How impressed are you with BMcD's return to the club?

[Extended-Phenotype]

I was expecting more from Brian although he wasn't my first choice. While Clarke built an awfully unbalanced squad, I think there is enough in the team to have performed better than we have.

I don't think so Crux. We really are this bad. We have been this bad for a while now. There is nothing new about the fact that we are sh*te. The truth is we really are a p*ss poor excuse of a football team at the moment.

We are exactly where we deserve to be. The current players that we have are a lower half Championship team.

As the division is so tight and so competitive, we, just like all the teams in this league are only a few decent signings away from becoming a good side. But right now, we have to admit that we are utter cr*p.

I think people need to appreciate that sometimes expectation of a sides quality isn't always in tandem with actual quality. Bar a small number of games at the start of the season, the team and players have been poor. At somepoint people need to grasp that the anomaly this season were those few good performances, not the large quantity of shite ones.

Logic suggests we were a poor side over-achieving, rather than a good side now under-achieving.

[Ascotexgunner]

I was expecting more from Brian although he wasn't my first choice. While Clarke built an awfully unbalanced squad, I think there is enough in the team to have performed better than we have.

I don't think so Crux. We really are this bad. We have been this bad for a while now. There is nothing new about the fact that we are sh*te. The truth is we really are a p*ss poor excuse of a football team at the moment.

We are exactly where we deserve to be. The current players that we have are a lower half Championship team.

As the division is so tight and so competitive, we, just like all the teams in this league are only a few decent signings away from becoming a good side. But right now, we have to admit that we are utter cr*p.

I think people need to appreciate that sometimes expectation of a sides quality isn't always in tandem with actual quality. Bar a small number of games at the start of the season, the team and players have been poor. At somepoint people need to grasp that the anomaly this season were those few good performances, not the large quantity of shite ones.

Logic suggests we were a poor side over-achieving, rather than a good side now under-achieving.

Next season is going to be a lot harder than this one. The teams coming down I can see being no pushover. I think we are in for more of the same, this team is such a shambles I don't even know where to start, it needs so much investment......which I doubt it will get.

[Longhorn1970]

I was expecting more from Brian although he wasn't my first choice. While Clarke built an awfully unbalanced squad, I think there is enough in the team to have performed better than we have.

I don't think so Crux. We really are this bad. We have been this bad for a while now. There is nothing new about the fact that we are sh*te. The truth is we really are a p*ss poor excuse of a football team at the moment.

We are exactly where we deserve to be. The current players that we have are a lower half Championship team.

As the division is so tight and so competitive, we, just like all the teams in this league are only a few decent signings away from becoming a good side. But right now, we have to admit that we are utter cr*p.

I think people need to appreciate that sometimes expectation of a sides quality isn't always in tandem with actual quality. Bar a small number of games at the start of the season, the team and players have been poor. At somepoint people need to grasp that the anomaly this season were those few good performances, not the large quantity of shite ones.

Logic suggests we were a poor side over-achieving, rather than a good side now under-achieving.

The buck stops with the manager I'm afraid not the players. There will be no influx of talent, the decent signings you refer to come with a price tag and the owners have set their stall out and it doesn't involve investing any of their own £m's !

[Longhorn1970]

I don't think so Crux. We really are this bad. We have been this bad for a while now. There is nothing new about the fact that we are sh*te. The truth is we really are a p*ss poor excuse of a football team at the moment.

We are exactly where we deserve to be. The current players that we have are a lower half Championship team.

As the division is so tight and so competitive, we, just like all the teams in this league are only a few decent signings away from becoming a good side. But right now, we have to admit that we are utter cr*p.

The buck stops with the manager, its not a bad squad as we've seen already this year ..

The season is measured over 46 games Longhorn. Not 10. They have consistently underperformed over 138 games.

Stop delving back in time to a period of warm contentment, drag yourself into the present ! The thread is about the lack lustre managerial appointment by a trigger happy success seeking non footballing owner which has proved to be a flop, and the signs are less positive ...

[Top Flight]

I don't think so Crux. We really are this bad. We have been this bad for a while now. There is nothing new about the fact that we are sh*te. The truth is we really are a p*ss poor excuse of a football team at the moment.

We are exactly where we deserve to be. The current players that we have are a lower half Championship team.

As the division is so tight and so competitive, we, just like all the teams in this league are only a few decent signings away from becoming a good side. But right now, we have to admit that we are utter cr*p.

I think people need to appreciate that sometimes expectation of a sides quality isn't always in tandem with actual quality. Bar a small number of games at the start of the season, the team and players have been poor. At somepoint people need to grasp that the anomaly this season were those few good performances, not the large quantity of shite ones.

Logic suggests we were a poor side over-achieving, rather than a good side now under-achieving.

The buck stops with the manager I'm afraid not the players. There will be no influx of talent, the decent signings you refer to come with a price tag and the owners have set their stall out and it doesn't involve investing any of their own £m's !

The buck stops with the owners, not the manager. That is what Steve Coppell has said, not me.

Brian is important in our future success but he won't be able to achieve success without support. Everyone has to be pulling in the same direction. Yes he is responsible for motivating the players. If he has been left with a bunch of mercenaries that won't perform for him or any manager before him then as the good manager that Brian is, he has to change the playing staff and recruit people with the right talent, skills, experience and character that will perform and get results.

In order to make those changes he will need 5 or 6 transfer windows. Are you saying that he shouldn't have that time? Do you want him out now?

[Longhorn1970]

I think people need to appreciate that sometimes expectation of a sides quality isn't always in tandem with actual quality. Bar a small number of games at the start of the season, the team and players have been poor. At somepoint people need to grasp that the anomaly this season were those few good performances, not the large quantity of shite ones.

Logic suggests we were a poor side over-achieving, rather than a good side now under-achieving.

The buck stops with the manager I'm afraid not the players. There will be no influx of talent, the decent signings you refer to come with a price tag and the owners have set their stall out and it doesn't involve investing any of their own £m's !

The buck stops with the owners, not the manager. That is what Steve Coppell has said, not me.

Brian is important in our future success but he won't be able to achieve success without support. Everyone has to be pulling in the same direction. Yes he is responsible for motivating the players. If he has been left with a bunch of mercenaries that won't perform for him or any manager before him then as the good manager that Brian is, he has to change the playing staff and recruit people with the right talent, skills, experience and character that will perform and get results.

In order to make those changes he will need 5 or 6 transfer windows. Are you saying that he shouldn't have that time? Do you want him out now?

Sounds like your making excuses for him tbh, he's shown that he can be out foxed by some very ordinary and relatively inexperienced managers, not good enough I'm afraid ...

[Top Flight]

The buck stops with the manager I'm afraid not the players. There will be no influx of talent, the decent signings you refer to come with a price tag and the owners have set their stall out and it doesn't involve investing any of their own £m's !

The buck stops with the owners, not the manager. That is what Steve Coppell has said, not me.

Brian is important in our future success but he won't be able to achieve success without support. Everyone has to be pulling in the same direction. Yes he is responsible for motivating the players. If he has been left with a bunch of mercenaries that won't perform for him or any manager before him then as the good manager that Brian is, he has to change the playing staff and recruit people with the right talent, skills, experience and character that will perform and get results.

In order to make those changes he will need 5 or 6 transfer windows. Are you saying that he shouldn't have that time? Do you want him out now?

Sounds like your making excuses for him tbh, he's shown that he can be out foxed by some very ordinary and relatively inexperienced managers, not good enough I'm afraid ...

If you were making all the recruitment decisions Longhorn, we would be in the National League South in 5 years time. We'd be looking forward to a big local derby, Reading V Maidenhead Utd.

[Hoop Blah]

You don't need 5 or 6 windows to put this squad right, although you do need backing from the owners and to get a little lucky with your signings (or just recruit well using that outstanding scouting knowledge we're told about).

Brighton finished 20th last season. Houghton brought in a shed load of players, some of them worth a few bob admittedly, and has basically built a team from nothing.

I'm not saying the owners will back McDermott with the same budget as Brighton have had but it just goes to show that you can do it quickly if needs be.

[Top Flight]

You don't need 5 or 6 windows to put this squad right, although you do need backing from the owners and to get a little lucky with your signings (or just recruit well using that outstanding scouting knowledge we're told about).

Brighton finished 20th last season. Houghton brought in a shed load of players, some of them worth a few bob admittedly, and has basically built a team from nothing.

I'm not saying the owners will back McDermott with the same budget as Brighton have had but it just goes to show that you can do it quickly if needs be.

Of course, it can be done quickly. If we're lucky and Brian with great fortune finds a winning formula, promotion could happen as early as next season.

But there is alot of trial and error in football. You can't be sure about anything. He will be bringing in players over the summer and he won't be certain how they will blend together. It may work, it may not. If it doesn't then he needs to make changes again and keep adjusting until it does all work. He may find that formula next season, it may take 3 or 4 seasons. No one knows.

Coppell gave opportunities to people. Not every signing worked out. But Coppell was strong enough to run the rule over someone and move them on again if it wasn't working out. He wasn't afraid to make mistakes and he was always ready to admit those mistakes and change things again. If you think about it both Paul Brooker and Stephen Hunt were similar types of lower league signings. One was moved on again when he didn't blend well into the team, the other had a highly successful career with the Royals.

Coppell couldn't have known how it would have worked with Brooker and Hunt. Brooker could have been the star player. The manager has to be ready to try things and make some mistakes. It's not good as soon as a manager makes a mistake we all start screaming for his head. It's just pathetic and not the way to support the team. It's like we all think that McDermott doesn't already know himself which players are useless. He does know and he will change what he can, when he can.

[Hoop Blah]

Of course we have to expect, and accept, that a few of the signings won't be a success. The same has certainly happened at Brighton where they've brought in lots of players but some have only made a handful of appearances.

Houghton has done a good job though, and we should expect our manager to do the same.

I don't expect him to turn this squad into league winners with a £1m budget, but I certainly don't expect him to be fighting a relegation battle if he gets to add 6 or 7 decent players to the ones left over from this season.

[Forbury Lion]

Next season is going to be a lot harder than this one. The teams coming down I can see being no pushover.

Maybe we need to be looking at the teams coming up as well.

[Top Flight]

Of course we have to expect, and accept, that a few of the signings won't be a success. The same has certainly happened at Brighton where they've brought in lots of players but some have only made a handful of appearances.

Houghton has done a good job though, and we should expect our manager to do the same.

I don't expect him to turn this squad into league winners with a £1m budget, but I certainly don't expect him to be fighting a relegation battle if he gets to add 6 or 7 decent players to the ones left over from this season.

I'll be happy with consolidation next season. Relegation is a failure. Staying in the division is a job well done. McDermott needs time and support to get us moving back in the right direction. It could take a few years to build a successful side again and that will be the case whoever our manager is. Who do I trust the most to make a success of the Reading job? It's Brian McDermott. I wouldn't want any other person managing Reading through this next phase in our evolution. I want Brian here for the next decade, hopefully longer.

[Maneki Neko]

don't expect him to be fighting a relegation battle if he gets to add 6 or 7 decent players to the ones left over from this season.

that's a big big if.

The buck stops with the manager I'm afraid not the players. There will be no influx of talent, the decent signings you refer to come with a price tag and the owners have set their stall out and it doesn't involve investing any of their own £m's !

so the buck doesn't really stop with the manager at all then, does it?

[Hoop Blah]

don't expect him to be fighting a relegation battle if he gets to add 6 or 7 decent players to the ones left over from this season.

that's a big big if.

I don't think it's that big an if to be honest. I can't see the owners not allowing him to bring a reasonable number of players in when it's likely he's only going to have around 13 or 14 first team players left in June, plus the younger lads like Stacey, Fosu, Tanner and Samuel of course.

Perhaps I should rephrase it to be, if he gets the backing to bring in 6 or 7 players he wants.

[Ascotexgunner]

Next season is going to be a lot harder than this one. The teams coming down I can see being no pushover.

Maybe we need to be looking at the teams coming up as well.

Very true that....in fact we could well be in deep doo doo and fighting at the wrong end of the table.

[Top Flight]

And also consider that Rotherham will be in much better shape with Warnock in charge. Bristol City look like they are finding their feet under a new manager. We are the club that will be going through the most transition and change and that is what makes us vulnerable and put's us at risk. Often when a club does face that amount of change it can have seriously negative consquences.

Brian has a big job on his hands.

[floyd__streete]

Agreed tbf. Likely high turn over of players will necessitate a lenghty bedding in process (a process we seem to have been going through 3 seasons now ). Falling crowds. And owners seemingly incapable of communicating effectively with the fanbase. On the face it - and on the evidence of these past two seasons - you'd have to expect Reading to struggle again next season. I really hope Burton and Walsall come up to rival us for a bottom 3 place

[Ian Royal]

And also consider that Rotherham will be in much better shape with Warnock in charge. Bristol City look like they are finding their feet under a new manager. We are the club that will be going through the most transition and change and that is what makes us vulnerable and put's us at risk. Often when a club does face that amount of change it can have seriously negative consquences.

Brian has a big job on his hands.

I can't see Warnock keeping Rotherham going long. He's your classic interim get out of jail manager these days. Ultimately, they aren't good enough and they'll get found out sooner or later. He's worked his normal brand of determined thuggery to bully them up the table, but it's not the sort of thing that works for 18 months, 3-6 months, yes.

[Longhorn1970]

The buck stops with the owners, not the manager. That is what Steve Coppell has said, not me.

Brian is important in our future success but he won't be able to achieve success without support. Everyone has to be pulling in the same direction. Yes he is responsible for motivating the players. If he has been left with a bunch of mercenaries that won't perform for him or any manager before him then as the good manager that Brian is, he has to change the playing staff and recruit people with the right talent, skills, experience and character that will perform and get results.

In order to make those changes he will need 5 or 6 transfer windows. Are you saying that he shouldn't have that time? Do you want him out now?

Sounds like your making excuses for him tbh, he's shown that he can be out foxed by some very ordinary and relatively inexperienced managers, not good enough I'm afraid ...

If you were making all the recruitment decisions Longhorn, we would be in the National League South in 5 years time. We'd be looking forward to a big local derby, Reading V Maidenhead Utd.

I couldn't do any worse tbf ...

[Top Flight]

And also consider that Rotherham will be in much better shape with Warnock in charge. Bristol City look like they are finding their feet under a new manager. We are the club that will be going through the most transition and change and that is what makes us vulnerable and put's us at risk. Often when a club does face that amount of change it can have seriously negative consquences.

Brian has a big job on his hands.

I can't see Warnock keeping Rotherham going long. He's your classic interim get out of jail manager these days. Ultimately, they aren't good enough and they'll get found out sooner or later. He's worked his normal brand of determined thuggery to bully them up the table, but it's not the sort of thing that works for 18 months, 3-6 months, yes.

I'm not sure Colin would agree with that label. He is a top manager at this level. It will be interesting to see what he can achieve on Rotherhams budget. I wouldn't put it past him to get Rotherham in the play offs next season.