Clarke interview on Goals on Sunday

[No Fixed Abode]

No wonder we've struggled so much this season with all those loan players and other signings playing for free.

seemed ok when we were 2nd ..

ZOMG, we were like 2nd for like an entire 3 days in mid-October. WOW!!!1!!

And isn't BMs highest position this season 11th?

[sandman]

Imagine how much higher we'd have been if Vydra could shoot.

[floyd__streete]

Absolutely no surprise to see Reading fans rounding on what seems to me to be mostly entirely reasonable comments The usual little hissy fit when anyone has the temerity to criticise the club (or its employees) from the usual suspects.

No surprise either - in much the same vein - to see the following quote generally overlooked:

everyone says when you get a job you should manage upwards - and managing upwards at that club was quite difficult

Seems to me to be a not-so-coded reference to interference from the current owners at team management level. Why am I unsurprised at that.

[The Sum of the Parts]

Absolutely no surprise to see Reading fans rounding on what seems to me to be mostly entirely reasonable comments The usual little hissy fit when anyone has the temerity to criticise the club (or its employees) from the usual suspects.

No surprise either - in much the same vein - to see the following quote generally overlooked:

everyone says when you get a job you should manage upwards - and managing upwards at that club was quite difficult

Seems to me to be a not-so-coded reference to interference from the current owners at team management level. Why am I unsurprised at that.

Rubbish! It's the exact opposite to that - it's a reference to the distance and the lack of relevance or involvement of the current owners. You can't upwardly manage anyone who's not there and not contactable.

Cubs tend to take on the character of their owners, one way or another. Hence a team that's largely anonymous and characterless, and lacking clear leadership and direction.

[Maneki Neko]

yep, its clear that the lack of money( budget signings and loans, selling/not replacing NB) + interference (in signings....?) is what motivated him to talk to Fulham, was always likely, reading between the lines, and have no massive problem with that.

the not researching the club at all when he took the job and the public bitchy c9omments show him up to be a bit of a div though, imo.


that's all though. bear no grudge whatsoever.
he had a go at rebuilding on a limited budget, and got them playing some decent football for a short period of time before it all fell apart.
good luck to the man

[Z175]

I'd say it's pretty obvious there is no money to spend given the way Sa and Blackman were promptly flogged in January when promotion looked impossible.

It wasn't obvious to Clarke it seems. The fact that it didn't occur to Steve Clarke that recently relegated clubs are generally in a financial mess says it all about his lack of knowledge of the reality of Non-top flight football. Presumably the Fulham deal breaker was the failure to commit to £6m for Anichebe.

[Maneki Neko]

I'd say it's pretty obvious there is no money to spend given the way Sa and Blackman were promptly flogged in January when promotion looked impossible.

It wasn't obvious to Clarke it seems. The fact that it didn't occur to Steve Clarke that recently relegated clubs are generally in a financial mess says it all about his lack of knowledge of the reality of Non-top flight football. Presumably the Fulham deal breaker was the failure to commit to £6m for Anichebe.

im not sure. those sales made sense from a business point of view- blackman out of contract and Sa angling for a move. I think theyd have been made even if we had money to spend.

its the bargain basement repacements that signal the lack of money.

I think it looks as though Clarke got to gamble what was left of the spare cash before the parachutes reduced even further, and its becoming clear that the budget wont be the same next season, and I believe that is why Brian was brought in.

[Silver Fox]

Clarke didn't have a problem with the owners when they very publicly backed his plans to get rid of our backroom staff last summer did he?

[Top Flight]

I didn't see his interview but it does show I guess based on your comments that the manager is working in a very difficult environment. A lot of our problems stem more from poor leadership from the very top. Not from the team managers position. In this kind of environment, I wouldn't want anyone other than Brian managing the team. Brian is a true character. Weaker men like Clarke are ready to jump ship at the first sign that things won't be easy.

Brian kept improving us year after year despite having to sell the best players each transfer window. Brian thrives in adversity. Useless whingers like Clarke just try to walk away. We need someone with loyalty and some backbone right now and Brian is our man. Long live Brian.

Your quote Top Flight, "This is why it doesn't pay to fire managers too early. Clarke should have been given a lot more time. He was prematurely fired" ..

I don't know why you're quoting me longhorn. I didn't say anything that contradicted my previous point that a manager shouldn't be sacked prematurely.

In any case, now that new information has come to light I have changed my opinion. I now believe the club was right to sack Clarke.

You can't keep an unhappy employee in the job. If he's not happy then his heart won't be in it. He won't care. He won't be building long-term. He became a useless piece a sh*t managing team affairs. Well done Howe and Hammond for being decisive and getting rid of the ungrateful, unfaithful bast*rd.

For me, it just underlines even more that Brian is the right man for the Reading job. He has achieved more footballing success than Steve Clarke ever did. Where is Steve Clarke's Championship titles? Where are Clarke's honours?

We need someone in the job who is loyal, who is of strong character, who thrives in adversity, who can manage in difficult circumstances, who is a great judge of talent and character and who has a proven record, and is exceptionally talented. Brian ticks every single box. There is no one else that ticks each box like Brian. We are lucky to have him and I look forward to Brian keeping us up next year and building the foundations of a great side that will go on to challenge and win promotion again in the coming seasons.

[No Fixed Abode]

Absolutely no surprise to see Reading fans rounding on what seems to me to be mostly entirely reasonable comments The usual little hissy fit when anyone has the temerity to criticise the club (or its employees) from the usual suspects.

No surprise either - in much the same vein - to see the following quote generally overlooked:

everyone says when you get a job you should manage upwards - and managing upwards at that club was quite difficult

Seems to me to be a not-so-coded reference to interference from the current owners at team management level. Why am I unsurprised at that.

+1

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Personally, I think he was a treacherous and incompetent liar. He would now be complaining after having been given support and failing to capitalise upon it.

He's morose, arrogant and a failure as a manager.

He'd be perfect for Chelsea.

[howser]

Have just read the full transcript from the interview, did he say much that we didn't all know ?? Fulham asked for him, the Thais, the problems within the club are all topics regularly discussed on the various forums.

An awful lot of hatred for Clarke, but of course he isn't " uncle brian" , he never asked to come here after all, if honest he is likely bloody pleased to be out of it, explains why our present manager was head and shoulders the "best for the job" Who else would be daft enough to apply it. no doubt the state of the club is well known inside the game, hence not many looking at it. One thing I have never known did " uncle brian" apply for the job or did the board go looking for him ?

Problems on both sides during Clarke's short reign he was obviously unhappy to even talk to Fulham and Reading so to allow them to speak to him, guess he might have been a bit quick to answer back to Howe, Hamster and SJM, something that the the present incumbent would never have the bollocks to do

[Ian Royal]

Been said publically by Bri that the board contacted him.

[floyd__streete]

he never asked to come here after all

Well, he did leave his Caribbean holiday early to get the job, mind

Otherwise I agree, his comments are nothing to get remotely upset about really. Although he is a fool if he thinks that 'having a quiet word' with another club would remain secret and have no affect on his standing. My main concern with Clarke is his part in the signing of many expensive flops. Results under his tenure also went from moderate to appalling to moderate again. Wasn't really good enough for such a large outlay.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

No million-pound business is going to hand over total control. No football club is going to do that.

He's just making excuses for his own horrible failure at Reading.

[Maneki Neko]

Have just read the full transcript from the interview, did he say much that we didn't all know ?? Fulham asked for him, the Thais, the problems within the club are all topics regularly discussed on the various forums.

An awful lot of hatred for Clarke, but of course he isn't " uncle brian" , he never asked to come here after all, if honest he is likely bloody pleased to be out of it, explains why our present manager was head and shoulders the "best for the job" Who else would be daft enough to apply it. no doubt the state of the club is well known inside the game, hence not many looking at it. One thing I have never known did " uncle brian" apply for the job or did the board go looking for him ?

Problems on both sides during Clarke's short reign he was obviously unhappy to even talk to Fulham and Reading so to allow them to speak to him, guess he might have been a bit quick to answer back to Howe, Hamster and SJM, something that the the present incumbent would never have the bollocks to do

same for any manager that dares to want to leave our club

sorry, what?

lol

[Vision]

Absolutely no surprise to see Reading fans rounding on what seems to me to be mostly entirely reasonable comments The usual little hissy fit when anyone has the temerity to criticise the club (or its employees) from the usual suspects.

No surprise either - in much the same vein - to see the following quote generally overlooked:

everyone says when you get a job you should manage upwards - and managing upwards at that club was quite difficult

Seems to me to be a not-so-coded reference to interference from the current owners at team management level. Why am I unsurprised at that.

Rubbish! It's the exact opposite to that - it's a reference to the distance and the lack of relevance or involvement of the current owners. You can't upwardly manage anyone who's not there and not contactable.

Cubs tend to take on the character of their owners, one way or another. Hence a team that's largely anonymous and characterless, and lacking clear leadership and direction.

Not sure I agree with either of you tbh. Of course you'd want some contact with the actual owners of the club but really on a day to day there's a chain of command at Reading which hasn't changed much since when we were enjoying our most successful seasons. Clarke would have to run potential transfers , contracts and other stuff past Hammond and Howe just as the likes of Pardew, Coppell etc had to in the past. I suspect the biggest issue with the ownership is that there are 3 of them all based remotely. I'm sure Howe alluded to the fact it can take a while to pin them all down at the same time.

I do agree though that the whole interference in team affairs and signings narrative is overplayed. One of the first things they did was allow Clarke to employ his old mate Spearing from West Brom as Chief Scout. Hardly the actions of a group that wants to do it all themselves. Not to mention the fact they've employed Arsenal's Chief Scout as his replacement.

If you look at Clarke's summer signings they very much mirror the sort of players West Brom bought in while Spearing was chief scout. Only difference was that WBA were a Premier League club while we're a championship club with dwindling parachute payments, hence the large amount of loans.

[No Fixed Abode]

No million-pound business is going to hand over total control. No football club is going to do that.

He's just making excuses for his own horrible failure at Reading.

Took job in good faith
Too much interference from owners/promises not kept/clash of personalities/ideas with owners (Basically not a yes man like BM)
Decides to move on whilst still leaving Reading just 1 point outside the play-offs. (Now 19 points)

Shame on him for being human.

[The Sum of the Parts]

Absolutely no surprise to see Reading fans rounding on what seems to me to be mostly entirely reasonable comments The usual little hissy fit when anyone has the temerity to criticise the club (or its employees) from the usual suspects.

No surprise either - in much the same vein - to see the following quote generally overlooked:



Seems to me to be a not-so-coded reference to interference from the current owners at team management level. Why am I unsurprised at that.

Rubbish! It's the exact opposite to that - it's a reference to the distance and the lack of relevance or involvement of the current owners. You can't upwardly manage anyone who's not there and not contactable.

Cubs tend to take on the character of their owners, one way or another. Hence a team that's largely anonymous and characterless, and lacking clear leadership and direction.

Not sure I agree with either of you tbh. Of course you'd want some contact with the actual owners of the club but really on a day to day there's a chain of command at Reading which hasn't changed much since when we were enjoying our most successful seasons. Clarke would have to run potential transfers , contracts and other stuff past Hammond and Howe just as the likes of Pardew, Coppell etc had to in the past. I suspect the biggest issue with the ownership is that there are 3 of them all based remotely. I'm sure Howe alluded to the fact it can take a while to pin them all down at the same time.

I do agree though that the whole interference in team affairs and signings narrative is overplayed. One of the first things they did was allow Clarke to employ his old mate Spearing from West Brom as Chief Scout. Hardly the actions of a group that wants to do it all themselves. Not to mention the fact they've employed Arsenal's Chief Scout as his replacement.

If you look at Clarke's summer signings they very much mirror the sort of players West Brom bought in while Spearing was chief scout. Only difference was that WBA were a Premier League club while we're a championship club with dwindling parachute payments, hence the large amount of loans.

Yep, but that chain of command stopped abruptly in the UK - and so insulated Clarke from having any direct contact with the owners (and those ultimately setting the budget and signing the cheques). Certainly last summer, which is when I think is most relevant to Clarke, the Thais hadn't delegated responsibility and autonomy to those in the local chain of command, but at the same time were also frequently unavailable for contact or unable to quickly reach decisions/consensus between themselves.

[Top Flight]

guess he might have been a bit quick to answer back to Howe, Hamster and SJM, something that the the present incumbent would never have the bollocks to do

Don't talk nonsense Howser. Obviously Brian is alot better at building relationships than Clarke. Brian's relationship building skills resulted in a highly motivated team that won the title against all odds. His ability to have good relations upstairs as well as great relationships with the team delivered success.

I'd rather have that than a manager like Clarke just giving up when the job looked like it might be too difficult for him.

Brian is 100 times the man that Clarke is.