cap]

Scutterbucketz wrote:
Ahhh, this is like finding a long lost pair of comfy suede shoes in the back of a cupboard when your shiny new shoes had been giving you jip. They are never going to look as smart and are a bit bald around the edges, but they fit just lovely.

+1. Welcome home Bri.

[CountryRoyal]

I stuck £60 on Brian this morning at 1/6 hoping for a quick and easy tenner but this has now happened and I now sit here feeling like a bell.

Do any ITKs on here know if it's definite? Did he actually turn up for training this morning?

I love you all so don't mess me about.

What a stupid oxf*rd bet

[DangerousDogNonce]

I stuck £60 on Brian this morning at 1/6 hoping for a quick and easy tenner but this has now happened and I now sit here feeling like a bell.

Do any ITKs on here know if it's definite? Did he actually turn up for training this morning?

I love you all so don't mess me about.

What a stupid oxf*rd bet

Don't you think I am ashamed enough already?

[CountryRoyal]

I stuck £60 on Brian this morning at 1/6 hoping for a quick and easy tenner but this has now happened and I now sit here feeling like a bell.

Do any ITKs on here know if it's definite? Did he actually turn up for training this morning?

I love you all so don't mess me about.

What a stupid oxf*rd bet

Don't you think I am ashamed enough already?

Sorry.

[Man Friday]

Also, for someone who's profession was scouting, he did buy some complete shit in his fist stint. Griffin and Zurab were great signings initially, Alf was ok as were Leigertwood and Gorkks however the left back Williams, Guthrie, Akpan and at the time Blackman were absolute shyte signings.

Feck me, that's a transfer record that any manager would be delighted with. Five out of nine were successes - Fergie would have been delighted with that.

[Silver Fox]

Absolutely delighted to be welcoming back Brian - should never have been sacked in the first place. I don't know why some are so miffed - Brian is Reading through and through and it's a game of oxf*rd football, you're not picking a wife or husband here.

We can all be thankful we don't still have Adkins in charge.

Adkins should never have been employed in the first place either.

Corrected for you

[CountryRoyal]

Forgot about Manset, he was shit

You take that back! Don't talk about the Beast like that.

Ftr his goals from the top my head got us at least 4 points, Millwall home, Bristol away.

Without that we wouldn't have gone up auto and probably lost in the playoffs.

Manset = Promotion

[genome]

He's conveniently left out Ian Harte, who turned out to be a masterstroke.

[RustyRoyal]

‏@AmyLewisSport
Also being told Reading will not be announcing who their new manager is until after Sat game. Brian McDermott is 1 of the final 3 candidates

Looks like you have a 2/3 chance of losing £60.

[genome]

SSN: Reading set to appoint McDermott, but he faces "fierce competition from two other candidates" and apparently we "won't announce anything until after Saturday's match".

[Winston Smith]

Just said on the radio that no decision has been made, the club have a shortlist of 3 and will decide by Saturday who is the new manager

chaROFLes watts